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Electrical Engineering and Systems Science

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Friday 23 January

Systems and Control

Polynomial Chaos-based Input Shaper Design under Time-Varying Uncertainty

The work presented here investigates the application of polynomial chaos expansion toward input shaper design in order to maintain robustness in dynamical systems subject to uncertainty. Furthermore, this work intends to specifically address time-varying uncertainty by employing intrusive polynomial chaos expansion. The methodology presented is validated through numerical simulation of intrusive polynomial chaos expansion formulation applied to spring mass system experiencing time-varying uncertainty in the spring stiffness. The system also evaluates non-robust and robust input shapers through the framework in order to identify designs that minimize residual energy. Results indicate that vibration mitigation is achieved at a similar accuracy, yet at higher efficiency compared to a Monte Carlo framework.
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All authors Johannes Güttler, Karan Baker, Premjit Saha, James Warner, Adrian Stein

Systems and Control

AstroTimer: Rethinking Non-Access Stratum Timers in LEO Constellations

Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations expand 5G coverage to remote regions but differ fundamentally from terrestrial networks due to rapidly changing topologies, fluctuating delays, and constrained onboard resources. Existing 3GPP Non-Access Stratum (NAS) timers, inherited from terrestrial and geostationary (GEO) or medium Earth orbit (MEO) systems, fail to accommodate these dynamics, leading to signaling storms and inefficiency. This paper introduces AstroTimer, a lightweight, adaptive framework for sizing NAS timers based on LEO-specific parameters such as link variability, processing delays, and network-function placement. AstroTimer derives a closed-form timer model with low computational cost and optimizes both watchdog and backoff timers for the 5G registration procedure. Simulation results demonstrate that AstroTimer significantly reduces registration time, retry frequency, and user equipment (UE) energy consumption compared to 3GPP defaults, while preventing signaling overloads. The proposed approach provides an operator-ready foundation for reliable, efficient, and scalable non-terrestrial 5G/6G deployments.
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Systems and Control

Robust and learning-augmented algorithms for degradation-aware battery optimization

This paper studies the problem of maximizing revenue from a grid-scale battery energy storage system, accounting for uncertain future electricity prices and the effect of degradation on battery lifetime. We formulate this task as an online resource allocation problem. We propose an algorithm, based on online mirror descent, that is no-regret in the stochastic i.i.d. setting and attains finite asymptotic competitive ratio in the adversarial setting (robustness). When untrusted advice about the opportunity cost of degradation is available, we propose a learning-augmented algorithm that performs well when the advice is accurate (consistency) while still retaining robustness properties when the advice is poor.
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Systems and Control

Autonomous Mars Rover Module for Soil Sampling and Life Component Analysis

The search for extraterrestrial life has long been a primary focus of scientific exploration, driven by rapid advancements in technology and our understanding of the universe. The discovery of water on Mars has sparked significant interest, raising the question of whether life could exist on the planet. This study proposes a novel approach to simulate and illustrate the detection of life using a proof-of-life module integrated into a Mars rover. The module is an autonomous system capable of traveling to designated regions, excavating soil, collecting samples, and performing biochemical testing onboard the rover itself. The project is inherently multidisciplinary, integrating mechanical systems such as a drill mechanism and a vacuum system, alongside biochemical analysis for soil testing. The module is capable of successfully detecting the presence or absence of living components of life from the collected soil particles. This proof-of-life module serves as a proof-of-concept for autonomous life detection in extraterrestrial environments and lays the foundation for future exploration missions.
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All authors Bibek Adhikari, Rishab Rijal, Rakesh Yadav, Nikchey Khatri, Sandesh Dhakal

Systems and Control

Set-Based Reachability for Low-Thrust Spacecraft in Two-Body and Cislunar Dynamical Systems

