International Journal of Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing
E-ISSN: 1998-4464
Volume 7, 2013
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Issue 1, Volume 7, 2013
Title of the Paper: Algorithm of Efficient Computation of DCT^I-IV Using Cyclic Convolutions
Authors: Ihor Prots’ko
Pages: 1-9
Abstract: The general method for efficient computation of discrete cosine transform (DCT) using cyclic convolutions is considered. Forming hashing arrays on the basis of simplified arguments on the basis of discrete cosine transform are analyzed. The examples of four types of discrete cosine transform using proposed method are analyzed.
Title of the Paper: Control of First-Order Time-Delay Plants Affected by Parametric Uncertainty
Authors: Radek Matusu, Roman Prokop, Jiri Vojtesek, Tomas Dulik
Pages: 10-17
Abstract: This paper deals with an approach to control of singleinput single-output first-order time-delay systems with parametric uncertainty. The presented method consists of an algebraic synthesis of control systems in the ring of proper and stable rational functions and subsequent graphical robust stability analysis. The applied robust stability tests are based on combination of plotting the value sets of a family of closed-loop characteristic quasi-polynomials with the zero exclusion principle. Three successive cases of controlled plants with uncertain gain, uncertain time constant and uncertain time-delay term are analyzed in the illustrative example. All of these systems are controlled using two differently tuned realistic PID controllers. Obtained results are visualized and discussed.
Title of the Paper: Feed Back Linearised Control Based Three Phase Shunt Active Power Filter
Authors: Ismail Ghadbane, Mohamed Toufik Benchouia
Pages: 18-25
Abstract: This paper presents a simulation study of Feedback linearised Controller of the DC bus voltage and currents of three phase shunt Active Power Filter (APF).The Feedback controller is introduced to improve tracking performance characteristics, power quality and minimized consumption of the reactive power. The algorithm used to identify the reference currents is based on the Self Tuning Filter (STF) for application of The method of instantaneous active and reactive power.
Title of the Paper: Robust Stability Analysis for Systems with Real Parametric Uncertainty: Implementation of Graphical Tests in Matlab
Authors: Radek Matusu, Roman Prokop
Pages: 26-33
Abstract: This paper is focused mainly on demonstration of simple Matlab programs suitable for plotting the value sets of systems with real parametric uncertainty represented by families of polynomials. The behaviour of obtained value sets and especially their position in relation to the origin of the complex plane is convenient criterion of robust stability/instability. The paper presents number of illustrative examples for various simple as well as complicated structures of uncertainty mainly for continuous-time families including the Matlab codes and robust stability analyses. On top of that, the work covers also cases of a quasi-polynomial or discrete-time interval polynomial.
Title of the Paper: Hard and Soft Computing Methods for Capturing and Processing Phonocardiogram
Authors: M. Malcangi, M. Riva, K. Ouazzane
Pages: 34-41
Abstract: Cardiovascular diseases are the biggest cause of deaths worldwide. Heart auscultation based on stethoscope is a noninvasive and a very low cost investigation approach that physician uses to evaluate diseases. To improve auscultation and diagnosis capabilities, a digital stethoscope and a set of digital audio signal processing algorithms have been developed to process adaptively sounds acquired from a couple of microphones embedded in the stethoscope head. Hard computing methods have been applied to the captured digital audio signal to detect cardiovascular diseases. Soft computing inference, such as fuzzy logic, is then proposed to reduce the computational burden of the automatic diseases identification process and to extend the method to the automatic detection of the physiological status of the subject. Finally multimodality and data fusion have been evaluated as methods to improve the diagnostic and identification of the system’s capability.
Title of the Paper: A Novel Digital-to-Analog Conversion Technique Using Duty-Cycle Modulation
Authors: Bertrand Lonla Moffo, Jean Mbihi, Leandre Nneme Nneme, Martin Kom
Pages: 42-49
Abstract: The novel digital-to-analog conversion technique studied in this paper, is founded on the digital duty-cycle modulation principle. It consists of a simple digital duty-cycle modulation program loaded in the flash memory of a microcontroller and an external analog low pass filter. Both pulse width and modulation period, simultaneously evolve according to the variation of the modulating input. Then, under the proposed modulation technique, high frequency harmonics with rank greater than a number Nh, are significantly eliminated from the spectrum of the resulting modulated wave. As a merit, the digital modulated wave to be filtered is computed directly and very fast from its discrete Fourier series model. Thus, the related digital modulation and generation routines do not require an intermediary n-bit processing hardware logic. The predicted and experimental results obtained when testing a prototyping digital-to-analog conversion workbench driven by a PIC30F6014A microcontroller, are presented and compared. These results show the feasibility and high quality of digital-to-analog conversion via digital duty-cycle modulation.
