This paper proposes a novel pseudo multi-exposure image fusion method based on a single image. Multi-exposure image fusion is used to produce images without saturation regions, by using photos with different exposures. However, it is difficult to take photos suited for the multi-exposure image fusion when we take a photo of dynamic scenes or record a video. In addition, the multi-exposure image fusion cannot be applied to existing images with a single exposure or videos. The proposed method enables us to produce pseudo multi-exposure images from a single image. To produce multi-exposure images, the proposed method utilizes the relationship between the exposure values and pixel values, which is obtained by assuming that a digital camera has a linear response function. Moreover, it is shown that the use of a local contrast enhancement method allows us to produce pseudo multi-exposure images with higher quality. Most of conventional multi-exposure image fusion methods are also applicable to the proposed multi-exposure images. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method by comparing the proposed one with conventional ones.

By exploiting the inherent sparsity of wireless channels, the channel estimation in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system can be cast as a compressed sensing (CS) problem to estimate the channel more accurately. Practically, matching pursuit algorithms such as orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) are used, where path delays of the channel is guessed based on correlation values for every quantized delay with residual. This full search approach requires a predefined grid of delays with high resolution, which induces the high computational complexity because correlation values with residual at a huge number of grid points should be calculated. Meanwhile, the correlation values with high resolution can be obtained by interpolation between the correlation values at a low resolution grid. Also, the interpolation can be implemented with a low pass filter (LPF). By using this fact, in this paper we substantially reduce the computational complexity to calculate the correlation values in channel estimation using CS.

In this letter, an effective low bit-rate image restoration method is proposed, in which image denoising and subspace regression learning are combined. The proposed framework has two parts: image main structure estimation by classical NLM denoising and texture component prediction by subspace joint regression learning. The local regression function are learned from denoised patch to original patch in each subspace, where the corresponding compression image patches are employed to generate anchoring points by the dictionary learning approach. Moreover, we extent Extreme Support Vector Regression (ESVR) as multi-variable nonlinear regression to get more robustness results. Experimental results demonstrate the proposed method achieves favorable performance compared with other leading methods.

This paper introduces a technique for automatically generating potential training data from sentences in which entity pairs are not apparently presented in a relation extraction. Most previous works on relation extraction by distant supervision ignored cases in which a relationship may be expressed via null-subjects or anaphora. However, natural language text basically has a network structure that is composed of several sentences. If they are closely related, this is not expressed explicitly in the text, which can make relation extraction difficult. This paper describes a new model that augments a paragraph with a “salient entity” that is determined without parsing. The entity can create additional tuple extraction environments as potential subjects in paragraphs. Including the salient entity as part of the sentential input may allow the proposed method to identify relationships that conventional methods cannot identify. This method also has promising potential applicability to languages for which advanced natural language processing tools are lacking.

This paper presents the design of a capacitive coupler for underwater wireless power transfer (U-WPT) focusing on kQ product. Power transfer efficiency hinges on the coupling coefficient k between the couplers and Q-factor of water calculated from the complex permittivity. High efficiency can be achieved by handling k and the Q-factor effectively. First, the pivotal elements on k are derived from the equivalent circuit of the coupler. Next, the frequency characteristic of the Q-factor in tap water is calculated from the measured results. Then, the design parameters in which kQ product has the maximal values are determined. Finally, it is demonstrated that the efficiency of U-WPT with the capacitive coupling designed by our method achieves approximately 80%.

Saliency detection for videos has been paid great attention and extensively studied in recent years. However, various visual scene with complicated motions leads to noticeable background noise and non-uniformly highlighting the foreground objects. In this paper, we proposed a video saliency detection model using spatio-temporal cues. In spatial domain, the location of foreground region is utilized as spatial cue to constrain the accumulation of contrast for background regions. In temporal domain, the spatial distribution of motion-similar regions is adopted as temporal cue to further suppress the background noise. Moreover, a backward matching based temporal prediction method is developed to adjust the temporal saliency according to its corresponding prediction from the previous frame, thus enforcing the consistency along time axis. The performance evaluation on several popular benchmark data sets validates that our approach outperforms existing state-of-the-arts.

