High frequency (HF) diffraction is known as local phenomena, and only parts of the scatterer contribute to the field such as the edge, corner and specular reflection point etc. Many HF diffraction techniques such as Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (GTD), Uniform Theory of Diffraction (UTD) and Physical Theory of Diffraction (PTD) utilize these assumptions explicitly. Physical Optics (PO), on the other hand, expresses the diffraction in terms of radiation integral or the sum total of contributions from all the illuminated parts of scatterers, while the PO currents are locally defined at the point of integration. This paper presents PO-based visualization of the scattering and diffraction phenomena and tries to provide the intuitive understanding of local property of HF diffraction as well as the relations between PO and the ray techniques such as GTD, UTD etc. A weighting named "eye function" is introduced in PO radiation integrals to take into account of local cancellation between rapidly oscillating contributions from adjacent currents; this extracts important areas of current distribution, whose location moves not only with the source but also with the observation point. PO visualization illustrates both local property of HF scattering and defects associated with ray techniques. Furthermore, careful examination of visualized image reminds us of the error factor in PO as applied for curved surfaces, named fictitious penetrating rays. They have been scarcely recognized if not for visualization, though they disturb the geometrical shadow behind the opaque scatterer and can be the leading error factors of PO in shadow regions. Finally, visualization is extended to slot antennas with finite ground planes by hybrid use of modified edge representation (MER) to assess the significance of edge diffraction.

An RF front-end using a six-port circuit is a promising technology for realization of a compact software defined radio (SDR) receiver. Such a receiver, called a six-port direct conversion receiver (DCR), consists of analog circuit and digital signal processing components. The six-port DCR itself outputs four different linear combinations of received and local signals. The output powers are measured at each port, and the received signal is recovered by solving a set of linear equations. This receiver can easily cover a wide frequency band unlike the conventional DCR since it does not require the precise orthogonality that the conventional one does. In this paper, we propose a novel calibration method for a six-port system that includes nonlinear circuits such as diode detectors. We demonstrated the demodulation performance of a six-port DCR by computer simulation and experiments at 1.9, 2.45, and 5.85 GHz.

Malignant melanoma is a skin cancer that can be mistaken as a harmless mole in the early stages and is curable only in these early stages. Therefore, dermatologists use a microscope that shows the pigment structures of the skin to classify suspicious skin lesions as malignant or benign. This microscope is called "dermoscope." However, even when using a dermoscope a malignant skin lesion can be mistaken as benign or vice versa. Therefore, it seems desirable to analyze dermoscopic images by computer to classify the skin lesion. Before a dermoscopic image can be classified, it should be segmented into regions of the same color. For this purpose, we propose a segmentation method that automatically determines the number of colors by optimizing a cluster validity index. Cluster validity indices can be used to determine how accurately a partition represents the "natural" clusters of a data set. Therefore, cluster validity indices can also be applied to evaluate how accurately a color image is segmented. First the RGB image is transformed into the L*u*v* color space, in which Euclidean vector distances correspond to differences of visible colors. The pixels of the L*u*v* image are used to train a self-organizing map. After completion of the training a genetic algorithm groups the neurons of the self-organizing map into clusters using fuzzy c-means. The genetic algorithm searches for a partition that optimizes a fuzzy cluster validity index. The image is segmented by assigning each pixel of the L*u*v* image to the nearest neighbor among the cluster centers found by the genetic algorithm. A set of dermoscopic images is segmented using the method proposed in this research and the images are classified based on color statistics and textural features. The results indicate that the method proposed in this research is effective for the segmentation of dermoscopic images.

This study proposes a 3 dB branch-line coupler using radial stubs to achieve reduced coupler size and simplified stub arrangement. As the electrical lengths of stubs used here are less than 90at center frequency, a method of comparing input impedances to obtain radial stubs that are equivalent to straight stubs is discussed. The frequency characteristics of the proposed coupler are derived by combining classical transmission line theory with the computed data of radial stub input impedances. The methods presented here increase possibilities for realizing reduced branch-line couplers by means of stub design. Experimental results agree well with theoretical results except for slight differences in the high frequency region.

Point-to-point optical and millimeter wave communication has recently been of interest, especially in urban areas. Its benefits include simpler and easier installation compared with a land-based line. However, this technology suffers when adverse weather conditions are present, such as rain, fog and clouds, which induce scattering and absorption of the optical wave. The effects of scattering and absorption degrade the quality of the communication link resulting in increase of bit-error-rate. Therefore, there exists a need for accurate channel characterization in order to understand and mitigate the problem. In this paper, radiative transfer theory is employed to study the behavior of amplitude modulated signal propagating through a random medium. We show the effect of the medium to a modulated signal and relate the outcome on the quality of the communication link.

Novel high-frequency asymptotic solutions for the scattered fields by a dielectric circular cylinder with a radius of curvature sufficiently larger than the wavelength are presented in this paper. We shall derive the modified UTD (uniform Geometrical Theory of Diffraction) solution, which is applicable in the transition regions near the geometrical boundaries produced by the incident ray on the dielectric cylinder from the tangential direction. Also derived are the uniform geometrical ray solutions applicable near the geometrical boundaries and near the caustics produced by the ray family reflected on the internal concave boundary of the dielectric cylinder. The validity and the utility of the uniform solutions are confirmed by comparing with the exact solution obtained from the eigenfuction expansion.

