A Linear Algorithm for Computing the Homography from Conics in Correspondence

This paper presents a study, based on conic correspondences, on the relationship between two perspective images acquired by an uncalibrated camera. We show that for a pair of corresponding conics, the parameters representing the conics satisfy a linear constraint. To be more specific, the parameters that represent a conic in one image are transformed by a five-dimensional projective transformation to the parameters that represent the corresponding conic in another image. We also show that this transformation is expressed as the symmetric component of the tensor product of the transformation based on point/line correspondences and itself. In addition, we present a linear algorithm for uniquely determining the corresponding point-based transformation from a given conic-based transformation up to a scale factor. Accordingly, conic correspondences enable us to easily handle both points and lines in uncalibrated images of a planar object.     

Parametric embedding for class visualization

We propose a new method, parametric embedding (PE), that embeds objects with the class structure into a low-dimensional visualization space. PE takes as input a set of class conditional probabilities for given data points and tries to preserve the structure in an embedding space by minimizing a sum of Kullback-Leibler divergences, under the assumption that samples are generated by a gaussian mixture with equal covariances in the embedding space. PE has many potential uses depending on the source of the input data, providing insight into the classifier's behavior in supervised, semisupervised, and unsupervised settings. The PE algorithm has a computational advantage over conventional embedding methods based on pairwise object relations since its complexity scales with the product of the number of objects and the number of classes. We demonstrate PE by visualizing supervised categorization of Web pages, semisupervised categorization of digits, and the relations of words and latent topics found by an unsupervised algorithm, latent Dirichlet allocation.     

Chemical and electrochemical preparation of poly(9,10-dihydrophenanthrene-2,7-diyl) using nickel complexes and electrochemical properties of the polymer

Summary Dehalogenation polycondensations of 2,7-dibromo-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene with isolated zero-valent nickel complex and electrochemically generated zero-valent nickel complex afford -conjugated poly(9,10-dihydrophenanthrene-2,7-diyl). The electrochemically synthesized polymer is obtained as a thin film on electrode, and shows a reversible electrochemically doping-undoping cycle in an oxidation region. The polymer has essentially the same -conjugation system as that of poly(p-phenylene).     

A novel method for measuring direct compressive properties of carbon fibres using a micro-mechanical compression tester

A novel method has been developed for measuring direct compressive properties such as strength and elasticity of a series of mesophase-pitch-based and PAN-based carbon fibres about 10 m in diameter by uniaxial and transverse compression tests using a micromechanical tester. The fibres were shaped into cylindrical specimens, with their size ratio of length to diameter kept at about 2 to 3, by separating them from a thin film made by polishing the cut faces of a strand of carbon fibres with epoxy resin as a matrix. Individual cylindrical specimens were stood up or laid down on a glass plate without any fixer for the measurements of axial and transverse compression properties of fibres, respectively. The fibres exhibited non-linear elasticity, with the compressive modulus decreasing with compressive deformation. The direct axial compressive strengths of pitch-based carbon fibres were found to be marginally lower than the indirect ones, whereas there was no significant difference between the two strength values for PAN-based fibres. The pitch-based fibres exhibited smaller average values of axial compressive strength than the PAN-based fibres. The transverse compressive strength, which decreases with an increase in elasticity of carbon fibres, exhibited a considerably lower average value than that of the axial compressive strength. Further, the axial compressive strength was found to be smaller than the direct tensile strength for the fibres.     

Mode matching for a passive resonant ring laser gyroscope

An analytical method of matching the mode of an input laser to the lowest-order mode of a passive resonant ring laser gyro is described, as are the steps in determining the location and focal length of cylindrical mode matching lenses. Results were obtained with no mode matching, with a compromise spherical lens, with horizontal mode matching only, and with the proper cylindrical mode matching lenses. Compared with no mode matching, the latter case shows that the amplitude of the lowest-order mode is increased approximately 2.5 times. In addition, the number and intensity of higher-order modes are reduced to near zero, and the relative intensity of the lowest-order mode to the higher-order mode increased from approximately 5 to approximately 60 times greater.     

Secondary electron emission and surface charging evaluation of alumina ceramics and sapphire

The breakdown of alumina rf windows is mostly caused by multipactor, as well as by material defects and contamination. Since multipator induces localized surface heating, leading to surface melting, it is necessary to observe secondary electron emission (SEE) coefficients of alumina ceramics under high temperature conditions. The SEE coefficients of commercial alumina ceramics and sapphire were measured by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with a single short-pulsed electron beam (100 pA, 1 ms) at room temperature and at 650degC. Additive materials used for sintering alumina, such as SiO ₂ and MgO, were also investigated. Surface charging evaluations have also become important because the accumulated charges are discharged at the threshold Held, resulting in surface discharge. The surface charging evaluations were carried out by multi-pulse measurements with the injection of successive pulses on the sample. As a result, reductions in the SEE coefficients with temperature were confirmed, except for sapphire. The multi-pulse measurement results indicated that surface charging of the sapphire was higher than that of other samples. This may be one of the factors that causes sapphire not to be durable for rf window applications, compared with alumina ceramics. Although there are few exceptions, it was found that the SEE coefficients of alumina ceramics increased with the purity and the average grain size     

Microstructure and yield strength of UDIMET 720LI alloyed with Co-16.9 Wt Pct Ti

We proposed a new method for developing Ni-base turbine disc alloy for application at temperatures above 700 °C by mixing a Ni-base superalloy U720LI with a two-phase alloy Co-16.9 wt pct Ti in various contents. The microstructure and phase stability of the alloys were analyzed using an optical microscope, a scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and an X-ray diffractometer. The yield strength was studied by compression tests at temperatures ranging from 25 °C to 1200 °C. The results show that all the alloys had a dendritic structure. Ni₃Ti (η) phase was formed in the interdendritic region in the alloys with the addition of Co-16.9 wt pct Ti, and its volume fraction increased with the increase in the addition of Co-16.9 wt pct Ti. The results of exposure at 750 °C show that the addition of Co-16.9 wt pct Ti to U720LI had a great effect on suppressing the formation of σ phase due to the reduced Cr content in the γ matrix. Compared to U720LI, the alloys with the addition of Co-16.9 wt pct Ti possessed higher yield strength. The solid-solution strengthening of γ and γ′ and higher volume fraction of γ′ were assumed to cause this strength increase.     

Comparative study of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 films prepared by electron cyclotron resonance plasma sputtering and metal-organic decomposition

(Ba,Sr)TiO₃ films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by mirror-confinement-type electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma sputtering as well as by metal-organic decomposition (MOD). The films prepared by ECR plasma sputtering were crystallized at lower temperatures with better crystallinity and a denser structure than those by MOD. As for dielectric constant, films prepared by ECR plasma sputtering exhibited a relatively high value over 500 at a low annealing temperature of 873 K, whereas films by MOD exhibited approximately 350. This is attributed to the better crystallinity and the denser structure of the films by ECR plasma sputtering. The leakage current density of the films was found to be similar in both processes.     

Low-noise magnetic force microscopy with high resolution by tip cooling

Low-noise magnetic force microscopy (MFM) was realized by using a conventional high-vacuum MFM with homemade tip-cooling equipment. The noise level of the MFM at a tip temperature of 130 K was estimated at /spl mu/N/m order. High spatial resolution of 10 nm was obtained for observing high-density recording media with recording density of 1000 kfci. The improvement of resolution by tip cooling was a result of the reduction of thermodynamic noise of a cantilever and the effective reduction of tip-sample distance due to the magnetic hardening of a tip.