System and method for computing and unordered Hadamard transform

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of digital signal processing, and more particularly to computation of an unordered Hadamard transform.

[0003] A great variety of systems may be characterized by the property that they receive a signal and perform one or more mathematical operations on the received signal. Such signal processing is common in diverse fields such as telecommunications, wireless telecommunications, cryptography, filtering, data analysis, and others. Examples of such mathematical operations include the Fourier transform, the Walsh transform, the (ordered and unordered) Hadamard transform, and the Walsh-Hadamard transform, among others.

[0004] The Walsh transform is used in many areas such as image processing and digital communications as a fast way to compute an approximation of the FFT (Fast Fourier Transform). Lately it has found applications in cryptography and in testing the randomness of pseudo-random sequences. The latter application may require the computation of the Walsh transform for large 1 dimensional data sets (sometimes of the order of a 1 billion numbers or more).

[0005] Definition of Walsh Transform

[0006] The Walsh Transform of a sequence f(x), x=0, . . . ,N−1 is defined as: $\begin{array}{cc}W\left(u\right)=\left(1/N\right)\sum _{x=0}^{N-1}f\left(x\right)\prod _{l=0}^{n-1}{\left(-1\right)}^{b_i\left(x\right)b_{n-l-1}\left(u\right)}& \left(1\right)\end{array}$

[0007] where b_i(x) denotes the i^thbit of x, and n=log2(N).

[0008] Similarly, the inverse Walsh transform is defined as: $\begin{array}{cc}f\left(x\right)=\sum _{u=0}^{N-1}W\left(u\right)\prod _{l=0}^{n-1}{\left(-1\right)}^{b_i\left(x\right)b_{n-l-1}\left(u\right)}& \left(2\right)\end{array}$

[0009] The Hadamard Transform is similar to the Walsh transform and its transform matrix is actually a permutation of the Walsh transform matrix. The unordered Hadamard transform matrix may be constructed recursively for any length which is a power of 2, using a basic 2×2 matrix H₂according to the relations: $\begin{array}{cc}{H}_2=\left[\begin{array}{c}+1+1\\ +1-1\end{array}\right]H_4=\left[\begin{array}{c}+H_2+H_2\\ +H_2-H_2\end{array}\right]H_{2N}=\left[\begin{array}{c}+H_N+H_N\\ +H_N-H_N\end{array}\right]& \left(3\right)\end{array}$

[0010] For signal processing applications, the ordered Hadamard transform is primarily used: $\begin{array}{cc}H\left(u\right)=\left(1/N\right)\sum _{x=0}^{N-1}f\left(x\right){\left(-1\right)}^{\sum _{l=0}^{N-1}{b}_l\left(x\right)b_l\left(u\right)}& \left(4\right)\\ f\left(x\right)=\left(1/N\right)\sum _{u=0}^{N-1}H\left(u\right){\left(-1\right)}^{\sum _{l=0}^{N-1}{b}_l\left(x\right)b_l\left(u\right)}& \left(5\right)\end{array}$

[0011] It is noted that the Walsh and the ordered Hadamard transform are actually permutations of the unordered Hadamard transform, therefore once the unordered Hadamard transform has been computed, if the order of the results is important, they may be obtained by a simple reordering.

[0012] Mathematical operations such as these are typically performed on a received signal by a computer system with a single processor and memory (Von Neumann architecture). While this approach works well for small data sets (signals), the processing of much larger data sets may not be feasible due to time constraints.

[0013] To address the problems of processing large signals or data sets, algorithms have been developed for performing various signal processing operations via parallel computation systems, such as large matrix transpositions, for example. While a number of efficient methods for computation of the unordered Hadamard transform on a single CPU have been proposed, there are currently no known methods for parallel computation of the unordered Hadamard transform.

[0014] Thus, there exists a substantial need for a system and method for parallel computation of the unordered Hadamard transform.

[0015] Various embodiments of a system and method are presented for parallel computation of the unordered Hadamard transform. In the preferred embodiment, the method is performed by a computing system which includes a plurality of interconnected processors, each with a corresponding local memory. The method is presented in four stages for clarity.

[0016] In stage one, an input signal x is received and partitioned into a plurality of M₁sub-vectors x_i, each having length M₂. Thus, the signal x comprises M₁×M₂elements or values. The sub-vectors are then distributed to the local memories of the computing system. In other words, one or more of the sub-vectors x_iare distributed or assigned to each processor/local memory.

