Bell Laboratories Research Articles

The oleaginous voice: Auto-Tune, linear predictive coding, and the security-petroleum complex

ABSTRACT In the twentieth century, exploration geophysics and digital vocal processing each underwent key technical transformations based on formally similar signal processing techniques derived from prior work in statistics and information theory. Engineers at Texas Instruments (TI) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed deconvolution filtering as a way to model geological strata from seismograph recordings in order to facilitate oil exploration. Meanwhile, engineers at Bell Laboratories and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) used similar techniques to digitally encode and transmit speech signals more efficiently – a method known as linear predictive coding (LPC). These cognate approaches to modeling geophysical and vocal signals provided a practical basis for subsequent forays by oil industry figures into the world of digital audio. Tracing the histories of four technologies – LPC secure voice transmission terminals, the TI Speak & Spell educational toy, automatic speech recognition, and the vocal pitch correction software Auto-Tune – I analyze the role of security interests in facilitating spillovers between technologies of oil and the voice. I argue that, by approaching both geophysical and vocal signals as matters of national security, the United States’ defense and intelligence services furnished the bulk of socio-economic connective tissue between petroleum geophysics and vocal processing research.

Access control for trusted data sharing

In the envisioned 6G landscape, data sharing is expected to become increasingly prevalent, giving rise to digital marketplaces that foster cooperation among organizations for collecting, sharing, and processing data for analysis. These marketplaces serve as connectors between data producers and consumers, empowering multi-tenancy scenarios for seamless and secure data sharing both within and outside organizations. Given that 6G networks promise ultra-low latency, enhanced connectivity, and massive data throughput, the need for robust data access control mechanisms becomes imperative. These mechanisms ensure security and trust among entities, particularly in multi-tenant environments where multiple organizations share infrastructure and data resources. In this paper, we have designed and implemented a novel access control mechanism tailored for a distributed data streaming system developed by Nokia Bell Labs. Our approach leverages fine-grained policies, dynamic enforcement, and transparency mechanisms to enhance trust between data owners and consumers. By facilitating secure multi-tenancy data sharing, our solution contributes to the seamless exchange of data across diverse entities within the next-generation communication ecosystem. We demonstrate that our proposed access control mechanism incurs minimal overhead while ensuring data confidentiality and integrity. The introduction of such advancements in data sharing markets strengthens the overall ecosystem by providing heightened transparency and enhanced control over data, promoting collaboration and innovation in the 6G era.

Recent Advances in 1D Nanostructure Assembly and Direct Integration Methods for Device Applications.

In recent years, 1D nanostructure-based devices have achieved widespread usage in various fields, such as sensors, energy harvesters, transistors, and electrodes owing to their exceptional and distinct properties. The pioneering work of Dr. R. S. Wagner at Bell Laboratories in 1964 introduced the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process, a powerful synthesis method. Since then, numerous synthesis techniques, including sol-gel, hydrothermal, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and more, have been developed. These methods have enabled researchers to effectively control the shape (length and diameter) and material properties of nanowires. However, itwasonly about two decades ago that nanowires started to be widely utilized as key components in functional devices, primarily due to the lack of proper integration methods. Although dozens of integration techniques have been developed, none have emerged as a predominant choice, with each method presenting its own set of advantages and limitations. Therefore, this work aims to categorize these methods based on their working principles and provide a comprehensive summary of their pros and cons. Additionally, state-of-the-art devices that capitalize on the integration of 1D nanomaterials are introduced.

Passages

Richard W. Hamming's The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn is one of the true essentials, a book to be read by every scientist or engineer (and certainly software engineer) interested in the big picture; it may be safely skipped by those who aim only at a life and career where one has "merely survived and amused" oneself, as Hamming himself puts it in his final, summative, chapter. The essence of this book is a combination of anecdote and aphorism drawn from a mature, active mind, reflecting on a great career spent at great places (Los Alamos, and then Bell Labs in its heyday, to be precise). There is also a great deal of mathematics, but the aphorism, backed by well-chosen anecdote(s), is fundamental; you do not need to know or care much about differential equations (and there are many here) to benefit from this book. It is hard to convey the value of the anecdotes, in a short review. The aphorisms, however, can be more than mentioned; what follows is, in reverse order, the entire set of Hamming's bolded, inset, aphorisms, by chapter (combining multiple chapters on the same topic, e.g., simulation). I have truncated one long item, which offers up a description of pure mathematics; you will have to read the book to get that one. The focus on aphorism is appropriate; I think Hamming himself would have agreed that this entire wonderful book is a kind of elaboration and proof of Pasteur's "Luck favors the prepared mind", which Hamming quotes not once, not twice, but seven times.

