Computer Engineering Commons^™

Impact Of Detector-Element Active-Area Shape And Fill Factor On Image Sampling, Restoration, And Super-Resolution, Russell C. Hardie, Douglas R. Droege, Alexander J. Dapore, Mark E. Greiner

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In many undersampled imaging systems, spatial integration from the individual detector elements is the dominant component of the system point spread function (PSF). Conventional focal plane arrays (FPAs) utilize square detector elements with a nearly 100% fill factor, where fill factor is defined as the fraction of the detector element area that is active in light detection. A large fill factor is generally considered to be desirable because more photons are collected for a given pitch, and this leads to a higher signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). However, the large active area works against super-resolution (SR) image restoration by acting as an additional …

Collaborative Knowledge As A Service Applied To The Disaster Management Domain, Katarina Grolinger, Emna Mezghani, Miriam Am Capretz, Ernesto Exposito

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Cloud computing offers services which promise to meet continuously increasing computing demands by using a large number of networked resources. However, data heterogeneity remains a major hurdle for data interoperability and data integration. In this context, a Knowledge as a Service (KaaS) approach has been proposed with the aim of generating knowledge from heterogeneous data and making it available as a service. In this paper, a Collaborative Knowledge as a Service (CKaaS) architecture is proposed, with the objective of satisfying consumer knowledge needs by integrating disparate cloud knowledge through collaboration among distributed KaaS entities. The NIST cloud computing reference architecture …

Energy Cost Forecasting For Event Venues, Katarina Grolinger, Andrea Zagar, Miriam Am Capretz, Luke Seewald

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Electricity price, consumption, and demand forecasting has been a topic of research interest for a long time. The proliferation of smart meters has created new opportunities in energy prediction. This paper investigates energy cost forecasting in the context of entertainment event-organizing venues, which poses significant difficulty due to fluctuations in energy demand and wholesale electricity prices. The objective is to predict the overall cost of energy consumed during an entertainment event. Predictions are carried out separately for each event category and feature selection is used to select the most effective combination of event attributes for each category. Three machine learning …

Minimax Portfolio Optimization Under Interval Uncertainty, Meng Yuan, Xu Lin, Junzo Watada, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In the 1950s, Markowitz proposed to combine different investment instruments to design a portfolio that either maximizes the expected return under constraints on volatility (risk) or minimizes the risk under given expected return. Markowitz's formulas are still widely used in financial practice. However, these formulas assume that we know the exact values of expected return and variance for each instrument, and that we know the exact covariance of every two instruments. In practice, we only know these values with some uncertainty. Often, we only know the bounds of these values -- i.e., in other words, we only know the intervals …

Engineering Analytics: Research Into The Governance Structure Needed To Integrate The Dominant Design Methodologies, Teddy Steven Cotter

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In the ASEM-IAC 2014, Cotter (2014) explored the current state of engineering design, identified the dominate approaches to engineering design, discussed potential contributions from the new field of data analytics to engineering design, and proposed an Engineering Analytics framework that integrates the dominate engineering design approaches and data analytics within a human-intelligence/machine-intelligence (HI-MI) design architecture. This paper reports research applying ontological engineering to integrate the dominate engineering design methodologies into a systemic engineering design decision governance architecture.

A Demonstration Of The Bigdawg Polystore System, Aaron J. Elmore, Jennie Duggan, Michael Stonebraker, Magdalena Balazinska, Ugur Cetintemel, Vijay Gadepally, J. Heer, Bill Howe, Jeremy Kepner, Tim Kraska, Samuel Madden, David Maier, Timothy G. Mattson, S. Papadopoulos, J. Parkhurst, Nesime Tatbul, Manasi Vartak, Stan Zdonik

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper presents BigDAWG, a reference implementation of a new architecture for “Big Data” applications. Such applications not only call for large-scale analytics, but also for real-time streaming support, smaller analytics at interactive speeds, data visualization, and cross-storage-system queries. Guided by the principle that “one size does not fit all”, we build on top of a variety of storage engines, each designed for a specialized use case. To illustrate the promise of this approach, we demonstrate its effectiveness on a hospital application using data from an intensive care unit (ICU). This complex application serves the needs of doctors and researchers …

Needed Computations Shortcutting Needed Steps, Sergio Antoy, Jacob Johannsen, Steven Libby

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

We define a compilation scheme for a constructor-based, strongly-sequential, graph rewriting system which shortcuts some needed steps. The object code is another constructor-based graph rewriting system. This system is normalizing for the original system when using an innermost strategy. Consequently, the object code can be easily implemented by eager functions in a variety of programming languages. We modify this object code in a way that avoids total or partial construction of the contracta of some needed steps of a computation. When computing normal forms in this way, both memory consumption and execution time are reduced compared to ordinary rewriting computations …

