The Centre for Image Processing and Analysis (CIPA) is comprised of researchers in DCU (primarily the Vision Systems Group (VSG), a key university recognised research group) along with a wide range of Industrial and Biomedical partners. CIPA acts as the focus for Image Processing & Quantitative Image Analysis research in DCU. CIPA is one of 3 research centres within the Research Institute for Networks and Communications Engineering (RINCE) (a PRTLI 1 funded national centre for excellence in Information and Communications Technology (ICT)).

Our digital and non-digital IPA research programmes relate to issues involved in the acquisition (custom sensor design), processing, quantitative analysis, classification, visualization and systems engineering (integration) for a wide range of computer vision applications. Specifically the centre focuses on the issues involved in the automation or semi automation of image feature segmentation, and its associated quantitative analysis, at both a micro and macro level.

At the core of CIPA is the Vision Systems Group (VSG). The VSG was formed in 1990 by Prof. Paul Whelan, as a forum to co-ordinate and support the promotion of computer and machine vision research in DCU. In 1999 Prof. Whelan formed the Medical Imaging and Visualization Laboratory as a focus for medical imaging research within DCU. The Vision Systems Group currently consists of a core team working on computer vision (specifically image segmentation), medical imaging (specifically computer aided detection / diagnosis) and their associated visualization projects. In addition to the VSG team we have 4 adjunct faculty members based in the Mater hospital and RCSI.

The core expertise provided by the CIPA is in its ability to develop and design novel computer based solutions that will allow the automatic extraction of key image features [specifically from 2D, video, 3D and 4D data sources] with a view to a robust and reliable quantitative analysis, classification or tracking of key information/data within the scene.

Our main research programs are currently funded by HEA-PRTLI, SFI, Enterprise Ireland and HEA-IRCSET awards.

CIPA is a part of the National Biophotonics and Imaging Platform Ireland [NBIP] (HEA-PRTLI IV) and the Research Institute for Networks and Communications Engineering [RINCE] (HEA-PRTLI I). See NBIP@DCU for additional details.

CIPA also runs a wide ranging Education & Outreach programmes covering undergraduate & graduate education along with undergraduate internships and outreach into second level education. See our Education & Outreach web site for additional details.

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• June 2009: Congratulations to Ovidiu Ghita who was named "Outstanding Reviewer 2009" for his work with the "Sensor Review" journal.
• May 2009: Congratulations to Aubrey Dunne who sucessfully defended his PhD thesis "Calibration of Non-conventional Imaging Systems".
• May 2009: Dr Eilish Twomey (Temple Street Children's University Hospital) and Prof. Whelan (CIPA, DCU) have been award a grant (2009-2012) to investigate "White Matter Volume assessment in premature infants on MRI at term and 2 years age - Computer Aided Volume Analysis". This work will be carried out in conjunction with the Department of Neonatology of the National Maternity Hospital .
• April 2009: Prof. Whelan is elected a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
• March 2009: Congratulation's to the Morphometrics in Medicine team on their recent Wellcome Trust award (Molecules, Genes and Cells Funding Committee). This work will focus on the analysis of three-dimensional facial dysmorphology. The team is made up of researchers from University of Glasgow (Statistics [Lead], Dental School, Computing Science), Dublin City University (CIPA), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Neuroscience), University of Limerick (Statistics) and Institute of Technology, Tralee (Mathematics).
• May 2009: Prof. Whelan is to give a keynote talk on "How active is machine vision research in Ireland?" at the 7th European Machine Vision Business Conference May 15th and May 16th 2009.
• Jan 2009: Congratulations to Sean Begley who successfully defended his MEng thesis "Content Based Image Pose Manipulation".
• Jan 2009: Congratulations to Dahai & Ovidiu who were awaded "Best Paper" during the "3rd Pacific-Rim Symposium on Image and Video Technology (PSIVT2009, Japan)" for their paper "A Novel Visual Speech Representation and HMM Classification for Visual Speech Recognition".
• Dec 2008: Congratulations to John and Julia for winning this years overall DCU INVENT (ICT/Engineering Section) Invention Disclosure Award for their work on "Correction of Optical Lateral Chromatic Aberration in Digital Imaging Systems (John Mallon, Julia Dietlmeier, Paul Whelan)". This is the second year in a row that a member of CIPA has won this award.
• Nov 2008: Congratulations to Dr. Dana Ilea Ghita and Dr. Dahai Yu who graduated this week (10/11 NOVEMBER GRADUATION 2008).
• Sept 2008: Congratulations to Dana Ilea who sucessfully defended her PhD thesis "Unsupervised Segmentation of Natural Images Based on the Adaptive Integration of Colour-Texture Descriptors".
• Sept 2008: Congratulations to Dahai Yu who sucessfully defended his PhD thesis "The application of manifold based visual speech units for visual speech recognition".
• Aug 2008: Congratulations to Dr. Derek Molloy & Dr. Robert Sadleir on their successful China Scholarship Council awards (Students: Min Qiusha, Xiong Ye).
• July 2008: Congratulations to Patricia Moore on her Google Europe Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship 2008. Patrica was one of 20 talented young women selected from 295 students in 157 different universities across 31 European countries. The awards took place in Google's Engineering Centre in Zurich.
• May 2008: Congratulations Ayodeji Adesina & Robert Greene on their successful IRCSET awards (Supervisor: Dr. Derek Molloy).
• May 2008: Congratulations Tony Marrero on his successful IRCSET award (Supervisor: Dr. John Mallon).
• March 2008: Dr. Tarik Chowdhury joins CIPA as the new CIPA/RINCE research officer.
• March 2008: Felica Brisc graduates with her PhD for a thesis entitled "Accelerated Volumetric Reconstruction From Uncalibrated Camera Views".
• Dec 2007: Congratulations to John Mallon on his Enterprise Ireland (Industrial Research and Commercialisation Committee (IRCC)) Technology Development grant.
• Dec 2007: Congratulations to Nicolas Sezille and Kevin Robinson who won the DCU INVENT (ICT/Engineering Section) Invention Disclosure Award 2007 for their CAD-CTC patent.
• Sep 2007: Congratulations to Vincent Luaute (supervisor Dr. Sadleir) on the successful examination of his M.Eng. thesis "A Remote Access CT Colonography Training System".
• Aug 2007: Funding success. The Centre for Image Processing & Analysis (CIPA), in conjunction with the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute at Dublin City University has been award funding of 7 Million euro under HEA's PRTLI IV, together they will form the DCU element of the National Biophotonics & Imaging Platform (NBIP) . The mission of the NBIP is to provide an integrated national access and training infrastructure in research, education, technology development and industry collaboration for the State's investment in Biophotonics and Imaging. CIPA will house the Image Processing & Analysis facility for this platform. The total funding awarded to the NBIP under this scheme was 30 million euro.
• April 2007: Congratulations to Zhenning Su on his SFI UREKA award.
• March 2007: VSG paper "A vision-based system for inspecting painted slates (O. Ghita, P.F. Whelan and T. Carew)" as published in Sensor Review has been selected as a "Highly Commended Winner at the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2007".
• March 2007: Congratulations to Stephen O'Brien on his IRCSET PhD Studentship award.

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