The Creation and Utilization of Transistors

The transistor is a crucial component in modern electronics, enabling the miniaturization and improvement of electronic systems. Its invention in 1947 by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley at Bell Labs marked a revolutionary breakthrough in electronic technology. The transistor's compact, energy- efficient, and reliable nature allowed for the development of smaller, faster, and more reliable electronic devices. Since its inception, the transistor has undergone numerous innovations and advancements, evolving from the original point-contact transistor to the highly efficient and compact field-effect transistors (FETs) and metal- oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) used today. These advancements have facilitated the development of increasingly complex and powerful electronic systems, including computers, smartphones, and the vast networks that form the backbone of the internet. The ongoing research and development in transistor technology continues to push the boundaries of what is possible, driving progress in fields ranging from computing and telecommunications to healthcare and renewable energy. The transistor's significance cannot be overstated; it is a cornerstone of modern technology and a key driver of innovation and economic growth.

Bell Labs’ Portrayal of Switching as Computing (or Not)

Bell Labs’ Portrayal of Switching as Computing (or Not)

Reliable communication based on energy spreading transform and iterative detection in MIMO‐OFDM systems

AbstractThe challenge of ensuring reliability for high‐efficiency technology, multiple‐input‐multiple‐output orthogonal‐frequency‐division‐multiplexing (MIMO‐OFDM), in wireless frequency‐selective fading environments persists. In this article, the concept of spreading a symbol's energy is proposed as a viable solution to enhance transmission reliability for MIMO‐OFDM systems. And an energy‐spreading‐transform (EST)‐based MIMO‐OFDM transceiver is developed. Following the Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) performed by the conventional MIMO‐OFDM transmitter, an orthogonal transformation called the EST is introduced. This transform spreads the energy of a symbol across the entire frequency domain and all time slots. The EST is coupled with the improved iterative detection algorithm named EST‐partial decision (PD)‐iterative‐interference‐cancellation (EST‐PD‐IIC) to maximize and leverage the potential diversity gain. Numerical simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme approaches the performance bound when signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) is about 21dB for 16‐ary quadrature amplitude modulation (16‐QAM). Complexity analysis illustrates that the computational complexity of the evolved EST‐PD‐IIC algorithm is lower than that of the famous vertically Bell laboratory layered space‐time detector (V‐BLAST) when the antenna array size is greater than . In summary, the proposed scheme is practical for providing high‐quality communication in multi‐path fading environments and can even enable a reliable communication without channel encoding when Eb/N0 exceeds a threshold in 5G‐Advanced.

The renaissance of germanium

The great moment of fame for germanium was in December 1947. In that year the first transistor was made by a research team of Bell Laboratories. Owing to some problems with germanium, it was soon supplanted by silicon. Currently, germanium is still used in the microelectronic industry for opto-electronic and solar electric applications, but its role is very minor compared to its big brother silicon. After the rise of graphene, germanium received renewed interest because of the predicted stability of the graphene-like allotrope of germanium. Germanene, the germanium analogue of graphene, shares many properties with graphene, but there are also a few interesting differences that makes this material very appealing for device applications. In this contribution, I will give a brief historical overview of germanene, discuss the pros and cons of germanene and elaborate on its potential for future device applications.

