#Computer vsion

[aahsing-blog]

How to convert an image into matrix(or array)?

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What to read in Avengers West Coast (to be continued! up to volume 2 #62)

Warning: I will complete this very soon! I’ve read up to #62 (volume 2) so there’s about more 50 issues to go!

While West Coast Avengers is not the main Avengers comics, some of the stories are still important for the plot, to understand what is going on in the Avengers vol 1 comics. The plot is particular important to understand what happens with Vision and Wanda. The ideal would be reading these comics before starting to read the Avengers v.1 #312 and the comics post #312.

What to read in Avengers volume 1 is here at this masterpost 

AVENGERS WEST COAST VOLUME 1

#001 - 004: Bobbi and Clint start a new Avengers team in California (around Avengers v1 #246). Vsion calls some possible members: Tigra, Wonder Man and Iron Man (Rhodes). No one knows Rhodes is Iron Man or even that Iron Man is not piloted by the same man as before. Tigra feels uncertain of her role, unsure of her abilities. Wonder Man is uncertain about joining back the Avengers and leaving his job as an actor. Tigra asks Iron Man to talk to Wonder Man, thinking he's Tony and Rhodes has to admit that he is a new pilot in the suit. Later on, Rhodes tells everyone that he is the one behind the Iron Man mask. Graviton finds a new alliance in Madame Masque, who knows her old enemy Iron Man is on the team of Avengers. The Avengers defeat Graviton. 

AVENGERS WEST COAST VOLUME 2

#01 - 02: Tony is Iron Man. Hank Pym arrives to the California's headquarters because he knows that the West Coast Avengers have the villain Power Man as prisoner (and he is using Hank's old Goliath powers). Hank finds out that Power Man has Goliath powers because Hank's formula is evolving and mixed with Power Man's powers. Hank and Janet (via video) talk for the first time since their terrible break up. Ultron attacks and finds an ally in Power Man and the Man Ape. At the end, Ultron manages to escape taking with him Hank Pym and Wonder Man. Later on, the Avengers go to find Vision and Wanda (looking for a house after they had to leave the Avengers, because Vision took controls of the world's computers for some time) because their case is connected with something the newly wed couple had fought recently against. The Grim Reaper is behind this all, as he wants his brother Simon Williams back. In these two issues there's a recap of Tigra's backstory and Wonder Man's backstory as well. This story is concluded in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #2.

(Wonder Man admits he was guilty of the charges that years ago have been made against him. Because of this, there is some tension between him and Hawkeye. Firebird and the Thing help the Avengers for a bit, and are offered the spots on the team. Tigra goes to the cat people to know more about her story. Hank receives messages from Ultron who seems to want to treat Hank like his father)

#07: Hank finds out there are two Ultrons. One who has evolved past hatred and that loves Hank as a father, and another Ultron who is the usual villain we are used to. The good!Ultron tries to protect Hank from the other Ultron, but the good!Ultron is soon destroyed. Wonder Man saves Hank, who is devastated for the death of his ‘son’.

(the Thing and Firebird officially becomes Avengers. Soon, Firebird decides to leave, There seems to be something between Wonder Man and Tigra even if Tigra likes to flirt with Hank Pym too)

#11: Mockingbird's backstory and how she worked for SHIELD. 

(Mockingbird and Wonder Man get new uniforms. Tigra seems to want a relationship with Wonder Man, but Simon is seeing a woman named Christy. Jealous, Tigra leaves and finds Tony. They flirt together but when Tigra suggests sex, Tony has to stop her, admitting he thought Tigra was just fooling around. Both Tony and Simon seem to think there is something between Tigra and Hank Pym. Tigra wants to confront Hank, but ends up kissing him. Graviton attacks the Avengers and kidnaps Tigra. Graviton forces a kiss on her and Tigra is confused by the conflicting emotions she feels and she realises that she has no control over her emotions and desires, because of the uncontrollable cat in her)

#14 - 15: Tigra feels like she is losing control over her powers, so she decides to leave her cat identity and live as a human. She leaves the Avengers, Hank and Tigra are officially together but they are kidnapped by some demons. The Avengers seek the help of Hellcat and Hellstorm. Magic happens, the soul of Tigra comes back stronger to Greer and now Greer can finally be Tigra without losing her human self because her human self and the Tigra persona are finally merged.

