In this study, the influence of the location of ground plane on the noise (crosstalk) induced on twisted-pair-wire (TPW) by parallel wire is experimentally and theoretically discussed by paying attention to the capacitive coupling between TPW and parallel wire. The capacitance is obtained by applying the finite element method (FEM) to the calculation of electric field intensity. It is confirmed that the calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental results within 0.5 dB. It is concluded that the closer the TPW is to the ground plane, the smaller the induced noise on the TPW becomes.

The performance of TCP/IP over ATM over an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) was investigated. Because the bandwidth of an ADSL link can vary over time due to changes in the link's physical conditions, which degrades TCP performance, we performed simulations for various ATM traffic controls, including available bit rate (ABR) and generic flow control, used to handle variations in the ADSL bandwidth. This analysis showed that using an ABR control is effective under various traffic conditions. An ABR switch algorithm that can achieve good performance under any condition was investigated.

We propose a new sampling method for 2D and 3D implicit surfaces. The method is based on a stochastic process defined by the Langevin equation with a Gaussian random-force term. Our Langevin equation describes a stochastic-dynamical particle, which develops in time confined around the sampled implicit surface with small width. Its numerically generated solutions can be easily moved onto the surface strictly with very few iteration of the Newton correction. The method is robust in a sense that an arbitrary number of sample points can be obtained starting from one simple initial condition. It is because (1) the time development of the stochastic-dynamical particle does not terminate even when it reaches the sampled implicit surface, and (2) there is non-zero transition probability from one disconnected component to another. The method works very well for implicit surfaces which are complicated topologically, mathematically, and/or in shape. It also has some advantageous features in rendering 3D implicit surfaces. Many examples of applying our sampling method to real 2D and 3D implicit surfaces are presented.

This paper describes a new design method for multiply-adders able to process a large quantity of multimedia data. I propose a (signed digits)(unsigned digits) fixed-point multiply-add/subtract unit. The unit eliminates the problems caused by the critical one-bit arithmetic precision drop-off peculiar to the conventional (signed digits)(signed digits) fixed-point multiply scheme. By simultaneously counting in the carry-save form, based on 7-3 counters simultaneously inputting the accumulation terms and the add/sub operation terms of multiplication results, carries are propagated faster than in the conventional method.

The operation of a novel all-optical wavelength converter based on directionally-coupled semiconductor optical amplifiers is described. Merits such as extinction enhancement and digital response are expected through a simple analytical model and a sophisticated transfer matrix method developed to take into account the spatial distributions of the optical power, carrier density, refractive index, propagation constant, and coupling coefficient along device. We fabricated devices operating at 1.55 µm band using an InGaAsP/InP material system and demonstrated successfully the static characteristics of wavelength conversion with the expected advantages. Devices are as small as 1.5 mm and do not need any active/passive integration step during fabrication.

The mathematical theory of bicomplex electromagnetic waves in two-dimensional scattering and diffraction problems is developed. The Vekua's integral expression for the two-dimensional fields valid only in the closed source-free region is generalized into the radiating field. The boundary-value problems for scattering and diffraction are formulated in the bicomplex space. The complex function of a single variable, which obeys the Cauchy-Riemann relations and thus expresses low-frequency aspects of the near field at a wedge of the scatterer, is connected with the radiating field by an integral operator having a suitable kernel. The behaviors of this complex function in the whole space are discussed together with those of the far-zone field or the amplitude of angular spectrum. The Hilbert's factorization scheme is used to find out a linear transformation from the far-zone field to the bicomplex-valued function of a single variable. This transformation is shown to be unique. The new integral expression for the field scattered by a thin metallic strip is also obtained.

Muscle based face image synthesis is one of the most realistic approaches to the realization of a life-like agent in computers. A facial muscle model is composed of facial tissue elements and simulated muscles. In this model, forces are calculated effecting a facial tissue element by contraction of each muscle string, so the combination of each muscle contracting force decides a specific facial expression. This muscle parameter is determined on a trial and error basis by comparing the sample photograph and a generated image using our Muscle-Editor to generate a specific face image. In this paper, we propose the strategy of automatic estimation of facial muscle parameters from 2D markers'movements located on a face using a neural network. This corresponds to the non-realtime 3D facial motion capturing from 2D camera image under the physics based condition.

This paper presents a new data hiding scheme via steganographic image transformation, which is different from conventional data hiding techniques. The transformation is achieved in the frequency domain and the concept of Fourier filtering method is used. An input image is transformed into a fractal image, which can be used in Computer Graphic (CG) applications. One of the main advantages of this scheme is the amount of data to be hidden (embedded) is equal to that of the host signal (generated fractal image) while it is in general limited in the conventional data hiding schemes. Also both the opened fractal image and the hidden original one can be properly used depending on the situation. Unauthorized users will not notice the "secret" original image behind the fractal image, but even if they know that there is a hidden image it will be difficult for them to estimate the original image from the transformed image. Only authorized users who know the proper keys can regenerate the original image. The proposed method is applicable not only as a security tool for multimedia contents on web pages but also as a steganographic secret communication method through fractal images.

