yoni sher | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (original) (raw)
Drafts by yoni sher
We provide a comprehensive review of leading algorithms for compressive sensing of images, focuse... more We provide a comprehensive review of leading algorithms for compressive sensing of images, focused on Total variation methods, with a view to application in LiDAR systems. Our primary focus is providing a full review for beginners in the field, as well as simulating the kind of noise found in real LiDAR systems. To this end, we provide an overview of the theoretical background, a brief discussion of various considerations that come in to play in compressive sensing, and a standardized comparison of off-the-shelf methods, intended as a quick-start guide to choosing algorithms for compressive sensing applications.
This document present several of the leading algorithms for image reconstruction in the setting o... more This document present several of the leading algorithms for image reconstruction in the setting of compressed sensing. This analysis is intended as a brief overview, and focuses on suitability for large images-in the mega-pixel range. The algorithms range from basic general purpose methods such as linear programming, to state of the art specialized algorithms for optimizing hard problems.
LiDAR by yoni sher
Proc. SPIE 10546, Emerging Digital Micromirror Device Based Systems and Applications X, 105460J, 2018
LiDAR (laser based radar) systems are a major part of many new real-world interactive systems, on... more LiDAR (laser based radar) systems are a major part of many new real-world interactive systems, one of the most notable being autonomous cars. The current market LiDAR systems are limited by detector sensitivity: when output power is at eye-safe levels, the range is limited. Long range operation also slows image acquisition as flight-time increases. We present an approach that combines a high sensitivity photon number resolving diode with machine learning and a micro-mechanical digital mirror device to achieve safe and fast long range 3D scanning.
Papers by yoni sher
Remote Sensing, Sep 23, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
The biggest challenge for LiDAR systems is the trade-off between speed, resolution and range; but... more The biggest challenge for LiDAR systems is the trade-off between speed, resolution and range; but what if we could have them all? Compressive sensing photon-counting LiDARs are still in their infancy, and we present several simple improvements for them.
Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science APS/DLS, 2019
We filter low photon-number using photon-number-resolving detector, for improving the signal-to-n... more We filter low photon-number using photon-number-resolving detector, for improving the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) of rangefinders and lidars. We investigate the technique properties and show where it surpasses the classical SNR.
Proceedings of the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling
This paper studies how a domain-independent planner and combinatorial search can be employed to p... more This paper studies how a domain-independent planner and combinatorial search can be employed to play AngryBirds, a well established AI challenge problem. To model the game, we use PDDL+, a planning language for mixed discrete/continuous domains that supports durative processes and exogenous events. The paper describes the PDDL+ model and identifies key design decisions that reduce the problem complexity. In addition, we propose several domain-specific enhancements including heuristics and a search technique similar to preferred operators. Together, they alleviate the complexity of combinatorial search. We evaluate our approach by comparing its performance with dedicated domain-specific solvers on a range of Angry Birds levels. The results show that our performance is on par with these domain-specific approaches in most levels, even without using our domain-specific search enhancements.
![Research paper thumbnail of Heuristic Search for Physics-Based Problems: Angry Birds in PDDL+ [Extended Abstract]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/105396602/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Proceedings of the International Symposium on Combinatorial Search
Angry Birds is a very popular game that requires reasoning about sequential actions in a continuo... more Angry Birds is a very popular game that requires reasoning about sequential actions in a continuous world with discrete exogenous events. Different versions of the game are hard computationally, and the reigning world champion is still a human despite a long-running yearly competition in IJCAI conferences. In this work, we present the Hydra, the first successful game-playing agent for Angry Birds that uses a domain-independent planner and combinatorial search techniques. Hydra models the game using PDDL+, a rich planning language designed for mixed discrete/continuous domains. To reason about continuous aspects of the domain, Hydra employs time discretization techniques that raise a combinatorial search challenge. To meet this challenge, we propose domain-specific heuristics and a novel "preferred states" mechanism similar to the preferred operators mechanism from classical planning. We compared Hydra with state-of-the-art Angry Birds agents. The results show Hydra can sol...
arXiv (Cornell University), Mar 24, 2023
arXiv (Cornell University), Mar 29, 2023
Remote Sensing
The sensitivity and robustness against background noise of optical measurements, and specifically... more The sensitivity and robustness against background noise of optical measurements, and specifically range-finding, can be improved by detecting the light with photon-number-resolving detectors (PNRD). We use a PNRD to detect single pulse reflections from the seabed level in the presence of high attenuation of the sea water. Measurements are performed from above the sea level, overcoming broad daylight conditions. We demonstrate continuous measurement of the seabed depth up to around 24 m, using laser pulse energies of 10 μJ, while sailing at speed of 2.2 knots. Additionally, we use these data to extract values of the refractive index and optical attenuation in coastal seawater. The method could be used as a novel and optically-accurate bathymetry tool for coastal research and underwater sensing applications.
Emerging Digital Micromirror Device Based Systems and Applications X, 2018
Imaging and Applied Optics 2019 (COSI, IS, MATH, pcAOP)
The biggest challenge for LiDAR systems is the trade-off between speed, resolution and range; but... more The biggest challenge for LiDAR systems is the trade-off between speed, resolution and range; but what if we could have them all? Compressive sensing photon-counting LiDARs are still in their infancy, and we present several simple improvements for them.
We provide a comprehensive review of classical algorithms for compressive sensing of images, focu... more We provide a comprehensive review of classical algorithms for compressive sensing of images, focused on Total variation methods, with a view to application in LiDAR systems. Our primary focus is providing a full review for beginners in the field, as well as simulating the kind of noise found in real LiDAR systems. To this end, we provide an overview of the theoretical background, a brief discussion of various considerations that come in to play in compressive sensing, and a standardized comparison of off-the-shelf methods, intended as a quick-start guide to choosing algorithms for compressive sensing applications.