[0017] Each processor may then compute a Hadamard transform (order M₂) on the one or more sub-vectors in its local memory. In the preferred embodiment, the processors compute their respective transforms in parallel. The transforms performed on the sub-vectors x_imay generate a plurality of M₁result sub-vectors t_i, each having length M₂, which compose a distributed result vector t of length M₁×M₂.

[0018] In the second stage of the method, elements of the result vector t may be collected with a stride of M₂and placed into consecutively indexed locations in a second result vector u. In other words, a stride permutation may be performed on the result vector t (with stride M₂) to generate result vector u. Said another way, the vector t may be considered or interpreted as a distributed M₁×M₂matrix, where each result sub-vector t_iis viewed as a column (or row) of the matrix. A parallel matrix transposition is then performed, resulting in a transposed M₂×M₁matrix, i.e., a matrix comprised of M₂result sub-vectors u_j, each of length M₁.

[0019] In the third stage of the method, each processor may compute a Hadamard transform (order M₁) on the one or more result sub-vectors u_jin its local memory. In the preferred embodiment, the processors compute their respective transforms in parallel. The transforms performed on the sub-vectors generate a plurality of M₂result sub-vectors v_j, each having length M₁, which compose a distributed result vector v of length M₂×M₁.

[0020] In the fourth stage of the method, elements of the result vector v may be collected with a stride of M₁and placed into consecutively indexed locations in a final result vector w. In other words, a stride permutation is performed on the result vector v (with stride M₁) to generate result vector w. Said another way, the vector v may be considered or interpreted as a distributed M₂×M₁matrix, where each result sub-vector v_jis viewed as a column (or row) of the matrix. A parallel matrix transposition is then performed, resulting in a transposed M₁×M₂matrix, i.e., a matrix comprised of M₁result sub-vectors w_i, each of length M₂. The ordered sub-vectors w_icompose a distributed vector w, which is the unordered Hadamard transform of the input signal x.

[0021] It should be noted that if the order of elements of the final result is unimportant, then the last stage may be omitted, because only the order of the values changes.

[0022] A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a computer system, according to one embodiment;

[0024] FIG. 2A is a diagram of a telecommunications system, according to one embodiment;

[0025] FIG. 2B is a diagram of a wireless telecommunications system, according to one embodiment;

[0026] FIG. 2C is a diagram of a digital signal processing system, according to one embodiment;

[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates a parallel computer system which may be suitable to perform a method according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for parallel computation of a Hadamard transform;

[0029] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the parallel computing system of FIG. 3 performing parallel Hadamard transforms, according to one embodiment;

[0030] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the parallel computing system of FIGS. 3 and 5 performing a stride permutation, according to one embodiment; and

[0031] FIG. 7 illustrates the vector operations of the parallel Hadamard transform computation, according to one embodiment.

[0032] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0033] FIG. 1—Computer System

[0034] FIG. 1 illustrates a computer system 102 which may be suitable for performing one embodiment of the invention. The computer system 102 may store and/or execute one or more software programs which perform the method described in FIGS. 4 and 7 below. In one embodiment, the computer system 102 may include at least one processor or CPU, a display device, such as a monitor, as well as a chassis and one or more I/O devices, such as a keyboard and/or mouse. Where the computer system 102 has a single CPU, the computing system is referred to as a Von Neumann machine. In another embodiment, the computer system 102 may include two or more processors, and may also include two or more memory mediums corresponding to the two or more processors. In the preferred embodiment, the computer system 102 includes a plurality of processors, preferably 2, 4, or 8 processors.

[0035] The computer system 102 may take any of various forms, such as a personal computer, a workstation, e.g., a Sun workstation, or any type of device which includes one or more processors that execute instructions from one or more memory mediums, or which includes programmable logic that has been configured to perform the methods described in FIGS. 4 and 7. Exemplary computer systems include a personal computer, workstation, mainframe computer, a personal computing device (PDA), television, digital signal processing system, embedded device, and other systems. Thus, as used herein, the term computer system is intended to encompass any of various devices which include one or more processors that can execute instructions from one or more memory mediums and/or may include one or more programmable logic devices that can be configured to execute a method or algorithm, such as that described in FIGS. 4 and 7.

[0036] The method of the present invention may be implemented in any of various types of devices and for any of various types of applications, such as described below with reference to FIGS. 2A-C.

