Search results for: background noise
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5489

Search results for: background noise

5219 Denoising of Magnetotelluric Signals by Filtering

Authors: Rodrigo Montufar-Chaveznava, Fernando Brambila-Paz, Ivette Caldelas

Abstract:

In this paper, we present the advances corresponding to the denoising processing of magnetotelluric signals using several filters. In particular, we use the most common spatial domain filters such as median and mean, but we are also using the Fourier and wavelet transform for frequency domain filtering. We employ three datasets obtained at the different sampling rate (128, 4096 and 8192 bps) and evaluate the mean square error, signal-to-noise relation, and peak signal-to-noise relation to compare the kernels and determine the most suitable for each case. The magnetotelluric signals correspond to earth exploration when water is searched. The object is to find a denoising strategy different to the one included in the commercial equipment that is employed in this task.

Keywords: denoising, filtering, magnetotelluric signals, wavelet transform

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5218 Assessment of Exploitation Vulnerability of Quantum Communication Systems with Phase Encryption

Authors: Vladimir V. Nikulin, Bekmurza H. Aitchanov, Olimzhon A. Baimuratov

Abstract:

Quantum communication technology takes advantage of the intrinsic properties of laser carriers, such as very high data rates and low power requirements, to offer unprecedented data security. Quantum processes at the physical layer of encryption are used for signal encryption with very competitive performance characteristics. The ultimate range of applications for QC systems spans from fiber-based to free-space links and from secure banking operations to mobile airborne and space-borne networking where they are subjected to channel distortions. Under practical conditions, the channel can alter the optical wave front characteristics, including its phase. In addition, phase noise of the communication source and photo-detection noises alter the signal to bring additional ambiguity into the measurement process. If quantized values of photons are used to encrypt the signal, exploitation of quantum communication links becomes extremely difficult. In this paper, we present the results of analysis and simulation studies of the effects of noise on phase estimation for quantum systems with different number of encryption bases and operating at different power levels.

Keywords: encryption, phase distortion, quantum communication, quantum noise

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5217 Low Power, Highly Linear, Wideband LNA in Wireless SOC

Authors: Amir Mahdavi

Abstract:

In this paper a highly linear CMOS low noise amplifier (LNA) for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications is proposed. The proposed LNA uses a linearization technique to improve second and third-order intercept points (IIP3). The linearity is cured by repealing the common-mode section of all intermodulation components from the cascade topology current with optimization of biasing current use symmetrical and asymmetrical circuits for biasing. Simulation results show that maximum gain and noise figure are 6.9dB and 3.03-4.1dB over a 3.1–10.6 GHz, respectively. Power consumption of the LNA core and IIP3 are 2.64 mW and +4.9dBm respectively. The wideband input impedance matching of LNA is obtained by employing a degenerating inductor (|S11|<-9.1 dB). The circuit proposed UWB LNA is implemented using 0.18 μm based CMOS technology.

Keywords: highly linear LNA, low-power LNA, optimal bias techniques

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5216 Improved Signal-To-Noise Ratio by the 3D-Functionalization of Fully Zwitterionic Surface Coatings

Authors: Esther Van Andel, Stefanie C. Lange, Maarten M. J. Smulders, Han Zuilhof

Abstract:

False outcomes of diagnostic tests are a major concern in medical health care. To improve the reliability of surface-based diagnostic tests, it is of crucial importance to diminish background signals that arise from the non-specific binding of biomolecules, a process called fouling. The aim is to create surfaces that repel all biomolecules except the molecule of interest. This can be achieved by incorporating antifouling protein repellent coatings in between the sensor surface and it’s recognition elements (e.g. antibodies, sugars, aptamers). Zwitterionic polymer brushes are considered excellent antifouling materials, however, to be able to bind the molecule of interest, the polymer brushes have to be functionalized and so far this was only achieved at the expense of either antifouling or binding capacity. To overcome this limitation, we combined both features into one single monomer: a zwitterionic sulfobetaine, ensuring antifouling capabilities, equipped with a clickable azide moiety which allows for further functionalization. By copolymerizing this monomer together with a standard sulfobetaine, the number of azides (and with that the number of recognition elements) can be tuned depending on the application. First, the clickable azido-monomer was synthesized and characterized, followed by copolymerizing this monomer to yield functionalizable antifouling brushes. The brushes were fully characterized using surface characterization techniques like XPS, contact angle measurements, G-ATR-FTIR and XRR. As a proof of principle, the brushes were subsequently functionalized with biotin via strain-promoted alkyne azide click reactions, which yielded a fully zwitterionic biotin-containing 3D-functionalized coating. The sensing capacity was evaluated by reflectometry using avidin and fibrinogen containing protein solutions. The surfaces showed excellent antifouling properties as illustrated by the complete absence of non-specific fibrinogen binding, while at the same time clear responses were seen for the specific binding of avidin. A great increase in signal-to-noise ratio was observed, even when the amount of functional groups was lowered to 1%, compared to traditional modification of sulfobetaine brushes that rely on a 2D-approach in which only the top-layer can be functionalized. This study was performed on stoichiometric silicon nitride surfaces for future microring resonator based assays, however, this methodology can be transferred to other biosensor platforms which are currently being investigated. The approach presented herein enables a highly efficient strategy for selective binding with retained antifouling properties for improved signal-to-noise ratios in binding assays. The number of recognition units can be adjusted to a specific need, e.g. depending on the size of the analyte to be bound, widening the scope of these functionalizable surface coatings.

