scholarly journals A GPU-Parallel Image Coregistration Algorithm for InSar Processing at the Edge

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (17) ◽  
pp. 5916
Author(s):  
Diego Romano ◽  
Marco Lapegna

Image Coregistration for InSAR processing is a time-consuming procedure that is usually processed in batch mode. With the availability of low-energy GPU accelerators, processing at the edge is now a promising perspective. Starting from the individuation of the most computationally intensive kernels from existing algorithms, we decomposed the cross-correlation problem from a multilevel point of view, intending to design and implement an efficient GPU-parallel algorithm for multiple settings, including the edge computing one. We analyzed the accuracy and performance of the proposed algorithm—also considering power efficiency—and its applicability to the identified settings. Results show that a significant speedup of InSAR processing is possible by exploiting GPU computing in different scenarios with no loss of accuracy, also enabling onboard processing using SoC hardware.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Enrico Reggiani ◽  
Emanuele DEL Sozzo ◽  
Davide Conficconi ◽  
Giuseppe Natale ◽  
Carlo Moroni ◽  
...  

Stencil-based algorithms are a relevant class of computational kernels in high-performance systems, as they appear in a plethora of fields, from image processing to seismic simulations, from numerical methods to physical modeling. Among the various incarnations of stencil-based computations, Iterative Stencil Loops (ISLs) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) represent two well-known examples of kernels belonging to the stencil class. Indeed, ISLs apply the same stencil several times until convergence, while CNN layers leverage stencils to extract features from an image. The computationally intensive essence of ISLs, CNNs, and in general stencil-based workloads, requires solutions able to produce efficient implementations in terms of throughput and power efficiency. In this context, FPGAs are ideal candidates for such workloads, as they allow design architectures tailored to the stencil regular computational pattern. Moreover, the ever-growing need for performance enhancement leads FPGA-based architectures to scale to multiple devices to benefit from a distributed acceleration. For this reason, we propose a library of HDL components to effectively compute ISLs and CNNs inference on FPGA, along with a scalable multi-FPGA architecture, based on custom PCB interconnects. Our solution eases the design flow and guarantees both scalability and performance competitive with state-of-the-art works.


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Stathopoulos

Conventional gas turbines are approaching their efficiency limits and performance gains are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. Pressure Gain Combustion (PGC) has emerged as a very promising technology in this respect, due to the higher thermal efficiency of the respective ideal gas turbine thermodynamic cycles. Up to date, only very simplified models of open cycle gas turbines with pressure gain combustion have been considered. However, the integration of a fundamentally different combustion technology will be inherently connected with additional losses. Entropy generation in the combustion process, combustor inlet pressure loss (a central issue for pressure gain combustors), and the impact of PGC on the secondary air system (especially blade cooling) are all very important parameters that have been neglected. The current work uses the Humphrey cycle in an attempt to address all these issues in order to provide gas turbine component designers with benchmark efficiency values for individual components of gas turbines with PGC. The analysis concludes with some recommendations for the best strategy to integrate turbine expanders with PGC combustors. This is done from a purely thermodynamic point of view, again with the goal to deliver design benchmark values for a more realistic interpretation of the cycle.


1997 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Hájek

Microwave heating was applied in homogeneous and in heterogeneous reactions and the results were compared from the point of view of activation of chemical reactions. Reactions including the addition of halo compounds to alkenes catalyzed by copper and ruthenium complexes in different solvents and NaY zeolite catalyzed alkylation of secondary amine in the absence of solvent were studied as model reactions to compare possibilities of microwave activation of reactants and catalysts. Rate enhancement of over one order of magnitude in homogeneous reactions was caused mainly by thermal dielectric heating effect which resulted from the effective coupling of microwaves to polar solvents. Activation of reactants and catalysts was very low if any. In heterogeneously catalyzed alkylation reactions highly efficient activation of zeolite catalyst was recorded. The results indicated that the best reaction conditions were in experiments when both activation of catalyst and performance of reaction were carried out under microwave conditions. Rate enhancement was most probably caused by "hot spots" or by "selective heating" of active sites. In both homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions non-thermal activation (specific effect) was excluded.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunji Chong ◽  
Elysha Clark-Whitney ◽  
Audrey Southerland ◽  
Elizabeth Stubbs ◽  
Chanel Miller ◽  
...  

Eye contact is among the most primary means of social communication that humans use from the first months of life. Quantification of eye contact is valuable in various scenarios as a part of the analysis of social roles, communication skills, and medical screening. Estimating a subject's looking direction from video is a challenging task, but eye contact can be effectively captured by a wearable point-of-view camera which provides a unique viewpoint as a result of its configuration. While moments of eye contact from this viewpoint can be hand coded, such process tends to be laborious and subjective. In this work, we developed the first deep neural network model to automatically detect eye contact in egocentric video with accuracy equivalent to that of human experts. We trained a deep convolutional neural network using a dataset of 4,339,879 annotated images, consisting of 103 subjects with diverse demographic backgrounds. 57 have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The network achieves overall precision 0.936 and recall 0.943 on 18 set-aside validation subjects, and performance is on par with 10 trained human coders with a mean precision 0.918 and recall 0.946. This result passes class equivalence tests in Cohen’s kappa scores (equivalence boundary of 0.025, p < .005), demonstrating that deep learning model can produce automated coding with a level of reliability comparable to human coders. The presented method will be instrumental in analyzing gaze behavior in naturalistic social settings by serving as a scalable, objective, and accessible tool for clinicians and researchers.