Title of the Paper: An Algebraic Approach to Continuous-Time Controller Design for Time-Delay Systems with Uncertain Parameters
Authors: Radek Matušů, Roman Prokop
Pages: 50-57
Abstract: This paper deals with an algebraic approach to continuous-time controller design and particularly with its application to single-input single-output time-delay systems containing uncertain parameters. In the presented set of illustrative examples, a single positive scalar parameter is utilized for tuning the various continuous-time controllers for a first-order and second-order time-delay plant with uncertainty in all parameters at the same time (gain, time constants and time-delay term). Subsequently, the control design is followed by robust stability analysis of a family of closedloop characteristic quasi-polynomials based on the graphical testing in order to verify the robust stability of final control loops. The obtained results are discussed and confirmed by control simulations performed in Matlab+Simulink environment.
Title of the Paper: A Traffic Sign Detection and Recognition System
Authors: Thongchai Surinwarangkoon, Supot Nitsuwat, Elvin J. Moore
Pages: 58-65
Abstract: In a visual driver assistance system, traffic sign detection and recognition are important functions. This paper presents automatic traffic sign detection and recognition systems based on neural networks and particle swarm optimization. Our system is able to detect and recognize all types of traffic signs used in Thailand, namely, prohibitory signs (red or blue), general warning signs (yellow) and construction area warning signs (amber). Traffic signs provide drivers with important information that help them to drive more safely and easily by guiding and warning them. The systems consist of four main stages: 1) color filtering according to color of RGB pixels; 2) color segmentation and traffic sign detection by black-white color transformation; 3) feature extraction; 4) traffic sign recognition based on classification techniques. Experiments show that system has high accuracy of traffic sign detection and recognition for the traffic signs used in Thailand.
Title of the Paper: An Improved Strain Gauge-Based Dynamic Torque Measurement Method
Authors: M. Hilal Muftah, S. Mohamed Haris, K. Petroczki, E. Awad Khidir
Pages: 66-73
Abstract: Torque transducers, which use strain gauges to respond to stresses in torsion bars, due to applied torque are widely used to measure a wide range of torques in numerous applications. Moreover torque measurement is a very complicated measurement so it requires a special solution for each case; in this case it must be built into a hammer grinder machine’s structure. A new torque determination method using a new shape of the strain gauge is used in this research. The aim of this paper is to measure the torque value into a rotating shaft. During the design of the strain gauge torque transducer, one strain gauge is used, considered and experimentally investigated. The lateral dead-weights are used through the calibration which was carried out with (0.5m) long lever three times for both clockwise and anticlockwise directions. The dead-weights (0.5 to 4.5Kg) are used for a hammer grinder machine shaft. Lastly the testing the transducer during operation in real conditions has also been done three times using (4Kg) and the value of the maximum applied torque is approximately (8Nm). Also measurement of the acting mechanical power is about (3200W) for the period of rotating speed (3800rpm). The whole measuring system together with strain gauge sensor, the amplifier up to the notebook is accomplished measuring with high dynamics.
Issue 2, Volume 7, 2013
Title of the Paper: Computer Networks Resources Monitoring
Authors: M. Matysek, M. Kubalcik, M. Mihok
Pages: 75-82
Abstract: In case that a monitoring supervisory system is deployed, then system administrators mostly know about an arisen problem almost immediately. They have it precisely localized and they can it quickly remove. In most cases then it is not necessary to negotiate with a user who may not be an expert in information technology. Of course, deployment of a monitoring system sharply reduces the time of availability and reduces damages which can be consequently caused.
Title of the Paper: Remote Control and Monitoring in the Simulink
Authors: Martin Sysel, Michal Vaclavsky
Pages: 83-90
Abstract: This paper describes a created application SimWebLink.NET, which allows remote control and monitoring of technological processes using Simulink. SimWebLink.NET application enables remote monitoring and control processes using an common Web browser supporting JavaScript. Remote monitoring and control can be just a simulation or control of a real system. The TCP/IP block sends out data from MATLAB/Simulink model using the TCP/IP. The new developed SimWebLink.NET and instructions for building this system are described here. This new version has been completely rewritten and now uses modern techniques on Microsoft platform as Window Communication Foundation and MS SQL server instead of Linux and open source.
Title of the Paper: Noise Reduction Using Adaptive Singular Value Decomposition
Authors: Somkait Udomhunsakul
Pages: 91-100
Abstract: Noise reduction is one of the most essential processes for image processing. The goal of the noise reduction is how to remove noise while keeping the important image features as much as possible. In this paper, a novel method to remove additive noise from digital image, based on the combination of Gaussian filter and the singular value decomposition, is proposed. Firstly, Gaussian filter is used to classify noisy image into two parts, which are its blur and noisy edge images. Next, the noise on noisy edge image, obtained from the difference between the original noisy image and its blur image, is reduced by using an adaptive block-based singular value decomposition filtering (BSVD). Finally, the reconstruction images are obtained from combining between noisy edge image, filtered by an adaptive BSVD filtering, and its original blur image. From the experiments, the objective and subjective measurements prove that the proposed approach compared with traditionally methods can suppress noise, preserve the significant image features as well as effectively smooth in the homogeneous area. Therefore, the proposed method leads to a practical method to be used for noise reduction.
