7,089 research outputs found
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich clusters reconstruction in multiband bolometer camera surveys
We present a new method for the reconstruction of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ)
galaxy clusters in future SZ-survey experiments using multiband bolometer
cameras such as Olimpo, APEX, or Planck. Our goal is to optimise SZ-Cluster
extraction from our observed noisy maps. We wish to emphasize that none of the
algorithms used in the detection chain is tuned on prior knowledge on the SZ
-Cluster signal, or other astrophysical sources (Optical Spectrum, Noise
Covariance Matrix, or covariance of SZ Cluster wavelet coefficients). First, a
blind separation of the different astrophysical components which contribute to
the observations is conducted using an Independent Component Analysis (ICA)
method. Then, a recent non linear filtering technique in the wavelet domain,
based on multiscale entropy and the False Discovery Rate (FDR) method, is used
to detect and reconstruct the galaxy clusters. Finally, we use the Source
Extractor software to identify the detected clusters. The proposed method was
applied on realistic simulations of observations. As for global detection
efficiency, this new method is impressive as it provides comparable results to
Pierpaoli et al. method being however a blind algorithm. Preprint with full
resolution figures is available at the URL:
w10-dapnia.saclay.cea.fr/Phocea/Vie_des_labos/Ast/ast_visu.php?id_ast=728Comment: Submitted to A&A. 32 Pages, text onl
SoundCompass: a distributed MEMS microphone array-based sensor for sound source localization
Sound source localization is a well-researched subject with applications ranging from localizing sniper fire in urban battlefields to cataloging wildlife in rural areas. One critical application is the localization of noise pollution sources in urban environments, due to an increasing body of evidence linking noise pollution to adverse effects on human health. Current noise mapping techniques often fail to accurately identify noise pollution sources, because they rely on the interpolation of a limited number of scattered sound sensors. Aiming to produce accurate noise pollution maps, we developed the SoundCompass, a low-cost sound sensor capable of measuring local noise levels and sound field directionality. Our first prototype is composed of a sensor array of 52 Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones, an inertial measuring unit and a low-power field-programmable gate array (FPGA). This article presents the SoundCompass's hardware and firmware design together with a data fusion technique that exploits the sensing capabilities of the SoundCompass in a wireless sensor network to localize noise pollution sources. Live tests produced a sound source localization accuracy of a few centimeters in a 25-m2 anechoic chamber, while simulation results accurately located up to five broadband sound sources in a 10,000-m2 open field
Block-Online Multi-Channel Speech Enhancement Using DNN-Supported Relative Transfer Function Estimates
This work addresses the problem of block-online processing for multi-channel
speech enhancement. Such processing is vital in scenarios with moving speakers
and/or when very short utterances are processed, e.g., in voice assistant
scenarios. We consider several variants of a system that performs beamforming
supported by DNN-based voice activity detection (VAD) followed by
post-filtering. The speaker is targeted through estimating relative transfer
functions between microphones. Each block of the input signals is processed
independently in order to make the method applicable in highly dynamic
environments. Owing to the short length of the processed block, the statistics
required by the beamformer are estimated less precisely. The influence of this
inaccuracy is studied and compared to the processing regime when recordings are
treated as one block (batch processing). The experimental evaluation of the
proposed method is performed on large datasets of CHiME-4 and on another
dataset featuring moving target speaker. The experiments are evaluated in terms
of objective and perceptual criteria (such as signal-to-interference ratio
(SIR) or perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ), respectively).
Moreover, word error rate (WER) achieved by a baseline automatic speech
recognition system is evaluated, for which the enhancement method serves as a
front-end solution. The results indicate that the proposed method is robust
with respect to short length of the processed block. Significant improvements
in terms of the criteria and WER are observed even for the block length of 250
ms.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables. Modified version of the article
accepted for publication in IET Signal Processing journal. Original results
unchanged, additional experiments presented, refined discussion and
conclusion
A digital algorithm for spectral deconvolution with noise filtering and peak picking: NOFIPP-DECON
Noise-filtering, peak-picking deconvolution software incorporates multiple convoluted convolute integers and multiparameter optimization pattern search. The two theories are described and three aspects of the software package are discussed in detail. Noise-filtering deconvolution was applied to a number of experimental cases ranging from noisy, nondispersive X-ray analyzer data to very noisy photoelectric polarimeter data. Comparisons were made with published infrared data, and a man-machine interactive language has evolved for assisting in very difficult cases. A modified version of the program is being used for routine preprocessing of mass spectral and gas chromatographic data
Pyroomacoustics: A Python package for audio room simulations and array processing algorithms
We present pyroomacoustics, a software package aimed at the rapid development
and testing of audio array processing algorithms. The content of the package
can be divided into three main components: an intuitive Python object-oriented
interface to quickly construct different simulation scenarios involving
multiple sound sources and microphones in 2D and 3D rooms; a fast C
implementation of the image source model for general polyhedral rooms to
efficiently generate room impulse responses and simulate the propagation
between sources and receivers; and finally, reference implementations of
popular algorithms for beamforming, direction finding, and adaptive filtering.
Together, they form a package with the potential to speed up the time to market
of new algorithms by significantly reducing the implementation overhead in the
performance evaluation step.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, describes a software packag
Communications Biophysics
Contains reports on eight research projects split into four sections.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 P01 NS13126)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 K04 NS00113)National Institutes of Health (Training Grant 5 T32 NS07047)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS80-06369)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 ROl NS11153)National Institutes of Health (Fellowship 1 F32 NS06544)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS77-16861)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 R01 NS10916)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS12846)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS77-21751)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 R01 NS14092)National Institutes of Health (Grant 2 R01 NS11680)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 ROl1 NS11080)National Institutes of Health (Training Grant 5 T32 GM07301
Low-frequency local field potentials in primate motor cortex and their application to neural interfaces
PhD ThesisFor patients with spinal cord injury and paralysis, there are currently very limited options for
clinical therapy. Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are neuroprosthetic devices that are being
developed to record from the motor cortex in such patients, bypass the spinal lesion, and use
decoded signals to control an effector, such as a prosthetic limb.
The ideal BMI would be durable, reliable, totally predictable, fully-implantable, and have
generous battery life. Current, state-of-the-art BMIs are limited in all of these domains; partly
because the typical signals used—neuronal action potentials, or ‘spikes’—are very susceptible
to micro-movement of recording electrodes. Recording spikes from the same neurons over
many months is therefore difficult, and decoder behaviour may be unpredictable from day-today. Spikes also need to be digitized at high frequencies (~104 Hz) and heavily processed. As
a result, devices are energy-hungry and difficult to miniaturise. Low-frequency local field
potentials (lf-LFPs; < 5 Hz) are an alternative cortical signal. They are more stable and can be
captured and processed at much lower frequencies (~101 Hz).
Here we investigate rhythmical lf-LFP activity, related to the firing of local cortical neurons,
during isometric wrist movements in Rhesus macaques. Multichannel spike-related slow
potentials (SRSPs) can be used to accurately decode the firing rates of individual motor
cortical neurons, and subjects can control a BMI task using this synthetic signal, as if they
were controlling the actual firing rate. Lf-LFP–based firing rate estimates are stable over time
– even once actual spike recordings have been lost. Furthermore, the dynamics of lf-LFPs are
distinctive enough, that an unsupervised approach can be used to train a decoder to extract
movement-related features for use in biofeedback BMIs. Novel electrode designs may help us
optimise the recording of these signals, and facilitate progress towards a new generation of
robust, implantable BMIs for patients.Research Studentship from the MRC, and Andy Jackson’s laboratory
(hence this work) is supported by the Wellcome Trust
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