MRI : Acquisition of an Immersive Virtual Reality System for the South Jersey

Both projects involved extensive collaboration between Rowan University and University of South Florida. The primary objective of the Rowan University team is the design, development and validation of automated image processing algorithms that can estimate three-dimensional shape-descriptors for particle aggregates, which can then be used in discrete element modeling. The principal accomplishments in this research work are: • The design and development of automated algorithms that can estimate three-dimensional shape-descriptors for particle aggregates using a statistical combination of two-dimensional shape-descriptors from multiple two-dimensional projections. • The design and development of automated 3-D tomography reconstruction algorithms applied to shape characterization of particle aggregates. • The demonstration of the algorithm's ability to accurately and repeatedly reconstruct composite 3-D shapes from 2-D projections of multiple particles and their corresponding 2-D shape-descriptors. • The development of experimental protocols and a database of results obtained by optical and X-ray tomography of a varying set of particle aggregate mixtures. • The demonstration of the consistency, separability and uniqueness of the 3-D shape-descriptor algorithm by exercising the method on a varying set of particle aggregate mixtures. • Numerical validation of the reconstruction method by comparing with 3-D reconstructions obtained from multiple projections of a single particle generated using optical (OT) and X-ray methods. • Numerical validation of the reconstruction method using Optimized Optical Microscopy Images by comparing with 3-D reconstructions obtained from multiple projections of a single particle generated using optical (OT) and X-ray methods.Imaging systems and algorithms for the numerical characterization of 3D shapes of particle aggregates," in review, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. Imaging and discrete element modelling of granular material, " in review, Géotechnique. The objective of this project was to purchase a semi-immersive portable virtual reality (VR) display system for providing interactive displays of results obtained from the nondestructive evaluation of gas pipelines. developing multi-sensor data fusion techniques for inspecting underground gas transmission pipelines. The principal accomplishments of this research project are: • Development of a framework for multi-sensor data visualization in VR. An immersive data fusion environment was defined and created, consisting of (a) graphical data, (b) measurement data, and (c) functional data. Incorporating user-defined inputs allowed the user to interact and navigate in the environment. The framework was demonstrated using multi-sensor data obtained during the in-line inspection of a section of a gas transmission pipeline. Graphical models of the pipeline components were displayed in addition to magnetic and ultrasonic inspection …