This paper describes a method for detecting multiple overlapping objects from a real-time video stream. Layered detection is based on two processes: pixel analysis and region analysis. Pixel analysis determines whether a pixel is stationary or transient by observing its intensity over time. Region analysis detects stationary regions of stationary pixels corresponding to stopped objects. These regions are registered as layers on the background image, and thus new moving objects passing through these layers can be detected. An important aspect of this work derives from the observation that legitimately moving objects in a scene tend to cause much faster intensity transitions than changes due to lighting, meteorological, and diurnal effects. The resulting system robustly detects objects at an outdoor surveillance site. For 8 hours of video evaluation, a detection rate of 92% was measured, which is higher than traditional background subtraction methods.

Iterative multiuser detection and space-time coding are two promising techniques to increase the capacity and performance of coded multiuser systems in wireless channels. In this paper, a low-complexity iterative multiuser receiver is proposed using combined group multiuser detection and interference cancellation for space-time block coded MC-CDMA system. Turbo code is used for outer channel coding with log-MAP decoding. In each group, consisting of smaller number of users, multiuser likelihood ratios can be computed by employing MAP-based approach by taking into account of all possible transmitted symbols within each STBC time slot for these users. Moreover, once decoding information of all users are available after the first iteration, soft interference cancellation can be used instead of groupwise MAP-based detection for lower complexity, without sacrificing the performance significantly. Simulation results are presented in a Rayleigh multipath fading environment. The proposed receiver offers performance very close to that of single user system within a few iterations of joint detection and decoding.

We propose a unique synchronous rectification method in the rectification circuit of a DC-DC converter. This paper describes a novel synchronous rectification circuit that uses a saturable current transformer. We explain operations of this circuit, and analyzed them in this work. In addition, we verified operations of this method applied in boost converter and demonstrated its effectiveness when two or more converters operate in parallel through simulations and experiments.

For large circuits, vector compaction techniques could provide a faster solution for power estimation with reasonable accuracy. Because traditional sampling approach will incur useless transitions between every sampled pattern pairs after they are concatenated into a single sequence for simulation, we proposed a vector compaction method with grouping and single-sequence consecutive sampling technique to solve this problem. However, it is very possible that we cannot find a perfect consecutive sequence without any undesired transitions. In such cases, the compaction ratio of the sequence length may not be improved too much. In this paper, we propose an efficient approach to relax the limitation a little bit such that multiple consecutive sequences are allowed. We also propose an algorithm to reduce the number of sequences instead of setting the number as one to find better solutions for vector compaction problem. As demonstrated in the experimental results, the average compaction ratio and speedup can be significantly improved by using this new approach.

In this paper, an adaptive bound reduced-form genetic algorithm (ABRGA) to tune the control points of B-spline neural networks is proposed. It is developed not only to search for the optimal control points but also to adaptively tune the bounds of the control points of the B-spline neural networks by enlarging the search space of the control points. To improve the searching speed of the reduced-form genetic algorithm (RGA), the ABRGA is derived, in which better bounds of control points of B-spline neural networks are determined and paralleled with the optimal control points searched. It is shown that better efficiency is obtained if the bounds of control points are adjusted properly for the RGA-based B-spline neural networks.

A new circuit technique based on pass-gate logic with dynamic supply-voltage and clock-frequency control is proposed for a low-power motion-vector detection VLSI processor. Since the pass-gate logic style has potential advantages that have small equivalent stray capacitance and small number of short-circuit paths, its circuit implementation makes it possible to reduce the power dissipation with maintaining high-speed switching capability. In case the calculation result is obtained on the way of calculation steps, additional power saving is also achieved by combining the pass-gate logic circuitry with a mechanism that dynamically scales down the supply voltage and the clock frequency while maintaining the calculation throughput. As a typical example, a sum of absolute differences (SAD) unit in a motion-vector detection VLSI processor is implemented and its efficiency in power saving is demonstrated.

This paper presents circuit techniques using pulse-width and pulse-phase modulation (PWM/PPM) approaches for VLSI implementation of nonlinear dynamical systems. The proposed circuits implement discrete-time continuous-state dynamics by means of analog processing in a time domain, and also approximately implement continuous-time dynamics. Arbitrary nonlinear transformation functions are generated by the process in which a PPM signal samples a voltage or current source whose waveform in the time domain has the same shape as the desired transformation function. Because a shared arbitrary nonlinear voltage or current waveform generator can be constructed by digital circuits and D/A converters, high flexibility and real-time controllability are achieved. By using one of these new techniques, we have designed and fabricated a CMOS chaos circuit with arbitrary 1-D maps using a 0.6 µm CMOS process, and demonstrate from the experimental results that the new chaos circuit successfully generated various chaos with 7.5-7.8 bit precision by using logistic, tent and chaotic-neuron maps.

