Applying the EFuNN Evolving Paradigm to the Recognition of Artefactual Beats in Continuous Seismocardiogram Recordings

Seismocardiogram (SCG) recording is a novel method for the prolonged monitoring of the cardiac mechanical performance during spontaneous behavior. The continuous monitoring results in a collection of thousands of beats recorded during a variety of physical activities so that the automatic analysis and processing of such data is a challenging task due to the presence of artefactual beats and morphological changes over time that currently request the human expertise. On this premise, we propose the use of the Evolving Fuzzy Neural Network (EFuNN) paradigm for the automatic artifact detection in the SCG signal. The fuzzy logic processing method can be applied to model the human expertise knowledge using the learning capabilities of an artificial neural network. The evolving capability of the EFuNN paradigm has been applied to solve the issue of the physiological variability of the SGC waveform. Preliminary tests have been carried out to validate this approach and the obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of the method and its scalability

Text-driven avatars based on artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic

We discuss a new approach for driving avatars using synthetic speech generated from pure text. Lip and face muscles are controlled by the information embedded in the utterance and its related expressiveness. Rule-based, text-to-speech synthesis is used to generate phonetic and expression transcriptions of the text to be uttered by the avatar. Two artificial neural networks, one for text-to-phone transcription and the other for phone-to-viseme mapping have been trained from phonetic transcription data. Two fuzzy-logic engines were tuned for smoothed control of lip and face movement. Simulations have been run to test neural-fuzzy controls using a parametric speech synthesizer to generate voices and a face synthesizer to generate facial movement. Experimental results show that soft computing affords a good solution for the smoothed control of avatars during the expressive utterance of text

Fuzzy Logic-Based Audio Pattern Recognition

Audio and audio-pattern recognition is becoming one of the most important technologies to automatically control embedded systems. Fuzzy logic may be the most important enabling methodology due to its ability to rapidly and economically model such application. An audio and audio-pattern recognition engine based on fuzzy logic has been developed for use in very low-cost and deeply embedded systems to automate human-to-machine and machine-to-machine interaction. This engine consists of simple digital signal-processing algorithms for feature extraction and normalization, and a set of pattern-recognition rules manually tuned or automatically tuned by a self-learning process

Nanotronics : A New Perspective for Highly Parallel and Deeply Embedded Future DSP Applications

DSP-based applications will become ever more pervasive in the near future but their success can no longer depend on classical scaling of integrated microelectronics, as has obtained under Moore\u2019s Law until today. Nanotronics, the molecular-scale integration process also known as moletronics, is opening up new prospects for very large-scale integration of the next generation of deeply embedded DSP-based applications

Smart Audio Access to Multimedia Information

Intuitive and efficient access to multimedia information is becoming a strategic option, given the increasing availability of such information in large archives and on the web. Audio information is a powerful medium to communicate naturally with such systems, while accessing multimedia information semantically. To this end, we are integrating multiple signal-processing algorithms and soft computing to develop an audio-based front end for multimedia retrieval. Algorithm-based feature extraction is used to feed a Kohonen feature map and a fuzzy-logic classifier to develop a content-based, audio-access system that retrieves information in a multimedia domain

A Smart Audio User Interface to Access Large Digital Audio Archives on Handheld Devices

Increasing availability of handheld players and other multimedia mobile devices with larger storage capacity has led to a rapid increases in the amount of audio information on a single device. This calls for new ways to efficiently access audio and multimedia information stored on such deeply embedded devices. Handsfree audio interfaces and semantic information retrieval are two primary requirements for the next generation of handheld multimedia devices. Voice and audio input can be used to build an audio-user interface, as well as to query large audio archives stored on these devices. Soft computing methods, such as fuzzy logic, were used to model a smart logic audio interface that reduces system complexity and increases reliability when accessing audio stored information

Tecnologie hardwatre per i sistemi dedicati

Questo corso è rivolto agli studenti di informatica e di ingegneria per introdurli alla conoscenza dei sistemi di elaborazione dedicati (embedded) e alle relative metodologie di programmazione. Lo stato dell’arte della tecnologia del computing embedded è oggi in uno stato molto avanzato e conseguentemente numerose tecnologie tendono a convergere in singoli dispositivi di natura System-on-Chip (SoC). Il microcontrollore è indubbiamente il dispositivo di elaborazione per applicazioni embedded emblematico di questa convergenza tecnologica. Ne consegue che chi deve sviluppare applicazioni dedicate deve necessariamente conoscere la natura delle varie tecnologie di computing che convergono in questo dispositivo. A tale scopo, in questo corso saranno discusse le più importanti tecnologie di computing per applicazioni embedded, come il microcontrollore, i processori RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) e i processori ASP (Application Specific), in particolare i processori DSP (Digital Signal Processor). Oltre a queste soluzioni di computing software-programmabili, saranno presentate anche le architetture hardware-programmabili (in particolare le FPGA). Le problematiche legate all’acquisizione dati e al controllo saranno oggetto di discussione nel corso, facendo riferimento alle relative problematiche come la corretta predisposizione della catena di acquisizione (calibrazione) e di controllo. Un caso di studio di acquisizione e controllo e uno di elaborazione del segnale permetteranno agli studenti di avere un modello di riferimento per l’implentazione di applicazioni dedicate

An IEEE 1599 framework to play music intuitively : the metapiano case study

This work aims at proposing an innovative way to approach music education. The idea is coupling the power of IEEE 1599, an XML-based international standard for music description, to the concept of music metainstruments, namely new interfaces conceived for a simplified interaction with music contents. The proposed framework will provide a tool for music practice, powered by the multiple and heterogeneous contents contained in an IEEE 1599 document. A case study based on Jean Haury's metapiano will be presented