S-Store: Streaming Meets Transaction Processing, John Meehan, Nesime Tatbul, Cansu Aslantas, Ugur Cetintemel, Jiang Du, Tim Kraska, Samuel Madden, David Maier, Andrew Pavlo, Michael Stonebraker, Kristin A. Tufte, Hao Wang

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Stream processing addresses the needs of real-time applications. Transaction processing addresses the coordination and safety of short atomic computations. Heretofore, these two modes of operation existed in separate, stove-piped systems. In this work, we attempt to fuse the two computational paradigms in a single system called S-Store. In this way, S-Store can simultaneously accommodate OLTP and streaming applications. We present a simple transaction model for streams that integrates seamlessly with a traditional OLTP system. We chose to build S-Store as an extension of H-Store, an open-source, in-memory, distributed OLTP database system. By implementing S-Store in this way, we can make …

Desiderata For A Big Data Language, David Maier

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Data management and analytics systems for big data have proliferated, including column stores, array databases, graphanalysis environments and linear-algebra packages. This burgeoning of systems has lead to a surfeit of language and APIs. It is time to consider a new framework that can span these systems and simplify the programming and maintenance of Big Data applications. There are two key goals for such a framework:

Portability: It should be relatively easy to move an application or tool developed on one platform to operate against another. As a corollary, back-end data and analytics services should be swappable in a particular …

Usage Based Topology For Dcns, Qing Yi, Suresh Singh

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many data center network topologies are designed to provide full bisection bandwidth for tens of thousands of servers in order to achieve high network throughput and server agility. However, the utilization rate of DCNs on average is below 10%, which results in a significant waste of network resources and energy. Many researchers propose consolidating network traffic flows to maximize the set of idle network equipment and switching them to low power mode to save energy. In this paper, we propose using skinnier network topologies to meet performance requirements of realistic loads thus saving not only energy but capital cost as …

Query From Examples: An Iterative, Data-Driven Approach To Query Construction, Hao Li, Chee-Yong Chan, David Maier

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we propose a new approach, called Query from Examples (QFE), to help non-expert database users construct SQL queries. Our approach, which is designed for users who might be unfamiliar with SQL, only requires that the user is able to determine whether a given output table is the result of his or her intended query on a given input database. To kick-start the construction of a target query Q, the user first provides a pair of inputs: a sample database D and an output table R which is the result of Q on D. As there will be …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

From The Editor-In-Chief, Ibrahim Baggili

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Welcome to JDFSL’s second issue for 2015! First, I would like to thank our editorial board, reviewers, and the JDFSL team for bringing this issue to life. In this issue, we continue our multidisciplinary tradition. The first paper, Two challenges of stealthy hypervisors detection: time cheating and data fluctuations, showcases an important contribution to the computing discipline. The use of virtualization has dramatically increased given our strong reliance on cloud services both private and public. Even though hypervisors enhance security, they can also be exploited by malware. Therefore, this paper is of importance given that it introduces a novel method …

From The Editor-In-Chief, Ibrahim Baggili

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Welcome to JDFSL’s first issue for 2015! First, I would like to thank our editorial board, reviewers, and the JDFSL team for bringing this issue to life. It has been a big year for JDFSL as the journal continues to progress. We are continuing our indexing efforts for the journal and we are getting closer with some of the major databases.

Cyber Blackbox For Collecting Network Evidence, Jooyoung Lee, Sunoh Choi, Yangseo Choi, Jonghyun Kim, Ikkyun Kim, Youngseok Lee

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

In recent years, the hottest topics in the security field are related to the advanced and persistent attacks. As an approach to solve this problem, we propose a cyber blackbox which collects and preserves network traffic on a virtual volume based WORM device, called EvidenceLock to ensure data integrity for security and forensic analysis. As a strategy to retain traffic for long enough periods, we introduce a deduplication method. Also this paper includes a study on the network evidence which is collected and preserved for analyzing the cause of cyber incident. Then, a method is proposed to suggest a starting …

Network And Device Forensic Analysis Of Android Social-Messaging Applications, Daniel Walnycky, Ibrahim Baggili, Andrew Marrington, Jason Moore, Frank Breitinger

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

In this research we forensically acquire and analyze the device-stored data and network traffic of 20 popular instant messaging applications for Android. We were able to reconstruct some or the entire message content from 16 of the 20 applications tested, which reflects poorly on the security and privacy measures employed by these applications but may be construed positively for evidence collection purposes by digital forensic practitioners. This work shows which features of these instant messaging applications leave evidentiary traces allowing for suspect data to be reconstructed or partially reconstructed, and whether network forensics or device forensics permits the reconstruction of …

