Hands-on Digital Image Processing

Roberto Lotufo
Faculdade deEngenhariaEléctrica - DCA
UniversidadeEstadual de Campinas,Campinas, SP 13082-970 - Brazil
lotufo@dca.fee.unicamp.br

Ramiro Jordán
Ibero-American Science and TechnologyEducatium Consortium
Department of EECE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 - USA
rjordan@eece.unm.edu

Abstract or Netscape. The purpose of the course is to give users a

This effort is the integration of the Khoros 2 system,
hypertext (html), and network browsers to produce an
interactive Digital Image Processing environment to
enhance our ability to learn and work together across
geographical, temporal, and cultural distances. This
paper describes how this new type of course can impact
teaching, learning, and research processes, and gives
examples of how it is currently being used in several
settings. The broad scope of the Khoros system and the
communal emphasis on collaboration have contributed
to this success. This new interactive toolbox/course is
available free of charge via the Internet at
http://www.khoros.unm.edu/dipcourse
Introduction
Digital Image Processing can play an important role to
the scientific education. In ICIP'94 [1], we first reported
the use of Khoros as an authoring system for image
processing and we mentioned that we were developing
new advances integrating Khoros, the Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML) and the World-Wide Web (WWW).
As a result, in December 1994, we released the DIP
Khorosware as a toolbox to the Khoros environment [2].
Although other efforts exists to develop tools to facilitate
teaching of image processing [3], our proposal is an
unique solution that exhibits the following aspects: 1) it
is interactive, 2) it can be accessed by Internet browsers,
3) it is freely available, and 4) it depends on freely
available state-of-the-art software technology.
Khorosware on Digital Image Processing
This interactive course on Digital Image Processing
(DIP) is based on hypertext (HTML) and the Khoros 2
system [1, 2]. It uses network browsers such as Mosaic
hands-on approach to Image Processing through an
extensive number of experiments. That is, mix theory
and practice in such a way that students can immediately
relate experimental results to theoretical concepts. We
hope that with this new type of technology a wide range
of users of different backgrounds can be introduced to
“image engineering” and facilitate multidisciplinary
collaboration.
The course evolved from collaborative efforts between the
University of New Mexico and the University of
Campinas. It contains material that are presented at the
undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition, short
courses utilizing this interactive format have been
delivered in the USA, Argentina, Brazil, and Spain.
Furthermore, many "surfers" have taken the course via
the Internet and others have ftped the DIP course and
installed it on their sites. This course can be used as a
self-study guide or for any type of training format.
The DIP toolbox/course has the following objectives:
• Transfer the theory and practice required to process
and visualize digital information.
• Expose students to state-of-the-art technology via a
hands-on approach to Digital Image Processing.
• Present Khoros 2.0 as a software integration and
development environment that emphasizes
information processing and exploration.
• Apply Khoros 2.0 as a common language platform
for collaboration, software development,
demonstration, technology transfer, and education.
• Provide new teaching and learning tools to motivate
the user community to collaborate utilizing both
synchronous and asynchronous exchanges of
resources and knowledge.
The DIP course covers a wide range of topics in Image
Processing such as: image representation and
visualization, image manipulation, point operations
(single operand and double operands), linear operations,
image restoration, wavelets, non-linear operations, and
pattern classification. The DIP course, since its release in
Dec. 17, 1994, has gone through three complete revisions
and the fourth version will be released in the second
quarter of 1996. In addition, an eleven-hour video course
was designed and produced to be followed simultaneously
with the Internet-accessibleKhorosware.
The DIP Khorosware can be obtained via anonymous ftp.
Some sites are: ftp.unicamp.br, ftp.khoral.com, and
ftp.eece.unm.edu. It can be used by any organization, but
it cannot be distributed or used for profit without a
license. Since its release in Dec. 1994, we average 75 hits
a day and over 2000 sites grabbed the course via ftp to
install it at their sites. These statistics are from one
distribution site, www.khoral.com, and other sites around
the world have not been considered. Information on the
course as well as Khoros can be found at:
http://www.khoral.com/dipcourse,
http://www.eece.unm.edu/dipcourse, and
http://www.dca.fee.unicamp.br/dipcourse.
We expect this course to grow with the active
participation of the user community. Other Khorosware
toolboxes being develop are on Mathematical
Morphology, Wavelets, Fuzzy Logic, DSP, and Neural
Networks.
The Khoros Project
Khoros 2 is a software integration and development
environment that emphasizes information processing and
data exploration. The objective of the Khoros project is
to build a complete application development environment
that redefines the software engineering process to include
all members of the work group, from the application end-
user to the infrastructure programmer, in the creation of
software. The Khoros 2 environment accomplishes this
objective by providing a broad set of Application
Programming Interfaces that can be used as a source of
reusable code for visual program development. In
addition, the system provides visual software
development tools that can be used to quickly prototype
new software and maintain developed software.
