A (t, n) threshold signature scheme distributes the secret key and hence the signing ability to n players in a way that any set of t+1 or more honest players can collaborate to sign, while any set of t players cannot. In this paper we propose an identity-based threshold signature (IBTHS) scheme from bilinear pairings. The signing phase of our scheme is non-interactive, meaning that the signing players do not need to talk to each other. We prove our scheme secure (i.e., unforgeable and robust) in the standard model (i.e., without random oracles). No earlier proposed IBTHS scheme achieved even one of the features of being non-interactive (in the signing phase) and secure in the standard model.

A new concept, the security level difference of a covert channel, is presented, which means the security level span from the sender to the receiver of the covert channel. Based on this, the integrated criteria for covert channel auditing are given. Whereas TCSEC (Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria) or CC (Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation) only use the bandwidth to evaluate the threat of covert channels, our new criteria integrate the security level difference, the bandwidth sensitive parameter, bandwidth, duration and instantaneous time of covert channels, so as to give a comprehensive evaluation of the threat of covert channels in a multilevel security system.

Querying XML data is a computationally expensive process due to the complex nature of both the XML data and the XML queries. In this paper we propose an approach to expedite XML query processing by caching the results of frequent queries. We discover frequent query patterns from user-issued queries using an efficient bottom-up mining approach called VBUXMiner. VBUXMiner consists of two main steps. First, all queries are merged into a summary structure named “compressed global tree guide” (CGTG). Second, a bottom-up traversal scheme based on the CGTG is employed to generate frequent query patterns. We use the frequent query patterns in a cache mechanism to improve the XML query performance. Experimental results show that our proposed mining approach outperforms the previous mining algorithms for XML queries, such as XQPMinerTID and FastXMiner, and that by caching the results of frequent query patterns, XML query performance can be dramatically improved.

Storing and querying XML (eXtensible Markup Language) data in relational form can exploit various services offered by modern relational database management systems (RDBMSs). Due to structural complexity of XML, there are many equivalent relational mapping schemes for the same XML data and queries. In this paper, we propose the adaptive XML to relational mapping (AX2RM) system, which considers finding optimal XML to relational (X2R) mapping as four separate but correlated procedures: logical database design, data scale estimation, workload transformation, and physical database design. We view the whole process as an autonomic computing problem and formalize the adaptive X2R mapping problem. Search spaces for each procedure are investigated individually, and five approaches for finding the optimal mapping are studied. We propose an integrated approach with greedy pruning (IT-GP), which views the mapping procedures as a whole and exploits heuristic rules in each procedure to prune impossible mappings as early as possible. Evaluation of these approaches shows the validity and high efficiency of IT-GP.

According to the requirement of natural human-computer interaction for Ambient Intelligence (AmI), a Bluetooth-based authentication technique is provided. An authentication network combining advantages of Bluetooth ad hoc network with the Ethernet is introduced first in detail. Then we propose a Bluetooth badge for storing the user’s identification information. Finally, the authentication system based on Bluetooth badge and authentication network is introduced. It is demonstrated experimentally that the Bluetooth-based authentication technique can authenticate the user automatically.

In hard real-time systems, schedulability analysis is not only one of the important means of guaranteeing the timelines of embedded software but also one of the fundamental theories of applying other new techniques, such as energy savings and fault tolerance. However, most of the existing schedulability analysis methods assume that schedulers use preemptive scheduling or non-preemptive scheduling. In this paper, we present a schedulability analysis method, i.e., the worst-case hybrid scheduling (WCHS) algorithm, which considers the influence of release jitters of transactions and extends schedulability analysis theory to timing analysis of linear transactions under fixed priority hybrid scheduling. To the best of our knowledge, this method is the first one on timing analysis of linear transactions under hybrid scheduling. An example is employed to demonstrate the use of this method. Experiments show that this method has lower computational complexity while keeping correctness, and that hybrid scheduling has little influence on the average worst-case response time (WCRT), but a negative impact on the schedulability of systems.

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is an efficient, robust and simple optimization algorithm. Most studies are mainly concentrated on better understanding of the standard PSO control parameters, such as acceleration coefficients, etc. In this paper, a more simple strategy of PSO algorithm called θ-PSO is proposed. In θ-PSO, an increment of phase angle vector replaces the increment of velocity vector and the positions are decided by the mapping of phase angles. Benchmark testing of nonlinear functions is described and the results show that the performance of θ-PSO is much more effective than that of the standard PSO.

In order to share multimedia transmissions in mesh networks and optimize the utilization of network resources, this paper presents a Two-stage Evolutionary Algorithm (TEA), i.e., unicast routing evolution and multicast path composition, for dynamic multicast routing. The TEA uses a novel link-duplicate-degree encoding, which can encode a multicast path in the link-duplicate-degree and decode the path as a link vector easily. A dynamic algorithm for adding nodes to or removing nodes from a multicast group and a repairing algorithm are also covered in this paper. As the TEA is based on global evaluation, the quality of the multicast path remains stabilized without degradation when multicast members change over time. Therefore, it is not necessary to rearrange the multicast path during the life cycle of the multicast sessions. Simulation results show that the TEA is efficient and convergent.