Keywords: antifouling, signal-to-noise ratio, surface functionalization, zwitterionic polymer brushes

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5215 Automated Ultrasound Carotid Artery Image Segmentation Using Curvelet Threshold Decomposition

Authors: Latha Subbiah, Dhanalakshmi Samiappan

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose denoising Common Carotid Artery (CCA) B mode ultrasound images by a decomposition approach to curvelet thresholding and automatic segmentation of the intima media thickness and adventitia boundary. By decomposition, the local geometry of the image, its direction of gradients are well preserved. The components are combined into a single vector valued function, thus removes noise patches. Double threshold is applied to inherently remove speckle noise in the image. The denoised image is segmented by active contour without specifying seed points. Combined with level set theory, they provide sub regions with continuous boundaries. The deformable contours match to the shapes and motion of objects in the images. A curve or a surface under constraints is developed from the image with the goal that it is pulled into the necessary features of the image. Region based and boundary based information are integrated to achieve the contour. The method treats the multiplicative speckle noise in objective and subjective quality measurements and thus leads to better-segmented results. The proposed denoising method gives better performance metrics compared with other state of art denoising algorithms.

Keywords: curvelet, decomposition, levelset, ultrasound

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5214 A Computational Analysis of Flow and Acoustics around a Car Wing Mirror

Authors: Aidan J. Bowes, Reaz Hasan

Abstract:

The automotive industry is continually aiming to develop the aerodynamics of car body design. This may be for a variety of beneficial reasons such as to increase speed or fuel efficiency by reducing drag. However recently there has been a greater amount of focus on wind noise produced while driving. Designers in this industry seek a combination of both simplicity of approach and overall effectiveness. This combined with the growing availability of commercial CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) packages is likely to lead to an increase in the use of RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) based CFD methods. This is due to these methods often being simpler than other CFD methods, having a lower demand on time and computing power. In this investigation the effectiveness of turbulent flow and acoustic noise prediction using RANS based methods has been assessed for different wing mirror geometries. Three different RANS based models were used, standard k-ε, realizable k-ε and k-ω SST. The merits and limitations of these methods are then discussed, by comparing with both experimental and numerical results found in literature. In general, flow prediction is fairly comparable to more complex LES (Large Eddy Simulation) based methods; in particular for the k-ω SST model. However acoustic noise prediction still leaves opportunities for more improvement using RANS based methods.

Keywords: acoustics, aerodynamics, RANS models, turbulent flow

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5213 Microwave Imaging by Application of Information Theory Criteria in MUSIC Algorithm

Authors: Majid Pourahmadi

Abstract:

The performance of time-reversal MUSIC algorithm will be dramatically degrades in presence of strong noise and multiple scattering (i.e. when scatterers are close to each other). This is due to error in determining the number of scatterers. The present paper provides a new approach to alleviate such a problem using an information theoretic criterion referred as minimum description length (MDL). The merits of the novel approach are confirmed by the numerical examples. The results indicate the time-reversal MUSIC yields accurate estimate of the target locations with considerable noise and multiple scattering in the received signals.

Keywords: microwave imaging, time reversal, MUSIC algorithm, minimum description length (MDL)

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5212 Audio-Visual Recognition Based on Effective Model and Distillation

Authors: Heng Yang, Tao Luo, Yakun Zhang, Kai Wang, Wei Qin, Liang Xie, Ye Yan, Erwei Yin

Abstract:

Recent years have seen that audio-visual recognition has shown great potential in a strong noise environment. The existing method of audio-visual recognition has explored methods with ResNet and feature fusion. However, on the one hand, ResNet always occupies a large amount of memory resources, restricting the application in engineering. On the other hand, the feature merging also brings some interferences in a high noise environment. In order to solve the problems, we proposed an effective framework with bidirectional distillation. At first, in consideration of the good performance in extracting of features, we chose the light model, Efficientnet as our extractor of spatial features. Secondly, self-distillation was applied to learn more information from raw data. Finally, we proposed a bidirectional distillation in decision-level fusion. In more detail, our experimental results are based on a multi-model dataset from 24 volunteers. Eventually, the lipreading accuracy of our framework was increased by 2.3% compared with existing systems, and our framework made progress in audio-visual fusion in a high noise environment compared with the system of audio recognition without visual.

