2,958 research outputs found
PLC Hardware Discrimination using RF-DNA fingerprinting
Programmable Logic Controllers are used to control and monitor automated process in many Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) critical applications. As with virtually all electronic devices, PLCs contain Integrated Circuits (IC) that are often manufactured overseas. ICs that have been unknowingly altered (counterfeited, manufactured with hardware Trojans, etc.) pose a significant security vulnerability. To mitigate this risk, the RF-Distinct Native Attribute (RF-DNA) fingerprinting process is applied to PLC hardware devices to augment bit-level security. RF-DNA fingerprints are generated using two independent signal collection platforms. Two different classifiers are applied for device classification. A verification process is implemented for analysis of Authorized Device Identification and Rogue Device Rejection. Fingerprint feature dimensional reduction is evaluated both Qualitatively and Quantitatively to enhance experimental-to-operational transition potential. The findings of this research are that the higher quality signal collection platform had a classification performance gain of approximately 10dB SNR. Performance of the classifiers varied between signal collection platforms, and also with the application of fingerprint dimensional reduction. The lower quality signal collection platform saw a maximum gain of 5dB SNR using reduced dimensional feature sets compared against the full dimensional feature set
Developments in Patent Law 2003, 3 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 229 (2004)
The year 2003 provided a great deal of legislative, administrative and judicial activity in the development of patent law. Legislation has been directed to amending the Hatch-Waxman Act and abrogation of State immunity from patent infringement. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has adopted changes pursuant to recent amendments to the Patent Cooperation Treaty and implemented an electronic filing system for patent applications. The Federal Trade Commission has taken an interest in patents, particularly standard setting technologies. In light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Festo, the Federal Circuit has provided additional guidance for prosecution history estoppel and the doctrine of equivalents. This article summarizes these and other developments, and provides recommendations to patent practitioners on how to operate with these new and exciting developments
Recent Developments in Patent Law, 5 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 630 (2006)
Over the past year, the United States patent law has developed significantly. Numerous cases were decided, shaping the future of patent law. This article tracks the development of patent law over the past year by analyzing important court decisions. These decisions affect various aspects of patent law, including the patentability of subject matter, the validity of patents, and the patent procurement process. While the specific impact of each decision varies, the combination of the decisions resulted in noteworthy changes to patent law in the United States
Fact or fable: Increased wellbeing in voluntary simplicity
The value of a simple life has been espoused by writers and thinkers throughout time. In the modern era, it has been proposed as an antidote to modern stressors and as a path to wellbeing. The simple life — or voluntary simplicity as it has become known — is a lifestyle whose hallmark is reduced consumption. Personal growth and ecologically responsible behaviours are also integral components. If voluntary simplicity is a path to increased wellbeing, then society stands to benefit if the lifestyle becomes more widely adopted. This review asks the question, is there empirical evidence for an association between voluntary simplicity and improved wellbeing? Using a systematic approach, peer-reviewed literature regarding the wellbeing outcomes of simplifiers was located, resulting in four studies containing a total of 3,233 participants. A comparison of the four studies is given and the strengths and limitations of the present state of research in the area offered. It is concluded that the putative association between voluntary simplicity and improved wellbeing does exist, although important questions remain to be resolved by future research