In this paper, we present the interlaced fast Fourier transform (FFT) method to parallelize the adaptive integral method (AIM) algorithm for the radar cross-section (RCS) computation of large scattering objects in free space. It is noted that the function obtained after convolution is smoother as compared to the original functions. Utilizing this concept, it is possible to interlace the grid current and charge sources in AIM and compute the potentials on each set of interlaced grid independently using FFT. Since the potentials on each interlaced grid are smooth functions in space, we can then interpolate the potentials to every other nodes on the original grid. The final solution of the potentials on the original grid is obtained by summing the total contributions of all the computed and interpolated potentials from every individual interlaced grid. Since the potentials of each interlaced grid can be computed independently without much communication overheads between the processes, such an algorithm is suitable for parallelizing the AIM solver to run on distributed parallel computer clusters. It is shown that the overall computation complexity of the newly proposed interlaced FFT scheme is still of O(N log N).

Superluminal group velocity in dispersive media has long been controversial. A partial source of confusion seems to be the absence of high precision numerical results concerning the waveform of the transmitted signal. This paper gives the precise waveforms of a causal half-sine-modulated pulse and a triangle-modulated pulse propagating in the Lorentz medium. Thus, the effects of analyticity of signal are clarified, which the analysis using Gaussian pulse cannot. Further, to deepen understanding of the mechanism of superluminal group velocity, we give a network theoretic consideration.

Whereas the autocorrelation is frequently used for pitch estimation, the resultant estimates usually suffer from inaccuracy. Instead of upsampling, we can improve the accuracy of the estimates by applying polynomial interpolation to the autocorrelation directly. For that purpose, four kernels, which are interpolating quadratic, quadratic-B spline, cubic-B spline, and cubic convolution kernels respectively, have been compared. Experiments show that the cubic B spline kernel shows the best performance, a little inferior to the computationally intensive upsampling procedure. The quadratic B spline kernel shows also reasonable performance with the merit of the further reduced computational complexities compared with the cubic B spline kernel.

First we introduce the high-frequency equivalent circuit model of the Fine Pitched Ball Grid Array (FPBGA) bonding for frequencies up to 20 GHz. The lumped circuit model of the FPBGA bonding was extracted based on S-parameters measurement and subsequent fitting of the model parameters. The test packages, which contain probing pads, coplanar waveguides and FPBGA ball bonding, were fabricated and measured. The suggested π-model of the FPBGA bonding consists of self-inductor, self-capacitor, and self-resistor components. From the extracted model, a solder ball of 350 µm diameter and 800 µm ball pitch has less than 0.08 nH self-inductance, 0.40 pF self capacitance, and about 10 mΩ self-resistance. In addition, the mutual capacitance caused by the presence of the adjacent bonding balls is included in the model. The FPBGA solder ball bonding has less than 1.5 dB insertion loss up to 20 GHz, and it causes negligible delay time in digital signal transmission. The extracted circuit model of FPBGA bonding is useful in design and performance simulation of advanced packages, which use FPBGA bonding.

An empirical formula of resonant frequency of bow-tie microstrip antennas is presented, which is based on the cavity model of microstrip patch antennas. A procedure to design a bow-tie antenna using genetic algorithm (GA) in which we take the formula as a fitness function is also given. An optimized bow-tie antenna by genetic algorithm was constructed and measured. Numerical and experimental results are used to validate the formula and GA. The results are in good agreement.

Three representative protocols are proposed to support mobility for IPv6 in IETF: Mobile IPv6, Hierarchical Mobile IPv6, and Fast Handovers for Mobile IPv6. Recently, IEEE 802.11 network has been widely deployed in public areas for mobile Internet services. In the near future, IPv6 mobility support over IEEE 802.11 network is expected to be a key function to actualize the pure IP-based mobile multimedia service. The IPv6 mobility support protocols have their characteristics in terms of signaling, handover latency, lost packets, and required buffer size. In this paper, we analyze the performance of the protocols over IEEE 802.11 network. We define a packet-level traffic model and a system and mobility model. Then, we construct a framework for the performance analysis. We also make cost functions to formalize each protocol's performance. Lastly, we investigate the effect of varying parameters used to show diverse numerical results.

In this article we propose a new framework to support QoS and 4G enabled mobility management. The key feature of this framework is twofold; the Policy based Handover control, and the adaptive handover mechanisms. On one hand, the adaptive handover mechanism will allow the selection of different handover schemes based on the user service level specification in order to differentiate the handover quality provided for the required service level, thus optimizing the network resources usage and providing the agreed service level to users. On the other hand, the proposed handover control mechanism considers resource availability and other constraints during the handover decision in order to provide support for QoS aware mobility on the contrary of the classical naïve mobility management that considers only signal strength fading. This decision mechanism will provide mainly the interaction between the mobility and QoS management frameworks but also a 4G handover control. In addition, the QoS aware handover will provide the knowledge necessary to achieve a proactive handover's procedures control.

