Abstract: An automobile sound processor containing prerecorded or synthesized sound signatures of vintage automobiles and motorcycles or other sounds, along with other audio processing components, is integrated with an automobile's on-board stereo sound system. A mode selector allows the user to select the desired classic car sound signature to be replicated. Sensors or transducers located in the engine compartment measure engine RPM and manifold vacuum. The sensors communicate instantaneous measurements of engine RPM and manifold vacuum to the sound processor and other audio processing components. The output of the sound processor is a composite audio replication of a selected sound signature. The sound signature is reproduced through the vehicle's on-board stereo sound system and modulated by the driving dynamics of the driver's car, as if the car were producing these sounds by responding to acceleration and deceleration dynamics.

Abstract: A phased array transducer and method for the manufacture thereof having a design that allows the array to focus in a near field of interest and a far field of interest. The array includes a plurality of even and odd numbered transducer elements where the even and odd numbered elements have an active region of particular widths. The width of the active region of the odd numbered elements is different than the width of the active region of the even numbered elements so that the odd numbered elements can be used to image in one field of interest while the even numbered elements can be used to image in another field of interest.

Abstract: The invention provides a method and system for adaptive persistence processing in an ultrasound imaging system. Acoustic signals are temporally filtered using an adaptive persistence filter, having a recursive stage followed by a nonrecursive stage. A set of filtering coefficients for each stage are supplied by a look-up table in a memory, addressed or indexed in response to a plurality of input or output pixel values. The look-up table may therefore embody any selected function of its input variables. The input variables for the look-up table function are a current input pixel value X.sub.n and a previous intermediate pixel value W.sub.n-1, and the function embodied by the look-up table includes a relative first difference function for selecting a filter coefficient. A recursive filtering coefficient .alpha. is held constant over time, while a nonrecursive filtering coefficient .gamma.is adjusted dynamically in response to the current input pixel value X.sub.n and the previous intermediate pixel value W.sub.

Abstract: A phased array transducer and method for the manufacture thereof having a design that allows the array to focus in a near field of interest and a far field of interest. The array includes a plurality of even and odd numbered transducer elements where the even and odd numbered elements have an active region of particular widths. The width of the active region of the odd numbered elements is different than the width of the active region of the even numbered elements so that the odd numbered elements can be used to image in one field of interest while the even numbered elements can be used to image in another field of interest.