Current research projects

In the last five years, DCSE members have taken part in the projects of the Czech Science Agency (GA ČR), Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Ministry of Education (MŠMT), and Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO). Furthermore, we participate in European projects within the 6th Framework Programme (6FP) and European Social Fund (ESF). You can find more details on past projects on the Web sites of individual research groups.

Overview of current projects

Activities within ACM SIGGRAPH and IEEE Computer Society - IEEE-ACM

The aim of the project is to actively involve the research team in the scientific activities within international non-governmental scholarly societies IEEE and ACM, in particular IEEE Computer Society and ACM SIGGRAPH, respectively.

Activities within Eurographics Association and Computer Graphics Society - EURO

Active participation in the meetings of control bodies of international non-governmental scholarly organizations with a focus on computer science, especially on computer graphics and data visualization, computer animation, and virtual reality.

Analysis and visualization of protein structures

Novel analytical methods for the biochemical research will be developed and tested within the project. As for dynamic models, geometrical protein properties will be examined with view of finding and evaluating tunnels that connect an active spot inside a protein with its surface. Tunnel properties such as surface, volume, length, etc. will be statistically evaluated for large sets of images obtained from the simulation of protein dynamics. The results will be visualized in a descriptive manner providing new information to biochemists. The methods will also concentrate on the interaction of small molecules (ligands) coming through a promising tunnel, in time as well as in space. The task of another method will be to propose how to modify a protein in order to make the tunnel of a higher quality. The methods will be included in the CAVER tool (developed at MU), which is currently used by biochemists around the globe. The project is a continuation of the project GA201/07/0927 – Protein structure visualization, funded from 2007 to 2009.

Analysis of negative factors affecting drivers‘ attention

Interactive Geometric Models for Simulation of Natural Phenomena - INGEM

Principal investigator: prof. Dr. Ing. Ivana Kolingerová
Project number: KONTAKT II LH 11006
Duration: 1. 3. 2011 – 31. 12. 2013
Grantor: MŠMT

1. To enhance our adaptive and already realized adaptive model to enable non-homogenous, multi-layered and more compact material including course granules and cavities.
2. To improve our current physical model of sand transfer to enable more accurate simulations of physical processes besides interactive manipulation. The new solution will enhance the model for other types of erosion (wind or water) and long-lasting effect of these factors.
3. To create a model for simulation of groups and crowds, based on a hierarchical geometric subdivision, allowing a most natural behavior and an adaptation of its rules.
4. To enhance the simulation model in order to enable interactive behavior according to immediate impulses, such as direct danger.
5. To generalize the achieved results and collected experience in the areas of both subtask and to propose a common data structure, suitable for uniform representation of changes and a fast access.

Methods of development and verification of component-based applications using natural language specifications

Principal investigator:  prof. Ing. Jiří Šafařík, CSc.
Project number:  GAČR P103/11/1489
Duration:  1. 1. 2011 – 31. 12. 2013
Grantor:  GAČR

The component based programming approach was proven to greatly simplify the development process, especially in the context of enterprise and evolving systems. Despite successes in the field and increasing industrial adoption of component based programming techniques, fundamental issues of many stages of the development process are not well understood and have not been explored yet. This project focuses on research of these areas. The key challenges to address are mainly related to enhancing the quality of component based applications with respect to user requirements: devising a process of automated deriving components? functional design and extra-functional features from natural language descriptions (e.g. UML use cases), maintaining consistency of applications in context of dynamic systems with frequent component updates by combination of static verification methods and component based simulation, and to develop universal methods for easing of coding phases of component software development based on feature-oriented programming (FOP) techniques.
 

Micro-structurally oriented hierarchical modelling of cerebral blood flow for CT perfusion examination evaluation

The project is focused on the development of models of flow in porous media with a hierarchical canal arrangement reflecting the structure of the brain perfusion system. We will use a homogenization method to find an appropriate form of constitutive and balance relationships applicable to the description of flow in the whole brain with regard to micro-circulation, in particular to the effects of pore and branching geometry, linkage of different hierarchies, and other properties important for the description of diffusion-deformation phenomena. This task needs to create  histological maps of the micro-structure in distinct brain parts. The goal is to develop software for the simulations of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and methodology of processing CT perfusion examination results by observing the contrast medium’s diffusion. The model enables simulating some pathological changes and evaluating the sensitivity of standard examination methods to the identification of a specific defect or quantification of the infliction extent. Therefore, the research team involves specialists in quantitative histology of tissue samples, CBF clinical examination proper, and manipulation with large data sets of CT results.