In this paper, we propose a fast fractal image coding based on LMSE (least mean square error) analysis and subblock feature. The proposed method focuses on efficient search of contrast scaling, position of its matched domain block, and isometric transform for a range block. The contrast scaling and the domain block position are searched using a cost function that comes from the LMSE analysis of the range block and its fractal-approximated block. The isometric transform is searched using 2 2 blocks formed with the averages of subblocks of range block and domain block. Experimental results show that the encoding time of a conventional fractal image coding with our search method is 25.6-39.7 times faster than that with full search method at the same bit rate while giving PSNR decrement of 0.2-0.7 dB with negligible deterioration in subjective quality. It is also shown that the encoding time of a conventional fractal image coding with our search method is 3.4-4.2 times faster than Jacquin's fractal image coding and is superior by maximum 0.8 dB in PSNR. It also yields reconstructed images of better quality.

In this paper we present a new type of CMOS Time-of-Flight (TOF) range image sensor based on CMOS Active Pixel Sensor (APS) techniques. The TOF sensor features high-speed and efficient photo-charge transfer that is essential in range imaging. The rapid and efficient charge transfer is made possible by the use of a high-gain inverting amplifier and capacitors connected alternatively to the feedback path. This leads to the cost-effective implementation of the system. The analysis of simulation results suggests that the proposed technique can achieve a sufficient range resolution of millimeters to centimeters depending on the maximum measured range, if the noise is dominated by photon shot noise.

We propose a multiple-subcarrier (MS) optical communication system using intensity modulation with direct detection (IM/DD) with peak reduction carriers (PRCs) to improve the power efficiency of IM/DD MS systems. The proposed system transmits L subcarriers referred to as PRCs among N subcarriers for the d.c. bias reduction so that the optical power is reduced. Since information bits are mapped onto each subcarrier other than PRCs independently, the information bits of each subcarrier can be detected independently and the error rate of the proposed system is unaffected by PRCs.

Feedforward neural networks have been successfully developed and applied in many areas because of their universal approximation capability. However, there still remains the problem of determining a suitable network structure for the given task. In this paper, we propose a novel self-organizing neural network which automatically adjusts its structure according to the task. Utilizing both the constructive and the pruning procedures, the proposed algorithm finds a near-optimal network which is compact and shows good generalization performance. One of its important features is reliability, which means the randomness of neural networks is effectively reduced. The resultant networks can have suitable numbers of hidden neurons and hidden layers according to the complexity of the given task. The simulation results for the well-known function regression problems show that our method successfully organizes near-optimal networks.

This paper is concerned with improving noise-robustness of a multi-SNR multi-band speaker identification system by introducing automatic adjustment of subband likelihood recombination weights. The adjustment is performed on the basis of subband power calculated from the noise observed just before the speech starts in the input signal. To evaluate the noise-robustness of this system, text-independent speaker identification experiments were conducted on speech data corrupted with noises recorded in five environments: "bus," "car," "office," "lobby," and "restaurant". It was found that the present method reduces the identification error by 15.9% compared with the multi-SNR multi-band method with equal recombination weights at 0 dB SNR. The performance of the present method was compared with a clean fullband method in which a speaker model training is performed on clean speech data, and spectral subtraction is applied to the input signal in the speaker identification stage. When the clean fullband method without spectral subtraction is taken as a baseline, the multi-SNR multi-band method with automatic adjustment of recombination weights attained 56.8% error reduction on average, while the average error reduction rate of the clean fullband method with spectral subtraction was 11.4% at 0 dB SNR.

This paper is concerned with the signal processing aspects of the recently proposed interleave-division multiple-access (IDMA) scheme. We propose several low-cost detection algorithms to solve the problems of multiple-access, cross-antenna and intersymbol interference (ISI). The complexities (per user) of these algorithms are very low and increase either linearly or quadratically with the number of paths. It is shown that an IDMA system with a rate- 16-state convolutional code and a length-8 spreading sequence can support more than 100 users in a multipath fading channel with two receive antennas. This clearly indicates the great potential of IDMA systems.

Fairness is one of the most important features of a rate allocation strategy. Proportional fairness criterion has been recently proposed by F. P. Kelly and his colleagues. In this paper, we have proposed a two-level hierarchical technique which allocates proportionally-fair rates to the network elastic users. Part of the network links which are used commonly by the end-users and are congestion prone, constitute the higher (first) level of the hierarchy. In this level, the users with common path in the network are grouped as virtual users. End-users and remaining network links constitute the lower (second) level of hierarchy. To improve the convergence rate of the algorithm, a combination of Jacobi method and fuzzy techniques is deployed in the higher level of hierarchy. Implementing such fast algorithms in the higher level (which is topologically simpler than the whole network), reduces the computational complexity with respect to the use of such algorithms in the whole network. Additionally, the lower level penalty function computation is done once in each N iterations, which reduces the computational complexity furthermore. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms that of Kelly in the convergence speed.

