This paper presents a new method for image interpolation based on truncated projections onto convex sets (POCS). By using the convergence property to properly defined convex sets, the proposed algorithm can restore high frequency details in the original high resolution image. In order to apply the POCS method to the interpolation procedure, we first present a two-dimensional separable image degradation model for a low resolution imaging system. According to the model, we propose a truncated POCS-based spatial interpolation algorithm for image sequences. Experimental results with synthetic and real image sequence show that the proposed algorithm gives indiscernible interpolation performance compared with the conventional POCS-base algorithm, while it significantly reduces computational complexity and is suitable for processing image sequences.

Homogeneous but distinct visual objects having low-contrast boundaries are usually merged in most of the segmentation algorithms. To alleviate this problem, an efficient image segmentation algorithm based on a bottom-up approach is proposed by using spatial domain information only. For initial image segmentation, we adopt a new marker extraction algorithm conforming to the human visual system. It generates dense markers in visually complex areas and sparse markers in visually homogeneous areas. Then, two region-merging algorithms are successively applied so that homogeneous visual objects can be represented as simple as possible without destroying low-contrast real boundaries among them. The first one is to remove insignificant regions in a proper merging order. And the second one merges only homogeneous regions, based on ternary region classification. The resultant segmentation describes homogeneous visual objects with few regions while preserving semantic object shapes well. Finally, a size-based region decision procedure may be applied to represent complex visual objects simpler, if their precise semantic contents are not necessary. Experimental results show that the proposed image segmentation algorithm represents homogeneous visual objects with a few regions and describes complex visual objects with a marginal number of regions with well-preserved semantic object shapes.

Frequency chirping induced in an electorabsorption (EA) modulator can degrade transmission performance because of the chromatic dispersion of fiber. This letter studies the frequency chirping in an EA modulator from the viewpoint of the influence of the modulation bandwidth. Both simulations and experiments, in which fiber transmission was carried out applying modulation signals of different bandwidths to an EA modulator, show that a large bandwidth causes small degradation in the transmission performance. This result is attributed to the short chirping time that occurs when a large bandwidth signal is applied.

The change over from IPv4 to IPv6 entails a potential increase in the number of records that the Registry System must maintain. Currently, only a few Network Information Centers (NICs), controlled by Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA), operate their Registry Systems. As they concentrates data into several Registry System, it is not scalable. This paper focuses on the scalability issue in a Registry System and Mie Advanced Registry System (MARS) is proposed. Through the collaboration of independent Registry Systems, MARS ensures data consistency as well as making it possible to access data managed by other Registry Systems. A prototype system of MARS is implemented, maintained and managed on the WIDE 6bone. Some lessen from the operation of MARS give also described.

A new dynamic programming (DP) based algorithm for monotonic and continuous two-dimensional warping (2DW) is presented. This algorithm searches for the optimal pixel-to-pixel mapping between a pair of images subject to monotonicity and continuity constraints with by far less time complexity than the algorithm previously reported by the authors. This complexity reduction results from a refinement of the multi-stage decision process representing the 2DW problem. As an implementation technique, a polynomial order approximation algorithm incorporated with beam search is also presented. Theoretical and experimental comparisons show that the present approximation algorithm yields better performance than the previous approximation algorithm.

In this paper a new snake model for image morphing with semiautomated delineation which depends on Hermite's interpolation theory, is presented. The snake model will be used to specify the correspondence between features in two given images. It allows a user to extract a contour that defines a facial feature such as the lips, mouth, and profile, by only specifying the endpoints of the contour around the feature which we wish to define. We assume that the user can specify the endpoints of a curve around the features that serve as the extremities of a contour. The proposed method automatically computes the image information around these endpoints which provides the boundary conditions. Then the contour is optimized by taking this information into account near its extremities. During the iterative optimization process, the image forces are turned on progressively from the contour extremities toward the center to define the exact position of the feature. The proposed algorithm helps the user to easily define the exact position of a feature. It may also reduce the time required to establish the features of an image.

Given two terms and their rewriting rules, an unreachability problem proves the non-existence of a reduction sequence from one term to another. This paper formalizes a method for solving unreachability problems by abstraction; i. e. , reducing an original concrete unreachability problem to a simpler abstract unreachability problem to prove the unreachability of the original concrete problem if the abstract unreachability is proved. The class of rewriting systems discussed in this paper is called β rewriting systems. The class of β rewriting systems includes very important systems such as semi-Thue systems and Petri Nets. Abstract rewriting systems are also a subclass of β rewriting systems. A β rewriting system is defined on axiomatically formulated base structures, called β structures, which are used to formalize the concepts of "contexts" and "replacement," which are common to many rewritten objects. Each domain underlying semi-Thue systems, Petri Nets, and other rewriting systems are formalized by a β structure. A concept of homomorphisms from a β structure (a concrete domain) to a β structure (an abstract domain) is introduced. A homomorphism theorem (Theorem1)is established for β rewriting systems, which states that concrete reachability implies abstract reachability. An unreachability theorem (Corollary1) is also proved for β rewriting systems. It is the contraposition of the homomorphism theorem, i. e. , it says that abstract unreachability implies concrete unreachability. The unreachability theorem is used to solve two unreachability problems: a coffee bean puzzle and a checker board puzzle.

