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.

This paper investigates the problem of communication errors in distributed shared memory (DSM) systems. Communication errors can introduce two critical problems: damage and loss. The damage problem makes the transmitted data destroyed and then produces incorrect computational results. The loss problem causes the transmitted data lost during transmission and then not received. However, the loss problem can be easily resolved using acknowledgement. Therefore, we focus on how to efficiently handle the damage problem. In DSM systems, the size of data transferred between nodes is larger than the size actually shared between nodes. That is, when a processing node receives data, not all the data items in this received data will be used. Based on this property, we present a new technique to resolve the data damage problem in DSM systems. This technique allows a processing node to continue computation without being blocked to wait for the correct data when it receives damaged data. Therefore, the latency for handling the data damage can be hidden. However, there is an optimistic assumption made in the proposed technique. If this optimistic assumption is not valid, the latency will not be hidden. To show the advantage and the overhead of the proposed technique, we perform extensive trace-driven simulations. The simulation results show that at least 62% of the latency for handling data damage can be hidden.

One-way sensing simple multihead finite automata with bounds on the number of times of use of sensing function in accepting computations are studied. It is shown that the languages accepted by one-way sensing simple multihead finite automata with constant sensing function bound satisfy the semilinear property, and that for one-way sensing simple multihead finite automata, m+1 times of the use of sensing function are better than m.

A 14. 4-in. diagonal EL display with 640128 pixels has been developed in red/green multicolor structures by using a new phosphor layer consisting of Zn1-xMgxS:Mn and ZnS:Mn. The display is designed for 240 Hz-frame rate, enabling the luminance to be improved by a factor of two. In addition, the contrast ratio is strongly enhanced by optimizing the black background structure and color filters. Improved characteristics make it possible for the EL panel to meet the requirements for the public information display taking advantages of high-reliability, crisp image and wide-viewing angle. Furthermore, the possibility of full-color EL displays will be described on the basis of "color by white" approach.

We discuss optimal rotation estimation from two sets of 3-D points in the presence of anisotropic and inhomogeneous noise. We first present a theoretical accuracy bound and then give a method that attains that bound, which can be viewed as describing the reliability of the solution. We also show that an efficient computational scheme can be obtained by using quaternions and applying renormalization. Using real stereo images for 3-D reconstruction, we demonstrate that our method is superior to the least-squares method and confirm the theoretical predictions of our theory by applying bootstrap procedure.

In a shared-memory multiprocessor, shared data are usually accessed in a critical section that is protected by a lock variable. Therefore, the order of accesses by multiple processors to the shared data corresponds to the order of acquiring the ownership of the lock variable. This paper presents a selective write-update protocol, where data modified in a critical section are stored in a write cache and, at a synchronization point, they are transferred only to the processor that will execute the critical section following the current processor. By using QOLB synchronization primitives, the next processor can be determined at the execution time. We prove that the selective write-update protocol ensures data coherency of parallel programs that comply with release consistency, and evaluate the performance of the protocol by analytical modeling and program-driven simulation. The simulation results show that our protocol can reduce the number of coherence misses in a critical section while avoiding the multicast of write-update requests on an interconnection network. In addition, we observe that synchronization latency can be decreased by reducing both the execution time of a critical section and the number of write-update requests. From the simulation results, it is shown that our protocol provides better performance than a write-invalidate protocol and a write-update protocol as the number of processors increases.

As the current Internet becomes popular in information access, demands for real-time display and playback of continuous media are ever increasing. The applications include real-time audio/video clips embedded in WWW, electronic commerce, and video-on-demand. In this paper, we present a new control protocol R3CP for real-time applications that transmit stored MPEG video stream over a lossy and best-effort based network environment like the Internet. Several control mechanisms are used: a) packet framing based on the meta data; b) adaptive queue-length based rate control scheme; c) data preloading; and d) look-ahead pre-retransmission for lost packet recovery. Different from many adaptive rate control schemes proposed in the past, the proposed flow control is to ensure continuous, periodic playback of video frames by keeping the receiver buffer queue length at a target value to minimize the probability that player finds an empty buffer. Contrary to the widespread belief that "Retransmission of lost packets is unnecessary for real-time applications," we show the effective use of combining look-ahead pre-retransmission control with proper data preloading and adaptive rate control scheme to improve the real-time playback performance. The performance of the proposed protocol is studied via simulation using actual video traces and actual delay traces collected from the Internet. The simulation results show that R3CP can significantly improve frame playback performance especially for transmission paths with poor packet delivery condition.

