In this letter, a ray tracing (RT) acceleration method based on rank minimization is proposed. RT is a general tool used to simulate wireless communication environments. However, the simulation is time consuming because of the large number of ray calculations. This letter focuses on radio map interpolation as an acceleration approach. In the conventional methods cannot appropriately estimate short-span variation caused by multipath fading. To overcome the shortage of the conventional methods, we adopt rank minimization based interpolation. A computational simulation using commercial RT software revealed that the interpolation accuracy of the proposed method was higher than those of other radio map interpolation methods and that RT simulation can be accelerated approximate five times faster with the missing rate of 0.8.

To prove the graph relations such as the connectivity and isolation for a certified graph, a system of a graph signature and proofs has been proposed. In this system, an issuer generates a signature certifying the topology of an undirected graph, and issues the signature to a prover. The prover can prove the knowledge of the signature and the graph in the zero-knowledge, i.e., the signature and the signed graph are hidden. In addition, the prover can prove relations on the certified graph such as the connectivity and isolation between two vertexes. In the previous system, using integer commitments on RSA modulus, the graph relations are proved. However, the RSA modulus needs a longer size for each element. Furthermore, the proof size and verification cost depend on the total numbers of vertexes and edges. In this paper, we propose a graph signature and proof system, where these are computed on bilinear groups without the RSA modulus. Moreover, using a bilinear map accumulator, the prover can prove the connectivity and isolation on a graph, where the proof size and verification cost become independent from the total numbers of vertexes and edges.

This paper introduces our work on a Movie Map, which will enable users to explore a given city area using 360° videos. Visual exploration of a city is always needed. Nowadays, we are familiar with Google Street View (GSV) that is an interactive visual map. Despite the wide use of GSV, it provides sparse images of streets, which often confuses users and lowers user satisfaction. Forty years ago, a video-based interactive map was created - it is well-known as Aspen Movie Map. Movie Map uses videos instead of sparse images and seems to improve the user experience dramatically. However, Aspen Movie Map was based on analog technology with a huge effort and never built again. Thus, we renovate the Movie Map using state-of-the-art technology. We build a new Movie Map system with an interface for exploring cities. The system consists of four stages; acquisition, analysis, management, and interaction. After acquiring 360° videos along streets in target areas, the analysis of videos is almost automatic. Frames of the video are localized on the map, intersections are detected, and videos are segmented. Turning views at intersections are synthesized. By connecting the video segments following the specified movement in an area, we can watch a walking view along a street. The interface allows for easy exploration of a target area. It can also show virtual billboards in the view.

Permutation polynomials over finite fields have been widely studied due to their important applications in mathematics and cryptography. In recent years, 2-to-1 mappings over finite fields were proposed to build almost perfect nonlinear functions, bent functions, and the semi-bent functions. In this paper, we generalize the 2-to-1 mappings to m-to-1 mappings, including their construction methods. Some applications of m-to-1 mappings are also discussed.

This study investigated the influence of reading time while building a closed concept map on reading comprehension and retention. It also investigated the effect of having access to the text during closed concept map creation on reading comprehension and retention. Participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (N =101) read a text, took an after-text test, and took part in one of three conditions, “Map & Text”, “Map only”, and “Double Text”, took an after-activity test, followed by a two-week retention period and then one final delayed test. Analysis revealed that higher reading times were associated with better reading comprehension and better retention. Furthermore, when comparing “Map & Text” to the “Map only” condition, short-term reading comprehension was improved, but long-term retention was not improved. This suggests that having access to the text while building closed concept maps can improve reading comprehension, but long term learning can only be improved if students invest time accessing both the map and the text.

The need for real-time use of human dynamics data is increasing. The technical requirements for this include improved databases for handling a large amount of data as well as highly accurate sensing of people's movements. A bitmap index format has been proposed for high-speed processing of data that spreads in a two-dimensional space. Using the same format is expected to provide a service that searches queries, reads out desired data, visualizes it, and analyzes it. In this study, we propose a coding format that enables human dynamics data to compress it in the target data size, in order to save data storage for successive increase of real-time human dynamics data. In the proposed method, the spatial population distribution, which is expressed by a probability distribution, is approximated and compressed using the one-pixel one-byte data format normally used for image coding. We utilize two kinds of approximation, which are accuracy of probability and precision of spatial location, in order to control the data size and the amount of information. For accuracy of probability, we propose a non-linear mapping method for the spatial distribution, and for precision of spatial location, we propose spatial scalable layered coding to refine the mesh level of the spatial distribution. Also, in order to enable additional detailed analysis, we propose another scalable layered coding that improves the accuracy of the distribution. We demonstrate through experiments that the proposed data approximation and coding format achieve sufficient approximation of spatial population distribution in the given condition of target data size.

In this letter, we will prove that chaotic binary sequences generated by the tent map and Walsh functions are i.i.d. (independent and identically distributed) and orthogonal to each other.