Keywords: lipreading, audio-visual, Efficientnet, distillation

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5211 The Scattering in Flexible Reactive Silencer Containing Rigid Partitioning

Authors: Muhammad Afzal, Junaid Uzair Satti

Abstract:

The noise emanating from the ducting of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system is often attenuated by using the dissipative silencers. Such devices work well for the high-frequency noise but are less operative in the low-frequency noise range. The present study analyzes a reactive silencer comprising expansion chamber of the elastic membranes partitioned symmetrically by a rigid plate. The Mode-Matching scheme has been developed to solve the governing boundary value problem. The orthogonal and non-orthogonal duct modes of acoustic pressures and normal velocities are matched at interfaces. It enables to recast the differential system into the infinite system of linear algebraic of equations, which is, then truncated and inverted for the solution. The truncated solution is validated through the conservation of energy and reconstruction of matching conditions. The results for scattering energy flux and transmission loss are shown against frequency and the dimensions of the chamber. It is seen that the stop-band of the silencer can be shifted to the broadband by changing the dimensions of the chamber and the properties of the elastic membranes. The modeled reactive silencer is more efficient in low frequency regime where the passive devices are least effective.

Keywords: acoustic scattering, elastic membranes mode-matching, reactive silencer

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5210 The Development of Online Lessons in Integration Model

Authors: Chalermpol Tapsai

Abstract:

The objectives of this research were to develop and find the efficiency of integrated online lessons by investigating the usage of online lessons, the relationship between learners’ background knowledge, and the achievement after learning with online lessons. The sample group in this study consisted of 97 students randomly selected from 121 students registering in 1/2012 at Trimitwittayaram Learning Center. The sample technique employed stratified sample technique of 4 groups according to their proficiency, i.e. high, moderate, low, and non-knowledge. The research instrument included online lessons in integration model on the topic of Java Programming, test after each lesson, the achievement test at the end of the course, and the questionnaires to find learners’ satisfaction. The results showed that the efficiency of online lessons was 90.20/89.18 with the achievement of after learning with the lessons higher than that before the lessons at the statistically significant level of 0.05. Moreover, the background knowledge of the learners on the programming showed the positive relationship with the achievement learning at the statistically significant level at 0.05. Learners with high background knowledge employed less exercises and samples than those with lower background knowledge. While learners with different background in the group of moderate and low did not show the significant difference in employing samples and exercises.

Keywords: integration model, online lessons, learners’ background knowledge, efficiency

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5209 The Impact of Gender and Residential Background on Racial Integration: Evidence from a South African University

Authors: Morolake Josephine Adeagbo

Abstract:

South Africa is one of those countries that openly rejected racism, and this is entrenched in its Bill of Rights. Despite the acceptance and incorporation of racial integration into the South Africa Constitution, the implementation within some sectors, most especially the educational sector, seems difficult. Recent occurrences of racism in some higher institutions of learning in South Africa are indications that racial integration / racial transformation is still farfetched in the country’s higher educational sector. It is against this background that this study was conducted to understand how gender and residential background influence racial integration in a South African university which was predominantly a white Afrikaner institution. Using a quantitative method to test the attitude of different categories of undergraduate students at the university, this study found that the factors- residential background and gender- used in measuring student’s attitude do not necessarily have a significant relationship towards racial integration. However, this study concludes with a call for more research with a range of other factors in order to better understand how racial integration can be promoted in South African institutions of higher learning.

Keywords: racial integration, gender, residential background, transformation

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5208 Optical Signal-To-Noise Ratio Monitoring Based on Delay Tap Sampling Using Artificial Neural Network

Authors: Feng Wang, Shencheng Ni, Shuying Han, Shanhong You

Abstract:

