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As there is an increasing need for an efficient solver of combinatorial optimization problems, much interest is paid to the Ising machine, which is a novel physics-driven computing system composed of coupled oscillators mimicking the dynamics of the system of coupled electronic spins. In this work, we propose an energy-efficient nano-oscillator, called OTSNO, which is composed of an Ovonic Threshold Switch (OTS) and an electrical resistor. We demonstrate that the OTSNO shows the synchronization behavior, an essential property for the realization of an Ising machine. Furthermore, we have discovered that the capacitive coupling is advantageous over the resistive coupling for the hardware implementation of an Ising solver by providing a larger margin of the variations of components. Finally, we implement an Ising machine composed of capacitively-coupled OTSNOs to demonstrate that the solution to a 14-node MaxCut problem can be obtained in 40 µs while consuming no more than 2.3 µJ of energy. Compared to a previous hardware implementation of the phase-transition nano-oscillator (PTNO)-based Ising machine, the OTSNO-based Ising machine in this work shows the performance of the increased speed by more than one order while consuming less energy by about an order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This piece explores an early example of transphobic algorithmic bias in an electronic computing system in the UK government, which was designed to collect taxes and apportion welfare state benefits. It argues that the logic of computation has long been used to obfuscate political decisions and launder government disdain for the rights and needs of marginalized groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By going through a history of electronic visuality, from fluorescence glows in European laboratories in the nineteenth century to the computer screen in the twentieth century, this paper discusses technical image operations in the interaction between media machines and media people. Examining this set of apparatus from the evolution of a neglected technical object – the vacuum tube, it traces the history of the screen and the temporal-spatial composition of electronic graphics in television, radar, and early computer systems. In doing so, it outlines the entangled history of analog and digital displays and demonstrates the impossibility of neglecting the role of the human observer in the technical invention of visuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, the electronic system has fallen short of providing the needed computation speed. It is believed that silicon-based optoelectronic computation may be a solution, where Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI)-based matrix computation is the key due to its advantages of simple implementation and easy integration on a silicon wafer, but one of the concerns is the precision of the MZI method in the actual computation. This paper will identify the main hardware error sources of MZI-based matrix computation, summarize the available hardware error correction methods from the perspective of the entire MZI meshes and a single MZI device, and propose a new architecture that will largely improve the precision of MZI-based matrix computation without increasing the size of the MZI's mesh, which may lead to a fast and accurate optoelectronic computing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Products and assets are becoming increasingly "smart", e.g., mechatronic, electronic, or cyber-physical. In the lack of fully reliable wireless solutions, extensive wiring and wire bundling into wire harnesses are needed. This has manufacturing implications, leading to increasingly complex wire harness assembly processes, where numerous components, connectors, and cables are assembled, connecting critical and non-critical electric and electronic systems in smart products and assets. Thus, wire harnesses demand is rapidly rising in most industries, requiring human or robotic work. Often, required work tasks are repetitive and physically demanding, while still needing people for quality reasons. An attractive solution would therefore be humans collaborating with robots. Unfortunately, there are very few scientific studies on automation solutions using collaborative robots (cobots) for wire harness assembly process tasks to increase process productivity and improve work ergonomics. Furthermore, wire harness assembly process tasks are presently carried out 90% manually in this industry, causing serious ergonomic problems for assembly workers who perform such tasks daily. The challenge is reducing the ergonomic risks currently present in many established wire harness assembly processes while improving production time and quality. This paper presents an early prototype and simulation to integrate a cobot into a wire harness assembly process, primarily for work ergonomic improvements. The use of a cobot is specifically proposed to reduce ergonomic risks for wire harness assembly workers. Two methodologies: RULA and JSI were used to evaluate the ergonomics of the task of cable tie collocation. The real-world case study results illustrate the validation of a cobot which significantly reduced non-ergonomic postures in the task of placing cable ties in the wire harnesses assembly process studied. An ergonomic analysis without the cobot (the actual process) was conducted, based on RULA and JSI methodologies, presenting the highest possible scores in both evaluations, which calls for urgent changes in the current wire harness assembly process task studied. Then, the same analysis was performed with the cobot, obtaining significant reductions in the ergonomic risks of the task at hand to acceptable values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increase in the number of urban vehicles and the irregular driving behavior of drivers, urban accidents frequently occur, causing serious casualties and economic losses. Active vehicle safety systems can monitor vehicle status and driver status online in real time. Computer vision technology simulates biological vision and can analyze, identify, detect, and track the data and information in the captured images. In terms of driving accident warning and vehicle status warning, the vehicle active safety system has the potential to enhance the driver's ability to detect abnormal situations, prolong the processing time, and reduce the risk of safety accidents. In this paper, an active safety system is developed according to the existing