Three multiplicative algorithms for the floating-point divide operation are compared: the Newton-Raphson method, Goldschmidt's algorithm, and a naive method that simply calculates a form of the Taylor series expansion of a reciprocal. The series also provides a theoretical basis for Goldschmidt's algorithm. It is well known that, of the Newton-Raphson method and Goldschmidt's algorithm, the former is the more accurate while the latter is the faster on a pipelined unit. However, little is reported about the naive method. In this report, we analyze the speed and accuracy of each method and present the results of numerical tests, which we conducted to confirm the validity of the accuracy analysis. Basically, the comparison are made in the context of software implementation (e. g. , a macro library) and compliance with the IEEE Standard 754 rounding is not considered. It is shown that the naive method is useful in a realistic setting where the number of iterations is small and the method is implemented on a pipelined floating-point unit with a multiply-accumulate configuration. In such a situation, the naive method gives a more accurate result with a slightly lower latency, as compared with Goldschmidt's algorithm, and is much faster than but slightly inferior in accuracy to the Newton-Raphson method.

A double-layer Associative Memory System (AMS) based on the Cerebella Model Articulation Controller (CMAC) (CMAC-AMS), owing to its advantages of simple structures, fast searching procedures and strong mapping capability between multidimensional input/output vectors, has been successfully used in such applications as real-time intelligent control, signal processing and pattern recognition. However, it is still suffering from its requirement for a large memory size and relatively low precision. Furthermore, the hash code used in its addressing mechanism for memory size reduction can cause a data-collision problem. In this paper, a new high-order Associative Memory System based on the Newton's forward interpolation formula (NFI-AMS) is proposed. The NFI-AMS is capable of implementing high-precision approximation to multivariable functions with arbitrarily given sampling data. A learning algorithm and a convergence theorem of the NFI-AMS are proposed. The network structure and the scheme of its learning algorithm reveal that the NFI-AMS has advantages over the conventional CMAC-type AMS in terms of high precision of learning, much less required memory size without the data-collision problem, and also has advantages over the multilayer Back Propagation (BP) neural networks in terms of much less computational effort for learning and fast convergence rate. Numerical simulations verify these advantages. The proposed NFI-AMS, therefore, has potential in many application areas as a new kind of associative memory system.

Reducing communication overhead is a key goal of program optimization for current scalable multiprocessors. A well-known approach to achieving this is to map tasks (indivisible units of computation) to processors so that communication and computation overlap as much as possible. In an earlier work, we developed a look-ahead scheduling heuristic for efficiently reducing communication overhead with the aim of decreasing the completion time of a given parallel program. In this paper, we report on an extension of the algorithm, which fills in the idle time slots created by interprocessor communication without increasing the algorithm's time complexity. The results of experiments emphasize the importance of optimally filling idle time slots in processors.

Array redistribution is required very often in programs on distributed memory parallel computers. It is essential to use efficient algorithms for redistribution, otherwise the performance of programs may degrade considerably. In this paper, we focus on automatic generation of communication routines for multi-dimensional redistribution. The principal advantage of this work is to gain the ability to handle redistribution between arbitrary source and destination processor sets and between arbitrary source and destination distribution schemes. We have implemented these algorithms using Parallelware communication library. Some experimental results show the efficiency and flexibility of our techniques compared to the other redistribution works.

This paper describes a new method for learning bilingual collocations from sentence-aligned parallel corpora. Our method comprises two steps: (1) extracting useful word chunks (n-grams) in each language by word-level sorting and (2) constructing bilingual collocations by combining the word-chunks acquired in stage (1). We apply the method to a two kinds of Japanese-English texts; (1) scientific articles that comprise relatively literal translations and (2) more challenging texts: a stock market bulletin in Japanese and its abstract in English. In both cases, domain specific collocations are well captured even if they were not contained in the dictionaries of specialized terms.

This paper proposes a new method for dynamically controlling the clock speed of a processor in order to reduce power consumption without decreasing system performance. It automatically tunes the processor's speed by monitoring its activities and avoiding useless work so as not to exhaust the battery energy. Experiments with performance bottlenecks caused by disk activities show that the proposed method is very effective in comparison with the traditional one, in which the processor's speed is fixed.

The dependence of the negative nonlinear absorption effect on the modulation degree and frequency of the incident laser was investigated in Er3+: LiYF4 crystals. With a decreasing modulation degree, a reverse-phased waveform was obtained in the transmitted waveform for modulation intensities of sinusoidal and rectangle waves. The transmitted waveform was observed symmetrically at modulation frequency of 0. 25 MHz. However, the transmitted waveform was asymmetrical at higher than 0. 5 MHz. In addition, the reverse-phased waveforms were obtained for sample lengths greater than 12 mm in the incident modulation degree of 10 to 56%. The NNA effect was observed at a temperature range of 20 to 500 K. It has been confirmed that a mechanism of the negative nonlinear absorption can be explained by considering an enhanced absorption model for a five-level system of the Er3+ ion.