With the development of optical communication, optical performance monitoring (OPM) has received more and more attentions. Since optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) is directly related to bit error rate (BER), it is one of the important parameters in optical networks. Recently, artificial neural network (ANN) has been greatly developed. ANN has strong learning and generalization ability. In this paper, a method of OSNR monitoring based on delay-tap sampling (DTS) and ANN has been proposed. DTS technique is used to extract the eigenvalues of the signal. Then, the eigenvalues are input into the ANN to realize the OSNR monitoring. The experiments of 10 Gb/s non-return-to-zero (NRZ) on–off keying (OOK), 20 Gb/s pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) and 20 Gb/s return-to-zero (RZ) differential phase-shift keying (DPSK) systems are demonstrated for the OSNR monitoring based on the proposed method. The experimental results show that the range of OSNR monitoring is from 15 to 30 dB and the root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) for 10 Gb/s NRZ-OOK, 20 Gb/s PAM4 and 20 Gb/s RZ-DPSK systems are 0.36 dB, 0.45 dB and 0.48 dB respectively. The impact of chromatic dispersion (CD) on the accuracy of OSNR monitoring is also investigated in the three experimental systems mentioned above.

Keywords: artificial neural network (ANN), chromatic dispersion (CD), delay-tap sampling (DTS), optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR)

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5207 Design, Construction and Performance Evaluation of a HPGe Detector Shield

Authors: M. Sharifi, M. Mirzaii, F. Bolourinovin, H. Yousefnia, M. Akbari, K. Yousefi-Mojir

Abstract:

A multilayer passive shield composed of low-activity lead (Pb), copper (Cu), tin (Sn) and iron (Fe) was designed and manufactured for a coaxial HPGe detector placed at a surface laboratory for reducing background radiation and radiation dose to the personnel. The performance of the shield was evaluated and efficiency curves of the detector were plotted by using of the various standard sources in different distances. Monte Carlo simulations and a set of TLD chips were used for dose estimation in two distances of 20 and 40 cm. The results show that the shield reduced background spectrum and the personnel dose more than 95%.

Keywords: HPGe shield, background count, personnel dose, efficiency curve

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5206 Integrated Navigation System Using Simplified Kalman Filter Algorithm

Authors: Othman Maklouf, Abdunnaser Tresh

Abstract:

GPS and inertial navigation system (INS) have complementary qualities that make them ideal use for sensor fusion. The limitations of GPS include occasional high noise content, outages when satellite signals are blocked, interference and low bandwidth. The strengths of GPS include its long-term stability and its capacity to function as a stand-alone navigation system. In contrast, INS is not subject to interference or outages, have high bandwidth and good short-term noise characteristics, but have long-term drift errors and require external information for initialization. A combined system of GPS and INS subsystems can exhibit the robustness, higher bandwidth and better noise characteristics of the inertial system with the long-term stability of GPS. The most common estimation algorithm used in integrated INS/GPS is the Kalman Filter (KF). KF is able to take advantages of these characteristics to provide a common integrated navigation implementation with performance superior to that of either subsystem (GPS or INS). This paper presents a simplified KF algorithm for land vehicle navigation application. In this integration scheme, the GPS derived positions and velocities are used as the update measurements for the INS derived PVA. The KF error state vector in this case includes the navigation parameters as well as the accelerometer and gyroscope error states.

Keywords: GPS, INS, Kalman filter, inertial navigation system

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5205 A Simple Adaptive Atomic Decomposition Voice Activity Detector Implemented by Matching Pursuit

Authors: Thomas Bryan, Veton Kepuska, Ivica Kostanic

Abstract:

A simple adaptive voice activity detector (VAD) is implemented using Gabor and gammatone atomic decomposition of speech for high Gaussian noise environments. Matching pursuit is used for atomic decomposition, and is shown to achieve optimal speech detection capability at high data compression rates for low signal to noise ratios. The most active dictionary elements found by matching pursuit are used for the signal reconstruction so that the algorithm adapts to the individual speakers dominant time-frequency characteristics. Speech has a high peak to average ratio enabling matching pursuit greedy heuristic of highest inner products to isolate high energy speech components in high noise environments. Gabor and gammatone atoms are both investigated with identical logarithmically spaced center frequencies, and similar bandwidths. The algorithm performs equally well for both Gabor and gammatone atoms with no significant statistical differences. The algorithm achieves 70% accuracy at a 0 dB SNR, 90% accuracy at a 5 dB SNR and 98% accuracy at a 20dB SNR using 30dB SNR as a reference for voice activity.

Keywords: atomic decomposition, gabor, gammatone, matching pursuit, voice activity detection

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5204 Multi-Objective Optimization of Electric Discharge Machining for Inconel 718

Authors: Pushpendra S. Bharti, S. Maheshwari

Abstract:

Electric discharge machining (EDM) is one of the most widely used non-conventional manufacturing process to shape difficult-to-cut materials. The process yield, in terms of material removal rate, surface roughness and tool wear rate, of EDM may considerably be improved by selecting the optimal combination(s) of process parameters. This paper employs Multi-response signal-to-noise (MRSN) ratio technique to find the optimal combination(s) of the process parameters during EDM of Inconel 718. Three cases v.i.z. high cutting efficiency, high surface finish, and normal machining have been taken and the optimal combinations of input parameters have been obtained for each case. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been employed to find the dominant parameter(s) in all three cases. The experimental verification of the obtained results has also been made. MRSN ratio technique found to be a simple and effective multi-objective optimization technique.