vehicle electronic system framework, and the early warning decision is made by evaluating the relationship between the minimum early warning distance and the actual vehicle distance, speed, and other factors. In this paper, the kinematics model established by the vehicle active safety early warning system is designed. The results found that, within 400 ms of the driver's judgment time, for the driver with the reaction time of 0.6 s and 0.9 s, the following distance of 20 m does not constitute a safety threat and no braking operation is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: The teaching-learning based optimization (TLBO) algorithm is a recently developed algorithm. The proposed work presents a design of a master-slave TLBO algorithm. OBJECTIVES: This research aims to design a master-slave TLBO algorithm to improve its performance and system utilization for CEC2006 single-objective benchmark functions. METHODS: The proposed approach implemented using OpenMP and CUDA C, a hybrid programming approach to enhance the utilization of the system's computational resources. The device utilization and performance of the proposed approach evaluated using CEC2006 benchmark functions. RESULTS: The proposed approach obtains best results in significantly reduced time for CEC2006 benchmark functions. The maximum speed-up achieved is 30.14X. The average GPGPU utilization is 90% and the average utilization of logical processors is more than 90%. CONCLUSION: The master-slave TLBO algorithm improves the utilization of computational resources significantly and obtains the best results for CEC2006 benchmark functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most parts of present computer systems are made of volatile devices, and the power to supply them to avoid information loss causes huge energy losses. We can eliminate this meaningless energy loss by utilizing the non-volatile function of advanced spin-transfer torque magnetoresistive randomaccess memory (STT-MRAM) technology and create a new type of computer, i.e., normally off computers. Critical tasks to achieve normally off computers are implementations of STT-MRAM technologies in the main memory and low-level cache memories. STT-MRAM technology for applications to the main memory has been successfully developed by using perpendicular STTMRAMs, and faster STT-MRAM technologies for applications to the cache memory are now being developed. The present status of STT-MRAMs and challenges that remain for normally off computers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software developers face a constant barrage of innovations designed to improve the development environment. Yet stress/strain among software developers has been steadily increasing and is at an all-time high, while their productivity is often questioned. Why, if these innovations are meant to improve the environment, are developers more stressed and less productive than they should be? Using a combination of cognitive style and person-environment fit theories as the theoretical lens. this study examines one potential source of stress/strain and productivity impediment among software developers. Specifically, this paper examines the fit between the preferred cognitive style of a software developer and his or her perception of the cognitive style required by the job environment, and the effect of that fit on stress/strain and performance. Data collected from a field study of 123 (object-oriented) software developers suggest that performance decreases and stress increases as this gap between cognitive styles becomes wider. Using surface response methodology, the precise fit relationship is modeled. The interaction of the developer and the environment provides explanatory power above and beyond either of the factors separately, suggesting that studies examining strain and performance of developers should explicitly consider and measure the cognitive style fit between the software developer and the software development environment. In practice, managers can use the results to help recognize misfit, its consequences, and the appropriate interventions (such as training or person/task matching). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to visualize the commognitive processes in computer-supported one-to-one teaching and learning. By commognitive processes we mean cognitive processes and interpersonal communication. A 6-years mathematics teacher and a 15-year-old boy in China, who have done computer-supported one-to-one tutoring, were chosen to be the samples. We collected four computer-supported one-to-one tutoring videos (60–90 min) about one chapter of mathematical set knowledge between one teacher and one student, and 30 min interview video from the teacher. Based on Bloom's cognitive classification theory and commognition theory, we develop a commognitive classification framework, then encode and visualize the videos. We found that mathematics commognition processes can be divided into six levels and classified into three types: teacher-lead, student-lead, and teacher-student comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an exploratory model of the evolution of computers systems in organizations, the authors interviewed HR computer system people in ten Fortune 500 firms considered leaders in HR computer use. Generalizable measures of growth in computer use and related changes in HR department structure, strategy, and personnel were found. These measures were used to identify three stages of growth in computer use: threshold, growth, and consolidation/strategic expansion, In the latter two stages, differences were found among firms in the way computer use evolved. These differences appeared closely related to the company's choice of technology and the centralization of the firm's key HR decision makers. The implications of the exploratory model and findings for practice and future research are discussed. INSETS: Figure 2: Dimensions of evolving HR computer use.;Figure 3: Growth stage of HR computer use: Two profiles.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the development of interactive marketing models than can be used for decision making. The author focuses on identifying the reasons why interactive models supported by computer systems are practical during the 1970s. Costs related to the instillation and use of interactive computer models, including the cost of interface equipment, telephone line use, and software, are discussed as disadvantage to the system. Strategic marketing models utilized by the Coca-Cola Company are also mentioned.

The article reviews several computer software programs including the SPSS/PC, BMDPC and SAS.

The article reports on the revolution of computers. The various changes in the costs and sizes of computer hardware continue to decrease from time to time. These changes resulted to several classifications of computers such as mini, micro, small and large computers. It is believed that the developments of computers will soon overflow in the marketplace. A new society with full access to information was also believed to emerge in the near future. However, certain problems were also predicted to occur. Among these are the dreariness of the modern society and its implications to education.

The use of terminals as an aid for a variety of organizational processes is growing. This study suggests some simple techniques and guidelines for assigning the proper number of terminals. An important finding has to do with the sensitivity of the operation cost to the number of terminals; operation cost is much more sensitive to a lack of, rather than a surplus of terminals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A computerised system has recently become available to assist in occlusal analysis. An evaluation of this system is described, with particular emphasis on the measurement of bite force. A hand-held testing device and a Nene universal testing machine were used to apply force. A limited clinical trial was carried out on two volunteers with known occlusal interferences present. It was concluded that the system does not measure bite force accurately, but is useful as a clinical tool if used with care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common problem of cellular manufacturing systems is the formation of part families and machine cells. The total number of inter- and intracellular movements have to be minimized because both contribute to lower productivity. Nevertheless, we show here that intracellular movements are not so important compared with the intercellular movements. We give an efficient algorithm based on minimizing the total intercellular movements, pointing out the importance of being very careful in the selection of the key workstation of each cell. The algorithm has been tested with problems selected from the literature. The results show that in all cases we get a higher utilization rate and lower central processing unit times that other algorithms published in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the effects of EDP on clerical workers in large banks, insurance firms, and public utilities. Computer installation produces a need for job retraining and causes more transfers at the same geographical location. Concerning five additional questions investigated, the authors report that EDP effects on clerical workers are minimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge-based engineering systems are founded upon integration of knowledge into computer systems and are one of the core requirements for the future Industry 4.0. This paper presents a system called smart innovation engineering (SIE) capable of facilitating product innovation process semi-automatically. It enhances decision-making processes using the explicit knowledge of formal decision events. The SIE system carries the promise to support the innovation processes of manufactured products in a quick and efficient way. It stores and reuses past decisional events or sets of experiences related to innovation issues, which significantly enhances innovation progression. The analysis of basic concepts and implementation method proves that SIE system is an advanced form of cyber physical systems. It is flexible, systematic, fast, and supports customization. It can play a vital role toward Industry 4.0 development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the concept of Simultaneous Localization and Multi-Mapping (SLAMM). It is a system that ensures continuous mapping and information preservation despite failures in tracking due to corrupted frames or sensor’s malfunction; making it suitable for real-world applications. It works with single or multiple robots. In a single robot scenario the algorithm generates a new map at the time of tracking failure, and later it merges maps at the event of loop closure. Similarly, maps generated from multiple robots are merged without prior knowledge of their relative poses; which makes this algorithm flexible. The system works in real time at frame-rate speed. The proposed approach was tested on the KITTI and TUM RGB-D public datasets and it showed superior results compared to the state-of-the-arts in calibrated visual monocular keyframe-based SLAM. The mean tracking time is around 22 milliseconds. The initialization is twice as fast as it is in ORB-SLAM, and the retrieved map can reach up to 90 percent more in terms of information preservation depending on tracking loss and loop closure events. For the benefit of the community, the source code along with a framework to be run with Bebop drone are made available at . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computers are now able to automatically generate metaphors, but some automatically generated metaphors are more well received than others. In this article, we showed participants a series of “A is B” type metaphors that were either generated by humans or taken from the Twitter account “MetaphorIsMyBusiness” (@MetaphorMagnet), which is linked to a fully automated metaphor generator. We used these metaphors to assess linguistic factors that drive metaphor appreciation and understanding, including the role of novelty, word frequency, concreteness, and emotional valence of the topic and vehicle terms. We additionally assessed how these metaphors were understood in three languages, including English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese, and whether participants thought they had been generated by a human or a computer. We found that meaningfulness, appreciation, speed in finding meaning, and humanness ratings were reliably correlated with each other in all