PhD Defense of Lasse Farnung Laursen, DTU Informatics

Abstract:

Pigs and pig meat are major sources of income for Denmark. As one of the country's primary exports, it is no wonder that Denmark strives to maintain its competitive edge in the meat market. As part of an on-going e ffort to lower costs and maintain high standards, X-ray computed tomography (CT), along with image analysis, is being deployed in Danish abattoirs. The data made available from scanning pig carcasses paves the way for new means to optimize the production process.
This thesis is concerned with the development of a communication tool intended to make use of the aforementioned technology in the product prototyping process.  In broad terms, the focus can be divided into two areas of focus: visualization and interaction.
Visualizing volume data, obtained via CT-scanning, is a common area of research within other areas of research, e.g. for medical applications. The availability of graphics processing units, and the subsequent programmability of the unit, has allowed for computationally heavy visualization algorithms to execute in real-time. Despite the  exibility of modern GPUs, their architecture still poses problems that require further study. The thesis presents research within the area of texture synthesis and data interpolation in an eff ort to create even more realistic volume data visualization.

The potential advantages provided by volume data, is exponentially expanded when we are free to interact with it. The food industry sees a signi ficant benefi t in volume interaction when concerned with product development. Product earnings projection, product speci fications, and interactive training are just a few of the applicable areas. In this thesis we present an interaction method intended for the commercial development of meat product prototypes. The interaction method is evaluated in a thorough usability study with eight voulenteer participants from the target user group.
This thesis presents technology and research which, combined with the advent of using CT in the abattoir, paves the way for new possibilities and advantages when designing meat product prototypes. I have no doubt that this is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to modernizing and optimizing the way animal carcasses are processed and handled before becoming consumer goods.

Further information in DTU Orbit - the Research Information System

Principal supervisor: Professor, Ph.D, Bjarne Kjær Ersbøll, DTU Informatics
Co-supervisor: Associate Professor Jakob Andreas Bærentzen, DTU Informatics

Examiners:
Associate Professor, Ph.D, Jens Michael Carstensen
Professor, Ph.D. Milos Sramek, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Associate Professor, Ph.D. Claus Brøndgaard Madsen, Aalborg University
Chairman of proceedings:
Associate Professor, Ph.D. Niels Jørgen Christensen

A copy of the PhD thesis is available for reading at
the department