XTCE. XML Telemetry and Command Exchange Tutorial

An XML Telemetry Command Exchange (XTCE) tutoral oriented towards packets or minor frames is shown. The contents include: 1) The Basics; 2) Describing Telemetry; 3) Describing the Telemetry Format; 4) Commanding; 5) Forgotten Elements; 6) Implementing XTCE; and 7) GovSat

FEM Mesh Mapping to a SIMD Machine Using Genetic Algorithms

The Finite Element Method is a computationally expensive method used to perform engineering analyses. By performing such computations on a parallel machine using a SIMD paradigm, these analyses\u27 run time can be drastically reduced. However, the mapping of the FEM mesh elements to the SIMD machine processing elements is an NP-complete problem. This thesis examines the use of Genetic Algorithms as a search technique to find quality solutions to the mapping problem. A hill climbing algorithm is compared to a traditional genetic algorithm, as well as a messy genetic algorithm. The results and comparative advantages of these approaches are discussed

Privacy-preserving outsourced calculation toolkit in the cloud

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Dimension reduction of image and audio space

The reduction of data necessary for storage or transmission is a desirable goal in the digital video and audio domain. Compression schemes strive to reduce the amount of storage space or bandwidth necessary to keep or move the data. Data reduction can be accomplished so that visually or audibly unnecessary data is removed or recoded thus aiding the compression phase of the data processing. The characterization and identification of data that can be successfully removed or reduced is the purpose of this work. New philosophy, theory and methods for data processing are presented towards the goal of data reduction. The philosophy and theory developed in this work establish a foundation for high speed data reduction suitable for multi-media applications. The developed methods encompass motion detection and edge detection as features of the systems. The philosophy of energy flow analysis in video processing enables the consideration of noise in digital video data. Research into noise versus motion leads to an efficient and successful method of identifying motion in a sequence. The research of the underlying statistical properties of vector quantization provides an insight into the performance characteristics of vector quantization and leads to successful improvements in application. The underlying statistical properties of the vector quantization process are analyzed and three theorems are developed and proved. The theorems establish the statistical distributions and probability densities of various metrics of the vector quantization process. From these properties, an intelligent and efficient algorithm design is developed and tested. The performance improvements in both time and quality are established through algorithm analysis and empirical testing. The empirical results are presented

Topology and congestion invariant in global internet-scale networks

PhDInfrastructures like telecommunication systems, power transmission grids and the Internet are complex networks that are vulnerable to catastrophic failure. A common mechanism behind this kind of failure is avalanche-like breakdown of the network's components. If a component fails due to overload, its load will be redistributed, causing other components to overload and fail. This failure can propagate throughout the entire network. From studies of catastrophic failures in di erent technological networks, the consensus is that the occurrence of a catastrophe is due to the interaction between the connectivity and the dynamical behaviour of the networks' elements. The research in this thesis focuses particularly on packet-oriented networks. In these networks the tra c (dynamics) and the topology (connectivity) are coupled by the routing mechanisms. The interactions between the network's topology and its tra c are complex as they depend on many parameters, e.g. Quality of Service, congestion management (queuing), link bandwidth, link delay, and types of tra c. It is not straightforward to predict whether a network will fail catastrophically or not. Furthermore, even if considering a very simpli ed version of packet networks, there are still fundamental questions about catastrophic behaviour that have not been studied, such as: will a network become unstable and fail catastrophically as its size increases; do catastrophic networks have speci c connectivity properties? One of the main di culties when studying these questions is that, in general, we do not know in advance if a network is going to fail catastrophically. In this thesis we study how to build catastrophic 5 networks. The motivation behind the research is that once we have constructed networks that will fail catastrophically then we can study its behaviour before the catastrophe occurs, for example the dynamical behaviour of the nodes before an imminent catastrophe. Our theoretical and algorithmic approach is based on the observation that for many simple networks there is a topology-tra c invariant for the onset of congestion. We have extended this approach to consider cascading congestion. We have developed two methods to construct catastrophes. The main results in this thesis are that there is a family of catastrophic networks that have a scale invariant; hence at the break point it is possible to predict the behaviour of large networks by studying a much smaller network. The results also suggest that if the tra c on a network increases exponentially, then there is a maximum size that a network can have, after that the network will always fail catastrophically. To verify if catastrophic networks built using our algorithmic approach can re ect real situations, we evaluated the performance of a small catastrophic network. By building the scenario using open source network simulation software OMNet++, we were able to simulate a router network using the Open Shortest Path First routing protocol and carrying User Datagram Protocol tra c. Our results show that this kind of networks can collapse as a cascade of failures. Furthermore, recently the failure of Google Mail routers [1] con rms this kind of catastrophic failure does occur in real situations

