ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
An improved quantitative measure of image restoration quality
Authors: S. S. O. Choy
Venue: Proceedings of the Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 1996. on Conference Proceedings., 1996 IEEE International Conference - Volume 03 (1996)

The field of image restoration lacks promising comparison vehicle for judging the effectiveness of competing algorithms. By far the most widely adopted quantitative measure of image restoration quality is the SNR improvement. However, we find that the SNR improvement is of low precision, which will adversely hinder it from being a reliable measure. It is also noted that another limitation of the SNR improvement is that it cannot reveal clearly the extent to which the image quality is improved. We devise an alternative measure for quantitative evaluation of image restoration quality. The proposed measure is much more precise than the SNR improvement. Moreover, the proposed measure contains finite and meaningful reference points in its measurements, to provide us with a better insight into the effectiveness of restoration algorithms that under study.
Modeling background from compressed video
Authors: Weiqiang Wang, Datong Chen, Wen Gao, Jie Yang
Venue: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (2005)

Background models have been widely used for video surveillance and other applications. Methods for constructing background models and associated application algorithms are mainly studied in the spatial domain (pixel level). Many video sources, however, are in a compressed format before processing. In this paper, we propose an approach to construct background models directly from compressed video. The proposed approach utilizes the information from DCT coefficients at block level to construct accurate background models at pixel level. We implemented three representative algorithms of background models in the compressed domain, and theoretically explored their properties and the relationship with their counterparts in the spatial domain. We also present some general technical improvements to make them more capable for a wide range of applications. The proposed method can achieve the same accuracy as the methods that construct background models from the spatial domain with much lower computational cost (50% on average) and more compact storages.
Virtual Vandalism: The Effect of Physical Incivilities on the Affective Appraisal of 3D Urban Models
Authors: Joske Houtkamp, Herre Van Oostendorp
Venue: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference Information Visualization (2007)

3D models of an urban area were manipulated to create an impression of neglect and dilapidation. In an experimental study the affective appraisals of the original and the manipulated models were compared. Results demonstrate that unfavourable elements in an urban environment, that are usually omitted from 3D models, influence the appraisal of the participants about the area, but only slightly and less than expected. Moreover, the judgment of the environment seems to be influenced by expectations of the representation. When 3D models are used for decision making in urban planning, this effect has to be taken into account. The experiment thus demonstrates that measuring instruments should be designed in such a way that the content (the environment) can be assessed separately from the chosen representation.
Calculation of partial capacitances using a modified iterative complex image method
Authors: S. Rehfuss, C. Gorecki, D. Peters, R. Laur
Venue: Proceedings of the Symposium on Design, Test, Integration and Packaging of MEMS/MOEMS (2003)

A method will be presented which is suitable to calculate the overall and partial capacitances of two rectangularly shaped conductors over a three-layered material. It is based on the complex image method. The solution for the determination of the necessary exponential terms used by the complex image method is shown. The terms are calculated using an iterative approach which will be compared with a previous method. The complex images are used to calculate the partial capacitances of the desired structures. The used structure consists of a three-layered material underneath the conductors but a multi-layered material can also be modelled. The method which has to be used in the case of a multi-layered material will also be presented.
An ASM Model for an Autonomous Network-Infrastructure Grid
Authors: LakshmiPriya TKS, Ranjani Parthasarathi
Venue: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Networking and Services (2007)

Developments in networking technologies along with the introduction of application-awareness in the network are motivating researchers to turn to the network for providing enterprise solutions. A network-infrastructure grid, consisting of network entities, is one such approach. Such a grid harnesses the idle compute power in the network, and offers transparent network services to end-users. This paper emphasizes the need for autonomy in such grids. Among the autonomous features, certain services have been found to be necessary and some others, desirable. These are discussed using our network-layer grid, namely the iSEGrid. Techniques to customize these features to application requirements are provided. An important contribution made in this paper is a formal framework, based on Abstract State Machines, for specifying, defining an autonomous network layer grid.
Flashback: A Peer-to-PeerWeb Server for Flash Crowds
Authors: Mayur Deshpande, Abhishek Amit, Mason Chang, Nalini Venkatasubramanian, Sharad Mehrotra
Venue: Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (2007)

