Abstract: A method and apparatus embeds and extracts a watermark bit-sequence in a data stream of symbols compressed using dictionary-based compression scheme with variable length indices. The embedding transmits an index value from a set of m-bit index values used to compress symbols in the data stream, identifies divisions and unused bits in the set of m-bit index values, determines a watermark bit value as either a zero-bit value or a one-bit value, transmits the index value in a one-bit watermark value range when the watermark bit value is determined to be a one-bit value and transmits the index value in a zero-bit watermark value range when the watermark bit value is determined to be a zero-bit value. Extracting the watermark reverses these operations and classifies the indices as being in either the zero-bit watermark value range or the one-bit watermark value range until the watermark is recreated.

Abstract: A denoising process or system uses convex optimization to determine characteristics of a clean signal. In one embodiment, a noisy signal that represents a set of symbols can be scanned to determine an empirical vector with components respectively indicating respective empirical probabilities of symbols in the noisy signal that occur in a particular context. A convex optimization process can then identify a vector such that a difference between the empirical vector and a product of the identified vector and a channel matrix is minimized. The identified vector can be used to determine when a symbol in the noisy signal should be replaced when assembling a reconstructed signal.

Abstract: In various embodiments of the present invention, optimal or near-optimal multidirectional context sets for a particular data-and/or-signal analysis or processing task are determined by selecting a maximum context size, generating a set of leaf nodes corresponding to those maximally sized contexts that occur in the data or signal to be processed or analyzed, and then building up and concurrently pruning, level by level, a multidirectional optimal context tree constructing one of potentially many optimal or near-optimal context trees in which leaf nodes represent the context of a near-optimal or optimal context set that may contain contexts of different sizes and geometries. Pruning is carried out using a problem-domain-related weighting function applicable to nodes and subtrees within the context tree. In one described embodiment, a bi-directional context tree suitable for a signal denoising application is constructed using, as the weighting function, an estimated loss function.

Abstract: In various embodiments of the present invention, a number n of mutually interfering signals are denoised by selecting a discrete universal denoiser method that denoises n mutually interfering signals, tuning the discrete universal denoiser to denoise the n mutually interfering signals, and denoising the n mutually interfering signals by applying the tuned discrete universal denoiser to the n mutually interfering signals.

Abstract: A method and system for space-efficient error-control coding for encoding data into a 3-dimensional data-storage medium. The method and system enables the detection and correction of a bounded number of certain types of errors corresponding to the known failure modes of a class of 3-dimensional data-storage media.

Abstract: Methods for increasing defect tolerance and fault tolerance in systems containing interconnected components, in which a signal level is classified as belonging to one of a plurality of different, distinguishable classes based on one or more thresholds separating the signal-level classes, and defect-and-fault tolerant systems embodying the methods. An electronic-device embodiment including an array of nanowire crossbars, the nanoscale memory elements within the nanowire crossbars addressed through conventional microelectronic address lines, and a method embodiment for providing fault-tolerant interconnection interfaces with electrically distinguishable signal levels are described.

Abstract: A denoising process statistically processes a series of frames of a motion picture to construct respective data structures for the frames. Each data structure indicates for each of multiple contexts, occurrences of symbols that have the same context and are in the corresponding one of the frames. The data structures for multiple frames are combined to construct an enhanced data structure for one of the frames, and symbols in that frame are replaced with values determined using the enhanced data structure.

Abstract: A magnetoresistive solid-state storage device (MRAM) employs error correction coding (ECC) to form ECC encoded stored data. In a read operation, a set of test cells in a test row are used to predict failures amongst a set of cells of interest storing a block of ECC encoded data. Erasure information is formed from these predictions which identifies potentially unreliable symbols in the block of ECC encoded data, and the ability of a decoder to perform ECC decoding is substantially enhanced.

Abstract: Compression and reconstruction of a digital image are both performed by accessing a plurality of color caches corresponding to different chromatic contexts, selecting a color cache for a pixel value being processed, and using information in the selected color cache to predict a value for the pixel being processed.

Abstract: In various embodiments of the present invention, optimal or near-optimal multidirectional context sets for a particular data-and/or-signal analysis or processing task are determined by selecting a maximum context size, generating a set of leaf nodes corresponding to those maximally sized contexts that occur in the data or signal to be processed or analyzed, and then building up and concurrently pruning, level by level, a multidirectional optimal context tree constructing one of potentially many optimal or near-optimal context trees in which leaf nodes represent the context of a near-optimal or optimal context set that may contain contexts of different sizes and geometries. Pruning is carried out using a problem-domain-related weighting function applicable to nodes and subtrees within the context tree. In one described embodiment, a bi-directional context tree suitable for a signal denoising application is constructed using, as the weighting function, an estimated loss function.

Abstract: A fault-tolerant magnetoresistive solid-state storage device (MRAM) in use performs error correction coding and decoding of stored information, to tolerate physical failures. At manufacture, the device is tested to confirm that each set of storage cells is suitable for storing ECC encoded data. The test comprises identifying failed cells where the failures will be visible in use for the generation of erasure information used in ECC decoding, by comparing parametric values obtained from the cells against one or more failure ranges, and includes performing a write-read-compare operation with test data to identify failed cells which will be hidden for the generation of erasure information in use. A failure count is formed based on both the visible failures and the hidden failures, to determine that the set of cells is suitable for storing ECC encoded data. The failure count is weighted, with hidden failures having a greater weighting than visible failures.

