A Scheduling Protocol for Continuous Media Data Broadcasting With Large-Scale Data Segmentation

Due to the recent popularization of mobile multimedia broadcasting, broadcasting continuous media data such as audio and video has attracted great deal of attention. In general continuous media data broadcasting, since clients have to wait to receive data before playing it, various schemes to reduce waiting time have been studied. Some reduce the waiting time by dividing the data into several segments and broadcasting preceding segments frequently with a single channel. However, by dividing the data into numerous segments and producing an effective broadcast schedule, the waiting time can be further reduced. In this paper, we propose a scheduling protocol to reduce waiting time with large-scale data segmentation.     

A Broadcasting Scheme Considering Units to Play Continuous Media Data

Due to the recent proliferation of digital broadcasting systems, various schemes for broadcasting continuous media data such as music or movies have been studied. In general broadcasting systems, since clients have to wait until their desired data are broadcast, these schemes reduce the waiting time by dividing the data into several segments of equal size. However, continuous media data often have units for playing portions of the data. For example, data encoded by MPEG2 can be played every GOP (group of pictures). In this paper, we propose a scheme to reduce the waiting time considering the units. Our proposed scheme divides a continuous media data at every unit. By scheduling divided data so that clients finish receiving a unit before starting to play the unit, waiting time is effectively reduced.     

FIR system identification based on a nonparametric Bayesian model using the Indian buffet process

In this paper, we propose a nonparametric Bayesian model combined with the Indian buffet process (IBP) for a finite impulse response (FIR) system. We develop an FIR system identification method that can simultaneously estimate the number of FIR taps and coefficients. In the proposed model, each FIR tap consists of a coefficient and a gain, and the gain is a binary value. An infinite-dimensional binary vector is composed of binary values, and we assume that this binary vector is generated by the IBP. To identify the FIR system, we specify the likelihood function and prior distributions of the parameters and derive their posterior distributions. We can simultaneously estimate the number of FIR taps and coefficients by sampling from posterior distributions using the Gibbs sampler. Our simulations demonstrate that although the number of FIR taps is unknown, the identification performance of the proposed method in a high signal-to-noise ratio environment is similar to or better than that of the conventional least square solution.     

Evaluation of method for simultaneous determination of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables by collaborative study

A collaborative study involving 8 laboratories was conducted to evaluate a method for the simultaneous determination of pesticide residues in 6 types of fruits and vegetables (spinach, tomato, apple, radish, cabbage and carrot). The method of analysis was the same as reported by Kakimoto et al. in 2003. One hundred and thirty-nine pesticides were spiked by each of 8 laboratories at levels of 0.1 microg/g (pesticides analyzed by GC/MS) or 0.5 microg/g (pesticides analyzed by HPLC) into the 6 kinds of samples. Statistical analysis showed that 111 pesticides could be analyzed with practical precision by this method. For screening purposes, the method could analyze 118 pesticides. The median values of the limits of detection were 0.001-0.041 microg/g. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.5-5 microg/mL for most pesticides with median correlation coefficients of 0.983-1.000.     

Route guidance by a car navigation system based on augmented reality

Car navigation systems play a prominent role in road traffic safety and traffic regulation. However, it is necessary to improve the route guidance of car navigation systems so that they accurately and quickly recognize small differences in location. Thus, to increase the ease of understanding and safety of car navigation systems, navigation systems based on augmented reality have been proposed for providing guidance at road intersections. We are currently developing a car navigation system based on augmented reality, called AR‐Navi. We investigated designs for the display of road intersection guidance that can be easily understood even when limited information is available and proposed a “best shot” display method that does not use moving images. In addition, we implemented a prototype system that includes these methods and conducted driving experiments on public roads to evaluate the ease of understanding and safety of AR‐Navi. Using the evaluation results, we confirmed that the ease of understanding and safety is similar in the case of AR‐Navi and CG‐Navi. We also clarified the characteristics of AR‐Navi. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 180(2): 43–54, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.22278     

