Vaudeville: A High Performance,Voice Activated Teleconferencing Application

We present Vaudeville, a voice-activated, hands-free, ATM-based video conferencing application. This system is scalable; although video bandwidth is normally a limiting factor in the number of conferences participants, the bandwidth attributed to the video is not a function of conference size. This is achieved through an automatic, distributed floor control mechanism that gives the appearance of an open floor. Audio and video are encoded in hardware using a platform-independent, ATM hardware multimedia interface. Vaudeville features digitally transmitted NTSC video, voice-activated audio transmission, audio bridging of two audio streams, and voice-activated video switching. Multiple simultaneous multiparty conferences are supported. Users can move freely among conferences without knowledge of the underlying network structure. We describe how Vaudeville was built using a component-based distributed programming environment. We also describe the algorithms used to control the audio and video of the application.     

Special Feature: Interactive Graphics Teleconferencing

Interactive graphic displays of layouts or design plans, already in widespread use as design aids, can be even more effective when used in conjunction with teleconferencing.     

Faster and Better: A Machine Learning Approach to Corner Detection

The repeatability and efficiency of a corner detector determines how likely it is to be useful in a real-world application. The repeatability is important because the same scene viewed from different positions should yield features which correspond to the same real-world 3D locations [1]. The efficiency is important because this determines whether the detector combined with further processing can operate at frame rate. Three advances are described in this paper. First, we present a new heuristic for feature detection and, using machine learning, we derive a feature detector from this which can fully process live PAL video using less than 5 percent of the available processing time. By comparison, most other detectors cannot even operate at frame rate (Harris detector 115 percent, SIFT 195 percent). Second, we generalize the detector, allowing it to be optimized for repeatability, with little loss of efficiency. Third, we carry out a rigorous comparison of corner detectors based on the above repeatability criterion applied to 3D scenes. We show that, despite being principally constructed for speed, on these stringent tests, our heuristic detector significantly outperforms existing feature detectors. Finally, the comparison demonstrates that using machine learning produces significant improvements in repeatability, yielding a detector that is both very fast and of very high quality.     

Slanted Stixels: A Way to Represent Steep Streets

International Journal of Computer Vision - This work presents and evaluates a novel compact scene representation based on Stixels that infers geometric and semantic information. Our approach...     

Big Board: Teleconferencing Over Maps for Shared Situational Awareness

Collaborative technologies for information sharing are an invaluable resource for emergency managers to respond to and manage highly dynamic events such as natural disasters and other emergencies. However, many standard collaboration tools can be limited either because they provide passive presentation and dissemination of information, or because they are targeted towards highly specific usage scenarios that require considerable training to use the tools. We present a real-time gather and share system called “Big Board” which facilitates collaboration over maps. The Big Board is an open-source, web based, real time visual collaborative environment that runs on all modern web browsers and uses open-source web standards developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and WorldWideWeb Consortium (W3C). An evaluation of Big Board was conducted by school representatives in North Carolina for use in situational understanding for school closure decisions during winter weather events. The decision to close schools has major societal impacts and is one that is usually made based on how well a teenage driver could handle wintry precipitation on a road. Collecting information on the conditions of roads is especially critical, however gathering and sharing of this information within a county can be difficult. Participants in the study found the Big Board intuitive and useful for sharing real time information, such as road conditions and temperatures, leading up to and during a winter storm scenario. We have adapted the Big Board to manage risks and hazards during other types of emergencies such as tropical storm conditions.     

WebRB: A Different Way to Write Web Applications

Relational Blocks (RBIocks) is a visual dataflow language for writing multipage interactive applications that access, transform, and display relational data in a GUI. The authors present WebRB, an implementation of RBIocks for a Web application environment. It's deployed as a software service; developers run the WebRB visual editor in a standard Firefox Web browser and store their page designs and data on the WebRB server. WebRB is a different way to write Web applications because it uses visual page designs, lacks imperative code, and uses relational semantics.     