Mathematical modeling and analysis of export trends for certain pharmaceutical groups

Background. The analysis of the exports of medicines of the Russian Federation (RF) by group 30 (pharmaceutical products) of the commodity nomenclature of foreign economic activity of the Eurasian Economic Union (equal to Harmonized System Code 30, HS 30) is an important task for determining the economic potential of the country in the pharmaceutical industry.Objective: building an export regression model. Development of an alternative mathematical model of pharmaceutical products’ export, suitable for making the forecast.Material and methods. Statistical data on HS 30 exports from 2010 to 2021 were taken from an open source: The International Trade Center (Trade Map). Data for 2022 and later for the Russian Federation are not available in open sources. Registration on the website is not required to collect statistics on export and import volumes based on annual data. The well-known statistical methods and methods of mathematical modeling were used. An alternative approach to regression analysis was developed. Technical data analysis was performed using MAPLE (Watcom Products Inc., Canada) and R (Bell Laboratories, USA) software.Results. Two models were constructed: Model I – a differential model based on cumulative data by year, and Model II – a model of standard regression analysis, the input parameters of which were quarterly export data, and the influencing parameters were a certain group of factors. Model I allowed considering the dynamics of changes in pharmaceutical exports over time (dynamic factors and nonlinear interactions). Model II, in turn, made it possible to determine the dependence of the volume of pharmaceutical exports on various economic indicators, such as gross domestic product, the volume of government procurement, and measures of protectionism. The relative error of Model I does not exceed 10%, which makes it suitable for forecasting.Conclusion. The construction and analysis of specified models help to provide main information about the trends in pharmaceutical product exports in the RF and assess its potential in the global market. The obtained results can be useful for developing strategies of the pharmaceutical industry development, making management decisions and forecasting future exports.

Broström ankle ligament repair augmented with suture tape : Results of magnetic resonance imaging evaluation.

The Broström procedure is an established procedure in cases of primary lateral ankle ligament repair (LALR). To improve postoperative stability an augmentation device, InternalBrace™ (Arthrex, Naples, FL) has been introduced. This study evaluates remodelling of the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) in patients undergoing atape augmented Broström technique as well as clinical outcomes. In this study 32patients with chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI) receiving augmented LALR were included. Clinical outcomes were evaluated at aone-time postoperative visit between 12and 18months. A3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was done to evaluate the morphology of the ATFL. Statistical analysis was completed with the free software and environment Rversion3.6.3 (Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ, USA) and P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The mean follow-up time was 15.3 ± 1.8months with areturn to sport time of 4.0 ± 2.4months. The average AOFAS (American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Score) score was 94.4 ± 7.2, the FAOS (Foot and Ankle Outcome Score) demonstrated 87.3 ± 10.4 points and the FFI (Foot Function Index - 2scores (pain and function score)) was 22.9 ± 20.1 and 15.4 ± 10.4, respectively. The MRI findings demonstrated an average length of the ATFL of 18.6 ± 4.3 mm and the width was 3.6 ± 0.9 mm. Aclear differentiation between the ATFL and the augmentation device could be shown in 28cases. The Fisher's exact test could not depict asignificant correlation between the presence of abone marrow edema and the tension of the augmentation device with alevel of significance of α = 0.05. An anatomical healing tendency of the ligament repair and good integrity of the augmentation device could be shown based on MRI findings. The lateral ligament repair augmented with suture tape is an effective and safe procedure regarding surgical treatment in chronic lateral ankle instability producing good clinical outcome.

Digital Image and Video Processing: Algorithms and Applications

Many of the techniques that are used in digital image and video processing were developed in the 1960s at Bell Laboratories. These techniques have applications in a variety of fields, including medical imaging, videophone, character recognition, satellite imagery, and wire-photo standards conversion. Additional applications include enhancement of photographs or vidoes. The early stages of image and video processing were developed with the intention of enhancing the overall quality of the image or video. For the purpose of enhancing the visual effect of humans, it is intended for human beings. When it comes to image and video processing, the input is an image of poor quality, and the output is an image and video of higher quality. Research on algorithms and applications of digital image and video processing is the primary purpose of this study, which aims to investigate these topics extensively. The methodology employed in this study is qualitative research technique. In accordance with the findings of this research, "Image Processing" refers to the process of analyzing images with the objective of determining the significance of objects and identifying them. Image analysts analyze data that has been remotely sensed and attempt to detect, identify, classify, measure, and evaluate the significance of physical and cultural objects, as well as their patterns and spatial relationships. One subcategory of signal processing is known as video processing, and it is distinguished by the fact that the signals that are input and output are video files or video streams. Technology such as television sets, videocassette recorders (VCRs), DVD players, and other devices all make use of video processing algorithms. The processing of images and videos is extremely useful in a variety of contexts.

