Focus Projects for Student Involvement

© 2008 R. Schneider 1

Focus Projects for Student

Involvement in Researching the

Scientific Properties of the

Shroud of Turin

by

Ray Schneider

Assistant Professor

Math and Computer Science

Bridgewater College, VA


Involving the Future Generation

• Each Generation Has A Responsibility to

Inspire the Next

• Failing that a Discipline Ends until a New

Pioneer takes it up again

• This Is a summary account of a project to

develop Focus Projects to involve student

researchers in the Shroud Adventure


Focus Projects

• A Focus Project is Vision Centered

• It is on-going, forming part of a larger

reality

• Each Contribution to a Focus Project

advances towards the goals

• Here the Goal is Understanding the

Shroud of Turin

http://www.bridgewater.edu/~rschneid/FocusProjects/focus_projects.htm


Building

Understanding• One Brick at a Time

• Requires

– Tools

– Knowledge

– Work


Toolswe restrict our attention to image analysis

• Materials: ex. Detailed Images

• Analysis and Programming Tools (ex.

Imaging), examples:

– CVIPtools

– ImageJ

– GIMP

– PIL

– MatLab

– Photoshop

– and many other tools are readily available

The DVD

Shroud Science Kit


Work = Suggested Projects

• The following eleven projects are illustrative. Each is briefly presented with a

– TITLE

– BRIEF SYNOPSIS

– SUMMARY GOALS

• Some projects can be divided into sub-projects because they are large and complex


1. Universal Coordinate System

• Used to allow the transfer of coordinates

from one image of the shroud to another

– input: universal coordinates, and image

– output: specific coordinates in the image

– There are issues of precision since the shroud

is a flexible object and will vary from showing

to showing

– ex. See examples of different images at

http://www.bridgewater.edu/~rschneid/

FocusProjects/Shroud/ShroudMeasure/shroudCal.html

http://www.bridgewater.edu/~rschneid/


1. Universal Coordinate SystemTake a coordinate

set from one image

and translate it to

another by going

through a universal

intermediate.

Universal

Transformation

Durante 2000

Schwortz 1978


2. Color Normalization

• Transformation of colors from one image of

the shroud to another to achieve maximum

uniformity

– study of transformation between color systems

– modifying images to achieve uniformity of

illumination

– form comparison matching colors, illumination,

contrast, etc. as closely as possible


3. Color Segmentation• Create algorithms for dividing the shroud

up analytically into blood, image, cloth,

water stain, dirt, bands, etc. regions

– classification may depend on color, texture,

luminance, and combinations of attributes

– ideally such classification should work on

multiple images after (2.) Color Normalization.


• Reflected and

transmitted light

• Reveal density

differences and

reflectance

differences in

the cloth of the

shroud

4. Banding Studies


5. Study of Blood Markings

• Distinguish features of

wounds and the

manner of their

infliction


6. Development of Shroud Feature

Classification Spaces

• Features Can Be

Based on

– Point Measures

– Area Analyses

– Combinations of

heterogeneous metrics

• Typically Features

would be collected in a

Database for retrieval


7. Taxonomy / Data Space of Shroud

Images and Co-functional Viewer

• Highly Interactive Database on the Shroud

over the Internet serving dynamic

information and analyses.

database

documents

images

server


8. Weave Rider

1. Extract the Weave

Elements

2. Analyze each

“brick”

3. Classify each

“brick”

4. Develop Statistics

and feature sets

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1435443261/bctid1435496345


9. Blood Flow Analysis

• Develop analytical models for both blood characteristics and evolution of blood flow

• Source of blood

• Time sequencing of blood flow


• The question is whether

the three dimensional

information in the shroud

image (see VP-8 and

John German’s* transfer

function image) can be

significantly improved by

signal processing

10. Three Dimensional Information

Analysis with Noise Suppression

* An Electronic Technique for Constructing An

Accurate Three-Dimensional Shroud Image by

John D. German, Jr. (1977 United States Conference

on Research on the Shroud of Turin March 23-24

Albuquerque, New Mexico


11. Replication

• Science Depends for its results on

replication. Much previous work on the

shroud ought to be replicated.

– Establishes Results on a Firmer Footing

– Ensures that Things possibly overlooked by

prior investigators have another chance to be

discovered and elucidated.

• Ex. Study of fold marks, water stain study,

Prey holes


The Shroud of Turin

Focus Project Kit

• Probably in Two Versions

– The Intermediate Version (low cost)*• Software

• Sample Data (intermediate resolution)

• Project Definitions

– The Advanced Version• Follow-On based on serious research intent

• Comprehensive Data under license (high resolution)

• Provided based on Research Proposals

* any cost will be only to recover expenses

The DVD

Shroud Science Kit

Doesn’t Exist Yet


• Understand All the

Characteristics of the

Shroud of Turin to the

Extent Possible

The Final ObjectiveThe Shroud Science Group

Focus Projects for Student Involvement

Documents

focus projects

shroud adventure

shroud of turinhttp

suggested projects

image output

image analysis materials

focus project advances

universal coordinates