Precession angle and precession period are significant parameters for identifying space micro-motion targets. To implement high-accuracy estimation of precession parameters without any prior knowledge about structure parameters of the target, a parameters extraction method based on HRRP sequences is proposed. The precession model of cone-shaped targets is established and analyzed firstly. Then the projection position of scattering centers on HRRP induced by precession is indicated to be approximate sinusoidal migration. Sequences of scattering centers are associated by sinusoid extraction algorithm. Precession angle and precession period are estimated utilizing error function optimization at last. Simulation results under various SNR levels based on electromagnetic calculation data demonstrate validity of the proposed method.

Collaborative learning is an active teaching and learning strategy, in which learners who give each other elaborated explanations can learn most. However, it is difficult for learners to explain their own understanding elaborately in collaborative learning. In this study, we propose a collaborative use of a Kit-Build concept map (KB map) called “Reciprocal KB map”. In a Reciprocal KB map for a pair discussion, at first, the two participants make their own concept maps expressing their comprehension. Then, they exchange the components of their maps and request each other to reconstruct their maps by using the components. The differences between the original map and the reconstructed map are diagnosed automatically as an advantage of the KB map. Reciprocal KB map is expected to encourage pair discussion to recognize the understanding of each other and to create an effective discussion. In an experiment reported in this paper, Reciprocal KB map was used for supporting a pair discussion and was compared with a pair discussion which was supported by a traditional concept map. Nineteen pairs of university students were requested to use the traditional concept map in their discussion, while 20 pairs of university students used Reciprocal KB map for discussing the same topic. The results of the experiment were analyzed using three metrics: a discussion score, a similarity score, and questionnaires. The discussion score, which investigates the value of talk in discussion, demonstrates that Reciprocal KB map can promote more effective discussion between the partners compared to the traditional concept map. The similarity score, which evaluates the similarity of the concept maps, demonstrates that Reciprocal KB map can encourage the pair of partners to understand each other better compared to the traditional concept map. Last, the questionnaires illustrate that Reciprocal KB map can support the pair of partners to collaborate in the discussion smoothly and that the participants accepted this method for sharing their understanding with each other. These results suggest that Reciprocal KB map is a promising approach for encouraging pairs of partners to understand each other and to promote the effective discussions.

Visual object detection on embedded systems involves a multi-objective optimization problem in the presence of trade-offs between power consumption, processing performance, and detection accuracy. For a new Pareto solution with high processing performance and low power consumption, this paper proposes a hardware architecture for decision tree ensemble using multiple channels of features. For efficient detection, the proposed architecture utilizes the dimensionality of feature channels in addition to parallelism in image space and adopts task scheduling to attain random memory access without conflict. Evaluation results show that an FPGA implementation of the proposed architecture with an aggregated channel features pedestrian detector can process 229 million samples per second at 100MHz operation frequency while it requires a relatively small amount of resources. Consequently, the proposed architecture achieves 350fps processing performance for 1080P Full HD images and outperforms conventional object detection hardware architectures developed for embedded systems.

In small-aperture high frequency surface wave radar, the main-lobe clutter all can be seen as a more severe space spread clutter under the influence of the smaller array aperture. It compromises the detection performance of moving vessels, especially when the target is submerged in the clutter. To tackle this issue, an improved spread clutter estimated canceller, combining spread clutter estimated canceller, adaptive selection strategy of the optimal training samples and rotating spatial beam method, is presented to suppress main-lobe clutter in both angle domain and range domain. According to the experimental results, the proposed algorithm is shown to have far superior clutter suppression performance based on the real data.

