This paper presents a new deep neural network (DNN)-based speech enhancement algorithm by integrating the distilled knowledge from the traditional statistical-based method. Unlike the other DNN-based methods, which usually train many different models on the same data and then average their predictions, or use a large number of noise types to enlarge the simulated noisy speech, the proposed method does not train a whole ensemble of models and does not require a mass of simulated noisy speech. It first trains a discriminator network and a generator network simultaneously using the adversarial learning method. Then, the discriminator network and generator network are re-trained by distilling knowledge from the statistical method, which is inspired by the knowledge distillation in a neural network. Finally, the generator network is fine-tuned using real noisy speech. Experiments on CHiME4 data sets demonstrate that the proposed method achieves a more robust performance than the compared DNN-based method in terms of perceptual speech quality.

Traffic visibility detection plays a vital role in intelligent transportation, autonomous driving, safe driving, etc. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) based regression and classification algorithms have been shown competitive performance in many applications, but little attention has been paid to traffic visibility identification. In this paper, we propose a trainable end-to-end system called traffic visibility regression network (TVRNet). TVRNet takes a road image as input and outputs its visibility value. TVRNet adopts CNNs based deep architecture, uses appropriate filters to extract fog density-related features, and exploits the parallel convolution for multi-scale mapping. Later, a new type of non-linear activation function called Modified_sigmoid function is used. We synthesize labeled visibility datasets comprised of multi-scene and single-scene based on the actual road sense to train the visibility regression network. Extensive experiments and comparisons with other popular algorithms are performed to verify our method in road visibility estimation.

A sensorless control system of a permanent magnet synchronous motor based on an extended Kalman filter (EKF) algorithm faces problems with inaccurate or mismatched process noise statistics. This problem affects the performance of the filter, resulting in an inaccurate estimation of motor speed. To address the above problem, this paper proposes a parameter-adaptive Kalman filter algorithm that does not depend on precise noise system covariance. This method can significantly reduce the negative impact of the noise statistical mismatch on motor speed estimation. In addition, the method uses adaptive covariance prediction and removes the original covariance checks in the EKF, thus reducing the calculation burden. The simulation results show that, compared with the traditional EKF algorithm, the algorithm proposed in this article can effectively reduce the steady-state jitter and improve the filtering adaptability and calculation accuracy.

In the monocular visual-inertia mode of ORB-SLAM3, the insufficient excitation obtained by the inertial measurement unit (IMU) will lead to a long system initialization time. Hence, the trajectory can be easily lost and the map creation will not be completed. To solve this problem, a fast map restoration method is proposed in this paper, which adresses the problem of insufficient excitation of IMU. Firstly, the frames before system initialization are quickly tracked using bag-of-words and maximum likelyhood perspective-n-point (MLPNP). Then, the grayscale histogram is used to accelerate the loop closure detection to reduce the time consumption caused by the map restoration. After experimental verification on public datasets, the proposed algorithm can establish a complete map and ensure real-time performance. Compared with the traditional ORB-SLAM3, the accuracy improved by about 47.51% and time efficiency improved by about 55.96%.

The high penetration of photovoltaic (PV) systems in low-voltage distribution networks relieves the pressure of energy shortages. However, the severe intermittency and variability in the output of PVs also bring a series of voltage quality problems, such as over-voltage, under-voltage, and voltage fluctuations. In this paper, a novel voltage control strategy based on air conditioners (ACs) and an on-load-tap-changer (OLTC) is proposed. By regulating the operating power of the ACs, voltage regulation powers are provided for the distribution network during the regulation time delays of the OLTC, which can effectively avoid the occurrence of regulation lag by the OLTC. The thermal model and electrical model are established to evaluate the operating performance of voltage regulation potential of the ACs. Furthermore, the voltage regulation strategy is formulated based on the regulation potential of the ACs, which it can make full use of. The effectiveness of the proposed voltage control strategy is illustrated in numerical studies.

Traffic visibility is an essential reference for safe driving. Nighttime conditions add to the difficulty of estimating traffic visibility. To estimate the visibility in nighttime traffic images, we propose a Traffic Sensibility Visibility Estimation (TSVE) algorithm that combines laser transmission and image processing and needs no reference to the corresponding fog-free images and camera calibration. The information required is first obtained via the roadside equipment which collects environmental data and captures road images and then analyzed locally or remotely. The proposed analysis includes calculating the current atmospheric transmissivity with the laser atmospheric transmission theory and acquiring image features by using the cameras and the adjustable brightness target. Image analysis is performed using two image processing algorithms, namely, dark channel prior (DCP) and image brightness contrast. Finally, to improve the accuracy of visibility estimation, multiple nonlinear regression (MNLR) is performed on the various visibility indicators obtained by the two methods. Extensive on-site measurements analysis confirms the advantages of TSVE. Compared with other visibility estimation methods, such as the laser atmospheric transmission theory and image analysis method, TSVE significantly decreases the estimation errors.