We present Flashback 1, a ready-to-use system for scalably handling large unexpected traffic spikes on web-sites. Unlike previous systems, our approach does not rely on any intermediate nodes to cache content. Instead, the clients (browsers) create a dynamic, self-scaling Peer-to-Peer (P2P) web-server that grows and shrinks according to the load. This approach translates into a challenging problem - a P2P data exchange protocol that can operate in churn rates where more than 90% of peers can leave the overlay in under 10 seconds. This is at least an order of magnitude higher churn rate than previously addressed research. Additionally, our system operates under two strict constraints - users are assured that they upload only as much as they download and second, end-user browsing experience is preserved, i.e., low latency downloads and zero configuration or download of any software. Various innovations were required to meet these challenges. Key among them are (a) A TCP-friendly, UDP protocol (Roulette) for Tit-For-Tat data exchange under extreme churn, (b) A novel data structure (NOIS) for partial-data management and (c) A distributed hole-punching protocol for automatic NAT traversal. Experimental results show the effectiveness and near optimal scaling of Flashback. For a web-server (and clients) running on a DSL-like connection, end-user latency increases only one second for every doubling in web-server load.
Tutorial 5: SoC Communication Architectures: Technology, Current Practice, Research, and Trends
Authors: Nikil Dutt, Kaustav Banerjee, Luca Benini, Kanishka Lahiri, Sudeep Pasricha
Venue: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on VLSI Design held jointly with 6th International Conference: Embedded Systems (2007)

The increasing complexity of Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) has led to the critical "design productivity gap problem. Several strategies are being employed to cope with this problem, including an IP-based design flow, as well as platform-based designs for application domains. These approaches have critically increased the amount of on-chip communication. Since on-chip communication architectures have a significant impact on system performance, power dissipation and time-to-market, system designers, as well as the research community have focused on the issue of exploring, evaluating, and designing SoC communication architectures to meet the targeted design goals. On the other hand, aggressive scaling of VLSI technology has resulted in nanoscale effects that adversely affect interconnect performance, reliability, power dissipation, and predictability; new approaches to on-chip communication architectures (e.g., Networks-on-Chip) need to be devised in order to overcome these effects. The tutorial is structured into four parts, covering: i) scaling trends in nanometer interconnects and related methodology challenges; ii) architectural modeling and analysis of communication traffic and synthesis of current on-chip bus-based communication architectures iii) high-performance bus protocols and topologies, including design examples; and iv) emerging Network-on-Chip (NoC) paradigms for next generation designs. The tutorial begins by highlighting the key emerging issues in the domain of interconnect modeling and analysis. The implications of various nanoscale effects on VLSI interconnect performance, reliability, power dissipation and parasitic extraction are also presented. Promising new technologies including 3-D ICs and Carbon Nanotube (CNT) interconnects are outlined which have the potential to meet these interconnect challenges in the nanometer era. The second part of the tutorial will cover modeling abstractions suitable for communication centric designs, analysis techniques for estimating bus communication traffic, and synthesis of current protocols and standards such as OCP-IP, VSIA, and AMBA. The third part of the tutorial will cover the use of advanced architectural concepts in bus-based communication architecture design, and will include design examples from the industry. Finally, the last part of the tutorial will introduce the basic concepts on Networks-on-Chip and the challenges involved in the deployment of this on-chip communication paradigm.
Optimization-based wideband basis functions for efficient interconnect extraction
Authors: Xin Hu, Tarek Moselhy, Jacob White, Luca Daniel
Venue: Proceedings of the conference on Design, automation and test in Europe (2007)

This paper introduces a technique for the numerical generation of basis functions that are capable of parameterizing the frequency-variant nature of cross-sectional conductor current distributions. Hence skin and proximity effects can be captured utilizing much fewer basis functions in comparison to the prevalently-used piecewise-constant basis functions. One important characteristic of these basis functions is that they only need to be pre-computed once for a frequency range of interest per unique conductor cross-sectional geometry, and they can be stored off-line with a minimal associated cost. In addition, the robustness of these frequency-independent basis functions are enforced using an optimization routine. It has been demonstrated that the cost of solving a complex interconnect system can be reduced by a factor of 170 when compared to the use of piecewise-constant basis functions over a wide range of operating frequencies.
Designing Ubiquitous Computing Systems for Sports Equipment
Authors: Matthias Kranz, Wolfgang Spiessl, Albrecht Schmidt
Venue: Proceedings of the Fifth IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications (2007)