Ion beam irradiation effects on a novolac positive-tone photoresist and its application to micron-size field emitters have been investigated. Irradiation of Ar and P ions was examined. The electrical resistivity of the photoresist film is found to decrease after Ar ion implantation at doses on the order of 1016 cm-2. Baking of the photoresist prior to irradiation at a high temperature is preferred to produce electrical conductivity. P ions show weaker effects than Ar ions. Raman spectroscopy shows that carbon-carbon bonds such as the graphite bond are produced due to ion bombardment. The field emission of electrons is observed from emitters made of the ion-irradiated photoresist. The emission current is shown to be fairly stable when it is compared with an emission characteristic of synthesized diamond. Fabrication of field emitter arrays using a mold technique is demonstrated. The field emitter array shows emission at a current level of about 40 µA.

We have proposed a highly scattering optical transmission (HSOT) polymer for use as a high efficiency light source medium. This polymer contains specified internal microscopic heterogeneous structures for controlling light-transmission properties. An LCD backlighting system having a new light pipe made of this polymer has twice the brightness of the conventional one. A light scattering phenomenon inside the HSOT polymer was quantitatively analyzed by a ray tracing simulation based on the Mie scattering theory and the Monte Carlo method. The illumination of the backlight which is optimized by using the simulation program has enough uniformity of intensity and color because of specified multiple light scattering phenomena inside the HSOT polymer. We propose the new backlighting system having fewer components and twice efficiency of the conventional one.

This paper addresses the important issue of estimating realistic grasping postures, and presents a methodology and algorithm to automate the generation of hand and body postures during the grasp of arbitrary shaped objects. Predefined body postures stored in a database are generalized to adapt to a specific grasp using inverse kinematics. The reachable space is represented discretely dividing into small subvolumes, which enables to construct the database. The paper also addresses some common problems of articulated figure animation. A new approach for body positioning with kinematic constraints on both hands is described. An efficient and accurate manipulation of joint constraints is presented. Obtained results are quite satisfactory, and some of them are shown in the paper. The proposed algorithms can find application in the motion of virtual actors, all kinds of animation systems including human motion, robotics and some other fields such as medicine, for instance, to move the artificial limbs of handicapped people in a natural way.

This paper presents a type inference algorithm for a logic language, HS. The algorithm uses a program transformation, SPS, to given programs as a type inference. This method is theoretically clear, because applying it to given programs is equal to executing it partially. No other additional framework is needed for our approach. In contrast, many studies on type inference for logic languages are based on Mycroft and O'Keefe's famous algorithm, which was initially developed for functional languages. Therefore, the meanings of the algorithms are theoretically unclear in the domain of logic languages. Our type inference is flexible. Users of the type inference system can specify the types of objects abstractly (weakly) if the types are not exactly known, or they can specify them particularly (strongly) if the types are exactly known. Both kinds of programs are inferred for types. In contrast, many type inference systems accept purely untyped programs. Thus, with these two features, our method is simple and flexible.

An associative memory model with a forgetting process a la Mezard et al. is investigated for a piecewise nonmonotonic output function by the SCSNA proposed by Shiino and Fukai. Similar to the formal monotonic two-state model analyzed by Mezard et al. , the discussed nonmonotonic model is also free from a catastrophic deterioration of memory due to overloading. We theoretically obtain a relationship between the storage capacity and the forgetting rate, and find that there is an optimal value of forgetting rate, at which the storage capacity is maximized for the given nonmonotonicity. The maximal storage capacity and capacity ratio (a ratio of the storage capacity for the conventional correlation learning rule to the maximal storage capacity) increase with nonmonotonicity, whereas the optimal forgetting rate decreases with nonmonotonicity.

When wireless multi-media information such as voice, video, data and so on are transmitted, the difference required quality of Service (QoS) including required Bit Error Rate (BER), required information bit rate, message's delay constraints as well as traffic performance should be taken into account. A wireless multi-media system should achieve a flexible balance of these differences. In this letter, an Adaptive Chip/Bit Control Method is proposed for Wireless Multi-media CDMA System. The proposed method controls both chip and bit rate of each medium according to the offered traffic condition and the quality measurement of each medium. In the proposed method, measurement are carried out in the base station. Simulation results show that the proposed method not only maintain the required BER of each medium, but achieve a higher total throughput even in high traffic condition. Thus we see that the proposed method possesses higher flexible ability than conventional methods.