Title of the Paper: Improving and Experimenting a Recently Introduced AC PV-Module
Authors: R. Carbone, A. Tomaselli, A. Pinnarelli
Pages: 101-109
Abstract: In some previous papers, the authors have introduced and discussed an innovative AC PV-module, which constitutive characteristics seem to make it particularly interesting for using in modern low voltage (LV) distribution grids, as lowpower distributed generator from renewables. It is essentially based on a conventional DC PV-module endowed by the following additional and innovative components: (i) a mini and distributed onboard energy storage system, (ii) a cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter with line-frequency switching and (iii) a passive, singleaxis solar tracker with negligible additional consumption of power and high reliability. Some first numerical analyses of this PVmodule have evidenced that it also has some drawbacks, with respect to conventional ones: increased costs, caused by the increased number of static switches of the cascade H-bridge multilevel inverter and a significant worsening of the quality of the power generated under critical solar irradiation conditions, essentially because of a non optimal control strategy of the inverter. In this paper, the recently introduced AC PV-module is improved and numerically re-experimented. In practice, a new circuit topology of the multilevel inverter is introduced together with a new control logic. The main objective is that of guarantee both lower costs and a good quality of the energy generated by the new AC PV-module also in case of very critical solar irradiation conditions. Differently from conventional H-bridge topology, the new topology of the multilevel inverter here introduced is based on a an appropriate number of “DC-units”, that are connected in series at their output terminals for supplying a single H-bridge inverter; compared to previously introduced configuration, it has the advantage of reduced number of static switches as well as the number of gate drivers. Furthermore, for the inverter control logic, a Selective Harmonic Elimination (SHE) algorithm is implemented to find the optimal solution set of switching angles of static switches of the DC-units that are also operated by following a “swapping” control logic, able to guarantee a uniform charge/discharge of batteries. Numerical simulations are operated by using the MATLAB/Simulink tool to show the usefulness of the proposed circuit modifications.
Title of the Paper: A New Impress Extension for Interactive MPEG-4 Video Conversion and a Streaming Architecture for E-Learning
Authors: Bruno Carpentieri, Domenico Nunziata, Roberto Iannone
Pages: 110-117
Abstract: MPEG-4 is not only a data compression standard algorithm, it gives also the opportunity to describe the scenes of a motion picture directly through XMT-A and XMT-O: two “high level languages” that are XML based. MPEG-4 therefore allows (and defines) the opportunities for video streaming. This makes this standard appealing for the conversion of Impress or PowerPoint presentations and for other e-learning applications because it offers the possibility of publishing the converted presentations on streaming servers. In this paper we exploit those possibilities by implementing an Impress extension that translates an electronic presentation to XMT-O, so to be finally “compiled” for MPEG-4 conversion, and we also describe a new streaming architecture for e-learning.
Title of the Paper: The Real-Time Control Algorithm and Control Curves for Servomotors
Authors: P. Stodola, J. Mazal, I. Mokra, M. Podhorec
Pages: 118-125
Abstract: This article deals with the design and implementation of our real-time system for controlling servomotors. In the first part, the article presents the basic architecture of the designed system. The next part deals with principles of real-time communication between a servo drive and a system control unit and introduces an algorithm for servo position control. Then two types of control curves are introduced: (a) trapezoid and (b) S-curve. The paper compares and evaluates the main parameters and features for both types and presents the real examples of the control curves both in position and velocity axes. The last part is focused on applications of the authors in which the presented system is being presently used.
Title of the Paper: Tutorial Development Kit for 32-bit ARM Microcontrollers with a Focus on Multimedia
Authors: T. Sysala, P. Neumann, J. Pribyslavsky, M. Adamek
Pages: 126-133
Abstract: The article describes design and realization of a 32bit ARM core microcontroller development kit. The ARM Cortex-M3 architecture with LPC1769 microcontroller is described in more details aimed at the individual blocks. The LPC1769 microcontroller potentiality is demonstrated on internal communication variants, interrupt management and memory mapping philosophy. The real time operation system is also mentioned together with its various functions application benefits. The final solution is applicable in a laboratory for students enrolled for Microcomputers subject where programming and peripheral control is taught. That microcontroller kit is also possible to be employed as a cheap controlling device in various automation areas. As the development kit comprise even the network connection possibility, color display, and audio output, it can serve as a cost effective alternative for multimedia application development tool well comparable with many mobile phone applications.
Title of the Paper: Electrical Conductivity and Water Flow Control of a NFT System
Authors: J. Jaimes-Ponce, J. U. Liceaga-Castro, R. Alcantara-Ramirez, I. I. Siller-Alcala
Pages: 134-141
Abstract: The reduction of the space for irrigation and increasing market demands in quality and health of the vegetables, are factors that have made hydroponic techniques become potentially attractive, especially NFT. In this paper the design and implementation of a control system for a hydroponic system of nutritious film NFT (Nutritious Film Technique) to control the flow and electrical conductivity (EC) of nutritious solutions in growth channels is presented. A full description of the electronics components, sensors and signal conditioning together with a description of the software is presented. The controller is based on the classical PID controller, which is easy to implement and operate and, moreover, it is relatively cheap. The case of study is the control system of a hydroponic system for a kind of spinach known as “Spinaciaoleracea”. The hydroponic system is composed of a greenhouse tunnel with an area of 6x5 m2. Also, the components, which are available in México, are EC sensor (HI3001), sensor of pressure MPX10DP, electro valves, three water pumps, analogical electronic components and a microcontroller (PIC18F4550). It must be stressed that this hydroponic system will be installed in the roofs of houses and buildings of México City.