A new calibration algorithm for multi-camera systems using 1D calibration objects is proposed. The algorithm integrates the rank-4 factorization with Zhang (2004)’s method. The intrinsic parameters as well as the extrinsic parameters are recovered by capturing with cameras the 1D object’s rotations around a fixed point. The algorithm is based on factorization of the scaled measurement matrix, the projective depth of which is estimated in an analytical equation instead of a recursive form. For more than three points on a 1D object, the approach of our algorithm is to extend the scaled measurement matrix. The obtained parameters are finally refined through the maximum likelihood inference. Simulations and experiments with real images verify that the proposed technique achieves a good trade-off between the intrinsic and extrinsic camera parameters.

A non-local denoising (NLD) algorithm for point-sampled surfaces (PSSs) is presented based on similarities, including geometry intensity and features of sample points. By using the trilateral filtering operator, the differential signal of each sample point is determined and called “geometry intensity”. Based on covariance analysis, a regular grid of geometry intensity of a sample point is constructed, and the geometry-intensity similarity of two points is measured according to their grids. Based on mean shift clustering, the PSSs are clustered in terms of the local geometry-features similarity. The smoothed geometry intensity, i.e., offset distance, of the sample point is estimated according to the two similarities. Using the resulting intensity, the noise component from PSSs is finally removed by adjusting the position of each sample point along its own normal direction. Experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm is robust and can produce a more accurate denoising result while having better feature preservation.

Cubic algebraic hyperbolic (AH) Bézier curves and AH spline curves are defined with a positive parameter α in the space spanned by {1, t, sinht, cosht}. Modifying the value of α yields a family of AH Bézier or spline curves with the family parameter α. For a fixed point on the original curve, it will move on a defined curve called “path of AH curve” (AH Bézier and AH spline curves) when α changes. We describe the geometric effects of the paths and give a method to specify a curve passing through a given point.

In this paper we present a motion compensation (MC) design for the newest Audio Video coding Standard (AVS) of China. Because of compression-efficient techniques of variable block size (VBS) and sub-pixel interpolation, intensive pixel calculation and huge memory access are required. We propose a parallel serial filtering mixed luma interpolation data flow and a three-stage multiplication free chroma interpolation scheme. Compared to the conventional designs, the integrated architecture supports about 2.7 times filtering throughput. The proposed MC design utilizes Vertical Z processing order for reference data re-use and saves up to 30% memory bandwidth. The whole design requires 44.3k gates when synthesized at 108 MHz clock frequency using 0.18-μm CMOS technology and can support up to 1920×1088@30 fps AVS HDTV video decoding.

A method for positive polynomial validation based on polynomial decomposition is proposed to deal with control synthesis problems. Detailed algorithms for decomposition are given which mainly consider how to convert coefficients of a polynomial to a matrix with free variables. Then, the positivity of a polynomial is checked by the decomposed matrix with semidefinite programming solvers. A nonlinear control law is presented for single input polynomial systems based on the Lyapunov stability theorem. The control synthesis method is advanced to multi-input systems further. An application in attitude control is finally presented. The proposed control law achieves effective performance as illustrated by the numerical example.

A method is proposed to monitor and control Hopf bifurcations in multi-machine power systems using the information from wide area measurement systems (WAMSs). The power method (PM) is adopted to compute the pair of conjugate eigenvalues with the algebraically largest real part and the corresponding eigenvectors of the Jacobian matrix of a power system. The distance between the current equilibrium point and the Hopf bifurcation set can be monitored dynamically by computing the pair of conjugate eigenvalues. When the current equilibrium point is close to the Hopf bifurcation set, the approximate normal vector to the Hopf bifurcation set is computed and used as a direction to regulate control parameters to avoid a Hopf bifurcation in the power system described by differential algebraic equations (DAEs). The validity of the proposed method is demonstrated by regulating the reactive power loads in a 14-bus power system.

Power integrity (PI) has become a limiting factor for the chip’s overall performance, and how to place in-package decoupling capacitors to improve a chip’s PI performance has become a hot issue. In this paper, we propose an improved transmission matrix method (TMM) for fast decoupling capacitance allocation. An irregular grid partition mechanism is proposed, which helps speed up the impedance computation and complies better with the irregular power/ground (P/G) plane or planes with many vias and decoupling capacitors. Furthermore, we also ameliorate the computation procedure of the impedance matrix whenever decoupling capacitors are inserted or removed at specific ports. With the fast computation of impedance change, in-package decoupling capacitor allocation is done with an efficient change based method in the frequency domain. Experimental results show that our approach can gain about 5× speedup compared with a general TMM, and is efficient in restraining the noise on the P/G plane.

The classification of thematic mapper imagery in areas with strong topographic variations has proven problematic in the past using a single classifier, due to the changing sun illumination geometry. This often results in the phenomena of identical object with dissimilar spectrum and different objects with similar spectrum. In this paper, an integrated classification method that combines a decision tree with slope data, tasseled cap transformation indices and maximum likelihood classifier is introduced, to find an optimal classification method for thematic mapper imagery of plain and highland terrains. A Landsat 7 ETM+ image acquired over Hangzhou Bay, in eastern China was used to test the method. The results indicate that the performance of the integrated classifier is acceptably good in comparison with that of the existing most widely used maximum likelihood classifier. The integrated classifier depends on hypsography (variation in topography) and the characteristics of ground truth objects (plant and soil). It can greatly reduce the influence of the homogeneous spectrum caused by topographic variation. This integrated classifier might potentially be one of the most accurate classifiers and valuable tool for land cover and land use mapping of plain and highland terrains.