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Brain computer interface (BCI) systems based on the steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) provide higher information transfer rates and require shorter training time than BCI systems using other brain signals. It has been widely used in brain science, rehabilitation engineering, biomedical engineering and intelligent information processing. In this paper, we present a real-time mobile phone dialing system based on SSVEP, and it is more portable than other dialing system because the flashing dial interface is set on a small tablet. With this online BCI system, we can take advantage of this system based on SSVEP to identify the specific frequency on behalf of a number using canonical correlation analysis (CCA) method and dialed out successfully without using any physical movements such as finger tapping. This phone dialing system will be promising to help disable patients to improve the quality of lives.

We have developed an external storage system by using secret sharing scheme and tokenization for regional medical cooperation, PHR service and information preservation. The use of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets will be accelerated for a PHR service, and the confidential medical information is exposed to the risk of damage and intercept. We verified the transfer rate of the sending and receiving of data to and from the external storage system that connected it with PACS by the Internet this time. External storage systems are the data centers that exist in Okinawa, in Osaka, in Sapporo and in Tokyo by using secret sharing scheme. PACS continuously transmitted 382 CT images to the external data centers. Total capacity of the CT images is about 200MB. The total time that had been required to transmit was about 250 seconds. Because the preservation method to use secret sharing scheme is applied, security is strong. But, it also takes the information transfer time of this system too much. Therefore, DICOM data is masked to the header information part because it is made to anonymity in our method. The DICOM data made anonymous is preserved in the data base in the hospital. Header information including individual information is divided into two or more tallies by secret sharing scheme, and preserved at two or more external data centers. The token to relate the DICOM data anonymity made to header information preserved outside is strictly preserved in the token server. The capacity of header information that contains patient's individual information is only about 2% of the entire DICOM data. This total time that had been required to transmit was about 5 seconds. Other, common solutions that can protect computer communication networks from attacks are classified as cryptographic techniques or authentication techniques. Individual number IC card is connected with electronic certification authority of web medical image conference system. Individual number IC card is given only to the person to whom the authority to operate web medical image conference system was given.

This paper presents a solution for information integration and sharing architecture, which is able to receive data simultaneously from multiple different sensor networks. Creating a Common Operational Picture (COP) object along with the base map of the building plays a key role in the research. The object is combined with desired map sources and then shared to the mobile devices worn by soldiers in the field. The sensor networks we used focus on location techniques indoors, and a simple set of symbols is created to present the information, as an addition to NATO APP6B symbols. A core element in this research is the MUSAS (Mobile Urban Situational Awareness System), a demonstration environment that implements central functionalities. Information integration of the system is handled by the Internet Connection Engine (Ice) middleware, as well as the server, which hosts COP information and maps. The entire system is closed, such that it does not need any external service, and the information transfer with the mobile devices is organized by a tactical 5 GHz WLAN solution. The demonstration environment is implemented using only commercial off-theshelf (COTS) products. We have presented a field experiment event in which the system was able to integrate and share real time information of a blue force tracking system, received signal strength indicator (RSSI) based intrusion detection system, and a robot using simultaneous location and mapping technology (SLAM), where all the inputs were based on real activities. The event was held in a training area on urban area warfare.

Characterizing atmospheric turbulence through modeling dates back to the 1960's. For decades scientists have studied how to mitigate the effects of the atmospheric turbulence on communications and imaging systems, but learning how to use those properties of the atmosphere instead of mitigate them raise new challenges. Due to the fact that atmospheric turbulence is inherently a random process, it can be an ideal "key generator" for strongly secure information transfer. The purpose of this effort is to investigate to what extent the atmospheric turbulence can be exploited as a robust random number generator. In this paper we report the progress in characterizing the atmosphere and a random bitstream generator.

With the characteristics of high speed, heavy density and strong dependence on control equipment, safe high-speed railway operation are affected by various factors whose interaction relationships resulted in the complexity and high risks of high-speed railway. To adopt 'basic theory, key technology and simulation experiment' method, based on the "proactive safety" concept, a visual, intelligent and integrated monitoring and early-warning platform for safe high-speed railway operation was proposed in this paper, and was described from objectives, architecture and functions, to achieve comprehensive monitoring, safety warning, decision support and information transfer and sharing in the whole operation.

The effective detection and classification of damage in complex structures is an important task in the realization of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. Conventional information processing techniques utilize statistical modeling machinery that requires large amounts of 'training' data which is usually difficult to obtain, leading to compromised system performance under these data-scarce conditions. However, in many SHM scenarios a modest amount of data may be available from a few different but related experiments. In this paper, a new structural damage classification method is proposed that makes use of statistics from related task(s) to improve the classification performance on a data set with limited training examples. The approach is based on the framework of transfer learning (TL) which provides a mechanism for information transfer between related learning tasks. The utility of the proposed method is demonstrated for the classification of fatigue damage in an aluminum lug joint.

