Chemical Sensors Based on IR Spectroscopy and Surface-Modified Waveguides

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Gabriel P.; Niemczyk, Thomas

1999-01-01

Sol-gel processing techniques have been used to apply thin porous films to the surfaces of planar infrared (IR) waveguides to produce widely useful chemical sensors. The thin- film coating serves to diminish the concentration of water and increase the concentration of the analyte in the region probed by the evanescent IR wave. These porous films are composed of silica, and therefore, conventional silica surface modification techniques can be used to give the surface a specific functional character. The sol-gel film was surface-modified to make the film highly hydrophobic. These sensors were shown to be capable of detecting non-polar organic analytes, such as benzonitrile, in aqueous solution with detection limits in the ppb range. Further, these porous sol-gel structures allow the analytes to diffuse into and out of the films rapidly, thus reaching equilibrium in less than ten seconds. These sensors are unique because of the fact that their operation is based on the measurement of an IR absorption spectrum. Thus, these sensors are able to identify the analytes as well as measure concentration with high sensitivity. These developments have been documented in previous reports and publications. Recently, we have also targeted detection of the polar organic molecules acetone and isopropanol in aqueous solution. Polar organics are widely used in industrial and chemical processes, hence it is of interest to monitor their presence in effluents or decontamination process flows. Although large improvements in detection limits were expected with non-polar organic molecules in aqueous solutions using very hydrophobic porous sol-gel films on silicon attenuated total reflectance (Si ATR) waveguides, it was not as clear what the detection enhancements might be for polar organic molecules. This report describes the use of modified sol-gel-coated Si ATR sensors for trace detection and quantitation of small polar organic molecules in aqueous solutions. The detection of both acetone

Validation of the thermal code of RadTherm-IR, IR-Workbench, and F-TOM

Science.gov (United States)

Schwenger, Frédéric; Grossmann, Peter; Malaplate, Alain

2009-05-01

System assessment by image simulation requires synthetic scenarios that can be viewed by the device to be simulated. In addition to physical modeling of the camera, a reliable modeling of scene elements is necessary. Software products for modeling of target data in the IR should be capable of (i) predicting surface temperatures of scene elements over a long period of time and (ii) computing sensor views of the scenario. For such applications, FGAN-FOM acquired the software products RadTherm-IR (ThermoAnalytics Inc., Calumet, USA; IR-Workbench (OKTAL-SE, Toulouse, France). Inspection of the accuracy of simulation results by validation is necessary before using these products for applications. In the first step of validation, the performance of both "thermal solvers" was determined through comparison of the computed diurnal surface temperatures of a simple object with the corresponding values from measurements. CUBI is a rather simple geometric object with well known material parameters which makes it suitable for testing and validating object models in IR. It was used in this study as a test body. Comparison of calculated and measured surface temperature values will be presented, together with the results from the FGAN-FOM thermal object code F-TOM. In the second validation step, radiances of the simulated sensor views computed by RadTherm-IR and IR-Workbench will be compared with radiances retrieved from the recorded sensor images taken by the sensor that was simulated. Strengths and weaknesses of the models RadTherm-IR, IR-Workbench and F-TOM will be discussed.

Near-IR Two-Photon Fluorescent Sensor for K(+) Imaging in Live Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Sui, Binglin; Yue, Xiling; Kim, Bosung; Belfield, Kevin D

2015-08-19

A new two-photon excited fluorescent K(+) sensor is reported. The sensor comprises three moieties, a highly selective K(+) chelator as the K(+) recognition unit, a boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) derivative modified with phenylethynyl groups as the fluorophore, and two polyethylene glycol chains to afford water solubility. The sensor displays very high selectivity (>52-fold) in detecting K(+) over other physiological metal cations. Upon binding K(+), the sensor switches from nonfluorescent to highly fluorescent, emitting red to near-IR (NIR) fluorescence. The sensor exhibited a good two-photon absorption cross section, 500 GM at 940 nm. Moreover, it is not sensitive to pH in the physiological pH range. Time-dependent cell imaging studies via both one- and two-photon fluorescence microscopy demonstrate that the sensor is suitable for dynamic K(+) sensing in living cells.

Infrared sensors and sensor fusion; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, May 19-21, 1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buser, R.G.; Warren, F.B.

