PhD forum: Calibrating and using the global network of outdoor webcams

The vast imaging resources available via the Internet are underutilized. We propose to lay the foundation for the use of cameras attached to the Internet, also known as webcams, as free and flexible sensors. Developing an understanding of the relationship between signals in the world and the image variations they cause is critical to this effort. We use this understanding to develop methods to calibrate webcams, to estimate scene properties, and to report the weather.