This paper investigates the application of zonotope-based reachability analysis to low-thrust spacecraft in both two-body and cislunar environments. Reachable sets are generated under two-body and circular restricted three-body (CR3BP) dynamics using set-based methods that approximate nonlinear systems via Taylor expansions. A state-dependent coefficient (SDC) parameterization is also explored to represent nonlinear dynamics in a pseudo-linear form, enabling efficient matrix based propagation of reachable sets. Applications include Earth-Mars transfer and cislunar scenarios such as L1 and L2 Halo orbits and Near Rectilinear Halo Orbits (NRHOs). The resulting reachable sets are used for safe trajectory generation and tracking, with comparisons drawn between model predictive control (MPC) and LQR-based station-keeping. The proposed approach provides a scalable framework for analyzing spacecraft behavior under complex dynamics and control constraints.
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Signal Processing

Data-Efficient Physics-Informed Learning to Model Synchro-Waveform Dynamics of Grid-Integrated Inverter-Based Resources

Inverter-based resources (IBRs) exhibit fast transient dynamics during network disturbances, which often cannot be properly captured by phasor and SCADA measurements. This shortcoming has recently been addressed with the advent of waveform measurement units (WMUs), which provide high-resolution, time-synchronized raw voltage and current waveform samples from multiple locations in the power system. However, transient model learning based on synchro-waveform measurements remains constrained by the scarcity of network disturbances and the complexity of the underlying nonlinear dynamics of IBRs. We propose to address these problems by developing a data-efficient physics-informed machine learning (PIML) framework for synchro-waveform analytics that estimates the IBR terminal current response from only a few network disturbance signatures. Here, the physics of the electrical circuits are used to compensate for limited data availability by constraining the learning process through known circuit relationships. Two cases are considered, with known and unknown circuit parameters. In the latter case, the framework jointly learns the transient dynamics of the IBRs and the parameters of the electrical circuit. Case studies using WMU disturbance data across multiple sampling rates shows consistently lower current estimation error with substantially fewer training events than a purely data-driven baseline.
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All authors Shivanshu Tripathi, Hossein Mohsenzadeh Yazdi, Maziar Raissi, Hamed Mohsenian-Rad

Image and Video Processing

Fully 3D Unrolled Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting Reconstruction via Staged Pretraining and Implicit Gridding

Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) enables fast quantitative imaging, yet reconstructing high-resolution 3D data remains computationally demanding. Non-Cartesian reconstructions require repeated non-uniform FFTs, and the commonly used Locally Low Rank (LLR) prior adds computational overhead and becomes insufficient at high accelerations. Learned 3D priors could address these limitations, but training them at scale is challenging due to memory and runtime demands. We propose SPUR-iG, a fully 3D deep unrolled subspace reconstruction framework that integrates efficient data consistency with a progressive training strategy. Data consistency leverages implicit GROG, which grids non-Cartesian data onto a Cartesian grid with an implicitly learned kernel, enabling FFT-based updates with minimal artifacts. Training proceeds in three stages: (1) pretraining a denoiser with extensive data augmentation, (2) greedy per-iteration unrolled training, and (3) final fine-tuning with gradient checkpointing. Together, these stages make large-scale 3D unrolled learning feasible within a reasonable compute budget. On a large in vivo dataset with retrospective undersampling, SPUR-iG improves subspace coefficient maps quality and quantitative accuracy at 1-mm isotropic resolution compared with LLR and a hybrid 2D/3D unrolled baseline. Whole-brain reconstructions complete in under 15-seconds, with up to $\times$111 speedup for 2-minute acquisitions. Notably, $T_1$ maps with our method from 30-second scans achieve accuracy on par with or exceeding LLR reconstructions from 2-minute scans. Overall, the framework improves both accuracy and speed in large-scale 3D MRF reconstruction, enabling efficient and reliable accelerated quantitative imaging.
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All authors Yonatan Urman, Mark Nishimura, Daniel Abraham, Xiaozhi Cao, Kawin Setsompop