An Empirical Comparison Of Widely Adopted Hash Functions In Digital Forensics: Does The Programming Language And Operating System Make A Difference?, Satyendra Gurjar, Ibrahim Baggili, Frank Breitinger, Alice E. Fischer

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Hash functions are widespread in computer sciences and have a wide range of applications such as ensuring integrity in cryptographic protocols, structuring database entries (hash tables) or identifying known files in forensic investigations. Besides their cryptographic requirements, a fundamental property of hash functions is efficient and easy computation which is especially important in digital forensics due to the large amount of data that needs to be processed when working on cases. In this paper, we correlate the runtime efficiency of common hashing algorithms (MD5, SHA-family) and their implementation. Our empirical comparison focuses on C-OpenSSL, Python, Ruby, Java on Windows and …

A Collaborative Adaptive Wiener Filter For Multi-Frame Super-Resolution, Khaled M. Mohamed, Russell C. Hardie

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Factors that can limit the effective resolution of an imaging system may include aliasing from under-sampling, blur from the optics and external factors, and sensor noise. Image restoration and super-resolution (SR) techniques can be used to improve image resolution. One SR method, developed recently, is the adaptive Wiener filter (AWF) SR algorithm. This is a multi-frame SR method that combines registered temporal frames through a joint nonuniform interpolation and restoration process to provide a high-resolution image estimate. Variations of this method have been demonstrated to be effective for multi-frame SR, as well demosaicing RGB and polarimetric imagery. While the AWF …

Robust Super-Resolution By Fusion Of Interpolated Frames For Color And Grayscale Images, Barry K. Karch, Russell C. Hardie

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Multi-frame super-resolution (SR) processing seeks to overcome undersampling issues that can lead to undesirable aliasing artifacts in imaging systems. A key factor in effective multi-frame SR is accurate subpixel inter-frame registration. Accurate registration is more difficult when frame-to-frame motion does not contain simple global translation and includes locally moving scene objects. SR processing is further complicated when the camera captures full color by using a Bayer color filter array (CFA). Various aspects of these SR challenges have been previously investigated. Fast SR algorithms tend to have difficulty accommodating complex motion and CFA sensors. Furthermore, methods that can tolerate these complexities …

Reducing The Control Burden Of Legged Robotic Locomotion Through Biomimetic Consonance In Mechanical Design And Control, Caitrin Elizabeth Eaton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial robots must be capable of negotiating rough terrain if they are to become autonomous outside of the lab. Although the control mechanism offered by wheels is attractive in its simplicity, any wheeled system is confined to relatively flat terrain. Wheels will also only ever be useful for rolling, while limbs observed in nature are highly multimodal. The robust locomotive utility of legs is evidenced by the many animals that walk, run, jump, swim, and climb in a world full of challenging terrain.

On the other hand, legs with multiple degrees of freedom (DoF) require much more complex control and …

Impact Of Repeaters On The Performance Of Indoor Visible Light Communications, Refi̇k Çağlar Kizilirmak

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In this study, we examine the performance of fixed gain amplify-and-forward repeaters for visible light communication (VLC) systems. We present the wireless optical channel model for VLC with the repeater and we evaluate the bit-error-rate (BER) performance for pulse-position modulation over the multipath channel with additive white Gaussian noise. The results reveal that when a repeater is placed, both the BER and the illuminance performance can be improved at any location in a typical office space. The benefit of VLC repeaters is also discussed when the channel from the source to the destination is shadowed. It is found that when …

Impact Of Large-Scale Installation Of Led Lamps In A Distribution System, Sohel Uddin, Hussain Sharef, Olav Krause, Azah Mohamed, Mohammad Abdul Hannan, Naz Niamul Islam

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The aim of this paper was to examine the utilization of a large number of nonlinear light emitting diode (LED) lamps in a distribution system and its impact on system power quality. Initially, harmonic and others electrical characteristics were identified by carrying out an experiment on four types of LED lamps available on the local market. On the basis of the identified characteristics, a new LED lamp model was developed in MATLAB Simulink. This model is called the time-dependent current source model and gives more accurate results than the fixed current source model. Then this model was applied to a …

Intelligent Text Classification System Based On Self-Administered Ontology, Manoj Manuja, Deepak Garg

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Over the last couple of decades, web classification has gradually transitioned from a syntax- to semantic-centered approach that classifies the text based on domain ontologies. These ontologies are either built manually or populated automatically using machine learning techniques. A prerequisite condition to build such systems is the availability of ontology, which may be either full-fledged domain ontology or a seed ontology that can be enriched automatically. This is a dependency condition for any given semantics-based text classification system. We share the details of a proof of concept of a web classification system that is self-governed in terms of ontology population …

