Abstract: In an inference engine a conditional dependency of variables is characterized in terms of second order uncertainty to aid in improving decision making speed and precision. Mean and distribution of evidence states are utilized to provide first order uncertainties for each of a plurality of states. Higher order statistics such as standard deviation and variance for the states are calculated in order to define second order uncertainties. A covariance layer of the inference engine receives variance information from parent nodes for calculating the states of a child node. Second order uncertainty expresses conditional dependency of the parameters to which the child node responds. The method and apparatus are generalized to apply the propagation of second order uncertainty through inference engines such as Bayesian Networks, Influence Diagrams and Probabilistic Relational Models, to output control signals.

Abstract: A delay line circuit and method to delay digital data in a main memory is provided. The delay line circuit may comprise primary delay line cache, secondary delay line cache, and a cache controller to control communication of data between the secondary delay cache and the primary delay cache. The primary delay line cache may receive digital data to be delayed from a signal processor module, and secondary delay line cache may be connected to the primary delay line cache and the main memory to send data to and receive delayed data from the main memory. Data in the secondary delay line cache may be updated with data from the main memory or with data from the primary delay line cache. The invention extends to a machine-readable medium comprising a set of instructions for executing any of the methods described herein.

Abstract: MIDI-generated audio streams or other input streams of audio events are perceptually associated with specific locations in 3D space with respect to the listener. A conventional pan parameter is redefined so that it no longer specifies the relative balance between the audio being fed to two fixed speaker locations. Instead, the new MIDI pan parameter extension specifies a virtual position of an audio stream in 3D space. Preferably, the relative position of a single audio stream is set along a predefined arc in 3D space.

Abstract: A delay line circuit and method to delay digital data in a main memory is provided. The delay line circuit may comprise primary delay line cache, secondary delay line cache, and a cache controller to control communication of data between the secondary delay cache and the primary delay cache. The primary delay line cache may receive digital data to be delayed from a signal processor module, and secondary delay line cache may be connected to the primary delay line cache and the main memory to send data to and receive delayed data from the main memory. Data in the secondary delay line cache may be updated with data from the main memory or with data from the primary delay line cache. The invention extends to a machine-readable medium comprising a set of instructions for executing any of the methods described herein.

Abstract: A digital processing device to process media data is provided. The device includes a plurality of processing modules to process the media data, and a media data path. The media data path communicates the media data between the processing modules, wherein the media data path is arranged in a ring configuration. In one embodiment, the media data path defines a digital audio bus that serially interconnects the plurality of processing modules. The digital audio bus may communicate digital audio data in a plurality of time-slots, each particular processing module having an associated time-slot from which data is received from the data path for processing by the particular processing module.