Signal Processing

Inverter-Based Differential Amplifiers With Back-Gate Feedback Linearization

Feeding the common-source amplifier output to the back-gate terminal in fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) technology exploits the linearizing effect of negative feedback. Analysis and simulation results in 22 nm FD-SOI show that back-gate feedback sets the overall gain approximately independent of the load, contributes no additional noise, and improves linearity by the back-gate voltage gain. Third-order intercept point (IP3) enhancement is at least $60\times$ compared to without feedback in inverter-based, or complementary common-source, differential amplifiers.
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Signal Processing · Cross-listed from cs.LG

Hybrid Mamba-Attention Neural Architecture for Channel Estimation

This paper proposes a hybrid Mamba-attention neural architecture to achieve improved channel estimation for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) waveforms, particularly for configurations with a large number of subcarriers. By integrating a customized Mamba module, the proposed framework handles large-scale subcarrier channel estimation efficiently while capturing long-distance dependencies among these subcarriers effectively. Unlike the conventional Mamba structure, this paper implements a bidirectional selective scan to enable information propagation from both directions, because channel gains at different subcarriers are inherently non-causal. In addition, by integrating Mamba to reduce the reliance on quadratic-complexity self-attention, the proposed solution achieves lower space complexity than fully transformer architectures. Simulation results based on the 3GPP TS 36.101 channel demonstrate that compared to other baseline neural networks, the proposed method achieves superior channel estimation performance with fewer tunable parameters and exhibits good generalization across previously unseen channels.
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All authors Dianxin Luan, Chengsi Liang, Jie Huang, Zheng Lin, Kaitao Meng, John Thompson, Cheng-Xiang Wang, Ozgur Akan

Audio and Speech Processing · Cross-listed from cs.SD

SonoEdit: Null-Space Constrained Knowledge Editing for Pronunciation Correction in LLM-Based TTS

Neural text-to-speech (TTS) systems systematically mispronounce low-resource proper nouns, particularly non-English names, brands, and geographic locations, due to their underrepresentation in predominantly English training corpora. Existing solutions typically rely on expensive multilingual data collection, supervised finetuning, or manual phonetic annotation, which limits the deployment of TTS systems in linguistically diverse settings. We introduce SonoEdit, a model editing technique that surgically corrects pronunciation errors in pre-trained TTS models without retraining. Instead of costly finetuning or explicit phoneme injection, we propose a parsimonious alternative based on Null-Space Pronunciation Editing, which performs a single-shot parameter update to modify the pronunciation of specific words while provably preserving all other model behavior. We first adapt Acoustic Causal Tracing to identify the Transformer layers responsible for text-to-pronunciation mapping. We then apply Null-Space Constrained Editing to compute a closed-form weight update that corrects the target pronunciation while remaining mathematically orthogonal to the subspace governing general speech generation. This constrained update steers the model's acoustic output toward a desired pronunciation exemplar while guaranteeing zero first-order change on a preserved speech corpus.
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All authors Ayush Pratap Singh, Harshit Singh, Nityanand Mathur, Akshat Mandloi, Sudarshan Kamath

Audio and Speech Processing

Recovering Performance in Speech Emotion Recognition from Discrete Tokens via Multi-Layer Fusion and Paralinguistic Feature Integration

Discrete speech tokens offer significant advantages for storage and language model integration, but their application in speech emotion recognition (SER) is limited by paralinguistic information loss during quantization. This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of discrete tokens for SER. Using a fine-tuned WavLM-Large model, we systematically quantify performance degradation across different layer configurations and k-means quantization granularities. To recover the information loss, we propose two key strategies: (1) attention-based multi-layer fusion to recapture complementary information from different layers, and (2) integration of openSMILE features to explicitly reintroduce paralinguistic cues. We also compare mainstream neural codec tokenizers (SpeechTokenizer, DAC, EnCodec) and analyze their behaviors when fused with acoustic features. Our findings demonstrate that through multi-layer fusion and acoustic feature integration, discrete tokens can close the performance gap with continuous representations in SER tasks.
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Audio and Speech Processing

PC-MCL: Patient-Consistent Multi-Cycle Learning with multi-label bias correction for respiratory sound classification