Nonminimum phase systems are difficult to be controlled with a conventional PID-type controller because of their inherent characteristics of undershooting. A neuro-controller combined with a PID-type controller has been shown to improve the control performance of the nonminimum phase systems while maintaining stability. In this paper, we apply a multiobjective evolutionary optimization method for training the neuro-controller to reduce the undershooting of the nonminimum phase system. The computer simulation shows that the proposed multiobjective approach is very effective and suitable because it can minimize the control error as well as reduce undershooting and chattering. This method can be applied to many industrial nonminimum phase problems with ease.

In this paper, we consider a blind channel estimation and equalization for single input multiple output (SIMO) channels. It is based on the one-step forward multichannel linear prediction error method. The derivation of the existing method is based on the noiseless assumption, however, we analyze the effects of additive noise at the output of the one-step forward multichannel linear prediction error filters. Moreover, we derive analytical results for the error in the blind channel estimation and equalization using linear prediction.

We develop an algorithm for a controller design method for Max-Plus Linear (MPL) systems with selective parameters. Since the conventional algorithm we proposed requires high computational load when the prediction horizon is large, two methods for reducing the calculation time are proposed. One is based upon the branch-and-bound method, and the other is to reuse the optimal solution. The effectiveness of these two methods is confirmed through numerical simulation.

This paper proposes a simple method for estimation and compensation of signal direction, to deal with relative change of sound source location caused by the movements of a microphone array and a sound source. This method introduces a delay filter that has shifted and sampled sinc functions. This paper presents a concept for the joint optimization of arrival time differences and of the coordinate system of a mobile microphone array. We use the LMS algorithm to derive this method by maintaining a certain relationship between the directions of the microphone array and the sound source directions. This method directly estimates the relative directions of the microphone array to the sound source directions by minimizing the relative differences of arrival time among the observed signals, not by estimating the time difference of arrival (TDOA) between two observed signals. This method also compensates the time delay of the observed signals simultaneously, and it has a feature to maintain that the output signals are in phase. Simulation results support effectiveness of the method.

In this paper, we consider the problem of multicast routing and wavelength assignment (MC-RWA) in multi-fiber all-optical WDM networks. Two main network design system comprehensively investigated here are mesh and multi-ring designs. Given the multicast traffic demands, we present new ILP formulations to solve the MC-RWA problem with an objective to determine the minimal number of fibers needed to support the multicast requests. Unlike previous studies, our ILP formulations are not only capable of finding the optimal multicast routing and wavelength assignment pattern to the light-trees, but also finding the optimal light-tree structures simultaneously. Since broadcast and unicast communications are special cases of multicast communications, our ILP models are actually the generalized RWA mathematical models of optical WDM networks. In addition to proposing the ILP models, this paper takes two main issues affecting the network capacity requirement into account, that is, the splitting degree level of optical splitters and techniques of wavelength assignment to the light-trees. Three multicast wavelength assignment techniques studied in this paper are Light-Tree (LT), Virtual Light-Tree (VLT) and Partial Virtual Light-Tree (PVLT) techniques. Due to the NP-completeness of the MC-RWA problem, the ILP formulations can reasonably cope with small and moderate networks. To work with large networks, this paper presents alternative MC-RWA ILP-based heuristic algorithms for the PVLT and LT networks and develops lower bound techniques to characterize the performance of our algorithms. Using existing large backbone networks, numerical results are reported to analyze such aspects as multiple fiber systems, the benefits of using optical splitters and wavelength converters, and the capacity difference between the mesh and multi-ring designs. Finally, this paper provides an analysis of the influence of network connectivity on the network implementation under the constraints of mesh and multi-ring design schemes.

A double surface light emission backlight that uses single light-guide plate, has been developed for illumination of two liquid-crystal displays (LCD) on its front and rear, to be used in a cellular phone. The light-guide plate has a trapezoid cross-section with arrays of optical micro deflector and micro prism on the front and the rear surfaces, respectively. Propagated light, forward and backward, inside the light-guide plate are controlled and directed toward LCDs using only two prism sheets with internal reflection characteristic, each for the front and the rear. Only three optical components and four light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are used in the new structure compared with ten components and six LEDs of the current type. Comparing with the current type, the thickness and power consumption of the new backlight are reduced by a factor of 0.59 and 0.67, respectively.