The homotopy model: a generalized model for smooth surface generation from cross sectional data

A generalized model, called the homotopy model, is presented to reconstruct surfaces from cross-sectional data of objects using a homotopy to generate surfaces connecting consecutive contours. The homotopy model consists of continuous toroidal graph representation and homotopic generation of surfaces from the representation. It is shown that the homotopy model includes triangulation as a special case and generates smooth parametric surfaces from contour-line definitions using homotopy. The model can be applied to contours represented by parametric curves as well as linear line segments. First, a heuristic method that finds the optimal path on the toroidal graph is presented. Then the toroidal graph is expanded to a continuous version. Finally, homotopy is used for reconstructing parametric surfaces from the toroidal graph representation. A loft surface is also a special case of homotopy, a straight-line homotopy. Homotopy that corresponds to the cardinal spline surface is also introduced. Three-dimensional surface reconstruction of human auditory surface reconstruction of human auditory ossicles illustrates the advantages of the homotopy model over the others.     

A parallel method for large sparse generalized eigenvalue problems using a GridRPC system

In this paper we present a master–worker type parallel method for finding several eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a generalized eigenvalue problem , where A and B are large sparse matrices. A moment-based method that finds all of the eigenvalues that lie inside a given domain is used. In this method, a small matrix pencil that has only the desired eigenvalues is derived by solving large sparse systems of linear equations constructed from A and B. Since these equations can be solved independently, we solve them on remote servers in parallel. This approach is suitable for master–worker programming models. We have implemented and tested the proposed method in a grid environment using a grid RPC (remote procedure call) system called OmniRPC. The performance of the method on PC clusters that were used over a wide-area network was evaluated.     

Permeation measurements for investigating atomic hydrogen flux and wall pumping/fuelling dynamics in QUEST

In order to investigate the overall atomic hydrogen background and the dynamic characteristics of wall pumping/fuelling phenomenon, a permeation probe system has been developed and applied in the spherical tokamak QUEST. Reliability of measurements, within ±3% accuracy and a positive correlation with the hydrogen line emission over three orders of magnitude have been demonstrated for more than 3000 various plasma discharges. By comparison of the experimental permeation (flux) curves with the numerically simulated curves, the net incident atomic hydrogen flux is evaluated in the range of 1 × 10¹⁹ H m^?2 s^?1 to 4 × 10²⁰ H m^?2 s^?1. The atomic flux has been investigated as a function of various plasma operation parameters like RF power, gas pressure and magnetic configuration. Using the static particle balance and permeation measurements, the progress in wall conditioning has been investigated. An inverse correlation between the atomic hydrogen flux and improvement in wall pumping has been observed over the two campaigns.     

A new optical elasticity resin for mobile LCD modules

Abstract— The display used in current cell phones has an air gap between the cover glass and the liquid‐crystal‐display (LCD) module to prevent the LCD glass from being damaged. Reflections at the boundaries of the air gap cause a reduction in the LCD luminance and contrast. To address this problem, a newly proposed LCD structure has been investigated. The “Super View Resin (SVR),” a transparent elastic resin which improves the shock resistance and visibility of the LCD, has been developed. Filling the air gap between the cover glass and LCD module with a refractive‐index‐matching resin solves the light‐reflection problem inherent in the use of a reinforced cover‐glass lens. Moreover, the elastic filler works as a damper, reducing any external shock, which prevents not only the cover glass and LCD module from being damaged, but also the glass from being shattered when it is broken.     

Origin of coercivity changes during the oxidation of Fe3O4to γ-Fe2O3

Oxidation kinetics and x-ray diffraction of the intermediate products have been investigated for several kinds of Fe3O4powders during the oxidation to γFe2O3. From these results, a two-components-hypothesis as an intermediate state of the Fe3O4- γFe2O3system is proposed, instead of a homogenious solid solution which has been widely recognized. The effect of the changes in particle size caused by the two phases oxidation products on the variations of magnetic coercivity was emphasised.