Structure-Measure: A New Way to Evaluate Foreground Maps

International Journal of Computer Vision - Foreground map evaluation is crucial for gauging the progress of object segmentation algorithms, in particular in the field of salient object detection...     

基于TLDA和SVSM的音乐信息检索模型

随着协同标注功能的普及,用户可以通过标注自己感兴趣的音乐实现个性化的分类管理,因此音乐共享系统中的社会化标签已成为互联网的重要资源。为了提高音乐检索系统的效率,综合考虑了社会化标签的特性及其对音乐检索模型的影响,利用了TLDA方法来进行标签聚类以获取更多的语义相关的标签,综合考虑了用户检索行为、歌词、音乐标签和音乐流行度来提高音乐信息检索系统的性能。实验表明,基于TLDA和SVSM的音乐检索模型相比于基于属性数据的音乐检索模型以及k-means标签聚类的模型,尤其是在音乐标签稀疏和非正规的情况下,能够在一定程度上提高音乐检索的性能。     

HSPM: A Better Model to Effectively Preventing Open-Source Projects from Dying

With the rapid development of Open-Source (OS), more and more software projects are maintained and developed in the form of OS. These Open-Source projects depend on and influence each other, gradually forming a huge OS project network, namely an Open-Source Software ECOsystem (OSSECO). Unfortunately, not all OS projects in the open-source ecosystem can be healthy and stable in the long term, and more projects will go from active to inactive and gradually die. In a tightly connected ecosystem, the death of one project can potentially cause the collapse of the entire ecosystem network. How can we effectively prevent such situations from happening? In this paper, we first identify the basic project characteristics that affect the survival of OS projects at both project and ecosystem levels through the proportional hazards model. Then, we utilize graph convolutional networks based on the ecosystem network to extract the ecosystem environment characteristics of OS projects. Finally, we fuse basic project characteristics and environmental project characteristics and construct a Hybrid Structured Prediction Model (HSPM) to predict the OS project survival state. The experimental results show that HSPM significantly improved compared to the traditional prediction model. Our work can substantially assist OS project managers in maintaining their projects’ health. It can also provide an essential reference for developers when choosing the right open-source project for their production activities.     

页迁移：一种动态开发数据局部性的方法

本文主要针对ＣＣ－ＮＵＭＡ体系结构,讨论了动态开发数据局部性的方法－页迁移技术。     

一种改进PageRank的新方法

PageRank是Web主题检索最成功的算法之一,但它同时也存在一些问题。PageRank算法仅仅考虑了Web的链接结构,并没有考虑链接所携带的内容信息。针对这种情况,本文提出了根据链接临近文本信息对PageRank进行主题矫正计算的方案,最终使用PageRank与主题矫正值的和替换整最初的PageRank。模拟实验结果表明,改进后的算法可以提高PageRank算法的查全率。     

Multidisciplinary Medical Team Meetings: An Analysis of Collaborative Working with Special Attention to Timing and Teleconferencing

In this paper we describe the process of a multi-disciplinary medical team meeting (MDTM), its functions and operation in colocated and teleconference discussions. Our goal is to identify the elements and mechanics of operation that enhance or threaten the dependability of the MDTM as a “system” and propose technologies and measures to make this system more reliable. In particular, we assess the effect of adding teleconferencing to the MDTM, and identify strengths and vulnerabilities introduced into the system by the addition of teleconferencing technology. We show that, with respect to the system’s external task environment, rhythms of execution of pre-meeting and post-meeting activities are critical for MDTM success and that the extension of the MDTM to wider geographic locations with teleconferencing might disrupt such rhythms thereby posing potential threats to dependability. On the other hand, an analysis of vocalisation patterns demonstrates that despite difficulties related to coordination and awareness in video-mediated communication (evidenced by increased time spent in case discussion, longer turns, decreased turn frequency and near lack of informal exchanges) the overall case discussion structure is unaffected by the addition of teleconferencing technology into proceedings.     