There has been growing interest in transmitting synchronization information over OTN. A novel scheme is proposed in the paper for this purpose. In order to support precise time synchronization information transfer over OTN, the proposed scheme designs the new overhead, equipment function architectures and interworking mechanism of synchronization message for OTN.

In this paper, it proposed a new environmental information acquisition system based on smart phones (Smartphone / Pocket PC) which combined with Geographic Information System (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), wireless communication technology in allusion to the current actual situation of environmental protection information acquisition in city environmental protection department. System architecture and working principle is analyzed, and it designs the main modules of the software and hardware. In addition, transport protocols and application of the implementation method have been discussed. Experiments show that the environmental information acquisition system has high precision, easy to use, information transfer with high efficiency and reliability. Not only have that, the paper also discusses the effective strategies of network transmission of data encryption and the image transmission rate improvement. In brief, it can effectively enhance the work efficiency of the city environmental protection department when they collect relevant information.

Although more information than ever before is available to support the intelligence analyst, the vast proliferation of types of data, devices, and protocols makes it increasingly difficult to ensure that the right information is received by the right people at the right time. Analysts struggle to balance information overload and an information vacuum depending on their location and available equipment. The ability to securely manage and deliver critical knowledge and actionable intelligence to the analyst regardless of device configuration, classification level or location in a reliable manner, would provide the analyst 24/7 access to useable information. There are several important components to an intuitive system that can provide timely information in a user-preferred manner. Two of these components: information presentation based on the user's preference and requirements and the identification of solutions to the problem of secure information delivery across multiple security levels, will be discussed in this paper.

Human-computer interfacing (HCI) describes a system or process with which two information processors, namely a human and a computer, attempt to exchange information. Computer-to-human (CtH) information transfer has been relatively effective through visual displays and sound devices. On the other hand, the human-tocomputer (HtC) interfacing avenue has yet to reach its full potential. For instance, the most common HtC communication means are the keyboard and mouse, which are already becoming a bottleneck in the effective transfer of information. The solution to the problem is the development of algorithms that allow the computer to understand human intentions based on their facial expressions, head motion patterns, and speech. In this work, we are investigating the feasibility of a stereo system to effectively determine the head position, including the head rotation angles, based on the detection of eye pupils.

Although more information than ever before is available to support the intelligence analyst, the vast proliferation of types of data, devices, and protocols makes it increasingly difficult to ensure that the right information is received by the right people at the right time. Analysts can rapidly shift between information overload and an information vacuum depending on their location and available equipment. The ability to securely manage and deliver critical knowledge and actionable intelligence to the analyst regardless of device configuration (bandwidth, processing speed, etc.), classification level or location in a reliable manner, would provide the analyst 24/7 access to useable information. There are several important components to an intuitive system that can provide timely information in a user-preferred manner. Two of these components: formatting information to accommodate the user's profiles and the identification of solutions to the problem of secure information delivery across multiple security levels, will be discussed in this paper.

Many signal processing issues in ultrasonic imaging can be viewed as attempts to focus signal energy while preserving the diagnostic information they contain. We have been developing a task-based ideal-observer approach to signal processing with the goal of better understanding the factors that influence the transfer of diagnostic information and improving signal processing algorithms for optimal transfer. We treat the scattering medium as a Gaussian random field with non-uniform variance that encodes the properties necessary for accurate task performance. Using measured pointspread functions for a given system we propagate the scattering statistics through to various stages of the acquisition process along with acquisition noise. In this work we focus on the role of beamforming in this process. We consider the efficiency of information transfer by analyzing the ideal observer acting on individual receive elements and then considering different strategies for preserving diagnostic information in beamformed echo signals. Optimal beamforming strategies suggested by the analysis are approximated by applying spatial filtering techniques to fixedfocus echo data. These results are compared with a standard delay-and-sum beamformer.

Information transfer by the signals of electromagnetic (EM) nature is considered. These signals are EM field and electric current. Contradictions and difficulties of information theory (IT) and signal theory (ST) are opened and their reasons are established. Exact, quantum, consideration of the signals of EM nature has shown, that the channels of information transfer are discrete on their physical nature. Transition to continuous channels is possible only in the context of approached, classical, representations of signals.

The mutual conversion between analog map and digital map is two main contents of the study on digital mapping, which is the production of paper map and spatial data. The visualization of spatial data is the common problem that the spatial data application system confronted, so it is practically meaningful to study the mutual conversion between analog map and digital map. The paper indicates the two processes of the decrease and increase of cartographic information content in two conversions, educes a cartographic information transfer model based on Shannon communication system model, and makes a deep quantitative and qualitative analysis on the decrease and increase of cartographic information in analog/digital conversion in terms of information theory and cartographic theory. The paper also shows that the accuracy of cartographic information should be improved in analog-digital conversion and the information content transformed should be increased to the fullest extent in digital-analog conversion. The corresponding disposal is respectively given for the two processes.

