Over the last two decades, considerable research has been done in distributed operating systems, which can be attributed to faster processors and better communication technologies. A distributed operating system requires distributed algorithms to provide basic operating system functionality like mutual exclusion, deadlock detection, etc. A number of such algorithms have been proposed in the lit...

We present a novel formulation for B-spline snakes that can be used as a tool for fast and intuitive contour outlining. We start with a theoretical argument in favor of splines in the traditional formulation by showing that the optimal, curvature-constrained snake is a cubic spline, irrespective of the form of the external energy field. Unfortunately, such regularized snakes suffer from slow co...

We present TeRK, a new contribution to the field of educational robotics. TeRK combines a highly functional, low cost controller, the Qwerk, with an extensive software infrastructure and lively web community to lower the barrier to entry for students, hobbyists, artists and researchers interested in using robotic technologies. We further describe our experiences in applying TeRK to engage and e...

Broncholithiasis is the presence of calcific material within the tracheobronchial tree. Asymptomatic patients can be managed with observation only, whereas symptomatic disease requires surgery, rigid or flexible bronchoscopic removal. Recent reports have shown that flexible bronchoscopy can be a safe and effective option for removal of loose in addition to partially imbedded broncholiths. We pr...

Variability modeling is at the heart of product line engineering. Variability models entail features and architectural elements, technical customization aspects, sales and marketing decisions, as well as complex traceability information. In this paper we describe DecisionKing, a variability modeling tool that offers a great degree of flexibility and extensibility and allows the creation of vari...

Nowadays, presentation tools such as PowerPoint and Keynote play an important role when transferring knowledge in educational or business settings. Nevertheless, a number of shortcomings of existing presentation tools in terms of the management, visualisation and navigation of content have been pointed out in literature [1]. Some of these limitations are based on the fact that slideware tools w...

Geometric errors on CNC machine tools have reduced significantly over the past few decades and compensation either through the controller or with retrofit systems have helped improve accuracy even further. This move is driven by a trend of ever tightening tolerances on components manufactured on these machines, especially where simplified assembly is required such as the Aerospace industries. T...

Diverse synthesis methods and text-to-speech (TTS) architectures are being developed and applied almost every day. This tendency raises the need for durable program systems that effectively assist research and development in this area. A flexible development system for multilingual textto-speech and general speech research is introduced. The system was developed for use with the Multivox and Pr...

Wave Field Synthesis systems achieves a real 3D sound rendering for a wide listening area. However, due to its novelty, there is a lack on the WFS authoring process for mixing engineering. In this paper, a discussion of various strategies to overcome this drawback is presented. Based on this analysis, a compromise solution is proposed, which consists of two modules: a standalone WFS rendering s...

UNLABELLED Kinetic (or compartment) modeling is a highly versatile tool for the analysis of experiments within living systems. In PET, it is essential for developing tracers, for assessing tracer behavior and for extracting quantitative information about the target process. However, tools to support the modeling tasks involved are not easily available. METHODS This article presents a requirem...