Although production systems are widely used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications, they are seen to have certain disadvantages in terms of their need for special purpose assistance software to build and execute their knowledge-bases (KB), and in the fact that they will not run on any operating system (platform dependency). Furthermore, for AI applications such as learning assistance systems, there is a strong requirement for a self-adaptive function enabling a flexible change in the service contents provided, according to the user. Against such a background, a Java based production system (JPS) featuring no requirement for special purpose assistance software and no platform dependency, is proposed. Furthermore, a new self-adaptive Java production system (A-JPS) is proposed to realize the "user adaptation" requirement mentioned above. Its key characteristic is the combination of JPS with a Causal-network (CN) for obtaining a "user profile". In addition, the execution time of the JPS was studied using several benchmark problems with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of different matching algorithms in their recognize-act cycles as well as comparing their performance to that of traditional procedural programs for different problem types. Moreover, the effectiveness of the user adaptation function of the A-JPS was studied for the case of a CN with a general DAG structure, using the experimental KB of a learning assistance system.

The purpose of this research is to show that the stress during the VDT task could be evaluated using the chaotic features for the focal accommodation system and the pupil area. The result of this experiment shows that the fractal dimension for the pupil area can be used to evaluate the stress during the VDT task. Moreover, it is shown that the chaotic property in the fixed target measurement is higher than that in the linear control and step control measurements. However, the first Lyapunov exponent hardly changed over time for all of three accommodation measurements.

Hierarchical Mobile IPv6 (HMIPv6) has been proposed to improve the performance capability of Mobile IPv6 at handover. In HMIPv6, local entities named Mobility Anchor Points (MAPs) are distributed throughout a network to localize the management of intra-domain mobility. In particular, multi-layered MAP has been proposed to improve performance. MAPs reduce the number of Binding Updates to the Home Agent and improve the communication quality at handover. These conventional methods that manage a multi-layered MAP cannot, however, select an appropriate MAP because they use the virtual mobility speed. As a result, they increase the signaling traffic in a multi-layered MAP. Moreover, they may cause the load to concentrate at a specific MAP. In this paper, we propose a location management method for Hierarchical Mobile IPv6 using the MN's mobile history. In this method, when a MN performs a handover, the Access Router calculates the area-covered rate of each upper MAP from the MN's mobile history and selects the MAP that best manages the MN in accordance with its rate. Thus, the proposed method reduces both the number of Binding Updates to the Home Agent and the signaling traffic because it reduces the frequency of changing the MAP. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method by simulation.

Digital watermarks on pictures must have the ability to survive various image processing operations while not causing degradation of picture quality. Random geometric distortion is one of the most difficult kinds of image processing for a watermark to survive, and this problem has become a central issue in watermarking research. Previous methods for dealing with random geometric distortion have been based on searches, special watermark patterns, learning, or additional data such as original pictures. Their use, however, is accompanied by large computational overhead or by operational inconvenience. This paper therefore proposes a method based on embedding watermark patterns in two of the three color planes constituting a color picture so that these two planes have a specific covariance. The detection of the embedded information is based on the covariance between these two planes. Random geometric distortion distorts all the constituent color planes of a picture in the same way and thus does not affect the covariance between any two. The covariance-based detection is therefore immune to the distortion. The paper clarifies that detection error would occur whenever the inherent covariance (the covariance in the original picture) overrides the covariance made by watermarking. The two constituent planes having the minimum inherent covariance are therefore selected and their inherent covariance is reduced by shifting one of them and using a noise-reduction preprocess. Experimental evaluations using StirMark confirmed that 64 bits embedded in 256256-pixel pictures can be correctly detected without using searches, special patterns, learning, or additional data.

We propose a method to determine accurate motion fields and illumination conditions such as non-uniform or non-stationary illuminations. The method extends a stabilization method using reliability indices of optical flow to combine with a gradient-based approach that determines a motion field and illumination conditions simultaneously. We applied the proposed method to two synthetic image sequences and a standard image sequence. The method is effective for image sequences including poorly textured areas, edges of brightness variation, and almost dark objects.

In this paper, the magnetic field properties around household appliances are investigated with the single coil model and equivalent source model, which are used as main source models in the European standard EN50366 (CENELEC). The accuracy of the field properties is conducted for the coil model (defined in the EN50366), by comparing with the results of the equivalent source model, which allow the reproduction of the complicated inhomogeneous magnetic field around the appliance with full generality (i.e. supports three dimensional vector fields).

This paper presents a framework for the analysis of multi-antenna communication systems with mutually-coupled elements. The approach uses a network model that includes the coupled antennas, the propagation channel, the receiver matching network, a realistic noise model for the receive amplifiers, and externally generated interference. The general scheme is applied to diversity receivers, multiple-input multiple-output, and adaptive array architectures. Application of the formulation to coupled dipole antennas illustrates the impact of both mutual coupling and receiver matching on the performance of several representative multi-antenna applications.