Keywords: electric discharge machining, material removal rate, surface roughness, too wear rate, multi-response signal-to-noise ratio, multi response signal-to-noise ratio, optimization

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5203 Effect of Noise at Different Frequencies on Heart Rate Variability - Experimental Study Protocol

Authors: A. Bortkiewcz, A. Dudarewicz, P. Małecki, M. Kłaczyński, T. Wszołek, Małgorzata Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska

Abstract:

Low-frequency noise (LFN) has been recognized as a special environmental pollutant. It is usually considered a broadband noise with the dominant content of low frequencies from 10 Hz to 250 Hz. A growing body of data shows that LFN differs in nature from other environmental noises, which are at comparable levels but not dominated by low-frequency components. The primary and most frequent adverse effect of LFN exposure is annoyance. Moreover, some recent investigations showed that LFN at relatively low A-weighted sound pressure levels (40−45 dB) occurring in office-like areas could adversely affect the mental performance, especially of high-sensitive subjects. It is well documented that high-frequency noise disturbs various types of human functions; however, there is very little data on the impact of LFN on well-being and health, including the cardiovascular system. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a sensitive marker of autonomic regulation of the circulatory system. Walker and co-workers found that LFN has a significantly more negative impact on cardiovascular response than exposure to high-frequency noise and that changes in HRV parameters resulting from LFN exposure tend to persist over time. The negative reactions of the cardiovascular system in response to LFN generated by wind turbines (20-200 Hz) were confirmed by Chiu. The scientific aim of the study is to assess the relationship between the spectral-temporal characteristics of LFN and the activity of the autonomic nervous system, considering the subjective assessment of annoyance, sensitivity to this type of noise, and cognitive and general health status. The study will be conducted in 20 male students in a special, acoustically prepared, constantly supervised room. Each person will be tested 4 times (4 sessions), under conditions of non-exposure (sham) and exposure to noise of wind turbines recorded at a distance of 250 meters from the turbine with different frequencies and frequency ranges: acoustic band 20 Hz-20 kHz, infrasound band 5-20 Hz, acoustic band + infrasound band. The order of sessions of the experiment will be randomly selected. Each session will last 1 h. There will be a 2-3 days break between sessions to exclude the possibility of the earlier session influencing the results of the next one. Before the first exposure, a questionnaire will be conducted on noise sensitivity, general health status using the GHQ questionnaire, hearing organ status and sociodemographic data. Before each of the 4 exposures, subjects will complete a brief questionnaire on their mood and sleep quality the night before the test. After the test, the subjects will be asked about any discomfort and subjective symptoms during the exposure. Before the test begins, Holter ECG monitoring equipment will be installed. HRV will be analyzed from the ECG recordings, including time and frequency domain parameters. The tests will always be performed in the morning (9-12) to avoid the influence of diurnal rhythm on HRV results. Students will perform psychological tests 15 minutes before the end of the test (Vienna Test System).

Keywords: neurovegetative control, heart rate variability (HRV), cognitive processes, low frequency noise

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5202 Analysis of Experimentally Designed Soundproof Gypsum Partition Wall's Sections in Terms of Structural Engineering

Authors: Abdulkerim Ilgun, Ahmad Javid Zia

Abstract:

In developing countries, the urban populations are increasing rapidly and with this increment the residential areas are experiencing major problems. Construction of high-rise buildings in confined spaces is one of the most practical solutions for this problem. However, by living in high-rise buildings and sharing common residential areas, residents will face many problems. Irritating sound problem which is known as noise is one of the major problems mentioned above. The second most important problem is the weight of the high-rise buildings which makes the structure more vulnerable to earthquakes. To decrease earthquake loads it’s very important to decrease the weight of the buildings. To solve the problem of noise and keep the building weight at minimum level, experimentally designed soundproof gypsum partition wall which has optimum thickness has been used in high-rise story building and the results have been compared with ordinary brick partition walls. In this compression the effect of weights of soundproof gypsum walls and ordinary brick walls in accordance to structural engineering have been investigated.

