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Information about several topics discussed at the 2007 IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Signal Processing held at Alcalá de Henares in Madrid, Spain in October 3-5 is presented. Topics include mobile robot applications and their interaction with the environment. It also discussed intelligent image analysis and intelligent sensor processing.

Studying fundamental Computer Architecture and Organization topics requires a significant amount of practical work if students are to acquire a good grasp of the theoretical concepts presented in classroom lectures or textbooks. The use of simulators is commonly adapted in order to reach this objective. However, as most of the available educational simulators focus on specific topics, different laboratory assignments usually require the use of different simulators. This paper presents a graphical and interactive reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor and memory simulator that allows active learning of some theoretical concepts covered in Computer Architecture and Organization courses. The simulator can be configured to present different processor views, from a simple serial one, without caches or pipelines, to a more realistic one with caches and superscalar execution. This approach allows a set of increasingly complex code-based laboratory assignments to be developed using a single simulator, covering topics ranging from assembly language programming to the analysis (If the different kind of cache misses, pipeline hazards or branch prediction hits and misses produced during a program execution. The simulator has been included in a an automatic assessment system that helps the students to complete the assignments and helps teachers to evaluate the correctness of the students solutions in different environments, such as high-enrollment courses or distance education. Since 1996, both the simulator and the automatic assessment system have been successfully used by more than 5000 students in Computer Architecture and Organization courses at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research presented in this paper shows how lab work can be organized into three phases: prelab, lab, and postlab, all supported by a Web-based experimental portal and a set of tools, some of which are connected to real lab devices. Different on-line tools and simulators are used in a flexible and configurable way that can be adapted to student curricula and course needs. This scenario is based upon real cases in distance learning courses in the Industrial Engineering School at the Universidad Nacional de Educación (The Spanish Open University), Madrid, Spain. The details of the combined real and simulated activities are discussed and some conclusions and lessons learned from this work are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the author's experience with an Internet subscription service in Madrid, Spain. Topics include: the author's frustration with having to enter so much information on the service's web page; the arrangement for purchasing time on and gaining access to the Internet; the problem of a forgotten password for the PayPal account that is complicated by the use of a different credit card on an existing account; and three lessons learned from this experience that relate to the subscriber's convenience and a website's design and usability.

A simple yet effective time diversity model, referred to as Time Diversity Stratiform Convective EXCELL (TD-SCEX), is presented. The model, conceived to support the design of EHF Earth–space communication systems implementing Fade Mitigation Techniques, takes advantage of the Stratiform Convective EXponential CELL (SC EXCELL) model to predict the joint rain attenuation statistics and, hence, the time diversity gain, starting from the geometrical and electrical characteristics of the link, as well as from the joint rain rate statistics. The model performance is evaluated against the data collected in Milan, Madrid, and Spino d’Adda at Ka-, $Q$ -, and $V$ -bands in the framework of different long-term propagation campaigns. Results indicate that TD-SCEX is a useful tool to predict the effectiveness of time diversity in improving the performance of EHF Earth–space communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rain attenuation in millimeter-wave links depends on the drop size distributions (DSDs) of the raindrops. Empirical models disregard this dependence and estimate the specific attenuation using only the integrated rainfall rate [ $R$ (mm/h)]. This approach is valid for lower frequencies but it progressively losses accuracy as the frequency of interest becomes higher within the millimeter-wave range. Both the characterization of rainfall phenomena and the prediction of rain attenuation can be improved with the knowledge of DSD, which, in turn, depend on the type of rain event (stratiform or convective) and the $R$. In this article, long-term DSD measurements from a vertical Doppler radar [Micro Rain Radar (MRR-2)] and a laser optical disdrometer (Thies laser disdrometer) are used to obtain, classify, and compare the statistics of DSD in Madrid in a period of more than ten years. The process to obtain the DSD from these advanced instruments is analyzed in detail, providing recommendations about the calibration of the radar data and the most appropriate particle filtering to apply on the laser disdrometer data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the attendance in the International Federation for Information Processing sponsored by the World Computer Congress in Madrid, Spain from September 7 to 11, 1992. Factors that contributed to the low-industry turnout on the conference; Topics included in the symposia; Research papers presented at the conference.

AeroMACS is a system currently under development for airport surface communications. It is based on the IEEE802.16-2009 standard, and is developed in cooperation with the WiMAX forum. The frequency band allocated to AeroMACS is 5091–5150 MHz. When specifying the AeroMACS system, knowledge of typical propagation conditions at airports is of importance. Typically, path loss models are used to estimate the range of a transmitter within different zones of the airport, and typically fading characteristics are used to estimate the performance of, e.g., the selected coding and modulation schemes. Propagation measurements have been performed at the Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain. The measurements includes Non-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) as well as Line-Of-Sight (LOS) conditions. Based on these measurements, path loss parameters and path loss models are developed for different zones of large airports. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]