Computer imaging: A project for pattern classification with range images

A series of three laboratory exercises were developed to introduce undergraduate students specializing in computer vision and image processing to three‐dimensional imaging. These lab exercises were consolidated into a term project in the Image Analysis and Computer Vision course at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The difficulty encountered in introducing undergraduate students to 3‐D imaging was the expense of the equipment. Because equipment expense placed a limitation on the number of 3‐D cameras available and consequently, the number of students that could use the equipment, the image database used in this project was captured by graduate students only. At the end of the term, the students evaluated the effectiveness of the project. Eighty eight percent of the students strongly agreed or agreed that they “gained insight into the process of developing algorithms for automatic object classification via images.” Additionally, 83% of the students strongly agreed or agreed that “this project is an excellent enhancement to the in‐class lectures.” © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 17: 225–231, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae20183