一种获得透视图的新方法

依据物体透视图的人工作图法，本文提出了确定透视变换矩阵的新方法，这种方法基于一组新的参数，而每个参数与透视变换的结果有明显关系，因此便于使用，并给出了计算机作图示例。     

WmI:一种更高效的m-invariance实现算法

近年来,随着人们对数据发布环境下的隐私保护问题日益关注,出现了许多支持隐私保护的数据发布模型,例如k-anonymity和l-diversity.但是这些支持隐私保护的数据发布模型有一个共同的缺陷,即它们都是"一次性"模型,不支持数据表更新后的重发布,这显然不能满足实际需要.m-invariance模型虽然较好地解决了数据重发布问题,但其实现算法中没有考虑属性在不同发布用途中的权重,从而导致算法执行效率较低.提出的WmI(weighted-m-invariance)算法,在数据抽象化处理的过程中充分考虑了属性的权重,简化了原算法的执行过程;并在确保数据可用性的前提下大幅度提高了算法的执行效率.     

基于DBS的因特网接入方式

提出了一种经由基于DVB的直播电视卫星实现因特网接入的方案，并对系统结构、会话建立、协议栈、IP分组的封装和传送作了详细的描述。     

单片机开发向LonWorks开发的简单过渡

国内单片机开发资料丰富,而LonWorks开发则投资大,周期长,如果能把单片机开发的资源优势与Lonworks的技术优势结合起来,对Lonworks技术在我国的成功推广应用将起到巨大的推动作用,MIPCARD就是这样一种产品,单片机开发人员只须将其当成一个普通的外部存贮器对等,即可实现单片机到LonWorks技术的过渡。     

局域网内架设电视服务器的简易方法

介绍一种在局域网内架设电视服务器的简易方法.     

Initial Empirical Testing of Potential Factors Contributing to Patient Use of Secure Medical Teleconferencing

Providing timely and cost-effective healthcare appears to be significantly desired. Factors such as computer skills and comprehension of instructions impact people’s perception of the accessibility of such alternatives, especially for medical professionals. There are limited studies examining the aforementioned factors in information systems (IS) literature in the context of medical teleconferencing (ehealth) from the patients’ perspective. Thus, the purpose of this research study was to examine the underlying structure of four factors, namely IS usage (ISU), computer self-efficacy (CSE), ethical severity of misusing IS (ESMIS), and the resistance to use IS (RESUIS). Based on data gathered from 140 participants, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted, using the partial least squares (PLS) technique. Results indicated a very strong validity and reliability of the constructs, however, with a relatively low overall model predictability. Furthermore, the constructs of CSE and RESUIS appear to demonstrate significant contribution toward ISU.     

Bringing JSON signatures to ETSI AdES framework: Meet JAdES signatures

This paper proposes a set of JSON signed and unsigned attributes which, if incorporated into a JSON signature, will convert it in a digital signature (JAdES) with identical capabilities (for instance, feasibility of validating them long after their generation, even after the signing certificate has expired, or has been revoked) as the digital signatures in ETSI AdES family, namely CAdES, PAdES, and XAdES.The paper also proposes two different mechanisms for incorporating the aforementioned attributes into a JWS signature (i.e. building a JAdES signature on JWS), with special emphasis in the computation and checking of archive time-stamps (i.e. time-stamp tokens that assure integrity and time of existence of all the contents of the digital signature).Finally, the paper summarizes the results obtained by a program developed to ascertain the correctness of the technical approaches taken, and that served as proof of concept.This paper has served as the starting point for building a formal proposal for producing an ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) Technical Specification (ETSI TS) to ETSI Electronic Signatures and Infrastructure (ESI) Technical Committee, responsible, within ETSI, of developing European Standards for digital signatures and public key infrastructure in general, and of the standardization of AdES digital signatures family in particular.