Keywords: cellubor, gypsum board, gypsum partition walls, light partition walls, noise, sound

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5201 A Robust and Adaptive Unscented Kalman Filter for the Air Fine Alignment of the Strapdown Inertial Navigation System/GPS

Authors: Jian Shi, Baoguo Yu, Haonan Jia, Meng Liu, Ping Huang

Abstract:

Adapting to the flexibility of war, a large number of guided weapons launch from aircraft. Therefore, the inertial navigation system loaded in the weapon needs to undergo an alignment process in the air. This article proposes the following methods to the problem of inaccurate modeling of the system under large misalignment angles, the accuracy reduction of filtering caused by outliers, and the noise changes in GPS signals: first, considering the large misalignment errors of Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (SINS)/GPS, a more accurate model is made rather than to make a small-angle approximation, and the Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) algorithms are used to estimate the state; then, taking into account the impact of GPS noise changes on the fine alignment algorithm, the innovation adaptive filtering algorithm is introduced to estimate the GPS’s noise in real-time; at the same time, in order to improve the anti-interference ability of the air fine alignment algorithm, a robust filtering algorithm based on outlier detection is combined with the air fine alignment algorithm to improve the robustness of the algorithm. The algorithm can improve the alignment accuracy and robustness under interference conditions, which is verified by simulation.

Keywords: air alignment, fine alignment, inertial navigation system, integrated navigation system, UKF

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5200 Barriers and Opportunities in Apprenticeship Training: How to Complete a Vocational Upper Secondary Qualification with Intermediate Finnish Language Skills

Authors: Inkeri Jaaskelainen

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to shed light on what is it like to study in apprenticeship training using intermediate (or even lower level) Finnish. The aim is to find out and describe these students' experiences and feelings while acquiring a profession in Finnish as it is important to understand how immigrant background adult learners learn and how their needs could be better taken into account. Many students choose apprenticeships and start vocational training while their language skills in Finnish are still very weak. At work, students should be able to simultaneously learn Finnish and do vocational studies in a noisy, demanding, and stressful environment. Learning and understanding new things is very challenging under these circumstances, and sometimes students get exhausted and experience a lot of stress - which makes learning even more difficult. Students are different from each other, and so are their ways to learn. Both duties at work and school assignments require reasonably good general language skills, and, especially at work, language skills are also a safety issue. The empirical target of this study is a group of students with an immigrant background who studied in various fields with intensive L2 support in 2016–2018 and who by now have completed a vocational upper secondary qualification. The interview material for this narrative study was collected from those who completed apprenticeship training in 2019–2020. The data collection methods used are a structured thematic interview, a questionnaire, and observational data. Interviewees with an immigrant background have an inconsistent cultural and educational background - some have completed an academic degree in their country of origin while others have learned to read and write only in Finland. The analysis of the material utilizes thematic analysis, which is used to examine learning and related experiences. Learning a language at work is very different from traditional classroom teaching. With evolving language skills, at an intermediate level at best, rushing and stressing makes it even more difficult to understand and increases the fear of failure. Constant noise, rapidly changing situations, and uncertainty undermine the learning and well-being of apprentices. According to preliminary results, apprenticeship training is well suited to the needs of an adult immigrant student. In apprenticeship training, students need a lot of support for learning and understanding a new communication and working culture. Stress can result in, e.g., fatigue, frustration, and difficulties in remembering and understanding. Apprenticeship training can be seen as a good path to working life. However, L2 support is a very important part of apprenticeship training, and it indeed helps students to believe that one day they will graduate and even get employed in their new country.

Keywords: apprenticeship training, vocational basic degree, Finnish learning, wee-being

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5199 Denoising of Motor Unit Action Potential Based on Tunable Band-Pass Filter

Authors: Khalida S. Rijab, Mohammed E. Safi, Ayad A. Ibrahim

Abstract:

When electrical electrodes are mounted on the skin surface of the muscle, a signal is detected when a skeletal muscle undergoes contraction; the signal is known as surface electromyographic signal (EMG). This signal has a noise-like interference pattern resulting from the temporal and spatial summation of action potentials (AP) of all active motor units (MU) near electrode detection. By appropriate processing (Decomposition), the surface EMG signal may be used to give an estimate of motor unit action potential. In this work, a denoising technique is applied to the MUAP signals extracted from the spatial filter (IB2). A set of signals from a non-invasive two-dimensional grid of 16 electrodes from different types of subjects, muscles, and sex are recorded. These signals will acquire noise during recording and detection. A digital fourth order band- pass Butterworth filter is used for denoising, with a tuned band-pass frequency of suitable choice of cutoff frequencies is investigated, with the aim of obtaining a suitable band pass frequency. Results show an improvement of (1-3 dB) in the signal to noise ratio (SNR) have been achieved, relative to the raw spatial filter output signals for all cases that were under investigation. Furthermore, the research’s goal included also estimation and reconstruction of the mean shape of the MUAP.