[0037] FIGS. 2A-C—Applications of the Unordered Hadamard Transform

[0038] FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C illustrate various exemplary applications where the invention may be used. However, it is noted that the invention is not limited to these applications, but rather may be used in any of various applications. As FIGS. 2A and 2B show, the unordered Hadamard transform may be useful in the fields of both wired and wireless telecommunications. As FIG. 2A shows, in a wired telecommunication system a signal receiver 204A may be coupled to a telecommunication device 202, and may be operable to receive telecommunication signals and transmit the received signals to the telecommunication device 202. Various filtering or processing operations may be performed by one or both of the signal receiver 204A and the telecommunication device 202. Similarly, in a wireless telecommunication system, as shown in FIG. 2B, a signal receiver 204B may be operable to receive signals from a radio tower 206, and to apply various filtering and/or signal processing algorithms to the received signals. In these example applications, a computer system 102 comprised in or coupled to the signal receiver 204 may compute the parallel Hadamard transform described herein on the received signals to process the received signals and extract information from these signals or convert the signals to a different form for further processing. For example, the computer system 102 may perform the Hadamard transform on the received signals to determine a match from among a set of candidate signals.

[0039] A broad area of application of the present invention is digital signal processing, as shown in FIG. 2C. As FIG. 2C illustrates, a signal receiver 204C may be coupled to a digital signal processor (DSP) 208, and may be operable to receive a signal and to transmit the received signal to the DSP for processing. Signal processing operations, such as the unordered Hadamard transform, may be performed on the received signal by one or both of the signal receiver 204C and the DSP 208. For example, the DSP 208 may perform the parallel Hadamard transform described herein to extract information from the signal or convert the signal to a different form for further processing.

[0040] One common use of digital signal processing is in cryptography, where information is encoded in a signal so as to prevent unauthorized access to the information. In many cases, the information may be embedded in a random or pseudo-random numeric sequence. A user wishing to determine whether a given sequence (signal) contains a coded message may measure the randomness of the sequence and, if the sequence is found to be less random than expected, the presence of an embedded message may be assumed. One manner of determining if the sequence is non-random is to search for repeating values. The unordered Hadamard transform is particularly suitable for this task in that the transform calculates the sum and difference for all possible pairings of each of the values in the signal. A zero result for the difference calculation for a given pair implies that the two values are the same, and so a repetition has occurred.

[0041] In addition to the applications listed above, the method described herein may also be used in instrumentation systems, industrial automation or process control systems, telecommunication systems, financial systems, machine vision systems and any other application where it is desirable to perform an unordered Hadamard transform on a received signal. More specific applications wherein the method of the present invention may be used include digital signal processing in a telecommunication system, as well as analysis related to image data, measurement data, acoustic data, seismic data, financial data, stock data, futures data, business data, scientific data, medical data, insurance data, musical data, biometric data, and telecommunications signals, among others.

[0042] As mentioned above, the unordered Hadamard transform may be performed on relatively small data sets or signals via conventional computation techniques, i.e., via a standard Von Neumann machine, with relative ease. However, especially in cryptographic applications, input signals may comprise millions, or even billions, of values, thus rendering the task of performing the unordered Hadamard transform on the signal intractable, or at least unfeasible, for a Von Neumann (single processor) machine. In these cases, a parallel computation system, such as that described below with reference to FIG. 3, may be used to implement various embodiments of the present invention.

[0043] FIG. 3—A Parallel Computing System

[0044] FIG. 3 is a diagram of a parallel computing system, according to one embodiment. As FIG. 3 shows, in one embodiment, a plurality of processors, P₀300, P₁301, . . . , P_Np−1309 are respectively coupled to each of a corresponding plurality of local memory mediums K₀320, K₁321, . . . , K_Np−1329, via corresponding buses 311A-Z. Note that for simplicity, substantially similar components may be referred to collectively by a single number, e.g. buses 311A, 311B, . . . , 311Z may be referred to simply as 311.

[0045] As FIG. 3 also shows, each processor P may be coupled to an interconnect switch 310 via a link 312, thereby enabling each processor to communicate and exchange data with each of the other processors. In one embodiment, the parallel computing system may be comprised in a single unit, such as the computer system 102 described above with reference to FIG. 1, wherein the single unit includes two or more processors and corresponding local memory mediums. In another embodiment, the parallel computing system may comprise two or more coupled computers, wherein each computer includes one or more processors and corresponding local memory mediums, and wherein each computer is directly coupled to each of the other computers. In yet another embodiment, the parallel computing system may comprise a plurality of computers coupled over a network, such as the Internet, wherein each computer includes one or more processors and corresponding local memory mediums.

[0046] Thus, the present invention may be implemented in various computer systems, including multi-processor computers and networked computers, including both LAN and WAN distributed computing systems.

[0047] Theory

[0048] Tensor Product Formulation of the Unordered Hadamard Transform

[0049] The tensor product of a vector x of length M: $x=\left[\begin{array}{c}{x}_0\\ ⋮\\ x_{M-1}\end{array}\right]$

[0050] with a vector y of length N, is defined as a vector z of length M *N: $\begin{array}{cc}z=x\otimes y=\left[\begin{array}{c}{x}_{0}y\\ ⋮\\ x_{M-1}y\end{array}\right]& \left(6\right)\end{array}$

[0051] The tensor product of an M×M matrix A and an N×N matrix B, is the MN×MN matrix C: $\begin{array}{cc}C=A\otimes B=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}{a}_{0,0}B& \dots & a_{0,M-1}B\\ ⋮& ⋰& ⋮\\ a_{M-1,0}B& \dots & a_{M-1,M-1}B\end{array}\right]& \left(7\right)\end{array}$

[0052] Using the above notation, it is clear that equation (3) can be rewritten as: $H_2=\left[\begin{array}{c}+1+1\\ +1-1\end{array}\right]$  H₄=H₂{circle around (×)}H₂

[0053] H_2N=H₂{circle around (×)}H_N  (8)

[0054] An important property of the tensor product is the factorization:

[0055] A{circle around (×)}B=(A{circle around (×)}I_N)·(I_M{circle around (×)}B)=(I_M{circle around (×)}B)·(A{circle around (×)}I_N)  (9)

[0056] where I_Mand I_Ndenote the identity matrices of order M and N correspondingly.

[0057] An L-point stride N permutation matrix P (L,N), where L=M·N, is defined by:

[0058] P(L,N)(x{circle around (×)}y)=y{circle around (×)}x

[0059] where x and y are vectors of length M and N.

[0060] An important theorem relating stride permutations and tensor products is that for matrices A of size M×M and B of size N×N:

[0061] P(MN,N)(A{circle around (×)}B)=(B{circle around (×)}A)P(MN,N)  (10)

[0062] Moreover, the inverse of a permutation matrix P (MN, N) is given by the identity:

[0063] P(MN, N)⁻¹=P(MN,M)  (11)

[0064] Derivation of the Parallel Algorithm

[0065] Assume the computation of the unordered Hadamard transform of a vector x of length M is to be computed. M is a power of 2, i.e. M=2ⁿ, for some integer n. The computation of the transform is equivalent to the following matrix-vector product:

[0066] y=H_M·x  (12)

[0067] Assume that n can be decomposed as the sum of two integers n₁and n₂: n=n₁+n₂. Equivalently, the length of the input vector x can be expressed as:

[0068] M=M₁*M₂=2ⁿ*2ⁿ

[0069] Using Eq. (8), we can rewrite Equation (12) as:

[0070] y=(H₂{circle around (×)}. . . {circle around (×)}H₂){circle around (×)}(H₂{circle around (×)}. . . {circle around (×)}H₂)x=(H₂ⁿ{circle around (×)}H₂ⁿ)x=(H_M1{circle around (×)}H_M2)x  (13)

[0071] n₁factors n₂factors

[0072] Using Equation (9), we can rewrite Equation (13) as:

[0073] y=(H_M1{circle around (×)}I_M2)·(I_M1{circle around (×)}H_M2)x  (14)

[0074] Moreover, using Equations (10) and (11) we rewrite Equation (14) as: $\begin{array}{cc}\begin{array}{c}y=\left(H_{\mathrm{M1}}\otimes I_{\mathrm{M2}}\right)·\left(I_{\mathrm{M1}}\otimes H_{\mathrm{M2}}\right)x\\ =P\left(M_1{M}_2,M_1\right)·\left(I_{\mathrm{M2}}\otimes H_{\mathrm{M1}}\right)·{P\left(M_1{M}_2,M_1\right)}^{-1}·\left(I_{\mathrm{M1}}\otimes H_{\mathrm{M2}}\right)x\\ =P\left(M_1{M}_2,M_1\right)·\left(I_{\mathrm{M2}}\otimes H_{\mathrm{M1}}\right)·P\left(M_1{M}_2,M_2\right)·\left(I_{\mathrm{M1}}\otimes H_{\mathrm{M2}}\right)x\end{array}& \left(15\right)\end{array}$

