Abstract: An exemplary method of determining location information includes transmitting a modeling signal from each of a plurality of detectors. Each of the plurality of detectors receives at least one of the transmitted modeling signals from the other detectors. At least one characteristic of each of the received modeling signals is determined. A signal propagation model for an area near each of the detectors is automatically determined based on the characteristic of each of the received modeling signals. The determined propagation model indicates an effect on a signal received within the corresponding area.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for improving safety when a driver of a vehicle such as an automobile is engaged in a conversation with another party (or other parties) using a mobile telecommunications device such as a cell phone. Specifically, a situation that requires an elevated attention level of the driver is automatically detected, and in response thereto, an audible alert to at least one of the remote parties to the conversation is automatically provided. The detection of a situation that requires an elevated attention level of the driver and/or the generation of the audible alert to the (one or more) remote parties may be effectuated by the driver's mobile telecommunications device (i.e., cell phone) or by a network element in the telecommunications network being used to effectuate the call.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for modeling wireless system performance subject to limitations on shared system resources such as power amplifiers and spreading codes. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a software modeling tool implemented on a computer or other processing device identifies two or more limited resources of the wireless system, models the wireless system utilizing a plurality of cascaded stochastic knapsack computations which collectively characterize the performance of the system subject to the two or more limited resources, and generates from the model a measure of the performance of the wireless system.

Abstract: Improved techniques for characterizing, adjusting and optimizing the overall performance of a wireless network. In an illustrative embodiment, the overall network performance for a particular network configuration is characterized by a vector with two components, one representing network coverage and another representing network capacity. Network coverage is defined by the likelihood of service under load, including interference, and may be further weighted by traffic density. Network capacity is defined by an amount of traffic with a given spatial distribution that can be served at a given overall target-blocking rate. The overall network performance may be characterized using a two-dimensional capacity/coverage diagram which plots overall network performance vectors, each including a network capacity component and a network coverage component, for various network configurations.

Abstract: Techniques for determination of network parameters in, e.g., a processor-implemented system for characterizing, adjusting or optimizing the performance of a wireless network. In an illustrative embodiment, values of one or more link parameters of the wireless network are interpolated along edges in a mesh of data points derived at least in part from road location data characterizing an area serviced by the wireless network. A measure of network performance, e.g., a coverage measure based on pilot signal-to-interference ratio, may be generated using the interpolated values. The edges of the mesh have associated therewith a set of edge weights representative of traffic in the wireless network. The edge weights may be adjusted so as to be in agreement with available network traffic data.

Abstract: Improved techniques for optimizing performance of a wireless network. In an illustrative embodiment, a derivative-based optimization process is applied to optimize an objective function of a network performance metric with respect to a number of network tuning parameter variables. The optimization may be based on first or higher order derivatives of the objective function with respect to the selected network parameter variables. The objective function may include, e.g., one or more of a maximization of network coverage, a maximization of network capacity, and a minimization of network resources. Additional network parameters which are not variables in optimization process serve as constraints to the optimization process. Advantageously, the invention substantially improves the process of designing, adjusting and optimizing the performance of wireless networks.

Abstract: Improved techniques for characterizing, adjusting and optimizing the overall performance of a wireless network. In an illustrative embodiment, the overall network performance for a particular network configuration is characterized by a vector with two components, one representing network coverage and another representing network capacity. Network coverage is defined by the likelihood of service under load, including interference, and may be further weighted by traffic density. Network capacity is defined by an amount of traffic with a given spatial distribution that can be served at a given overall target-blocking rate. The overall network performance may be characterized using a two-dimensional capacity/coverage diagram which plots overall network performance vectors, each including a network capacity component and a network coverage component, for various network configurations.

Abstract: A technique for the enhancement of degraded document images to improve their display quality characteristics and image recognition accuracy. Images believed to be representative of the same symbol which occur in different positions over a image source (e.g., a facsimile page) are clustered together. Using the symbols within a particular cluster, an average character image outline for that cluster of symbols is derived and thereafter used to refine the matching of symbols within the cluster and to determine a final representative symbol for that cluster. The final representative symbols from the various resulting clusters are then used to replace all matching images throughout the image source. Advantageously, the display quality and recognition accuracy of the image source is enhanced after application of the present invention due to the resulting improvement of the images in the image source.