A tail current source is often employed for many analog building blocks. It can limit the increase of excess power. It can also improve CMRR and PSRR. In this paper, we propose a very high output impedance tail current source for low voltage applications. The proposed tail current source has almost the same output impedance as the conventional cascode type tail current source in theory. Simulation results show that the output impedance of the proposed circuit becomes 1.28 GW at low frequencies. Applying the proposed circuit to a differential amplifier, the CMRR is enhanced by 66.7 dB, compared to the conventional differential amplifier. Moreover, the proposed circuit has the other excellent merit. The output stage of the proposed tail current source can operate at VDS(sat) and a quarter of VDS(sat) of the simple current source in theory and simulation, respectively. For example, in the simulation, when the reference current IREF is set to 100µA, the minimum voltage of the simple current source approximates 0.4 V, whereas that of the proposed current source approximates 0.1 V. Thus, the dynamic range can be enlarged by 0.3 V in this case. The value is still enough large value for low voltage applications. Hence, the proposed tail current source is suitable for low voltage applications.

This paper proposes an improved nonlinear FET model along with its parameter extraction procedure suitable for the accurate prediction of inter-modulation product's levels (IM) and spurious responses in active and passive applications. This new model allows accurate capture of the drain current behavior and its derivatives with respect to the gate voltage and the drain voltage in the both the saturated and linear regions of the I-V biasing domain. It was found that this model accurately predicts the bias-dependent S-parameters as well as IM's levels for both amplifier and mixer applications up to mm-wave frequencies.

This paper deals with the prediction of stock trends by using the wavelet transform and the multi-stage fuzzy inference system based upon the optimization of membership function by using the GA. The system is expected to recognize the short-term feature which is usually used to estimate the rise/fall of price by human experts. In the prediction of stock prices, the wavelet transform is used to describe the short term feature of the stock trend. The fractal dimension and the variance of the time series are also used as the input variables. By dividing the inference system into multiple stages, the total number of rules is sufficiently depressed compared to the single stage system. In each stage of inference only a portion of input variables are used as the input, and output of the stage is treated as an input to the next stage. To give better performance, the shape of the membership function of the inference rules is optimized by using the GA. Each individual corresponds to an inference system, and its fitness is calculated as the ratio of the correct recognition. In the simulation study, we define the rise and fall of prices by considering the threshold value for the price change, and the interval of prediction. Then, the parameters of the system are adjusted by using the data for learning and the performance is evaluated by comparing the prediction and observation. The simulation study shows that the inference system gives about a 70% correct prediction of the price change of stocks. The result is compared to the prediction by the neural network, and we see better classification of the fuzzy system.

This paper proposes a nonlinear oscillator network model for gray-level image segmentation suitable for massively parallel VLSI implementation. The model performs image segmentation in parallel using nonlinear analog dynamics. Because of the limited calculation precision in VLSI implementation, it is important to estimate the calculation precision required for proper operation. By numerical simulation, the necessary precision is estimated to be 5 bits. We propose a nonlinear oscillator network circuit using the pulse modulation approach suitable for an analog-digital merged circuit architecture. The basic operations of the nonlinear oscillator circuit and the connection weight circuit are confirmed by SPICE circuit simulation. The circuit simulation results also demonstrate that image segmentation can be performed within the order of 100 µs.

In order to investigate the possibility of avatar communication using sign-language, in this paper, we develop a sign-language chatting system on the Internet using CG aniamtion techniques between Korea and Japan. We construct the system in server-client architecture, where images of Korean or Japanese sign-language are analyzed into a series of parameters for sign-language animation by server. We transmit the parameters, which are text data instead of images or their compression, to clients and regenerate the corresponding CG animation using the received data. The chatting system is implemented with Visual C++ 5.0 on Windows platforms. Experimental results show that the sign-language could be used as a communication means between avatars of different languages.