(Hellcat and Hellstorm leave. Tigra breaks up with Hank, because now that she is not conflicted between two personalities anymore, she knows she doesn't want to be tied down. There are some clear warnings that Hank is falling into depression. Tony wants to invite Firebird into the Avengers again.)

#17 - 18: Hank Pym decides to kill himself. He writes his goodbye letters and finally he decides to call Janet. Hank apologies to Janet, and Janet starts to suspect something is wrong. Hank closes the call and takes a gun, to shoot himself. Suddenly, La Espirita (the new identity of Firebird) appears to stop him. Firebird tells him that he has always tried to be like the others, but that he has hope, he can be his own person, his own kind of hero. She promises to help him reclaim his life and Hank lets the gun fall. 

(The Avengers are trapped back in time, mostly in ancient Egypt even if Mockingbird is mind wiped by the Phantom Rider who makes her think she is his lover, while Hank and Espirita/Firebird work on Hank's particles so that he can go back to being a hero. Hank and Espirita receive a message from the past, from the Avengers. They start building some kind of time traveling gun, and they also kiss. Mockingbird defeats the mind control and the Phantom, letting him fall from a cliff and die. Hank and Espirita save the team, helped by Moon Knight)

 #25: Wonder Man has a big movie celebration. Clint and Bobbi talk about what happened with the Phantom. Bobbi hides from Clint that the Phantom has forced her into believing she loved him, and she also hides what she did to the Phantom after. Espirita and Hank talk about God, then she leaves the Avengers promising to visit him in the future. 

(Zodiac is back. Sagittarius uses Hawkeye costume to infiltrate the Avengers. Bobbi can feel something is strange but she thinks it's because Clint suspects she has been lied to him. Tigra tries to seduce Moon Knight. Bobbi, crying, tells to the Sagittarius - thinking he is Clint - that the Phantom raped her and that she has let him die. She soon finds out the guy is not Clint and she defeats him. The Avengers defeat the Zodiac. Wonder Man visits Vision and Wanda, enjoying some time with the twins (Wanda and Vision's children).)

#31 - 32: The spirit of Phantom is back to get his revenge on Bobbi. Iron Man needs some time alone (because of the Armor Wars arc) and he is dismissed by the Avengers. Janet arrives at the mansion to join the West Coast Avengers, now that they don't have Iron Man anymore, and she seems to be on good spirits with Hank. Moon Knight finds out about Bobbi's secret. 

#33 - 34: Moon Knight is officially accepted as Avenger. The story of Maria Trovaya, Hank's ex wife. Maria has been kidnapped during their marriage, and a note has been left for Hank, letting him know that Maria has been killed because she left Hungary and the Communist regime. Now, Hank finds out Maria is alive. The issue also has a recap of Jan and Hank's first meeting. The Avengers go to Europe to find Maria, but it was all a trap and they are attacked. Later they end up finding Vision and Wanda, in prison there. Recap of Wanda and Vision's story and their marriage. Mockingbird tells to the other Avengers (Clint is not there) that she has betrayed Clint with the Phantom (not recognizing that she has been raped) and that she has let him die. The Avengers are very understanding and they comfort her. But, the Phantom helps Clint with the Avengers and tells him that Bobbi let him die.

#35 - 36: The Avengers escape but ends up trapped in Latveria. Clint confronts Bobbi. Clint is angry that Bobbi killed a man, but when Bobbi tells him that what happened is that the Phantom raped her, Clint is not sure to believe her. They fight and end up wanting to divorce. Back to look for Maria, Hank actually finds her alive but she has been experimented on with a ray that increases the intelligence of ape like creatures. She asks Hank to kill her (thought a computer she is connected to). Maria uses her powers to stop the attackers on the Avengers and save them. Hank and Janet seem to get close again.