Interview with Dr. Theodore Sizer “High-Speed Communications: How Nokia Bell Labs Innovates in Optical Technologies”

Interview with Dr. Theodore Sizer “High-Speed Communications: How Nokia Bell Labs Innovates in Optical Technologies”

How technoscientific knowledge advances: A Bell-Labs-inspired architecture

Understanding how science and technology advance has long been of interest to diverse scholarly communities. Thus far, however, such understanding has not been easy to map to, and thus to improve, the operational practice of research and development. Indeed, one might argue that the operational practice of research and development, particularly its exploratory research half, has become less effective in recent decades. In this paper, we describe a rethinking of how science and technology advance, one that is consistent with many (though not all) of the perspectives of the scholarly communities just mentioned, and one that helps bridge the divide between theory and practice. The result is an architecture we call “Bell's Dodecants,” to reflect its six mechanisms and two flavors, and their balanced nurturing at Bell Labs, the iconic 20th century industrial research and development laboratory.

Semiconductor Manufacturing Business Revisited: Good Old Days at AT&amp;T Bell Labs Microelectronics Plant in Orlando, Florida

Semiconductor Manufacturing Business Revisited: Good Old Days at AT&amp;T Bell Labs Microelectronics Plant in Orlando, Florida

Prognostic potential of m7G-associated lncRNA signature in predicting bladder cancer response to immunotherapy and chemotherapy

Abstract Objectives The influence of N7-methylguanosine (m7G) on cancer prognosis and immune response has been well-reported. However, the role of m7G-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in bladder cancer (BC) remains largely unexplored. This study wanted to explore the relationship between m7G-related lncRNAs and BC. Methods To construct the m7G-related lncRNA signature, we utilized data obtained from TCGA. The collected data was then analyzed using R (version 4.2.1, Bell Laboratories, Boston, USA) and relevant packages. Results The m7G-related lncRNA signature consisted of seven lncRNAs (including GATA3-AS1, LINC00930, LINC01341, MED14OS, MIR100HG, RUSC1-AS1, SNHG4). The prognostic and clinical relevance of the risk score was corroborated in both the TCGA and IMvigor210 datasets. Individuals characterized by a high-risk score displayed substantial enrichment in pathways associated with immunity, notably those pertaining to the innate immune response, cytokine-mediated signaling pathways, and the adaptive immune system. Additionally, the high-risk score group showed a positive correlation with many immune checkpoints, including CD274, CD40, CTLA4, PDCD1, PDCD1LG2, among others. Moreover, a significant difference in the TCIA score was observed between the high-risk and low-risk score groups, indicating the potential distinct immunotherapy response rates. Furthermore, patients with a high-risk score demonstrated increased sensitivity to cisplatin, docetaxel, doxorubicin, gemcitabine, and vinblastine. Conclusions This m7G-related lncRNA signature demonstrates considerable promise as a prognostic biomarker in BC, facilitating the anticipation of responses to both immunotherapy and chemotherapy. This study provides a solid foundation for future investigations into the role of m7G-related lncRNAs in BC.

The Kelly Criterion: Optimizing Decision-Making in Risk Management

The Kelly capital growth investment criterion, or Kelly criterion, defines the fraction of wealth to invest in a favorable investment opportunity such that the exponential growth rate is maximized. Maximizing the exponential growth rate is equivalent to maximizing logarithmic utility.[1] It all began in the mid-20th century when John L. Kelly Jr., a researcher at Bell Labs, developed the criterion as a solution to a problem related to the efficient transmission of information in telecommunications. Kelly introduced the concept of the Kelly Criterion within his paper “A New Interpretation of Information Rate,” which he published in his early years. However, he did not refer to the Kelly Criterion by its now- known name. The Kelly Criterion initially gained recognition in academic and mathematical circles, primarily for its applications in information theory. Then, professional gamblers and investors started using the Kelly Criterion to manage their bankrolls and make more informed betting decisions. The financial industry also embraced the Kelly Criterion as an alternative approach to portfolio management and investment strategies. The Kelly Criterion gained further attention in investment circles, particularly in hedge funds and wealth management.

