Grayscale and colour image Codec based on matching pursuit in the spatio-frequency domain

This report presents and evaluates a novel idea for scalable lossy colour image coding with Matching Pursuit (MP) performed in a transform domain. The benefits of the idea of MP performed in the transform domain are analysed in detail. The main contribution of this work is extending MP with wavelets to colour coding and proposing a coding method. We exploit correlations between image subbands after wavelet transformation in RGB colour space. Then, a new and simple quantisation and coding scheme of colour MP decomposition based on Run Length Encoding (RLE), inspired by the idea of coding indexes in relational databases, is applied. As a final coding step arithmetic coding is used assuming uniform distributions of MP atom parameters. The target application is compression at low and medium bit-rates. Coding performance is compared to JPEG 2000 showing the potential to outperform the latter with more sophisticated than uniform data models for arithmetic coder. The results are presented for grayscale and colour coding of 12 standard test images.

Mean sea surface modelling from multi-satellite altimetry utilising frequency domain techniques

A technique is presented for the development of a high precision and resolution Mean Sea Surface (MSS) model. The model utilises Radar altimetric sea surface heights extracted from the geodetic phase of the ESA ERS-1 mission. The methodology uses a modified Le Traon et al. (1995) cubic-spline fit of dual ERS-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon crossovers for the minimisation of radial orbit error. The procedure then uses Fourier domain processing techniques for spectral optimal interpolation of the mean sea surface in order to reduce residual errors within the model. Additionally, a multi-satellite mean sea surface integration technique is investigated to supplement the first model with additional enhanced data from the GEOSAT geodetic mission.The methodology employs a novel technique that combines the Stokes' and Vening-Meinsz' transformations, again in the spectral domain. This allows the presentation of a new enhanced GEOSAT gravity anomaly field.

Colour image coding with matching pursuit in the spatio-frequency domain

We present and evaluate a novel idea for scalable lossy colour image coding with Matching Pursuit (MP) performed in a transform domain. The idea is to exploit correlations in RGB colour space between image subbands after wavelet transformation rather than in the spatial domain. We propose a simple quantisation and coding scheme of colour MP decomposition based on Run Length Encoding (RLE) which can achieve comparable performance to JPEG 2000 even though the latter utilises careful data modelling at the coding stage. Thus, the obtained image representation has the potential to outperform JPEG 2000 with a more sophisticated coding algorithm.

Low frequency dielectric spectroscopy of bitumen binders as an indicator of adhesion potential to quartz aggregates using Portland cement

The purpose of this investigation was to interpret the bitumen-aggregate adhesion based on the dielectric spectroscopic response of individual material components utilizing their dielectric constants, refractive indices and average tangent of the dielectric loss angle (average loss tangent). Dielectric spectroscopy of bitumen binders at room temperature was performed in the frequency range of 0.01–1000 Hz. Dielectric spectroscopy is an experimental method for characterizing the dielectric permittivity of a material as a function of frequency. Adhesion data has been determined using the Rolling bottle method. The results show that the magnitude of the average tangent of the dielectric loss angle (average loss tangent) depends on bitumen type. The average loss tangent in the frequency range 0.01–1 Hz is introduced as a potential indicator for predicting polarizability and, thereby, adhesion potential of bitumen binders to quartz aggregates when using Portland cement. In order to obtain acceptable adhesion of 70/100 penetration grade bitumen binders and quartz aggregates when using Portland cement, it is suggested that the binder have an average tan δ > 0.035 in the frequency range 0.01–1 Hz.

Autonomic dysfunction in unselected and untreated primary open angle glaucoma patients:A pilot study

Purpose: To investigate the presence of silent cardiac ischaemic episodes and the status of autonomic function in consecutive, newly diagnosed and untreated primary open-angle glaucoma patients. Methods: Twenty-four consecutively diagnosed glaucoma patients and 22 age-matched controls were subjected to ambulatory 24-h blood pressure (BP) and electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring by using Cardiotens-01 (Meditech Ltd). Based on the ECG recordings, heart rate variability (HRV) frequency domain parameters [low-frequency (LF), high-frequency (HF) and LF/HF ratio] were calculated and analysed in the two study groups. Results: Glaucoma patients demonstrated higher LF and LF/HF values than normal subjects for both the active period (p = 0.020 and 0.029) and the passive period (p = 0.044 and 0.049 respectively). HRV parameters were similar in patients and controls suffering from silent cardiac ischaemia (p > 0.05); however, glaucoma patients with normal ECG demonstrated higher LF and LF/HF values during the active period of the 24-h measurement period than control subjects characterized by the same cardiac activity (p = 0.010 and 0.021 respectively). Conclusion: Independent of a history and/or clinical signs of cardiovascular disease, glaucoma patients exhibit abnormal autonomic function. © 2007 The Authors.