Issue 3, Volume 7, 2013
Title of the Paper: A New Framework for the Robust Design of Analog Blocks Using Conic Uncertainty Budgeting
Authors: Claudio Talarico, Jin Sun, Priyank Gupta, Janet Wang
Pages: 143-150
Abstract: In nanoscale technologies process variability makes it extremely difficult to predict the behavior of manufactured integrated circuits (IC). The problem is especially exacerbated in analog IC where long design cycles, multiple manufacturing iterations, and low performance yields causes only few design to have the volume required to be economically viable. This paper presents a new framework that accounts for process variability by mapping the analog design problem into a robust optimization problem using a conic uncertainty model that dynamically adjust the level of conservativeness of the solutions through the introduction of the notion of budget of uncertainty. Given a yield requirement, the framework implements uncertainty budgeting by linking the yield with the size of the uncertainty set associated to the process variations depending on the design point of interest. Dynamically adjusting the size of the uncertainty set the framework is able to find a larger number of feasible solutions compared to other robust optimization frameworks based on the well known ellipsoidal uncertainty (EU) model. To validate the framework, we applied it to the design of a 90nm CMOS differential pair amplifier and compared the results with those obtained using the EU approach. Experimental results indicate that the proposed Conic Uncertainty with Dynamic Budgeting (CUDB) approach attain up to 18% more designs meeting target yield.
Title of the Paper: Spectral Coefficients System for Osteoarthritis Detection
Authors: Gan Hong Seng, Tan Tian Swee
Pages: 151-159
Abstract: According to our knowledge, VAG serves great interest for the detection of Osteoarthritis. However, there is no scientific research being carried out to study the effect of LPCC and MFCC on vibroarthrographic (VAG) signals. Hence, the objective of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of LPCC and MFCC in extracting features from VAG signals of 30 subjects. We have carried out quantitative analysis on the VAG cepstral model from inter-subject and intra-subject perspective. Our study exhibits high recognition rates of 90.36% for LPCC and 88.64% in the intra-subject analysis of the VAG signal. In conclusion, the cepstral analysis of VAG signal has been showing great potential for future research given the high intra-subject analysis. Nevertheless, we strongly suggest a larger research population with the inclusion of OA patients.
Title of the Paper: Using of the Hammerstein and Wiener Models in Adaptive Control of the Nonlinear Processes
Authors: Zdeněk Babík, Petr Dostál
Pages: 160-172
Abstract: The using of the Hammerstein and Wiener models in the linear adaptive control of the nonlinear processes is described in this paper. The main aim of this research study is an increasing of the adaptive control quality by using of the factorable methods which are based on the fact that many nonlinear systems can be factorized into the linear and the nonlinear parts. The factorization of the nonlinear system into the nonlinear static part and the linear dynamic part is assumed in this paper. The transfer function of the linear dynamic part of the nonlinear system is assumed in the time-discrete second-order Z-model form. Its parameters are estimated by the using of the time-discrete least-squares method with the directive forgetting. The estimated parameters of the linear dynamic part are used for the design of the linear time-discrete control system, which is represented by the two-degree of freedom control system configuration (2DOF). The resulting controller is derived by the using of the polynomial approach and the characteristic polynomial of the closed control loop is chosen by the using of the optimal LQ approach and Pole Placemen Method (PPM). The described method is tested on the nonlinear system which is represented by the servo-speed mechanism AMIRA DR300.
Title of the Paper: The Role of the Choice of the Physical Model in the Optimization of Nanoelectronic Device Simulators
Authors: Paolo Marconcini
Pages: 173-180
Abstract: In order to obtain fast and reliable simulators for nanoelectronic devices, both an algorithmic optimization and an accurate choice of the physical model adopted to describe the device properties and behavior is necessary. In this article some different alternatives which exist at the modeling level are examined, with a few examples derived from the author’s research activity, and their effect on the simulator performance and on the accuracy of the simulation results are discussed. I show how, while in many cases more detailed results can be obtained only at the expense of a larger computational cost and therefore a careful choice of the desired level of accuracy has to be made when writing a simulation code, in other situations the use of physically equivalent descriptions can determine a large variation in the complexity and efficiency of the simulation.
