Multi-threshold Approach for License Plate Recognition System

The objective of this paper is to propose an adaptive multi threshold for image segmentation precisely in object detection. Due to the different types of license plates being used, the requirement of an automatic LPR is rather different for each country. The proposed technique is applied on Malaysian LPR application. It is based on Multi Layer Perceptron trained by back propagation. The proposed adaptive threshold is introduced to find the optimum threshold values. The technique relies on the peak value from the graph of the number object versus specific range of threshold values. The proposed approach has improved the overall performance compared to current optimal threshold techniques. Further improvement on this method is in progress to accommodate real time system specification.

Enhancing Performance of Bluetooth Piconets Using Priority Scheduling and Exponential Back-Off Mechanism

Bluetooth is a personal wireless communication technology and is being applied in many scenarios. It is an emerging standard for short range, low cost, low power wireless access technology. Current existing MAC (Medium Access Control) scheduling schemes only provide best-effort service for all masterslave connections. It is very challenging to provide QoS (Quality of Service) support for different connections due to the feature of Master Driven TDD (Time Division Duplex). However, there is no solution available to support both delay and bandwidth guarantees required by real time applications. This paper addresses the issue of how to enhance QoS support in a Bluetooth piconet. The Bluetooth specification proposes a Round Robin scheduler as possible solution for scheduling the transmissions in a Bluetooth Piconet. We propose an algorithm which will reduce the bandwidth waste and enhance the efficiency of network. We define token counters to estimate traffic of real-time slaves. To increase bandwidth utilization, a back-off mechanism is then presented for best-effort slaves to decrease the frequency of polling idle slaves. Simulation results demonstrate that our scheme achieves better performance over the Round Robin scheduling.

Real Time Multi-Sensory Force Sensing Mat for Sports Biomechanics and Human Gait Analysis

This paper presents a real time force sensing instrument that is designed for human gait analysis purposes. It is capable of recording and monitoring ground reaction forces exerted by human foot during various activities such as walking, running and jumping in real time. In overall, force sensing mat mainly consists of three elements: the force sensing mat, signal conditioning circuit and data acquisition device. Force sensing mat is the mat that contains an array of force sensing elements. To control and process the incoming signal from the force sensing mat, Force-Logger and Force-Reloader are developed using National Instrument Labview. This paper describes the architecture of the force sensing mat, signal conditioning circuit and the real time streaming of the incoming data from the force sensing mat. Additionally, a preliminary experiment dataset is presented in this paper.

Architecture Integrating Wireless Body Area Networks with Web Services for Ubiquitous Healthcare Service Provisioning

Recent advancements in sensor technologies and Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) have led to the development of cost-effective healthcare devices which can be used to monitor and analyse a person-s physiological parameters from remote locations. These advancements provides a unique opportunity to overcome current healthcare challenges of low quality service provisioning, lack of easy accessibility to service varieties, high costs of services and increasing population of the elderly experienced globally. This paper reports on a prototype implementation of an architecture that seamlessly integrates Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) with Web services (WS) to proactively collect physiological data of remote patients to recommend diagnostic services. Technologies based upon WBAN and WS can provide ubiquitous accessibility to a variety of services by allowing distributed healthcare resources to be massively reused to provide cost-effective services without individuals physically moving to the locations of those resources. In addition, these technologies can reduce costs of healthcare services by allowing individuals to access services to support their healthcare. The prototype uses WBAN body sensors implemented on arduino fio platforms to be worn by the patient and an android smart phone as a personal server. The physiological data are collected and uploaded through GPRS/internet to the Medical Health Server (MHS) to be analysed. The prototype monitors the activities, location and physiological parameters such as SpO2 and Heart Rate of the elderly and patients in rehabilitation. Medical practitioners would have real time access to the uploaded information through a web application.

Hot-Spot Blob Merging for Real-Time Image Segmentation

One of the major, difficult tasks in automated video surveillance is the segmentation of relevant objects in the scene. Current implementations often yield inconsistent results on average from frame to frame when trying to differentiate partly occluding objects. This paper presents an efficient block-based segmentation algorithm which is capable of separating partly occluding objects and detecting shadows. It has been proven to perform in real time with a maximum duration of 47.48 ms per frame (for 8x8 blocks on a 720x576 image) with a true positive rate of 89.2%. The flexible structure of the algorithm enables adaptations and improvements with little effort. Most of the parameters correspond to relative differences between quantities extracted from the image and should therefore not depend on scene and lighting conditions. Thus presenting a performance oriented segmentation algorithm which is applicable in all critical real time scenarios.