three languages, which we interpret to indicate a more general property of “metaphor quality.” We furthermore found that in all three languages, conventional metaphors and those that contained an “optimal” (intermediate) degree of novelty were more likely to be perceived to be of higher quality than those that were extremely creative. Further analysis of the English data alone revealed that those metaphors that contained negatively valenced vehicle words and infrequent vehicle terms (in comparison with the topic terms) were more likely to be considered high-quality metaphors. We discuss the implications of these findings for the (improvement of) automatic generation of metaphor by computers, for the persuasive function of metaphor, and for theories of metaphor understanding more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attribute-based Encryption (ABE) is a new and promising public key encryption that allows fine-grained authorization on data based on user attributes. Such property is favorable for multiple applications that require encrypted storage or access control on data, in particular: eHealth applications. However, ABE schemes are known not to be efficient in the encryption phase because ciphertext size and the time required to encrypt grow with the complexity of the access policy. Such drawback is critical in the context of pervasive computing, for instance, in the Internet of Things, where data producers are usually resource-constrained devices, e.g. smart phones or sensing platforms. In this work, we propose OEABE standing for Outsourcing mechanism for the Encryption of Ciphertext-Policy ABE (CP-ABE). We show how a user can offload expensive operations of CP-ABE encryption to a semi-trusted party in a secure manner. Our proposed mechanism requires only one exponentiation on resource-constrained devices. We provide also an informal security analysis of possible attacks from a semi-honest adversary against the proposed solution. To demonstrate the performance gains of our mechanism, we first conducted a performance estimation on an emulated Wismote sensor platform. Then, we implemented our proposal and did comparison to an existing implementation of CP-ABE on a laptop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing use of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) in myriad applications, ensuring the integrity of the GNSS signals has become of paramount importance. Radio frequency interference (RFI), either nonintentional or intentional (jamming), is a major concern for GNSS operators. We propose a time–frequency and statistical inference technique based approach for detecting various RFI types with varying bandwidths. The pseudo Wigner–Ville distribution is used to estimate the time-varying instantaneous frequency (IF) of the received GNSS signals and a known interference-free signal. A two-population F-test is then applied to the two variances of the IF estimates to detect the presence of interference. We theoretically derive the parameters in the distribution function of the test statistic under the null hypothesis, which are then used to accurately determine the detection threshold for a given fixed significance level. Extensive simulations are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method for detecting several types of interference. For a given sample size and significance level, the proposed approach improves the detection performance by up to 4 and 3 dB for narrowband and wideband interferences, respectively, without incurring additional computational complexity when compared with other approaches reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model-based testing is a promising approach for increasing the efficiency of the testing process and for improving software quality. It has been employed in the industry for more than a decade. Nevertheless, there are still challenges regarding its application in different domains. Some of these challenges are general, while some others are domain-specific. In this paper, we explain our experiences in enhancing model-based testing for its adoption in the consumer electronics domain, in particular for Digital TV systems. We applied the so-called industry-as-laboratory approach to define/refine research problems and evaluate our research results. We summarize these results and provide an evaluation of relevant research problems for our context. We observed that the industry-as-laboratory approach is highly effective for industry-academia collaboration and technology transfer in the scope of model-based software testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To lower on-chip SRAM area overhead for chip multiprocessors (CMPs), this work treats a novel directory design which compresses present-bit vectors (PVs) by dropping “runs of zeros” commonly existing and lets PVs be transformed to their variations after sharer relinquishment for hashing alternative table sets to lift table utilization. Featured with relinquishment c oherence and compressed sharer t racking (ReCoST), the proposed design attains superior directory efficiency and maintains “exact” directory representations, as a result of dropping abound long runs of zeros present in PVs. According to full-system simulation using gem5 for a range of core counts under PARSEC benchmarks, ReCoST is found to enjoy 3.21 $\times$ (or 2.64$\times$ ) more efficiency in directory storage than conventional bit-tracking directories (or the best directory known so far, called SCD) for a 64-core CMP under monotasking (or multitasking) workloads while ensuring execution slowdowns to stay within 2.4 percent (or 3.3 percent). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an introduction to the special issue of the 9th International Conference on Software and Systems Process (ICSSP) 2016, which was held in Austin, Texas, from May 14 to 15, 2016. It is noted that ICSSP 2016 panel entitled "Process in Action" was moderated by professor Leon Osterweil to discuss current challenges in process evolution and application in real-world.