Serious gaps exist in identifying and prioritizing world-wide maritime threats. Maritime security and defense forces lack the capabilities and capacities to provide timely and accurate maritime situational awareness. They lack automatic tools to identify and prioritize relevant and actionable information to avoid information overload. The inability to acquire, fuse and manage disparate information limits timely cueing and focus. Information sharing is inhibited by technical, cultural and policy barriers. The Comprehensive Maritime Awareness Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration attempts to address these problems by developing a "culture of sharing" between international partners and the U.S. and between U.S. agencies. It is our vision that we will be able to automatically; 1) 100% of the maritime movements within an area of responsibility, 2) automatically identify threats, and 3) prioritize them for action. The over all objective is to improve maritime security by acquiring, integrating, and exchanging relevant maritime activity information, identifying possible threats using available information, and then focusing limited interdiction and inspection assets on the most probable threats.

We analyse the existent methods of cryptographic defence for the facsimile information transfer, consider their shortcomings and prove the necessity of better information protection degree. The method of information protection that is based on presentation of input data as images is proposed. We offer a new noise-immune algorithm for realization of this method which consists in transformation of an input frame by pixels transposition according to an entered key. At decoding mode the reverse transformation of image with the use of the same key is used. Practical realization of the given method takes into account noise in the transmission channels and information distortions by scanners, faxes and others like that. We show that the given influences are reduced to the transformation of the input image coordinates. We show the algorithm in detail and consider its basic steps. We show the possibility of the offered method by the means of the developed software. The realized algorithm corrects curvature of frames: turn, scaling, fallout of pixels and others like that. At low noise level (loss of pixel information less than 10 percents) it is possible to encode, transfer and decode any types of images and texts with 12-size font character. The software filters for information restore and noise removing allow to transfer fax data with 30 percents pixels loss at 18-size font text. This percent of data loss can be considerably increased by the use of the software character recognition block that can be realized on fuzzy-neural algorithms. Examples of encoding and decryption of images and texts are shown.

As the war on terrorism continues abroad, the need to maintain security at home remains a major concern. Every aspect of the security effort can benefit from rapid information transfer. Advances in Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) radios make them valuable in applications ranging from deployed sensors on unsecured borders, to organizing an emergency response team. Additionally, the reduced cost and availability of these transceivers make them a viable alternative to custom developments. As an example, COTS radios can serve as the communication element in Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) and munitions systems. Other applications include networked sonobuoys and networked RFID tracking. An additional advantage of COTS solutions is that they are available in a small form factor. They have extremely small mechanical outlines and are easily installed in systems requiring miniature designs and light payloads such as man-pack emplaced radios for the Army’s Future Combat System (FCS), as well as missions carried out by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). The availability of the COTS radios result in a low-cost alternative for communication links that are applicable to military and Homeland Defense projects. They provide an easily obtainable, low-cost radio alternative enabling quick design cycles to meet mission timeliness. COTS solutions eliminate months from a typical design cycle and have many features already implemented such as ad-hoc routing and encryption. This enables robust hardware to be fielded quickly when a new need arises. The focus of this paper is to identify different COTS modules that can efficiently and cost effectively be applied to these and other various applications.

Cochlear implants are used to restore functional hearing to people with profound deafness. Success, as measured by speech intelligibility scores, varies greatly amongst patients; a few receive almost no benefit while some are able to use a telephone under favourable listening conditions. Using a novel nerve model and the principles of suprathreshold stochastic resonance, we demonstrate that the rate of information transfer through a cochlear implant system can be globally maximized by the addition of noise. If this additional information could be used by the brain then it would lead to greater speech intelligibility, which is important given that the intelligibility of all cochlear implant recipients is poorer than that of people with normal hearing, particularly in adverse listening conditions.

SuprathresholdStochasticResonance(SSR)isarecentlydiscoveredformofstochasticresonancethatoccursinpopulationsof neuron-like devices. A key feature of SSR is that all devices in the population possess identical threshold nonlinearities.It has previously been shown that information transmission through such a system is optimized by nonzero internal noise.ItisalsoclearthatitisdesirableforthebraintotransferinformationinanenergyefÞcientmanner. Inthispaperwediscussthe energy efÞcient maximization of information transmission for the case of variable thresholds and constraints imposedon the energy available to the system, as well as minimization of energy for the case of a Þxed information rate. We aim todemonstrate that under certain conditions, the SSR conÞguration of all devices having identical thresholds is optimal. Thenovel feature of this work is that optimization is performed by Þnding the optimal threshold settings for the population ofdevices, which is equivalent to solving a noisy optimal quantization problem.Keywords: stochastic resonance, suprathreshold stochastic resonance, noise, neural coding, population codes, energyefÞcient coding, neurons, optimal quantization

The synchronization signal quality significance for want of to information transfer in synchronous telecommunications systems is shown. The existing mathematical models brief analysis of phase self-tuning systems and an error probability is indicated. The magnitude of a signal mismatch being in difference from known more full performance of a synchronization quality is offered to consideration. The mathematical expressions for bit error probability are obtained in view of a probable synchronization inaccuracy and gauss noise for two types of resolves.

In this paper, a review of the progress and initiatives in free space optical data transfer and communications at the Naval Research Laboratory will be presented. NRL has been investing in R & D in optical communications, both conventional, and advanced. Efforts include developing amplifiers and components for lasers to be used in long range one-way and retro-reflected links. NRL has been developing Multiple Quantum Well retromodulators for space-based and terrestrial-based applications as well. These include spacecraft-to-spacecraft data links for navigation and communications, intra-bus networks on spacecraft, and optical tagging. Terrestrial applications in the eyesafe regime have led to additional studies in how the atmosphere affects one-way and modulated retroreflected signals in the maritime environment, in particular. New results in retro-diversity experiments, over-the-water propagation studies, and work in navigation and communications for supporting multi-spacecraft missions will be discussed.

Avionics projection displays are entering production in advanced tactical aircraft. Early adopters of this technology in the avionics community used projection displays to replace or upgrade earlier units incorporating direct-view CRT or AMLCD devices. Typical motivation for these upgrades were the alleviation of performance, cost and display device availability concerns. In these systems, the upgraded (projection) displays were one-for-one form / fit replacements for the earlier units. As projection technology has matured, this situation has begun to evolve. The Lockheed-Martin F-35 is the first program in which the cockpit has been specifically designed to take advantage of one of the more unique capabilities of rear projection display technology, namely the ability to replace multiple small screens with a single large conformal viewing surface in the form of a panoramic display. Other programs are expected to follow, since the panoramic formats enable increased mission effectiveness, reduced cost and greater information transfer to the pilot. Some of the advantages and technical challenges associated with panoramic projection displays for avionics applications are described below.

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Encoding information in temporal chaotic signals and decoding it via chaotic synchronization between transmitter and receiver constitute nowadays a well-established technique. The method has been successfully implemented in electronic and optical systems. The latter, besides offering high speed of information transfer, provide a natural way of spatiotemporal communication through the use of broad chaotic optical wavefronts. An optical setup for spatiotemporal chaotic communications was recently proposed based on nonlinear ring cavities. In this article, we examine further in detail such a proposal, comparing two different encoding methods, namely injection and modulation. In the two cases, the correlation between input, transmitted, and output signals is estimated by means of measures taken from information theory. The influence of the message amplitude and parameter mismatch is analyzed.

The coherent information concept is used to analyze a variety of simple quantum systems. Coherent information was calculated for the information decay in a two-level atom in the presence of an external resonant field, for the information exchange between two coupled two-level atoms, and for the information transfer from a two-level atom to another atom and to a photon field. The coherent information is shown to be equal to zero for all full-measurement procedures, but it completely retains its original value for quantum duplication. Transmission of information from one open subsystem to another one in the entire closed system is analyzed to learn quantum information about the forbidden atomic transition via a dipole active transition of the same atom. It is argued that coherent information can be used effectively to quantify the information channels in physical systems where quantum coherence plays an important role.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Manufacturing is typically limited to fabrication of parts at a single location, with some sites assembling components from parts made elsewhere. The age of ubiquitous information transfer has made it conceivable to distribute manufacturing geographically, in order to provide access to unique manufacturing capabilities in a flexible manner. If the overhead of a distributed manufacturing network can be adequately reduced, it has the potential to make previously cost ineffective low volume and custom applications economically feasible. The MEMS-Exchange is an infrastructural service available to the domestic microelectromechanical systems community that provides an interface between MEMS designers and microfabrication facilities (academic, commercial, and government labs) which allows designers to develop and exercise custom process sequences in order to realize their devices.

Globalization can have a dramatic impact on manufacturing sector due to the fact that the majority of establishments in this industry are small to medium manufacturing companies. The role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the national economy has been emphasized all over the world, considering their contribution to the total manufacturing output and employment opportunities. The lack of marketing forces to regulate the operation of SMEs has been a fundamental cause of low efficiency for a long time. Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) is emerging as one of the most promising opportunities for shrinking the time delays in information transfer and reducing manufacturing costs. CIM is the architecture for integrating the engineering, marketing and manufacturing functions through information system technologies. SMEs in general have not made full use of new technologies although their investments in CIM technology tended to be wider in scale and scope. Most of the SMEs only focus on the short-term benefit, but overlook a long- term and fundamental development on applications of new technologies. With the help of suitable information systems, modularity and low cost solutions, SMEs can compete in the global market. Considering the importance of marketing, information system, modularity and low cost solutions in the implementation of CIM in SMEs, a model has been developed and studied with the help of an empirical study conducted with British SMEs to facilitate the adoption of CIM. Finally, a summary of findings and recommendations are presented.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

This paper describes a high-speed atmosphere laser communication system working in digital communication mode. It has many advantages: working for long distances, full duplex communication mode, transfer information with safety, confidentiality and anti-electromagnetic interference etc. It can be used singly, or be used to be the supplement part of the short-wave radio station and the satellite earth station information transfer system to construct high-speed laser communication network.

The MEMS Exchange is a DARPA funded research program to provide the domestic MEMS community with an interface between MEMS designers and microfabrication facilities to allows designer to develop and exercise custom process sequences. These process sequences may cross the boundaries separating fabrication facilities in order to maximize process and design freedom. Information transfer within the MEMS-Exchange fabrication network takes place almost exclusively via the Internet, so process information and metrology data is available to customers near real time. In order for the designers to utilize such a facility, basic operational information about the execution of a process sequence, such as price, turn-around time and quality must be available. Time stamps, process metrology and cost data are all captured as part of routine MEMS Exchange operation. Special operations instrumentation has also been implemented in a software tool called the Process Event Logger to measure process requirements in terms of machine and staff time, and to determine the costs of delayed information, materials and equipment availability. The initial data is presented which is intended to be used to develop a model for MEMS prototyping fabrication to determine expected cost, turn-around time and quality for custom process sequences.

Different kinds of acousto-optic imaging systems have been observed from the point of view of their capability to transmit and process information. The major attention have been paid to the system providing image projection. Acousto- optic light projection system represents a kind of light information systems in which two kinds of information are used: basic and auxiliary information. The auxiliary information contains data which are used in order to arrange the basic information in such form that it would require no additional decoding means. When such auxiliary data are used, the signal-to-noise ratio falls because each operation introduce its own noise. Several ways of additional information input have been considered from the point of view of the useful information transmission optimization. In order to perform this consideration, such standard information parameters as information capacity and information transmission capability have been assigned to the system as well as to its separate links. These parameters limitations providing by acousto-optic deflection and modulation units have been estimated. These limitations are connected with the certain contradiction between attempts to increase both information parameters simultaneously. This contradiction is connected with nature of acousto-optic interaction, however it differs from that taking place while optimizing the information parameters of acousto-optic spectrum analyzers. The results of information parameters estimation for the systems we had experimentally performed, have been stated and discussed.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

In this paper, the authors quantify how communication increases the effective range of detection of unattended ground sensors. Statistical analysis used to evaluate the probability of detection for multiple sensors using one, two, and infinite levels of cooperation. levels of cooperation are defined as the levels of communication between sensors. One level of cooperation means that one sensor passes its state information to several other sensors within a limited communication range, but this information is not passed beyond this range. Two levels of cooperation means that the state information received by this first set of sensors is relayed to another set of sensors within their communication range. Infinite levels of cooperation means that the state information is further percolated out to all sensors within a communicating group. With large numbers of sensors, every sensor will have state information about every other sensor regardless of communication range. With smaller numbers of sensors, isolated groups may form, thus lowering the probability of information transfer.

An optimal imaging system must fulfil its specifications without an expensive and undue quality. However the translation ofhigh-level human requirements into low-level system demands is not easy. As human specifications deal only with objects orscenes to be seen, the knowledge of these objects and its properties relevant to the information transfer through the imagingsystem is critical. As many imaging system quality criteria are based on the knowledge of second order statistical properties ofscenes or objects to be imaged, the goal of this paper is to show that it is possible to extract these properties from high-levelmission requirements.Keywords : Image Quality, Radiance Model, Power Spectral Density, Figures of Merit, Imaging System conceiving 1. INTRODUCTION The first natural step in the design of an imaging system is to define clearly the observation task it must fulfil. But there existssuch a variety in landscapes, that it is hardly thinkable to characterise an imaging system over a finite set of scenes. Thepurpose of this paper is to demonstrate that this problem can be overcome in the conceiving phase by the description of theobservation task in terms of the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the scene. We rely on the working of the human visualsystem to show that this quantity is much more predictable than its real-world counterpart. It is shown that specific PSDshapes are associated with the images our visual system is macic to see. Indeed, the great diversity found in natural images canbe summarised in a few simple models of this quantity. The pertinence of these models is verified over various real imagesand the experience of several authors. The importance of the knowledge of the scene PSD is recalled through classical figuresof merit. At last, we show that these model parameters depend on simple scene characteristics, which in turn come naturallyfrom a well-defined observation task.

