Jeffrey K. Uhlmann is an American research scientist who is probably best known for his mathematical generalizations of the

Kalman filter For statistics and control theory, Kalman filtering, also known as linear quadratic estimation (LQE), is an algorithm that uses a series of measurements observed over time, including statistical noise and other inaccuracies, and produces estima ...

. Most of his publications and patents have been in the field of

data fusion Data fusion is the process of integrating multiple data sources to produce more consistent, accurate, and useful information than that provided by any individual data source. Data fusion processes are often categorized as low, intermediate, or hig ...

. He is also known for being a cult filmmaker and former recording artist. Uhlmann has also began a career in YouTube under the anonymous persona uhlmannj with two feature videos: Man With No Hat, and The Glass. Both videos have gained hundreds of views.

Biography

Uhlmann has degrees in philosophy,

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ...

, and a doctorate in

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist human ...

from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

. He began work in 1987 at NRL's Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics in Washington, DC, and remained at NRL until 2000. Since 2000 he has been a professor of computer science at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded ...

. He served for ten years as a co-founding member of the editorial board of the ''ACM Journal of Experimental Algorithmics'' (1995–2006) before becoming co-editor of the ''Synthesis Lectures on Quantum Computing'' series for Morgan & Claypool.

Theoretical Research

Uhlmann published seminal papers on volumetric, spatial, and

metric tree A metric tree is any tree data structure specialized to index data in metric spaces. Metric trees exploit properties of metric spaces such as the triangle inequality to make accesses to the data more efficient. Examples include the M-tree, vp-tree ...

data structures and their applications for

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great deal ...

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...

, and multiple-target tracking. He originated the unscented transform (and its use in the

unscented Kalman filter For statistics and control theory, Kalman filtering, also known as linear quadratic estimation (LQE), is an algorithm that uses a series of measurements observed over time, including statistical noise and other inaccuracies, and produces estima ...

) and the data fusion techniques of covariance intersection and covariance union.

Applied Results

Uhlmann's results are widely-applied in tracking, navigation, and control systems, including for the NASA Mars rover program. His results relating to the constrained

shortest path problem In graph theory, the shortest path problem is the problem of finding a path between two vertices (or nodes) in a graph such that the sum of the weights of its constituent edges is minimized. The problem of finding the shortest path between t ...

and

simultaneous localization and mapping Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is the computational problem of constructing or updating a map of an unknown environment while simultaneously keeping track of an agent's location within it. While this initially appears to be a ch ...

are also used in rover and autonomous vehicle applications.

Films

Uhlmann has written, directed, produced, and/or acted in several prominent short and feature-length films. Notable examples include the animated short film

Susan's Big Day ''Susan's Big Day'' is a 2010 absurdist animated short film that was originally directed and written by Jeffrey Uhlmann in 1983. It tells the story of a pivotal event in the life of a young girl, Susan, on the day of her mother's date with a fire ...

and the feature films Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy, Academy of Doom, and Aztec Revenge. In recent years he has been a popular invited guest at international genre film festivals.

Music

Uhlmann recorded and released a series of albums in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of his early experimental electronic albums have been reissued in their entirety on CD or digital download while his arguably better-known songs are only available on CD compilations.

References

External links

Research page

Synthesis Lectures on Quantum Computing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Uhlmann, Jeffrey K American roboticists American computer scientists 21st-century American engineers Ambient musicians American electronic musicians American experimental musicians American film directors American film producers American male film actors American male screenwriters Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers