This book provides an introduction to Swarm Robotics, which is the application of methods from swarm intelligence to robotics. It goes on to present methods that allow readers to understand how to design large-scale robot systems by going through many example scenarios on topics such as aggregation, coordinated motion (flocking), task allocation, self-assembly, collective construction, and environmental monitoring. The author explains the methodology behind building multiple, simple robots and how the complexity emerges from the multiple interactions between these robots such that they are able to solve difficult tasks. The book can be used as a short textbook for specialized courses or as an introduction to Swarm Robotics for graduate students, researchers, and professionals who want a concise introduction to the field.

This book is about the interaction of laser radiation with various surfaces at variable parameters of radiation. As a basic principle of classification we chose the energetic or intensity level of interaction of laser radiation with the surfaces. These two characteristics of laser radiation are the most important parameters defining entire spectrum of the processes occurring on the surfaces during interaction with electromagnetic waves. This is a first book containing a whole spectrum of the laser-surface interactions distinguished by the ranges of used laser intensity. It combines the surface response starting from extremely weak laser intensities (~1 W cm-2) up to the relativistic intensities (~1020 W cm-2 and higher). The book provides the basic information about lasers and acquaints the reader with both common applications of laser-surface interactions (laser-related printers, scanners, barcode readers, discs, material processing, military, holography, medicine, etc) and unusual uses of the processes on the surfaces under the action of lasers (art conservation, rangefinders and velocimeters, space and earth explorations, surface engineering and ablation, and others). The scientific applications of laser-surfaces interactions (surface optical nonlinearities, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, surface nanostructuring, nanoripples and clusters formation, X-ray lasers and harmonic generation from the surfaces) are discussed from the point of view of the close relations between the properties of surface and matter, which is a cornerstone of most of studies of materials. The novelty of the approach developed in Laser - Surface Interactions is related with the interconnection of scientific studies with numerous applications of the laser-surface interactions separated in different chapters by the ranges of laser intensities. We present most recent achievements in this field. The book provides valuable information for different ranges of reader's preparedness to the laser-related topics (from unprepared readers, to students, engineers and researchers, professionals and academics).

The work introduces the fundamentals concerning the measure of discrete information, the modeling of discrete sources without and with a memory, as well as of channels and coding. The understanding of the theoretical matter is supported by many examples. One particular emphasis is put on the explanation of Genomic Coding. Many examples throughout the book are chosen from this particular area and several parts of the book are devoted to this exciting implication of coding.

This book provides a compilation of important optical techniques applied to experiments in heat and mass transfer, multiphase flow and combustion. The emphasis of this book is on the application of these techniques to various engineering problems. The contributions are aiming to provide practicing engineers, both in industry and research, with the recent state-of-science in the application of advanced optical measurements. The book is written by selected specialists representing leading experts in this field who present new information for the possibilities of these techniques and give stimulation of new ideas for their application.

Compression and Coding Algorithms describes in detail the coding mechanisms that are available for use in data compression systems. The well known Huffman coding technique is one mechanism, but there have been many others developed over the past few decades, and this book describes, explains and assesses them. People undertaking research of software development in the areas of compression and coding algorithms will find this book an indispensable reference. In particular, the careful and detailed description of algorithms and their implementation, plus accompanying pseudo-code that can be readily implemented on computer, make this book a definitive reference in an area currently without one.

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in Second Generation Image and Video Coding Techniques. These techniques introduce new concepts from image analysis that greatly improve the performance of the coding schemes for very high compression. This interest has been further emphasized by the future MPEG 4 standard. Second generation image and video coding techniques are the ensemble of approaches proposing new and more efficient image representations than the conventional canonical form. As a consequence, the human visual system becomes a fundamental part of the encoding/decoding chain. More insight to distinguish between first and second generation can be gained if it is noticed that image and video coding is basically carried out in two steps. First, image data are converted into a sequence of messages and, second, code words are assigned to the messages. Methods of the first generation put the emphasis on the second step, whereas methods of the second generation put it on the first step and use available results for the second step. As a result of including the human visual system, second generation can be also seen as an approach of seeing the image composed by different entities called objects. This implies that the image or sequence of images have first to be analyzed and/or segmented in order to find the entities. It is in this context that we have selected in this book three main approaches as second generation video coding techniques: Segmentation-based schemes Model Based Schemes Fractal Based Schemes GBP/LISTGBP Video Coding: The Second Generation Approach is an important introduction to the new coding techniques for video. As such, all researchers, students and practitioners working in image processing will find this book of interest.

This book presents the many different techniques and methods of fabricating materials on the nanometer scale, and, specifically, the utilization of these resources with regard to sensors. The techniques described are studied from an application-oriented perspective, providing the reader with a perspective of the types of nanostructured sensors available that is broader than other books which concentrate on theoretical situations related to specific fabrication techniques.

