The wavelet transform provides information both in the spatial domain and in the frequency domain because of its inherent nature of space-frequency analysis. This paper presents a classification result of synthetic aperture radar image obtained by JERS-1 based on the discrete wavelet transform. This paper points out that the wavelet analysis has yielded a fine result in texture classification compared to a conventional method with less computation time.

Based on a simple model for the statistical error characteristics of range sensing, a numerical scheme called renormalization is presented for optimally fitting a planar surface to data points obtained by range sensing. The renormalization method has the advantage that not only an optimal fit is computed but also its reliability is automatically evaluated in the form of the covariance matrix. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by numerical simulation. A scheme for visualizing the reliability of computation by means of the primary deviation pair is also presented.

Physical and optical parameters within the atmosphere-ocean system have been retrieved by a multiple scattering analysis of the reflectance and degree of linear polarization data measured by the airborne POLDER sensor in Medimar campaign in 1991. Assuming an atmosphere-ocean system with a Cox-Munk type rough sea surface model, the theoretical reflectance and -degree of linear polarization were computed by the doubling and adding method for several different models. In this study the retrieval was made by assuming a fixed refractive index of the aerosol particles, i.e., Nr=1.33-0.0i. We obtained several important results in this study as follows: 1) By comparing computed results with the observed data at 0.85m, we rejected the oceanic type aerosol model and found Junge type aerosol model with its index range of 4.0v4.5 as an appropriate model for aerosols at the observation time. 2) The reflectance data analysis in the perpendicular plane rejected an isotropic Cox-Munk model, but it indicated that an anisotropic Cox-Munk model should be used in the sea surface wind field retrieval. 3) The surface wind speed was estimated to be 10.0m/secV15.0m/sec with an best estimate of V=12.5m/sec, which agrees with the observed wind speed of V=14.4m/sec. The range of the water column reflectance was also estimated to be 0.025rwc0.045 from Medimar reflectance data at 0.45m. 4) Further study should be made for other refractive indices of the aerosol particles. More refinement of the present multiple scattering code to include upwelling polarization components from below the sea surface is also necessary.

An analytical framework to study the nonuniformity in geographical distribution of the traffic load in low earth orbit satellite communication systems is presented. The model is then used to evaluate the throughput performance of the system with direct-sequence packet spread-slotted ALOHA multiple-access technique. As the result, it is shown that nonuniformity in traffic makes the characteristics of the system significantly different from the results of uniform traffic case and that the performance of each user varies according to its location. Moreover, the interference reached from users of adjacent satellites is shown to be one of the main factors that limit the performance of system.

Ultrasonic diffraction image of specimen informs its acoustic structure as X ray diffraction method for analysis of the crystal structure. This ultrasonic diffraction method has a feature that focused ultrasound beam is used and diffraction image is observed on focal plane. When the structure of specimen is perfectly periodic, its diffraction image produces symmetrical respect to origin, but the diffraction image of weak periodic structure such as living tissue has some asymmetricity. In this paper, the principle of ultrasonic diffraction method, and data processing for asymmetrical and scattered diffraction image caused by weak periodic structure are described. The results of diffraction image of plant tissue and animal tissue, and its discussion are also described. This method is expected to be useful in evaluation of acoustic structure such as living tissue and internal tissue of bone.

There have been many developments on neural network research, and ability of a multi-layered network for classification of multi-spectral image data has been studied. We can classify non-Gaussian distributed data using the neural network trained by a back-propagation method (BPM) because it is independent of noise conditions. The BPM is a supervised classifier, so that we can get a high classification accuracy by using the method, so long as we can choose the good training data set. However, the multi-spectral data have many kinds of category information in a pixel because of its pixel resolution of the sensor. The data should be separated in many clusters even if they belong to a same class. Therefore, it is difficult to choose the good training data set which extract the characteristics of the class. Up to now, the researchers have chosen the training data set by random sampling from the input data. To overcome the problem, a hybrid pattern classification system using BPM and Kohonens feature mapping (KFM) has been proposed recently. The system performed choosing the training data set from the result of rough classification using KFM. However, how the remotely sensed data had been influenced by the KFM has not been demonstrated quantitatively. In this paper, we propose a new approach using the competitive weight vectors as the training data set, because we consider that a competitive unit represents a small cluster of the input patterns. The approach makes the training data set choice work easier than the usual one, because the KFM can automatically self-organize a topological relation among the target image patterns on a competitive plane. We demonstrate that the representative of the competitive units by principal component analysis (PCA). We also illustrate that the approach improves the classification accuracy by applying it on the classification of the real remotely sensed data.

In this study, an extraction method of failure sound signal which is strongly contaminated by noise is investigated by genetic algorithm and statistical tests of the frequency domain for the failure diagnosis of machinery. In order to check the extraction accuracy of the failure signal and obtain the optimum extraction of failure signal, the "existing probability Ps (t*k) of failure signal" and statistical information Iqp are defined as the standard indices for evaluation of the extraction results. It has been proven by practical field data and application of the inspection and diagnosis robot that the extraction method discussed in this paper is effective for detection of a failure and distinction of it's origin in the diagnosis of machinery.

