Monocular depth estimation has improved drastically due to the development of deep neural networks (DNNs). However, recent studies have revealed that DNNs for monocular depth estimation contain vulnerabilities that can lead to misestimation when perturbations are added to input. This study investigates whether DNNs for monocular depth estimation is vulnerable to misestimation when patterned light is projected on an object using a video projector. To this end, this study proposes an evolutionary adversarial attack method with multi-fidelity evaluation scheme that allows creating adversarial examples under black-box condition while suppressing the computational cost. Experiments in both simulated and real scenes showed that the designed light pattern caused a DNN to misestimate objects as if they have moved to the back.

Solar energy is an important energy resource for a sustainable society and is massively introduced these days. Household generally sells their excess solar energy by the reverse power flow, but the massive reverse power flow usually sacrifices the grid stability. In order to utilize renewable energy effectively and reduce solar energy waste, electric vehicles (EVs) takes an important role to fill in the spatiotemporal gap of solar energy. This paper proposes a novel EV aggregation framework for spatiotemporal shifting of solar energy without any reverse power flow. The proposed framework causes charging and discharging via an EV aggregator by intentionally changing the price, and the solar energy waste is expected to reduce by the energy trade. Simulation results show the proposed framework reduced the solar energy waste by 68%.

In this paper, we propose an access control method with a secret key for object detection models for the first time so that unauthorized users without a secret key cannot benefit from the performance of trained models. The method enables us not only to provide a high detection performance to authorized users but to also degrade the performance for unauthorized users. The use of transformed images was proposed for the access control of image classification models, but these images cannot be used for object detection models due to performance degradation. Accordingly, in this paper, selected feature maps are encrypted with a secret key for training and testing models, instead of input images. In an experiment, the protected models allowed authorized users to obtain almost the same performance as that of non-protected models but also with robustness against unauthorized access without a key.

Recently, the face hallucination method based on deep learning understands the mapping between low-resolution (LR) and high-resolution (HR) facial patterns by exploring the priors of facial structure. However, how to maintain the face structure consistency after the reconstruction of face images at different scales is still a challenging problem. In this letter, we propose a novel multi-scale structure prior learning (MSPL) for face hallucination. First, we propose a multi-scale structure prior block (MSPB). Considering the loss of high-frequency information in the LR space, we mainly process the input image in three different scale ascending dimensional spaces, and map the image to the high dimensional space to extract multi-scale structural prior information. Then the size of feature maps is recovered by downsampling, and finally the multi-scale information is fused to restore the feature channels. On this basis, we propose a local detail attention module (LDAM) to focus on the local texture information of faces. We conduct extensive face hallucination reconstruction experiments on a public face dataset (LFW) to verify the effectiveness of our method.

In this paper, we propose an end-to-end two-branch feature attention network. The network is mainly used for single image dehazing. The network consists of two branches, we call it CAA-Net: 1) A U-NET network composed of different-level feature fusion based on attention (FEPA) structure and residual dense block (RDB). In order to make full use of all the hierarchical features of the image, we use RDB. RDB contains dense connected layers and local feature fusion with local residual learning. We also propose a structure which called FEPA.FEPA structure could retain the information of shallow layer and transfer it to the deep layer. FEPA is composed of serveral feature attention modules (FPA). FPA combines local residual learning with channel attention mechanism and pixel attention mechanism, and could extract features from different channels and image pixels. 2) A network composed of several different levels of FEPA structures. The network could make feature weights learn from FPA adaptively, and give more weight to important features. The final output result of CAA-Net is the combination of all branch prediction results. Experimental results show that the CAA-Net proposed by us surpasses the most advanced algorithms before for single image dehazing.

Lifelong language learning (LLL) aims at learning new tasks and retaining old tasks in the field of NLP. LAMOL is a recent LLL framework following data-free constraints. Previous works have been researched based on LAMOL with additional computing with more time costs or new parameters. However, they still have a gap between multi-task learning (MTL), which is regarded as the upper bound of LLL. In this paper, we propose Metacognitive Adaptation (Metac-Adapt) almost without adding additional time cost and computational resources to make the model generate better pseudo samples and then replay them. Experimental results demonstrate that Metac-Adapt is on par with MTL or better.

