Demonstration of a c.c.d. image processor for two-dimensional edge detection

An analog technique for image processing that provides 2-dimensional edge detection is described. The algorithm implemented is the Sobel operator using a 3 × 3 array of picture elements. The implementation is unique in that a fully integrated circuit approach is employed which has the potential of being integrated directly into either an optical or infrared sensor. The n channel charge-coupled device (c.c.d.) technology used results in a processor area of less than 0.06 cm2, and can provide an increase in processing speeds of several orders of magnitude over general-purpose machines. Typical results from this processor are given and are compared with computer simulation.     

Three-dimensional VLSI architecture for image understanding

The recent advances in integration technology for microelectronic circuitry will provide unprecedented systems capabilities in the upcoming decade. Among the most significant aspects of these systems will be their increasing “intelligence,” based on their manipulation of a variety of sensory data. Presently, the impressive advances in image understanding technology for visible, infrared, and synthetic array radar data provide added impetus to the development of truly autonomous systems. With the impending advent of these systems, it is crucially important to understand the impact that the new integration technologies will have on the necessary hardware. Furthermore, how the resulting systems may best be made to serve the requirements of each intended application must be understood. The computational requirements of autonomous systems based on image understanding are examined, and how those requirements might be satisfied by a cellular machine employing three-dimensional microelectronic technology is demonstrated.     

Hierarchical multiple-SIMD architecture for image analysis

Real-time image analysis requires the use of massively parallel machines. Conventional parallel machines consist of an array of identical processors organized in either single instruction multiple data (SIMD) or multiple instruction multiple data (MIMD) configurations. Machines of this type generally only operate effectively on parts of the image analysis problem. SIMD on the low level processing and MIMD on the high level processing. In this paper we describe the Warwick Pyramid Machine, an architecture consisting of both SIMD and MIMD parts in a multiple-SIMD (MSIMD) organization which can operate effectively at all levels of the image analysis problem.     

Sialic acid: effect of removal on calcium exchangeability of cultured heart cells

Specific removal of sialic acid from cultured heart cells with purified neuraminidase increases cellular calcium exchangeability. Potassium exchange is unaffected or slightly decreased. Sialic acid removal also permits lanthanum, normally restricted to the cellular surface, to enter the cells and displace more than 80 percent of cellular calcium. The results indicate a specific role of cellular surface components in the control of calcium exchangeability in the heart.     

Allocating non-real-time and soft real-time jobs in multiclusters

This paper addresses workload allocation techniques for two types of sequential jobs that might be found in multicluster systems, namely, non-real-time jobs and soft real-time jobs. Two workload allocation strategies, the optimized mean response time (ORT) and the optimized mean miss rate (OMR), are developed by establishing and numerically solving two optimization equation sets. The ORT strategy achieves an optimized mean response time for non-real-time jobs, while the OMR strategy obtains an optimized mean miss rate for soft real-time jobs over multiple clusters. Both strategies take into account average system behaviors (such as the mean arrival rate of jobs) in calculating the workload proportions for individual clusters and the workload allocation is updated dynamically when the change in the mean arrival rate reaches a certain threshold. The effectiveness of both strategies is demonstrated through theoretical analysis. These strategies are also evaluated through extensive experimental studies and the results show that when compared with traditional strategies, the proposed workload allocation schemes significantly improve the performance of job scheduling in multiclusters, both in terms of the mean response time (for non-real-time jobs) and the mean miss rate (for soft real-time jobs).     

Measurements of the noise parameters of an electron beam

Measurements of the noise parameters S and II for an electron beam are described. Observations of the standing-wave pattern of noise on the beam show that at high axial magnetic fields the noise space-charge waves decay.     

Technique for varying the conversion loss against frequency of a surface-wave transducer without apodisation

A technique for controlling the insertion loss of a surface-wave acoustic transducer as a function of frequency, which avoids apodisation and its associated problems, is described. As an example of its implementation, a flat bandpass filter of constant aperture is described.