Institute for Informatics and Automation Problems

In this survey we are focusing on utilizing drone-based systems for the detection of individuals, particularly by identifying human screams and other distress signals. This study has significant relevance in post-disaster scenarios, including events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, military conflicts, wildfires, and more. These drones are capable of hovering over disaster-stricken areas that may be challenging for rescue teams to access directly, enabling them to pinpoint potential locations where people might be trapped. Drones can cover larger areas in shorter timeframes compared to ground-based rescue efforts or even specially trained search dogs. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones, are frequently deployed for search-and-rescue missions during disaster situations. Typically, drones capture aerial images to assess structural damage and identify the extent of the disaster. They also employ thermal imaging technology to detect body heat signatures, which can help locate individuals. In some cases, larger drones are used to deliver essential supplies to people stranded in isolated disaster-stricken areas. In our discussions, we delve into the unique challenges associated with locating humans through aerial acoustics. The auditory system must distinguish between human cries and sounds that occur naturally, such as animal calls and wind. Additionally, it should be capable of recognizing distinct patterns related to signals like shouting, clapping, or other ways in which people attempt to signal rescue teams. To tackle this challenge, one solution involves harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze sound frequencies and identify common audio “signatures.” Deep learning-based networks, such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs), can be trained using these signatures to filter out noise generated by drone motors and other environmental factors. Furthermore, employing signal processing techniques like the direction of arrival (DOA) based on microphone array signals can enhance the precision of tracking the source of human noises.

Reliability Criteria in Information Theory and Statistical Hypothesis Testing is devoted to one of the central problems of Information Theory; the problem of determination of interdependence of coding rate and of error probability exponent for different information transmission systems. The overview deals with memoryless systems of finite alphabet setting. Reliability Criteria in Information Theory and Statistical Hypothesis Testing briefly formulates fundamental notions and results of Shannon theory on reliable transmission via coding and gives a survey of results obtained in last two-three decades by the authors, their colleagues and other researchers. The book is written with the goal to make accessible to a broader circle of readers the concept of rate-reliability. This concept is useful to solve these problems as well as elaborating the idea of reliability-reliability dependence related to statistical hypothesis testing and identification. Reliability Criteria in Information Theory and Statistical Hypothesis Testing is for students, researchers and professionals working in Information Theory.

Abstract A theoretical investigation of molecular ordering of smectic C liquuid crystals C8H17O-C6H4-C6H 4-COO-C6H4-OC8H17 { A }, C9H19O-C6H4-COO- C6H4-COO-C6H4-NO2 { B } and its binary mixtures { A+B } has been carried out by the method based on the Rayleigth-Schrodinger perturbation theory. The mutual arrangement of two molecules corresponding to the minimum of the total interaction energy between them Upair has been established. The curves of the dependence of Upair and its various contributions on displacement of molecules from each other along the molecular long X-axis and angle θ between molecules' long axes has been also computed in the minimum point vicinity. The obtained results make it possible to determine the peculiarities of the structural organization of molecules, as well as to construct a model of the structure of A and B compounds in different phases taking into account the most probable packing of molecules.

The most digital image watermarking algorithms have nearly always been realised in red, green and blue (RGB) colour space. In this study, a secure, robust and imperceptible CDMA image watermarking scheme which uses discrete wavelet transform is proposed and tested in eight colour spaces RGB, YCbCr, JPEG‐YCbCr, YIQ, YUV, hue, saturation, intensity, hue, saturation, value and CIELab to determine which colour space is more effective in watermarking algorithms based on correlation techniques and provides a result which does not differ immeasurably from the original with respect to imperceptibility and robustness. In the proposed scheme, a scrambled binary image by Arnold transform map, after encryption, is embedded into sub‐images of the first channel wavelet decomposition of intended colour space using block processing technique. The experimental results show that the proposed approach provides extra imperceptibility, security and robustness against JPEG compression and different noise attacks compared to the similar proposed methods in earlier works.