[0075] Equation (15) is the basis of our parallel algorithm. The vector x of length M₁M₂is being partitioned as M₁, consecutive segments of length M₂. $x=\left[\begin{array}{c}{x}_0\\ ⋮\\ x_{M-1}\end{array}\right]$

[0076] From Equation (15), we see that the unordered Hadamard transform can be computed as a sequence of 4 stages:

[0077] Stage 1: Compute t=(I_M1{circle around (×)}H_M2)·x

[0078] (I_M1{circle around (×)}H_M2)·x can be expanded to: $\begin{array}{cc}\left(I_{\mathrm{M1}}\otimes H_{\mathrm{M2}}\right)·x=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}{H}_{M_2}& \cdots & 0\\ ⋮& ⋰& ⋮\\ 0& \cdots & H_{M_2}\end{array}\right]*\left[\begin{array}{c}{x}_0\\ ⋮\\ x_{M_1-1}\end{array}\right]=\left[\begin{array}{c}{H}_{M_2}{x}_0\\ ⋮\\ H_{M_2}{x}_{M_1-1}\end{array}\right]& \left(16\right)\end{array}$

[0079] Equation (16) shows that the first stage can be computed as M₁independent transforms of size M₂, each being performed on a different subvector of the partitioned input vector x.

[0080] In a distributed memory multiprocessor system with N_pprocessors P₀, P₁. . . , P_np−1, each with each local memory, the partitioned input vector x may be stored in the local memory of each processor in contiguous segments of length M₂, as shown in FIG. 5, described below.

[0081] Every processor computes transforms of length M₂of its locally stored x segments by loading the data into its registers performing the appropriate computations and then writing the results back into its local memory. The interconnect network is not utilized during this stage, and the speedup is approximately equal to the number of connected processors. (It can be less, if M₁, is not exactly divisible by the N_p, in which case some processors will process less segments than others, resulting in load imbalance).

[0082] Stage 2: Compute: u=P(M₁M₂, M₂)·t

[0083] Vector t is a distributed vector of length M₁M₂. The stride permutation P(M₁M₂, M₂), collects elements of the vector t with stride M₂and places them into consecutively indexed locations in the result vector u. In particular, every processor collects the first element of every local segment t₁, (it is assumed that the elements of the vector t have replaced that of the original vector x and are placed into the corresponding segments within the local memory of each processor) and sends them to the processor which will hold segment u₀. Each such segment will now be of length M₁and will be placed in the local memory of a processing element.

[0084] Next, the second element of each segment of length M₂is picked by every processor, and the resulting vector of length M₁is sent to the processor which will hold that segment and so on.

[0085] Thus, to assemble every single segment of length M₁, elements from all M₂-length segments are required, and since these are located in the local memory of different processors, a global communication operation is required during this stage, in which all processors send and receive appropriate data via the interconnect network.

[0086] This is a communication intensive stage, and its speed generally depends on the bi-directional bandwidth of the links connecting the processors to the interconnect switch and on the speed and capacity of the switch. As it will however become clear shortly this stage is equivalent to a global transposition of a 2D array of size M₂×M₁into an array of size M₁×M₂, and therefore efficient methods for global matrix transposition can be used.

[0087] We may consider the vector t of length M as a 2D array of size M₂×M₁. Assuming that elements whose first index in this array varies faster are stored in consecutive memory locations (Fortran multi-dimensional array storage convention), subvectors of length M₂will be placed in the memory one after the other. Since the 2 D array is distributed over the local memories of each processor, every processor will hold a set of such subvectors. This is exactly the memory layout used for storing the distributed 1 D vector t. Similarly, the resulting vector u may also be thought of as a 2D array of size M₁×M₂, and therefore stage 2 is effectively a parallel 2D matrix transposition.

[0088] At the beginning of stage 2, the input and result vectors t and u are aliased into 2 D arrays. Then a parallel 2D array transposition is performed. Finally the 2D result array is aliased back into an vector of length M. The parallel transposition is performed via a method suitable for the speed of the interconnect, the number of processors and the size of the 2D arrays.

