Giovanni Fusco

pixofarm

Ph.D. in Computer Science, Universita' degli Studi di Genova M.S. in Computer Science, Universita' degli Studi di Napoli Federico II B.S. in Computer Science, Universita' degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

I combine my expertise in Computer Science, Computer Vision, Machine Learning and Assistive Technologies to create new technology for blind individuals to make travel, employment and education accessible. My main research focuses on developing tools to reduce accessibility barriers in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields and in online media.

Contact Information:

Email: giofusco@ski.org


Links:
LinkedIn Personal Page

Publications

Shanidze, N. ., Fusco, G. ., Potapchuk, E. ., Heinen, S. J., & Verghese, P. . (2016). Smooth pursuit eye movements in patients with macular degeneration. Journal of Vision, 16, 1. (Original work published 2016)

Zini, L. ., Noceti, N. ., Fusco, G. ., & Odone, F. . (2014). Structured multi-class feature selection with an application to face recognition. Pattern Recognition Letters.

Goolsby, B. ., Kim, H. W., Pawluk, D. ., & Fusco, G. . (2021). A Tangible Block Editor for the Scratch Programming Language. CHI 2021. Presented at the CHI 2021. Yokohama, Japan: ACM. (Original work published 2021)

Fusco, G. ., Cheraghi, S. A., Neat, L. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2020). An Indoor Navigation App using Computer Vision and Sign Recognition. 17th International Conference on Computers Helping People With Special Needs. Presented at the 17th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs. (Original work published 2020)

Teng, S. ., & Fusco, G. . (2019). Modeling echo-target acquisition in blind humans. Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience. Presented at the Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience. Berlin, Germany: Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience. (Original work published 2019)

Fusco, G. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2018). Indoor Localization using Computer Vision and Visual-Inertial Odometry. International Conference on Computers Helping People With Special Needs (ICCHP ’18). Presented at the International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP ’18). Linz, Austria. (Original work published 2018)

Fusco, G. ., & Morash, V. S. (2015). The Tactile Graphics Helper: Providing Audio Clarification for Tactile Graphics Using Machine Vision. ASSETS. Presented at the ASSETS. (Original work published 2015)

Fusco, G. ., Tekin, E. ., Ladner, R. E., & Coughlan, J. . (2014). Using Computer Vision to Access Appliance Displays. ASSETS. Presented at the ASSETS. (Original work published 2014)

Fusco, G. ., Shen, H. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2014). Self-Localization at Street Intersections. Computer and Robot Vision (CRV), 2014 Canadian Conference on, 40–47. IEEE.

Fusco, G. ., Shen, H. ., Murali, V. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2014). Determining a Blind Pedestrian’s Location and Orientation at Traffic Intersections. Computers Helping People With Special Needs, 427–432. Springer International Publishing.

Fusco, G. ., Zini, L. ., Noceti, N. ., & Odone, F. . (2013). Structured multi-class feature selection for effective face recognition. Image Analysis and Processing–ICIAP 2013, 410–419. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. (Original work published 2013)

Anzalone, A. ., Fusco, G. ., Isgrò, F. ., Orlandi, E. ., Prevete, R. ., Sciortino, G. ., … Valenti, C. . (2013). A system for the automatic measurement of the nuchal translucency thickness from ultrasound video stream of the foetus. Computer-Based Medical Systems (CBMS), 2013 IEEE 26th International Symposium on, 239–244. IEEE.

Fusco, G. ., Noceti, N. ., & Odone, F. . (2012). Combining retrieval and classification for real-time face recognition. Advanced Video and Signal-Based Surveillance (AVSS), 2012 IEEE Ninth International Conference on, 276–281. IEEE.

Balduzzi, L. ., Fusco, G. ., Odone, F. ., Dini, S. ., Mesiti, M. ., Destrero, A. ., & Lovato, A. . (2010). Low-cost face biometry for visually impaired users. Biometric Measurements and Systems for Security and Medical Applications (BIOMS), 2010 IEEE Workshop on, 45–52. IEEE.

