Precise direct mounting of laser diode (LD) and photodiode (PD) chips on silica planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) has been investigated for application to transceiver modules. To achieve submicron optical alignment, self-aligned index marks on the PLCs and LDs were directly detected by transmission infrared light. The repeatability of the positioning was measured to be within 0.125 µm. The output power of the resultant module was 0.2 mW at 80 mA. A waveguide-type PD was also mounted in the same way, and module sensitivity of 0.25 A/W was demonstrated.

In this paper, the real-time scheduling mechanism which could support multimedia retrieval services more efficiently is investigated. In order to support multimedia service, the MEDF (modified earliest deadline first) algorithm that takes advantage of the priority queue and the virtual deadline mechanism is proposed. Additionally, its performance is analyzed and compared with conventional RR (round robin), FCFS (first come first serve), SS (sporadic server), MRF (minimum remained-time first), and EDF (earliest deadline first) algorithms. According to the simulation results, the proposed MEDF algorithm shows better performance than other scheduling algorithms in the multimedia environments.

For a fuzzy control of manipulated variable so as to match a required output of a plant, tuning of fuzzy rules are necessary. For its purpose, various methods to tune their rules automatically have been proposed. In these method, some of them necessitate much time for its tuning, and the others are lacking in the generalization capability. In the fuzzy control by the steepest descent method, a use of piecewise linear membership functions (MSFs) has been proposed. In this algorithm, MSFs of the premise for each fuzzy rule are tuned having no relation to the other rules. Besides, only the MSFs corresponding to the given input and output data for the learning can be tuned efficiently. Comparing with the conventional triangular form and the Gaussian distribution of MSFs, an expansion of the expressiveness is indicated. As a result, for constructing the inference rules, the training cycles can be reduced in number and the generalization capability to express the behavior of a plant is expansible. An effectiveness of this algorithm is illustrated with an example of a parallel parking of an autonomous mobile robot.

A clique of a graph G(V,E) is a subset of V such that every pair of vertices is connected by an edge in E. Finding a maximum clique of an arbitrary graph is a well-known NP-complete problem. Recently, several polynomial time energy-descent optimization algorithms have been proposed for approximating the maximum clique problem, where they seek a solution by minimizing the energy function representing the constraints and the goal function. In this paper, we propose the binary neural network as an efficient synchronous energy-descent optimization algorithm. Through two types of random graphs, we compare the performance of four promising energy-descent optimization algorithms. The simulation results show that RaCLIQUE, the modified Boltzmann machine algorithm, is the best asynchronous algorithm for random graphs, while the binary neural network is the best one for k random cliques graphs.

A direct gradient descent learning algorithm of energy function in Hopfield neural networks is proposed. The gradient descent learning is not performed on usual error functions, but the Hopfield energy functions directly. We demonstrate the algorithm by testing it on an analog-to-digital conversion and an associative memory problems.

This paper describes the performance of a predistorter implementation to a superluminescent diode (SLD) in fiber-optic wireless systems under the optical reflection. SLD intensity noise and 3rd-order intermodulation distortion (IM3) are experimentally compared with those of DFB-and FP-LD. It is observed that the IM3 of SLD has ideal 3rd characteristics and output noise remains unchanged against the number of optical connectors. It is also found that the predistorter reduces IM3 by 8 dB. Receiver sensitivity of the system is discussed from the view point of overall design. the BER performance of an SLD with predistorter using a π/4-QPSK signal as a subcarrier is also described theoretically and experimentally.

This paper addresses approaches to enhancement of performance of the CMA (Constant Modulus Algorithm) adaptive array antenna in multipath environments that characterize the mobile radio communications. The cost function of the CMA reveals that it has an AGC (Automatic Gain Control) procedure of holding the array output voltage at a constant value. Therefore, if the output voltage by the initial weights is different from the object value, then the CMA may suffer from slow convergence because suppression of the multipath waves is delayed by the AGC behavior. Our objective is to improve the convergence characteristics by adopting the differential CMA for the adaptive array algorithm. First, the basic performance of the differential CMA is clarified via computer simulation. Next, the differential CMA is incorporated into the eigen-beamspace system in which the eigenvectors of the correlation matrix of array inputs are used in the BFN (Beam Forming Network). This BFN creates the optimum orthogonal multibeams for radio environments and works helpfully as a preprocessor of the differential CMA. The computer simulation results have demonstrated that the differential CMA with the eigen-beamspace system has much better convergence characteristics than the conventional CMA with the element space system. Furthermore, a modified algorithm is introduced which gives the stable array output voltages after convergence, and it is confirmed that the algorithm can carry out more successful adaptation even if the radio environments are changed abruptly.

