The optimal coding strategy for signal detection in the correlated gaussian noise is established for the distributed sensors system with essentially zero transmission rate constraint. Specifically, we are able to obtain the same performance as in the situation of no restriction on rate from each sensor terminal to the fusion center. This simple result contrasts with the previous ad hoc studies containing many unnatural assumptions such as the independence of noises contaminating received signal at each sensor. For the design of optimal coder, we can use the classical Levinson-Wiggins-Robinson fast algorithm for block Toeplitz matrix to evaluate the necessary weight vector for the maximum-likelihood detection.

This paper proposes three configurations of slow-wave transmission lines for MMICs, i.e., double crosstie slow-wave transmission line (DCT-SLW), meander-like DCT-SLW and lumped DCT-SLW. The DCT-SLW is based on periodic structures and triplate structures. The meander-like DCT-SLW realizes a drastic size reduction in the DCT-SLW using a meander configuration of inductive and capacitive transmission lines. The multilayer spiral inductors are introduced to obtain high impedance characteristics of the meander section. The lumped DCT-SLW achieves a large slow-wave factor of 30. These proposed structures are analytically and experimentally investigated, and excellent performance is obtained. It is also shown that the proposed DCT-SLWs are superior to thin film microstrip (TFMS) lines with the same insertion phase, as regards size.

Noise characteristics of InAlAs/InGaAs HEMT's passivated by SiN are investigated to ascertain their suitability for practical applications in circuit such as MMIC's. A 0.18-µm-gate-length device with 125-µm-gate width and 8-gate fingers showed the lowest minimum noise figure of 0.43 dB at 26 GHz with an associated gain of 8.5 dB of any passivated device ever reported. This value is also comparable to the lowest reported minimum noise figure obtained by bare InAlAs/InGaAs HEMT's in spite of increased parasitic capacitances due to the SiN passivation. Thes excellent noise performance was achieved by employing non-alloyed ohmic contact, a T-shaped gate geometry and a multi-finger gate pattern. To reduce the contact resistance of the non-alloyed ohmic contact, a novel n+-InGaAs/n+-InAlAs cap layer was used resulting in a very low contact resistance of 0.09 Ωmm and a low sheet resistance for all layers of 145 Ω/sq. No increase in these resistances was observed after SiN passivation, and a very low source resistance of 0.16 Ωmm was obtained. An analysis of equivalent circuit parameters revealed that the T-shaped gate and multi-finger gate pattern drastically decrease gate resistance.

It is difficult for a receiver in Asynchronous SSMA systems to eliminate co-channel interference, when the receiver doesn't know the sequence of the co-channel interference. In this paper, a filter for eliminating co-channel interference without using the knowledge of the sequence of co-channel interference in an asynchronous SSMA system, in which each transmitter/receiver is assigned an infinite number of sequences and select a sequence secretly for information security. The filter gathers the co-channel interference energy into some puleses and scatters the signal energy widely. The receiver can clip the co-channel interference energy by losing small amount of signal energy. This is a new solution for the near-far problem in an asynchronous SSMA system using secret sequences.

We propose the coherent subcarrier multiplexed (SCM) system with distributing local oscillator (LO) in local loop. The proposed system can realize multichannel transmission with one optical carrier by using the SCM technique and has no need to have LO at each station. Therefore the proposed system becomes cost-effective. The proposed SCM system uses bandpass filter to select a specific channel. We analyze CNR of the system with frequency-shift keying (FSK) in a multioctave configuration. First, the general expression of CNR is derived and is shown for the following parameters such as the number of channels, the position of station on the loop, and the number of stations on the loop. Second, optimal phase modulation (PM) index is derived, and the optimal CNR, minimum required power of lasers, and maximum number of stations that the proposed system can serve are shown by using it. Moreover CNR of the proposed system is compared with that of the system having LO at each station in local loop. It is shown that the proposed system can obtain good performance at the expense of slight increase of the output power of only two lasers at the central station. Therefore the proposed system is cost-effective and practical.

The states-of-the-art in visual communication in Japan are described. First the status of networks, which is a basis for offering visual communication service, is outlined. Visual communication service being developed on the basis of ISDN is described. The future service can be represented by NTT's service vision VI&P. Visual communication technologies and services being studied are surveyed.