Mentors

Projects

  • A11Y COVID-19
    Completed
    A11Y COVID-19

    COVID-19 pandemic data for screen reader users are available at covid.ski.org

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  • t-Scratch: Tangible Programming Environment
    Completed
    t-Scratch: Tangible Programming Environment

    tScratch: Tangible Programming Environment Targeted for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired

    Introductory programming languages are overwhelmingly designed with sighted students in mind. Our goal is to expand and enhance scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/ ), a block-based visual programming language and online community targeted primarily at children with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) concepts. The addition of tactile programming tiles, a specialized haptic coding grid, and an auditory interface will provide beginning programming instruction for students either as individual…

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  • Human Echolocation
    Active
    Human Echolocation

    What is echolocation? Sometimes, the surrounding world is too dark and silent for typical vision and hearing. This is true in deep caves, for example, or in murky water where little light penetrates. Animals living in these environments often have the ability to echolocate: They make sounds and listen for their reflections. Like turning on a flashlight in a dark room, echolocation is a way to illuminate objects and spaces actively using sound.

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  • ZoomBoard: an Affordable, Portable System to Improve Access to Presentations and Lecture Notes for Low Vision Viewers
    Completed
    ZoomBoard: an Affordable, Portable System to Improve Access to Presentations and Lecture Notes for Low Vision Viewers

    The goal of the project is to develop a “ZoomBoard” system that students with low vision can use to better access visual material on a whiteboard or blackboard. The prototype version of the system that we plan to develop in this grant will consist of a dedicated camera system placed by the teacher to capture a view of the board, which wirelessly transmits a video stream that will be displayed on a student’s iPad. The student will use the ZoomBoard app to view this video stream, zoom in on any region of interest using a pinch gesture on the iPad, and apply image enhancements such as contrast…

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  • Sign Finder
    Completed
    Sign Finder

    This project seeks to develop a computer vision-based system that allows a visually impaired traveler to find and read informational signs, such as signs labeling office doors, streets, restrooms and Exit signs.

    Link open source code

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  • A Computer Vision-Based Indoor Wayfinding Tool
    Active
    A Computer Vision-Based Indoor Wayfinding Tool

    The ability to navigate safely and confidently is a fundamental requirement for independent travel and access to many settings such as work, school, shopping, transit and healthcare. Navigation is particularly challenging for people with visual impairments, who have limited ability to see signs, landmarks or maps posted in the environment.

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  • Tactile Graphics Helper (TGH)
    Completed
    Tactile Graphics Helper (TGH)

    Tactile graphics use raised lines, textures, and elevations to provide individuals with visual impairments access to graphical materials through touch. Tactile graphics are particularly important for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, where educational content is often conveyed using diagrams and charts. However, providing a student who has a visual impairment with a tactile graphic does not automatically provide the student access to the graphic’s educational content. Instead, the student may struggle to decipher subtle differences between textures or…

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  • Display Reader
    Completed
    Display Reader

    The goal of the Display Reader project is to develop a computer vision system that runs on smartphones and tablets to enable blind and visually impaired persons to read appliance displays. Such displays are found on an increasing array of appliances such as microwave ovens, thermostats and home medical devices.

    Click here

    for Display Reader software download.

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  • CamIO
    Active
    CamIO

    CamIO (short for “Camera Input-Output”) is a system to make physical objects (such as documents, maps, devices and 3D models) accessible to blind and visually impaired persons, by providing real-time audio feedback in response to the location on an object that the user is touching. CamIO currently works on iOS using the built-in camera and an inexpensive hand-held stylus, made out of materials such as 3D-printed plastic, paper or wood.

    See a short video demonstration of CamIO here , showing how the user can trigger audio labels by pointing a stylus at “hotspots” on a 3D map of a playground. See…

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  • Crosswatch
    Completed
    Crosswatch

    Crosswatch is a smartphone-based system developed for providing real-time guidance to blind and visually impaired travelers at traffic intersections. Using the smartphone’s built-in camera and other sensors, Crosswatch is designed to tell blind and visually impaired travelers what kind of traffic intersection they are near, how to align themselves properly to the crosswalk, and when the walk light or other traffic light indicates it is time to cross.

    Click here  for link to zip file containing Crosswatch code (open source) and documentation.

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Labs

  • Teng Lab
    Teng Lab
    Principal Investigator:
    Participate in our studies! Visit Teng Lab Experiment Participation for details. Welcome to the Cognition, Action, and Neural Dynamics Laboratory We aim to better understand how people perceive, interact with, and...
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Collaborators

Internal Collaborators