Writing and characterisation methods for UV-photosensitivity based devices and their applications

The underlying work to this thesis focused on the exploitation and investigation of photosensitivity mechanisms in optical fibres and planar waveguides for the fabrication of advanced integrated optical devices for telecoms and sensing applications. One major scope is the improvement of grating fabrication specifications by introducing new writing techniques and the use of advanced characterisation methods for grating testing. For the first time the polarisation control method for advanced grating fabrication has successfully been converted to apodised planar waveguide fabrication and the development of a holographic method for the inscription of chirped gratings at arbitrary wavelength is presented. The latter resulted in the fabrication of gratings for pulse-width suppression and wavelength selection in diode lasers. In co-operation with research partners a number of samples were tested using optical frequency domain and optical low coherence reflectometry for a better insight into the limitations of grating writing techniques. Using a variety of different fabrication methods, custom apodised and chirped fibre Bragg gratings were written for the use as filter elements for multiplexer-demultiplexer devices, as well as for short pulse generation and wavelength selection in telecommunication transmission systems. Long period grating based devices in standard, speciality and tapered fibres are presented, showing great potential for multi-parameter sensing. One particular scope is the development of vectorial curvature and refractive index sensors with potential for medical, chemical and biological sensing. In addition the design of an optically tunable Mach-Zehnder based multiwavelength filter is introduced. The discovery of a Type IA grating type through overexposure of hydrogen loaded standard and Boron-Germanium co-doped fibres strengthened the assumption of UV-photosensitivity being a highly non-linear process. Gratings of this type show a significantly lower thermal sensitivity compared to standard gratings, which makes them useful for sensing applications. An Oxford Lasers copper-vapour laser operating at 255 nm in pulsed mode was used for their inscription, in contrast to previous work using CW-Argon-Ion lasers and contributing to differences in the processes of the photorefractive index change

Electromechanical resonators as measuring transducers

With the increasing use of digital computers for data acquisition and digital process control, frequency domain transducers have become very attractive due to their virtual digital output. Essentially they are electrically maintained oscillators where the sensor is the controlling resonator.They are designed to make the frequency a function of the physical parameter being measured. Because of their high quality factor, mechanical resonators give very good frequency stability and are widely used as sensors. For this work symmetrical mechanical resonators such as the tuning fork were considered, to be the most promising. These are dynamically clamped and can be designed to have extensive regions where no vibrations occur.This enables the resonators to be robustly mounted in a way convenient for various applications. Designs for the measurement of fluid density and tension have been produced. The principle of the design of the resonator for fluid density measurement is a thin gap (trapping a lamina of fluid) between its two members which vibrate in antiphase.An analysis of the inter­ action between this resonator and the fluid lamina has carried out.In gases narrow gaps are needed for a good sensitivity and the use of the material fused quartz, because of its low density and very low temperature coefficient, is ideally suitable. In liquids an adequate sensitivity is achieved even with a wide lamina gap. Practical designs of such transducers have been evolved. The accuracy for liquid measurements is better than 1%. For gases it was found that, in air, a change of atmospheric pressure of 0.3% could be detected. In constructing a tension transducer using such a mechanical sensor as a wire or a beam, major difficulties are encountered in making an efficient clamping arrangement for the sensor. The use of dynamically clamped beams has been found to overcome the problem and this is the basis of the transducer investigated.

Cognition, ocular accommodation, and cardiovascular function in emmetropes and late-onset myopes