In this paper, we propose a combined method of GCR Block Ack and Unsolicited Retry for binary data lossless groupcast over wireless LANs. The two mechanisms are standardized as IEEE 802.11aa GCR for audiovisual transmission. In the proposed method, the sender transmits each frame twice without acknowledgment as Unsolicited Retry under lossy wireless link conditions. After transmitting twice, the sender enters the Block Ack sequence. In addition, we apply TXOP-Bursting, which allows a terminal to send frames sequentially with high priority during the TXOP limit, to the combined method. To show the proposal's effectiveness, we carry out a computer simulation. We assume binary data transmission of about 40MB and assess the time of complete reception at all the receivers. From the result, we find that the proposed method can shorten the received time against the conventional Block Ack method.

For a long time, the compensation effect of hearing aid is mainly evaluated subjectively, and there are fewer studies of objective evaluation. Furthermore, a pure speech signal is generally required as a reference in the existing objective evaluation methods, which restricts the practicality in a real-world environment. Therefore, this paper presents a non-intrusive speech quality evaluation method for hearing aid, which combines the audiogram and weighted frequency information. The proposed model mainly includes an audiogram information extraction network, a frequency information extraction network, and a quality score mapping network. The audiogram is the input of the audiogram information extraction network, which helps the system capture the information related to hearing loss. In addition, the low-frequency bands of speech contain loudness information and the medium and high-frequency components contribute to semantic comprehension. The information of two frequency bands is input to the frequency information extraction network to obtain time-frequency information. When obtaining the high-level features of different frequency bands and audiograms, they are fused into two groups of tensors that distinguish the information of different frequency bands and used as the input of the attention layer to calculate the corresponding weight distribution. Finally, a dense layer is employed to predict the score of speech quality. The experimental results show that it is reasonable to combine the audiogram and the weight of the information from two frequency bands, which can effectively realize the evaluation of the speech quality of the hearing aid.

In this paper, we propose a combined use of transformed images and vision transformer (ViT) models transformed with a secret key. We show for the first time that models trained with plain images can be directly transformed to models trained with encrypted images on the basis of the ViT architecture, and the performance of the transformed models is the same as models trained with plain images when using test images encrypted with the key. In addition, the proposed scheme does not require any specially prepared data for training models or network modification, so it also allows us to easily update the secret key. In an experiment, the effectiveness of the proposed scheme is evaluated in terms of performance degradation and model protection performance in an image classification task on the CIFAR-10 dataset.

This paper presents a convex-analytic framework to learn sparse graphs from data. While our problem formulation is inspired by an extension of the graphical lasso using the so-called combinatorial graph Laplacian framework, a key difference is the use of a nonconvex alternative to the l1 norm to attain graphs with better interpretability. Specifically, we use the weakly-convex minimax concave penalty (the difference between the l1 norm and the Huber function) which is known to yield sparse solutions with lower estimation bias than l1 for regression problems. In our framework, the graph Laplacian is replaced in the optimization by a linear transform of the vector corresponding to its upper triangular part. Via a reformulation relying on Moreau's decomposition, we show that overall convexity is guaranteed by introducing a quadratic function to our cost function. The problem can be solved efficiently by the primal-dual splitting method, of which the admissible conditions for provable convergence are presented. Numerical examples show that the proposed method significantly outperforms the existing graph learning methods with reasonable computation time.

Construction of resilient Boolean functions in odd variables having strictly almost optimal (SAO) nonlinearity appears to be a rather difficult task in stream cipher and coding theory. In this paper, based on the modified High-Meets-Low technique, a general construction to obtain odd-variable SAO resilient Boolean functions without directly using PW functions or KY functions is presented. It is shown that the new class of functions possess higher resiliency order than the known functions while keeping higher SAO nonlinearity, and in addition the resiliency order increases rapidly with the variable number n.

Reducing the number of link crossings in a network drawn on the plane such as a wiring board is a well-known problem, and especially the calculation of the minimum number of such crossings: this is the crossing number problem. It has been shown that finding a general solution to the crossing number problem is NP-hard. So, this problem is addressed for particular classes of graphs and this is also our approach in this paper. More precisely, we focus hereinafter on the torus topology. First, we discuss an upper bound on cr(T(2, k)) the number of crossings in a 2-dimensional k-ary torus T(2, k) where k ≥ 2: the result cr(T(2, k)) ≤ k(k - 2) and the given constructive proof lay foundations for the rest of the paper. Second, we extend this discussion to derive an upper bound on the crossing number of a 3-dimensional k-ary torus: cr(T(3, k)) ≤ 2k4 - k3 - 4k2 - 2⌈k/2⌉⌊k/2⌋(k - (k mod 2)) is obtained. Third, an upper bound on the crossing number of an n-dimensional k-ary torus is derived from the previously established results, with the order of this upper bound additionally established for more clarity: cr(T(n, k)) is O(n2k2n-2) when n ≥ k and O(nk2n-1) otherwise.