Automated respiratory sound classification supports the diagnosis of pulmonary diseases. However, many deep models still rely on cycle-level analysis and suffer from patient-specific overfitting. We propose PC-MCL (Patient-Consistent Multi-Cycle Learning) to address these limitations by utilizing three key components: multi-cycle concatenation, a 3-label formulation, and a patient-matching auxiliary task. Our work resolves a multi-label distributional bias in respiratory sound classification, a critical issue inherent to applying multi-cycle concatenation with the conventional 2-label formulation (crackle, wheeze). This bias manifests as a systematic loss of normal signal information when normal and abnormal cycles are combined. Our proposed 3-label formulation (normal, crackle, wheeze) corrects this by preserving information from all constituent cycles in mixed samples. Furthermore, the patient-matching auxiliary task acts as a multi-task regularizer, encouraging the model to learn more robust features and improving generalization. On the ICBHI 2017 benchmark, PC-MCL achieves an ICBHI Score of 65.37%, outperforming existing baselines. Ablation studies confirm that all three components are essential, working synergistically to improve the detection of abnormal respiratory events.
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Image and Video Processing · Cross-listed from cs.NI

Evaluating Wi-Fi Performance for VR Streaming: A Study on Realistic HEVC Video Traffic

Cloud-based Virtual Reality (VR) streaming presents significant challenges for 802.11 networks due to its high throughput and low latency requirements. When multiple VR users share a Wi-Fi network, the resulting uplink and downlink traffic can quickly saturate the channel. This paper investigates the capacity of 802.11 networks for supporting realistic VR streaming workloads across varying frame rates, bitrates, codec settings, and numbers of users. We develop an emulation framework that reproduces Air Light VR (ALVR) operation, where real HEVC video traffic is fed into an 802.11 simulation model. Our findings explore Wi-Fi's performance anomaly and demonstrate that Intra-refresh (IR) coding effectively reduces latency variability and improves QoS, supporting up to 4 concurrent VR users with Constant Bitrate (CBR) 100 Mbps before the channel is saturated.
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Signal Processing

IRS Compensation of Hyper-Rayleigh Fading: How Many Elements Are Needed?

The letter introduces and studies the problem of defining the minimum number of Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS) elements needed to compensate for heavy fading conditions in multipath fading channels. The fading severity is quantified in terms of Hyper-Rayleigh Regimes (HRRs) (i.e., full-HRR (worst-case conditions), strong-, weak-, and no-HRR), and the channel model used (Inverse Power Lomax (IPL)) was chosen since it can account for all HRRs. The research presents the derived closed-form channel coefficient envelope statistics for the single IRS-element channel with IPL statistics in both subchannels and total IRS-assisted channel, as well as tight approximations for the channel coefficient and instantaneous signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) statistics for the latter. The derived expressions helped estimate channel parameters corresponding to the specific HRRs of the total channel and demonstrate that while both single links (i.e., ”source-IRS” and ”IRS-destination”) are in full-HRR, the minimum number of IRS elements needed to bring the total IRS-assisted link (”source-IRS-destination”) out of full-HRR is no less than $6$ (for the whole range on the IPL scale parameter corresponding full-HRR). Furthermore, the minimum number of IRS elements required to bring the total IRS-assisted link into no-HRR is $14$ (under the same conditions).
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Image and Video Processing · Cross-listed from physics.optics

Clinical Feasibility of Label-Free Digital Staining Using Mid-Infrared Microscopy at Subcellular Resolution

We present a rapid, large-field bimodal imaging platform that integrates conventional brightfield microscopy with a lensless IR imaging scanner, enabling whole-slide IR image stack acquisition in minutes. Using a dedicated deep learning model, we implement an optical HE staining strategy based on subcellular morpho-spectral fingerprinting.
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All authors L. Duraffourg, H. Borges, M. Fernandes, M. Beurrier-Bousquet, J. Baraillon, B. Taurel, J. Le Galudec, K. Vianey, C. Maisin, L. Samaison, F. Staroz, M. Dupoy