The problems of cache coherency in multiprocessor systems are directly related to their architectural structures. Small scale multiprocessor systems have focused on the use of bus based memory interconnection networks using centrally shared memory and a sequential consistency model for coherency. This has limited scalability to but a few tens of processors due to the limited bus bandwidth used for both coherency updates and memory traffic. Recently, large scale multiprocessor systems have been proposed that use general interconnection networks and distributed shared memory. These architectures have been proposed using weak consistency models and various directory map schemes to hide the overhead for coherency maintenance within the memory hieratchy, interconnection network or process context switch latencies. The coherency and memory traffic are still maintained over the same interconnection network. In this paper, we present the architecture of a new general purpose medium scale multiprocessor system. This Cache Coherent Multiprocessor System (C2MP), supports distributed shared memory using a general memory interconnection network for memory traffic and a separate bus based coherency interconnection network for coherency maintenance. Through the use of a special directory based coherency protocol and cache oriented distributed coherency controllers, direct cache-to-cache coherency maintenance is performed over the dedicated coherency bus. This minimizes coherency updates to only those processor nodes needing coherency maintenance. An aggressive sequential coherncy model is used, which reduces the hardware penalty to support an ideal sequential consistency programmers model. The system can scale up to 256-512 processors depending on the degree of shared data and is expected to have higher per processor utilization in this range than currently proposed medium and large scale multiprocessor systems. The C2MP system is analyzed utilizing a Generalized Timed Petri-Net model of a processor node. A stochastic model for internode interactions over the general memory interconnection network and coherency bus are used . The model of the proposed architecture is analyzed under steady-state conditions for varying system work load parameters.

A tag-partitioned join algorithm is described. The algorithm partitions only one relation, while other partition-based algorithms partition both relations. It is performed as the joinable tuples of one relation are rearranged and some of them are duplicated according to the original sequence of the join attribute values of the other relation. To do this, the algorithm first finds the positions of all the tuples of the other relation which are joinable with each tuple of one relation, and then partitions joinable tuples of one relation into buckets by using the positions found. Final joining is performed on the partitioned relation and the other relation. We analyze and compare the performance of the algorithm with that of other partition-based join algorithms. The comparison shows that our method is better than other partition-based methods under the practical values of the analysis parameters.

This paper discusses the design, implementation, and performance of a bus-connected multiprocessor, called Presto, for a Rete-based production system. To perform a match, which is a major phase of a production system, a Presto match scheme exploits the subnetworks that are separated by the top two-input nodes and the token flow control at these nodes. Since parallelism of a production system can only increase speed 10-fold, the aim is to do so efficiently on a low-cost, compact bus-connected multi-processor system without shared memory or cache memory. The Presto hardware consists of up to 10 processisng elements (PEs), each comprising a commercial microprocessor, 4 Mbytes of local memory, and two kinds of newly developed ASIC chips for memory control and bus control. Hierarchical system software is provided for developing interpreter programs. Measurement with 10 PEs shows that sample programs run 5-7 times faster.

Artificial neurons and neural networks have been shown to perform Principal Component Analysis (PCA) when gradient ascent learning rules are used, which are related to the constrained maximization of statistical objective functions. Due to their parallelism and adaptivity to input data, such algorithms and their implementations in neural networks are potentially useful in feature extraction and data compression. In the companion paper(9), two such learning rules were derived from two criteria, the Subspace Criterion and the Weighted Subspace Criterion. It was shown that the only solutions to the latter problem are dominant eigenvectors of the data covariance matrix, which are the basis vectors of PCA. It was suggested by a simulation that the corresponding learning algorithm converges to these eigenvectors. A homogeneous neural network implementation was proposed for the algorithm. The learning algorithm is analyzed here in detail and it is shown that it can be approximated by a continuous-time differential equation that is obtained by averaging. It is shown that the asymptotically stable limits of this differntial equation are the eigenvectors. The neural network learning algorithm is further extended to a case in which each neuron has a sigmoidal nonlinear feedback activity function. Then no parameters specific to each neuron are needed, and the learning rule is fully homogeneous.

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a useful technique in feature extraction and data compression. It can be formulated as a statistical constrained maximization problem, whose solution is given by unit eigenvectors of the data covariance matrix. In a practical application like image compression, the problem can be solved numerically by a corresponding gradient ascent maximization algorithm. Such on-line algoritms can be good alternatives due to their parallelism and adaptivity to input data. The algorithms can be implemented in a local and homogeneous way in learning neural networks. One example is the Subspace Network. It is a regular layer of parallel artificial neurons with a learning rule that is completely homogeneous with respect to the neurons. However, due to the complete homogeneity, the learning rule does not converge to the unique basis given by the dominant eigenvectors, but any basis of this eigenvector subspace is possible. In many applications like data compression, the subspace is not sufficient but the actual eigenvectors or PCA coefficient vectors are needed. A new criterion, called the Weighted Subspace Criterion, is proposed, which makes a small symmetry-breaking change to the Subspace Criterion. Only the true eigenvectors are solutions. Making the corresponding change to the learning rule of the Subspace Network gives a modified learning rule, which can be still implemented on a homogeneous network architecture. In learning, the weight vectors will tend to the true eigenvectors.