Interference coatings are an essential part of modern optics. This book is designed to give a concise but complete overview of the field, with contributions written by leading experts in the various areas. Topics include design, materials, film growth, deposition including large area, characterization and monitoring, and mechanical stress. The authors also describe applications in astronomy, microcomponents, DUV/VUV, EUV/X, ultrafast optics, displays, and ultrasensitive fluorescence. Furthermore, laser-resistant coatings and coatings for free-electron lasers and plastic optics are covered. The book concludes with chapters on photonic structures as interference devices and on the brilliant world of natural coatings.

This book gives a practical overview of Fractional Calculus as it relates to Signal Processing

This book presents all aspects of situational awareness using acoustic signals. It starts by presenting the science behind understanding and interpretation of sound signals. The book then goes on to provide various signal processing techniques used in acoustics to find the direction of sound source, localize gunfire, track vehicles and detect people. The necessary mathematical background and various classification and fusion techniques are presented. The book contains majority of the things one would need to process acoustic signals for all aspects of situational awareness in one location. The book also presents array theory, which is pivotal in finding the direction of arrival of acoustic signals. In addition, the book presents techniques to fuse the information from multiple homogeneous/heterogeneous sensors for better detection. MATLAB code is provided for majority of the real application, which is a valuable resource in not only understanding the theory but readers can also use the code as a spring-board to develop their own application based software code.

This edited monograph presents the collected interdisciplinary research results of the priority program "Information- and Communication Theory in Molecular Biology (InKoMBio, SPP 1395)", funded by the German Research Foundation DFG, 2010 until 2016. The topical spectrum is very broad and comprises, but is not limited to, aspects such as microRNA as part of cell communication, information flow in mammalian signal transduction pathway, cell-cell communication, semiotic structures in biological systems, as well as application of methods from information theory in protein interaction analysis. The target audience primarily comprises research experts in the field of biological signal processing, but the book is also beneficial for graduate students alike.

This monograph reports on advances in the measurement and study of autonomic nervous system (ANS) dynamics as a source of reliable and effective markers for mood state recognition and assessment of emotional responses. Its primary impact will be in affective computing and the application of emotion-recognition systems. Applicative studies of biosignals such as: electrocardiograms; electrodermal responses; respiration activity; gaze points; and pupil-size variation are covered in detail, and experimental results explain how to characterize the elicited affective levels and mood states pragmatically and accurately using the information thus extracted from the ANS. Nonlinear signal processing techniques play a crucial role in understanding the ANS physiology underlying superficially noticeable changes and provide important quantifiers of cardiovascular control dynamics. These have prognostic value in both healthy subjects and patients with mood disorders. Moreover, Autonomic Nervous System Dynamics for Mood and Emotional-State Recognition proposes a novel probabilistic approach based on the point-process theory in order to model and characterize the instantaneous ANS nonlinear dynamics providing a foundation from which machine "understanding" of emotional response can be enhanced. Using mathematics and signal processing, this work also contributes to pragmatic issues such as emotional and mood-state modeling, elicitation, and non-invasive ANS monitoring. Throughout the text a critical review on the current state-of-the-art is reported, leading to the description of dedicated experimental protocols, novel and reliable mood models, and novel wearable systems able to perform ANS monitoring in a naturalistic environment. Biomedical engineers will find this book of interest, especially those concerned with nonlinear analysis, as will researchers and industrial technicians developing wearable systems and sensors for ANS monitoring.

This book presents the main concepts in handling digital images of mixed content, traditionally referenced as mixed raster content (MRC), in two main parts. The first includes introductory chapters covering the scientific and technical background aspects, whereas the second presents a set of research and development approaches to tackle key issues in MRC segmentation, compression and transmission. The book starts with a review of color theory and the mechanism of color vision in humans. In turn, the second chapter reviews data coding and compression methods so as to set the background and demonstrate the complexity involved in dealing with MRC. Chapter three addresses the segmentation of images through an extensive literature review, which highlights the various approaches used to tackle MRC segmentation. The second part of the book focuses on the segmentation of color images for optimized compression, including multi-layered decomposition and representation of MRC and the processes that can be employed to optimize the coding rates of those different layers. Rounding out the coverage, the final chapter examines the segmentation of color images for optimized transmission.

The goal of this book is to disseminate information on the worldwide status and trends in biosensing R and D to government decisionmakers and the research community. The contributors critically analyze and compare biosensing research in the United States with that being pursued in Japan, Europe and other major industrialized countries.

