Abstract: A system for distributed process management uses a plurality of units of software installed on a computing platform. Further software controls operation of the plurality of units in use. Each unit of software communicates with other units of software, and at least some of the units of software further provides one or more elements of a software process.

Abstract: A secure optical communication scheme uses differential delay D in an unbalanced Mach-Zehender interferometer to provide two copies of the optical source signal at a remote phase modulator separated in time by D. As D is much bigger than the coherence time source, the two copies of the signal are effectively uncorrelated. Both signals are phase-modulated by the remote sender's data and returned to the unbalanced interferometer. The phase modulator will be converted into amplitude modulation by the action of the interferometer.

Abstract: If an attempt by a first user to contact another party fails, a callback server sets a flag. The callback server monitors terminals that have such flags set and is arranged to transmit an alert to the calling party when the called party next becomes available. However, if at the time when the called party becomes available, the calling party is himself no longer available, being now switched off or busy, an additional flag in the store, indicative of activity by the calling party, prevents a callback alert from being generated until the monitoring process can obtain availability indications in respect of both parties simultaneously. Availability may be determined by factors such as available bandwidth or terminal capabilities. A callback may be initiated when a predetermined number of called parties become available to participate in a conference call.

Abstract: Each node of a virtual network can store only a predetermined number of address links to other nodes. In response to receiving a link request between a first node and a second node, it is determined whether both the first and second nodes have less than the predetermined numbering their lists. If this condition is satisfied, the address of the first node is inserted into the second node's list and the address of the second node is inserted into the first node's list. If this condition is not satisfied, it is determined whether the first node list has at least two less than the predetermined number and, if so, then the link between the second and third nodes is broken and they are instead newly linked to the first node.

Abstract: Whether a person suffering dementia has left their flat unaccompanied can be determined by identifying an event indicating opening of the front door of the flat, determining whether the flat was occupied by more than one person prior to the door opening, determining whether there is inactivity in the flat following the door opening and sending a notification to a communications terminal of a caretaker if the flat was occupied by only one person and if there is inactivity in the flat.

Abstract: Data to be transmitted over a network includes a first part (perhaps audio) which is always to be transmitted and alternative second parts (perhaps video coded at different compression rates) of which one is to be chosen for transmission, depending on the current network capacity. In order to accommodate systems where (owing perhaps to the use of a congestion control mechanism such as TCP) the capacity available is initially undetermined, one firstly begins to transmit just the first part. When the network capacity becomes known (typically by monitoring the performance of the network in transmitting the first part), one of the alternative second parts is chosen and transmission of it commences. If desired this may initially be preferentially to, or to the exclusion of, further transmission of the first part.

Abstract: A communication system (1) in which a user (A) can elect to leave a message directly in the mailbox (11a) of another user (B) without calling or disturbing user (B). A store (database 7) is generated and maintained which identifies those users who are allowed direct access to the mailbox of user (B). The store is automatically updated whenever user (B) sends a communication to other users.

Abstract: A segmentation operation is applied to an input image to identify foreground objects of interest, and then a shadow removal operation is applied to remove any detected shadows from the foreground segmentation. The shadow removal algorithms can leave holes and bisections in the segmentation map, however, which will then subsequently impact on an object detection step performed using connected component analysis. To get around this problem, a conditional morphological dilation operation is applied to the segmentation map to ‘grow’ the segmented blobs to fill in any holes and bisections, without re-growing shadow pixels in the segmentation. The result is an object detection method and system which is robust to illumination changes causing shadows and/or highlights.

Abstract: A Computer Telephony Integration environment has reduced risk of inadvertent or fraudulent registration of the association of a user's computer terminal with the wrong telephone, i.e. one other than the telephone adjacent to the computer terminal or the user's mobile telephone, a host computer instructs the user via a screen display to call a particular extension of a CTI-enabled communications switching system.

Abstract: A decoder for video signals, such as MPEG which use motion-compensated bidirectional predictive coding, performs concealment of lost or corrupted portions of a picture. For this purpose, it estimates missing motion vectors by combining the two vectors which accompany a bidirectionally coded frame to create a substitute vector. An encoder can be modified to enhance this decoder operation, including forcing at least one frame per group of frames to be coded using bidirectional prediction, and constraining the two vectors so that the substitute vector is closer to the wanted value.