The Tokyo subway is one of the most complex subway networks in the world and it is difficult to compute a visually readable metro map using existing layout methods. In this paper, we present a new method that can generate complex metro maps such as the Tokyo subway network. Our method consists of two phases. The first phase generates rough metro maps. It decomposes the metro networks into smaller subgraphs and partially generates rough metro maps. In the second phase, we use a local search technique to improve the aesthetic quality of the rough metro maps. The experimental results including the Tokyo metro map are shown.

Folding an m×n square grid pattern along the edges of a grid is called map folding. We consider a decision problem in terms of whether a partial overlapping order of the squares aligning on the boundary of an m×n map is valid in a particular fold model called simple fold. This is a variation of the decision problem of valid total orders of the map in a simple fold model. We provide a linear-time algorithm to solve this problem, by defining an equivalence relation and computing the folding sequence sequentially, either uniquely or representatively.

This paper proposes out-of-bound signal demapping for lattice reduction-aided iterative linear receivers in overloaded MIMO channels. While lattice reduction aided linear receivers sometimes output hard-decision signals that are not contained in the modulation constellation, the proposed demapping converts those hard-decision signals into binary digits that can be mapped onto the modulation constellation. Even though the proposed demapping can be implemented with almost no additional complexity, the proposed demapping achieves more gain as the linear reception is iterated. Furthermore, we show that the transmission performance depends on bit mapping in modulations such as the Gray mapping and the natural mapping. The transmission performance is confirmed by computer simulation in a 6 × 2 MIMO system, i.e., the overloading ratio of 3. One of the proposed demapping called “modulo demapping” attains a gain of about 2 dB at the packet error rate (PER) of 10-1 when the 64QAM is applied.

A series of Binarized Neural Networks (BNNs) show the accepted accuracy in image classification tasks and achieve the excellent performance on field programmable gate array (FPGA). Nevertheless, we observe existing designs of BNNs are quite time-consuming in change of the target BNN and acceleration of a new BNN. Therefore, this paper presents FCA-BNN, a flexible and configurable accelerator, which employs the layer-level configurable technique to execute seamlessly each layer of target BNN. Initially, to save resource and improve energy efficiency, the hardware-oriented optimal formulas are introduced to design energy-efficient computing array for different sizes of padded-convolution and fully-connected layers. Moreover, to accelerate the target BNNs efficiently, we exploit the analytical model to explore the optimal design parameters for FCA-BNN. Finally, our proposed mapping flow changes the target network by entering order, and accelerates a new network by compiling and loading corresponding instructions, while without loading and generating bitstream. The evaluations on three major structures of BNNs show the differences between inference accuracy of FCA-BNN and that of GPU are just 0.07%, 0.31% and 0.4% for LFC, VGG-like and Cifar-10 AlexNet. Furthermore, our energy-efficiency results achieve the results of existing customized FPGA accelerators by 0.8× for LFC and 2.6× for VGG-like. For Cifar-10 AlexNet, FCA-BNN achieves 188.2× and 60.6× better than CPU and GPU in energy efficiency, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, FCA-BNN is the most efficient design for change of the target BNN and acceleration of a new BNN, while keeps the competitive performance.

Concept map has been widely used as an interactive media to deliver contents in learning. Incorporating concept maps into collaborative learning could promote more interactive and meaningful learning environments. Furthermore, delivering concept maps in a digital form, such as in Kit-Build concept map, could improve learning interaction further. Collaborative learning with Kit-Build concept map has been shown to have positive effects on students' understanding. The way students compose their concept maps while discussing with others is presumed to affect their learning. However, supporting collaborative learning in an online setting is formidable to keep the interaction meaningful and fluid. This study proposed a new approach of real-time collaborative learning with Kit-Build concept map. This study also investigated how concept map recomposition with Kit-Build concept map could help students collaboratively learn EFL reading comprehension from a distance by comparing it with the traditional open-ended concept mapping approach. The learning effect and students' conversation during collaboration with the proposed online Kit-Build concept map system were investigated. Comparative analysis with a traditional collaborative concept mapping approach is also presented. The results suggested that collaborative learning with Kit-Build concept map yielded better outcomes and more meaningful discussion than the traditional open-end concept mapping.

IoT devices operate with a battery and have embedded firmware in flash memory. If the embedded firmware is not kept up to date, there is a possibility of problems that cannot be linked with other IoT networks, so it is necessary to maintain the latest firmware with frequent updates. However, because firmware updates require developers and equipment, they consume manpower and time. Additionally, because the device must be active during the update, a low-power operation is not possible due to frequent flash memory access. In addition, if an unexpected interruption occurs during an update, the device is unavailable and requires a reliable update. Therefore, this paper aims to improve the reliability of updates and low-power operation by proposing a technique of performing firmware updates at high speed. In this paper, we propose a technique to update only a part of the firmware stored in nonvolatile flash memory without pre-processing to generate delta files. The firmware is divided into function blocks, and their addresses are collectively managed in a separate area called a function map. When updating the firmware, only the new function block to be updated is transmitted from the host downloader, and the bootloader proceeds with the update using the function block stored in the flash memory. Instead of transmitting the entire new firmware and writing it in the memory, using only function block reduces the amount of resources required for updating. Function-blocks can be called indirectly through a function map, so that the update can be completed by modifying only the function map regardless of the physical location. Our evaluation results show that the proposed technique effectively reduces the time cost, energy consumption, and additional memory usage overhead that can occur when updating firmware.