Title of the Paper: Fuzzy DC-Voltage Controller for a Vector Controlled Stand Alone Induction Generator
Authors: Mateo Bašić, Dinko Vukadinović, Miljenko Polić
Pages: 181-190
Abstract: This paper presents a vector control system of the self-excited induction generator (SEIG) employing an indirect rotor-field-oriented (IRFO) control algorithm. In the system, the excitation is achieved by means of a current-controlled voltage source inverter and a single electrolytic capacitor. The objective is to keep the DC voltage across the capacitor constant and equal to the reference value, regardless of changes in the rotor speed and load. To achieve this, two different-type fuzzy logic (FL) voltage controllers are proposed and investigated. The performance of the developed FL voltage controllers is evaluated by comparison with the optimal-tuned classical PI controller. The analysis is carried out for wide ranges of rotor speed, load and DC voltage, both on the simulation and experimental level.
Title of the Paper: Smooth Region’s Mean Deviation-Based Denoising Method
Authors: S. Suhaila, R. Hazli, T. Shimamura
Pages: 191-198
Abstract: This paper presents a denoising method to preserve the image fine details and edges while effectively reducing the additive noise. The denoising mothod is performed in a two-phase process. The first process reduces noise in the corrupted image to a certain level by using a small filtering window to ensure that the image fine details and edges are still preserved. Then, further denoising is performed only in the smooth regions by using a bigger filtering window to remove the remaining noise more effectively. The use of two different filtering window sizes in the processes is important to achieve an optimum preservation of the image fine details and edges. The utilization of the mean deviation in the determination of the threshold value contributes to a more accurate division of smooth and nonsmooth regions. The performance of the proposed denoising method is investigated by the visual effects, method noise and objective image quality evaluation. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method is effective for preserving the image fine details and edges while eliminating the noise. This method provides high performance for all evaluation criteria in comparison to the conventional approaches.
Issue 4, Volume 7, 2013
Title of the Paper: Static NP Domino Carry Gates for Ultra Low Voltage and High Speed Full Adders
Authors: Sohail Musa Mahmood, Yngvar Berg
Pages: 199-205
Abstract: In this paper we present different configurations of static ULV NP domino carry gates using precharge and pass transistor logic. The proposed ULV domino carry gates are aimed for high speed serial adders in ultra low-voltage applications. In terms of frequency, speed, PDP and EDP, the ULV carry gates offers significant improvement compared to conventional CMOS carry gate. At Minimum Energy Point at 250mV , the proposed carry gates have less than 5% of the delay than the conventional CMOS Carry gate. Furthermore, the Power and Energy Delay Product is less than 23% and 1% respectively relative to conventional CMOS Carry gate at the same supply voltage. The simulated data presented is obtained using a 90nm TSMC CMOS process.
Title of the Paper: A Fast Approach to the Simulation of Silicon Nanowire Transistors
Authors: Paolo Marconcini
Pages: 206-213
Abstract: In this article the transport properties of field-effect transistors based on thin silicon nanowires are studied limiting the computationally demanding atomistic analysis to the determination of a restricted set of parameters which are then used in a less-detailed description of the overall device. In particular, at the beginning of the simulation a tight-binding analysis of a simplified structure is performed, in order to find the main low-level properties of the considered silicon nanowire. These quantities are then passed to another part of the algorithm which, using a continuum, higher-level and thus simpler description, derives the electrical characteristics of the complete nanowire transistor, through the self-consistent solution of the electrostatic and transport equations. I show that this multi-level approach allows to obtain results in very good agreement with fully atomistic simulations, with a considerable time saving.
Title of the Paper: Simple Microcontroller Based Mains Power Analyzer Device
Authors: Petr Dostálek, Vladimír Vašek, Jan Dolinay
Pages: 214-221
Abstract: Paper deals with design of simple microcontroller based power analyzer device for measurement of basic electrical quantities in mains network. Main part of the device is 8-bit general purpose microcontroller MC9S08GB60 by Freescale Semiconductor. It performs all tasks related to data acquisition, computation of desired values and communication with personal computer. Algorithms implemented in the device firmware allows measurements of true RMS values of voltage and current, real power and power factor independently on the shape of measured voltage and current waveforms. In advanced mode of operation it is also possible to send sampled waveforms to the personal computer for next analyses. Developed evaluation software is able to visualize all measured quantities in user friendly graphical user interface in form of graphs including long-term archiving function for further data analysis. Communication with supervision system is provided by standard RS232 communication interface.
Title of the Paper: Three-Dimensional Shape Measurement System for Black Cattle Using KINECT Sensor
Authors: K. Kawasue, T. Ikeda, T. Tokunaga, H. Harada
Pages: 222-230
Abstract: In the present paper, a measurement system for cattle using a computer vision technique is introduced. It is important to evaluate the quality of Japanese black cattle periodically during the growth process. Not only the weight and size of cattle, but also the posture and shape, are checked as the primary evaluation criteria. In the present study, the digital point cloud data of cattle are obtained by three-dimensional computer vision devices from different angles simultaneously. These devices are calibrated in advance to have a common coordinate system. The point cloud data obtained from different angles is reconstructed on a common coordinate system, and digital cattle are generated in the computer considering the orientation of the cow. The important specifications for evaluating the cow posture are estimated from the reconstructed cattle on the computer.
