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Designing a mood board is a creative tool designers often employ at the start of a new (interior) design project. The colors of a mood board represent important information about the envisioned interior designs. In this article, we focus on digital mood boards and we propose a novel method to determine the mood boards' key colors from a design perspective using dE‐means color clustering. This proposed algorithm includes a fixed initialization to overcome the non‐deterministic nature of traditional k‐means, and a merging step to ensure all colors in the calculated palette are at least a dE‐threshold apart. Quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms existing methods in determining the key colors from a design perspective. Additionally, we introduce a novel method to visualize the calculated color palettes that takes into account the contribution of individual pixels to the construction of the calculated color palettes. Finally, we demonstrate how the proposed algorithm can be used to characterize color palettes for various design styles like modern, industrial and art deco. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearest neighbor (NN) search computations are at the core of many applications such as few-shot learning, classification, and hyperdimensional computing. As such, efficient hardware support for NN search is highly desired. In-memory computing using emerging devices offers attractive solutions for NN search. Solutions based on ternary content-addressable memories (TCAMs) offer high energy and latency improvements for NN search at the expense of accuracy. In this work, we propose a novel distance function that can be natively evaluated with multi-bit content-addressable memories (MCAMs) based on ferroelectric FETs (FeFETs) to perform a single-step, in-memory NN search. We evaluate the efficacy of FeFET MCAMs in the context of few-shot learning applications with different datasets. As an example, we achieve a 78.54% accuracy for a 5-way, 5-shot classification task for the mini-ImageNet dataset (only 1.5% lower than software-based implementations) when using a 3-bit MCAM for NN search. We consider the effects of FeFET threshold voltage variations on the application accuracy and analyze the area and search energy requirements of FeFET MCAMs for accurate operations. Our results indicate that MCAMs require 2× lower area and search energy than TCAMs to achieve the same accuracy. Furthermore, we experimentally demonstrate a 2-bit implementation of FeFET MCAM using AND arrays from GLOBALFOUNDRIES to further validate the design concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article frames some important computing developments of the 1950s, connecting them to two older traditions, one within (mathematical) logic and one within engineering. Both traditions could be termed logical minimalism, meaning the systematic use of (mathematical) logic in designing minimal systems and devices. The logical tradition is part of the more general research programme into the foundations of mathematics and logic that was carried out in the beginning of the 20th century. The engineering tradition then emerged during the 1930s to design relay circuits and is part of a more general trend of using mathematical techniques in engineering. In the 1940s and 1950s, however, these traditions were redefined and (re)appropriated when computer engineers, logicians and mathematicians started searching for the small(est) and/or simple(st) machines with an eye on engineering a small and relatively cheap digital computer. The main focus is on how the transition of symbolic machines such as Turings into real computers integrates minimalist philosophies as parts of more complex computer design strategies. The ensuing tradeoffs such as more involved and complex programming or a need for more memory for efficient operation are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a computational method for producing novel constructs that fall within an existing design or artistic style. The method is based on evolutionary algorithms, and we discuss related knowledge representation issues. We then present an implementation of this method that we used in order to imitate the style of the Dutch painter Mondrian. Finally, we explain and give the results of a cognitive experiment designed to determine the effectiveness of the method, and provide a discussion of these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goals of this study were to look after the technological knowledge construction process by high-school high-achievers, and their ability to design and implement solutions for technological problems. More specifically, we examine the contribution of Project-based-learning (PBL), as pedagogical means for supporting the students’ knowledge acquisition and problem-solving process. The findings show a significant increase in formal knowledge as measured by standardized matriculation exams; an expansion in the scope of technological knowledge acquired and implemented, and in the scope of knowledge resources utilized for the projects; a high level of overall performance as regards to the set of design skills studied; a positive change in attitude towards technology and technological studies; the emergence of consistent design styles by individuals and groups along their work in the projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of testing shared memories for memory coherence and consistency is studied. First, it is proved that detecting violations of coherence in an execution is NP-Complete, and it remains NP-Complete for a number of restricted instances. This result leads to a proof that all known consistency models are NP-Hard to verify. The complexity of verifying consistency models is not a mere consequence of coherence, and verifying sequential consistency remains NP-Complete even after coherence has been verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we address the problem of designing very high-throughput finite-state machines (FSMs). The presence of loops in sequential circuits prevents a straightforward application of pipelining to increase performance. We observe that appropriate extensions of the "wave steering" technique can partially overcome the problem. We find that FSM decomposition theory is useful for decoupling the state-variable dependencies. Experiments on MCNC benchmarks show a 217 percent improvement in throughput, at the expense of a similar increase in area (2.15 times). Latency loss is relatively small, on the order of 20 percent, as compared to standard cell implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vantage cache-partitioning technique enables configurability and quality-of-service guarantees in large-scale chip multiprocessors with shared caches. Caches can have hundreds of partitions with sizes specified at cache line granularity, while maintaining high associativity and strict isolation among partitions [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]