In this paper, we report on a user-centered, iterative design process for augmenting sports equipment with ubiquitous computing technology. In several design iterations, a fully working system for training and physiotherapy has been developed and deployed using hard- and software components of ubiquitous computing technology. We report on the design and development process that led to this system. Based on our experience we generalize the specific processes to general ubicomp systems. The validity of our approach has been verified by a larger user study.
Mean field decomposition of a posteriori probability for MRF-based unsupervised textured image segmentation
Authors: H. Noda
Venue: Proceedings of the Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 1999. on 1999 IEEE International Conference - Volume 06 (1999)

This paper proposes a Markov random field (MRF) model-based method for unsupervised segmentation of multispectral images consisting of multiple textures. To model such textured images, a hierarchical MRF is used with two layers, the first layer representing an unobservable region image and the second layer representing multiple textures which cover each region. This method uses the expectation-maximization (EM) method for model parameter estimation, where in order to overcome the well-noticed computational problem in the expectation step, we approximate the Baum function using mean-field-based decomposition of a posteriori probability. Given provisionally estimated parameters at each iteration in the EM method, a provisional segmentation is carried out using local a posteriori probability of each pixel's region label, which is derived by mean-field-based decomposition of a posteriori probability of the whole region image.
Theatrical Place in a 3D CVE: An Online Performance of Plato's Allegory of the Cave in a Distributed 3D CVE
Authors: Theodor G. Wyeld, Ekaterina Prasolova-Forland, Stephen Viller
Venue: Proceedings of the International Multi-Conference on Computing in the Global Information Technology (2007)

This paper discusses a theatrical performance in a 3D collaborative virtual environment (3D CVE). Place in a performative 3D CVE is contingent on immersion and presence generated by social interaction. It discusses the production of an online performance of Plato's Allegory of the Cave involving students from three different continents. It was found that theatrical activities in a 3D CVE share some of the characteristics of both cinema and traditional theatre. The paper identifies different types of places in 3D CVE and discusses their role in an educational context.
Generalized fuzzy filters of R 0-algebras
Authors: Xueling Ma, Jianming Zhan, Yang Xu
Venue: Soft Computing - A Fusion of Foundations, Methodologies and Applications (2007)

In this paper, we introduce the notions of interval valued $${(\in,\in\vee q)}$$-fuzzy filters and interval valued $${(\in,\in\vee q)}$$-fuzzy Boolean (implicative) filters in R 0-algebras and investigate some of their related properties. Some characterization theorems of these generalized fuzzy filters are derived. In particular, we prove that an interval valued fuzzy set F in R 0-algebras is an interval valued $${(\in,\in\vee q)}$$-fuzzy Boolean filter if and only if it is an interval valued $${(\in,\in\vee q)}$$-fuzzy implicative filter.
Messo & Preso Practical Sensor-Network Messaging Protocols
Authors: Sean Rooney, Luis Garces-Erice
Venue: Proceedings of the Fourth European Conference on Universal Multiservice Networks (2007)

We present two protocols one of which supports the publication by sensors in a sensor-network of messages on a named topic, the other that allows sensors to subscribe to messages on a named topic. We separate the publish and subscribe functions into different protocols as it is not necessary for a given device to support both. The publication protocol is designed for management systems in which nodes take readings from a sensor and transmit them to monitoring applications while the subscription protocol is for actuating systems in which the state of certain nodes is changed by control applications. The protocols use cross-layer optimization techniques for reducing transmissions within the messaging layer of the sensor-network. We show that the path characteristics of such network are highly variable leading to frequent topology changes motivating our description of the protocols which can function even over fluctuating network topologies. Finally, we use simulation to compare the actuation protocol with an epidemic approach, showing that our protocol is more efficient when the topics that the nodes are interested in are non-uniform.
An Integrated Product Development Process for Mobile Software
Authors: Christian Zeidler, Christian Kittl, Otto Petrovic
Venue: Proceedings of the International Conference on the Management of Mobile Business (2007)

The rising penetration of smartphones enables new mobile services and business models. A huge number of different operating systems, available functionalities, open questions regarding revenue sources and streams, legal issues, as well as a lack of knowledge in designing mobile user experiences call for a holistic product development process in this domain. This paper describes a five-step product development process for mobile software and services encompassing organizational, business and technical issues and reports on the practical experiences made in a real-life project.
Threshold cryptography in P2P and MANETs: The case of access control
Authors: Nitesh Saxena, Gene Tsudik, Jeong Hyun Yi
Venue: Computer Networks: The International Journal of Computer and Telecommunications Networking (2007)

