abstract: The ability to identify unoccupied resources in the radio spectrum is a key capability for opportunistic users in a cognitive radio environment. This paper draws upon and extends geometrically based ideas in statistical signal processing to develop estimators for the rank and the occupied subspace in a multi-user environment from multiple temporal samples of the signal received at a single antenna. These estimators enable identification of resources, such as the orthogonal complement of the occupied subspace, that may be exploitable by an opportunistic user. This concept is supported by simulations showing the estimation of the number of users in a simple CDMA system using a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimate for the rank. It was found that with suitable parameters, such as high SNR, sufficient number of time epochs and codes of appropriate length, the number of users could be correctly estimated using the MAP estimator even when the noise variance is unknown. Additionally, the process of identifying the maximum likelihood estimate of the orthogonal projector onto the unoccupied subspace is discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2014

Today’s 3D imaging techniques offer significant benefits over conventional 2D imaging techniques. The presence of natural depth information in the scene affords the observer an overall improved sense of reality and naturalness. A variety of systems attempting to reach this goal have been designed by many independent research groups, such as stereoscopic and auto-stereoscopic systems. Though the images displayed by such systems tend to cause eye strain, fatigue and headaches after prolonged viewing as users are required to focus on the screen plane/accommodation to converge their eyes to a point in space in a different plane/convergence. Holoscopy is a 3D technology that targets overcoming the above limitations of current 3D technology and was recently developed at Brunel University. This work is part W4.1 of the 3D VIVANT project that is funded by the EU under the ICT program and coordinated by Dr. Aman Aggoun at Brunel University, West London, UK. The objective of the work described in this thesis is to develop estimation and segmentation techniques that are capable of estimating precise 3D depth, and are applicable for holoscopic 3D imaging system. Particular emphasis is given to the task of automatic techniques i.e. favours algorithms with broad generalisation abilities, as no constraints are placed on the setting. Algorithms that provide invariance to most appearance based variation of objects in the scene (e.g. viewpoint changes, deformable objects, presence of noise and changes in lighting). Moreover, have the ability to estimate depth information from both types of holoscopic 3D images i.e. Unidirectional and Omni-directional which gives horizontal parallax and full parallax (vertical and horizontal), respectively. The main aim of this research is to develop 3D depth estimation and 3D image segmentation techniques with great precision. In particular, emphasis on automation of thresholding techniques and cues identifications for development of robust algorithms. A method for depth-through-disparity feature analysis has been built based on the existing correlation between the pixels at a one micro-lens pitch which has been exploited to extract the viewpoint images (VPIs). The corresponding displacement among the VPIs has been exploited to estimate the depth information map via setting and extracting reliable sets of local features. ii Feature-based-point and feature-based-edge are two novel automatic thresholding techniques for detecting and extracting features that have been used in this approach. These techniques offer a solution to the problem of setting and extracting reliable features automatically to improve the performance of the depth estimation related to the generalizations, speed and quality. Due to the resolution limitation of the extracted VPIs, obtaining an accurate 3D depth map is challenging. Therefore, sub-pixel shift and integration is a novel interpolation technique that has been used in this approach to generate super-resolution VPIs. By shift and integration of a set of up-sampled low resolution VPIs, the new information contained in each viewpoint is exploited to obtain a super resolution VPI. This produces a high resolution perspective VPI with wide Field Of View (FOV). This means that the holoscopic 3D image system can be converted into a multi-view 3D image pixel format. Both depth accuracy and a fast execution time have been achieved that improved the 3D depth map. For a 3D object to be recognized the related foreground regions and depth information map needs to be identified. Two novel unsupervised segmentation methods that generate interactive depth maps from single viewpoint segmentation were developed. Both techniques offer new improvements over the existing methods due to their simple use and being fully automatic; therefore, producing the 3D depth interactive map without human interaction. The final contribution is a performance evaluation, to provide an equitable measurement for the extent of the success of the proposed techniques for foreground object segmentation, 3D depth interactive map creation and the generation of 2D super-resolution viewpoint techniques. The no-reference image quality assessment metrics and their correlation with the human perception of quality are used with the help of human participants in a subjective manner.

Radio map estimation (RME) is the task of predicting radio power at all locations in a two-dimensional area and at all frequencies in a given band. This thesis explores four deep learning approaches to RME: dual path autoencoders, skip connection autoencoders, diffusion, and joint learning with transmitter localization.