Though tree covering is an efficient algorithm for technology mapping, phase assignments on tree boundaries are not taken into consideration. Several inverter minimization algorithms have been proposed so far, but they do phase optimization before or after technology mapping, and their cost function is not to minimize the total area but to minimize the number of inverters. This paper describes a new formulation of phase optimization problem aiming to minimize the total area during the technology mapping. Cost function representing area according to each phase assignment is introduced, and tree covering algorithm is modified to handle that cost function. Edge-Valued Binary Decision Diagram is used to represent the function implicitly. Experimental results show that proposed method reduces about 10% area on average compared with a state-of-the-art logic synthesis system sis.

This paper presents an accurate and semi-physical MOSFET substrate current model suitable for analog circuit simulations. The proposed model is valid over a wide range of the electric field present in MOSFET devices and is continuous from cut off region to saturation region. The developed model was implemented into the circuit simulator, SPICE3. Benchmark of the developed model was achieved by making comparisons between the measured data and the simulated data for MOSFET devices, push-pull CMOS inverters, a regulated cascode CMOS operational amplifier. The experimental results showed that the developed model was more accurate and computationally efficient than the conventional models.

A new motion field segmentation algorithm under the 8-parameters motion model is presented which uses a multipass iterative region-refining techinique. The iterative region-refining module consists of a seed block detection and subsequent region-refining iterations. An initial estimate of an object motion is provided in the seed block detection process. This initial estimate is iteratively updated and approaches to a reliable mapping parameter set in region-refining process. A multipass composition of the module makes it possible to detect multiple motions in a scene. Our simulation results confirm that the proposed method successfully partitions an image into independently moving objects with allowable computation time.

With the fully depleted ultra-thin-film SOI CMOS, one important issue is controlling the threshold voltage (Vth) while maintaining high speed operation and low power consumption. To control the Vth, applying a bias voltage to the substrate is one of the most practical methods. We suggest a fully depleted ultra-thin-film SOI CMOS with a floating back gate, which is formed at the lower part of the channel field inside the substrate and stores electrons injected into it. This device can eliminate the necessity of an extra circuit or a separate power supply to apply a negative voltage. The silicon wafer direct bonding technique is used to construct this device. With the prototyped devices, we can successfully control the Vth for both the nMOSFET and pMOSFET at around 0.5 V by controlling the quantity of the electric charges injected into the floating back gate.

In circuit partitioning for FPGAs, partitioned signal nets are connected using I/O blocks, through which signals are coming from or going to external pins. However, the number of I/O blocks per chip is relatively small compared with the number of logic-blocks, which realize logic functions, accommodated in the FPGA chip. Because of the I/O block limitation, the size of a circuit implemented on each FPGA chip is usually small, which leads to a serious decrease of logic-block utilization. It is required to utilize unused logic-blocks in terms of reducing the number of I/O blocks and realize circuits on given FPGA chips. In this paper, we propose an algorithm which partitions an initial circuit into multi-FPGA chips. The algorithm is based on recursive bi-partitioning of a circuit. In each bi-partitioning, it searches a partitioning position of a circuit such that each of partitioned subcircuits is accommodated in each FPGA chip with making the number of signal nets between chips as small as possible. Such bi-partitioning is achieved by computing a minimum cut repeatedly applying a network flow technique, and replicating logic-blocks appropriately. Since a set of logic-blocks assigned to each chip is computed separately, logic-blocks to be replicated are naturally determined. This means that the algorithm makes good use of unused logic-blocks from the viewpoint of reducing the number of signal nets between chips, i.e. the number of required I/O blocks. The algorithm has been implemented and applied to MCNC PARTITIONING 93 benchmark circuits. The experimental results demonstrate that it decreases the maximum number of I/O blocks per chip by a maximum of 49% compared with conventional algorithms.

A continuous-wave ultrasonic Doppler system using wide field ultrasound transducers was applied to telemeter blood velocity from the carotid artery of exercising subjects. Velocity spectrogram was obtained by Hanning windowed fast Fourier transformation of the telemetered data. Distortion caused by a high-pass filter and transducers in the telemetry system was discussed in the paper. As the maximum Reynolds number in our experiment was 1478 which is smaller than the critical level of 2000, the blood flow should be laminar. Spatial velocity profiles were then reconstructed from the velocity spectrogram. In this paper, we defined a converging index Q of the velocity spectrum to measure the bluntness of the spatial velocity distribution across the blood vessel. Greater Q, the blunter the velocity profile will be. Simulation results for spatial velocity distributions of theoretical parabolic flow and Gaussian-distribution spectra with varied Q value showed that the cut-off effect by a high-pass filter of cut-off frequency fc=200Hz in our system could be ignored when the axial velocity is larger than 0.30 m/s and Q is greater than 2.0. Our experimental results, in contrast to those obtained from phantom systems by us and by Hein and O'Brien, indicate that the distribution of blood velocity is much blunter than previously thought. The Q index exceeded 10 during systole, whereas it was 0.5 in parabolic flow. The peak of Q index lagged behind that of axial blood velocity by approximately 0.02s. The phase delay of the Q index curve might be due to the time needed for the red blood cells to form the non-homogeneous distribution.