This paper studies a variant of the graph partitioning problem, called the evacuation planning problem, which asks us to partition a target area, represented by a graph, into several regions so that each region contains exactly one shelter. Each region must be convex to reduce intersections of evacuation routes, the distance between each point to a shelter must be bounded so that inhabitants can quickly evacuate from a disaster, and the number of inhabitants assigned to each shelter must not exceed the capacity of the shelter. This paper formulates the convexity of connected components as a spanning shortest path forest for general graphs, and proposes a novel algorithm to tackle this multi-objective optimization problem. The algorithm not only obtains a single partition but also enumerates all partitions simultaneously satisfying the above complex constraints, which is difficult to be treated by existing algorithms, using zero-suppressed binary decision diagrams (ZDDs) as a compressed expression. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is confirmed by the experiments using real-world map data. The results of the experiments show that the proposed algorithm can obtain hundreds of millions of partitions satisfying all the constraints for input graphs with a hundred of edges in a few minutes.

The micro-mechanism of molten pool and metal droplet sputtering are significant to the material erosion caused by breaking or making arcs especially for high-power switching devices. In this paper, based on Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible viscous fluid and potential equation for electric field, a 2D axially symmetric simplified hydrodynamic model was built to describe the formation of the molten metal droplet sputtering and molten pool under arc spot near electrode region. The melting process was considered by the relationship between melting metal volumetric percentage and temperature, a free surface of liquid metal deformation was solved by coupling moving mesh and the automatic re-meshing. The simulated metal droplet sputtering and molten pool behaviors are presented by the temperature and velocity distribution sequences. The influence mechanism of pressure distribution and heat flux on the formation of molten pool and metal droplet sputtering has been analyzed according to the temperature distribution and sputtering angles. Based on the simulation results, we can distinguish two different models of the molten metal droplet sputtering process: edge ejection and center ejection. Moreover, a new explanation is proposed based on calculated results with arc spot pressure distribution in the form of both unimodal and bimodal. It shows that the arc spot pressure distribution plays an important role in the metal droplet ejected from molten pool, the angle of the molten jet drop can be decreased along with the increment of the arc spot pressure.

The locally one-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method in cylindrical coordinates is extended to a frequency-dependent version. The fundamental scheme is utilized to perform matrix-operator-free formulations in the right-hand sides. For the analysis of surface plasmon polaritons propagating along a plasmonic grating, the computation time is significantly reduced to less than 10%, compared with the explicit cylindrical FDTD method.

We present a system to improve the robustness of real-time 3D surface reconstruction by utilizing non-inertial localization sensor. Benefiting from such sensor, our easy-to-build system can effectively avoid tracking drift and lost comparing with conventional dense tracking and mapping systems. To best fusing the sensor, we first adopt a hand-eye calibration and performance analysis for our setup and then propose a novel optimization framework based on adaptive criterion function to improve the robustness as well as accuracy. We apply our system to several challenging reconstruction tasks, which show significant improvement in scanning robustness and reconstruction quality.

In this paper, dependency of transmission loss of shielded-flexible printed circuits (FPC) for differential-signaling on thickness of conductive shield is studied by numerical modeling based on an equivalent circuit model compared with the experimental results. Especially, the transmission loss due to the thin conductive shield is focused. The insufficient shielding performance for near magnetic field decreases the resistance due to the thin conductive shield. It is shown that the resistance due to the thin conductive shield at lower frequencies is smaller than that in the “thick conductive shield” case.

This paper investigates approaches that can cancel nonlinear phase noise effectively for the phase-conjugate pair diversity transmission of 16-QAM WDM signals through multi-core fiber. The geometric mean is introduced for the combination of the phase-conjugate pair. A numerical simulation suggests that span-by-span chromatic dispersion compensation is more effective at cancelling phase noise in long distance transmission than lumped compensation at the receiver. Simulations suggest the span-wise compensation described herein yields Q-value enhancement of 7.8 and 6.8dB for CD values of 10 and 20.6ps/nm/km, respectively, whereas the lumped compensation equivalent attains only 3.5dB. A 1050km recirculating loop experiment confirmed a Q-value enhancement of 4.1dB for 20.6ps/nm/km, span-wise compensation transmission.