In this thesis, novel approaches for dense depth field estimation and object segmentation from mono, stereo and multiple views are presented. In the first stage, a novel graph-theoretic color segmentation algorithm is proposed, in which the popular Normalized Cuts 59H[6] segmentation algorithm is improved with some modifications on its graph structure. Segmentation is obtained by the recursive partitioning of the weighted graph. The simulation results for the comparison of the proposed segmentation scheme with some well-known segmentation methods, such as Recursive Shortest Spanning Tree 60H[3] and Mean-Shift 61H[4] and the conventional Normalized Cuts, show clear improvements over these traditional methods. The proposed region-based approach is also utilized during the dense depth map estimation step, based on a novel modified plane- and angle-sweeping strategy. In the proposed dense depth estimation technique, the whole scene is assumed to be region-wise planar and 3D models of these plane patches are estimated by a greedy-search algorithm that also considers visibility constraint. In order to refine the depth maps and relax the planarity assumption of the scene, at the final step, two refinement techniques that are based on region splitting and pixel-based optimization via Belief Propagation 62H[32] are also applied. Finally, the image segmentation algorithm is extended to object segmentation in multi-view video with the additional depth and optical flow information. Optical flow estimation is obtained via two different methods, KLT tracker and region-based block matching and the comparisons between these methods are performed. The experimental results indicate an improvement for the segmentation performance by the usage of depth and motion information.

While network data transmission was traditionally accomplished via routing, network coding (NC) broke this rule by allowing network nodes to perform linear combinations of the upcoming data packets. Network operations are performed in a specific Galois field of fixed size q. Decoding only involves a Gaussian elimination with the received network-coded packets. However, in practical wireless environments, NC might be susceptible to transmission errors caused by noise, fading, or interference. This drawback is quite problematic for real-time applications, such as multimediacontent delivery, where timing constraints may lead to the reception of an insufficient number of packets and consequently to difficulties in decoding the transmitted sources. At best, some packets can be recovered, while in the worst case, the receiver is unable to recover any of the transmitted packets.In this thesis, we propose joint source-network coding and decoding schemes in the purpose of providing an approximate reconstruction of the source in situations where perfect decoding is not possible. The main motivation comes from the fact that source redundancy can be exploited at the decoder in order to estimate the transmitted packets, even when some of them are missing. The redundancy can be either natural, i.e, already existing, or artificial, i.e, externally introduced.Regarding artificial redundancy, we choose multiple description coding (MDC) as a way of introducing structured correlation among uncorrelated packets. By combining MDC and NC, we aim to ensure a reconstruction quality that improves gradually with the number of received network-coded packets. We consider two different approaches for generating descriptions. The first technique consists in generating multiple descriptions via a real-valued frame expansion applied at the source before quantization. Data recovery is then achieved via the solution of a mixed integerlinear problem. The second technique uses a correlating transform in some Galois field in order to generate descriptions, and decoding involves a simple Gaussian elimination. Such schemes are particularly interesting for multimedia contents delivery, such as video streaming, where quality increases with the number of received descriptions.Another application of such schemes would be multicasting or broadcasting data towards mobile terminals experiencing different channel conditions. The channel is modeled as a binary symmetric channel (BSC) and we study the effect on the decoding quality for both proposed schemes. Performance comparison with a traditional NC scheme is also provided.Concerning natural redundancy, a typical scenario would be a wireless sensor network, where geographically distributed sources capture spatially correlated measures. We propose a scheme that aims at exploiting this spatial redundancy, and provide an estimation of the transmitted measurement samples via the solution of an integer quadratic problem. The obtained reconstruction quality is compared with the one provided by a classical NC scheme.

