Abstract: In one embodiment, an improved-customizability digital sound relaxation system having a sound card receiving port and a collectable sound card are cooperative to play prerecorded natural or other sounds by depressing one of a plurality of sound selector switches and a sound card selector switch. The new sounds of each collectable sound card customize the library of available sounds to individual taste. In another embodiment, an improved-flexibility digital sound relaxation system having at least two (2) prerecorded sounds stored at first and second memory locations of internal or external/internal memory devices may be selected and combined for concurrent and/or individual replay by depressing one of a plurality of sound selector switches and a combine switch, or by depressing one of a plurality of sound selector switches, a sound card selector switch and a combine switch.

Abstract: A feature-based speech recognizer having a probabilistic linguistic processor provides word matching based on the entire space of feature vectors. In this manner, the errors and inaccuracies associated with the heretofore known feature-based speech recognizers, which provided word matching on less than the entire space of feature vectors, are overcome, thereby resulting in improved-accuracy speech recognition. The word matching may be on feature vectors computed either from segments or from landmarks or from both segments and landmarks. For word matching on segment-based feature vectors, acoustic likelihoods may be normalized by extra-acoustic likelihoods defined by at least one extra-acoustic ("not" or "anti") model. Context-dependent and context-independent acoustic models may be employed.

Abstract: Sub-micron-scale, micron-scale and greater than micron-scale, crack-free and regularly-shaped structures of high-contrast refractive index are provided in transparent storage media by controllably focusing ultrashort laser pulses in the bulk of virtually any transparent medium respectively during operation in a "low energy," a "high energy", and a "third" operating regime. In any operating regime, the crack-free and regularly-shaped structures of high-contrast refractive index may be controllably patterned in 2-D or 3-D so as to permanently store both digital and non-digital information in the bulk of the transparent storage medium. For digital-type information, greater than one (1) Terabit, and up to one hundred (100) Terabit, digital information storage capacity in a CD-ROM sized disc is provided.

Abstract: A panoramic camera has a camera housing rotatable about an axis of rotation that defines a viewpoint which points along a radial optical path that object rays traverse as the camera is rotated about its axis; a lens assembly having an optical path and a front nodal point mounted for rotation with the camera housing with the optical path of the lens offset from the radial optical path; a specular assembly including an object specular member along the radial optical path mounted for rotation with the housing that cooperates with the lens assembly for gathering object rays that traverse the radial optical path and for deviating them along the optical path of the lens assembly in such a way that the front nodal point of the lens subassembly virtually appears to lie on the axis of rotation thereby eliminating image smearing; and has an ambient light responsive controller including an ambient light sensor mounted for rotation with the camera housing for automatically varying the speed of rotation in direct relation

Abstract: A handholdable massager having a combination massaging and dual function two speed actuator pad is disclosed which provides both automatic and manual modes of operation enabling a user to enjoy either a hands-free or user-applied massage to almost any body part at user-selectable speeds. The combination massaging and actuator pad, mounted in the presently preferred embodiment for rotation and translation with a handholdable housing body, both vibrates as well as provides the control action to select the manual and the automatic modes of operation at different speeds, simply by rotating and translating it about its axis of rotation. An actuation mechanism having two (2) switches and actuator cams integrally formed with the combination massaging and actuator pad cooperate in the presently preferred embodiment to provide user-selection of the mode and of the speed of operation.

Abstract: A scalable, self-organizing packet radio network providing decentralized collision-free packet transfer is disclosed having spread-spectrum transmitters and receivers for eliminating contention from background noise, spread-spectrum receivers with multiple tracking and despreading channels for eliminating contention from multiple transmitters contending for the same receiver at the same time, and a processor implemented scheduling technique for eliminating contention arising both from self-contention and from comparatively-high power transmissions of neighboring stations. In the preferred embodiments, the processor implemented scheduling technique randomly provides a unique schedule of transmit and receive opportunities for each station. In accord therewith, each station obliges itself to listen and publishes the unique schedule of each station to every neighboring station.

Abstract: A panoramic camera has a camera housing rotatable about an axis of rotation that defines a viewpoint which points along a radial optical path that object rays traverse as the camera is rotated about its axis; a lens assembly having an optical path and a front nodal point mounted for rotation with the camera housing with the optical path of the lens offset from the radial optical path; a specular assembly including an object specular member along the radial optical path mounted for rotation with the housing that cooperates with the lens assembly for gathering object rays that traverse the radial optical path and for deviating them along the optical path of the lens assembly in such a way that the front nodal point of the lens subassembly virtually appears to lie on the axis of rotation thereby eliminating image smearing; and has an ambient light responsive controller including an ambient light sensor mounted for rotation with the camera housing for automatically varying the speed of rotation in direct relation

Abstract: Novel optical modulators and other high performance Faraday-Stark magneto-optoelectronic devices (MOE's) are disclosed that allow electrical adjusting of the polarization (or other optical properties) of an excitation light at high modulation bandwidth and deep modulation depths through the Faraday-Stark effect. The high performance Faraday-Stark magneto-optoelectronic devices of the present invention include a Faraday-Stark cell having at least one quantum well formed in a semiconductor or other material defining transition energies and wavefunction overlaps that correspond to the presence and/or magnitude of magnetic and electric fields that may be present to the quantum wells of the cell.

Abstract: A shoreline erosion-reversing system and method provides seawards and landwards "quiet" zones which cooperate to promote landwards soil deposition and to mitigate seawards soil scouring. In accord therewith, a series of one or more upstanding, vertically-movable and negatively-buoyant apertured sections are arrayed on a shoreline to be protected. Each section is comprised by a hydrodynamic fence subassembly having a lattice of slats fastened in spaced-apart relation to top and bottom horizontal support members and by a pile subassembly having at least one pile member, which subassemblies cooperate to allow the hydrodynamic fence subassembly to move in a binding-free manner relative to the pile subassembly. The top and bottom horizontal members may be singly and/or doubly arranged and may be implemented with either flexible or rigid members. The slats of the lattice of slats may be singly, doubly and/or triply arranged. End assemblies are disclosed for terminating flexible horizontal support members.