Systems and Control

Performance of Differential Protection Applied to Collector Cables of Offshore Wind Farms with MMC-HVDC Transmission

The ongoing global transition towards low-carbon energy has propelled the integration of offshore wind farms, which, when combined with Modular Multilevel Converter-based High-Voltage Direct Current (MMC-HVDC) transmission, present unique challenges for power system protection. In collector cables connecting wind turbines to offshore MMC, both ends are supplied by Inverter-Based Resources (IBRs), which modify the magnitude and characteristics of fault currents. In this context, this paper investigates the limitations of conventional differential protection schemes under such conditions and compares them with enhanced strategies that account for sequence components. Using electromagnetic transient simulations of a representative offshore wind farm modeled in PSCAD/EMTDC software, internal and external fault scenarios are assessed, varying fault types and resistances. The comparative evaluation provides insights into the sensitivity and selectivity of differential protection and guides a deeper conceptual understanding of the evolving protection challenges inherent to future converter-dominated grids.
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All authors Moisés J. B. B. Davi, Felipe V. Lopes, Vinícius A. Lacerda, Mário Oleskovicz, Oriol Gomis-Bellmunt

Systems and Control · Cross-listed from cs.AI

Mixture-of-Models: Distributed Inference over Heterogeneous LLMs as Model-Level Mixture-of-Experts

Switch Transformers scale MoE model capacity by routing tokens in memory for one jointly trained model, requiring high-bandwidth interconnects, large memory, centralised ownership, and lack scalable composability. We propose Mixture-of-Models (MoM) architecture as Switch Transformer scaling to semantic level which composes inference across independently trained distributed LLMs, each run on its own GPU. The models reach joint consensus using N-Way Self-Evaluating Deliberation protocol: a combination of social-choice methods such as Delphi method and Quadratic Voting as well as Inference-Time scaling paradigm. We start with an empirical model that characterizes consensus as an inference-time trade-off between signal extraction and contextual noise accumulation, establishing a mathematical basis for convergence driven inference stopping strategies. We show experimental results where ensemble of smaller (<21B) models matches closely 120B MoE (GPT-OSS-120B) on AIME 2025 while larger ensemble of open-weight models reaches 90.0%, close to proprietary models at time of writing.
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Signal Processing

Hierarchical Distribution Matcher Design for Probabilistic Constellation Shaping Based on a Novel Semi-Analytical Optimization Approach

A novel design procedure for practical hierarchical distribution matchers (HiDMs) in probabilistically shaped constellation systems is presented. The proposed approach enables the determination of optimal parameters for any target distribution matcher rate. Specifically, lower bounds on energy loss, rate loss, and memory requirements are analytically estimated for HiDM architectures approximating the Maxwell Boltzmann (MB) distribution. A semi analytical optimization framework is employed to jointly optimize rate and energy loss, allowing the selection of the number of hierarchical layers, memory size, and block length required to optimize channel capacity. The accuracy of the proposed model is validated through probabilistic amplitude shaping of 16QAM (PAS 16QAM), showing good agreement between analytical predictions and simulated results. The proposed analytical tool facilitates the design of HiDM structures that are compatible with practical hardware and implementation constraints, such as those imposed by state-of-the-art application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Furthermore, the performance of the optimized HiDM structure, incorporating layer selection based on lower-bound energy loss, is evaluated over the AWGN channel in terms of normalized generalized mutual information (NGMI) as a function of the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR). At a net data rate of 200 Gbps with 25% forward error correction (FEC) overhead, the proposed scheme achieves a shaping gain improvement of 2.8% compared to previously reported solutions.
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Systems and Control

Identification of Port-Hamiltonian Differential-Algebraic Equations from Input-Output Data