The coming information society will require images at the high end of the quality range. By using a new method which focuses on the assessment words of the high order sensation, we are investigating the important physical factors for the difficult reproduction of high level, high quality sensation in the electronic capture and display of images. We have found a key assessment word "image depth" that describes appropriately the high order subjective sensation that is indispensable for the display of extra high quality images. Related to the depth of images, we have discovered a new physical factor and the degree of precision required of already known physical factors for the display of extra high quality images. The cross modulation among R, G and B signals is the newly discovered important physical factor affecting the quality of an electronic display. In addition, we have found that very strict control of distortion in the gamma and the step response and the strict suppression of the halation in a CRT display are necessary. We note that aliasing of the displayed images also destroys the sensation of depth. This paper first outlines the overall objective of our work, second considers the important physical factors as important for extra high quality imaging, and then describes the specific effects of cross modulation distortion, gamma, step response, halation and aliasing as they relate to image depth. Finally, the relation of the discussed physical factors with the high order sensation are discussed broadly.

We consider a finite-capacity single-server queue with constant service and vacation times, which is seen in the time division multiple access (TDMA) scheme. First we derive the probability that j customers remain in the queue when a test customer arrives. Using this probability we then evaluate the probability that the test customer who arrives during the vacation or service time has to wait in the queue for longer than a given time. From these results, we obtain the waiting time distribution for the customer arriving at an arbitrary time. We also show a practical application to wireless TDMA communications systems.

Initial leveling of strapdown inertial navigation system is a prerequisite work for distinguishing between gravity and acceleration effects in the accelerometer sensing's. This study presents an on-line methodology to resolve the initial leveling problem of a vehicle, which is subject to a large, long duration, and abrupt disturbance input with a deterministic nature under noisy circumstances. The developed method herein is the Kalman filter based scheme with a robust input estimator, generalized M estimator, and a testing criterion. The generalized M estimator identifies the unexpected disturbance inputs in real time. In addition, hypothetical testing based on the least-squares estimator is devised to detect the input's onset and presence. A required regression equation between the observed value of the residual sequence with an unknown input and theoretical residual sequence of the Kalman filter with no input is formulated. Input estimation and detection are then provided on the basis of the derived regression equation. Moreover, Monte Carlo simulations are performed to assess the superior capabilities of the proposed method in term of rapid responses, accuracy, and robustness. The efficient initial leveling can facilitate the entire alignment of the inertial system.

Image classification is an important task in document image analysis and understanding, page segmentation-based document image compression, and image retrieval. In this paper, we present a new approach for distinguishing textual images from pictorial images using the Kolmogorov Complexity (KC) measure with randomly extracted blocks. In this approach, a number of blocks are extracted randomly from a binarized image and each block image is converted into a one-dimensional binary sequence using either horizontal or vertical scanning. The complexities of these blocks are then computed and the mean value and standard deviation of the block complexities are used to classify the image into textual or pictorial image based on two simple fuzzy rules. Experimental results on different textual and pictorial images show that the KC measure with randomly extracted blocks can efficiently classified 29 out 30 images. The performance of our approach, where an explicit training process is not needed, is comparable favorably to that of a neural network-based approach.

This letter proposes a new retransmission control scheme for slow-frequency-hopped communication systems, in which the number of (re)transmitted packets is adaptively decreased in a certain period. Performance of the proposed scheme is analyzed and compared with that of the conventional scheme in terms of the normalized throughput and the 98% packet transmission delay. The numerical results show the superiority of the proposed scheme.

The maximum order complexity (MOC) of a sequence is a very natural generalization of the well-known linear complexity (LC) by allowing nonlinear feedback functions for the feedback shift register which generates a given sequence. It is expected that MOC is effective to reduce such an instability of LC as an extreme increase caused by the minimum changes of a periodic sequence, i. e. , one-symbol substitution, one-symbol insertion or one-symbol deletion per each period. In this paper we will give the bounds (lower and upper bounds) of MOC for the minimum changes of an m-sequence over GF(q) with period qn-1, which shows that MOC is much more natural than LC as a measure for the randomness of sequences in this case.

In a multi-bandwidth CDMA system, the performance of a multiple order selection combining rake receiver is analyzed according to the spreading bandwidth of the system and the delay spread of a Rayleigh fading channel. The results for various channel environments indicate a tradeoff between total received signal energy and multipath fading immunity. Increasing the occupied bandwidth of the system (wide-bandwidth spreading) gives better performance for small delay spread environments, while gathering more energy (narrow-bandwidth spreading) gives better performance for large delay spread environments. It is also shown that the performance difference between low and high order selection combining grows larger as the spreading bandwidth is increased. It is noted that performance degrades by increasing the bandwidth above a certain point and the optimum spreading bandwidth for each channel environment decreases as the delay spread of the channel increases.