To learn the working situation of rod-pumped wells under ground, we always need to analyze dynamometer diagrams, which are generated by the load sensor and displacement sensor. Rod-pumped wells are usually located in the places with extreme weather, and these sensors are installed on some special oil equipments in the open air. As time goes by, sensors are prone to generating unstable and incorrect data. Unfortunately, load sensors are too expensive to frequently reinstall. Therefore, the resulting dynamometer diagrams sometimes cannot make an accurate diagnosis. Instead, as an absolutely necessary equipment of the rod-pumped well, the electric motor has much longer life and cannot be easily impacted by the weather. The electric power curve during a swabbing period can also reflect the working situation under ground, but is much harder to explain than the dynamometer diagram. This letter presented a novel deep learning architecture, which can transform the electric power curve into the dimensionless dynamometer diagram image. We conduct our experiments on a real-world dataset, and the results show that our method can get an impressive transformation accuracy.

We propose a cooperative cognitive radio network (CCRN) with secondary users (SUs) employing two simultaneous transmit and receive (STAR) antennas. In the proposed framework of full-duplex (FD) multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) CCRN, the region of achievable rate is expanded via FD communication among SUs enabled by the STAR antennas adopted for the SUs. The link capacity of the proposed framework is analyzed theoretically. It is shown through numerical analysis that the proposed FD MIMO-CCRN framework can provide a considerable performance gain over the conventional frameworks of CCRN and MIMO-CCRN.

Recently, Hof et al. extended the type-2 Duman and Salehi (DS2) bound to generalized decoding, which was introduced by Forney, with decision criterion FR. From this bound, they derived two significant bounds. One is the Shulman-Feder bound for generalized decoding (GD) with the binary-input output-symmetric channel. The other is an upper bound for an ensemble of linear block codes, by applying the average complete weight distribution directly to the DS2 bound for GD. For the Shulman-Feder bound for GD, the authors derived a condition under which an upper bound is minimized at an intermediate step and show that this condition yields a new bound which is tighter than Hof et al.'s bound. In this paper, we first extend this result for non-binary linear block codes used over a class of symmetric channels called the regular channel. Next, we derive a new tighter bound for an ensemble of linear block codes, which is based on the average weight distribution.

This paper proposes a novel access control scheme with collision detection that utilizes multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology. Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) is used in Ethernet wired local area networks (LANs) for media access control (MAC). CSMA/CD can immediately abort a transmission if any collision is detected and is thus able to change to a retransmission state. In Ethernet, CSMA/CD results in a transmission efficiency of approximately 90% because the protocol makes the transmission band available for useful communication by this retransmission function. Conversely, in conventional wireless LANs (WLANs), the packet collisions due to interfering signals and the retransmission due to collisions are significant issues. Because conventional WLANs cannot detect packet collisions during signal transmission, the success of a transmission can only be determined by whether an acknowledgment (ACK) frame has been received. Consequently, the transmission efficiency is low — approximately 60%. The objective of our study is to increase the transmission efficiency of WLANs to make it at least equal to that of Ethernet. Thus, we propose a novel access control scheme with collision detection that utilizes MIMO technology. When preamble signals are transmitted before transmitting data packets from an antenna, the proposed scheme can detect packet collisions during signal transmission at another antenna; then, the affected packets are retransmitted immediately. Two fundamental technologies are utilized to realize our proposed scheme. The first technology is the access control protocol in the MAC layer in the form of the MIMO frame sequence protocol, which is used to detect signal interference. The other technology is signal processing in the physical (PHY) layer that actualizes collision detection. This paper primarily deals with the proposed MAC layer scheme, which is evaluated by theoretical analyses and computer simulations. Evaluation by computer simulations indicate that the proposed scheme in a transmission efficiency of over 90%.