Many models of physical systems, such as mechanical and electrical networks, exhibit algebraic constraints that arise from subsystem interconnections and underlying physical laws. Such systems are commonly formulated as differential-algebraic equations (DAEs), which describe both the dynamic evolution of system states and the algebraic relations that must hold among them. Within this class, port-Hamiltonian differential-algebraic equations (pH-DAEs) offer a structured, energy-based representation that preserves interconnection and passivity properties. This work introduces a data-driven identification method that combines port-Hamiltonian neural networks (pHNNs) with a differential-algebraic solver to model such constrained systems directly from noisy input-output data. The approach preserves the passivity and interconnection structure of port-Hamiltonian systems while employing a backward Euler discretization with Newton's method to solve the coupled differential and algebraic equations consistently. The performance of the proposed approach is demonstrated on a DC power network, where the identified model accurately captures system behaviour and maintains errors proportional to the noise amplitude, while providing reliable parameter estimates.
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All authors N.Hagelaars, G.J.E. van Otterdijk, S. Moradi, R. Tóth, N.O. Jaensson, M. Schoukens

Image and Video Processing · Cross-listed from cs.LG

Sample-wise Constrained Learning via a Sequential Penalty Approach with Applications in Image Processing

In many learning tasks, certain requirements on the processing of individual data samples can arguably be formalized, in an intelligible way, as strict constraints of the underlying optimization problem, rather than by means of arbitrary penalties that often require heavy trial-and-error tuning. In this paper we show that, in these scenarios, learning can be carried out exploiting a sequential penalty method that allows to explicitly deal with constraints. For the proposed algorithm we show that, under classical assumptions and in the considered learning scenario, penalty subproblems can provably be solved in finite time with suitable guarantees of approximate stationarity in expectation; we also show that, when the latter condition is guaranteed for the subproblems, the overall sequential scheme possesses almost sure convergence properties to KKT-stationary points of (general) constrained problems. The results of experiments on sandbox and real-world image processing tasks show that the method is indeed viable to be used in practical deep learning scenarios.
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All authors Francesca Lanzillotta, Chiara Albisani, Davide Pucci, Daniele Baracchi, Alessandro Piva, Matteo Lapucci

Audio and Speech Processing · Cross-listed from cs.SD

A Novel Transfer Learning Approach for Mental Stability Classification from Voice Signal

This study presents a novel transfer learning approach and data augmentation technique for mental stability classification using human voice signals and addresses the challenges associated with limited data availability. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been employed to analyse spectrogram images generated from voice recordings. Three CNN architectures, VGG16, InceptionV3, and DenseNet121, were evaluated across three experimental phases: training on non-augmented data, augmented data, and transfer learning. This proposed transfer learning approach involves pre-training models on the augmented dataset and fine-tuning them on the non-augmented dataset while ensuring strict data separation to prevent data leakage. The results demonstrate significant improvements in classification performance compared to the baseline approach. Among three CNN architectures, DenseNet121 achieved the highest accuracy of 94% and an AUC score of 99% using the proposed transfer learning approach. This finding highlights the effectiveness of combining data augmentation and transfer learning to enhance CNN-based classification of mental stability using voice spectrograms, offering a promising non-invasive tool for mental health diagnostics.
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Signal Processing

A Dynamic Parametric Simulator for Fetal Heart Sounds

Research on fetal phonocardiogram (fPCG) is challenged by the limited number of abdominal recordings, substantial maternal interference, and marked transmissioninduced signal attenuation that complicate reproducible benchmarking. We present a reproducible dynamic parametric simulator that generates long abdominal fPCG sequences by combining cycle-level fetal S1/S2 event synthesis with a convolutional transmission module and configurable interference and background noise. Model parameters are calibrated cyclewise from real abdominal recordings to capture beat-to-beat variability and to define data-driven admissible ranges for controllable synthesis. The generated signals are validated against real recordings in terms of envelope-based temporal structure and frequency-domain characteristics. The simulator is released as open software to support rapid, reproducible evaluation of fPCG processing methods under controlled acquisition conditions.
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All authors Yingtong Zhou, Yiang Zhou, Zhengxian Qu, Kang Liu, Ting Tan

