Neuromorphic analogue VLSI

Neuromorphic systems emulate the organization and function of nervous systems. They are usually composed of analogue electronic circuits that are fabricated in the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) medium using very large-scale integration (VLSI) technology. However, these neuromorphic systems are not another kind of digital computer in which abstract neural networks are simulated symbolically in terms of their mathematical behavior. Instead, they directly embody, in the physics of their CMOS circuits, analogues of the physical processes that underlie the computations of neural systems. The significance of neuromorphic systems is that they offer a method of exploring neural computation in a medium whose physical behavior is analogous to that of biological nervous systems and that operates in real time irrespective of size. The implications of this approach are both scientific and practical. The study of neuromorphic systems provides a bridge between levels of understanding. For example, it provides a link between the physical processes of neurons and their computational significance. In addition, the synthesis of neuromorphic systems transposes our knowledge of neuroscience into practical devices that can interact directly with the real world in the same way that biological nervous systems do

Multiuser array beamforming based on a neural network mapping

This paper addresses the problem of simultaneous multiuser service. To find a feasible solution to the collision problem, two time reference multibeamformer systems are developed (BPSK TRMB and frequency framing TRMB). Based on a two-stage architecture, they enlarge the potential of existing separating neural networks and the algorithm (EM). Their goal is to perform a low computational simultaneous digital demodulation of users. The results support the frequency framing TRMB as the more robust system, which is able to give service to users in very degradated SNR scenarios; only the decoupling weights and their corresponding High Order Statistics learning is the overhead from a pure superposition of single channel receivers.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Prioritising Research Agenda For E-Commerce In Malaysia

The recent advent of World Wide Web has changed the traditional marketing paradigm in a dramatic way. Under a computer-mediated marketing framework the operations are no longer controlled by boundaries and time constraints. The new paradigm provides firms the whole wired world as potential market to capture. This is the underlying rationale for the Malaysian e-commerce policy or marketing in a "computer-mediated-environment" in Malaysia. Although, the concept of e-commerce is relatively new in this country, but, it was widely accepted marketing medium among the developed nations. Whether Malaysia is able to reap the benefits of e-commerce largely depends on various factors ranging from the infrastructures, the skill base, the critical mass of internet users, legal policy and so on. Understanding the nature of the relationship and the significance of these factors require a good amount of research in the industry perspectives. This paper attempts to provide some guidelines about the research priorities in marketing of Malaysian produce and products under a computer-mediated-environment; taking into account the local and peculiarities of the firms and consumers' behaviour. In this respect the current paper draws literatures about e-commerce experiences of other countries for the purpose of benchmarking. The preliminary conclusion drawn from these literatures suggest that e-marketing outcomes are major reduction in transaction costs and an increase in productivity; which in turn radically change the traditional market structure, behaviour and performance framework. While it is envisaged that the private sector will take the lead role in the development of e-marketing in Malaysia, the government has a bigger role in ensuring its sustainability. The major research issues in economics and marketing are: the competitiveness of the related industries to allow higher investment in bandwidth and high-technology, integration of physical and online marketing, the economics of network management, characteristics and perception of the community on e-commerce, market and commercial governance, the current and future skill of the community, monitoring the changes in marketing functions and intermediary roles and providing macro indicators to measure the market

Meeting the information challenge: exploring partnerships with Africa

Africa suffers from the disadvantages of marginality within the global technical system and a legacy of externally driven infrastructure. Developments in information and communication technologies now offer the chance to redress these but the technologies require skills and capacities which are scarce. The technologies themselves can be used to leverage existing resources so that the necessary skills can be developed. However this process needs to take account of African priorities and requirements if the current inequitable situation is not to be reproduced in a new global infrastructure. The key to this is a balance between external partnership and internal collaboration. The African diaspora offers a means of moderating such relationships

6C learning: a pragmatic framework for 2nd generation e-learning projects.

In 2006 we expect a large scale take-up of e-learning. In this paper we first argue that e-learning has evolved from a first to a second generation, with learning itself as the essential component. Within this second generation, we present a pragmatic framework, the 6C learning framework. There are six components, all pertaining to the question how to make e-learning work. Success in e-learning is the result of careful conceptualization, design, implementation and outcome. The framework enables reflection, sustainment and evaluation. As such, it is mainly but not solely meant for management of e-learning projects. This reference framework may thus prove its usefulness as a possible checklist.e-learning; architecture;

Distributed Failure Restoration for Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Tactical Communication Networks

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (A TM) is an attractive choice for future military communication systems because it can provide high throughput and support multi-service applications. Furthermore its use is consistent with the 'off the shelf technology policy that is currently operated by the Defence Engineering Research Agency of Great Britain. However, A TM has been developed as a civil standard and is designed to operate in network infrastructures with very low failure rates. In contrast, tactical networks are much less reliable. Indeed tactical networks operate on the premise that failures, particularly node failures, are expected. Hence, efficient, automatic failure restoration schemes are essential if an A TM based tactical network is to remain operational. The main objective of this research is the proposal and verification of one or more new restoration algorithms that meet the specific requirements of tactical networks. The aspects of ATM networks that influence restoration algorithms' implementation are discussed. In particular, the features of A TM networks such as the concept of Virtual Paths Virtual Channels and OAM (Operation And Maintenance) mechanisms that facilitate implementation of efficient restoration techniques. The unique characteristics of tactical networks and their impact on restoration are also presented. A significant part of the research was the study and evaluation of existing approaches to failure restoration in civil networks. A critical analysis of the suitability of these approaches to the tactical environment shows no one restoration algorithm fully meets the requirements of tactical networks. Consequently, two restoration algorithms for tactical A TM networks, DRA-TN (Dynamic Restoration Algorithm for Tactical Networks) and PPR-TN (Pre-planned Restoration Algorithm for Tactical Networks), are proposed and described in detail. Since the primary concern of restoration in tactical networks is the recovery of high priority connections the proposed algorithms attempt to restore high-priority connections by disrupting low-priority calls. Also, a number of additional mechanisms are proposed to reduce the use of bandwidth, which is a scarce resource in tactical networks. It is next argued that software simulation is the most appropriate method to prove the consistency of the proposed algorithms, assess their performance and test them on different network topologies as well as traffic and failure conditions. For this reason a simulation software package was designed and built specifically to model the proposed restoration algorithms. The design of the package is presented in detail and the most important implementation issues are discussed. The proposed restoration algorithms are modelled on three network topologies under various traffic loads, and their performance compared against the performance of known algorithms proposed for civil networks. It is shown that DRA-TN and PPR-TN provide better restoration of higher priority traffic. Furthermore, as the traffic load increases the relative performance of the DRA-TN and PPR-TN algorithms increases. The DRA-TN and PPR-TN algorithms are also compared and their advantages and disadvantages noted. Also, recommendations are given about the applicability of the proposed algorithms, and some practical implementation issues are discussed. The number of problems that need further study are briefly described.Defence Engineering Research Agency of Great Britai