An Analysis of Real-Time Distributed System under Different Priority Policies

A real time distributed computing has heterogeneously networked computers to solve a single problem. So coordination of activities among computers is a complex task and deadlines make more complex. The performances depend on many factors such as traffic workloads, database system architecture, underlying processors, disks speeds, etc. Simulation study have been performed to analyze the performance under different transaction scheduling: different workloads, arrival rate, priority policies, altering slack factors and Preemptive Policy. The performance metric of the experiments is missed percent that is the percentage of transaction that the system is unable to complete. The throughput of the system is depends on the arrival rate of transaction. The performance can be enhanced with altering the slack factor value. Working on slack value for the transaction can helps to avoid some of transactions from killing or aborts. Under the Preemptive Policy, many extra executions of new transactions can be carried out.

Implementation of Sprite Animation for Multimedia Application

Animation is simply defined as the sequencing of a series of static images to generate the illusion of movement. Most people believe that actual drawings or creation of the individual images is the animation, when in actuality it is the arrangement of those static images that conveys the motion. To become an animator, it is often assumed that needed the ability to quickly design masterpiece after masterpiece. Although some semblance of artistic skill is a necessity for the job, the real key to becoming a great animator is in the comprehension of timing. This paper will use a combination of sprite animation, frame animation, and some other techniques to cause a group of multi-colored static images to slither around in the bounded area. In addition to slithering, the images will also change the color of different parts of their body, much like the real world creatures that have this amazing ability to change the colors on their bodies do. This paper was implemented by using Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE). It is both time-consuming and expensive to create animations, regardless if they are created by hand or by using motion-capture equipment. If the animators could reuse old animations and even blend different animations together, a lot of work would be saved in the process. The main objective of this paper is to examine a method for blending several animations together in real time. This paper presents and analyses a solution using Weighted Skeleton Animation (WSA) resulting in limited CPU time and memory waste as well as saving time for the animators. The idea presented is described in detail and implemented. In this paper, text animation, vertex animation, sprite part animation and whole sprite animation were tested. In this research paper, the resolution, smoothness and movement of animated images will be carried out from the parameters, which will be obtained from the experimental research of implementing this paper.

Real Time Force Sensing Mat for Human Gait Analysis

This paper presents a real time force sensing instrument that is designed for human gait analysis purposes. This instrument mainly consists of three main elements: the force sensing mat, signal conditioning and switching circuit and data acquisition device. In order to control and to process the incoming signals from the force sensing mat, Force-Logger and Force-Reloader program are developed using Labview 8.0. This paper describes the architecture of the force sensing mat, signal conditioning and switching circuit and the real time streaming of the incoming data from the force sensing mat.

Behaviour of Base-Isolated Structures with High Initial Isolator Stiffness

Analytical seismic response of multi-story building supported on base isolation system is investigated under real earthquake motion. The superstructure is idealized as a shear type flexible building with lateral degree-of-freedom at each floor. The force-deformation behaviour of the isolation system is modelled by the bi-linear behaviour which can be effectively used to model all isolation systems in practice. The governing equations of motion of the isolated structural system are derived. The response of the system is obtained numerically by step-by-method under three real recorded earthquake motions and pulse motions associated in the near-fault earthquake motion. The variation of the top floor acceleration, interstory drift, base shear and bearing displacement of the isolated building is studied under different initial stiffness of the bi-linear isolation system. It was observed that the high initial stiffness of the isolation system excites higher modes in base-isolated structure and generate floor accelerations and story drift. Such behaviour of the base-isolated building especially supported on sliding type of isolation systems can be detrimental to sensitive equipment installed in the building. On the other hand, the bearing displacement and base shear found to reduce marginally with the increase of the initial stiffness of the initial stiffness of the isolation system. Further, the above behaviour of the base-isolated building was observed for different parameters of the bearing (i.e. post-yield stiffness and characteristic strength) and earthquake motions (i.e. real time history as well as pulse type motion).

