Will computers become thinking machines? A scientist at the cutting-edge of current research gives his provocative analysis.The world was shocked when a computer, Deep Blue defeated Gary Kasparov, arguably the greatest human chess player ever to have lived. This remarkable victory, and other, more day-to-day innovations, beg serious questions: what are the limits of what computers can do? Can they think? Do they learn?Discussions of these questions tend to ...

Most people are baffled by how computers work and assume that they will never understand them. What they don't realize -- and what Daniel Hillis's short book brilliantly demonstrates -- is that computers' seemingly complex operations can be broken down into a few simple parts that perform the same simple procedures over and over again. Computer wizard Hillis offers an easy-to-follow explanation of how data is processed that makes the operations of a computer seem as straightforward as thos...

Most people are baffled by how computers work and assume that they will never understand them. What they don't realize-and what Daniel Hillis's short book brilliantly demonstrates-is that computers' seemingly complex operations can be broken down into a few simple parts that perform the same simple procedures over and over again. Computer wizard Hillis offers an easy-to-follow explanation of how data is processed that makes the operations of a computer seem as straightforward as those of a...

Are you interested in simulation of communication systems in Matlab and do not know where to start? If so, your search for a good text ends here. Some of the simulation topics include various digital modulation and channel coding techniques, OFDM, fading channels, random distributions .Essential topics in digital communication are also introduced to foster better understanding of simulation methodologies.This ebook is meant for students and instructors who are interested in simulat...

The bible of all fundamental algorithms and the work that taught many of today's software developers most of what they know about computer programming.–Byte, September 1995I can't begin to tell you how many pleasurable hours of study and recreation they have afforded me! I have pored over them in cars, restaurants, at work, at home... and even at a Little League game when my son wasn't in the line-up.–Charles LongIf you think y...

Computing isn't only (or even mostly) about hardware and software; it's also about the ideas behind the technology. In Computing for Ordinary Mortals, computer scientist Robert St. Amant explains this "really interesting part" of computing, introducing basic computing concepts and strategies in a way that readers without a technical background can understand and appreciate. Each of the chapters illustrates ideas from a different area of computing, and together they provid...

This book is for aspiring engineers or scientists and all who come in contact with MATLAB for the first time. There is an uncountable number of books on MATLAB. Most books on MATLAB are engineering or mathematical books. These books cover specific and complex problems in engineering, science or mathematics and demonstrate how to solve it with MATLAB. Only scientists and engineers with expertise in this subject could work with these books. For engineering students with little knowledge in t...

Introduction to Data Compression, Third Edition, is a concise and comprehensive guide to data compression. This book introduces the reader to the theory underlying today's compression techniques with detailed instruction for their applications using several examples to explain the concepts. Encompassing the entire field of data compression, it covers lossless and lossy compression, Huffman coding, arithmetic coding, dictionary techniques, context based compression, scalar and vector quanti...

This is an introductory to intermediate level text on the science of image processing, which employs the Matlab programming language to illustrate some of the elementary, key concepts in modern image processing and pattern recognition. The approach taken is essentially practical and the book offers a framework within which the concepts can be understood by a series of well chosen examples, exercises and computer experiments, drawing on specific examples from within science, medicine and en...

This 2010 textbook for advanced undergraduates and graduate students emphasizes algorithms for a range of strategies for locomotion, sensing, and reasoning. It concentrates on wheeled and legged mobile robots but discusses a variety of other propulsion systems. This edition includes advances in robotics and intelligent machines over the ten years prior to publication, including significant coverage of SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) and multi-robot systems. It includes additio...

This easy-to-read guide provides a concise introduction to the engineering background of modern communication systems, from mobile phones to data compression and storage. Background mathematics and specific engineering techniques are kept to a minimum so that only a basic knowledge of high-school mathematics is needed to understand the material covered. The authors begin with many practical applications in coding, including the repetition code, the Hamming code and the Huffman code. They t...

This work offers an unconventional, fun way to master the basics of cryptography. Cryptography is not just for specialists. Now every wireless message, wireless phone call, online transaction, and email is encrypted at one end and decrypted at the other. "Crypto" is part of the job description for network designers, network engineers, and telecom developers. If you need cryptography basics - but dread the thick tomes that are your only other option - help is at hand."Cryptography Demystifi...