Ad hoc groups, such as peer-to-peer (P2P) systems and mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) represent recent technological advancements. They support low-cost, scalable and fault-tolerant computing and communication. Since such groups do not require any pre-deployed infrastructure or any trusted centralized authority they have many valuable applications in military and commercial as well as in emergency and rescue operations. However, due to lack of centralized control, ad hoc groups are inherently insecure and vulnerable to attacks from both within and outside the group. Decentralized access control is the fundamental security service for ad hoc groups. It is needed not only to prevent unauthorized nodes from becoming members but also to bootstrap other security services such as key management and secure routing. In this paper, we construct several distributed access control mechanisms for ad hoc groups. We investigate, in particular, the applicability and the utility of threshold cryptography (more specifically, various flavors of existing threshold signatures) towards this goal.
On Sensor Sampling and Quality of Information: A Starting Point
Authors: Chatschik Bisdikian
Venue: Proceedings of the Fifth IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications Workshops (2007)

Many sensor-based applications (re)act following the detection of certain events of interest. Hence, the effectiveness of these applications depends on the quality of the information (QoI) provided by their sensor-based event detectors. In this paper, we derive relationships between the QoI attributes of timeliness and confidence and the operational characteristics of sensor systems and the events they detect. By building upon the Neyman-Pearson hypothesis testing procedure, we study the dependence of these characteristics and attributes on each other and establish their theoretical performance boundaries.
Spatial partitioning of geometry images using locality masks
Authors: L. Domanski, M. Cook
Venue: Proceedings of the Computer Graphics International 2005 (2005)

The advantages of using geometry images as surface representations largely depend on their regular sampling distribution and strictly ordered 2D storage arrangement. Traditional 3D spatial partitioning techniques often compromise these attractive properties when building hierarchical data structures. We present a modification to traditional partitioning methods using locality masks, which maintain the original sampling and storage structure of geometry images. Applications using spatial hierarchies can then take advantage of the sequential memory access and simplified sampling neighbourhoods associated with geometry images without an intermediate sorting phase. The method uses traditional principles for creation, storage and processing of internal hierarchy nodes, but treats the referencing of primitives at leaf nodes differently. Locality masks are presented with future geometry image processing techniques in mind and handle both single and multi-chart geometry images.
Virtual Human Animation in Networked Physical Running Fitness System
Authors: Xian Chen, Nailiang Zhao, Gaoqi He, Lin Zhang, Zhigeng Pan
Venue: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence--Workshops (2006)

The experience of playing a computer game depends on how well the action can capture players' attention. Sometimes people immerse into the game environment so strongly that they forget their actual physical surroundings. In this paper, we introduce a physical running fitness system in the networked virtual environment-VE, which aims at making the exercise session more motivating and rich in experiences. We present a body-driven virtual human animation method, which can make the virtual human more lifelike and can improve the interactive sense of exercise. The networked physical running fitness system is a combination of an ellipse machine, a computer and a screen. Our first generation prototype system supports four users to race in Local Area Network-LAN environment.
Code Generation on Steroids: Enhancing COTS Code Generators via Generative Aspects
Authors: Cody Henthorne, Eli Tilevich
Venue: Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Incorporating COTS Software into Software Systems: Tools and Techniques (2007)

Commercial of-the-shelf (COTS) code generators have become an integral part of modern commercial software development. Programmers use code generators to facilitate many tedious and error-prone software development tasks including language processing, XML data binding, graphical component creation, and middleware deployment. Despite the convenience offered by code generators, the generated code is not always adequate for the task at hand. This position paper proposes an approach to address this problem. We utilize the power of Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP) to enhance the functionality of generated code. Furthermore, our approach enables the programmer to specify these enhancements through an intuitive graphical interface. Our proof-of-concept software tool provides event-handling AspectJ aspects that enhance the functionality of the XML processing classes automatically generated by a commercial ofthe- shelf code generator, Castor.
Risks and potentials of using EMV for internet payments
Authors: Els Van Herreweghen, Uta Wille
Venue: Proceedings of the USENIX Workshop on Smartcard Technology on USENIX Workshop on Smartcard Technology (1999)

Existing payment smartcards developed for traditional point-of-sale transactions are being considered for use in Internet transactions. Such solutions have been suggested as alternatives to using payment protocols more specifically designed for Internet payments (such as SET [8]) but often lacking smartcard support. In this paper, we analyze EMV'96 [7], a representative example of an existing payment smartcard specification. We investigate which security requirements for an Internet payment system can and cannot be met when using EMV for Internet payments. We suggest possible modifications that can enhance the security of an Internet payment scheme based on EMV.