[0089] A new M₁-length segment of the result vector u is formed in the local memory of processor P₀by gathering the first element of every length M₂segment from every processor, as shown in FIG. 6, described below.

[0090] Stage 3: Compute v=(I_M2{circle around (×)}H_M1)·u

[0091] Similarly to stage 1, (I_M2{circle around (×)}H_M1)·u can be expanded to: $\left(I_{\mathrm{M2}}\otimes H_{\mathrm{M1}}\right)·u=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}{H}_{M_1}& \cdots & 0\\ ⋮& ⋰& ⋮\\ 0& \cdots & H_{M_1}\end{array}\right]*\left[\begin{array}{c}{u}_0\\ ⋮\\ u_{M_2-1}\end{array}\right]=\left[\begin{array}{c}{H}_{M_1}{u}_0\\ ⋮\\ H_{M_1}{u}_{M_2-1}\end{array}\right]$

[0092] During this stage, M₂independent transforms of length M₁are being computed. Every processor retrieves data from its local memory, computes their unordered Hadamard transform of length M1 and then stores them back into its local memory. The computation during this stage is very similar to that described with reference stage 1, above.

[0093] Stage 4: Compute: w=P(M₁M₂, M₁)·v

[0094] Again, similarly to stage 2, this computation is performed as a global 2D matrix transposition of an array of size M₁×M₂to an array of size M₂×M₁. Note that if only the value of the resulting transform is important and the order of its elements can be ignored, as it is common in many applications, this last stage may be omitted, since the numerical values of any of the three Hadamard (or Walsh) transform variations we described in Section 1, have already been computed at the end of stage 3.

[0095] A detailed descriptions of one embodiment of the process described above are presented below with reference to FIGS. 4-7.

[0096] FIG. 4—Parallel Computation of the Hadamard Transform

[0097] FIG. 4 flowcharts one embodiment of a method for parallel computation of the unordered Hadamard transform of a received signal x. In the preferred embodiment, the method is performed by a computing system which includes a plurality of processors, each with a corresponding local memory. The method is presented in four stages (as described above) for clarity. The first stage includes 402-408.

[0098] As FIG. 4 shows, in 402 an input signal x may be received. In 404, the signal x may be partitioned into a plurality of M₁sub-vectors x_i, each having length M₂. Thus, the signal x comprises M_1×M2elements or values.

[0099] Then, in 406 the sub-vectors may be distributed to the local memories of the computing system. In other words, one or more of the sub-vectors x_imay be distributed or assigned to each processor/local memory.

[0100] In 408, each processor computes a Hadamard transform (order M₂) on the one or more sub-vectors in its local memory. In the preferred embodiment, the processors compute their respective transforms in parallel. The transforms performed on the sub-vectors x_igenerate a plurality of M₁result sub-vectors t_i, each having length M₂, which compose a distributed result vector t of length M₁×M₂.

[0101] Step 410 comprises the second stage of the method. In 410, elements of the result vector t may be collected with a stride of M₂and placed into consecutively indexed locations in a second result vector u. In other words, a stride permutation may be performed on the result vector t (with stride M₂) to generate result vector u. Said another way, the vector t may be considered or interpreted as a distributed M₁×M₂matrix, where each result sub-vector t_imay be viewed as a column (or row) of the matrix. A parallel matrix transposition may then be performed, resulting in a transposed M₂×M₁matrix, i.e., a matrix comprised of M₂result sub-vectors u_j, each of length M₁.

[0102] Step 412 comprises the third stage of the method. In 412, each processor computes a Hadamard transform (order M₁) on the one or more result sub-vectors u_jin its local memory. In the preferred embodiment, the processors compute their respective transforms in parallel. The transforms performed on the sub-vectors generate a plurality of M₂result sub-vectors v_j, each having length M₁, which compose a distributed result vector v of length M₂×M₁.

[0103] Step 414 comprises the fourth stage of the method. In 414, elements of the result vector v may be collected with a stride of M₁and placed into consecutively indexed locations in a final result vector w. In other words, a stride permutation may be performed on the result vector v (with stride M₁) to generate result vector w. Said another way, the vector v may be considered or interpreted as a distributed M₂×M₁matrix, where each result sub-vector v_jmay be viewed as a column (or row) of the matrix. A parallel matrix transposition may then be performed, resulting in a transposed M₁×M₂matrix, i.e., a matrix comprised of M₁result sub-vectors w_i, each of length M₂. The ordered sub-vectors w_icompose a distributed vector w, which is the Hadamard transform of the input signal x.