DEFINING AND REDUCING WILDLIFE HAZARDS TO AVIATION IN THE USA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC), through an interagency agreement with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), conducts a national research program to define and reduce bird and other wildlife hazards to aircraft. The goal is to provide the FAA and airports nationwide with a scientific foundation for policies and recommendations related to wildlife and aviation safety. Research tasks conducted by NWRC under the agreement include: 1) investigations of habitat management and land-use practices on and near airports to reduce bird activity; 2) development and evaluation of bird repellent and frightening methods for airports; 3) management and analysis of the National Wildlife Strike Database for civil aviation; and 4) development of publications, including a manual on wildlife hazard management, for use by airport operators nationwide. The research, coordinated by NWRC’s Sandusky, Ohio Field Station, has resulted in over 100 scientific publications since 1992. Recent highlights include 1) development of a wildlife strike database for civil aviation with about 28,000 strike reports, 1990-1999; 2) publication of a report, based on analyses of data in the bird strike database, which indicated wildlife collisions with aircraft cost U.S. civil aviation over $300 million/year, 1990-1998; 3) partnership with private industry to develop chemical repellents for use against Canada geese on airports; 4) development of management program at JFK International Airport, New York, that resulted in a 90% reduction in gull-aircraft collisions; and 5) publication of a comprehensive manual for airport personnel entitled “Wildlife Hazard Management at Airports”
Quantum Dynamics of Three Coupled Atomic Bose-Einstein Condensates
The simplest model of three coupled Bose-Einstein Condensates (BEC) is
investigated using a group theoretical method. The stationary solutions are
determined using the SU(3) group under the mean field approximation. This
semiclassical analysis using the system symmetries shows a transition in the
dynamics of the system from self trapping to delocalization at a critical value
for the coupling between the condensates. The global dynamics are investigated
by examination of the stable points and our analysis shows the structure of the
stable points depends on the ratio of the condensate coupling to the
particle-particle interaction, undergoes bifurcations as this ratio is varied.
This semiclassical model is compared to a full quantum treatment, which also
displays the dynamical transition. The quantum case has collapse and revival
sequences superposed on the semiclassical dynamics reflecting the underlying
discreteness of the spectrum. Non-zero circular current states are also
demonstrated as one of the higher dimensional effects displayed in this system.Comment: Accepted to PR
A Scalable Correlator Architecture Based on Modular FPGA Hardware, Reuseable Gateware, and Data Packetization
A new generation of radio telescopes is achieving unprecedented levels of
sensitivity and resolution, as well as increased agility and field-of-view, by
employing high-performance digital signal processing hardware to phase and
correlate large numbers of antennas. The computational demands of these imaging
systems scale in proportion to BMN^2, where B is the signal bandwidth, M is the
number of independent beams, and N is the number of antennas. The
specifications of many new arrays lead to demands in excess of tens of PetaOps
per second.
To meet this challenge, we have developed a general purpose correlator
architecture using standard 10-Gbit Ethernet switches to pass data between
flexible hardware modules containing Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)
chips. These chips are programmed using open-source signal processing libraries
we have developed to be flexible, scalable, and chip-independent. This work
reduces the time and cost of implementing a wide range of signal processing
systems, with correlators foremost among them,and facilitates upgrading to new
generations of processing technology. We present several correlator
deployments, including a 16-antenna, 200-MHz bandwidth, 4-bit, full Stokes
parameter application deployed on the Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of
Reionization.Comment: Accepted to Publications of the Astronomy Society of the Pacific. 31
pages. v2: corrected typo, v3: corrected Fig. 1
Dynamical thermalization and vortex formation in stirred 2D Bose-Einstein condensates
We present a quantum mechanical treatment of the mechanical stirring of
Bose-Einstein condensates using classical field techniques. In our approach the
condensate and excited modes are described using a Hamiltonian classical field
method in which the atom number and (rotating frame) energy are strictly
conserved. We simulate a T = 0 quasi-2D condensate perturbed by a rotating
anisotropic trapping potential. Vacuum fluctuations in the initial state
provide an irreducible mechanism for breaking the initial symmetries of the
condensate and seeding the subsequent dynamical instability. Highly turbulent
motion develops and we quantify the emergence of a rotating thermal component
that provides the dissipation necessary for the nucleation and motional-damping
of vortices in the condensate. Vortex lattice formation is not observed, rather
the vortices assemble into a spatially disordered vortex liquid state. We
discuss methods we have developed to identify the condensate in the presence of
an irregular distribution of vortices, determine the thermodynamic parameters
of the thermal component, and extract damping rates from the classical field
trajectories.Comment: 22 pages, 15 figures. v2: Minor refinements made at suggestion of
referee. Discussion of other treatments revised. To appear in Phys. Rev.
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