Introduction
Sabancı University VPALAB - Computer Vision and Pattern Analysis Lab of Sabanci University has been established in 2001 by Prof. Aytül Erçil, with the aim of working out industrially applicable solutions using computer vision and pattern analysis techniques that are also theoretically fulfilling. The members associated with VPALAB have expertise and interest in theoretical and practical problems in the areas of computer vision, image processing, pattern recognition, and machine learning.
The members of the Laboratory work closely with appropriate university, governmental and private organizations to foster high-technology growth in the region. This growth is facilitated through substantive research, from theory to practical application and the training of skilled graduate and undergraduate engineers and scientists.
The main sources of research funding for VPALAB include Horizon Europe, EUREKA, NSF, nationaly agencies and industry. It is clearly recognized that many of the exciting new developments occurring in the convergent digital era require a much more integrated, collaborative and cross-disciplinary approach. In recognition of this, collaborative efforts at VPALAB not only cross discipline among various faculty members within the group, but also include other groups (e.g. Bioinformatics, Material Science, Mechatronics, Microelectronics programmes of Sabanci University) and other Universities (national and international).
Research Activities
VPALAB, maintains a sustained flow of research support. The general areas of expertise in the lab have evolved around the following topics:
- Biometrics (face recognition, voice recognition, fingerprint recognition, signature recognition, hand shape recognition, multimodal biometrics)
- Brain Computer Interfaces and Visual Neuroscience
- Handwriting Recognition (Online, offline, English, Turkish)
- Image and video understanding (plants, crowds, vehicles, etc)
- Intelligent Manufacturing (invariant object recognition, web inspection, automated tolerance inspection, surface quality inspection, etc.)
- Medical and Biomedical Image Analysis (Covid-19 detection, skin lesion classification, cell recognition, microscopy image analysis, etc)
- Precision Agriculture (Fruit counting, weed/crop detection, etc)
- Remote Sensing (Pixel & scene classification, content-based retrieval, hyperspectral and multi-modal analysis, water-quality estimation, etc.)
The group is involved in various national and international projects and has won several awards including the first place multiple times at the ImageCLEF contests.
Relationships with Industry and Commerce
Sabanci University's mission includes directing its research efforts primarily towards applied and strategic research with the objectives of advancing knowledge, supporting teaching and contributing to the progress of the community. Industrial collaboration is recognised as essential to bridge the gap between basic/strategic and applied research.