This paper studies the transfer of information in pixelated display systems when there is a resolution mismatch between the input sensor video and the sampled displays, with the display having lower resolution than the input video. This scenario is increasingly likely to occur in military aircraft where the design and upgrade cycles of the sensors do not necessarily track the corresponding cycles for the displays. The major question discussed here is whether information that is critical to the successful operation of the aircraft can be preserved. In past work, the authors have derived the modulation transfer function for sampled- data displays and applied it to study the image quality and resolution of AMLCD cockpit displays. This analysis, like traditional MTF analysis for CRT systems, focused on the sine-wave modulation of the system. Such analysis shows the loss of information in the form of the sinusoidal components between the display and sensor Nyquist limits. In this paper, we show that even in such cases, the information of most interest to military users, namely the presence of single pixel point targets or single-pixel wide line targets, can be significantly preserved with the use of appropriate digital filtering.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The need to transmit images across tactical radio frequency (rf) links has been identified in army digitization applications. For example, military doctrine requires that tactical functions like identification of battlefield entities as potential targets and battle damage assessment be performed by the soldier. Currently, a key input to these processes is imagery. Therefore, the quality and timeliness of the image directly impact tactical performance. The military is investigating the employment of remote sensors and advanced communications systems to meet this requirement as part of its digitization effort. Army communications systems exist that partially meet this requirement. However, many existing solutions employ these legacy systems in the context of a point-to-point communications architecture. Solutions to the problem of transmitting images across a rf network have not been fully explored. The term network implies that the rf transmission media is common to and shared by multiple subscribers. It is a suite of capabilities that collectively manage media access and information transfer for its subscribers thus providing substantial improvements in effectiveness, efficiency, and robustness. This paper discusses the challenges of transmitting images using one army legacy communications system in a tactical rf network, presents a conceptual framework for attacking the problem, and discusses one solution.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Under funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for joint military and law enforcement technologies, demonstrations of secure information transfer in support of law enforcement and military operations other than war, using wireless and wired technology, were held in September 1996 at several locations in the United States. In this paper, the network architecture, protocols, and equipment supporting the demonstration's scenarios are presented, together with initial results, including lessons learned and desired system enhancements. Wireless networks of opportunity encompassed in-building (wireless-LAN), campus-wide (Metricom Inc.), metropolitan (AMPS cellular, CDPD), and national (one- and two-way satellite) systems. Evolving DARPA-sponsored packet radio technology was incorporated. All data was encrypted, using multilevel information system security initiative (MISSI)FORTEZZA technology, for carriage over unsecured and unclassified commercial networks. The identification and authentication process inherent in the security system permitted logging for database accesses and provided an audit trail useful in evidence gathering. Wireless and wireline communications support, to and between modeled crisis management centers, was demonstrated. Mechanisms for the guarded transport of data through the secret-high military tactical Internet were included, to support joint law enforcement and crisis management missions. A secure World Wide Web (WWW) browser forms the primary, user-friendly interface for information retrieval and submission. The WWW pages were structured to be sensitive to the bandwidth, error rate, and cost of the communications medium in use (e.g., the use of and resolution for graphical data). Both still and motion compressed video were demonstrated, along with secure voice transmission from laptop computers in the field. Issues of network bandwidth, airtime costs, and deployment status are discussed.

Software Radio Technology and Applications to Law Enforcement Joseph Mitola ifi The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA 22102 (jmito1amitre.org) Law enforcement use of radio includes the rapid creation of networks for the dozens of law enforcement organizations whocome together in situations as diverse as the TWA 800 disaster in New York or the SunFest celebration in Palm Beach'. Thesoftware radio is a proven technology for rapidly building such interoperable networks, including seamless bridging acrosssub-networks ofdifferent frequency bands, channel modulations and information formats. In addition, law enforcement mustmanage the costs of related radio base station infrastructure, mobile units and handsets. The software radio is a collection ofengineering techniques for creating radio infrastructure that can be programmed for new standards and that can be dynaini-cally updated with new software personalities even "over the air", reducing the need to purchase new hardware to remaincurrent with emerging radio interface standards. Although relatively expensive today, continuing DoD, federal and commer-cial investment in software radio technology will bring products within the reach of law enforcement applications within thenext few years. The Modular Multifunction Information Transfer Systems (MMITS) Forum provides further impetus for costreductions through the market efficiencies of open architecture. This article summarizes software radio technology and keytrends in the marketplace including the progress of the MMITS forum. Expanded law enforcement participation in this fo-rum would accelerate the availability of low cost products for law enforcement.Keywords: Software radio, multiband, multimode, digital signal processing, MM[TS forum, SPEAKeasy, digital radio

Image-intensification has been improved constantly by enhancing the gains of image-intensification more and more, to achieve more sensitive imaging at low light-level. When the sensitivity needs for night vision have been satisfied, further improvement should be the enhancement of night vision image information quantity. On the basis of analysis of information transfer of an image-intensification system, this paper shows that the image transfer from the output screen of the intensifier to eye makes up limitation to the whole system information quantity, and proposes that color image-intensification utilizing spectral gate and color assignment, in the case of that the gain redundancy of image intensifier can compensate adequately spectral gate attenuation, will realize larger information quantity than conventional image-intensification. Then, give out a color image-intensifier scheme combining time-shared photocathode and spatial multiplexed screen.