Abstract: Embedding a watermark includes identifying watermark locations in the data stream, partitioning the identified watermark locations into watermark location blocks each to be embedded with a watermark value portion from the watermark value and altering a predetermined maximum number of data stream values to embed the watermark value portion and introduce no more than a predetermined level of distortion according to a code table. Extracting the watermark bit-sequence includes identifying watermark locations in the data stream, partitioning the identified watermark locations into watermark location blocks each expected to be embedded with a watermark value portion from the watermark value and generating the watermark value by matching each data stream value to a watermark value portion using a code table.

Abstract: An apparatus for operating on a received signal that includes a noise-free signal that has been corrupted by a channel is disclosed. A memory stores a channel corruption function specifying the probability that a symbol having a value I was converted to a symbol having a value J by the channel, and a degradation function measuring the signal degradation that occurs if a symbol having the value I is replaced by symbol having a value J. The controller parses one of the received signal or the processed signal into phrases, and replaces one of the symbol having a value I in a context of that symbol in the received signal with a symbol having a value J if the replacement would reduce the estimated overall signal degradation in the processed signal. The context of a symbol depends on the phrase associated with the symbol.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for processing a received signal that has been corrupted by a channel to generate a processed signal having less signal corruption than the received signal is disclosed. The apparatus stores the received signal, information specifying the probability that a symbol having a value I will be converted to a symbol having a value J by the channel, and information specifying a signal degradation function that measures the signal degradation that occurs if a symbol having the value I is replaced by symbol having a value J. The controller replaces each symbol having a value I in a context of that symbol in the received signal with a symbol having a value J that minimizes the overall signal degradation in the processed signal relative to the underlying noise-free signal as estimated via the observed statistics within that context.

Abstract: A magnetoresistive solid-state storage device (MRAM) employs error correction coding (ECC) to form ECC encoded stored data. In a read operation, parametric values are obtained from storage cells 16 of the device and compared to ranges to establish logical bit values, together with erasure information. The erasure information identifies symbols 206 in a block of ECC encoded data 204 which, from the parametric evaluation, are suspected to be affected by physical failures of the storage cells 16. Where the position of suspected failed symbols 206 is known from this erasure information, the ability of a decoder 22 to perform ECC decoding is substantially enhanced.

Abstract: Denoising such as discrete universal denoising (DUDE) that scans a noisy signal in an attempt to characterize probabilities of finding symbol values in a particular context in a clean signal can perform a rough denoising on the noisy signal and identify contexts from a roughly denoised signal. The rough denoising improves estimation of the statistical properties of the clean signal by reducing the false differentiation of contexts that noise can otherwise create. Statistical information regarding occurrences of symbols in the noisy signal and corresponding contexts in the roughly denoised signal can then be used to denoise the noisy signal. The specifics of the rough denoising can be chosen based on knowledge of the noise or of the clean data. Alternatively, the DUDE can be used in an iterative fashion where the denoised signal produced from a prior iteration provides the contexts for the next iteration.

Abstract: A discrete, universal denoising method is applied to a noisy signal for which the source alphabet is typically large. The method exploits a priori information regarding expected characteristics of the signal. In particular, using characteristics of a continuous tone image such as continuity and small-scale symmetry allows definition of context classes containing large numbers of image contexts having similar statistical characteristics. Use of the context classes allows extraction of more reliable indications of the characteristic of a clean signal.

Abstract: A number of methods and systems for efficiently storing defective-memory-location tables. A asymmetrical-distortion-model vector quantization method and a run-length quantization method for compressing a defective-memory-location bit map that identifies defective memory locations within a memory are provided. In addition, because various different compression/decompression methods may be suitable for different types of defect distributions within a memory, a method is provided to select the most appropriate compression/decompression method from among a number of compression/decompression methods as most appropriate for a particular defect probability distribution. Finally, bit-map compression and the figure-of-merit metric for selecting an appropriate compression technique may enable global optimization of error-correcting codes and defective memory-location identification.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention provide a compression method and system that compresses received data by first denoising the data and then losslessly compressing the denoised data. Denoising removes high entropy features of the data to produce lower entropy, denoised data that can be efficiently compressed by a lossless compression technique. One embodiment of the invention is a universal lossy compression method obtained by cascading a denoising technique with a universal lossless compression method. Alternative embodiments include methods obtained by cascading a denoising technique with one or more lossy or lossless compression methods.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to analysis of biopolymer sequences by introducing artificial noise into the sequences and then applying a denoiser to remove the artificial noise, monitoring the denoisability of each portion of the sequence by comparing the product of the denoiser and the original sequence. Portions of biopolymer sequences involved in certain cellular functions, such as genes within DNA sequences, often encode information in codes that are highly resilient to discrete, local corruption, such as DNA sequence mutations. Portions of DNA involved in other types of cellular functions may be less resilient to random errors, or, in other cases, may be so uniformly repetitive in sequence that random errors can be extremely easily identified and corrected. The denoisability of portions of biopolymer sequences into which random errors are introduced may thus rather directly reflect the error tolerance and error recognizability within the portions of biopolymer sequences.