1987-01-01

The present conference discusses topics in the fields of IR sensor multifunctional design; image modeling, simulation, and detection; IR sensor configurations and components; thermal sensor arrays; silicide-based IR sensors; and IR focal plane array utilization. Attention is given to the fusion of lidar and FLIR for target segmentation and enhancement, the synergetic integration of thermal and visual images for computer vision, the 'Falcon Eye' FLIR system, multifunctional electrooptics and multiaperture sensors for precision-guided munitions, and AI approaches to data integration. Also discussed are the comparative performance of Ir silicide and Pt silicide photodiodes, high fill-factor silicide monolithic arrays, and the characterization of noise in staring IR focal plane arrays

IR sensor design insight from missile-plume prediction models

Science.gov (United States)

Rapanotti, John L.; Gilbert, Bruno; Richer, Guy; Stowe, Robert

2002-08-01

Modern anti-tank missiles and the requirement of rapid deployment have significantly reduced the use of passive armour in protecting land vehicles. Vehicle survivability is becoming more dependent on sensors, computers and countermeasures to detect and avoid threats. An analysis of missile propellants suggests that missile detection based on plume characteristics alone may be more difficult than anticipated. Currently, the passive detection of missiles depends on signatures with a significant ultraviolet component. This approach is effective in detecting anti-aircraft missiles that rely on powerful motors to pursue high-speed aircraft. The high temperature exhaust from these missiles contains significant levels of carbon dioxide, water and, often, metal oxides such as alumina. The plumes emits strongest in the infrared, 1 to 5micrometers , regions with a significant component of the signature extending into the ultraviolet domain. Many anti-tank missiles do not need the same level of propulsion and radiate significantly less. These low velocity missiles, relying on the destructive force of shaped-charge warhead, are more difficult to detect. There is virtually no ultraviolet component and detection based on UV sensors is impractical. The transition in missile detection from UV to IR is reasonable, based on trends in imaging technology, but from the analysis presented in this paper even IR imagers may have difficulty in detecting missile plumes. This suggests that the emphasis should be placed in the detection of the missile hard body in the longer wavelengths of 8 to 12micrometers . The analysis described in this paper is based on solution of the governing equations of plume physics and chemistry. These models will be used to develop better sensors and threat detection algorithms.

Performance studies of an IR fiber optic sensor for chlorinated hydrocarbons in water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goebel, R.; Krska, R.; Neal, S.; Kellner, R.

1994-01-01

Chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs) were monitored using a recently presented infrared fiber-optic physico-chemical sensor consisting of an MIR transparent, polymer coated, silver halide fiber coupled to a commercial FTIR spectrometer. The aim of this study was to test the performance of this new fiber optic sensing device with respect to temperature dependence, simultaneous detection of several CHCs, sensitivity and dynamic response behavior. In addition the diffusion process of the CHCs into the polymer was analyzed in order to better understand and evaluate the obtained results. During the investigation of the temperature dependence of the sensor response to real trend could be observed in the temperature range of 0 to 22 C. The dynamic response of the sensor is in the minute range when experiencing an increase in concentration of the analyte while with a decrease in concentration, the response is relatively slow. The sensor enabled the detection of 10 environmentally relevant CHCs at concentrations of 1 to 50 ppm. The simulation of the experimental diffusion data revealed Fick's 1st law diffusion for CHCs into the polymer layers. Finally the sensing device was validated with head spacegas chromatography (HSGC) analyses and showed good agreement with these already established methods. This work shows the great potential of IR fiber optic sensors as early warning systems for a variety of CHCs in water (''threshold alarm sensor'') (orig.)

Joint Navy and Air Force Infrared Sensor Stimulator (IRSS) Program for Installed Systems Test Facilities (ISTFs)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Joyner, Tom

1998-01-01

...) sensors undergoing integrated developmental and operational testing. IRSS generates digital IR scenes in real time to provide a realistic portrayal of IR scene radiance as viewed by and IR system under test in a threat engagement scenario...

Modeling and performance assessment in QinetiQ of EO and IR airborne reconnaissance systems

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, John W.; Potter, Gary E.