This paper describes the architecture and storage structure of a new interactive multimedia information system called VideoReality. VideoReality is based on a visual conducting model, which describes the information retrieval process that occurs when people observe visible objects in the real world. VideoReality provides a spatial and temporal spread of a virtual video space from a set of stored video streams. The video space has a three-layered structure similar to that of the ANSI/X3/SPARC three-schema architecture. Users can move their eyes and watch objects freely in the video space, just as if they were viewing the real world. This paper also presents a prototype application system called Electronic Aquarium'

An exact solution of the propagation constant of a cylindrical waveguide has been obtained in the event of the conductivity of the waveguide-composing conductor being finite. The said analysis has been reduced to a problem to solve a transcendental equation concerning an eigenvalue of the individual modes of the in-guide electromagnetic wave, and calculation of Jn-1(z)/Jn(z) by using of Bessel function becomes necessary. With a large conductivity the absolute value of the complex number z becomes excessively large, and none of calculation method with high accuracy has been found with the aid of a computer. This paper has solved the problem by using a continued fraction for the calculation with regard to which a recurrence formula is utilized. With the TE01 wave that has conventionally been used as a millimeter-wave guide, it is cleared that it is sufficient to select the number of the calculation terms of the continued fraction to the extent of approximately 1000 in the accuracy in accordance with this calculation method. It is also cleared that the approximation solution obtained by a method of perturbation coincides with the exact solution for the conductivity σ 102 [S/m].

A problem of obtaining an optimal file transfer on a file transmission net N is to consider how to distribute, with a minimum total cost, copies of a file with some information from a vertex of N to all vertices of N by the respective vertices' copy demand numbers (i.i., needed numbers of copies). The maximum number of copies of file which can be made at a vertex is called the copying number of the vertex. In this paper, we consider as N an arborescence-net with constraints on copying numbers, and give a necessary and sufficient condition for a file transfer to be optimal on N, and furthermore propose an O(n2) algorithm for obtaining an optimal file transfer on N, where n is the number of vertices of N.

Trouble management is a key function in solving the problems and maintaining the high communications capability of a network when communication service network users encounter problems in the quality of services [1]. This paper proposes technologies and architecture for an intelligent management system to achieve advanced service/network trouble management. The system generates operation scenarios to find a cause to solve a reported trouble, executes them, and modifies them according to operation circumstance changes. In the scenario execution process, fault propagation simulation is used to isolate a fault in necessary cases. The evaluation of the system applied to the ISDN services shows that the proposed system can achieve high-speed, precise trouble management by the integrated cooperative work of a human (operator) and a machine (operation system).

Video compression technologies such as MPEG have enabled the efficient use of video data in the computer environment. However, the compressed video information still has a huge amount of data compared with the other media such as text, audio, and graphics. Therefore, it is very important to handle the video information in a networked database for the efficient use of resources like storage media. Furthermore, in the networked database, its retrieval methods including search and delivery become the key issues especially for the video information which requires a large network bandwidth. In this paper, a video browsing method using an automatic fast scene cut detection for networked video database access is described. The scene cut is defined as the scene change frame and is detected by temporal change in interframe luminance difference and chrominance correlation which are obtained from spatio-temporally scaled image directly extracted from the MPEG compressed video without any complex processing of video decoding. The detected scene change frames are further investigated to exploit the relationship between the scene cuts and are classified in order to make a hierarchical indexing. These results of detection are stored as an scene index file using the MPEG format. The simulation results are also presented for several test video sequences to show that these methods have enabled the efficient video database construction and accessing.

We can understand and recover a scene even from a picture or a line drawing. A number of methods have been developed for solving this problem. They have scarcely aimed to deal with scenes of multiple objects although they have ability to recognize three-dimensional shapes of every object. In this paper, challenging to solve this problem, we describe a method for deciding configurations of multiple objects. This method employs the assumption of coplanarity and the constraint of occlusion. The assumption of coplanarity generates the candidates of configurations of multiple objects and the constraint of occlusion prunes impossible configurations. By combining this method with a method of shape recovery for individual objects, we have implemented a system acquirig a three-dimensional information of scene including multiple objects from a monocular image.

