A general framework for efficient FPGA implementation of matrix product

Original article can be found at: http://www.medjcn.com/ Copyright Softmotor LimitedHigh performance systems are required by the developers for fast processing of computationally intensive applications. Reconfigurable hardware devices in the form of Filed-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have been proposed as viable system building blocks in the construction of high performance systems at an economical price. Given the importance and the use of matrix algorithms in scientific computing applications, they seem ideal candidates to harness and exploit the advantages offered by FPGAs. In this paper, a system for matrix algorithm cores generation is described. The system provides a catalog of efficient user-customizable cores, designed for FPGA implementation, ranging in three different matrix algorithm categories: (i) matrix operations, (ii) matrix transforms and (iii) matrix decomposition. The generated core can be either a general purpose or a specific application core. The methodology used in the design and implementation of two specific image processing application cores is presented. The first core is a fully pipelined matrix multiplier for colour space conversion based on distributed arithmetic principles while the second one is a parallel floating-point matrix multiplier designed for 3D affine transformations.Peer reviewe

Efficient Acoustic Simulation for Immersive Media and Digital Fabrication

Sound is a crucial part of our life. Well-designed acoustic behaviors can lead to significant improvement in both physical and virtual interactions. In computer graphics, most existing methods focused primarily on improving the accuracy. It remained underexplored on how to develop efficient acoustic simulation algorithms for interactive practical applications. The challenges arise from the dilemma between expensive accurate simulations and fast feedback demanded by intuitive user interaction: traditional physics-based acoustic simulations are computationally expensive; yet, for end users to benefit from the simulations, it is crucial to give prompt feedback during interactions. In this thesis, I investigate how to develop efficient acoustic simulations for real-world applications such as immersive media and digital fabrication. To address the above-mentioned challenges, I leverage precomputation and optimization to significantly improve the speed while preserving the accuracy of complex acoustic phenomena. This work discusses three efforts along this research direction: First, to ease sound designer's workflow, we developed a fast keypoint-based precomputation algorithm to enable interactive acoustic transfer values in virtual sound simulations. Second, for realistic audio editing in 360° videos, we proposed an inverse material optimization based on fast sound simulation and a hybrid ambisonic audio synthesis that exploits the directional isotropy in spatial audios. Third, we devised a modular approach to efficiently simulate and optimize fabrication-ready acoustic filters, achieving orders of magnitudes speedup while maintaining the simulation accuracy. Through this series of projects, I demonstrate a wide range of applications made possible by efficient acoustic simulations

Synthesis Technique of Thickness-Customizable Multilayered Frequency Selective Surface for Plasma-Based Electromagnetic Structures

This dissertation provides a synthesis technique for the design of thickness-customizable high-order (N ≥ 2) bandpass frequency selective surface (FSS) and its application in realizing versatile multi-layered FSS and absorbers. Admittance inverters layers are used to synthesize the transfer response of the filter given desired characteristics such as filter type, center frequency, and bandwidth. These inverter layers are essentially electromagnetic coupling interlayers that can be adjusted to customize the thickness of multilayered FSS without degrading the desired filter performance. A generalized equivalent circuit model is used to provide physical insights of the proposed design. This synthesis technique is adopted to deliver a versatile implementation capability of high-order FSS filters using various dielectric spacers with arbitrary thicknesses. Such technique enables the realization of spatial filters with variable size, while maintaining the desired filter response. To highlight the significance of the proposed synthesis technique, its concept is applied to two practical problems including the design of compact switchable FSS and adaptive/tunable microwave absorbers as it may allow simpler integration of active components that require specific physical dimensions. In the first practical problem, the feasibility of deploying plasma switchable compact spatial filter in harsh electromagnetic radiation environments is investigated. The proposed FSS integrates contained plasma (plasma-shells) as active tuning elements. These ceramic, gas-encapsulating shells are ideal for high-power microwave and electromagnetic pulse protection because they are rugged, hermetic, operable at extreme temperatures, and insensitive to ionizing radiation. A 2D periodic second-order switchable spatial filter is implemented. It is composed of electrically small Jerusalem cross structures embedded with discrete plasma shells strategically located to effectively switch the transfer function of the filter. This technique is used to realize compact low profile second order band pass spatial filter operating at S-band. It also has the ability to switch its transfer function within 20 to 100 ns while enabling in-band shielding protection for aerospace or terrestrial electromagnetic systems subjected to high power microwave energy (HPME) and high electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) in harsh space environment. Experimental results are shown to be in good agreement with simulation results. The second practical problem is addressed by deploying a large-scale adaptable compressed Jaumann absorber for harsh and dynamic electromagnetic environments. The multilayered conductor-backed absorbers are realized by integrating ceramic gas-encapsulating shells and a closely coupled resonant layer that also serves as a biasing electrode to sustain the plasma. These active frequency selective absorbers are analyzed using a transmission line approach to provide the working principle and its frequency tuning capability. By varying the voltage of the sustainer, the plasma can be modeled as a lossy, variable, frequency-power-dependent inductor, providing a dynamic tuning response of the absorption spectral band. To study the power handling capability of the tunable absorber, dielectric and air breakdowns within the device are numerically emulated using electromagnetic simulation by quantifying the maximum field enhancement factor (MFEF). Furthermore, a comprehensive thermal analysis using a simulation method that couples electromagnetics and heat transfer is performed for the absorber under high power continuous microwave excitations. The maximum power level handling capability of the microwave absorber has been numerically predicted and validated experimentally

Perceptually Driven Interactive Sound Propagation for Virtual Environments

Sound simulation and rendering can significantly augment a user‘s sense of presence in virtual environments. Many techniques for sound propagation have been proposed that predict the behavior of sound as it interacts with the environment and is received by the user. At a broad level, the propagation algorithms can be classified into reverberation filters, geometric methods, and wave-based methods. In practice, heuristic methods based on reverberation filters are simple to implement and have a low computational overhead, while wave-based algorithms are limited to static scenes and involve extensive precomputation. However, relatively little work has been done on the psychoacoustic characterization of different propagation algorithms, and evaluating the relationship between scientific accuracy and perceptual benefits.In this dissertation, we present perceptual evaluations of sound propagation methods and their ability to model complex acoustic effects for virtual environments. Our results indicate that scientifically accurate methods for reverberation and diffraction do result in increased perceptual differentiation. Based on these evaluations, we present two novel hybrid sound propagation methods that combine the accuracy of wave-based methods with the speed of geometric methods for interactive sound propagation in dynamic scenes.Our first algorithm couples modal sound synthesis with geometric sound propagation using wave-based sound radiation to perform mode-aware sound propagation. We introduce diffraction kernels of rigid objects,which encapsulate the sound diffraction behaviors of individual objects in the free space and are then used to simulate plausible diffraction effects using an interactive path tracing algorithm. Finally, we present a novel perceptual driven metric that can be used to accelerate the computation of late reverberation to enable plausible simulation of reverberation with a low runtime overhead. We highlight the benefits of our novel propagation algorithms in different scenarios.Doctor of Philosoph