#37: Avengers disassembled! Back on the west coast. Bobbi and Clint are fighting again, Clint is mad Bobbi didn't tell him even if he is pretending to be mad because Bobbi let a man die. Bobbi is angry at Clint, because she doesn't regret what happened after what the Phantom did to her. Wonder Man believes the Avengers should be an example and he seems to side with Clint, while Moon Knight thinks that they are only humans, so mistakes like this can happen. Clint tells Bobbi he'll never trust again, Bobbi decides to leave him and the Avengers. Tigra and Moon Knight follow her. Hank leaves to go back to Maria, to help her. Wanda and Vision decide to stay with the West Coast Avengers, then Mantis comes back and asks their help because she lost her memories.

(Mantis finds out about her past as Celestial Madonna and about the Swordman. She leaves the Avengers, heartbroken about what she has lost. The good side of the Phantom get rid of Lincoln Slade's evil side, who has hurt Mockingbird. Bobbi leaves the team once for all, and so does Moon Knight)

#42 - 45: The end of Vision and the happy marriage of Wanda and Vision (the Vision Quest story). Wanda wakes up and Vision is nowhere to be found. Pym and Jan are back with the WCA, and Tigra is back as well. Small recap of Vision's story. Hank Pym finds out that a virus deleted all traces of Vision's files from their computers. Bobbi arrives and confesses that she was the one who helped kidnap Vision and delete the data, but she has been tricked by a man who pretend to be part of SHIELD and that had convinced her that this was to protect the world (because of what happened when Vision took control of all the computers in Avengers v1). Later Bobbi finds out the man is from KGB, but all the main security organizations participated in this. Bobbi helps the WCA reach the lab where Vision has been trapped, but they are too late and the scientists already erased Vision and just a shell of the android remains. At home, the nanny of Wanda’s children tells her that the twins have disappeared! But when Wanda is at the house both the children seem fine. Very mysterious!  U.S.Agent joins the WCA, sent by the government and the WCA have to accept him even if Hawkeye is not happy. 

Hawkeye leaves the Avengers. Wanda hires a new nanny... who finds out that when Wanda is not in the room the children disappear. Hank Pym restores Vision but unfortunately Vision has been so damaged that his memories could not be restored because he misses Simon's brain pattern. Wonder Man refuses because he doesn't want his soul to be out of his control again. Vision will stay without his emotional memories, Wanda is furious at Wonder Man, and devastated.

(Clint and Bobbi start the Great Lake Avengers but they are still committed to their divorce. Tigra is going feral again and USAgent seems to have the control of the WCA)

(At this point the volume is called Avengers: West Coast but it continues from issue 47 )

#47: Hank and T'Challa can't help Wanda restore Vision, Wonder Man doesn't want to let Wanda use his brain patterns (also because he is in love with Wanda himself), so the Scarlet Witch steals the quinjet and flies to meet Jeremiah Random (he's basically an engineer). Of course, he accepted to help Wanda only trap her into his facility. Wanda is brainwashed so that Jeremiah and his organization can use her powers to make humans as powerful as mutants. She-Hulk and Steve make an appearance. 

(Wanda, completely brainwashed, defeat She-Hulk and Cap. They are also brainwashed. Hawkeye and Bobbi come back with the Great Lake Avengers. The GLA defeat Random's people and everyone, even him, is freed from the mind control. The Hurman Torch - the original one - is back, thanks to the WCA, when Toro's wife asks their help to find her husband - who really seems dead. There is some trouble between the Avengers and USAgent. Iron Man is back)

#51 - 52: Iron Man is back and everyone thinks the original Iron Man has been killed and someone else is in the armor. When USAgent is out of the room, Hank asks Iron Man if he is still Tony Stark, but Iron Man refuses to answer. Wanda finds Agatha Harkness (her old teacher) waiting for her in her house. Agatha is there to talk about Thomas and William, Wanda's children. Agatha tells her that the children disappear every time Wanda is not thinking about them (for example during fights). Wanda refuses to accept that she is the one keeping the illusion of those children alive. Master Pandemonium attacks the Avengers and Agatha and then kidnaps William and Thomas... but no one believes Wanda and they all think the children never existed. The WCA fight Pandemonium. In the meantime we find out that Wanda created the children stealing two pieces of soul from Mephisto. At the end of the fight, Mephisto rebasorbs the children. Agatha deletes Wanda's memories of the children, so that she can't suffer.

