Abstract: A method and device for boosting an input signal to overcome noise. Both the input signal, S(t), and an estimate of the noise, N(t), are bandpassed in adjacent pass bands to produce signal and noise subbands. Preferably, the input signal is delayed before being bandpassed. The power envelopes of the signal subbands are converted to signal masking functions, (70), that incorporate the phenomena of forward and backward masking. Signal masking functions whose amplitudes are below the amplitudes of their frequency neighbors are nulled. Similarly, noise subbands whose powers are below the powers of neighboring noise subbands are nulled. The surviving signal masking functions are compared to the corresponding surviving noise power envelopes to determine the degree to which the surviving signal subbands must be amplified, (78), to overcome the noise. The surviving signal subbands are so amplified and summed to provide the output signal, S?(t).

Abstract: An illumination system (20, 72, 110, 142) for illuminating a scene comprising: an illuminator (24, 74, 116) having a plurality of substantially contiguous independently controllable light (26, 76) providing regions each of which provides light that illuminates a different region of the scene; optics (30) that directs light from the illuminator to the scene; a range finder (22, 64, 112) that determines distances to regions of the scene; and a controller (28, 29, 118) that controls the plurality of light providing regions to provide light for illuminating the scene responsive to distances determined by the range finder (22, 64, 112).

Abstract: A method of scheduling the handling of data from a plurality of channels. The method includes accumulating data from a plurality of channels by a remote access server, scheduling a processor of the server to handle the accumulated data from at least one first one of the channels, once during a first cycle time, and scheduling the processor to handle the accumulated data from at least one second one of the channels, once during a second cycle time different from the first cycle time.