Research and development of multi-beam ultrasonic flow meters

The project deals with research and development in the field of multi-beam ultrasonic fluid flow meters. The project goal is to find, by research and development activities, an optimal solution of individual flow meter components enabling to achieve a high accuracy of measuring flow even with varying hydraulic conditions in the flow meter measuring sensor and changing parameters of the fluid measured. The flow meter concept will be modular, allowing for an optimal configuration selection based on its application. The flow meters will be equipped with modern distant communication tools.

Triangulated models for haptics and virtual reality

Our scheduled work with triangulated models has two main, mutually interconnected tasks: a) Construction of triangulated models and manipulation with them, path scheduling (1. Algorithms for a fast search on the surface of geometrical models, 2. Local changes of the triangulated model fineness with a distinct detail level according to the requirements of a haptic application. 3. Triangulated models based on kinetic data. 4.  Modelling of deformations and development of geometrical objects. 5. Path scheduling / searching in virtual reality applications, with the possibility of a quick schedule change in the case of object shape modifications; application of triangulations as space dividing data structures. 6. Rapid inter-frame detection of triangulated models collisions as an input for force feedback computation.); b) Haptics and virtual reality (1. Development of fine solid and elastic tools for triangulated surface models and their applications in haptic interactions. 2. Development and implementation of detailed surface models enabling simulations of human-controlled tools interacting with solid and elastic surface models.)

Virtual scientific and educational centre of computer graphics and data visualization (VIRTUAL)

The project’s goal is the design of new algorithms and verification of novel methods for computer graphics and data visualization within a virtual scientific and educational centre using mobile communication with leading institutions both in the Czech Republic and abroad. Furthermore, possibilities and needs for an intensive communication in a virtual environment for the objectives of research and educational activities in the every-day practice will be verified. The actual scholarly content is concerned with the development of new algorithms by means of non-Euclidean geometry (e.g. projective geometry), data structures and representations, and with the visualization of structured and unstructured spatial data using virtual reality and modern communication tools, including video conference systems. Structured and unstructured data are nowadays used in a number of areas ranging from scientific-technological computations (strength calculations, flow computation, simulations, etc.) to medical data (tomography, magnetic resonance, etc.).     

Visual HCI: Human Computer Interaction - China & Czech Collaboration

The Visual HCI project is focused on re-establishing professional contacts between the staff of the investigating institution and the employees of the prestigious reference institution The State Key Lab of CAD & CG, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou in the field of computer graphics and visualization and modern mathematical methods.

VPHOP - The Osteoporotic Virtual Physiological Human

Coordinator:  Marco Viceconti, PhD - Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli
Investigator for UWB:  doc. Ing. Josef Kohout, Ph.D.
Project number:  FP7-223865
Duration:  1. 9. 2008 -- 31. 10. 2012
Participation of UWB:  1. 11. 2010 -- 31. 10. 2012
Grantor:  7. RP - EUROPEAN COMMISSION, MŠMT

VPHOP: the Osteoporotic Virtual Physiological Human (vphop.eu) is an integrated project involving 20 partners whose aim is to develop modelling technology, based on conventional diagnostic imaging methods, that will make it possible to assess, in a clinical setting and for each patient individually, the strength of his/her bones, how this strength is likely to change over time, and the likelihood that he/she will overload his/her bones during daily life. These predictions will be used to improve the diagnostic accuracy of current clinical standards, and to provide the foundation for an evidence-based prognosis with respect to the natural evolution of the disease, to pharmacological treatments, and/or to preventive interventional treatments aimed at selectively strengthening particularly weak regions of the skeleton.
The basis of the project is a patient-specific hypermodel – a model composed by many sub-models, each describing the relevant phenomena taking place at one of the many dimensional scales involved in osteoporosis fractures. The project role of the Czech partner UWB is to develop solution that allows: a) muscle deformation (muscles represented by surface model) imposing volume preservation and impenetrability of muscles and bones and b) decomposition of deformed muscles into a chaff of parallel lines of actions based on muscle fibres orientation.
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