Avinash Kak
Encyclopedia
Avinash C. Kak (also known as Avi Kak) is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University
who has done pioneering research in several different aspects of information processing. His most noteworthy contributions deal with algorithms, languages, and systems related to networks (including sensor networks), robotics, computer vision, etc.
published 3D-POLY that is still the fastest algorithm for recognizing 3D objects in depth maps. In 1992, Kosaka and Kak published FINALE, which is considered to be a computationally efficient and highly robust approach to vision-based navigation by indoor mobile robots. In 2003, a group of researchers that included Kak developed a tool for content-based image retrieval
that was demonstrated by clinical trial
s to markedly improve the performance of radiologists. This remains the only clinically evaluated system for content-based image retrieval for radiologists.
A talk by Avinash Kak (available as a PDF file) that is making the rounds on the internet is titled (provocatively/amusingly) Why Robots Will Never Have Sex. This talk is supposed to be a rejoinder to those who believe that robots/computers will someday take over the world.https://engineering.purdue.edu/kak/RobotsWillNeverHaveSex.pdf
applications where the projection data is limited. As a measure of its popularity, researchers have proposed various extensions to
SART: OS-SART, FA-SART, VW-OS-SART, SARTF, etc. Researchers have also studied how SART can best be implemented on
different parallel processing architectures. SART and its proposed extensions are used in emission CT in nuclear medicine, for dynamic CT, for holographic tomography, etc. Convergence
of the SART algorithm was theoretically established in 2004 by Ming Jiang and Ge Wang in their paper "Convergence of the simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART)" published in the IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, Vol. 12, August 2003, pp. 957–961.
by SIAM (Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics), is widely used in courses dealing with modern medical imaging. It is one of the most frequently cited books in the literature on image reconstruction. His other co-authored book Digital Picture Processing is also considered to be a classic and has been one of the most widely referenced sources in literature dealing with digital image processing
and computer vision
.
His more recent books are a part of his Object Trilogy Project The first book of the trilogy, Programming with Objects: A Comparable Presentation of Object-Oriented Programming with C++ and Java, presents a comparative approach to the teaching and learning of two large object-oriented languages, C++
and Java
. The second book, Scripting with Objects: A Comparative Presentation of Object-Oriented Scripting with Perl and Python, does the same with Perl and Python. The last, Designing with Objects is presumably currently in the works.
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
who has done pioneering research in several different aspects of information processing. His most noteworthy contributions deal with algorithms, languages, and systems related to networks (including sensor networks), robotics, computer vision, etc.
Significant contributions to robotics and computer vision
With regard to the groundbreaking contributions made by Kak and his collaborators: In 1989, Chen and Kakpublished 3D-POLY that is still the fastest algorithm for recognizing 3D objects in depth maps. In 1992, Kosaka and Kak published FINALE, which is considered to be a computationally efficient and highly robust approach to vision-based navigation by indoor mobile robots. In 2003, a group of researchers that included Kak developed a tool for content-based image retrieval
Content-based image retrieval
Content-based image retrieval , also known as query by image content and content-based visual information retrieval is the application of computer vision techniques to the image retrieval problem, that is, the problem of searching for digital images in large databases....
that was demonstrated by clinical trial
Clinical trial
Clinical trials are a set of procedures in medical research and drug development that are conducted to allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for health interventions...
s to markedly improve the performance of radiologists. This remains the only clinically evaluated system for content-based image retrieval for radiologists.
A talk by Avinash Kak (available as a PDF file) that is making the rounds on the internet is titled (provocatively/amusingly) Why Robots Will Never Have Sex. This talk is supposed to be a rejoinder to those who believe that robots/computers will someday take over the world.https://engineering.purdue.edu/kak/RobotsWillNeverHaveSex.pdf
Significant contributions to image reconstruction algorithms
The SART algorithm (Simultaneous Algebraic Reconstruction Technique) proposed by Andersen and Kak in 1984 has had a major impact in CT imagingapplications where the projection data is limited. As a measure of its popularity, researchers have proposed various extensions to
SART: OS-SART, FA-SART, VW-OS-SART, SARTF, etc. Researchers have also studied how SART can best be implemented on
different parallel processing architectures. SART and its proposed extensions are used in emission CT in nuclear medicine, for dynamic CT, for holographic tomography, etc. Convergence
of the SART algorithm was theoretically established in 2004 by Ming Jiang and Ge Wang in their paper "Convergence of the simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART)" published in the IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, Vol. 12, August 2003, pp. 957–961.
Books authored
His book Principles of Computerized Tomographic Imaging, now re-published as a classic in Applied MathematicsApplied mathematics
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...
by SIAM (Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics), is widely used in courses dealing with modern medical imaging. It is one of the most frequently cited books in the literature on image reconstruction. His other co-authored book Digital Picture Processing is also considered to be a classic and has been one of the most widely referenced sources in literature dealing with digital image processing
Image processing
In electrical engineering and computer science, image processing is any form of signal processing for which the input is an image, such as a photograph or video frame; the output of image processing may be either an image or, a set of characteristics or parameters related to the image...
and computer vision
Computer vision
Computer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions...
.
His more recent books are a part of his Object Trilogy Project The first book of the trilogy, Programming with Objects: A Comparable Presentation of Object-Oriented Programming with C++ and Java, presents a comparative approach to the teaching and learning of two large object-oriented languages, C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
and Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
. The second book, Scripting with Objects: A Comparative Presentation of Object-Oriented Scripting with Perl and Python, does the same with Perl and Python. The last, Designing with Objects is presumably currently in the works.