Vienna University of Technology

About: Vienna University of Technology is a education organization based out in Vienna, Austria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Laser & Cloud computing. The organization has 16723 authors who have published 49341 publications receiving 1302168 citations.

A survey on service quality description

Abstract: Quality of service (QoS) can be a critical element for achieving the business goals of a service provider, for the acceptance of a service by the user, or for guaranteeing service characteristics in a composition of services, where a service is defined as either a software or a software-support (i.e., infrastructural) service which is available on any type of network or electronic channel. The goal of this article is to compare the approaches to QoS description in the literature, where several models and metamodels are included. consider a large spectrum of models and metamodels to describe service quality, ranging from ontological approaches to define quality measures, metrics, and dimensions, to metamodels enabling the specification of quality-based service requirements and capabilities as well as of SLAs (Service-Level Agreements) and SLA templates for service provisioning. Our survey is performed by inspecting the characteristics of the available approaches to reveal which are the consolidated ones and which are the ones specific to given aspects and to analyze where the need for further research and investigation lies. The approaches here illustrated have been selected based on a systematic review of conference proceedings and journals spanning various research areas in computer science and engineering, including: distributed, information, and telecommunication systems, networks and security, and service-oriented and grid computing.

A perceptually motivated online benchmark for image matting

Abstract: The availability of quantitative online benchmarks for low-level vision tasks such as stereo and optical flow has led to significant progress in the respective fields. This paper introduces such a benchmark for image matting. There are three key factors for a successful benchmarking system: (a) a challenging, high-quality ground truth test set; (b) an online evaluation repository that is dynamically updated with new results; (c) perceptually motivated error functions. Our new benchmark strives to meet all three criteria. We evaluated several matting methods with our benchmark and show that their performance varies depending on the error function. Also, our challenging test set reveals problems of existing algorithms, not reflected in previously reported results. We hope that our effort will lead to considerable progress in the field of image matting, and welcome the reader to visit our benchmark at www.aIphamatting.com.

Geometric modeling with conical meshes and developable surfaces

Abstract: In architectural freeform design, the relation between shape and fabrication poses new challenges and requires more sophistication from the underlying geometry. The new concept of conical meshes satisfies central requirements for this application: They are quadrilateral meshes with planar faces, and therefore particularly suitable for the design of freeform glass structures. Moreover, they possess a natural offsetting operation and provide a support structure orthogonal to the mesh. Being a discrete analogue of the network of principal curvature lines, they represent fundamental shape characteristics. We show how to optimize a quad mesh such that its faces become planar, or the mesh becomes even conical. Combining this perturbation with subdivision yields a powerful new modeling tool for all types of quad meshes with planar faces, making subdivision attractive for architecture design and providing an elegant way of modeling developable surfaces.

A Review of 25 Years of CSCW Research in Healthcare: Contributions, Challenges and Future Agendas

Abstract: CSCW as a field has been concerned since its early days with healthcare, studying how healthcare work is collaboratively and practically achieved and designing systems to support that work. Reviewing literature from the CSCW Journal and related conferences where CSCW work is published, we reflect on the contributions that have emerged from this work. The analysis illustrates a rich range of concepts and findings towards understanding the work of healthcare but the work on the larger policy level is lacking. We argue that this presents a number of challenges for CSCW research moving forward: in having a greater impact on larger-scale health IT projects; broadening the scope of settings and perspectives that are studied; and reflecting on the relevance of the traditional methods in this field - namely workplace studies - to meet these challenges.