Artful Good Faith: An Essay on Law, Custom, and Intermediaries in Art Markets

This Essay explores relationships between custom and law in the United States in the context of markets for art objects. The Essay argues that these relationships are dynamic, not static, and that law can prompt evolution in customary practice well beyond the law\u27s formal requirements. Understanding these relationships in the context of art markets requires due attention to two components distinctive to art markets: the role of dealers and auction houses as transactional intermediaries as well as the role of museums as end-collectors. In the last decade, the business practices of major transactional intermediaries reflected a significant shift in customary practice, with attention newly focused on the provenance (ownership history) of objects consigned for sale and on long-standing concerns with an object\u27s condition and authorship. During the same time major museums developed new policies and practices applicable to new acquisitions and objects already in held in collections, focused in particular on archaeological objects and ancient art, as well as paintings present in European countries subject to the Nazi regime between 1932 and 1945. The Essay argues that, in both cases, law furnished the backdrop to significant shifts in customary practice, augmented by heightened public knowledge and concern. Custom evolved in response to salient episodes of enforcement of the law, which furnished further rallying points for newly broadened or awakened public interest and concern. The relationships explored in this Essay are relevant to ongoing debate about the merits of the underlying law. In the United States, it has long been true that nemo dat quod non habet—no one can give what one does not have—with the consequence that a thief cannot convey good title. The subsequent transferees lack good title and are not insulated against claims by the rightful owner even when the transferees acted in good faith. To be sure, an elapsed statute of limitations may furnish a defense, as may the equitable doctrine of laches. Prior scholarship notes that the United States is unusual, but not unique, because it does not recognize any good-faith purchaser defense in this context and because it does not require that the rightful owner of a stolen object compensate the good-faith purchaser as a condition of obtaining the return of the object. However, this scholarship does not acknowledge (or does not emphasize) the significance of transactional intermediaries within art markets or the operation of customary practices of museums and transactional intermediaries. This Essay thus adds the context requisite to evaluating the merits of the relevant law

Introductory Microcontroller Programming

This text is a treatise on microcontroller programming. It introduces the major peripherals found on most microcontrollers, including the usage of them, focusing on the ATmega644p in the AVR family produced by Atmel. General information and background knowledge on several topics is also presented. These topics include information regarding the hardware of a microcontroller and assembly code as well as instructions regarding good program structure and coding practices. Examples with code and discussion are presented throughout. This is intended for hobbyists and students desiring knowledge on programming microcontrollers, and is written at a level that students entering the junior level core robotics classes would find useful

An Efficient Region Merging Algorithm in Raster Space

This work introduces a new region merging algorithm operating in raster space represented by a 4-connected graph. Necessary definitions are introduced first to derive a new merging function formally. An implementation is described after that, which consists of two steps: a determination of the shared trails of the input cycles, and construction of the resulting merged region. The cycles defining the regions are represented by the Freeman crack chain code in four directions. The algorithm works in linear time On, where n is the number of total graph vertices, i.e. pixels. However, the expected time complexity for one merging operation performed by the algorithm is O1

The Eyes and Ears of the Nation: America\u27s First Spy Ring

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the early and smaller espionage tactics during the American Revolution and compare them to the established Culper Ring. George Washington, the American general and later president, and Benjamin Tallmadge, the Director of Military Intelligence during the war, looked for a way to revolutionize espionage at the time. Prior to the Culper Ring, espionage was done on a small scale. Single spies were the most common form of espionage. Washington and Tallmadge knew they needed something new and worked to create something that would last and become sustainable. They were able to create an organized spy ring that remained hidden and proved to be very fruitful to the war. The ring challenged the concept of traditional British honor that was the cultural norm at the time. They found their success by employing the use of agents that fell outside of this cultural norm. They shaped the future of spying in the United States. The work done by this ring laid a foundation for espionage agents to build on in the future. The methods used by the Culper Ring were top notch for their day and kept their secrets safe throughout the course of the war. The Culper Ring was vital to the success of the American Revolution; without the intelligence they gained, the war might have ended differently. This thesis examines how they were able to find as much success as they did while comparing them to other American espionage units as well as British espionage units