PURPOSE. To investigate objectively and noninvasively the role of cognitive demand on autonomic control of systemic cardiovascular and ocular accommodative responses in emmetropes and myopes of late-onset. METHODS. Sixteen subjects (10 men, 6 women) aged between 18 and 34 years (mean ± SD: 22.6 ± 4.4 years), eight emmetropes (EMMs; mean spherical equivalent [MSE] refractive error ± SD: 0.05 ± 0.24 D) and eight with late-onset myopia (LOMs; MSE ± SD: -3.66 ± 2.31 D) participated in the study. Subjects viewed stationary numerical digits monocularly within a Badal optical system (at both 0.0 and -3.0 D) while performing a two-alternative, forced-choice paradigm that matched cognitive loading across subjects. Five individually matched cognitive levels of increasing difficulty were used in random order for each subject. Five 20-second, continuous-objective recordings of the accommodative response measured with an open-view infrared autorefractor were obtained for each cognitive level, whereas simultaneous measurement of heart rate was continuously recorded with a finger-mounted piezoelectric pulse transducer for 5 minutes. Fast Fourier transformation of cardiovascular function allowed the relative power of the autonomic components to be assessed in the frequency domain, whereas heart period gave an indication of the time-domain response. RESULTS. Increasing the cognitive demand led to a significant reduction in the accommodative response in all subjects (0.0 D: by -0.35 ± 0.33 D; -3.0 D: by -0.31 ± 0.40 D, P < 0.001). The greater lag of LOMs compared with EMMs was not significant (P = 0.07) at both distance (0.38 ± 0.35 D) and near (0.14 ± 0.42 D). Mean heart period reduced with increasing levels of workload (P < 0.0005). LOMs exhibited a relative elevation in sympathetic system activity compared to EMMs. Within refractive groups, however, accommodative shifts with increasing cognition correlated with parasympathetic activity (r = 0.99, P < 0.001), more than with sympathetic activity (r = 0.62, P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS. In an equivalent workload paradigm, increasing cognitive demand caused a reduction in accommodative response that was attributable principally to a concurrent reduction in the relative power of the parasympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The disparity in accommodative response between EMMs and LOMs, however, appears to be augmented by changes in the sympathetic nervous component of the systemic ANS. Copyright © Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Autonomic correlates of ocular accommodation and cardiovascular function

PURPOSE: To evaluate the hypothesis that objective measures of open- and closed-loop ocular accommodation are related to systemic cardiovascular function, and ipso facto autonomic nervous system activity. METHODS: Sixty subjects (29 male; 31 female) varying in age from 18 to 33 years (average: 20.3 +/- 2.9 years) with a range of refractive errors [mean spherical equivalent (MSE): -7.12 to +1.82 D] participated in the study. Five 20-s continuous objective recordings of the accommodative response, measured with an open-view IR autorefractor (Shin-Nippon SRW-5000), were obtained for a variety of open- and closed-loop accommodative demands while simultaneous continuous measurement of heart rate was recorded with a finger-mounted piezo-electric pulse transducer for 5 min. Fast Fourier Transformation of cardiovascular function allowed the absolute and relative power of the autonomic components to be assessed in the frequency-domain, whereas heart period gave an indication of the time-domain response. RESULTS: Increasing closed-loop accommodative demand led to a concurrent increase in heart rate of approximately 2 beats/min for a 4.0 D increase in accommodative demand. The increase was attributable to a reduction in the absolute (p < 0.05) and normalised (p < 0.001) input of the systemic parasympathetic nervous system, and was unaffected by refractive group. The interaction with refractive group failed to reach significance. CONCLUSIONS: For sustained accommodation effort, the data demonstrate covariation between the oculomotor and cardiovascular systems which implies that a near visual task can significantly influence cardiovascular behaviour. Accommodative effort alone, however, is not a sufficient stimulus to induce autonomic differences between refractive groups. The data suggest that both the oculomotor and cardiovascular systems are predominantly attributable to changes in the systemic parasympathetic nervous system.

Parallel implementation of image segmentation algorithms on a network of transputers

Image segmentation is one of the most computationally intensive operations in image processing and computer vision. This is because a large volume of data is involved and many different features have to be extracted from the image data. This thesis is concerned with the investigation of practical issues related to the implementation of several classes of image segmentation algorithms on parallel architectures. The Transputer is used as the basic building block of hardware architectures and Occam is used as the programming language. The segmentation methods chosen for implementation are convolution, for edge-based segmentation; the Split and Merge algorithm for segmenting non-textured regions; and the Granlund method for segmentation of textured images. Three different convolution methods have been implemented. The direct method of convolution, carried out in the spatial domain, uses the array architecture. The other two methods, based on convolution in the frequency domain, require the use of the two-dimensional Fourier transform. Parallel implementations of two different Fast Fourier Transform algorithms have been developed, incorporating original solutions. For the Row-Column method the array architecture has been adopted, and for the Vector-Radix method, the pyramid architecture. The texture segmentation algorithm, for which a system-level design is given, demonstrates a further application of the Vector-Radix Fourier transform. A novel concurrent version of the quad-tree based Split and Merge algorithm has been implemented on the pyramid architecture. The performance of the developed parallel implementations is analysed. Many of the obtained speed-up and efficiency measures show values close to their respective theoretical maxima. Where appropriate comparisons are drawn between different implementations. The thesis concludes with comments on general issues related to the use of the Transputer system as a development tool for image processing applications; and on the issues related to the engineering of concurrent image processing applications.