Furthermore, it is portable and extensible, and supports
four different levels of user interaction (from unskilled
end user to expert programmer). Finally, the Khoros
system motivates a broad community to collaborate, by
utilizing both synchronous and asynchronous exchanges
of resources and knowledge.
Khoros is distributed via the Internet as Free Access
Software. Source code and binaries are available
throughout the world via File Transfer Protocol (ftp); it
can be used by any organization, but it cannot be
distributed for profit without a license. User feedback is
critical to the evolution of Khoros and is the basis for the
Khoros Consortium, a group of over 45 government and
commercial organizations that oversee the technical
direction of Khoros. The Khoros environment enables
communication links among its users by providing a
common language platform. Khoros has become an
important environment for teaching image processing as
an indirect result of the objectives of the Khoros project.
We have developed a course based on this environment to
present the concepts and ideas in Digital Image
Processing.
DIP Khorosware
This course is intended to bridge the gap between theory
and practice by providing a "hands-on" approach to
digital image processing. There are two basic entries:
List of Experiments and List of Experiments per Topic.
Both direct the user through text full of hyper-links in a
structure that is similar to a book (multimedia). List of
Experiments consists of a collection of experiments
grouped by type of operators used for the solution of a
problem or explanation of a concept. List of Experiments
per Topic groups the experiments per main Image
Processing Topic. Both Experiment paths provides the
user a direct list of "hands-on" lessons and experiences.
Each lesson or experience is organized as follows. A
front page gives a description of the problem or the
concept for the experiment. This page is typically full of
images and graphics showing the original data and the
processed image or result. It explains the fundamentals
of image processing in general. The front page is
independent and can be used as a non-practical
illustrative DIP course, i.e., without the "hands-on"
touch. At the end of the front page there are two links:
• Building a visual program (workspace) in cantata,
• Execute the visual program "workspace-name.wk".
Building a visual program in cantata walks the users
through a step by step recipe on how to combine Khoros
operators/glyphs to solve a problem or illustrate concepts
of a solution or experiment. It is intended for the
students to acquire experience on where to find and how
to use the different operators. For the inexperienced
users, they will need to go step by step over the first few
workspaces provided. As they acquire more experience,
they will be able to build a workspace without referring
to existing ones, or look at workspaces only when
difficulties arise. Finally, at the end they will find a list
of suggested exercises that provide further questions and
problems so that they can extend and practice what they
have learned.
Executing the visual program "workspace-name.wk takes
them directly to cantata where a proposed visual program
is loaded and is ready for execution. Now they are ready
to run, see the results, change parameters and play. Our
experience in teaching indicates that it is not advisable to
go straight to and run the workspaces provided in the
course. The reason is that they will not understand how
the workspace was built, why the set of operators were
chosen, why certain parameters were selected within an
operator and their values. Therefore, for their
convenience, a solution workspace is included in the DIP
Khorosware so that they can observe, experiment, and
play with a solution to a problem or illustration of
concepts.
ISTEC's Advanced Continuing Education
Initiative and the DIPKhorosware
The Ibero-American Science and Technology Education
Consortium (ISTEC) is a non-profit organization
comprised of educational, research, and industrial
institutions throughout the Americas and the Iberian
Peninsula. ISTEC was founded in 1990 to meet the need
for improved education in technical areas and to provide
a mechanism for sharing of information. The objectives
of ISTEC include providing access to improved, up-to-
date science and technology education for all
participants, stimulating international research and
development projects, providing a vehicle for technology
transfer for economic development, and improving
international cooperation. Members of ISTEC share a
long-term commitment as partners to coordinate
activities, exchange information, conduct joint research,
and find improved mechanisms for educating students
and professionals about and with available technology.
The ISTEC-designed curriculum enhancement project,
"Tecnologías de la Información", dissolves the limits of
location and shows that sharing resources goes far
beyond cost-effectiveness. "Tecnologías de la
Información" is designed to utilize the technical expertise
of senior research faculty from the Ibero-American world
to co-develop and present highly specialized courses for
undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and
industrial scientists engaged in research, curricula reform
and faculty upgrades. Building on a project design and
model course from the Polytechnic University of Madrid
(UPM), ISTEC member universities were consulted in
1992 to identify their technical strengths and the
"Tecnologías de la Información" curriculum was defined.
Outstanding faculty from Spain, Latin America and the
United States agreed to share intellectual and financial
resources to reap benefits beyond the reach of any single
institution.
The "Tecnologías de la Información'' series is comprised
of eight courses dealing with a broad range of
information technologies. Eight universities are
collaborating in the execution of the project, each
contributing staff and facilities, and arranging
sponsorship for course development and production. Via
HISPASAT satellite links, the series is being broadcast
by the Ibero-American Educational Television
Association (ATEI), a public system promoted and
supported by Ibero-American Ministries of Education in
partnership with over 250 member institutions in Spain,
Portugal, Latin America and the U.S.A. ATEI is also a
partial sponsor of the series' production.