Optical recording has been performed successfully by the preirradiation of light upon the precursor of poly (arylene vinylene) conducting polymers such as poly (p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) and poly (1,4-naphthalene vinylene) (PNV) and subsequent thermal treatment. The effect has been tentatively interpreted in terms of the deterioration of the irradiated area of the precursor polymer in which polymerization is suppressed. Furthermore, an orange electroluminescent (EL) diode utilizing PNV has been demonstrated for the first time and the EL properties of PNV are discussed in comparison with those of EL diode utilizing PPV. The EL emission of these two devices are discussed in terms of radiative recombination of the singlet polaron exciton formed by the injection of electrons and holes, the difference of effective conjugation length and the interchain transfer of polaron excitons.

High variability of object features and bad class separation of objects are the main causes for the difficulties encountered during the interpretation of ground-level natural scenes. For coping with these two problems we propose a method which extracts those regions that can be segmented and immediately recognized with sufficient reliability (core regions) in the first stage, and later try to extend these core regions up to their real object boundaries. The extraction of reliable core regions is generally difficult to achieve. Instead of using fixed sets of features and fixed parameter settings, our method employs multiple local features (including textural features) and multiple parameter settings. Not all available features may yield useful core regions, but those core regions that are extracted from these multiple features make a cntributio to the reliability of the objects they represent. The extraction mechanism computes multiple segmentations of the same object from these multiple features and parameter settings, because it is not possible to extract such regions uniquely. Then those regions are extracted which satisfy the constraints given by knowledge about the objects (shape, location, orientation, spatial relationships). Several spatially overlapping regions are combined. Combined regions obtained for several features are integrated to form core regions for the given object calss.

The fast and highly reliable method reported here uses two techniques to detect all types of defects, such as unsoldered leads, solder bridges, and misalignes leads in the minute solder joints of high density mounted devices. One technique uses external force applied by an air jet that vibrates or shifts unsoldered leads. The vibration and shift is detected as a change in the speckle pattern produced by laser illumination of the solder joints. The other technique uses fluorescence generated by short-wavelength laser illumination. The fluorescence from a printed circuit board produces a silhouette of the solder joint and this image is processed to detect defects. Experimental results show that this inspection method detects all kinds of defects accurately and with a very low false alarm rate.

We describe an approach to describe moving pictures in terms of their structural properties for video editing, video indexing, and video coding. The description contains 2D shape, motion, spatial relation, and relative depth of each region. To obtain the description, we develop the incremental segmentation scheme which includes dynamic occlusion analysis to determine relative depths of several objects. The scheme has been designed along the analysis-by-synthesis" approach, and uses a sequence of images to estimate object boundaries and motion information successively/incrementally. The scheme consists of three components: motion estimation, prediction with dynamic occlusion analysis, and update of the segmentation results. By combining the information from extended (longer) image sequences, and also by treating the segmentation and dynamic occlusion analysis simultaneously, the scheme attempts to improve successively over time the accuracy of the object boundary and motion estimation.

This paper describes a method for describing a three-dimensional (3-D) scene by integrating color and range data. Range data is obtained by a feature-based stereo method developed in our laboratory. A color image is segmented into uniform color regions. A plane is fitted to the range data inside a segmented region. Regions are classified into three types based on the range data. A certain types of regions are merged and the others remain unless the region type is modified. The region type is modified if the range data on a plane are selected by removing of the some range data. As a result, the scene is represented by planar surfaces with homogeneous colors. Experimental results for real scenes are shown.

Public switching systems are intensively realtime and multi-processing, very large, long-lived, and frequently modified. Programs that control switching systems are therefore required not only to have run-time efficiency but also to be easy to maintain and extend. This paper proposes a Concurrent Object Model and an Object-Oriented Switching Program Structure. The Concurrent Object Model ensures simple and efficient real-time multi-processing. This model allows logical switching components to be implemented as "objects" in software, and the structure of the program coincides with the structure of the logical model. The program structure proposed here uses distributed call processing, which allows building-block-structured switching systems. A prototype switching program proved the effectiveness of this approach and showed that the static and dynamic overheads are within the capacity of present VLSI technology.

Microcrystalline silicon embedded in silicon oxide has been prepared by means of a wet oxidation of porous silicon (PS) anodically produced from degenerate Si wafers in a HF solution. As the oxidation proceeded, optical absorptions of the PS specimen in the visible light region shifted obviously to the higher energy side. Visible light emission from the oxidized specimen was observed at room temperature with photoexcitation by a He-Cd laser while the as-prepared specimen emitted no visible lights. These results are discussed in relation to the quantum size effect of the microcrystalline silicon confined in the oxide matrix as well as visible emissions from as-prepared specimens produced from non-degenerate Si wafers.