Interaction of a laser beam with a transversely moving nonlinear medium has been studied both experimentally and theoretically. With the mesophase of a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) as the nonlinear medium, transverse motion of the NLC at speeds of ∼1 μm/s relative to the laser beam, causes remarkable changes in its orientational state. The response of the medium to the transverse motion is enhanced considerably in the case of threshold nonlinearity where the reorientation of the LC takes place as a second order phase transition. The diffusive transport of light induced perturbations of the nonlinear medium, give rise to a far field projection pattern that consist of a system of concentric arcs. The observed phenomena can lead to potential applications for measurement or visual sensing of motion. Alternatively it can provide a means for the characterization of nonlinear materials.

A general method for constructing codes for the T-user noiseless adder channel is proposed which achieves the largest sum rate known. The authors consider a multiple-access communication system. In this system, T statistically independent sources which use binary block codes C/sub 1/,...,C/sub T/ of equal length n, simultaneously transmit information via one common channel, maintaining synchronization with respect to words and bits. The output of the adder channel is the (T+l)-ary vector which is the component-wise arithmetic sum of the transmitted binary vectors. The task of the decoder is to uniquely determine the messages of all users.

Environmental issues become an increasing global concern because of the continuous pressure on natural resources. Earth observations (EO), which include both satellite/UAV and in-situ data, can provide robust monitoring for various environmental concerns. The realization of the full information potential of EO data requires innovative tools to minimize the time and scientific knowledge needed to access, prepare and analyze a large volume of data. EO Data Cube (DC) is a new paradigm aiming to realize it. The article presents the Swiss-Armenian joint initiative on the deployment of an Armenian DC, which is anchored on the best practices of the Swiss model. The Armenian DC is a complete and up-to-date archive of EO data (e.g., Landsat 5, 7, 8, Sentinel-2) by benefiting from Switzerland’s expertise in implementing the Swiss DC. The use-case of confirm delineation of Lake Sevan using McFeeters band ratio algorithm is discussed. The validation shows that the results are sufficiently reliable. The transfer of the necessary knowledge from Switzerland to Armenia for developing and implementing the first version of an Armenian DC should be considered as a first step of a permanent collaboration for paving the way towards continuous remote environmental monitoring in Armenia.

This survey is devoted to one of the central problems of Information Theory — the problem of determination of interdependence between coding rate and error probability exponent for different information transmission systems. The overview deals with memoryless systems of finite alphabet setting. It presents material complementary to the contents of the series of the most remarkable in Information Theory books of Feinstain, Fano, Wolfowitz, Gallager, Csiszar and Korner, Kolesnik and Poltirev, Blahut, Cover and Thomas and of the papers by Dobrushin, Gelfand and Prelov. We briefly formulate fundamental notions and results of Shannon theory on reliable transmission via coding and give a survey of results obtained in last two-three decades by the authors, their colleagues and some other researchers. The paper is written with the goal to make accessible to a broader circle of readers the theory of rate-reliability. We regard this concept useful to promote the noted problem solution in parallel with elaboration of the notion of reliabilityreliability dependence relative to the statistical hypothesis testing and identification.

A parallel decompositional algorithm and VLSI architecture is proposed for computation of the output of a stack filter over a single window of input samples using Fibonacci p-codes. For a subclass of positive Boolean functions, a more efficient parallel algorithm and VLSI architecture for running stack filtering is also presented. The area-time complexities of the proposed designs are estimated.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

The mammography is the most effective procedure for an early diagnosis of the breast cancer. Finding an accurate and efficient breast region segmentation technique still remains a challenging problem in digital mammography. In this paper we explore an automated technique for mammogram segmentation. The proposed algorithm uses morphological preprocessing algorithm in order to: remove digitization noises and separate background region from the breast profile region for further edge detection and regions segmentation.