2002-11-01

QinetiQ are the technical authority responsible for specifying the performance requirements for the procurement of airborne reconnaissance systems, on behalf of the UK MoD. They are also responsible for acceptance of delivered systems, overseeing and verifying the installed system performance as predicted and then assessed by the contractor. Measures of functional capability are central to these activities. The conduct of these activities utilises the broad technical insight and wide range of analysis tools and models available within QinetiQ. This paper focuses on the tools, methods and models that are applicable to systems based on EO and IR sensors. The tools, methods and models are described, and representative output for systems that QinetiQ has been responsible for is presented. The principle capability applicable to EO and IR airborne reconnaissance systems is the STAR (Simulation Tools for Airborne Reconnaissance) suite of models. STAR generates predictions of performance measures such as GRD (Ground Resolved Distance) and GIQE (General Image Quality) NIIRS (National Imagery Interpretation Rating Scales). It also generates images representing sensor output, using the scene generation software CAMEO-SIM and the imaging sensor model EMERALD. The simulated image 'quality' is fully correlated with the predicted non-imaging performance measures. STAR also generates image and table data that is compliant with STANAG 7023, which may be used to test ground station functionality.

Far-IR transparency and dynamic infrared signature control with novel conducting polymer systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chandrasekhar, Prasanna; Dooley, T. J.

1995-09-01

Materials which possess transparency, coupled with active controllability of this transparency in the infrared (IR), are today an increasingly important requirement, for varied applications. These applications include windows for IR sensors, IR-region flat panel displays used in camouflage as well as in communication and sight through night-vision goggles, coatings with dynamically controllable IR-emissivity, and thermal conservation coatings. Among stringent requirements for these applications are large dynamic ranges (color contrast), 'multi-color' or broad-band characteristics, extended cyclability, long memory retention, matrix addressability, small area fabricability, low power consumption, and environmental stability. Among materials possessing the requirements for variation of IR signature, conducting polymers (CPs) appear to be the only materials with dynamic, actively controllable signature and acceptable dynamic range. Conventional CPs such as poly(alkyl thiophene), poly(pyrrole) or poly(aniline) show very limited dynamic range, especially in the far-IR, while also showing poor transparency. We have developed a number of novel CP systems ('system' implying the CP, the selected dopant, the synthesis method, and the electrolyte) with very wide dynamic range (up to 90% in both important IR regions, 3 - 5 (mu) and 8 - 12 (mu) ), high cyclability (to 105 cycles with less than 10% optical degradation), nearly indefinite optical memory retention, matrix addressability of multi-pixel displays, very wide operating temperature and excellent environmental stability, low charge capacity, and processability into areas from less than 1 mm2 to more than 100 cm2. The criteria used to design and arrive at these CP systems, together with representative IR signature data, are presented in this paper.

IR sensor för övervakning av brännarflamma i biobränsle eldade kraftverk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Badiei, Shahriar; Bohman, Katarina; Clausen, Sønnik

biomass as that of coal. Further analyses of the signal from the IR sensors in this installation show that the measured IR signal has a maximum with the measured boiler load. For the loads greater than 65 MW the IRsensor signal shows the “anti-correlation” with the load. A signal filtering scheme...

Cross-comparison of the IRS-P6 AWiFS sensor with the L5 TM, L7 ETM+, & Terra MODIS sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Chander, G.; Xiong, X.; Angal, A.; Choi, T.; Malla, R.

2009-01-01

As scientists and decision makers increasingly rely on multiple Earth-observing satellites to address urgent global issues, it is imperative that they can rely on the accuracy of Earth-observing data products. This paper focuses on the crosscomparison of the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS-P6) Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) with the Landsat 5 (L5) Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat 7 (L7) Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), and Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors. The cross-comparison was performed using image statistics based on large common areas observed by the sensors within 30 minutes. Because of the limited availability of simultaneous observations between the AWiFS and the Landsat and MODIS sensors, only a few images were analyzed. These initial results are presented. Regression curves and coefficients of determination for the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) trends from these sensors were generated to quantify the uncertainty in these relationships and to provide an assessment of the calibration differences between these sensors. ?? 2009 SPIE.