In this paper, we present a hierarchical technique for simultaneous pin assignment and global routing during floorplanning based on the minimum cost maximum integer flow algorithm with several heuristic cost functions. Furthermore, our algorithm handles feedthrough pins and equi-potential pins taking into account global routes. Our algorithm allows various user specified constraints such as pre-specified pin positions, wiring paths, wiring widths and critical nets. Experimental results including Xerox floorplanning benchmark have shown the effectiveness of the heuristics.

Wavelength tunable laser diodes are critical components in a wide variety of WDM and packet switching architectures. And also wavelength-tuned short pulses generated from the semiconductor laser diodes are of great importance for the developments of ultrahigh speed and WDM optical communication systems. Over the past several years, both continuously and discontinuously tunable lasers incorporating periodically sampled and chirped grating have been studied theoretically and experimentally. These laser diodes show the wide tuning range of above 60 nm, stable lasing condition, and large side-mode suppression ratio. Directly modulated semiconductor laser diodes, even those with a single mode, exhibit a dynamic frequency chirp during the on/off modulation. The dynamic linewidth broadening caused by such a large frequency chirp can result in a significant penalty in the performance of high-speed long-haul optical communication systems. The CW laser diodes integrated with an external EA modulator are an breakthrough to realize the high-speed optical systems with low chirp. And also the short pulse generation using the external modulator has been realized experimentally, whose principle of the pulse generation is the optical gating of the electroabsorption modulator. In this paper, widely tunable laser diodes incorporating periodically sampled and chirped gratings and an external modulator are analyzed using an improved time-domain dynamic model. First, it is demonstrated that the improved model is very powerful in simulating the complex laser diodes with active and passive sections. And, the dynamic properties of the sampled grating DBR and chirped grating DBR laser diodes are investigated. Second, the modulation characteristics of the laser diode integrated with the external electroabsorption modulator are studied. It is shown that the external modulation are superior to the direct modulation in the aspect of the lower frequency chirp. And the pulse generation by the optical gating of the external modulator is observed theoretically.

We have developed a multiple quantum well (MQW) electroabsorption (EA) modulator for wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) switching systems. The fabricated MQW EA gate has low polarization and wavelength-dependent loss and high extinction ratio within the wavelength range of 1545 to 1560 nm. And by using this gate ultra-high-speed switching is achieved for WDM signals. Moreover, we optimize the EA gate for the full gain-band of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA)(1535 to 1560 nm). This EA gate provides low polarization-dependent loss, higher extinction ratio, and high saturation input power in the wider wavelength range. These MQW EA gates will play an important role in future WDM switching systems.

Wavelength conversion is considered to be one of the key technologies for the future advanced optical networks. So far, intense efforts have been made to realize this functionality by using semiconductor lasers/amplifiers, optical fibers, LiNbO3/semiconductor waveguides. In this paper, we propose a novel wavelength converter using an electroabsorption (EA) modulator. The operating principle is based on the cross-absorption modulation effect of an InGaAsP EA modulator. High quality conversion has been demonstrated at 20 Gbit/s over 30 nm of wavelength range. The applicability to high speed signals (>40 Gbit/s) was also demonstrated. In addition, to study the expected versatility for all optical signal processing applications, broadcasting and extinction-ratio-improvement capability were evaluated.

An electroabsorption (EA) modulator array using a double optical-pass (DP) configuration has been developed to obtain high-speed modulation in parallel. Feeding electrical signals from the highly reflective side of the modulator eliminated component assembly problems with lenses and microwave feeder lines. Passive waveguide integration enabled wafers to be cleaved with very short absorbers. The degradation in frequency response was theoretically calculated to be <0. 2 dB compared to that of EA modulators without a passive waveguide. A common upper doping layer in the absorber and passive waveguide regions was introduced to attain high product throughput due to good epitaxial flatness and processing. The integrated 4-channels multiquantum well DP EA modulator array demonstrated high overall performance for a wavelength range from 1545 to 1558 nm. It features a drive voltage of 2 V for 10 dB attenuation, an insertion loss of 12 dB, and 4 channels17 GHz bandwidths for each channel, with low -20 dB crosstalk between adjacent waveguides.

This paper newly proposes the CMT/IM/DD system for universal radio access networks where radio base stations (RBSs) and an optic backbone network are universally available among different radio services and providers. In the proposed system, the Chirp Fourier transformer at an RBS, converts the received FDM multiple radio service signals into optical TDM format signals, then transfers them over the optic fiber-link. This paper is focused on the discussion about the performance on the up-link of the CMT/IM/DD system. A new type of the configuration of CMT and the direct demodulation for the CMT signal are also proposed, and the SNR considering inter-symbol and inter-channel interferences caused by the CMT is theoretically analyzed. Analysis results show that the overall SNR performance of the CMT system is superior to the conventional SCM system when the number of radio channels is more than 26.