Biosensing includes systems that incorporate a variety of means, including electrical, electronic, and photonic devices; biological materials (e.g., tissue, enzymes, nucleic acids, etc.); and chemical analysis to produce detectable signals for the monitoring or identification of biological phenomena. In a broader sense, the study of biosensing includes any approach to detection of biological elements and the associated software or computer identification technologies (e.g., imaging) that identify biological characteristics. Biosensing is finding a growing number of applications in a wide variety of areas, including biomedicine, food production and processing, and detection of bacteria, viruses, and biological toxins for biowarfare defense. Subtopics likely to be covered in this study include the following: Nucleic acid sensors and DNA chips and arrays, organism- and cell-based biosensors, bioelectronics and biometrics, biointerfaces and biomaterials; biocompatibility and biofouling, integrated, multi-modality sensors and sensor networks, system issues, including signal transduction, data interpretation, and validation, novel sensing algorithms, e.g., non-enzyme-based sensors for glucose, mechanical sensors for prosthetics, related issues in bio-MEMS and NEMS (microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical systems), possibly including actuators, applications in biomedicine, the environment, food industry, security and defense.

Particular emphasis will be on technologies that may lead to portable or fieldable devices/instruments. Important consideration will be given to an integrated approach to detection, storage, analysis, validation, interpretation and presentation of results from the biosensing system. Focus will be on research from the following disciplines: BioMems and nano, optical spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, chemometrics, pattern recognition, telemetry, signal processing, and toxicology.

Finally, beyond the above technical issues, the study will also address the following non-technical issues: Mechanisms for enhancing international and interdisciplinary cooperation in the field, opportunities for shortening the lead time for deployment of new biosensing technologies emerging from the laboratory, long range research, educational, and infrastructure issues that need addressed to promote better progress in the field, current government R and D funding levels overseas compared to the United States, to the extent data are available.

This book presents advances in biomedical imaging analysis and processing techniques using time dependent medical image datasets for computer aided diagnosis. The analysis of time-series images is one of the most widely appearing problems in science, engineering, and business. In recent years this problem has gained importance due to the increasing availability of more sensitive sensors in science and engineering and due to the wide-spread use of computers in corporations which have increased the amount of time-series data collected by many magnitudes. An important feature of this book is the exploration of different approaches to handle and identify time dependent biomedical images. Biomedical imaging analysis and processing techniques deal with the interaction between all forms of radiation and biological molecules, cells or tissues, to visualize small particles and opaque objects, and to achieve the recognition of biomedical patterns. These are topics of great importance to biomedical science, biology, and medicine. Biomedical imaging analysis techniques can be applied in many different areas to solve existing problems. The various requirements arising from the process of resolving practical problems motivate and expedite the development of biomedical imaging analysis. This is a major reason for the fast growth of the discipline.

This book describes a circuit architecture for converting real analog signals into a digital format, suitable for digital signal processors. This architecture, referred to as multi-stage noise-shaping (MASH) Continuous-Time Sigma-Delta Modulators (CT- M), has the potential to provide better digital data quality and achieve better data rate conversion with lower power consumption. The authors not only cover MASH continuous-time sigma delta modulator fundamentals, but also provide a literature review that will allow students, professors, and professionals to catch up on the latest developments in related technology.

Over the last decade, significant progress has been made in 3D imaging research. As a result, 3D imaging methods and techniques are being employed for various applications, including 3D television, intelligent robotics, medical imaging, and stereovision. Depth Map and 3D Imaging Applications: Algorithms and Technologies present various 3D algorithms developed in the recent years and to investigate the application of 3D methods in various domains. Containing five sections, this book offers perspectives on 3D imaging algorithms, 3D shape recovery, stereoscopic vision and autostereoscopic vision, 3D vision for robotic applications, and 3D imaging applications. This book is an important resource for professionals, scientists, researchers, academics, and software engineers in image/video processing and computer vision.

The idea of writing a book on CMOS imaging has been brewing for several years. It was placed on a fast track after we agreed to organize a tutorial on CMOS sensors for the 2004 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS 2004). This tutorial defined the structure of the book, but as first time authors/editors, we had a lot to learn about the logistics of putting together information from multiple sources. Needless to say, it was a long road between the tutorial and the book, and it took more than a few months to complete. We hope that you will find our journey worthwhile and the collated information useful. The laboratories of the authors are located at many universities distributed around the world. Their unifying theme, however, is the advancement of knowledge for the development of systems for CMOS imaging and image processing. We hope that this book will highlight the ideas that have been pioneered by the authors, while providing a roadmap for new practitioners in this field to exploit exciting opportunities to integrate imaging and "smartness" on a single VLSI chip. The potential of these smart imaging systems is still unfulfilled. Hence, there is still plenty of research and development to be done.