A new high performance digital signal processor (DSP) that lowers power consumption, reduces chip count, and enables system cost savings for wireless communications applications was developed. The new device contains high performance, hard-wired functionality with a specialized instruction set to effectively implement the worldwide digital cellular standard algorithms, including GSM, PDC and NADC, and also features both full rate and future half rate processing by software modules. The device provides a wider operating voltage ranging from 1.5 V to 5.5 V using 5 V process based on the market requirement of 5 V supply voltage, even though a power supply voltage in most applications will be shifted to 3 V. Several circuits was newly developed to achieve low power consumption and high speed operation at both 5 V and 3 V process using the same data base. The device also features over 50 MIPS of processing power with low power consumption and 100 nA stand-by current at either 3 V or 5 V. One remarkable advantage is a flexible CPU core approach for the future spin-off devices with different ROM/RAM configurations and peripheral modules without requiring any CPU design changes. This paper describes the architecture of a lower power and high speed design with effective hardware and software modules implementations.

CAMs (Content Addressable Memories) are functional memories which have functions such as word-parallel equivalence search, bilateral 1-bit data shifting between consecutive words, and word-parallel writing. Since CAMs can be integrated because of their regular structure, massively parallel CAM functions can be executed. Taking advantage of CAMs, Ishiura and Yajima have proposed a parallel fault simulation algorithm using a CAM. This algorithm, however, requires a large amount of CAM storage to simulate large-scale circuits. In this paper, we propose a new massively parallel fault simulation algorithm requiring less CAM storage, and compare it with Ishiura and Yajima's algorithm. Experimental results of the algorithm on CHARGE --the CAM-based hardware engine developed in our laboratory--are also reported.

We thought that multiple skeletons were inherent in an ordinary three-dimensional object. A thinning method is developed to extract multiple skeletons using 333 templates for boundary deletion based on the hit or miss transformation and 222 templates for checking one voxel thickness. We prepared twelve sets of deleting templates consisting of total 194 templates and 72 one voxel checking templates. One repetitive iteration using one sequential use of the template sets extracts one skeleton. Some of the skeletons thus obtained are identical; however, multiple independent skeletons are extracted by this method. These skeletons fulfill the well-recognized three conditions for a skeleton. We extracted three skeletons from the cube, two from the space shuttle model and four from the L-shaped figure by Tsao and Fu. The digital medial skeleton, which is not otherwise extracted, is extracted by comparing the multiple skeletons with the digital medial-axis-like-figure. One of our skeletons for the cude agreed with the ideal medial axis. The locations of the gravity center of the multiple skeletons are compared with that of the original shape to evaluate how uniform or non-biased skeletons are extracted. For the L-shaped figure, one of our skeletons is found to be most desirable from the medial and uniform points of view.

In this paper we describa a system for Off-line Recognition of Arabic characters and Numerals. This is based on expressing the machine printed Arabic alpha-numerical text in terms of strokes obtained by MCR (Minimum Covering Run) expression. The strokes are rendered meaningful by a labeling process. They are used to detect the baseline and to provide necessary features for recognition. The features selected proved to be effective to the extent that with simple right to left analysis we could achieve interesting results. The recognition is achieved by matching to reference prototypes designed for the 28 Arabic characters and 10 numerals. The recognition rate is 97%.

This paper presents efficient algorithms for updating moving octrees with real-time performance. The first algorithm works for octrees undergoing both translation and rotation motion; it works efficiently by compacting source octrees into a smaller set of cubes (not necessarily standard octree cubes) as a precomputation step, and by using a fast, exact cube/cube intersection test between source octree cubas and target octree cubes. A parallel version of the algorithm is also described. Finally, the paper presents an efficient algorithm for the more limited case of octree translation only. Experimental results are given to show the efficiency of the algorithms in comparison to competing algorithms. In addition to being fast, the algorithms presented are also space efficient in that they can produce target octrees in the linear octree representation.

This paper proposes an efficient clustering algorithm for region merging. To speed up the search of the best pair of regions which is merged into one region, dissimilarity values of all possible pairs of regions are stored in a heap. Then the best pair can be found as the element of the root node of the binary tree corresponding to the heap. Since only adjacent pairs of regions are possible to be merged in image segmentation, this constraints of neighboring relations are represented by sorted linked lists. Then we can reduce the computation for updating the dissimilarity values and neighboring relations which are influenced by the merging of the best pair. The proposed algorithm is applied to the segmentations of a monochrome image and range images.

This paper proposes a new approach to deal with the various quality of the reference impressions by measuring the seal to register as 3D (three-dimensional) image, that is, range image. By registering a seal as 3D image, it becomes possible to construct various 2D impressions from it according to the affixing conditions of the reference impression such as the affixing slant, the affixing pressure, the state of the ink on the seal surface and so on. Then, the accurate and easy identification of the seals will be possible by comparing the constructed impression with the reference impression. The performance is verified by experiment, and the result shows that plural 2D impressions according to the affixing conditions can be constructed from only one 3D image of the registered seal.