A Modern Approach to Intelligent Animation : Theory and Practice
Part of the new series, Advanced Topics in Science and Technology in China, this book discusses concepts, theory, and core technologies of intelligent theory and human animation, including video based human animation, and intelligent technology of motion data management and reusing. It introduces systems developed to demonstrate the technologies of video based animation. Each chapter is independent. Lively pictures and demos will be presented to make the theory and technologies more understandable.
A Biomass Future for the North American Great Plains : Toward Sustainable Land Use and Mitigation of Greenhouse Warming
The Great Plains of North America is a major global breadbasket but its agriculture is stressed by drought, heat spells, damaging winds, soil erosion and declining ground water resources. This book explores the possibility that the ecology and economy of the Plains region (and similar regions) would benefit from the introduction of perennial biomass crops. Biomass production and processing on the Plains (possibly aided by genetic engineering) would partially restore a perennial vegetative cover and create new employment opportunities. Biomass also offers a means of reducing fossil fuel use, providing fuel to local power plants and a feedstock for production of cellulosic ethanol, a gasoline substitute. Interest in biofuels is growing rapidly in public, political and business circles with rising fossil fuel prices and because of a growing recognition of the need for energy independence in petroleum importing countries.
50 Years of Artificial Intelligence : Essays Dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of Artificial Intelligence
This Festschrift volume, published in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Artificial Intelligence, includes 34 refereed papers written by leading researchers in the field of Artificial Intelligence. The papers were carefully selected from the invited lectures given at the 50th Anniversary Summit of AI, held at the Centro Stefano Franscini, Monte Verità, Ascona, Switzerland, July 9-14, 2006. The summit provided a venue for discussions on a broad range of topics.
3D Imaging for Safety and Security
This book is so far the first that covers the current state of the art in 3D imaging for safety and security. Special attention was given to advanced 3D imaging technologies in the context of safety and security applications. Comparative evaluation studies showing advantages of 3D imaging over traditional 2D imaging for a given computer vision or pattern recognition task were emphasized. Moreover, additional experts in the field of 3D imaging for safety and security were invited by the editors for a contribution to this book.