Abstract Capabilities of high‐resolution (3 km) Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulations to reproduce topographically induced mountain‐valley winds and low‐level jets (LLJs) in Yerevan have been evaluated using high‐frequency observational and modeled data. High sensitivities of simulations of near‐surface winds and LLJ characteristics observed on 4 July 2015 to both boundary layer and initial and lateral boundary conditions setup have been demonstrated. Among the nine tested planetary boundary layer (PBL) parameterization schemes the MYJ, QNSE, and TEMF PBL schemes showed greater skill in simulation of near‐surface valley winds over Yerevan, while the other PBL schemes tend to significantly underestimate the strength of valley winds, with the BouLac PBL scheme being the worst performer. Most of PBL schemes simulate well‐defined LLJs in Yerevan associated with evening valley winds. The simulated jet cores are mostly located between 150 and 250 m above ground with magnitudes varying from 12 to 21 m s −1 . However, the intensity of the observed nocturnal LLJ in Yerevan (located at 110 m above ground) is strongly underestimated by most of the WRF runs while the Shin and Hong and YSU PBL schemes simulate nocturnal LLJs higher than the observed LLJ. The WRF runs initiated with newly released European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts ERA‐5 data set showed improved simulation of near‐surface winds and nighttime potential temperatures in Yerevan relative to those forced by the Global Forecast System fields.

Abstract On 2 July 2016 afternoon a heavy rainfall (52.8 mm) was observed over southwestern part of Armenia, at Talin station. High‐frequency radar observations and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model output show that initiation of earliest convection occurred over Aragats mountain massif around noon due to low‐level convergence of thermally induced upslope winds. Further convective development was affected by generation of secondary convection as a result of interaction between cold pool outflows from developed convective cells and upslope winds. The high‐resolution WRF run (3 km) using NSSL two‐moment cloud microphysics parametrization and the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts operational model forcing data best reproduces the location, timing, magnitude, and microphysical structure of the observed convective rainfall among six WRF microphysical schemes tested in this study. Radar observations show that cold cloud process typical for continental‐type deep convection was observed in Armenia. The NSSL includes the double‐moment microphysics schemes for both warm and cold cloud processes, which might be a reason for improved simulation of observed heavy rainfall event in Armenia. Using the coarser resolution ERA5 analysis forcing data in the WRF model leads to simulation of earlier rainfall peaks at Talin station and spurious convective rainfall areas. The WRF model forced by the Global Data Assimilation System Final analysis from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, even run at 3‐km resolution, is not able to reproduce the accurate location of convection and rainfall over the study area.

The radiation emitted by a charged particle moving along a helical orbit inside a dielectric cylinder immersed into a homogeneous medium is investigated. Expressions are derived for the electromagnetic potentials, electric and magnetic fields, and for the spectral-angular distribution of radiation in the exterior medium. It is shown that under the Cherenkov condition for dielectric permittivity of the cylinder and the velocity of the particle image on the cylinder surface, strong narrow peaks are present in the angular distribution for the number of radiated quanta. At these peaks the radiated energy exceeds the corresponding quantity for a homogeneous medium by some orders of magnitude. The results of numerical calculations for the angular distribution of radiated quanta are presented and they are compared with the corresponding quantities for radiation in a homogeneous medium. The special case of relativistic charged particle motion along the direction of the cylinder axis with non-relativistic transverse velocity (helical undulator) is considered in detail. Various regimes for the undulator parameter are discussed. It is shown that the presence of the cylinder can increase essentially the radiation intensity.

In this paper we investigate the radiation emitted by a charged particle moving along a helical orbit around a dielectric cylinder immersed into a homogeneous medium. Formulae are derived for the electromagnetic potentials, electric and magnetic fields, and for the spectral-angular distribution of the radiation in the exterior medium. It is shown that under the Cherenkov condition for dielectric permittivity of the cylinder and the velocity of the particle image on the cylinder surface, strong narrow peaks appear in the angular distribution for the number of quanta radiated on a given harmonic. At these peaks the radiated energy exceeds the corresponding quantity for a homogeneous medium by several dozens of times. Simple analytic estimates are given for the heights and widths of these peaks. The results of numerical calculations for the angular distribution of the radiated quanta are presented and they are compared with the corresponding quantities for the radiation from a charge moving along a helical trajectory inside a dielectric cylinder.