The Digital Image Processing course exemplifies the
high standards of use of collaborative learning
technologies toward which all "Tecnologías de la
Información" courses strive. An eleven-hour video
course was co-produced by the University of New Mexico
(USA) and the Universidade Estadual de Campinas
(Brazil); the video is designed to be followed
simultaneously with the Internet-accessible Digital Image
Processing with Khoros 2 course. The broadcast of the
video course occurred from Sept. through Dec. 1995.
This course is being used as a self-study guide and for
curriculum development throughout the ATEI area of
influence. Furthermore, an added benefit of the course
was the identification and creation of research groups in
image processing throughout the region. Following the
format of the course has greatly facilitated the exchange
of ideas, data and results among theses groups. Clearly,
the Khoros 2 system is being used not only as an
authoring system but also as a common language
platform for transnational R&D.
Future Work
At the beginning we did not foresee the dimension and
complexity of this endeavor. Clearly, it is an ongoing
project and the issues of development and maintainability
must be considered. Not only lessons and experiments
will be continued to be extended and enhanced, but the
tools to facilitate this development need to be
continuously upgraded. These tools enable the generation
of interactive electronic pages and book-like hardcopy
materials.
We see SGML as a solution to the above issues. We have
begun the process to create the necessary infrastructure
for the next release. We intend to define a DTD suitable
for Khorosware course development. With this
infrastructure other people would be more motivated to
collaborate.
Conclusion
The Khoros 2 environment has achieved success as a
tool for teaching image processing as an authoring
system, and for providing a common language platform
for R&D. This has come about as a result of the diversity
of the capabilities of the Khoros 2 environment
(authoring tool, research tool, built-in collaboration
technology, and commercial software development tool),
the cost of the software, and the participation of user
communities. With the help of new Internet tools, not
only Khoros is enhanced, but teaching is being facilitated
and encouraged.
The classic approach to teaching image processing
combines a textbook, a sequence of lectures and tests, and
perhaps a project. This approach has several
disadvantages. Such a course is a passive experience for
the student. By combining interactive text and images
with the Khoros 2 system we have taken steps to make
the learning process more dynamic. We have used
hypertext and the Khoros 2 system as a conduit between
the instructors and students across geographical,
temporal, and cultural distances.
The hypertext format makes good use of web browsers,
encouraging student progress and input through
interactive text and images. Running atop the visual
programming environment of the Khoros 2 system, users
experience a hands-on approach to image processing
through an extensive number of experiments. In
addition, all attendees of the eleven-hour satellite
broadcast who had Internet access were able to receive
email assistance from the instructors of the video course.
This is also true of anyone who has access to the Internet
course. With the satellite course, we demonstrated an
innovative form of distance education by utilizing a
combination of technologies, that is, the delivery of
course materials via satellite, student feedback to the
instructors via data communication networks, and a fully
interactive Internet course to enable students to relate
experimental results with theoretical concepts.
In the future, multimedia mechanisms, as well as
collaboration technology, will enhance our ability to
learn and work together across geographical, temporal,
and cultural distances. The future belongs to
collaboration and education across international borders,
mediated by computers and high-speed links. Finally,
the use of the Khoros 2 system by the ISTEC Consortium
members is a clear demonstration of transnational
collaboration.
Acknowledgments
The existence and growth of the Ibero-American Science
and Technology Education Consortium is due to the
individual efforts of the dedicated personnel at member
institutions. Special mention should be made of
Motorola Inc., Northern Telecom, and Cray Research,
Inc., who have supported ISTEC activities from the
beginning, and Khoral Research, Inc., which has
provided a unique software platform for utilization by the
Consortium. Support has also come from Fluke
Corporation, McBride Inc., IBM-Brazil, Conselho
Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico
(CNPq - Brazil) Fundaçao de Amparo a Pesquisa do
Estado de S ~ a o Paulo (FAPESP - Brazil), Colciencias
(Colombia), CICYT (Spain), and Xunta de Galicia
(Spain). Finally, we are grateful to the State of New
Mexico for supporting the activities of the University of
New Mexico in its interaction with the Consortium.
References
1. J. Rasure, R. Jordán and R. Lotufo, "Teaching Image
Processing with Khoros", Invited paper to the First IEEE
International Conference on Image Processing, ICIP-94,
pp. 506-510, Vol. I, Nov. 13-16, 1994.
2. R. Jordán and R. Lotufo, "Digital Image Processing
with Khoros 2.0" World Wide Web Courseware, versions
0.1, Dec. 1994, and versions 0.2, June 1995, and 0.3,
Aug. 1995.
3. Special section on Image Processing in Education,
First IEEE International Conference on Image
Processing, ICIP-94, Austin, Texas, pp. 501-529, vol. I,
Nov. 13-16, 1994.