A Parallel Architecture for the Real Time Correction of Stereoscopic Images

In this paper, we will present an architecture for the implementation of a real time stereoscopic images correction's approach. This architecture is parallel and makes use of several memory blocs in which are memorized pre calculated data relating to the cameras used for the acquisition of images. The use of reduced images proves to be essential in the proposed approach; the suggested architecture must so be able to carry out the real time reduction of original images.

Fairness and Quality of Service Issues and Analysis of IEEE 802.11e Wireless LAN

The IEEE 802.11e which is an enhanced version of the 802.11 WLAN standards incorporates the Quality of Service (QoS) which makes it a better choice for multimedia and real time applications. In this paper we study various aspects concerned with 802.11e standard. Further, the analysis results for this standard are compared with the legacy 802.11 standard. Simulation results show that IEEE 802.11e out performs legacy IEEE 802.11 in terms of quality of service due to its flow differentiated channel allocation and better queue management architecture. We also propose a method to improve the unfair allocation of bandwidth for downlink and uplink channels by varying the medium access priority level.

Linux based Embedded Node for Capturing, Compression and Streaming of Digital Audio and Video

A prototype for audio and video capture and compression in real time on a Linux platform has been developed. It is able to visualize both the captured and the compressed video at the same time, as well as the captured and compressed audio with the goal of comparing their quality. As it is based on free code, the final goal is to run it in an embedded system running Linux. Therefore, we would implement a node to capture and compress such multimedia information. Thus, it would be possible to consider the project within a larger one aimed at live broadcast of audio and video using a streaming server which would communicate with our node. Then, we would have a very powerful and flexible system with several practical applications.

Performance Evaluation of an Amperometric Biosensor using a Simple Microcontroller based Data Acquisition System

In this paper we have proposed a methodology to develop an amperometric biosensor for the analysis of glucose concentration using a simple microcontroller based data acquisition system. The work involves the development of Detachable Membrane Unit (enzyme based biomembrane) with immobilized glucose oxidase on the membrane and interfacing the same to the signal conditioning system. The current generated by the biosensor for different glucose concentrations was signal conditioned, then acquired and computed by a simple AT89C51-microcontroller. The optimum operating parameters for the better performance were found and reported. The detailed performance evaluation of the biosensor has been carried out. The proposed microcontroller based biosensor system has the sensitivity of 0.04V/g/dl, with a resolution of 50mg/dl. It has exhibited very good inter day stability observed up to 30 days. Comparing to the reference method such as HPLC, the accuracy of the proposed biosensor system is well within ± 1.5%. The system can be used for real time analysis of glucose concentration in the field such as, food and fermentation and clinical (In-Vitro) applications.

Laboratory Experimentation for Supporting Collaborative Working in Engineering Education over the Internet

Collaborative working environments for distance education can be considered as a more generic form of contemporary remote labs. At present, the majority of existing real laboratories are not constructed to allow the involved participants to collaborate in real time. To make this revolutionary learning environment possible we must allow the different users to carry out an experiment simultaneously. In recent times, multi-user environments are successfully applied in many applications such as air traffic control systems, team-oriented military systems, chat-text tools, multi-player games etc. Thus, understanding the ideas and techniques behind these systems could be of great importance in the contribution of ideas to our e-learning environment for collaborative working. In this investigation, collaborative working environments from theoretical and practical perspectives are considered in order to build an effective collaborative real laboratory, which allows two students or more to conduct remote experiments at the same time as a team. In order to achieve this goal, we have implemented distributed system architecture, enabling students to obtain an automated help by either a human tutor or a rule-based e-tutor.

An Efficient and Optimized Multi Constrained Path Computation for Real Time Interactive Applications in Packet Switched Networks

Quality of Service (QoS) Routing aims to find path between source and destination satisfying the QoS requirements which efficiently using the network resources and underlying routing algorithm and to fmd low-cost paths that satisfy given QoS constraints. One of the key issues in providing end-to-end QoS guarantees in packet networks is determining feasible path that satisfies a number of QoS constraints. We present a Optimized Multi- Constrained Routing (OMCR) algorithm for the computation of constrained paths for QoS routing in computer networks. OMCR applies distance vector to construct a shortest path for each destination with reference to a given optimization metric, from which a set of feasible paths are derived at each node. OMCR is able to fmd feasible paths as well as optimize the utilization of network resources. OMCR operates with the hop-by-hop, connectionless routing model in IP Internet and does not create any loops while fmding the feasible paths. Nodes running OMCR not necessarily maintaining global view of network state such as topology, resource information and routing updates are sent only to neighboring nodes whereas its counterpart link-state routing method depend on complete network state for constrained path computation and that incurs excessive communication overhead.