Dans les réseaux traditionnels, la transmission de flux de données s'effectuaient par routage des paquets de la source vers le ou les destinataires. Le codage réseau (NC) permet aux nœuds intermédiaires du réseau d'effectuer des combinaisons linéaires des paquets de données qui arrivent à leurs liens entrants. Les opérations de codage ont lieu dans un corps de Galois de taille finie q. Aux destinataires, le décodage se fait par une élimination de Gauss des paquets codés-réseau reçus. Cependant, dans les réseaux sans fils, le codage réseau doit souvent faire face à des erreurs de transmission causées par le bruit, les effacements, et les interférences. Ceci est particulièrement problématique pour les applications temps réel, telle la transmission de contenus multimédia, où les contraintes en termes de délais d'acheminement peuvent aboutir à la réception d'un nombre insuffisant de paquets, et par conséquent à des difficultés à décoder les paquets transmis. Dans le meilleurs des cas, certains paquets arrivent à être décodés. Dans le pire des cas, aucun paquet ne peut être décodé.Dans cette thèse, nous proposons des schémas de codage conjoint source-réseau dont l'objectif est de fournir une reconstruction approximative de la source, dans des situations où un décodage parfait est impossible. L'idée consiste à exploiter la redondance de la source au niveau du décodeur afin d'estimer les paquets émis, même quand certains de ces paquets sont perdus après avoir subi un codage réseau. La redondance peut être soit naturelle, c'est-à-dire déjà existante, ou introduite de manière artificielle.Concernant la redondance artificielle, le codage à descriptions multiples (MDC) est choisi comme moyen d'introduire de la redondance structurée entre les paquets non corrélés. En combinant le codage à descriptions multiples et le codage réseau, nous cherchons à obtenir une qualité de reconstruction qui s'améliore progressivement avec le nombre de paquets codés-réseau reçus.Nous considérons deux approches différentes pour générer les descriptions. La première approche consiste à générer les descriptions par une expansion sur trame appliquée à la source avant la quantification. La reconstruction de données se fait par la résolution d'un problème d' optimisation quadratique mixte. La seconde technique utilise une matrice de transformée dans un corps de Galois donné, afin de générer les descriptions, et le décodage se fait par une simple éliminationde Gauss. Ces schémas sont particulièrement intéressants dans un contexte de transmission de contenus multimédia, comme le streaming vidéo, où la qualité s'améliore avec le nombre de descriptions reçues.Une seconde application de tels schémas consiste en la diffusion de données vers des terminaux mobiles à travers des canaux de transmission dont les conditions sont variables. Dans ce contexte, nous étudions la qualité de décodage obtenue pour chacun des deux schémas de codage proposés, et nous comparons les résultats obtenus avec ceux fournis par un schéma de codage réseau classique.En ce qui concerne la redondance naturelle, un scénario typique est celui d'un réseau de capteurs, où des sources géographiquement distribuées prélèvent des mesures spatialement corrélées. Nous proposons un schéma dont l'objectif est d'exploiter cette redondance spatiale afin de fournir une estimation des échantillons de mesures transmises par la résolution d'un problème d'optimisation quadratique à variables entières. La qualité de reconstruction est comparée à celle obtenue à travers un décodage réseau classique. / While network data transmission was traditionally accomplished via routing, network coding (NC) broke this rule by allowing network nodes to perform linear combinations of the upcoming data packets. Network operations are performed in a specific Galois field of fixed size q. Decoding only involves a Gaussian elimination with the received network-coded packets. However, in practical wireless environments, NC might be susceptible to transmission errors caused by noise, fading, or interference. This drawback is quite problematic for real-time applications, such as multimediacontent delivery, where timing constraints may lead to the reception of an insufficient number of packets and consequently to difficulties in decoding the transmitted sources. At best, some packets can be recovered, while in the worst case, the receiver is unable to recover any of the transmitted packets.In this thesis, we propose joint source-network coding and decoding schemes in the purpose of providing an approximate reconstruction of the source in situations where perfect decoding is not possible. The main motivation comes from the fact that source redundancy can be exploited at the decoder in order to estimate the transmitted packets, even when some of them are missing. The redundancy can be either natural, i.e, already existing, or artificial, i.e, externally introduced.Regarding artificial redundancy, we choose multiple description coding (MDC) as a way of introducing structured correlation among uncorrelated packets. By combining MDC and NC, we aim to ensure a reconstruction quality that improves gradually with the number of received network-coded packets. We consider two different approaches for generating descriptions. The first technique consists in generating multiple descriptions via a real-valued frame expansion applied at the source before quantization. Data recovery is then achieved via the solution of a mixed integerlinear problem. The second technique uses a correlating transform in some Galois field in order to generate descriptions, and decoding involves a simple Gaussian elimination. Such schemes are particularly interesting for multimedia contents delivery, such as video streaming, where quality increases with the number of received descriptions.Another application of such schemes would be multicasting or broadcasting data towards mobile terminals experiencing different channel conditions. The channel is modeled as a binary symmetric channel (BSC) and we study the effect on the decoding quality for both proposed schemes. Performance comparison with a traditional NC scheme is also provided.Concerning natural redundancy, a typical scenario would be a wireless sensor network, where geographically distributed sources capture spatially correlated measures. We propose a scheme that aims at exploiting this spatial redundancy, and provide an estimation of the transmitted measurement samples via the solution of an integer quadratic problem. The obtained reconstruction quality is compared with the one provided by a classical NC scheme.

Disertační práce se zabývá metodami snímání a hodnocení kvality 3D obrazů a videí. Po krátkém shrnutí fyziologie prostorového vnímání, obsahuje práce stav poznání v oblastech problému adaptivní paralaxy a konfigurace kamer pro snímání klasického stereopáru. Taktéž shrnuje dnešní možnosti odhadu hloubkové mapy. Zmíněny jsou aktivní i pasivní metody, detailněji je vysvětleno profilometrické skenování. Byly změřeny některé technické parametry dvou technologií současných 3D zobrazovačů, a to polarizačně-oddělujících a využívajících časový multiplex, například přeslechy mezi levým a pravým snímkem. Jádro práce tvoří nová metoda pro vytváření hloubkové mapy při snímání 3D scény, kterážto byla autorem navržena a testována. Inovativnost tohoto přístupu spočívá v chytré kombinaci současných aktivních a pasivních metod snímání hloubky scény, která vtipně využívá výhod obou metod. Nakonec jsou prezentovány výsledky subjektivních testů kvality 3D videa. Největší přínos zde má navržená metrika modelující výsledky subjektivních testů kvality 3D videa.