IEEE Signal Processing - March 2018 - 160

hardware limitations... Nevertheless,
we went on with our simulations
in spite of the difficulties. Before
our Ramadan vacation started, we got
access to a PC with a decent CPU and
GPU configuration... After that, there
was no holding us back. We worked
round the clock, often 15-16 hours a
day, for three whole weeks. A few
days before submission, we decided to
add another network to our pipeline,
as some of the test results were not
satisfactory. It was a hectic time. Even
after submission, the battle wasn't
over. We spent hours on end, in the
middle of the night, exchanging
e-mails with our reviewer and providing clarifications for different parts of
our submission package. We had to do
all of this in the midst of our term
final, handling a lot of academic pressure at the same time. So, it was a
great feeling of triumph, when we
were selected as one of the finalists
and, finally, the champions of the
IEEE VIP Cup 2017-a feat none of
us thought we could achieve when we
started off in this journey. It was one
of the happiest moments of our lives."
-Team Neurons
■

"The first edition of the IEEE VIP
CUP was full of 'first-ever' experiences for me-first-ever participation
in any global competition, first-ever
research project, first-ever international conference, and so on. Participating
in this competition helped me to learn
a lot not only about video and image
processing, but also about machine
learning. The challenge itself was
very complex. To process this huge
amount of given data set was also a
tremendous challenge for us. But
above all, it was definitely a very
exciting and rewarding experience!"
-Uday Kamal

■

160

"Participating in the VIP Cup was a
very enriching experience. I learned
about cutting-edge image processing
and machine-learning techniques like
neural networks; I learned how to
read research papers and write one,
give a technical presentation, collaborate with fellow team members,

and, stay focused and motivated
even in adverse situations, all of
which are extremely valuable for
doing any kind of research work.
Besides, this is the first time I attended an international conference,
where I met researchers and industry representatives leading the field
of image processing. But, most of
all, I got the opportunity to represent my country at a global stage
and compete on par with students
from around the world. This really
gives you a sense of confidence that,
if you are willing to put in the effort,
all of us could achieve things we
wouldn't even dare to think of."

were truly delighted that our teamwork was such a great success."
-Team PolyUTS
■

-Aung Min
■

-Sowmitra Das
■

"It was really a unique experience
for me. ICIP 2017 was the first international conference that I've joined,
and VIP Cup 2017 was the first international competition I've participated in my undergraduate life. I've also
learned a lot of new things throughout
this journey."
-Abid Abrar

■

"The problem was interesting and
quite challenging at least for the students of undergraduate level. I was
hesitating in the beginning because
of the team members level in the
UG program....limited hardware
resources in the lab for machine
learning....but the team relieved me
within a few weeks. It was enjoyable
to see the spirit of the team."
-Kamrul Hasan, faculty mentor.

Team PolyUTS
Team PolyUTS is an international project
team formed by junior and senior undergraduate students from the Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, the University of
Technology Sydney, and the University of
New South Wales. Team members expressed their opinions about the VIP Cup
experience as follows.
■ "The collaboration between us broke
the limitation of time and geology. It
was through different social platforms that we consistently communicated with each other. Finally, we
IEEE Signal Processing Magazine

March 2018

"This competition taught me not just
a lot of technical related stuff but also
let me experience in how these competitions are conducted. That experience is something I will not forget
and remember for the rest of my life."

"Detecting traffic signs in the given
conditions is really a tough task.
Although I had learned something
about object detection before, I found
it was still hard to solve the problem
at the beginning. The competition
taught me that standing on the shoulders of giants was always a good starting point. By testing and evaluating
algorithms proposed in others papers,
I gradually knew which methods
work for this task. Investigating why
and how they work finally instructed
me what I should do. I think knowing
how to overcome such a difficult
problem is the most valuable reward
for me. I do appreciate the opportunity provided by the match."
-Jiawei Zhang

■

"Participating in VIP Cup 2017 was a
great experience for me to learn more
about machine learning and how it is
implemented. Although it was a really challenging task, we still managed
to complete a whole system. There
were lots of struggles and confusion
during the process, but overcoming
them was also delightful. I'm very
happy to spend my summer time on
this competition."
-Weixi Feng

Team Markovians
Team Markovians was formed by junior
undergraduate students from Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology. A common interest in video and
image processing as well as automation
formed strong bonds between team
members. As electrical engineering students and technology enthusiasts, team
members were thrilled to contribute

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Signal Processing - March 2018