Moving As A Whole: Multirobot Traveling Problem Constrained By Connectivity, Yun Wang, Cheng Hu

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

A multirobot system provides many advantages over a single robot. In certain situations, robots need to maintain global connectivity while proceeding through tasks such as traveling to spots of interest in an area. This paper formulates the problem of multiple robots traveling while constrained by connectivity and analyzes the limits of increase in total traveling distance (TTD) caused by connectivity constraints. A connection condition is proposed and proven, which can be used to direct the design of solutions. Two algorithms satisfying the connection condition, connected nearest neighbor (CNN) and bold Lin-Kernighan heuristic (B-LKH), are proposed to solve this problem, which …

Exact Solution Of Conducting Half Plane Problems In Terms Of A Rapidly Convergent Series And An Application Of The Multiplicative Calculus, Ali̇ Uzer

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The problem of cylindrical wave incidence on a conducting half plane has been considered. A modal solution for Green's function of the problem is transformed into contour integral representations in a complex plane. Some contour deformations and changes of variables are then made for the integrals. Finally, the resultant integrals are transformed back into a series, which converges rapidly to the exact solution when the observation angles are close to the reflection/shadow boundaries (RSBs) of the conducting half plane. The multiplicative calculus is employed in deriving an expression that can be used for obtaining approximate solutions when the observation angles …

Capacitive Sensor Supporting Multiple Touch Switches Using A Resistor String, Kwangsu Seong

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In a low-cost integrated circuit (IC) chip, the packaging cost is a considerable portion of the total manufacturing cost of the chip. As the packaging cost is directly related to the total number of I/O pins, it is highly desirable to minimize the number of I/O pins while maintaining the same functionality. We propose a capacitive sensor that supports multiple touch switches with only two IC pins. The electrode plates of the touch switches are placed at the ends of a resistor string and between every two adjacent resistors in the resistor string. The proposed method measures rise times at …

Performance Evaluation Of Three Phase Srf-Pll And Maf-Srf-Pll, Anirban Ghoshal, Vinod John

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Synchronous reference frame phase locked loop (SRF-PLL) is a well established technique used for maintaining synchronism of a grid connected VSI with an electric grid. Many methods of PLL are present in the literature to achieve improved performance under nonideal grid condition. These solutions are based on SRF-PLL structure along with some modification to achieve improved performance. It is observed that faster and better performance are achieved at the expense of more computations. Moving average filter (MAF) SRF-PLL structure is one such solution that consumes less resources and gives a reasonably fast response. In this work the performance of a …

An Elegant Emergence Of Optimal Siting And Sizing Of Multiple Distributed Generators Used For Transmission Congestion Relief, Rajamanickam Manickaraj Sasiraja, Velu Suresh Kumar, Sankaralingam Ponmani

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

After the implementation of deregulation in a power system, an appreciable volume of renewable energy sources is used to generate electric power. Even though they are intended to improve the reliability of the power system, the unpredictable outages of generators or transmission lines, an impulsive increase in demand, and failures of other equipment lead to congestion in one or more transmission lines. There are several ways to alleviate this transmission congestion, such as the installation of new generation facilities in the place where the demand is high, the addition of a new transmission facility, generation rescheduling, and curtailment of load …

Hybrid Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy B-Spline--Based Sssc Damping Control Paradigm Using Online System Identification, Laiq Khan, Rabiah Badar

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

B-spline membership functions have produced promising results in the field of signal processing and control due to their local control property. This work explores the potential of B-spline--based adaptive neuro-fuzzy wavelet control to damp low frequency power system oscillations using a static synchronous series compensator (SSSC). A comparison of direct and indirect adaptive control based on hybrid adaptive B-spline wavelet control (ABSWC) is presented by introducing the online identification block. ABSWC with identification (ABSWCI) provides the sensitivity information of the plant needed to control the system. The parameters of the control and identification block are updated online using a gradient …

An Accelerated And Accurate Three-Dimensional Ray Tracing Using Red-Black Tree With Facet Mining And Object Bouncing Techniques, Mohammad Jakirul Islam, Ahmed Wasif Reza, Kamarul Ariffin Noordin, Kaharudin Dimyati, Abu Sulaiman Mohammad Zahid Kausar

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Recent trends show that it is a major challenge to predict the exact propagation path accurately and efficiently for three-dimensional (3D) indoor environments. Therefore, this study introduces a new 3D ray tracing algorithm based on a red-black tree with facet mining and object bouncing techniques. The red-black tree data structure offers a faster object searching operation while repeatedly performing intersection tests. On the other hand, extensive ray-facet intersection tests can be eliminated by using object and facet bouncing techniques, whereas the facet mining makes it easier to trace the transmitted ray paths accurately. The proposed method is compared with ray …