Author(s):  
Mohammed Qasim Almqablah

The study aimed to identify the reality of practicing accountability among school leaders in public education schools in Sharourah Governorate / Najran and the degree of accountability in the administrative and technical domains. To achieve this goal, the researcher used the analytical survey approach. The study was applied to a sample of )177 ( teachers, including (101) male teachers and (76) female teachers, in the first semester of the academic year 2018- 2019. The results of the study found that, the practice of accountability among the leaders of public education schools in Sharourah governorate / Najran from teachers point of view has got a general average (4.02), high rating, and according to the domains level, practicing accountability in administrative domain has got an average; (3.93), with a high rating, also, practicing accountability in the technical domain has got an average of (3.90) with a high degree. There were no statistically significant differences at the level of (0.05 = α) between the arithmetical averages of the total score for the degree of accountability in administrative and technical domains due to the differences in the variables of the study (years of experience and the scientific qualification). There were statistically significant differences in the degree of accountability in administrative and technical domains due to gender in favor of males; and in the variable of a school level in favor of high school. The study recommended the need to spread the culture of accountability, And to clarify the nature, methods, objectives and mechanisms for teachers, and the need to provide standards and performance indicators used in accountability process.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto N. García ◽  
Pablo Castrillo

This article analyzes, from an aesthetic and cultural point of view, two pivotal moments in The Americans, a Cold War spy thriller set in the heart of Ronald Reagan’s America. Both samples—one from the mid-series episode “Stingers” (3.10.), and the other from the series finale, “START” (6.10.)—show how the protagonists, two KGB spies living undercover in the United States as a married couple with two kids, disclose their secret identity to characters with whom they have a special emotional bond: their daughter, who has become a devout Christian; and their best friend and neighbor, who happens to be a counterintelligence officer in the FBI. After exploring how identity and performance play a crucial role in the spy-thriller genre, the article investigates whether it is possible for the audience to interpret the feelings and thoughts of characters with multiple identities who excel in the art of duplicity; and whether the viewer can infer intention from performance. Following this epistemological discussion, the article then sets out to explain the sociocultural relevance and timeliness of The Americans as a text whose thematic and aesthetic concerns ultimately revolve around individual identity vis-a-vis collective allegiances and ideologies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-90
Author(s):  
Rebi Fara Handika

Abstract   This paper discussed the company's motive to join a strategic alliance from the institutional theory point of view. The theory views that strategic alliances are considered as the medium to acquire legitimation from the environment. Such legitimation then improves the company’s competitive positions and performance. Further, we propose the framework to discuss the relationship between strategic alliances and a company’s performance. The paper proceeds as follows: in the next section, we discuss the institutional theory, the strategic alliance, and firm performance. Afterward, we develop the propositions and discuss the implications for future empirical research.   Abstrak   Artikel ini membahas motif perusahaan untuk bergabung dengan aliansi strategis dari sudut pandang teori institusional. Teori ini memandang bahwa aliansi strategis dianggap sebagai media untuk memperoleh legitimasi dari lingkungan. Legitimasi tersebut kemudian dipercayai akan meningkatkan posisi kompetitif dan kinerja perusahaan. Selanjutnya, kami mengusulkan framework untuk membahas hubungan antara aliansi strategis dan kinerja perusahaan. Artikel ini akan dilanjutkan sebagai berikut: pada bagian berikutnya, kita membahas teori institusional, aliansi strategis, dan kinerja perusahaan. Setelah itu, kami mengembangkan proposisi dan membahas implikasi untuk penelitian empiris di masa depan.


2021 ◽  
pp. 65-75
Author(s):  
Mikhail A. Andreev ◽  

The article considers the reasons for foreign tours of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra’s headed by V.B. Dudarova in the 1970s, the specifics of those tours, as well as their results both from the point of view of popularizing symphonic music and from the point of view of popularizing Soviet ideology abroad. Among the most important reasons for the organization of the first foreign tours by the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra of V.B. Dudarova in the 1970s, one can mention the active participation of the orchestra in numerous Soviet festivals, competitions for young performers, the preparation and performance of new works by Soviet composers, the expansion of the repertoire of performed musical works, the work with foreign conductors, Also the participation of V.B. Dudarova as a guest conductor in foreign tours with other orchestras, the musical community positive reviews and reports on the work of the orchestra as well as increasing the status and prestige of the orchestra in the general range of symphony orchestras of the USSR. The organization and conduct of foreign tours in the Polish People’s Republic and the GDR included the briefing, the development of a concert program, which provided for concerts in several major cities with a developed musical culture, as well as in the capitals of the countries selected for the foreign tour. In addition to the concerts themselves, the organization of the tour included a meeting of the Orchestra’s direction with the cultural intelligentsia of the People’s Republic of Poland and the GDR after each of the concerts, advertising concerts and the orchestra’s work in the media of the People’s Republic of Poland and the GDR, selling souvenirs and recordings of the orchestra. Thus, the concerts of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra conducted by V.B. Dudarova were only a part, or rather one of the instruments, of the national program of Soviet propaganda and the maintenance of a favorable image of the USSR abroad.


Author(s):  
Mariusz Maciejczak ◽  
Adrian Słodki

The sector of micro, small and medium size enterprises is important for any economy. It is important also for Poland. Analyzing the industrial organization of this sector it was confirmed that the owners and managers of such companies are applying strategies, which are rational from their point of view, but not from the perspective of real market conditions. It is argued therefore that the game theory is for them a solution in enhancing competences and performance of their organizations. Based on randomized sample of Polish micro and small companies the paper aimed to find out if the managers apply the game theory rationales when choosing price strategy when enter the market. It was confirmed that they do not and that they don't play Nash equilibrium in the strategic interaction when it comes to the price level. There was applied maxmin strategy, which maximises the worst - case scenario from the game. Thus there is a real chance that if entrepreneurs would analyze the situation with respect of game theory, their strategies would be more accurate and provide better outcomes.


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