Keywords: EMG, Motor Unit, Digital Filter, Denoising

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5198 Image Enhancement Algorithm of Photoacoustic Tomography Using Active Contour Filtering

Authors: Prasannakumar Palaniappan, Dong Ho Shin, Chul Gyu Song

Abstract:

The photoacoustic images are obtained from a custom developed linear array photoacoustic tomography system. The biological specimens are imitated by conducting phantom tests in order to retrieve a fully functional photoacoustic image. The acquired image undergoes the active region based contour filtering to remove the noise and accurately segment the object area for further processing. The universal back projection method is used as the image reconstruction algorithm. The active contour filtering is analyzed by evaluating the signal to noise ratio and comparing it with the other filtering methods.

Keywords: contour filtering, linear array, photoacoustic tomography, universal back projection

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5197 OFDM Radar for Detecting a Rayleigh Fluctuating Target in Gaussian Noise

Authors: Mahboobeh Eghtesad, Reza Mohseni

Abstract:

We develop methods for detecting a target for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based radars. As a preliminary step we introduce the target and Gaussian noise models in discrete–time form. Then, resorting to match filter (MF) we derive a detector for two different scenarios: a non-fluctuating target and a Rayleigh fluctuating target. It will be shown that a MF is not suitable for Rayleigh fluctuating targets. In this paper we propose a reduced-complexity method based on fast Fourier transfrom (FFT) for such a situation. The proposed method has better detection performance.

Keywords: constant false alarm rate (CFAR), match filter (MF), fast Fourier transform (FFT), OFDM radars, Rayleigh fluctuating target

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5196 Substrate Coupling in Millimeter Wave Frequencies

Authors: Vasileios Gerakis, Fontounasios Christos, Alkis Hatzopoulos

Abstract:

A study of the impact of metal guard rings on the coupling between two square metal pads is presented. The structure is designed over a bulk silicon substrate with epitaxial layer, so the coupling through the substrate is also involved. A lightly doped profile is adopted and is simulated by means of an electromagnetic simulator for various pad distances and different metal layers, assuming a 65 nm bulk CMOS technology. The impact of various guard ring design (geometrical) parameters is examined. Furthermore, the increase of isolation (resulting in reduction of the noise coupling) between the pads by cutting the ring, or by using multiple rings, is also analyzed. S parameters are used to compare the various structures.

Keywords: guard rings, metal pad coupling, millimeter wave frequencies, substrate noise,

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5195 Effect of Synthetic Jet on Wind Turbine Noise

Authors: Reda Mankbadi

Abstract:

The current work explores the use of Synthetic Jet Actuators (SJAs) for control of the acoustic radiation of a low-speed transitioning airfoil in a uniform stream. In the adopted numerical procedure, the actuator is modeled without its resonator cavity through imposing a simple fluctuating-velocity boundary condition at the bottom of the actuator's orifice. The orifice cavity, with the properly defined boundary condition, is then embedded into the airfoil surface. High-accuracy viscous simulations are then conducted to study the effects of the actuation on sound radiated by the airfoil. Results show that SJA can considerably suppress the radiated sound of the airfoil in uniform incoming stream.

Keywords: simulations, aeroacoustics, wind turbine noise, synthetic jet actuators (SJAs)

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5194 Passive Seismic in Hydrogeological Prospecting: The Case Study from Hard Rock and Alluvium Plain

Authors: Prarabdh Tiwari, M. Vidya Sagar, K. Bhima Raju, Joy Choudhury, Subash Chandra, E. Nagaiah, Shakeel Ahmed

Abstract:

Passive seismic, a wavefield interferometric imaging, low cost and rapid tool for subsurface investigation is used for various geotechnical purposes such as hydrocarbon exploration, seismic microzonation, etc. With the recent advancement, its application has also been extended to groundwater exploration by means of finding the bedrock depth. Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) has experimented passive seismic studies along with electrical resistivity tomography for groundwater in hard rock (Choutuppal, Hyderabad). Passive Seismic with Electrical Resistivity (ERT) can give more clear 2-D subsurface image for Groundwater Exploration in Hard Rock area. Passive seismic data were collected using a Tromino, a three-component broadband seismometer, to measure background ambient noise and processed using GRILLA software. The passive seismic results are found corroborating with ERT (Electrical Resistivity Tomography) results. For data acquisition purpose, Tromino was kept over 30 locations consist recording of 20 minutes at each station. These location shows strong resonance frequency peak, suggesting good impedance contrast between different subsurface layers (ex. Mica rich Laminated layer, Weathered layer, granite, etc.) This paper presents signature of passive seismic for hard rock terrain. It has been found that passive seismic has potential application for formation characterization and can be used as an alternative tool for delineating litho-stratification in an urban condition where electrical and electromagnetic tools cannot be applied due to high cultural noise. In addition to its general application in combination with electrical and electromagnetic methods can improve the interpreted subsurface model.