[0104] It should be noted that if the order of elements of the final result is unimportant, then the last step 414 may be omitted, because only the order of the values changes. As mentioned above, because the unordered Hadamard transform is a permutation of a number of other transforms, e.g., the ordered Hadamard transform, the Walsh transform, etc., these other transforms may be produced by further ordering of the values.

[0105] FIG. 5—Block Diagram of Parallel Computing System Performing Parallel Hadamard Transforms

[0106] FIG. 5 illustrates the performance of the parallel Hadamard transforms, described in 408 above, by the parallel computing system described above with reference to FIG. 3. As described above, each of the plurality of processors, P₀300, P₁301, . . . , P_Np−1309 may be respectively coupled to each of the corresponding plurality of local memory mediums K₀320, K₁321, . . . , K_Np−1329, via corresponding buses 311A-Z. Furthermore, each processor P may be coupled to interconnect switch 310 via respective link 312, enabling each processor to communicate and exchange data with each of the other processors, although this aspect of the system is not used in this stage.

[0107] As FIG. 5 shows, the input vector x (received in 402 above) may be distributed among the respective local memory mediums of each processor P in the form of sub-vectors x_i(in 404 above). For illustration purposes, each local memory is shown containing three sub-vectors of x, although the actual number of sub-vectors in each local memory may be different. As described in 408 above, in this embodiment, each processor computes a Hadamard transform (order M₂) on the three sub-vectors in its local memory. Because each transform may be performed independently, the processors compute their respective transforms in parallel. The transforms performed on the sub-vectors x_igenerate a plurality of M₁result sub-vectors t_i, each having length M₂, which compose a distributed result vector t of length M₁×M₂.

[0108] FIG. 6—Block Diagram of Parallel Computing System Performing the Stride Permutation

[0109] FIG. 6 illustrates the performance of the stride permutation of 410 above by the parallel computing system described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5. As described above, each of the plurality of processors, P₀300, P₁301, . . . , P_Np−1309 may be respectively coupled to each of the corresponding plurality of local memory mediums K₀320, K₁321, . . . , K_Np−1329, via corresponding buses 311A-Z. Furthermore, each processor P may be coupled to interconnect switch 310 via respective link 312, enabling each processor to communicate and exchange data with each of the other processors.

[0110] As FIG. 6 shows, the result vector t (generated in 408 above) is distributed among the respective local memory mediums of each processor P in the form of result sub-vectors t_i. For illustration purposes, each local memory is shown containing three sub-vectors of t, although the actual number of sub-vectors in each local memory may be different.

[0111] As indicated in FIG. 6, elements of the result vector t may be collected with a stride of M₂and placed into consecutively indexed locations in a second result vector u. For example, as can be seen in the first memory block K₀320, the first element of each locally stored sub-vector (t₀, t₁, and t₂) is collected and stored sequentially in locally stored result sub-vector u₀. As FIG. 6 also shows, the first element of each of the sub-vectors t_istored in the remaining local memory mediums K₁321 through K_NP−1329 is collected and transmitted through each processor's link (see dotted lines) through the interconnect switch 310 to P₀300, which stores the first elements in subsequent positions of the result sub-vector u₀. Thus, the result sub-vector u₀comprises the first elements of each sub-vector t_i, and therefore, since there are M₁sub-vectors t_i, there are M₁elements in the result sub-vector u₀.

[0112] This process is performed for each of the M₂elements of each sub-vector t_i, e.g., the second element in each sub-vector t_iis collected and stored in a result sub-vector u₁, the third element in each sub-vector t_iis collected and stored in a result sub-vector u₂, and so on, until the M₁sub-vectors (each of length M₂) of the distributed vector t have been transformed into M₂sub-vectors (each of length M₁) of the distributed result vector u. As mentioned above, this stride permutation is equivalent to a matrix transposition of an M₁×M₂matrix to an M₂×M₁matrix, wherein the columns of the M₁×M₂matrix become rows in the M₂×M₁matrix (and vice versa).