An efficient hardware implementation for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) methods is of necessity for mobile autonomous robots with limited computational resources. In this paper, we propose a resource-efficient FPGA implementation for accelerating scan matching computations, which typically cause a major bottleneck in 2D LiDAR SLAM methods. Scan matching is a process of correcting a robot pose by aligning the latest LiDAR measurements with an occupancy grid map, which encodes the information about the surrounding environment. We exploit an inherent parallelism in the Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter (RBPF) based algorithm to perform scan matching computations for multiple particles in parallel. In the proposed design, several techniques are employed to reduce the resource utilization and to achieve the maximum throughput. Experimental results using the benchmark datasets show that the scan matching is accelerated by 5.31-8.75× and the overall throughput is improved by 3.72-5.10× without seriously degrading the quality of the final outputs. Furthermore, our proposed IP core requires only 44% of the total resources available in the TUL Pynq-Z2 FPGA board, thus facilitating the realization of SLAM applications on indoor mobile robots.

This paper proposes a change detection method for buildings based on convolutional neural networks. The proposed method detects building changes from pairs of optical aerial images and past map information concerning buildings. Using high-resolution image pair and past map information seamlessly, the proposed method can capture the building areas more precisely compared to a conventional method. Our experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the conventional change detection method that uses optical aerial images to detect building changes.

As NAND flash-based storage has been settled, a flash translation layer (FTL) has been in charge of mapping data addresses on NAND flash memory. Many FTLs implemented various mapping schemes, but the amount of mapping data depends on the mapping level. However, the FTL should contemplate mapping consistency irrespective of how much mapping data dwell in the storage. Furthermore, the recovery cost by the inconsistency needs to be considered for a faster storage reboot time. This letter proposes a novel method that enhances the consistency for a page-mapping level FTL running a legacy logging policy. Moreover, the recovery cost of page mappings also decreases. The novel method is to adopt a virtually-shrunk segment and deactivate page-mapping logs by assembling and storing the segments. This segment scheme already gave embedded NAND flash-based storage enhance its response time in our previous study. In addition to that improved result, this novel plan maximizes the page-mapping consistency, therefore improves the recovery cost compared with the legacy page-mapping FTL.

Offset quadrature amplitude modulation based orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM/OQAM) is a promising multi-carrier modulation technique to achieve a low-sidelobe spectrum while maintaining orthogonality among subcarriers. However, a major shortcoming of OFDM/OQAM systems is the high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the transmit signal. To resolve the high-PAPR issue of traditional OFDM, a self-synchronized-scrambler-based selected-mapping has been investigated, where the transmit sequence is scrambled to reduce PAPR. In this method, the receiver must use a descrambler to recover the original data. However, the descrambling process leads to error propagation, which degrades the bit error rate (BER). As described herein, a partial scrambling overlapped selected mapping (PS-OSLM) scheme is proposed for PAPR reduction of OFDM/OQAM signals, where candidate sequences are generated using partial scrambling of original data. The best candidate, the one that minimizes the peak amplitude within multiple OFDM/OQAM symbols, is selected. In the proposed method, an overlap search algorithm for SLM is applied to reduce the PAPR of OFDM/OQAM signals. Numerical results demonstrate that our PS-OSLM proposal achieves better BER than full-scrambling overlapped SLM (FS-OSLM) in OFDM/OQAM systems while maintaining almost equivalent PAPR reduction capability as FS-OSLM and better PAPR than SLM without overlap search. Additionally, we derive a theoretical lower bound expression for OFDM/OQAM with PS-OSLM, and clarify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

This study compared two extended concept mapping approaches and investigated the distribution of students' understanding and knowledge structure. The students in the experimental group used Extended Kit-Build (EKB), where a learner extends a concept map built by kit-building, and those in the control group utilized the Extended Scratch-Build (ESB), where a learner extends a concept map made by scratch-building. The results suggested that the experimental group had better achievements in both the original material and the additional material.

In this letter, we propose a color quantization method based on saliency. In the proposed method, the salient colors are selected as representative colors preferentially by using saliency as weights. Through experiments, we verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Recently, visual trackers based on the framework of kernelized correlation filter (KCF) achieve the robustness and accuracy results. These trackers need to learn information on the object from each frame, thus the state change of the object affects the tracking performances. In order to deal with the state change, we propose a novel KCF tracker using the filter response map, namely a confidence map, and adaptive model. This method firstly takes a skipped scale pool method which utilizes variable window size at every two frames. Secondly, the location of the object is estimated using the combination of the filter response and the similarity of the luminance histogram at multiple points in the confidence map. Moreover, we use the re-detection of the multiple peaks of the confidence map to prevent the target drift and reduce the influence of illumination. Thirdly, the learning rate to obtain the model of the object is adjusted, using the filter response and the similarity of the luminance histogram, considering the state of the object. Experimentally, the proposed tracker (CFCA) achieves outstanding performance for the challenging benchmark sequence (OTB2013 and OTB2015).