This paper describes the configuration and performance of a stable, high compression video coding scheme suitable for broadcast quality. This scheme was developed for application to high quality image packet transmission in Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks. There are two problems in implementing image packet transmission in ATM networks, namely the achievement of a compression scheme with high coding efficiency, and the achievement of an effective compensation method for cell loss. We describe a scheme which resolves both these problems. It comprises the division of a two-dimensional spectral image signal into several sub-bands. In the case of the high frequency band, block-matching interframe prediction and Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) are applied to achieve high compression ratio, while intraframe DCT coding is applied to the baseband. This scheme, moreover, provides a stable compensation for cell loss. It is shown that, based on this system, an original image signal of 216Mbit/s is compressed to about 1/10, and a high quality reconstructed image stable to cell loss is obtained.

Resolving ambiguities in interpreting the user's utterances is one of the most fundamental problems in the development of a question-answering system. The process of disambiguating interpretations requires knowledge and inference functions on an objective task field. This paper describes a framework for understanding conversational language, using the multi-paradigm knowledge representation (frames" and rules") which represents concept hierarchy and causal relationships for an objective field. Knowledge of the objective field is used in the process to interpret input sentences as a model for the objective world. In interpreting sentences, a procedure judges preferences for interpretation candidates by identifying causal relationship with messages in the preceding context, where the causal relationship is used to supplement some shortage of information and to give either an affirmative or a negative explanation to the interpretation. The procedure has been implemented in an experimental question-answering system, whose current task is consultation in operating an electronic device. The experimental results are shown for a concrete problem involving resolving anaphoric references, and characteristics of the knowledge processing system are discussed.

The outputs of all gates in a circuit are assumed to be observable unber the highly observable condition, which is mainly based on the use of E-beam testers. When using the E-beam tester, it is desirable that the test set for a circuit is small and the test vectors in the test set can be applied in a successive and repetitive manner. For a combinational circuit, these requirements can be satisfied by modifying the circuit into a k-UCP circuit, which needs only a small number of tests for diagnosis. For a sequential circuit, however, even if the combinational portion has been modified into a k-UCP circuit, it is impossible that the test vectors for the combinational portion can always be applied in a successive and repetitive manner because of the existence of feedback loops. To solve this problem, the concept of k-UCP scan circuits is proposed in this paper. It is shown that the test vectors for the combinational portion in a k-UCP scan circuit can be applied in a successive and repetitive manner through a specially constructed scan-path. An efficient method of modifying a sequential circuit into a k-UCP scan circuit is also presented.

A new class of (m23m1,m2) 1-step majority-logic decodable double error correcting codes (1-step DEC codes) is described, where m is an odd integer. Combining this code with properly constructed (m1k1,k1) and (m,k2) 1-step DEC codes, a (m23(mk1)1,m23k1) 1-step DEC code and a (m23(mk2)1,m2) 2-step majority-logic decodable DEC code (2-step DEC code) are obtained, respectively. Considering computer memory applications, some practical 1 -and 2-step DEC codes with data-bit lengths of 24, 32, 64 and 72 are obtained by shortening the new codes, and are compared to existing majority-logic decodable DEC codes. It is shown that, for given data-bit lengths, new 2-step DEC codes have much better code rates than self-orthogonal DEC codes but slightly worse code rates than existing 2-step majority-logic decodable cyclic DEC codes (2-step cyclic DEC codes). However, parallel decoders of new 2-step DEC codes are much simpler than those of exisiting 2-step cyclic DEC codes, and are nearly as simple as those of 1-step DEC codes.

This paper presents a destributed algorithm that uses weak copy consistency to create mutual exclusion in a distributed computer system. The weak copy consistency is deduced from the uncertainty of state which occurs due to the finite and unpredictable communication delays in a distributed environment. Also the method correlates outdated state information to current state. The average number of messages to enter critical section in the algorithm is n/2 to n messages where n is the number of sites. We show that the algorithm achieves mutual exclusion and the fairness and liveness of the algorithm is proven. We study the performance of the algorithm by simulation technique.

A theoretical conjecture on fractal dimensions of a dendrite distribution in neural networks is presented on the basis of the dendrite tree model. It is shown that the fractal dimensions obtained by the model are consistent with the recent experimental data.

Quantization of the impulse response coefficients due to finite word length causes the moments to deviate from their ideal values. This deviation is found to have a linear variation with the output roundoff noise of the filter realized in direct form. Since the zeros and poles of a given filter also move away from their designed locations due to quantization, we show a relation between the zeros and poles and the moments of the impulse response.

The present status of HDTV in Europe and the concept of an evolutionary introduction of HDTV broadcasting is described. Corresponding HDTV standards and studio technologies are outlined. Analog transmission techniques like HD-MAC as well as coding techniques for digital transmission are presented. Also some informations about investigations for non-broadcast applications are given.