[0113] FIG. 7—Diagram of Parallel Computation of the Hadamard Transform

[0114] FIG. 7 is a diagram of the Hadamard transform process described above with reference to FIG. 4 in terms of the vectors/signals. As FIG. 7 shows, input vector x 702 comprises five sub-vectors, each of length three. Thus, in the terms presented above, M₁=5, and M₂=3. It should be noted that these values are for illustration purposes only, and that the actual number of elements in a vector and/or its sub-vectors may be different. As may be seen in FIG. 7, parallel Hadamard transforms 703 of order M₂may be performed on each sub-vector x_iof vector x 702, producing vector t 704. This concludes stage one of the process, as described above with reference to FIG. 4.

[0115] In stage two, a stride permutation 705 with stride M₂may be performed on vector t 704 to generate vector u 706. Note that only the first stride series is shown, i.e., the first element of each sub-vector t_iis collected to form the first sub-vector of vector u 706, u₀7060. The second element of each sub-vector t_iis collected to form the second sub-vector of vector u 706, and so on, for the remainder of elements, until vector u is complete. Note that while vector t 704 has five sub-vectors, each of length three, vector u 706 has three sub-vectors, each of length five.

[0116] As FIG. 7 shows, in stage three, parallel Hadamard transforms 707 of order M₁may be performed on each sub-vector u_jof vector u 706, producing vector v 708. As mentioned above, if the order of the values in the final transform result is unimportant, then the process may be stopped at this point, i.e., the vector v 708 contains all of the values of the final transform results, but the order of the values may not be correct.

[0117] Finally, in stage four, a stride permutation 709 with stride M₁may be performed on vector v 706 to generate vector w 710. Note that, again, only the first stride series is shown, i.e., the first element of each sub-vector v_jis collected to form the first sub-vector of vector w 710, w₀7100. The second, third, etc., elements may be similarly collected to form the respective second, third, etc., sub-vectors of w 710. Note that while vector v 708 has three sub-vectors, each of length five, vector w 710 has five sub-vectors, each of length three, as does the original input vector x 702. Vector w 710 comprises the unordered Hadamard transform of the input vector x 702. The unordered Hadamard transform w 710 of the signal x 702 may then be used in analyzing the signal x 702, or in producing other related transforms, as noted previously.

[0118] As also mentioned above, the stride permutations may be interpreted as matrix transpositions, converting an M₁×M₂matrix to an M₂×M₁matrix, and vice versa. This interpretation allows standard efficient parallel methods of computation to be applied to these stages (matrix transposition) of the process.

[0119] Memory and Carrier Medium

[0120] As mentioned above, the computing system preferably includes a plurality of memory mediums on which software according to an embodiment of the present invention may be stored. The memory mediums may store the input signal x, the final transformed result w, as well as various intermediate result vectors (t, u, and v) computed in the process. The memory mediums may also store a software program (or a plurality of software programs) for executing the method described above with reference to FIG. 4. One or more of the memory mediums may further store one or more software programs for analyzing the input signal x and the final result vector w.

[0121] The term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; a computer system memory or random access memory (RAM) such as DRAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, RRAM, etc.; or a non-volatile memory such as a magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage. The memory medium may comprise other types of memory as well, or combinations thereof.

[0122] In addition, the memory mediums may be located in one or more first computers in which the one or more software programs are stored or executed, and/or may be located in one or more second different computers which connect to the first computers over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, the second computers provide the program instructions to the first computers for execution. The memory mediums thus may be distributed across a plurality of computers 102. Also, the computing system may take various forms, including one or more personal computer systems, mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, Internet appliances, personal digital assistants (PDA), television set-top boxes, or other devices. In general, the term “computing system” can be broadly defined to encompass any device having at least one processor which executes instructions from a memory medium, or any device which includes programmable logic that is configurable to perform a method or algorithm.

[0123] Various embodiments further include receiving or storing instructions and/or data implemented in accordance with the foregoing description upon a carrier medium. Suitable carrier media include a memory medium as described above, as well as signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, conveyed via a communication medium such as networks and/or a wireless link.

[0124] In one embodiment, the software programs as described herein may be designed for use in telecommunication systems, including systems which perform filtering, analysis, and/or display, or for use in various cryptographic systems. In another embodiment, the software programs may be designed for use in imaging systems. In other embodiments, the software programs may be designed for use in business, financial, scientific, biometric, or medical analysis, among others.

[0125] However, it is noted that the present invention can be used for a plethora of applications and is not limited to the applications shown herein. In other words, the applications described herein are exemplary only, and the methods described herein may be used for any of various purposes and may be stored in and execute on any of various types of systems to perform any of various applications.

[0126] Although the embodiments above have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.