Steven D. Blostein

Bio: Steven D. Blostein is an academic researcher from Queen's University. The author has contributed to research in topics: MIMO & Beamforming. The author has an hindex of 30, co-authored 231 publications receiving 6904 citations. Previous affiliations of Steven D. Blostein include University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Least-Squares Fitting of Two 3-D Point Sets

Abstract: Two point sets {pi} and {p'i}; i = 1, 2,..., N are related by p'i = Rpi + T + Ni, where R is a rotation matrix, T a translation vector, and Ni a noise vector. Given {pi} and {p'i}, we present an algorithm for finding the least-squares solution of R and T, which is based on the singular value decomposition (SVD) of a 3 × 3 matrix. This new algorithm is compared to two earlier algorithms with respect to computer time requirements.

Error Analysis in Stereo Determination of 3-D Point Positions

Abstract: The relationship between the geometry of a stereo camera setup and the accuracy in obtaining three-dimensional position information is of great practical importance in many imaging applications. Assuming a point in a scene has been correctly identified in each image, its three-dimensional position can be recovered via a simple geometrical method known as triangulation. The probability that position estimates from triangulation are within some specified error tolerance is derived. An ideal pinhole camera model is used and the error is modeled as known spatial image plane quantization. A point's measured position maps to a small volume in 3-D determined by the finite resolution of the stereo setup. With the assumption that the point's actual position is uniformly distributed inside this volume, closed form expressions for the probability distribution of error in position along each coordinate direction (horizontal, vertical, and range) are derived. Following this, the probability that range error dominates over errors in the point's horizontal or vertical position is determined. It is hoped that the results presented will have an impact upon both sensor design and error modeling of position measuring systems for computer vision and related applications.

Detecting small, moving objects in image sequences using sequential hypothesis testing

Abstract: An algorithm is proposed for the solution of the class of multidimensional detection problems concerning the detection of small, barely discernible, moving objects of unknown position and velocity in a sequence of digital images. A large number of candidate trajectories, organized into a tree structure, are hypothesized at each pixel in the sequence and tested sequentially for a shift in mean intensity. The practicality of the algorithm is facilitated by the use of multistage hypothesis testing (MHT) for simultaneous inference, as well as the existence of exact, closed-form expressions for MHT test performance in Gaussian white noise (GWN). These expressions predict the algorithm's computation and memory requirements, where it is shown theoretically that several orders of magnitude of processing are saved over a brute-force approach based on fixed sample-size tests. The algorithm is applied to real data by using a robust preprocessing procedure to eliminate background structure and transform the image sequence into a residual representation, modeled as GWN. Results are verified experimentally on a variety of video image sequences. >

MIMO Minimum Total MSE Transceiver Design With Imperfect CSI at Both Ends

Abstract: This paper presents new results on joint linear transceiver design under the minimum total mean-square error (MSE) criterion, with channel mean as well as both transmit and receive correlation information at both ends of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) link. The joint design is formulated into an optimization problem. The optimum closed-form precoder and decoder are derived. Compared to the case with perfect channel state information (CSI), linear filters are added at both ends to balance the suppression of channel noise and the noise from imperfect channel estimation. The impact of channel estimation error as well as channel correlation on system performance is assessed, based on analytical and simulation results.

Joint Estimation of Channel and Oscillator Phase Noise in MIMO Systems

Abstract: Oscillator phase noise limits the performance of high speed communication systems since it results in time varying channels and rotation of the signal constellation from symbol to symbol. In this paper, joint estimation of channel gains and Wiener phase noise in multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems is analyzed. The signal model for the estimation problem is outlined in detail and new expressions for the Cramer-Rao lower bounds (CRLBs) for the multi-parameter estimation problem are derived. A data-aided least-squares (LS) estimator for jointly obtaining the channel gains and phase noise parameters is derived. Next, a decision-directed weighted least-squares (WLS) estimator is proposed, where pilots and estimated data symbols are employed to track the time-varying phase noise parameters over a frame. In order to reduce the overhead and delay associated with the estimation process, a new decision-directed extended Kalman filter (EKF) is proposed for tracking the MIMO phase noise throughout a frame. Numerical results show that the proposed LS, WLS, and EKF estimators' performances are close to the CRLB. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that by employing the proposed channel and time-varying phase noise estimators the bit-error rate performance of a MIMO system can be significantly improved.

Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new generation of protein database search programs.

Abstract: The BLAST programs are widely used tools for searching protein and DNA databases for sequence similarities. For protein comparisons, a variety of definitional, algorithmic and statistical refinements described here permits the execution time of the BLAST programs to be decreased substantially while enhancing their sensitivity to weak similarities. A new criterion for triggering the extension of word hits, combined with a new heuristic for generating gapped alignments, yields a gapped BLAST program that runs at approximately three times the speed of the original. In addition, a method is introduced for automatically combining statistically significant alignments produced by BLAST into a position-specific score matrix, and searching the database using this matrix. The resulting Position-Specific Iterated BLAST (PSIBLAST) program runs at approximately the same speed per iteration as gapped BLAST, but in many cases is much more sensitive to weak but biologically relevant sequence similarities. PSI-BLAST is used to uncover several new and interesting members of the BRCT superfamily.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

A method for registration of 3-D shapes

Abstract: The authors describe a general-purpose, representation-independent method for the accurate and computationally efficient registration of 3-D shapes including free-form curves and surfaces. The method handles the full six degrees of freedom and is based on the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm, which requires only a procedure to find the closest point on a geometric entity to a given point. The ICP algorithm always converges monotonically to the nearest local minimum of a mean-square distance metric, and the rate of convergence is rapid during the first few iterations. Therefore, given an adequate set of initial rotations and translations for a particular class of objects with a certain level of 'shape complexity', one can globally minimize the mean-square distance metric over all six degrees of freedom by testing each initial registration. One important application of this method is to register sensed data from unfixtured rigid objects with an ideal geometric model, prior to shape inspection. Experimental results show the capabilities of the registration algorithm on point sets, curves, and surfaces. >

Sequential Monte Carlo methods in practice

Abstract: Monte Carlo methods are revolutionizing the on-line analysis of data in fields as diverse as financial modeling, target tracking and computer vision. These methods, appearing under the names of bootstrap filters, condensation, optimal Monte Carlo filters, particle filters and survival of the fittest, have made it possible to solve numerically many complex, non-standard problems that were previously intractable. This book presents the first comprehensive treatment of these techniques, including convergence results and applications to tracking, guidance, automated target recognition, aircraft navigation, robot navigation, econometrics, financial modeling, neural networks, optimal control, optimal filtering, communications, reinforcement learning, signal enhancement, model averaging and selection, computer vision, semiconductor design, population biology, dynamic Bayesian networks, and time series analysis. This will be of great value to students, researchers and practitioners, who have some basic knowledge of probability. Arnaud Doucet received the Ph. D. degree from the University of Paris-XI Orsay in 1997. From 1998 to 2000, he conducted research at the Signal Processing Group of Cambridge University, UK. He is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering of Melbourne University, Australia. His research interests include Bayesian statistics, dynamic models and Monte Carlo methods. Nando de Freitas obtained a Ph.D. degree in information engineering from Cambridge University in 1999. He is presently a research associate with the artificial intelligence group of the University of California at Berkeley. His main research interests are in Bayesian statistics and the application of on-line and batch Monte Carlo methods to machine learning. Neil Gordon obtained a Ph.D. in Statistics from Imperial College, University of London in 1993. He is with the Pattern and Information Processing group at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency in the United Kingdom. His research interests are in time series, statistical data analysis, and pattern recognition with a particular emphasis on target tracking and missile guidance.