Novel image authentication scheme with fine image quality for BTC-based compressed images

A novel image authentication scheme which can protect the image integrity of the compressed images for block truncation coding (BTC) is proposed in this paper. In the proposed scheme, the authentication codes are embedded into the the quatization levels of each BTC-compressed image block by using reference matrix– RM_B. The size of the authentication codes can be decided according to the user’s requirement by adjusting the value of B in Reference Matrix. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms previous approaches in image quality of the embedded image and high detecting accuracy.     

Towards understanding the gamification upon users’ scores in a location-based social network

Online social platform, such as Wikipedia and Foursquare, has been increasingly exploded due to not only various useful services provided but also social gaming mechanisms that can keep users actively engaged. For example, users are awarded ”virtual goods” like badges and points when they contribute to the community in the network by voluntarily sharing ideas and other information. In this paper, we aim to examine the effectiveness of a social gamification mechanism, named user scores, designed in Foursquare which is one of most popular location-based social networks. A user’s score in Foursquare is an aggregate measure based on recent check-in activities of the user, which reflects a snapshot summary of the user’s temporal and spatial behaviors. Whenever a user checks in to a venue, a list of scores of the user’s friends are visible to the user via a ”leaderboard” which ranks these users’ scores in a descending order. Given a pair of friends who participate in a score competition in such a gimification mechanism, we identify if one user’s scores have significant influence on the other user’s scores by utilizing the Granger Causality Test. To understand what types of users and what types of friends tend to participate in the score competition (i.e., their check-ins are more likely driven by such a gamification mechanism), we extract users’ features (e.g. user’s degree) as well as the features of pairs of friends (e.g., number of common friends, score similarity and ranking difference) to examine whether these features have correlations with those pairs of users who are identified as being involved in the score game. The identified influence on user scores has the important implication on applications including friend and venue recommendations in location-based social networks.     

Generalized measuring-worm algorithm: high-accuracy mapping and movement via cooperating swarm robots

Recently, many extensive studies have been conducted on robot control via self-positioning estimation techniques. In the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) method, which is one approach to self-positioning estimation, robots generally use both autonomous position information from internal sensors and observed information on external landmarks. SLAM can yield higher accuracy positioning estimations depending on the number of landmarks; however, this technique involves a degree of uncertainty and has a high computational cost, because it utilizes image processing to detect and recognize landmarks. To overcome this problem, we propose a state-of-the-art method called a generalized measuring-worm (GMW) algorithm for map creation and position estimation, which uses multiple cooperating robots that serve as moving landmarks for each other. This approach allows problems of uncertainty and computational cost to be overcome, because a robot must find only a simple two-dimensional marker rather than feature-point landmarks. In the GMW method, the robots are given a two-dimensional marker of known shape and size and use a front-positioned camera to determine the marker distance and direction. The robots use this information to estimate each other’s positions and to calibrate their movement. To evaluate the proposed method experimentally, we fabricated two real robots and observed their behavior in an indoor environment. The experimental results revealed that the distance measurement and control error could be reduced to less than 3 %.     

Generation of GHZ states with invariant-based shortcuts

A scheme is proposed to generate three-atom GHZ states by applying the inversely engineered control method on the basis of Lewis–Riesenfeld invariants. In the proposal, three atoms that have different configurations are trapped in a bimodal cavity. Numerical simulations indicate that our protocol has an obvious improvement of speed for the generation of GHZ states. Moreover, the present scheme is robust against both parameter fluctuations and dissipation.     

The Cost of Environmental Constraints in Traffic Networks: Assessing the Loss of Optimality

Increasing numbers of hard environmental constraints are being imposed in urban traffic networks by authorities in an attempt to mitigate pollution caused by traffic. However, it is not trivial for authorities to assess the cost of imposing such hard environmental constraints. This leads to difficulties when setting the constraining values as well as implementing effective control measures. For that reason, quantifying the cost of imposing hard environmental constraints for a certain network becomes crucial. This paper first indicates that for a given network, such cost is not only related to the attribution of environmental constraints but also related to the considered control measures. Next, we present an assessment criterion that quantifies the loss of optimality under the control measures considered by introducing the environmental constraints. The criterion can be acquired by solving a bi-level programming problem with/without environmental constraints. A simple case study shows its practicability as well as the differences between this framework and other frameworks integrating the environmental aspects. This proposed framework is widely applicable when assessing the interaction of traffic and its environmental aspects.     

Secure three-party computational protocols for triangle area

In this work, we have put forth two different protocols to address a concrete secure multi-party computational (MPC) problem related to a triangle, of which the coordinates of the three vertices are confidentially kept by the three participants, respectively. The three parties wish to collaboratively compute the area of this triangle while preserving their own coordinate privacy. As one of the merits, our protocols employ weaker assumptions of the existence of pseudorandom generators. In particular, unlike massive secure MPC protocols that rely a lot on oblivious transfer, ours utilize a new computing idea called “pseudorandom-then-rounding” method to avoid this burdensome obstacle. The two protocols are based on different theorems, while they both make use of the same underlying idea. At last, we provide a detailed proof for the first protocol by a series of security reductions of our newly defined games, which seems somewhat stronger than the previous simulation-based proofs and a proof sketch for the second one. Analysis and discussion about the reasons are provided as well to round off our work.     

k-Multi-preference query over road networks

Nowadays, the road network has gained more and more attention in the research area of databases. Existing works mainly focus on standalone queries, such as k-nearest neighbor queries over a single type of objects (e.g., facility like restaurant or hotel). In this paper, we propose a k-multi-preference (kMP) query over road networks, involving complex query predicates and multiple facilities. In particular, given a query graph, a kMP query retrieves of the top-k groups of vertices (of k facility types) satisfying the label constraints and their aggregate distances are the smallest. A naïve solution to this problem is to enumerate all combinations of vertices with k possible facility types and then select the one with the minimum sum distance. This method, however, incurs rather high computation cost due to exponential possible combinations. In addition, the existing solutions to other standalone queries are for a single type of facilities and cannot be directly used to answer kMP queries. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an efficient approach to process a kMP query, which utilizes an index with bounded space and reduces the computation cost of the shortest path queries. We also design effective pruning techniques to filter out false alarms. Through our extensive experiments, we demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed solutions.     

一种内嵌导磁槽的圆感应同步器

圆感应同步器是一种高精度角度传感器,传统的圆感应同步器的转子需外引激励线以驱动其工作,鉴于圆感应同步器在使用过程中需要连续旋转,这将使得外引激励线存在绞线的问题,本文提出一种新的设计方法,在圆感应同步器的定、转子基体上嵌有环状的金属导磁槽,导磁槽内放入环状金属导线.通过给定子导磁槽内的环状金属导线施加激励信号,此激励信号可耦合到转子导磁槽内的环状金属导线中以驱动转子工作,这使得转子无需外引激励线,进而提高了系统应用的便利性以及可靠性.     

基于计算机网络技术的公交数字电视管理研究

基于公交数字电视网络技术的现状和特点,结合城市公交车的未来发展方向,阐述了数字电视用户管理系统的设计方法及实现过程。将数字信号还原成模拟信号,由模拟信号通过调制解调器变换成相应的频道信号,经过移动数字电视传输到每一辆公交车用户。网络正在向标准化、综合化、智能化发展,而计算机技术的快速发展又给网络管理提出了理论及实现方法的新要求。结合网络技术探讨电视管理中的需求、设计、安全等,其研究结果可为公交车辆网络技术在数字电视管理方面的实践应用提供参考与借鉴。