No abstract

Video communication has a very important role nowadays. Also very efficient video coding techniques are developed in order to provide high quality video streams using all the available bandwidth. In this work we perform a comparison between three different video codecs: the ITU-T H.264, an improved ITU-T H.264 version including the AIF (Adaptive Interpolation Filter), and the AVS (Audio and Video Coding Standard) that is the Chinese standard video codec. The realized tests involve eight standard video sequences that are coded end decoded using the mentioned standards. Then, for each sequence we evaluate the video quality using four objective metrics: PSNR (Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio), VQM (Video Quality Metric), SSIM (Structural SIMilarity), and the HSM (HVS -Human Visual System -Similarity Measure). While PSNR and VQM take into account the mathematical features of the video sequences, SSIM and HSM are based on the HVS theory. So it is possible to evaluate also the human eye perceived quality. The realized analysis is related to the relationship between the bitrate and the quality indexes. The conclusions of our analysis can give an evaluation about several codec performances and can be useful for developers to plan and manage their network. Also, taking into account the HSM scores, the AVS has better performance than the ITU-T video codecs.

No abstract

The proposed paper discusses the realization of a system prototype able to perform a permanent monitoring of a switchboard in order to allow the manufacturer the complete management of all the measurable quantities in the switchboard, specially the sensed voltage for each line. The main purpose is to prevent any fault that can affect the switchboard and provide an instant alarming if anomalous values are revealed. The significant aspect of our prototype is the internetworking between several standard network protocols. In fact, the acquisition network sends the acquired data using the EIA 485 serial protocol. These data are then collected into an embedded web server ad-hoc developed. The server can be connected to the Internet in a wired and/or wireless way using the IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) and the IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) protocols. Finally, the web server uses standard TCP/IP protocols, such as HTTP to manage the web pages and SMTP to dispatch automatic alarm notifications via e-mails.

Remote control and home automation terms are becoming very important nowadays. Sensors are everywhere: HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems, fridges, security cameras, hard disks inside servers, voltages, temperatures and fan speeds in modern computers are widespread. Access to these sensors, both physical and virtual (e.g. data retrieved from an operating system), is possible thanks to third party tools and applications. This work outlines a framework called OBRECAD (Object Based REmote Control And Domotics). OBRECAD allows the communication between sensors, generic devices and actuators. It is powerful enough to support current and future sensor implementations and usages thanks to the realized hardware abstraction, yet easy enough to use. It can be easily implemented even on a micro-controller. The command oriented messaging framework allow an ubiquitous access in a very easy way using even text only email, or any SMS capable device. Complex architectures can also be managed in an hierarchical way thanks to the gateway component. Finally, a Java prototype was developed, but any programming language can be used. The prototype is configured using XML files that describe the connections between devices.