Time and band limiting for exceptional polynomials

The “time-and-band limiting” commutative property was found and exploited by D. Slepian, H. Landau and H. Pollak at Bell Labs in the 1960's, and independently by M. Mehta and later by C. Tracy and H. Widom in Random matrix theory. The property in question is the existence of local operators with simple spectrum that commute with naturally appearing global ones.Here we give a general result that insures the existence of a commuting differential operator for a given family of exceptional orthogonal polynomials satisfying the “bispectral property”. As a main tool we go beyond bispectrality and make use of the notion of Fourier Algebras associated to the given sequence of exceptional polynomials. We illustrate this result with two examples, of Hermite and Laguerre type, exhibiting also a nice Perline's form for the commuting differential operator.

Knowledge Transfer in the Precommercialization Phase of a New Industry: Star Scientists’ (im)Mobility in the Presence of a Potential Lead User

We extend prior research on industry evolution by focusing attention to knowledge transfer in the precommercialization phase of a new industry. Specifically, we build on research that highlights the role of star scientists&#x2019; mobility as a mechanism of knowledge transfer to mitigate technological uncertainty and the role of potential lead users as the mechanism for knowledge transfer to reduce demand uncertainty. Using the image sensor industry&#x0027;s precommercialization phase as our context, we find that the star scientists of Texas Instruments, Tektronix, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Bell Laboratories, and other organizations were largely immobile, that is, rooted to the same organization. Our article not only uncovers the role of star scientists&#x2019; mobility and the potential lead user as complementary mechanisms of knowledge transfer, but also highlights the boundary condition of the benefits of star scientists&#x2019; mobility in the precommercialization phase of a new industry.

Broadband wireless access and IP technologies - VBLAST detection algorithm

MIMO technology was proposed as early as 1908 to cope with wireless channel fading. In 1995, Bell Labs was the first to discover the great potential of MIMO system in channel capacity, and in 1996, Foshini of Bell Labs first proposed a space-time coding scheme, i.e., the diagonal-Bell Labs hierarchical space-time model, which can obtain very high spectrum utilization, but due to the complexity of its structure, it is difficult to be applied in practice, and is now rarely investigated. 1998, P.W. Wolniansky et al. gave a simple and practical space-time coding scheme on this basis, i.e., the vertical-Bell Labs layered space-time model. In 1998, P.W. Wolniansky et al. gave a simple and practical space-time coding scheme on this basis, i.e., Vertical Bell Labs Layered Space-Time (V-BLAST, Vertical Bell Labs Layered Space-Time) model, which can obtain very high spectrum utilisation and is easy to implement, and therefore has received wide attention once it was proposed. In this paper, we focus on airtime layered codes as well as the ZF detection algorithm and the MMSE detection algorithm in VBLAST systems and improve them to further enhance the performance of the two detection algorithms through sequential serial interference cancellation.

Broadband wireless access and IP technologies - VBLAST detection algorithm

MIMO technology was proposed as early as 1908 to cope with wireless channel fading. In 1995, Bell Labs was the first to discover the great potential of MIMO system in channel capacity, and in 1996, Foshini of Bell Labs first proposed a space-time coding scheme, i.e., the diagonal-Bell Labs hierarchical space-time model, which can obtain very high spectrum utilization, but due to the complexity of its structure, it is difficult to be applied in practice, and is now rarely investigated. 1998, P.W. Wolniansky et al. gave a simple and practical space-time coding scheme on this basis, i.e., the vertical-Bell Labs layered space-time model. In 1998, P.W. Wolniansky et al. gave a simple and practical space-time coding scheme on this basis, i.e., Vertical Bell Labs Layered Space-Time (V-BLAST, Vertical Bell Labs Layered Space-Time) model, which can obtain very high spectrum utilisation and is easy to implement, and therefore has received wide attention once it was proposed. In this paper, we focus on airtime layered codes as well as the ZF detection algorithm and the MMSE detection algorithm in VBLAST systems and improve them to further enhance the performance of the two detection algorithms through sequential serial interference cancellation.