Content, progress and pedagogy of the module

One of the cornerstones in modern engineering is automatic interpretation of measurable signals. As an example consider recycling of glass bottles. When you place a used bottle in a reverse vending machine in your local grocery store, a sensor(here a camera) takes a picture of the bottle and automatically extracts characteristics (known as features) such as dimensions, shape, color etc. These features are then fed to a classification process where they are compared with prototypical features stored in a database. The classifier then makes a decision regarding the type of bottle and whether it is broken or not.

The purpose of this project module is for the students to work with a concrete problem where they first extract relevant features from some input signal, e.g., audio or video, and then classify the input into a number of different categories.

Learning objectives

Knowledge

• Must have knowledge about the building blocks in a generic classification system
• Must be able to understand how a particular classification system e.g. the semester project of the student, relates to similar systems and to the surrounding society

Skills

• Must be able to analyze a problem and, if possible, suggest a solution that uses relevant theories and methods within the fields of feature extraction and classification
• Must be able to analyze a system that includes feature extraction and/or classification and identify relevant constraints and assessment criteria. This relates to the technical aspects of the system and (if relevant) the usefulness to society
• Must be able to synthesize, i.e., design and implement, a system (or parts thereof) using relevant feature extraction and classification theories and methods
• Must be able to evaluate a classification system (or parts thereof) with respect to the afore mentioned assessment criteria

Competences

• Must be able to select and extract relevant features and apply these in a new context
• Must be able to communicate the above knowledge and skills (using terminology of the field), both orally and in a written report

Type of instruction

Academically supervised student-governed problem oriented project work.

Lectures together with teacher/supervisor guided self-studies and/or mini projects.

Exam

Exams