Traditionally, Armenia has had a leading position within the computer science and Information Technology sectors in the South Caucasus region and beyond. Information Technology (IT) is also one of the fastest growing industries of the Armenian economy [1]. In 2000, the Government of Armenia recognized the IT sector as the primary constituent of the country's economic progress. Armenia is, more than ever, in need of cutting-edge and relevant e-infrastructures and e-services to tackle today's societal and scientific challenges. The Institute for Informatics and Automation Problems (IIAP) of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) [2] is the only state supported structure for software, hardware, and brainware technologies in Armenia. The institute is responsible for Armenia's National research and education network (Academic Scientific Research Computer Network of Armenia, ASNET-AM) [3] and the National Grid Initiative (ArmNGI) [4], and provides computational and networking facilities and advanced services to users. The main objective of this article is to highlight key activities that will spur Armenia to strengthen its scientific computing capacity thanks to the analysis made of the current trends of e-Infrastructures in Europe and the USA.

A proper edge-coloring of a graph G with colors 1, . . . , t is an interval t-coloring if all colors are used and the colors of edges incident to each vertex of G form an interval of integers. A graph G is interval colorable if it has an interval t-coloring for some positive integer t. Let N be the set of all interval colorable graphs. For a graph G N, the least and the greatest values of t for which G has an interval t-coloring are denoted by w(G) and W (G), respectively. In this paper we first show that if G is an r-regular graph and

Endoscopy is a minimally invasive medical diagnostic procedure, which is used for observing the surfaces of organs inside human body. The surfaces usually contain specular reflections from distributing light sources, which are visible in endoscopic images and videos. For many computer vision algorithms the highlights created by specular reflections may become significant source of error. In this paper, we propose: (a) a method for segmentation of highlights based on adoptive colour thresholding and contour analyses and (b) a powerful inpainting method, which fill the highlighted regions with information propagated from adjacent areas. The inpainting algorithm conceals the specular reflections with high accuracy and provides visually pleasurable appearance of endoscopic images and videos. The methods are compared with related approaches reported for processing of endoscopic images and the efficiency is demonstrated on large set of endoscopic images.

Among salts of amino acids there are compounds with the composition 2A..HX, which consist of dimeric A...A⁺ cations with short symmetric or asymmetric hydrogen bonds between zwitter-ionic and protonated moieties. These species are materials liable to undergo phase transitions or possess interesting nonlinear optical properties. Here, we report the preparation of 20 new salts with dimeric cations from aqueous solutions, including compounds of glycine, betaine, &beta;- alanine, L-alanine, L-phenylalanine, L-threonine, L-valine, L-leucine and L-proline, with BF₄-, ClO₄-, Cl-, Br-, HSeO₃-, and HC₂O₄-; as anions. The prepared salts are characterized by IR and Raman spectroscopy. Some of them are grown in form of good quality single crystals, which allowed the determination of their crystal structure.

The construction of a two-level decision scheme for recognition problems with many classes is proposed that is based on the development of the error-correcting output codes (ЕСОС) method. In the “classical” ЕСОС, a large number of partitions of the original classes into two macroclasses are constructed. Each macroclass is a union of some original classes. Each macroclass is assigned either 0 or 1. As a result, each original class is defined by a row of 0 and 1 (the stage of encoding) and a coding matrix is constructed. The stage of classification of an arbitrary new object consists in the solution of each dichotomic problem and application of a special decision rule (the stage of decoding). In this paper, new methods for weighting and taking into account codewords, modifying decision rules, and searching for locally optimal dichotomies are proposed, and various quality criteria for classification and the cases of extension of a codeword are considered.

A new approach to increase the sum rate for conventional synchronous code-division multiple-access (S-CDMA) systems is presented. It is shown that it can be done by joint processing of the outputs of matched filters, when one considers the system of codes for S-CDMA to be the codes for the usual adder channel. An example of construction and decoding of such a system is also given.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>