In pattern transfer, as in any other method of information transfer, the output is usually a nonlinear function of the input. Lithography at the limit of resolution is an excellent object to demonstrate this. Printing structures smaller than 300 nm with a 4 X 0.5NA tool, the derivative of the pattern transfer function, or the ratio of pattern size variations on the wafer over pattern size variations at the mask level, is not a 4:1, as one would expect from the demagnification of the step and scan tool. In other words, below 300 nm, mask linewidth variations (for example butting errors of the mask writing tool) print at about twice their expected size. In the concept of the pattern transfer function, a mask defect is viewed as a localized variation in the linewidth of the mask. The printing of a mask defect therefore depends strongly on the slope of the pattern transfer function. Defects smaller than 200 nm on the mask already cause a significant linewidth variation on the wafer, if those defects are in a regular array of 250 nm lines/300 nm spaces or in 300 nm contact holes. Lithogrpahy in a manufacturing environment means to deliver the designed pattern over large areas using real masks. We discuss our strategies of how we try to minimize the influence of mask irregularities in 0.25 micrometers lithography for the development of the 256M DRAM. Although certain improvements are possible, the nonlinearity of the pattern transfer function at low k obviously demands extremely tight mask specifications beyond the limits of current tools and processes.

Under the auspices of a joint NSF/DOE grant for science and mathematics, the Electrical Engineering Department of the Engineering School at Western New England College developed a program of instruction in optics and optical applications for local Junior High School students. College level juniors and professors in the electrical engineering department, after the juniors had taken a one semester introductory course in optics and electro-optics, served as instructors in teaching and laboratory instruction in such diverse areas as solar cells/light detection, light sources, simple optics, optical fibers, liquid crystals, and lasers. Concepts such as seismic monitoring, Fourier transforms, power generation, information transfer, and many other applications were explained at level by the college students to the junior high school students with great effectiveness. Students at the lower level caught the enthusiasm of those at the upper level and learned with retention. Seven years into the program, the pros and cons are presented, the now- college bound students and their observations are detailed, and the learning experience for all is assessed, with scenarios for alternate programs suggested.

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficiency of image delivery, the effectiveness of image information transfer, and the timeliness of clinical actions in a medical intensive care unit (MICU) using either conventional screen-film imaging (SF-HC), computed radiography (CR-HC) or a CR based PACS. When the CR based PACS was in use, images could be viewed in the MICU on digital workstation (CR-WS) or in the radiology department as laser printed hard copy (CR-HC). Data were collected by daily interviews with the house-staff, by monitoring computer log-ons and other time stamped activities, and by observing film viewing times in the radiology department with surveillance cameras. The time at which image information was made available to the MICU physicians was decreased during the CR-PACS period as compared with either the SF-HC periods or the CR-HC periods but the image information was not accessed more quickly by the clinical staff. However, the time required to perform image related clinical actions for pulmonary and pleural problems was decreased when images were viewed on the workstation.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Waveguide holographic elements are formed by taking one of both the recording beams as guided beams. Such waveguide HOEs are useful for making a compact holocamera, HOE based instrumentation, information transfer and optical interconnects. The present paper reports the design and fabrication of waveguide HOEs for (a) transfer of 2D information from one end of a glass plate to its other end and (b) for making optical interconnects.

Advanced visual information retrieval systems supporting both video and images need to have flexible system design so that their system configurations can easily be enhanced. It is therefore desirable to separate the features of a central system into three parts: storage servers, communication servers, and a back-end network that combines these. In this architecture, unscheduled arrivals of data blocks at a back-end network cause two problems: unacceptable fluctuation of video frames and overly long delays of image transfer. To solve these problems, we have designed a new multimedia integrated switching system (MISS) that uses a fully connected crossbar switch to combine servers. MISS treats a time interval of a few hundred microseconds (called a `time-slot') as the basic unit of data block transfer, and allocates appropriate time-slots to all transfer requests in order to simultaneously meet the requirements for each kind of visual information transfer. According to simulation results and estimates based on queuing theory, MISS greatly reduces video frame fluctuation and halves the average image transfer delay. These effects have been confirmed in an experimental visual communication system built around MISS. This system supports JPEG compressed video and images, and six terminals can simultaneously retrieve visual information through an FDDI network.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

An account is given of a Visibility Modeling Tool (VMT) which furnishes a crew-station designer with the means to assess configurational tradeoffs, with a view to the impact of various options on the unambiguous access of information to the pilot. The interactive interface of the VMT allows the manipulation of cockpit geometry, ambient lighting, pilot ergonomics, and the displayed symbology. Performance data can be displayed in the form of 3D contours into the crewstation graphic model, thereby yielding an indication of the operator's visual capabilities.

This paper develops a qualitative reasoning methodology for problem solving at multiple levels of abstraction. The goal is to address two important control issues in the behavior generation process: (i) the selection problem, which deals with the right level of detail to solve a problem, and (ii) the efficiency problem, which deals with information transfer from higher levels of abstraction to focus problem solving at more detailed levels. The CMOS digital circuit domain is used as a test bed to illustrate the methodologies developed.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The high frequency of optical radiation permits high data rate communications in the megahertz (MHz) regime. To the best of our knowledge, no unguided, underwater high data rate communications system has been reported. In this research, we investigate the feasibility of a short range, high data rate underwater laser communications system. The present study considers two independent systems that are separated by several attenuation lengths with regard to signal acquisition, communications channel lock, and information transfer. System self-alignment of the transmitter onto the receiver is demonstrated in a small laboratory water tank. Successful transmission of light modulated at MHz rates is demonstrated in a pool over an extended water path.