(Wanda is in a catatonic state. Vision decides to return to the East cost, to the Avengers. Wanda wakes up and decides to follow Vision, while the rest of the WCA follows the U-Foes who recently attacked them. Crossover with the Avengers, where Magneto visits her daughter Wanda. After, Janet finds USAgent wounded and the attacker is Wanda!)

#56 - 58: Tigra (who had had troubles with keeping control of her animal side) escaped, Wanda is now evil and her powers are out of control and proceeds to molest Wonder Man, as she knows he is in love with her. The WCA are now trapped by Wanda, who is soon joined by Magneto and Pietro (surprisingly wanting to return as a villain as well... even if at one point he seems to stop Wanda from attacking the WCA). The Torch (real Human Torch from the Invaders) goes to meet Steve, but then he is called by the WCA emergency. Magneto, Wanda and Pietro escape, even defeating Iron Man who had tried to follow them while they are reaching Magneto's base in space. At this point we find out that Pietro is playing along to get revenge on his father.

(Hawkeye is back. Side adventures)

#60: Pietro manages to bring Magneto and Wanda to the Avengers (using Lockjaw). The Avengers defeat Magneto, but Wanda is still different, as if mind controlled. The Avengers find out that Immortus is behind Wanda's change.

#61 - 62: The Avengers fight the Legion of the Unliving, summoned by Immortus. Agatha finds out that Immortus has manipulated Wanda's life for years, knowing her grief would get her to a moment of weakness. Agatha manages to communicate with Wanda, and Wanda breaks free from the control and rejects Immortus' control and the powers he gave her.

to be continued

[amoni-bath]

The Computational Face - Novel approaches in an age of big data

Dates: 03/02/2016: 16:15-17:15 and 04/02/2016 09:15-10:15

Location: University of Bath, main campus: 1WN 3.24

Abstract In these talks, Michel will present recent advances in computer vision and machine learning made by my team at the University of Nottingham.

Wednesday’s talk: Michel will focus in this talk on his work on facial point localisation using direct displacement prediction (regression), and on recent work on using continuous regression to make facial point tracking an order of magnitude faster than the current state of the art.

Thursday’s talk: Michel will focus in this talk on facial expression analysis in general and the potential of a new field of study that combines affective computing, social signal processing, and medicine, which he coined Behaviomedics. Behaviomedics studies medical conditions that cause altered expressive behaviour, which can in itself be objectively measured using computer vision and machine learning techniques, thus contributing to their diagnosis, monitoring, and potential treatment.

Biography Michel Valstar (http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~mfv) is an associate professor at the School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, and member of both the Computer Vision and Mixed Reality Labs. He received his masters' degree in Electrical Engineering at Delft University of Technology in 2005 and his PhD in computer science at Imperial College London in 2008, and he was a Visiting Researcher at MIT's  Media Lab.  He works in the fields of computer vision and pattern recognition, where his main interest is in automatic recognition of human behaviour, specialising in the analysis of facial expressions. He is the founder of the  facial expression recognition challenges (FERA 2011/2015), and the Audio-Visual Emotion recognition Challenge series (AVEC 2011-2015). He is the coordinator of the EU Horizon2020 project ARIA-VALUSPA, which will build the next generation virtual humans, and recipient of Melinda & Bill Gates Foundation funding to help premature babies survive in the developing world. In 2007 he won the BCS British Machine Intelligence Prize for part of his PhD work. His work has received popular press coverage in, among others,  Science Magazine, The Guardian, New Scientist and on BBC Radio. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers at venues including PAMI, CVPR, ICCV, SMC-Cybernetics, and Transactions on Affective Computing (h-index 28, >3400 citations).