Qinetiq Limited

The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government

The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Terence John Shepherd

Paul Richard Tapster

John G McWhirter

Robin Jones

David S Broomhead

David Maurice Taylor

Charlotte R H Bennett

Laurent Michaille

Stephen Christopher Kitson

Andrew Charles Lewin

David Arthur Orchard

Rebecca Anne Wilson

Martin James Cooper

David Mark Benton

Richard M Amos

Jonathan Alexander Skoyles Pritchard

David Sydney Broomhead

John Graham McWhirter

John G Rarity

Charlotte Rachel Helen Bennett

Apparatus () is provided which is arranged to accept an input data stream. In some embodiments, the apparatus () comprises a sampler arranged to sample the input data stream to provide k samples thereof, wherein each of the samples is n bits long and a string selector arranged to select m binary strings n bits long from at least a chosen subset of all random binary strings of a predetermined length. The apparatus () may further comprise a logical operator arranged to perform a logical function for each of the k samples with each of the selected binary strings to provide a vector, a memory arranged to store a matrix of the vectors generated from k samples, and an address generator arranged to generate RAM address segments from the matrix. In embodiments, the apparatus () may comprise a processor for, for example, pattern matching; feature detection, image recognition.

Photonic processor with pattern matching and image recognition

Apparatus comprising an optical fiber laser having at least two laser cores and means arranged to combine laser output from the at least two laser cores at a first end of the optical fiber laser to produce a combined laser output having one or more beat signals.

Method and apparatus for generating optical beats

A multicore optical fibre includes a microstructured cladding material formed from a plurality of cladding elements arranged in an array and each cladding element comprising at least two different materials each having different refractive indices, and a plurality of core elements formed within interstitial regions between adjacent cladding elements. A fibre so formed may have a large number of cores per unit cross-sectional area as compared with prior art fibres, and thus allows the fibre to have relatively short distances between adjacent cores for a given required inter-core isolation. A fibre so formed has utility in many areas requiring high core density, such as inter-chip optical communication, or optical communication between circuit boards.

Multiple core microstructured optical fibre

A novel method of fabrication of periodic dielectric composites involving a flexible computer design stage, rapid growth of a second dielectric component. Laser stereolithography is used to form the polymer material layer by layer by photopolymerisation of a liquid. Certain materials constructed in this fashion exhibit a complete loss-free barrier to microwave propagation through the material for a desired band of frequencies and are commonly known as photonic band gap crystals. Such materials could provide a novel medium for all-angle wide- and narrow-band blocking filters, narrow-band transmission filters, reflective and loss-free substrates for planar antennas, and novel loss-free media for oscillator cavities and waveguides. In addition a novel crystal structure, particularly suited to the fabrication method mentioned above and consisting of concatenated polyhedrons, is revealed.

Dielectric media

A method of growing robust large area colloidal photonic crystals and devices produced thereby. A suspension of monosized colloidal spheres ( ) is subjected to a composite shear ( ) by applying a sequential set of shearing forces. The crystalline layers within the colloid experience shearing forces with components in both x and y directions, forcing the colloid into a singe face-centered-cubic structure in preference to a twinned face-centered-cubic structure. The method may also comprise the use of a dispersion medium which is capable of undergoing a controllable phase change from a liquid phase to a solid phase. The crystal may be fixed into a single face-centered cubic structure.

Colloidal photonic crystals

A method of fabricating a dielectric medium comprising two materials with discrete interfaces between the two materials and media formed from the dielectric medium.

Dielectric composites

A heuristic processor incorporates a digital arithmetic unit arranged to compute the squared norm of each member of a training data set with respect to each member of a set of centers, and to transform the squared norms in accordance with a nonlinear function to produce training vectors. A systolic array arranged for QR decomposition and least mean squares processing forms combinations of the elements of each vector to provide a fit to corresponding training answers. The form of combination is then employed with like-transformed to provide estimates of unknown result. The processor is applicable to provide estimated results for problems which are nonlinear and for which explicit mathematical formalisms are unknown.

Heuristic processor

A heuristic processor incorporates a digital arithmetic unit arranged to compute the squared norm of each member of a training data set with respect to each member of a set of centers, and to transform the squared norms in accordance with a non-linear function to produce training .phi. vectors. A systolic array arranged for QR decomposition and least means squares processing forms combinations of the elements of each .phi. vector to provide a fit to corresponding training answers. The form of combination is then employed with like-transformed test data to provide estimates of unknown results. The processor is applicable to provide estimated results for problems which are non-linear and for which explicit mathematical formalisms are unknown.

Heuristic digital processor using non-linear transformation

A processor is provided which is suitable for constrained least squares computations. It incorporates a systolic array of boundary, internal, constraint and multiplier cells arranged as triangular and rectangular sub-arrays. The triangular sub-array contains boundary cells along its major diagonal and connected via delays, together with above-diagonal internal cells. It computes and updates a QR decomposition of a data matrix X incorporating successive data vectors having individual signals as elements. The rectangular sub-array incorporates constraint cell columns each implementing a respective constraint vector and terminating at a respective multiplier cell. The constraint cells store respective conjugate constraint factors obtained by constraint vector transformation in the triangular sub-array. Rotation parameters produced by QR decomposition in the triangular sub-array are employed by the rectangular sub-array to rotate a zero input and update stored constraint factors. Cumulative rotation of this input and summation of squared moduli of constraint factors are carried out in cascade down constraint columns. The boundary cells are arranged for cumulative multiplication of cosine rotation parameters. Multiplier cells multiply cumulatively multiplied cosine parameters by cumulatively rotated constraint column inputs and divide by summed squared moduli of constraint factors to provide residuals. Each constraint column produces respective residuals in succession corresponding to weighting of the data matrix X to produce minimum signals subject to a respective constraint governing the form of weighting, as required to compute minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) results.

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Malvern, United Kingdom

Terence John Shepherd