Title of the Paper: Osteoarthritis Detection System Using Optimal Dynamic Feature Configuration
Authors: Gan Hong Seng, Tan Tian Swee
Pages: 231-239
Abstract: Cepstral analysis has been invariably applied in processing various signals in which include vibroarthrography (VAG). The cepstral analysis, however, requires substantial efforts to optimize its performance on VAG signal before real application for osteoarthritis detection is possible. In this paper, therefore, we attempt to analyze the VAG signals by implementing delta and energy features. The analysis involves 30 volunteers and 900 acquired VAG signals. Our study shows that delta and energy features are capable to signalize osteoarthritis to a certain extent with superior computational feasibility. In conclusion, this paper explores the applicability of energy property in analyzing the VAG signal for future VAG study. Furthermore, via this paper, we intent to draw attention of future research, particularly on the correlation among various clinical parameters, pathologic VAG signals and muscle contrary interference (MCI) effect.
Title of the Paper: A 20 Gb/s Fast Acquisition Clock and Data Recovery Circuit in 0.18 µm CMOS
Authors: Naeeme Modir, Samad Sheikhaei, Behjat Foroozande, Elias Soleiman
Pages: 240-247
Abstract: This paper presents a 20 Gb/s injection-locked clock and data recovery circuit for burst-mode applications. Using a new injection-locked LC oscillator as a half rate CDR, relaxes the speed requirements of VCO and re-timing flip flops. This allows us to design higher speed CDR with lower power consumption. Complementary clocks drive two flip flops in the decision circuit for re-timing the data. Simulated in 0.18 µm CMOS, the circuit consumes 68.7 mW at 20 Gb/s, while the recovered clock rms jitter is 0.84 ps, rms in response to a 2^7-1 PRBS.
Issue 5, Volume 7, 2013
Title of the Paper: Augmented Automatic Choosing Control of Filter Type Using ABC Algorithm and Its Application to Electric Power Systems
Authors: Tomohiro Hachino, Hitoshi Takata
Pages: 249-256
Abstract: This paper presents a state feedback control using automatic choosing control and nonlinear filter for nonlinear systems with noise measurement. The unknown state variables are estimated by the nonlinear filter. A given nonlinear system is linearized piecewise, so that the theory of linear optimal control can be applied to each divided subsystem. The resulting controls on the subsystems are smoothly united into a single nonlinear feedback control by automatic shoosing functions. Since the formula of the proposed control is of a structure specified type, the design parameters included in the controller and filter are appropriately determined using artificial bee colony algorithm. This control is applied to the transient stability problem of a single machine power system, whose simulation results show that the proposed controller can expand the stable region considerably.
Title of the Paper: Automatic Road Network Extraction Based on Spectral Angler Mapper
Authors: Ayman Rashad Elshehaby, Lamyaa Gamal El-Deen Taha, Ahmed Ibrahim Ramzi
Pages: 257-268
Abstract: Sinai peninsula is considered an important region for Egypt at both the national and strategic levels. Roads network is necessary for urban planning. Also base maps forms a base for determination of the soil suitability for reclamation, urban development and selection of the suitable type of development and investment that could be made in the area. An accurate and up-to-date road network database is essential for GIS (Geographic Information System) based applications such as urban and rural planning, transportation management, vehicle navigation, emergency response, etc. Since Sinai have rough terrain (hilly and mountainous areas), when producing base maps (orthoimages) the topography should be taken into consideration. DTM and DSM will be produced from the stereo satellite images of SPOT4 so we will get a representation of height. The production of DSM and DTM have been performed on the digital photogrammetric workstation (Leica Photogrammetric Suite) LPS. The digital photogrammetric procedures include collection of GCPs,tie point measurements, aerial triangulation,block adjustment,manual DTM creation for the bare land, automatic DSM creation andDEM editing. The quality of the generated DTM has been validated. After that orthorectification of stereo satellite images has been performed on the digital photogrammetric workstation LPS. Orthorectification of mono multispectral images that is available for the study area has been implemented on the Erdas imagine. This has been followed by assessment of the quality of orthorectification using check points after that a mosaic of images has been made which has been used as base map. The results of producing the orthoimage from digital photogrammetric workstation and from image processing software have been evaluated. Spectral Angler Mapper and maximum likelihood classification algorithms have been comparedfor classifying fused SPOT4 mosaic and SPOT5 imagewith and without incorporation of DSM as an additional channel. It was found that Spectral Angler Mapper was considerably more accurate thanmaximum likelihood classification. After producing base maps roads have been extracted from manual digitizing of orthoimages and from automatic classification usingSAM taking into consideration DSM that have been produced from SPOT 4 stereo satellite images as a channel with the satellite image. In comparing between high and medium spatial resolutions for the classification using SAM algorithm, it was found that even if SPOT4 has a medium spatial resolution and that sub-pixel contamination from different land cover is evident while selecting endmembers, it has given good results. On the other hand, SPOT5, which has a fine spatial resolution there are no sub-pixel contamination, gave lower accuracy results. The majority of roads can be detected even without a DSM, though there are a relatively high number of false positives, mostly urban area. Both the completeness and the correctness values have notably improved compared to the results without the DSM. Using a DSM improves both the completeness and the correctness of the results, primarily because urban can now be clearly separated from roads. The correctness is improved because urban are not extracted as false positives.