This paper proposes the iterative quasi-oldest-cell-first (i-QOCF) scheduling algorithm, a new scheduling algorithm for input-queued ATM switches with virtual output queuing (VOQ). In the i-QOCF scheduling algorithm, each input port and each output port maintains its own list. The length of the list can be N, 2 N, ..., B N, where B is the size of the separate queue for an output port at input ports, and N is the number of output ports. The list maintained by an input port contains the identifiers for those output ports to which that input port will send a cell. The list maintained by an output port contains the identifiers for input ports that have a cell destined for that output port. If we use a list whose length is B N, then the identifiers in the list appear in the oldest order, and i-QOCF gives preference to cells that have been waiting for the longest time. If we use a list whose length is less than B N, then the identifiers in the list appear in the quasi-oldest order, and i-QOCF gives preference to cells that have been waiting for the quasi-longest time. We determine the performance of i-QOCF in a comparison with i-OCF in terms of cell delay time. We find that an input-queued ATM switch with i-QOCF and VOQ can achieve 100% throughput for independent arrival processes. Under uniform traffic, 3-QOCF is enough to achieve convergence during one cell time. If we use 3-QOCF, the list length is 3 N, then its cell delay time is almost the same as that of 4-OCF (Oldest-Cell-First).

This paper proposes a realization of power factor function generator having an arbitrary base and power factor which are determined by the ratios of the currents provided from outside of the circuit. The circuit characteristics do not depend on any transistor parameters, temperature, and other environmental conditions. The circuit operation is based on current mode that has a capability of low power supply voltage operation below than 2.0 V. SPICE simulation has been carried out using 0.7 µm BiCMOS parameters and shows quite good transfer characteristics.

Combined input output queued (CIOQ) architecture such as crossbar with speedup has recently been proposed to build a large capacity switch for broadband integrated services networks. It was shown that, for a speedup factor of 2, a CIOQ switch can achieve 100% throughput with a simple maximal matching algorithm. Achieving 100% throughput, however, is not sufficient for per-connection quality of service (QoS) guarantee. In [2],[3], it is proved that a CIOQ switch with a speedup factor of 2 can exactly emulate an output queued (OQ) switch if stable matching is adopted. Unfortunately, the complexity of currently known algorithms makes stable matching impractical for high-speed switches. In this paper, we propose a new matching algorithm called the least cushion first/most urgent first (LCF/MUF) algorithm and formally prove that a CIOQ switch with a speedup factor of 2 can exactly emulate an OQ switch which adopts any service discipline for cell transmission. A potential implementation of our proposed matching algorithm for strict priority service discipline is also presented.

A new phasor model of neural networks is proposed in which the state of each neuron possibly takes the value at the origin as well as on the unit circle. A stability property of equilibria is studied in association with the energy landscape. It is shown that a simple condition guarantees an equilibrium to be asymptotically stable.

The ATM multicast Tree (AMT) is the Mbone of video/audio conferencing and other multicasting applications in ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) networks. However, real problems such as temporarily moving switches, changing optic fiber connections and/or tangible/intangible failures of ATM networks will cause many service disruptions. Thus we must carefully consider the system's SQOS (Survivable QOS) when we construct the system. A point-to-point self-healing scheme utilizing a conventional pre-planned backup mechanism is proposed to protect the AMT from failure. This scheme uses point-to-point pre-planned backup Root-to-Leaf Routes (RLR) as the root-to-leaf structure of an AMT. Though AMT protection via preplanned backup RLR requires no search time, duplicate paths may cause redundant bandwidth consumption. This paper also proposes a closest-node method, which can locate the minimum-length route structure during the initial design and also rebuild the AMT in the event of a network failure. To enhance the survivability of the system, we introduce two near optimal re-routing algorithms, a most-decent search algorithm, and also a predictive-decent search algorithm in order to find the minimum lost flow requirement. These near optimal schemes use search technique to guide the local optimal lost flow to the most-decent lost flow direction. The predictive way is an especially economical technique to reduce the calculation complexity of lost flow function. For the evaluation of the feasibility and performance of the new schemes, we simulate AMT restoration and the simulation results show the closest-node scheme provides superior AMT restoration compared to a system with a preplanned point-to-point backup scheme. In addition, the predictive-decent search algorithm is faster than the most-decent search one.

To provide QoS guarantees for each connection, efficient scheduling algorithms, such as WFQ, have been proposed. These algorithms assume a certain amount of buffer is allocated for each connection to provide loss free transmission of packets. This buffer allocation policy, however, requires much buffer space especially when many connections are sharing a link. In this paper we propose the use of partial buffer sharing (PBS) policy combined with usage parameter control (UPC) for efficient buffer management and flexible QoS control in ATM switches. We evaluate the feasibility of the proposed method by solving a Markov model. We also show that using the proposed method, we can control the cell loss ratio (CLR) independently of the delay. Numerical evaluations are presented, which indicates the PBS combined with UPC significantly reduces the buffer size required to satisfy given cell loss ratios.

Heartbeat interval time series is an example of natural signals with 1/f characteristics. The exponent α of the 1/fα spectrum has some clinical significance. But sometimes the 1/f components is superimposed by some sinusoid components in the signal. To estimate the slope accurately, the 1/f component must be extracted from the signal. The singular spectrum analysis (SSA) method is recruited here to perform the task. Experimental results on data from real patients are satisfactory.