The goal of the final project is for you to implement and evaluate a computational imaging system both in hardware and software. An exceptional final project should be something that could become a conference or journal publication after some further refinements. The final project is open-ended and can be based on your ideas and interests. Some suggestions for types of final projects:

• Re-implementing and thoroughly evaluating a published computational imaging paper in a new scenario not covered in the paper itself.
• Applying ideas and algorithms from this class in your own research area on some kind of imaging system.
• Coming up with and evaluating a new algorithm for imaging forward models or inverse problems.
• Modifying an existing computational imaging setup in an interesting way to produce some new effect.

Key deadlines

• Oct 3rd: In-class project group formation activity.
• Oct 11th: Project proposal due.
• Oct 31st: Background presentations.
• Nov 11-15: Check-ins.
• Dec. 3rd & 5th: Project presentations.
• Dec. 17th: Project write-up due.

Key logistics

Teams: Project should be completed in teams of 2-3 students. If you already have a clear project idea, or want to do something related to your research area, talk to your classmates and convince them to join your project team. We might allow individual projects in special circumstances, but come talk to us first.

Imaging hardware: Final projects can (and are encouraged) to make use of imaging hardware (cameras, microscopes, lights, depth sensors, light field cameras, special lenses, and so on). If you have access to equipment from your research lab, great! You are encouraged to leverage this. If you would like to do a project that requires specialized equipment that you do not have access to, come talk to me before writing/submitting your project proposal. You might be able to loan out equipment for the project.

Group formation (5%)

We will help facilitate project groups in class with a group forming activity. Please read this whole document and brainstorm some ideas for your final project before attending this group forming activity. Working on a team rather than working alone can help you think of more creative ideas, will allow you to tackle a more ambitious project, and potentially get access to more resources. You are expected to come prepared to the group formation lecture with ideas to discuss with your peers, and to actively engage in our group formation activities.

Project proposal (15%)

Each team will submit a proposal of their plan for the final project. Each project should utilize some hardware, either from your own research lab or from the camera kits provided by the class. We have some other imaging hardware that can be loaned out, but please talk to us in advance! We will give you feedback on this proposal to make sure it's within the scope of the course goals and project timeline.

The written project proposal should be a PDF between 1-2 pages, to be submitted on Canvas. It should have at least the following sections and content:

• Title. Provide the title of your project.
• Summary. Summarize your project in no more than 2-3 sentences. Describe what you plan to do and what will be learned.
• Background. Describe in 1-2 paragraphs why this project is hard, useful, and/or interesting.
• Resources. Describe the resources (cameras and other imaging hardware, starter code, dataset, any special computing resources, etc.) you will use. If you are building off of an existing codebase, or an existing hardware setup, please explicitly say so. If there are any books or papers that you are using as references, please provide the citations. Make sure to explain what data (images, videos, etc.) you will use to evaluate your results. If you are doing a hardware project, explicitly mention so and list what equipment you will need. Please also explain whether you already have access to these resources, or whether you would like teaching staff to provide them to you.
• Goals and deliverables. Describe the deliverables or goals of your project. Make sure to separate your goals into what you plan to achieve (that is, the minimum set of goals you believe must be reached for the project to be successful), as well as what you hope to achieve (additional goals you would like to see happen if the project goes really well).
• Schedule. Provide a tentative schedule for your project. List what you plan to get done each week from now until the project due date.
• Citations. Please cite at least 2-3 relevant papers, and make sure to cite these in the background section.

Background presentations (10%)

Each team will prepare a presentation on background information relevant to understanding your project. Each person will have 2 minutes to present, so a 2-person team will have 4 minutes total and a 3-person team will have 6-minutes total. These presentations will occur during lecture and will be evaluated based on clarity of presentation. Your goal should be to prepare a mini-lecture that explains the background and relevant state of the art necessary to understand your project and put it in context with work in the field. It should also summarize the forward models and inverse problems used in your chosen area. This is difficult to do, but is good preparation for conference talks. We will provide feedback on your background presentations so that you can improve and make a great final presentation. As part of your grade, you will be evaluating and providing feedback to your peers on their presentations.

Check-ins (10%)

Each team will present a status update on their project to the teaching staff. These will be scheduled during the week of Nov. 11th during office hours and other times outside of class. During this update, you will talk about your project goals and the current status of your project. Please include photos of any initial hardware prototypes or intermediate results. This is a great time to discuss any roadblocks or challenges you are encountering in order to leverage the expertise of the teaching staff for suggestions.

Project presentation (30%)

Each team will prepare a final presentation to showcase your project and results. These final presentations will occur during the last two days of class. Each person will have 4 minutes total to present, so a 2-person team will have 8 minutes and a 3-person team will have 12 minutes to present. Your presentations will be judged by a panel of experts to determine the best presentation award for the year. In addition to the in-class presentation, you will upload a polished and condensed video recording (no longer than 5 minutes) of your final presentation to Canvas. These video recordings will be uploaded to YouTube in a public channel to highlight and showcase your work. Your video should be similar to a conference spotlight video, and should succinctly and clearly communicate your project results, contributions, and how it fits into the literature.