A system model for analyzing degradation in the image quality of a radiograph introduced by a film digitizer is presented. The analysis is an extension of the screen-film model of Shaw and VanMetter (SPIE 454, 128-141(1984)). By combining the screen-film characteristics for specific exam types with the properties (e.g., MTF and NPS) of a particular scanner design, the information transfer of the whole digital system can be determined. As an example, the performance of two typical film digitizers, a CCD-based scanner and a laser-based scanner, are evaluated and compared. Image quality descriptors, such as DQE and NEQ as well as equivalent bandwidth and system aperture, are used for the evaluation. By incorporating the human observer's threshold response to changes in noise levels (just noticeable differences), a criterion for negligible loss of image information can be established. This can be very useful for system optimization and determination of design tradeoffs.

Concurrent computing systems are effective only if the data rates to and from processing elements are sufficient to keep the processing elements occupied. The inherent parallelism of optics makes it a natural candidate for information transfer while the existing technology of silicon very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits is the most suitable for performing computational tasks. In this paper we present the use of fixed optical interconnects for information transfer in electronic based concurrent computing systems. This capability is based on the development of electrically addressable spatial light modulators (SLM's) fabricated as part of integrated circuit devices.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The Navy's commitment to the application of data bus technology to shipboard internal communication stems from the necessity ofreducing cable congestion and weight. The Shipboard Data Multiplex System is a general purpose data bus system intended to take the placeof most of the point -to -point cabling and associated hardware presently used for information transfer aboard ships of the Fleet. It uses bothfrequency and time multiplexing of a two -level set of redundant interconnections to provide a highly reliable data bus capable of distributingall forms of periodic and aperiodic signals.We report here a demonstration of the feasibility of substituting fiber optics for the coaxial cable presently used by this system. Primaryconcerns were whether the interface hardware could handle the FDM signals on the bus without excessive distortion and degradation of theirsignal to noise ratios.This paper describes methods used to demonstrate that the intermodulation distortion and signal -to -noise ratio requirements of theSDMS can be met by the necessary interface components.IntroductionThis paper reports the first phase of an effort to demonstrate and evaluate the feasibility of applying fiber optics technology to the ad-vanced development model of the Shipboard Data Multiplex System (SDMS), a multiterminal multiplexing (data bus) system. SDMS is in-tended to serve as a general purpose information transfer system taking the place of most of the point -to -point cabling and associated hard-ware presently used for information transfer aboard naval ships.1 , 2 It has been built by the Autonetics Division of Rockwell Internationalunder contract to the Naval Sea Systems Command. This new system uses frequency and time multiplexing of a two -level set of redundantinterconnections to provide higher reliability and survivability with lower weight than present point -to -point systems. It is potentially capableof distributing throughout a ship all forms of periodic and aperiodic signals, either analog or digital.Two -level multiplexing, wherein user access is provided through remote multiplexers (RMs) which transfer information to area multi-plexers (AMs) and thence to a common data bus, allows many access points to be serviced without the attenuation that would result fromseparate connections to a common data bus. The first stage of multiplexing, consisting primarily of pulse coding in the RMs, is followed bytime multiplex transmission to the AMs at base band. Each AM serves up to eight RMs on a direct basis. Each dual redundant RM is

For the past ten years Ontario Hydro has used mobile infrared thermographic equipment as an integral part of its substation maintenance program. Because of the geographic size of the Province of Ontario, the frequency of inspection required, and the capital cost of the inspection equipment, each region carries out its own thermographic inspection using mobile equipment provided by Head Office. In order to provide a high level of diagnostics and information transfer, the latest generation of van has been outfitted with a thermal imager which is not gas or nitrogen cooled, a video camera, computer, printer and custom analysis software. Both the thermal and video images are digitized, redisplayed and analyzed by the computer, with only supervisory input from the operator. A report, complete with images, is automatically printed in the van and as well, a file is created which is sent to the Head Office for review, storage, and inclusion into a maintenance data-base. The use of automatic data collection and expert-system based software effectively leads the part-time operators through the complex operation of the equipment, radiometric quantification, and common interpretation of the thermal imagery.

Over several hundred years of refinement, the graphic arts industry has become skilled in producing images, in the form of printed pages, that maximize both esthetics and information content. Skills of graphic arts practitioners include typeface design; selection of proper combinations of typefaces with proper character spacing for maximum readability; balancing of page components and layout for best economical information transfer; and optimizing picture reproduction techniques consistent with mechanical printing processes.