Abstract: Structured information data sets structured according to a first predefined structure are converted into data sets structured according to a second predefined structure by way of an intermediate data structure. Conversion rules are defined to convert from each of the first and second predefined structures into the intermediate data structure and from the intermediate data structure into each of the first and second predefined structures. A pre-processor is provided to carry out initial processing tasks on a received data set to make it more susceptible to structural processing according to the conversion rules, and a post-processor is provided to carry out tasks such as vocabulary and data type conversion.

Abstract: Personalized content is provided over a communications network such as the Internet. Providing personalized content includes both generating content which depends on the recipient of that content and delivering that content in a manner that depends on the recipient. Although methods of providing personalized content are known, none of those methods provide a mechanism for deciding when and how to personalize content. By enabling a content provided to send policy data to local caches and having a local agent computer arrange for content files to be delivered in accordance with those policy files, such a mechanism is provided.

Abstract: A method of signalling in an AIN, in which in an SSP, the initial message of a new transaction is addressed to a Service Global Title (SGT). The SSP translates that SGT to a first address of the first choice SCP. The SCP responds with an acknowledgement message which has a second address of the SCP as its source address, and includes the Nodal Global Title (NGT) of that SCP. The SSP sends subsequent messages for that transaction addressed to that NGT, and the SSP translates that NGT to the second address of the SCP. When the SCP is taken out of service, the first address is made unavailable, so the SSP sends new initial messages to the second choice SCP, but subsequent messages for existing transactions may still be sent to the second address of the first choice SCP. When all existing transactions have ceased, the SCP is taken out of service.

Abstract: A computer network is managed by policies. This allows selections to be made from a range of control options and optionally to be based on locally available system information. Policy-based management is distributed across the system and is handled locally by management agents allowing control of a sub-network. As a result of a distributed policy-based management system is provided which allows additional flexibility of control.

Abstract: A multiple channel steered spatialized signal is generated from a signal input modified according to respective spatialization gain functions to generate a plurality of audio channels. An echo cancellation signal is applied to a return path using a combined spatialization and echo path estimate. The estimate is derived from the gain functions applied to the respective channels. When the gain functions applied in the respective channels are changed, for instance to represent a different apparent position of the sound source, a new estimate of the echo paths is generated, based on a previous estimate of the echo path and on the new gain functions.

Abstract: Picture elements of a digitally coded image are each represented by a color value. The value of an element x is adjusted by firstly making a number of comparisons between elements elsewhere in the image. This comparison involves comparing a first picture element group (which may comprise the picture element x under consideration and at least one further picture element in the vicinity thereof) with a second picture element group. The second picture element group comprises a base picture element y and at least one further picture element, the number of picture elements in the second group being the same as the number of picture elements in the first group and the position of each further element of the second group relative to the base picture element of the second group being the same as the position of the respective further element of the first group relative to the picture element under consideration.

Abstract: Caricatured images of subjects are generated wherein the caricatured image of each subject is adapted when subjects join and leave a closed group of which they are members. By adapting the caricatured images in this manner, it can be ensured that each caricatured image remains maximally distinguishable from the other images in the group, thus ensuring that recognition of the images may be maintained at a high level.

Abstract: The rate of data transmission to a user via a communications link of a network is controlled wherein resource requests are communicated to a service provider. The resource requests are determined in accordance with an indication of the congestion level on the network and the user's defined parameters, such as their willingness to pay for the resource, wherein the resource request is weighted by a variable parameter, whose value is set in accordance with the congestion level on the network. This allows the rate controller to react efficiently and swiftly to network conditions as well as user defined parameters. By providing a computer programmed to act as a purchasing agent an automatic resource request to a service provider is enabled. An embodiment is described in which audio or video data is streamed to a user on the basis of the resource requests made on the user's behalf and is adjusted on the basis of user and network defined parameters.

Abstract: A signal is filtered by multiplying its Fourier transform by the Fourier transform of a reference sequence to which the filtering is to be matched. The reference sequence (e.g. a Golay sequence pair) is defined as an iterative combination of shorter sequences and its Fourier transform is generated by an iterative process of combining the Fourier transforms of a shorter starting sequence.

Abstract: A token issuer and an authentication device provide an identity confirmation device. A token issuer is programmable by a central identity provider to issue certification tokens for use in e-commerce whereby transactions can be certified with suppliers without need for additional communication with a central server.