We provide a comprehensive review of leading algorithms for compressive sensing of images, focuse... more We provide a comprehensive review of leading algorithms for compressive sensing of images, focused on Total variation methods, with a view to application in LiDAR systems. Our primary focus is providing a full review for beginners in the field, as well as simulating the kind of noise found in real LiDAR systems. To this end, we provide an overview of the theoretical background, a brief discussion of various considerations that come in to play in compressive sensing, and a standardized comparison of off-the-shelf methods, intended as a quick-start guide to choosing algorithms for compressive sensing applications.
This document present several of the leading algorithms for image reconstruction in the setting o... more This document present several of the leading algorithms for image reconstruction in the setting of compressed sensing. This analysis is intended as a brief overview, and focuses on suitability for large images-in the mega-pixel range. The algorithms range from basic general purpose methods such as linear programming, to state of the art specialized algorithms for optimizing hard problems.
Proc. SPIE 10546, Emerging Digital Micromirror Device Based Systems and Applications X, 105460J, 2018
LiDAR (laser based radar) systems are a major part of many new real-world interactive systems, on... more LiDAR (laser based radar) systems are a major part of many new real-world interactive systems, one of the most notable being autonomous cars. The current market LiDAR systems are limited by detector sensitivity: when output power is at eye-safe levels, the range is limited. Long range operation also slows image acquisition as flight-time increases. We present an approach that combines a high sensitivity photon number resolving diode with machine learning and a micro-mechanical digital mirror device to achieve safe and fast long range 3D scanning.
Remote Sensing, Sep 23, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
The biggest challenge for LiDAR systems is the trade-off between speed, resolution and range; but... more The biggest challenge for LiDAR systems is the trade-off between speed, resolution and range; but what if we could have them all? Compressive sensing photon-counting LiDARs are still in their infancy, and we present several simple improvements for them.
Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science APS/DLS, 2019
We filter low photon-number using photon-number-resolving detector, for improving the signal-to-n... more We filter low photon-number using photon-number-resolving detector, for improving the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) of rangefinders and lidars. We investigate the technique properties and show where it surpasses the classical SNR.
Proceedings of the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling
This paper studies how a domain-independent planner and combinatorial search can be employed to p... more This paper studies how a domain-independent planner and combinatorial search can be employed to play AngryBirds, a well established AI challenge problem. To model the game, we use PDDL+, a planning language for mixed discrete/continuous domains that supports durative processes and exogenous events. The paper describes the PDDL+ model and identifies key design decisions that reduce the problem complexity. In addition, we propose several domain-specific enhancements including heuristics and a search technique similar to preferred operators. Together, they alleviate the complexity of combinatorial search. We evaluate our approach by comparing its performance with dedicated domain-specific solvers on a range of Angry Birds levels. The results show that our performance is on par with these domain-specific approaches in most levels, even without using our domain-specific search enhancements.
Proceedings of the International Symposium on Combinatorial Search
Angry Birds is a very popular game that requires reasoning about sequential actions in a continuo... more Angry Birds is a very popular game that requires reasoning about sequential actions in a continuous world with discrete exogenous events. Different versions of the game are hard computationally, and the reigning world champion is still a human despite a long-running yearly competition in IJCAI conferences. In this work, we present the Hydra, the first successful game-playing agent for Angry Birds that uses a domain-independent planner and combinatorial search techniques. Hydra models the game using PDDL+, a rich planning language designed for mixed discrete/continuous domains. To reason about continuous aspects of the domain, Hydra employs time discretization techniques that raise a combinatorial search challenge. To meet this challenge, we propose domain-specific heuristics and a novel "preferred states" mechanism similar to the preferred operators mechanism from classical planning. We compared Hydra with state-of-the-art Angry Birds agents. The results show Hydra can sol...
arXiv (Cornell University), Mar 24, 2023
arXiv (Cornell University), Mar 29, 2023
Remote Sensing
The sensitivity and robustness against background noise of optical measurements, and specifically... more The sensitivity and robustness against background noise of optical measurements, and specifically range-finding, can be improved by detecting the light with photon-number-resolving detectors (PNRD). We use a PNRD to detect single pulse reflections from the seabed level in the presence of high attenuation of the sea water. Measurements are performed from above the sea level, overcoming broad daylight conditions. We demonstrate continuous measurement of the seabed depth up to around 24 m, using laser pulse energies of 10 μJ, while sailing at speed of 2.2 knots. Additionally, we use these data to extract values of the refractive index and optical attenuation in coastal seawater. The method could be used as a novel and optically-accurate bathymetry tool for coastal research and underwater sensing applications.
Emerging Digital Micromirror Device Based Systems and Applications X, 2018
Imaging and Applied Optics 2019 (COSI, IS, MATH, pcAOP)
The biggest challenge for LiDAR systems is the trade-off between speed, resolution and range; but... more The biggest challenge for LiDAR systems is the trade-off between speed, resolution and range; but what if we could have them all? Compressive sensing photon-counting LiDARs are still in their infancy, and we present several simple improvements for them.
We provide a comprehensive review of classical algorithms for compressive sensing of images, focu... more We provide a comprehensive review of classical algorithms for compressive sensing of images, focused on Total variation methods, with a view to application in LiDAR systems. Our primary focus is providing a full review for beginners in the field, as well as simulating the kind of noise found in real LiDAR systems. To this end, we provide an overview of the theoretical background, a brief discussion of various considerations that come in to play in compressive sensing, and a standardized comparison of off-the-shelf methods, intended as a quick-start guide to choosing algorithms for compressive sensing applications.