Logic design of digital devices is a very important part of the Computer Science. It deals with design and testing of logic circuits for both data-path and control unit of a digital system. Design methods depend strongly on logic elements using for implementation of logic circuits. Different programmable logic devices are wide used for implementation of logic circuits. Nowadays, we witness the rapid growth of new and new chips, but there is a strong lack of new design methods.

This book includes a variety of design and test methods targeted on different digital devices. It covers methods of digital system design, the development of theoretical base for construction and designing of the PLD-based devices, application of UML for digital design. A considerable part of the book is devoted to design methods oriented on implementing control units using FPGA and CPLD chips. Such important issues as design of reliable FSMs, automatic design of concurrent logic controllers, the models and methods for creating infrastructure IP services for the SoCs are also presented.

The editors of the book hope that it will be interesting and useful for experts in Computer Science and Electronics, as well as for students, who are viewed as designers of future digital devices and systems.

The major thrust of this book is the realisation of an all optical computer. To that end it discusses optoelectronic devices and applications, transmission systems, integrated optoelectronic systems and, of course, all optical computers. The chapters on heterostructure light emitting devices' quantum well carrier transport optoelectronic devices' present the most recent advances in device physics, together with modern devices and their applications. The chapter on microcavity lasers' is essential to the discussion of present and future developments in solid-state laser physics and technology and puts into perspective the present state of research into and the technology of optoelectronic devices, within the context of their use in advanced systems. A significant part of the book deals with problems of propagation in quantum structures. soliton-based switching, gating and transmission systems' presents the basics of controlling the propagation of photons in solids and the use of this control in devices. The chapters on optoelectronic processing using smart pixels' and all optical computers' are preceded by introductory material in fundamentals of quantum structures for optoelectronic devices and systems' and linear and nonlinear absorption and reflection in quantum well structures'. It is clear that new architectures will be necessary if we are to fully utilise the potentiality of electrooptic devices in computing, but even current architectures and structures demonstrate the feasibility of the all optical computer: one that is possible today.

This book-unique in the literature-provides readers with the mathematical background needed to design many of the optical combinations that are used in astronomical telescopes and cameras. The results presented in the work were obtained by using a different approach to third-order aberration theory as well as the extensive use of the software package Mathematica (R). Replete with workout examples and exercises, Geometric Optics is an excellent reference for advanced graduate students, researchers, and practitioners in applied mathematics, engineering, astronomy, and astronomical optics. The work may be used as a supplementary textbook for graduate-level courses in astronomical optics, optical design, optical engineering, programming with Mathematica, or geometric optics.

Optoelectronic devices transform electrical signals into optical signals (and vice versa) by utilizing the interaction of electrons and light. Advanced software tools for the design and analysis of such devices have been developed in recent years. However, the large variety of materials, devices, physical mechanisms, and modeling approaches often makes it difficult to select appropriate theoretical models or software packages. This book presents a review of devices and advanced simulation approaches written by leading researchers and software developers. It is intended for scientists and device engineers in optoelectronics who are interested in using advanced software tools. Each chapter includes the theoretical background as well as practical simulation results that help the reader to better understand internal device physics. Real-world devices such as edge-emitting or surface-emitting laser diodes, light-emitting diodes, solar cells, photodetectors, and integrated optoelectronic circuits are investigated. The software packages described in the book are available to the public, on a commercial or noncommercial basis, so that the interested reader is quickly able to perform similar simulations.

Mathematical summary for Digital Signal Processing Applications with Matlab consists of Mathematics which is not usually dealt in the DSP core subject, but used in DSP applications. Matlab programs with illustrations are given for the selective topics such as generation of Multivariate Gaussian distributed sample outcomes, Bacterial foraging algorithm, Newton's iteration, Steepest descent algorithm, etc. are given exclusively in the separate chapter. Also Mathematical summary for Digital Signal Processing Applications with Matlab is written in such a way that it is suitable for Non-Mathematical readers and is very much suitable for the beginners who are doing research in Digital Signal Processing.

Image Technology Design: A Perceptual Approach is an essential reference for both academic and professional researchers in the fields of image technology, image processing and coding, image display, and image quality. It bridges the gap between academic research on visual perception and image quality and applications of such research in the design of imaging systems.
This book has been written from the point of view of an electrical engineer interested in the display, processing and coding of images, and frequently involved in applying knowledge from visual psychophysics, experimental psychology, statistics, etc., to the design of imaging systems. It focuses on the exchange of ideas between technical disciplines in image technology design (such as image display or printer design and image processing) and visual psychophysics. This is accomplished by the consistent use of a single mathematical approach (based on linear vector spaces) throughout. Known facts from color vision, image sampling and quantization are given a new formulation and, in some instances, a new interpretation.