In this letter, we consider a global stabilization problem for a class of feedforward systems by an event-triggered control. This is an extended work of [10] in a way that there are uncertain feedforward nonlinearity and time-varying input delay in the system. First, we show that the considered system is globally asymptotically stabilized by a proposed event-triggered controller with a gain-scaling factor. Then, we also show that the interexecution times can be enlarged by adjusting a gain-scaling factor. A simulation example is given for illustration.

Locally repairable codes have attracted lots of interest in Distributed Storage Systems. If a symbol of a code can be repaired respectively by t disjoint groups of other symbols, each groups has size at most r, we say that the code symbol has (r, t)-locality. In this paper, we employ parity-check matrix to construct information single-parity (r, t)-locality LRCs. All our codes attain the Singleton-like bound of LRCs where each repair group contains a single parity symbol and thus are optimal.

To improve the performance of underwater acoustic communications, this letter proposes a polar coding scheme with adaptive channel equalization, which can reduce the amount of feedback information. Furthermore, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) mechanism is provided to mitigate the impact of estimation errors. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the turbo equalization in bit error rate. Computational complexity analysis is also provided for comparison.

A method of radar-based contactless vital-sign sensing and electrocardiogram (ECG) signal reconstruction using deep learning is proposed. A radar system is an effective tool for contactless vital-sign sensing because it can measure a small displacement of the body surface without contact. However, most of the conventional methods have limited evaluation indices and measurement conditions. A method of measuring body-surface-displacement signals by using frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar and reconstructing ECG signals using a convolutional neural network (CNN) is proposed. This study conducted two experiments. First, we trained a model using the data obtained from six subjects breathing in a seated condition. Second, we added sine wave noise to the data and trained the model again. The proposed model is evaluated with a correlation coefficient between the reconstructed and actual ECG signal. The results of first experiment show that their ECG signals are successfully reconstructed by using the proposed method. That of second experiment show that the proposed method can reconstruct signal waveforms even in an environment with low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

It is of great significance to design a stable and reliable routing protocol for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) that adopt Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) communications in the face of frequent network topology changes. In this paper, we propose a hybrid routing algorithm, RCRIQ, based on improved Q-learning. For an established cluster structure, the cluster head is used to select the gateway vehicle according to the gateway utility function to expand the communication range of the cluster further. During the link construction stage, an improved Q-learning algorithm is adopted. The corresponding neighbor vehicle is chosen according to the maximum Q value in the neighbor list. The heuristic algorithm selects the next-hop by the maximum heuristic function value when selecting the next-hop neighbor node. The above two strategies are comprehensively evaluated to determine the next hop. This way ensures the optimal selection of the next hop in terms of reachability and other communication parameters. Simulation experiments show that the algorithm proposed in this article has better performance in terms of routing stability, throughput, and communication delay in the urban traffic scene.

This paper proposes a migration model for distributed server allocation. In distributed server allocation, each user is assigned to a server to minimize the communication delay. In the conventional model, a user cannot migrate to another server to avoid instability. We develop a model where each user can migrate to another server while receiving services. We formulate the proposed model as an integer linear programming problem. We prove that the considered problem is NP-complete. We introduce a heuristic algorithm. Numerical result shows that the proposed model reduces the average communication delay by 59% compared to the conventional model at most.

We have proposed integrated waveguide structure suitable for mid- and near- infrared light propagation using Si and CaF2 heterostructures on Si substrate. Using a fabrication process based on etching, lithography and crystal growth techniques, we have formed a slab-waveguide structure with a current injection mechanism on a SOI substrate, which would be a key component for Si/CaF2 quantum cascade lasers and other optical integrated systems. The propagation of light at a wavelength of 1.55 µm through a Si/CaF2 waveguide structure have been demonstrated for the first time using a structure with a Si/CaF2 multilayered core with 610-nm-thick, waveguide width of 970 nm, which satisfies single-mode condition in the horizontal direction within a tolerance of fabrication accuracy. The waveguide loss for transverse magnetic (TM) mode has been evaluated to be 51.4 cm-1. The cause of the loss was discussed by estimating the edge roughness scattering and free carrier absorption, which suggests further reduction of the loss would be possible.