The application of parallel processing methods to vibrational analysis

The trend in modal extraction algorithms is to use all the available frequency response functions data to obtain a global estimate of the natural frequencies, damping ratio and mode shapes. Improvements in transducer and signal processing technology allow the simultaneous measurement of many hundreds of channels of response data. The quantity of data available and the complexity of the extraction algorithms make considerable demands on the available computer power and require a powerful computer or dedicated workstation to perform satisfactorily. An alternative to waiting for faster sequential processors is to implement the algorithm in parallel, for example on a network of Transputers. Parallel architectures are a cost effective means of increasing computational power, and a larger number of response channels would simply require more processors. This thesis considers how two typical modal extraction algorithms, the Rational Fraction Polynomial method and the Ibrahim Time Domain method, may be implemented on a network of transputers. The Rational Fraction Polynomial Method is a well known and robust frequency domain 'curve fitting' algorithm. The Ibrahim Time Domain method is an efficient algorithm that 'curve fits' in the time domain. This thesis reviews the algorithms, considers the problems involved in a parallel implementation, and shows how they were implemented on a real Transputer network.

Colour image coding with wavelets and matching pursuit

This thesis considers sparse approximation of still images as the basis of a lossy compression system. The Matching Pursuit (MP) algorithm is presented as a method particularly suited for application in lossy scalable image coding. Its multichannel extension, capable of exploiting inter-channel correlations, is found to be an efficient way to represent colour data in RGB colour space. Known problems with MP, high computational complexity of encoding and dictionary design, are tackled by finding an appropriate partitioning of an image. The idea of performing MP in the spatio-frequency domain after transform such as Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is explored. The main challenge, though, is to encode the image representation obtained after MP into a bit-stream. Novel approaches for encoding the atomic decomposition of a signal and colour amplitudes quantisation are proposed and evaluated. The image codec that has been built is capable of competing with scalable coders such as JPEG 2000 and SPIHT in terms of compression ratio.

SFBC MIMO energy efficiency improvements of common packet schedulers for the long term evolution downlink

It is desirable that energy performance improvement is not realized at the expense of other network performance parameters. This paper investigates the trade off between energy efficiency, spectral efficiency and user QoS performance for a multi-cell multi-user radio access network. Specifically, the energy consumption ratio (ECR) and the spectral efficiency of several common frequency domain packet schedulers in a cellular E-UTRAN downlink are compared for both the SISO transmission mode and the 2x2 Alamouti Space Frequency Block Code (SFBC) MIMO transmission mode. It is well known that the 2x2 SFBC MIMO transmission mode is more spectrally efficient compared to the SISO transmission mode, however, the relationship between energy efficiency and spectral efficiency is undecided. It is shown that, for the E-UTRAN downlink with fixed transmission power, spectral efficiency improvement results into energy efficiency improvement. The effect of SFBC MIMO versus SISO on the user QoS performance is also studied. © 2011 IEEE.

Secure key distribution over a 500 km long link using a Raman ultra-long fiber laser

In traditional communication systems the transmission medium is considered as a given characteristic of the channel, which does not depend on the properties of the transmitter and the receiver. Recent experimental demonstrations of the feasibility of extending the laser cavity over the whole communication link connecting the two parties, forming an ultra-long fiber laser (UFL), have raised groundbreaking possibilities in communication and particularly in secure communications. Here, a 500 km long secure key distribution link based on Raman gain UFL is demonstrated. An error-free distribution of a random key with an average rate of 100 bps between the users is demonstrated and the key is shown to be unrecoverable to an eavesdropper employing either time or frequency domain passive attacks. In traditional communication systems the transmission medium is considered as a given characteristic of the channel, which does not depend on the properties of the transmitter and the receiver. Recent demonstrations of the feasibility of extending the laser cavity over the whole communication link connecting the two parties, forming an ultra-long fiber laser (UFL), have raised groundbreaking possibilities in communication. Here, a 500 km long secure key distribution link based on Raman gain UFL is demonstrated. © 2014 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fiber optically integrated cost-effective spectrometer for optical coherence tomography

A tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) was integrated as the dispersive element in a high performance biomedical imaging system. The spectrum emitted by the 23 mm long active region of the fiber is projected through custom designed optics consisting of a cylindrical lens for vertical beam collimation and successively by an achromatic doublet onto a linear detector array. High resolution tomograms of biomedical samples were successfully acquired by the frequency domain OCT-system. Tomograms of ophthalmic and dermal samples obtained by the frequency domain OCT-system were obtained achieving 2.84 μm axial and 10.2 μm lateral resolution. The miniaturization reduces costs and has the potential to further extend the field of application for OCT-systems in biology, medicine and technology. © 2014 SPIE.