Review of a Real-Time Infectious Waste Management System Using QR Code

In the management of industrial waste, conversion from the use of paper invoices to electronic forms is currently under way in developed countries. Difficulties in such computerization include the lack of synchronization between the actual goods and the corresponding data managed by the server. Consequently, a system which utilizes the incorporation of a QR code in connection with the waste material has been developed. The code is read at each stage, from discharge until disposal, and progress at each stage can be easily reported. This system can be linked with Japanese public digital authentication service of waste, taking advantage of its good points, and can be used to submit reports to the regulatory authorities. Its usefulness was confirmed by a verification test, and put into actual practice.

Radio Technology Frequency Identification Applied in High-Voltage Power Transmission- Line for Sag Measurement

High-voltage power transmission lines are the back bone of electrical power utilities. The stability and continuous monitoring of this critical infrastructure is pivotal. Nine-Sigma representing Eskom Holding SOC limited, South Africa has a major problem on proactive detection of fallen power lines and real time sagging measurement together with slipping of such conductors. The main objective of this research is to innovate RFID technology to solve this challenge. Various options and technologies such as GPS, PLC, image processing, MR sensors and etc., have been reviewed and draw backs were made. The potential of RFID to give precision measurement will be observed and presented. The future research will look at magnetic and electrical interference as well as corona effect on the technology.

Combining the Description Features of UMLRT and CSP+T Specifications Applied to a Complete Design of Real-Time Systems

UML is a collection of notations for capturing a software system specification. These notations have a specific syntax defined by the Object Management Group (OMG), but many of their constructs only present informal semantics. They are primarily graphical, with textual annotation. The inadequacies of standard UML as a vehicle for complete specification and implementation of real-time embedded systems has led to a variety of competing and complementary proposals. The Real-time UML profile (UML-RT), developed and standardized by OMG, defines a unified framework to express the time, scheduling and performance aspects of a system. We present in this paper a framework approach aimed at deriving a complete specification of a real-time system. Therefore, we combine two methods, a semiformal one, UML-RT, which allows the visual modeling of a realtime system and a formal one, CSP+T, which is a design language including the specification of real-time requirements. As to show the applicability of the approach, a correct design of a real-time system with hard real time constraints by applying a set of mapping rules is obtained.

Direct Power Control Strategies for Multilevel Inverter Based Custom Power Devices

Custom power is a technology driven product and service solution which embraces a family devices such as Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR), Distributed Shunt Compensator (DSTATCOM), Solid State Breaker (SSB) etc which will provide power quality functions at distribution voltages. The rapid response of these devices enables them to operate in real time, providing continuous and dynamic control of the supply including voltage and reactive power regulation, harmonic reduction and elimination of voltage dips. This paper presents the benefits of multilevel inverters when they are used for DPC based custom power devices. Power flow control mechanism, salient features, advantages and disadvantages of direct power control (DPC) using lookup table, SVM, predictive voltage vector and hybrid DPC strategies are discussed in this paper. Simulation results of three level inverter based STATCOM, harmonic analysis of multi level inverters are presented at the end.

Formalizing a Procedure for Generating Uncertain Resource Availability Assumptions Based On Real Time Logistic Data Capturing with Auto-ID Systems for Reactive Scheduling

As one result of the project “Reactive Construction Project Scheduling using Real Time Construction Logistic Data and Simulation”, a procedure for using data about uncertain resource availability assumptions in reactive scheduling processes has been developed. Prediction data about resource availability is generated in a formalized way using real-time monitoring data e.g. from auto-ID systems on the construction site and in the supply chains. The paper focusses on the formalization of the procedure for monitoring construction logistic processes, for the detection of disturbance and for generating of new and uncertain scheduling assumptions for the reactive resource constrained simulation procedure that is and will be further described in other papers.