Image and Video Processing

PocketDVDNet: Realtime Video Denoising for Real Camera Noise

Live video denoising under realistic, multi-component sensor noise remains challenging for applications such as autofocus, autonomous driving, and surveillance. We propose PocketDVDNet, a lightweight video denoiser developed using our model compression framework that combines sparsity-guided structured pruning, a physics-informed noise model, and knowledge distillation to achieve high-quality restoration with reduced resource demands. Starting from a reference model, we induce sparsity, apply targeted channel pruning, and retrain a teacher on realistic multi-component noise. The student network learns implicit noise handling, eliminating the need for explicit noise-map inputs. PocketDVDNet reduces the original model size by 74% while improving denoising quality and processing 5-frame patches in real-time. These results demonstrate that aggressive compression, combined with domain-adapted distillation, can reconcile performance and efficiency for practical, real-time video denoising.
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All authors Crispian Morris, Imogen Dexter, Fan Zhang, David R. Bull, Nantheera Anantrasirichai

Audio and Speech Processing · Cross-listed from cs.SD

E2E-AEC: Implementing an end-to-end neural network learning approach for acoustic echo cancellation

We propose a novel neural network-based end-to-end acoustic echo cancellation (E2E-AEC) method capable of streaming inference, which operates effectively without reliance on traditional linear AEC (LAEC) techniques and time delay estimation. Our approach includes several key strategies: First, we introduce and refine progressive learning to gradually enhance echo suppression. Second, our model employs knowledge transfer by initializing with a pre-trained LAECbased model, harnessing the insights gained from LAEC training. Third, we optimize the attention mechanism with a loss function applied on attention weights to achieve precise time alignment between the reference and microphone signals. Lastly, we incorporate voice activity detection to enhance speech quality and improve echo removal by masking the network output when near-end speech is absent. The effectiveness of our approach is validated through experiments conducted on public datasets.
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All authors Yiheng Jiang, Biao Tian, Haoxu Wang, Shengkui Zhao, Bin Ma, Daren Chen, Xiangang Li

Systems and Control

ReLU Networks for Model Predictive Control: Network Complexity and Performance Guarantees

Recent years have witnessed a resurgence in using ReLU neural networks (NNs) to represent model predictive control (MPC) policies. However, determining the required network complexity to ensure closed-loop performance remains a fundamental open problem. This involves a critical precision-complexity trade-off: undersized networks may fail to capture the MPC policy, while oversized ones may outweigh the benefits of ReLU network approximation. In this work, we propose a projection-based method to enforce hard constraints and establish a state-dependent Lipschitz continuity property for the optimal MPC cost function, which enables sharp convergence analysis of the closed-loop system. For the first time, we derive explicit bounds on ReLU network width and depth for approximating MPC policies with guaranteed closed-loop performance. To further reduce network complexity and enhance closed-loop performance, we propose a non-uniform error framework with a state-aware scaling function to adaptively adjust both the input and output of the ReLU network. Our contributions provide a foundational step toward certifiable ReLU NN-based MPC.
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Systems and Control · Cross-listed from quant-ph

Noise Resilience and Robust Convergence Guarantees for the Variational Quantum Eigensolver

Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs) are a class of hybrid quantum-classical algorithms that leverage on classical optimization tools to find the optimal parameters for a parameterized quantum circuit. One relevant application of VQAs is the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE), which aims at steering the output of the quantum circuit to the ground state of a certain Hamiltonian. Recent works have provided global convergence guarantees for VQEs under suitable local surjectivity and smoothness hypotheses, but little has been done in characterizing convergence of these algorithms when the underlying quantum circuit is affected by noise. In this work, we derive an upper bound on the error on the optimal parameters of a VQE under the effect of different coherent and incoherent noise processes. We then procced to show robust convergence guarantees of the algorithm to the perturbed optimal parameters. Our work provides novel theoretical insight into the behavior of VQAs subject to noise. Furthermore, we accompany our results with numerical simulations implemented via Pennylane.
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Signal Processing · Cross-listed from cs.CV