Title of the Paper: Design of a Battery-Considerate Uninterruptable Power Supply Unit for Network Devices
Authors: Martin Pospisilik, Tomas Dulik, Pavel Varacha, Milan Adamek
Pages: 269-276
Abstract: Recently, the importance of the Power on Ethernet (PoE) technology has been increasing significantly. Specifically, the use of standard voltages of 12, 24 or 48 V and construction of the appropriate uninterruptable power supply unit to supply the PoE devices come to the fore. This paper describes construction of a simple but reliable and highly efficient UPS circuit which employs electronic battery connecting, defined battery charging and maintenance currents. The purpose of this construction is to find the means of protecting the battery from excessive wearing off.
Title of the Paper: On the Acoustic Efficiency of Road Barriers. The Sound Insulation Index
Authors: Lamberto Tronchin
Pages: 277-284
Abstract: The noise caused by road and railway traffic is increasing every day and it is commonly considered the main cause of noise pollution in urban environment. In order to limit this annoyance, many different typologies of barriers are realized in several different configurations. Following the European standards, these barriers can be characterized by two indices, i.e.: the Reflection Index for sound reflection and the insulation index for airborne sound insulation. Both of them can be measured following the method described in CEN/TS 1793-5 standard, based on impulse response measurements employing a pressure microphone. The method mandates for averaging results of measurements taken in different points in front of the device under test and/or for specific angles of incidence, employing the MLS signal for performing the measurements, which can cause severe artifacts due to nonlinearity and time-variance of the system, and is nowadays surclassed by other acoustic signals. Furthermore, the CEN/TS 1793-5 standard presents some geometric problems, which could arise if the barrier does not reach a minimum height or if it has a very rough (scattering) surface. As demonstrated in a similar article, during the reflection index measurement on a barrier of limited height, the reflected sound can be contaminated by the ground reflection, compromising the fairness of the whole result. On the other hand, the insulation index can be affected by the height of the noise barrier, since the sound passing above the device under test can become mixed with the sound passing through it. It has been noticed how these practical problems, jointly with the assumption of a surface reflecting specularly in the final formula, can significantly over/under estimate the laboratory values of both the indices. Results of in situ tests based on CEN/TS 1793-5 will be shown in comparison with results obtained through a different approach and with the traditional tests performed in the laboratory.
Title of the Paper: Fuzzy Logic Modified Proportional-Integral-Derivative (MPID) Control for Flexible Manipulator
Authors: Tamer M. Mansour, Suhail Kazi
Pages: 285-293
Abstract: Control of flexible manipulator is considering one of the great challenges for control engineering. The flexibility of the manipulator converts the system to a non-minimum phase system. Classical controllers cannot cope with the vibration suppression of the tip in addition to achieving the desired position of the manipulator. A Modified Proportional-Integral- Derivative (MPID) control is proposed to control the flexible manipulator. The main difficulty with the proposed MPID controller lies on the tuning of the vibration gain of the controller. The vibration control gain has been determined in an empirical way so far. It is a considerable time consuming process because the vibration control performance depends not only on the vibration control gain but also on the other parameters such as the payload, references and PD joint servo gains. Hence, the vibration control gain must be tuned considering the other parameters. A fuzzy logic tuning scheme is used in this paper to find optimal vibration control gain for the MPID controller. The proposed fuzzy logic scheme finds an optimum vibration control gain that minimizes the tip vibration for the end effector of the flexible manipulator. The effectiveness of using the fuzzy logic appears in the ability to tune the gain with different loading condition and input parameters. The tuned gain response results are compared with results for other types of gains and show a good ability to suppress the tip vibration of the flexible manipulation in addition achieving accurate joint angle position.
Title of the Paper: Scene Text Extraction using K-means Clustering in HSI Color Space: Influence of Color Distance Measure
Authors: Matko Saric, Maja Stella, Petar Solic
Pages: 294-301
Abstract: Text extraction in scene text images is necessary step that enables higher recognition performance. Challenges in this task arise from wide set of degradations present in natural scene images like complex backgrounds, uneven illumination, viewing angle, etc. In this paper we investigate influence of color distance measure on scene text extraction performance of K-means algorithm in HSI color space. For comparison purposes we tested following clustering distances: hue distance, saturation distance, intensity distance, chromatic distance and cylindrical distance. Obtained results are analyzed with respect to their complementarity in order to show potential for performance improvement.
