In this paper, we propose a robust parameters estimation algorithm for channel coded systems based on the low-density parity-check (LDPC) code over fading channels with impulse noise. The estimated parameters are then used to generate bit log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) for a soft-inputLDPC decoder. The expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm is used to estimate the parameters, including the channel gain and the parameters of the Bernoulli-Gaussian (B-G) impulse noise model. The parameters can be estimated accurately and the average number of iterations of the proposed algorithm is acceptable. Simulation results show that over a wide range of impulse noise power, the proposed algorithm approaches the optimal performance under different Rician channel factors and even under Middleton class-A (M-CA) impulse noise models.

The cooperative orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) relaying system is widely regarded as a key design for future broadband mobile cellular systems. This paper focuses on channel estimation in such a system that uses amplify-and-forward (AF) as the relaying strategy. In the cooperative AF relaying, the destination requires the individual (disintegrated) channel state information (CSI) of the source-relay (S-R) and relay-destination (R-D) links for optimum combination of the signals received from source and relay. Traditionally, the disintegrated CSIs are obtained with two channel estimators: one at the relay and the other at the destination. That is, the CSI of the S-R link is estimated at relay and passed to destination, and the CSI of the R-D link is estimated at destination with the help of pilot symbols transmitted by relay. In this paper, a new disintegrated channel estimator is proposed; based on an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, the disintegrated CSIs can be estimated solely by the estimator at destination. Therefore, the new method requires neither signaling overhead for passing the CSI of the S-R link to destination nor pilot symbols for the estimation of the R-D link. Computer simulations show that the proposed estimator works well under the signal-to-noise ratios of interest.

Estimating the ratio of two probability density functions (a.k.a. the importance) has recently gathered a great deal of attention since importance estimators can be used for solving various machine learning and data mining problems. In this paper, we propose a new importance estimation method using a mixture of probabilistic principal component analyzers. The proposed method is more flexible than existing approaches, and is expected to work well when the target importance function is correlated and rank-deficient. Through experiments, we illustrate the validity of the proposed approach.

This paper addresses the parameter estimation problem of an interval-based hybrid dynamical system (interval system). The interval system has a two-layer architecture that comprises a finite state automaton and multiple linear dynamical systems. The automaton controls the activation timing of the dynamical systems based on a stochastic transition model between intervals. Thus, the interval system can generate and analyze complex multivariate sequences that consist of temporal regimes of dynamic primitives. Although the interval system is a powerful model to represent human behaviors such as gestures and facial expressions, the learning process has a paradoxical nature: temporal segmentation of primitives and identification of constituent dynamical systems need to be solved simultaneously. To overcome this problem, we propose a multiphase parameter estimation method that consists of a bottom-up clustering phase of linear dynamical systems and a refinement phase of all the system parameters. Experimental results show the method can organize hidden dynamical systems behind the training data and refine the system parameters successfully.