Keywords: passive seismic, resonant frequency, Tromino, GRILLA

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5193 Investigation on the Acoustical Transmission Path of Additive Printed Metals

Authors: Raphael Rehmet, Armin Lohrengel, Prof Dr-Ing

Abstract:

In terms of making machines more silent and convenient, it is necessary to analyze the transmission path of mechanical vibrations and structure-bone noise. A typical solution for the elimination of structure-bone noise would be to simply add stiffeners or additional masses to change the transmission behavior and, thereby, avoid the propagation of vibrations. Another solution could be to use materials with a different damping behavior, such as elastomers, to isolate the machine dynamically. This research approach investigates the damping behavior of additive printed components made from structural steel or titanium, which have been manufactured in the “Laser Powder Bed Fusion“-process. By using the design flexibility which this process comes with, it will be investigated how a local impedance difference will affect the transmission behavior of the specimens.

Keywords: 3D-printed, acoustics, dynamics, impedance

Procedia PDF Downloads 185
5192 Digital Retinal Images: Background and Damaged Areas Segmentation

Authors: Eman A. Gani, Loay E. George, Faisel G. Mohammed, Kamal H. Sager

Abstract:

Digital retinal images are more appropriate for automatic screening of diabetic retinopathy systems. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of these images are poor quality that hinders further analysis due to many factors (such as patient movement, inadequate or non-uniform illumination, acquisition angle and retinal pigmentation). The retinal images of poor quality need to be enhanced before the extraction of features and abnormalities. So, the segmentation of retinal image is essential for this purpose, the segmentation is employed to smooth and strengthen image by separating the background and damaged areas from the overall image thus resulting in retinal image enhancement and less processing time. In this paper, methods for segmenting colored retinal image are proposed to improve the quality of retinal image diagnosis. The methods generate two segmentation masks; i.e., background segmentation mask for extracting the background area and poor quality mask for removing the noisy areas from the retinal image. The standard retinal image databases DIARETDB0, DIARETDB1, STARE, DRIVE and some images obtained from ophthalmologists have been used to test the validation of the proposed segmentation technique. Experimental results indicate the introduced methods are effective and can lead to high segmentation accuracy.

Keywords: retinal images, fundus images, diabetic retinopathy, background segmentation, damaged areas segmentation

Procedia PDF Downloads 381
5191 Studies of Rule Induction by STRIM from the Decision Table with Contaminated Attribute Values from Missing Data and Noise — in the Case of Critical Dataset Size —

Authors: Tetsuro Saeki, Yuichi Kato, Shoutarou Mizuno

Abstract:

STRIM (Statistical Test Rule Induction Method) has been proposed as a method to effectively induct if-then rules from the decision table which is considered as a sample set obtained from the population of interest. Its usefulness has been confirmed by simulation experiments specifying rules in advance, and by comparison with conventional methods. However, scope for future development remains before STRIM can be applied to the analysis of real-world data sets. The first requirement is to determine the size of the dataset needed for inducting true rules, since finding statistically significant rules is the core of the method. The second is to examine the capacity of rule induction from datasets with contaminated attribute values created by missing data and noise, since real-world datasets usually contain such contaminated data. This paper examines the first problem theoretically, in connection with the rule length. The second problem is then examined in a simulation experiment, utilizing the critical size of dataset derived from the first step. The experimental results show that STRIM is highly robust in the analysis of datasets with contaminated attribute values, and hence is applicable to realworld data.

Keywords: rule induction, decision table, missing data, noise

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5190 A Nonlocal Means Algorithm for Poisson Denoising Based on Information Geometry

Authors: Dongxu Chen, Yipeng Li

Abstract:

This paper presents an information geometry NonlocalMeans(NLM) algorithm for Poisson denoising. NLM estimates a noise-free pixel as a weighted average of image pixels, where each pixel is weighted according to the similarity between image patches in Euclidean space. In this work, every pixel is a Poisson distribution locally estimated by Maximum Likelihood (ML), all distributions consist of a statistical manifold. A NLM denoising algorithm is conducted on the statistical manifold where Fisher information matrix can be used for computing distribution geodesics referenced as the similarity between patches. This approach was demonstrated to be competitive with related state-of-the-art methods.

Keywords: image denoising, Poisson noise, information geometry, nonlocal-means

Procedia PDF Downloads 267