Issue 6, Volume 7, 2013
Title of the Paper: Control Systems and Comfort Parameters in Intelligent House
Authors: Frantisek Hruska
Pages: 303-311
Abstract: The intelligent house is equipped special systems with functions of security and control of parameters of using comfort. Staying of man in interiors of buildings and houses is monitored from many standpoints. There are in the main some parameters of thermal comfort, parameters of lighting comfort and characteristic qualities of inside air, because all the parameters are quite well controlled. There are aspects of hygienic, of energy and of comfort. The thermal and light comfort are accordance to present knowledge of the aspects, which affect quality of using of building interiors and has fundamental impact on its energy demand factor. The both requirements can be realized via known procedures very well. Questions of quality of air in interior relate above all with hygiene of staying. The problem puts on in bigger meaning already at present, when there is tendency build - up energy - saving buildings eventually energy passive buildings. In addition construction so - called intelligent buildings it offers incorporating of control system in its technological arrangement and build up its control and informatics systems very modern.
Title of the Paper: Fixed-Point Hestenes SVD Algorithm for Computing Eigen Faces
Authors: Tapan Pradhan, Bibek Kabi, Aurobinda Routray, Gonnabhaktula Anirudh
Pages: 312-321
Abstract: The present paper discusses the development of fixedpoint Hestenes’ singular value decomposition (SVD) algorithm of symmetric matrices in computing eigen faces for image processing applications. Steps for developing fixed-point algorithm from floating-point version are discussed. Quantization noise propagation model for computationally intensive sections of the algorithm are derived and validated. The results are compared with the double precision floating-point version of the algorithm. Accuracy is measured in terms of number of accurate fractional bits, signalto- quantization-noise-ratio (SQNR), orthogonality and factorization errors. Results show that the constant fixed-point format performs better than variable one in terms of number of accurate fractional bits when the variables have close ranges. Variable fixed-point format implementation exhibits an overall better performance. A case study has been presented where variable fixed-point Hestenes’ SVD algorithm with three different wordlengths (WLs) is used as an image processing tool to compute eigen faces from one male and one female face database.
Title of the Paper: Signal Processing Evaluated by Allan and Hadamard Variances
Authors: J. Skřínský, M. Skřínská, Zdeněk Zelinger
Pages: 322-328
Abstract: Laser spectrometry offers high sensitivity and broad dynamic range, permitting monitoring of concentrations from trace values to the saturation level. Such techniques are increasingly used for field laser applications in industry and research. Photoacoustic spectrometry has been used as an in situ method for observation of actual concentrations combined with high spatial and time resolution. Photoacoustic spectrometry is based on the photoacoustic effect and in conjunction with lasers has already been used in monitoring of industrial trace gas components at ppb concentrations. It has been proven that the characteristic of laser frequency/wavelength stability is critically important for evaluation of metrology system performance when the function principle is based on photoacoustic spectrometry. In particular, the long-term stability range, corresponding to noise in the hundreds of hertz to kilohertz bandwidth, strongly affects the measurement final accuracy at the reported measurement rates. We reported trace gas measurements performed by photoacoustic technique and we determined the time domain stability criteria for laminar and turbulent flows measured in the street canyon model. The preliminary evaluation of the instrument performance was performed by in situ measurements of unstable O3 and stable CH3OH light pollutant concentrations. Further, the instrument has been adapted to in situ measurements of C2H5OH trace gas concentrations. We have determined optimal averaging times for O3, CH3OH and C2H5OH measured at static operation connected to wind tunnel. The Allan and Hadamard variance methods were used for stability analysis.
Title of the Paper: An Asymmetrical Microstrip SPICE Model for Crosstalk Evolution
Authors: N. Tidjani, J. C. Le Bunetel, A. Ouchar
Pages: 329-334
Abstract: In this work, an asymmetrical microstrip SPICE model for crosstalk evolution used in telecommunication sectors is presented. In a first part, we evaluate the per unit length parameters in coupled microstrip lines by mathematical model based on the method of moments. In a second part, predicting near-crosstalk and far-crosstalk are realized by a SPICE model. The model allows the study of the crosstalk evolution in function of physical parameters, and the electrical signal dynamic. Some curves are proposed in function of strip width, spacing, and electrical stress, which can help the designer in the conception for limiting the adverse effects of crosstalk.
Title of the Paper: Possible Approach to Control of Multi-Variable Control Loop by Using Tools for Determining Optimal Control Pairs
Authors: Pavel Navratil, Libor Pekar
Pages: 335-349
Abstract: The paper describes one of possible approaches to control of multi-variable control loops. In the proposed approach to control is used the so called RGA (Relative Gain Array) tool and also RNGA (Relative Normalized Gain Array) tool, further the correction members, the auxiliary controllers and simple approach to a design of the primary controllers. The RGA tool and also the RNGA tool serve to determine the optimal input-output variable pairings in a multivariable controlled plant. Correction members are generally considered for ensuring invariance of control loop. Auxiliary controllers are considered to ensure at least partial decoupling control loop. Further, it is considered that the primary controllers are determined by arbitrary single-variable synthesis method for optimal input-output variable pairings. Simulation verifications of the mentioned way of control are carried out for three-variable controlled plant of a steam turbine.