Using Shadows in Circular Synthetic Aperture Sonar Imaging for Target Analysis

Circular Synthetic Aperture Sonar (CSAS) provides a 360{\deg} azimuth view of the seabed, surpassing the limited aperture and mono-view image of conventional side-scan SAS. This makes CSAS a valuable tool for target recognition in mine warfare where the diversity of point of view is essential for reducing false alarms. CSAS processing typically produces a very high-resolution two-dimensional image. However, the parallax introduced by the circular displacement of the illuminator fill-in the shadow regions, and the shadow cast by an object on the seafloor is lost in favor of azimuth coverage and resolution. Yet the shadows provide complementary information on target shape useful for target recognition. In this paper, we explore a way to retrieve shadow information from CSAS data to improve target analysis and carry 3D reconstruction. Sub-aperture filtering is used to get a collection of images at various points of view along the circular trajectory and fixed focus shadow enhancement (FFSE) is applied to obtain sharp shadows. An interactive interface is also proposed to allow human operators to visualize these shadows along the circular trajectory. A space-carving reconstruction method is applied to infer the 3D shape of the object from the segmented shadows. The results demonstrate the potential of shadows in circular SAS for improving target analysis and 3D reconstruction.
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All authors Yann Le Gall, Nicolas Burlet, Mathieu Simon, Fabien Novella, Samantha Dugelay, Jean-Philippe Malkasse

Signal Processing

Precise Low-Current Measurement Techniques for IoT Devices: A Case Study on MoleNet

Power consumption is a crucial aspect of IoT devices which often have to run on a battery for an extended period of time. Therefore, supply current measurements are crucial before deploying a device in the field. Multimeters and oscilloscopes are not well suited when it comes to measuring very small currents which occur e.g. when an IoT device is in sleep mode. In this report, we compare dedicated source measurement units (SMUs) which allow to measure very small currents with high precision. As an application example, we demonstrate current measurements on our MoleNet IoT sensor board.
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All authors Julian Block, Andreas Könsgen, Jens Dede, Anna Förster

Systems and Control

Model Predictive Control for Coupled Adoption-Opinion Dynamics

This paper investigates an optimal control problem for an adoption-opinion model that couples opinion dynamics with a compartmental adoption framework on a multilayer network to study the diffusion of sustainable behaviors. Adoption evolves through social contagion and perceived benefits, while opinions are shaped by social interactions and feedback from adoption levels. Individuals may also stop adopting virtuous behavior due to external constraints or shifting perceptions, affecting overall diffusion. After the stability analysis of equilibria, both in the presence and absence of adopters, we introduce a Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework that optimizes interventions by shaping opinions rather than directly enforcing adoption. This nudge-based control strategy allows policymakers to influence diffusion indirectly, making interventions more effective and scalable. Numerical simulations demonstrate that, in the absence of control, adoption stagnates, whereas MPC-driven interventions sustain and enhance adoption across communities.
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All authors Martina Alutto, Qiulin Xu, Fabrizio Dabbene, Hideaki Ishii, Chiara Ravazzi

Systems and Control

On a Coupled Adoption-Opinion Framework for Competing Innovations

In this paper, we propose a two-layer adoption-opinion model to study the diffusion of two competing technologies within a population whose opinions evolve under social influence and adoption-driven feedback. After adopting one technology, individuals may become dissatisfied and switch to the alternative. We prove the existence and uniqueness of the adoption-diffused equilibrium, showing that both technologies coexist and that neither partial-adoption nor monopoly can arise. Numerical simulations show that while opinions shape the equilibrium adoption levels, the relative market share between the two technologies depends solely on their user-experience. As a consequence, interventions that symmetrically boost opinions or adoption can disproportionately favor the higher-quality technology, illustrating how symmetric control actions may generate asymmetric outcomes.
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All authors Martina Alutto, Fabrizio Dabbene, Angela Fontan, Karl H. Johansson, Chiara Ravazzi