IR sensitivity enhancement of CMOS Image Sensor with diffractive light trapping pixels.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokogawa, Sozo; Oshiyama, Itaru; Ikeda, Harumi; Ebiko, Yoshiki; Hirano, Tomoyuki; Saito, Suguru; Oinoue, Takashi; Hagimoto, Yoshiya; Iwamoto, Hayato

2017-06-19

We report on the IR sensitivity enhancement of back-illuminated CMOS Image Sensor (BI-CIS) with 2-dimensional diffractive inverted pyramid array structure (IPA) on crystalline silicon (c-Si) and deep trench isolation (DTI). FDTD simulations of semi-infinite thick c-Si having 2D IPAs on its surface whose pitches over 400 nm shows more than 30% improvement of light absorption at λ = 850 nm and the maximum enhancement of 43% with the 540 nm pitch at the wavelength is confirmed. A prototype BI-CIS sample with pixel size of 1.2 μm square containing 400 nm pitch IPAs shows 80% sensitivity enhancement at λ = 850 nm compared to the reference sample with flat surface. This is due to diffraction with the IPA and total reflection at the pixel boundary. The NIR images taken by the demo camera equip with a C-mount lens show 75% sensitivity enhancement in the λ = 700-1200 nm wavelength range with negligible spatial resolution degradation. Light trapping CIS pixel technology promises to improve NIR sensitivity and appears to be applicable to many different image sensor applications including security camera, personal authentication, and range finding Time-of-Flight camera with IR illuminations.

Sensitivity Range Analysis of Infrared (IR) Transmitter and Receiver Sensor to Detect Sample Position in Automatic Sample Changer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syirrazie Che Soh; Nolida Yussup; Nur Aira Abdul Rahman; Maslina Ibrahim

2016-01-01

Sensitivity range of IR Transmitter and Receiver Sensor influences the effectiveness of the sensor to detect position of a sample. Then the purpose of this analysis is to determine the suitable design and specification the electronic driver of the sensor to gain appropriate sensitivity range for required operation. The related activities to this analysis cover electronic design concept and specification, calibration of design specification and evaluation on design specification for required application. (author)

Reduction of shunt current in buffer-free IrMn based spin-valve structures

Science.gov (United States)

Kocaman, B.; Akdoğan, N.

2018-06-01

The presence of thick buffer layers in magnetic sensor devices decreases sensor sensitivity due to shunt currents. With this motivation, we produced IrMn-based spin-valve multilayers without using buffer layer. We also studied the effects of post-annealing and IrMn thickness on exchange bias field (HEB) and blocking temperature (TB) of the system. Magnetization measurements indicate that both HEB and TB values are significantly enhanced with post-annealing of IrMn layer. In addition, we report that IrMn thickness of the system strongly influences the magnetization and transport characteristics of the spin-valve structures. We found that the minimum thickness of IrMn layer is 6 nm in order to achieve the lowest shunt current and high blocking temperature (>300 K). We also investigated the training of exchange bias to check the long-term durability of IrMn-based spin-valve structures for device applications.

Least-mean-square spatial filter for IR sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Takken, E H; Friedman, D; Milton, A F; Nitzberg, R

1979-12-15

A new least-mean-square filter is defined for signal-detection problems. The technique is proposed for scanning IR surveillance systems operating in poorly characterized but primarily low-frequency clutter interference. Near-optimal detection of point-source targets is predicted both for continuous-time and sampled-data systems.

Feasibility Study on the Development of 2-channel Embedded Infrared Fiber-optic Sensor for Thermometry of Secondary Water System in Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, W. J.; Jang, K. W.; Seo, J. K.; Moon, J.; Han, K. T.; Lee, B.; Park, B. G.

2011-01-01

Any warm object by measuring the emitted infrared (IR) radiation. The radiometers using infrared optical fibers are based on the relationship between the temperature of a heat source and the quality and the quantity of an IR radiation. To measure physical properties including a temperature, optical fiber-based sensor has many advantages, such as small size, low cost, high resolution, remote sensing and immunity to electromagnetic radiation over conventional electrical sensors. In this study, we carried out the feasibility study on the development of an embedded IR fiber-optic sensor for thermometry of the secondary water system in a nuclear power plant. The 2-channel embedded fiberoptic temperature sensor was fabricated using two identical IR optical fibers for accurate thermometry without complicated calibration processes. To decide accurate temperature of the water, we measured the difference between the IR radiations emitted from the two temperature sensing probes according to the temperature variation of the water

Robust Ground Target Detection by SAR and IR Sensor Fusion Using Adaboost-Based Feature Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sungho; Song, Woo-Jin; Kim, So-Hyun

2016-01-01

Long-range ground targets are difficult to detect in a noisy cluttered environment using either synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images or infrared (IR) images. SAR-based detectors can provide a high detection rate with a high false alarm rate to background scatter noise. IR-based approaches can detect hot targets but are affected strongly by the weather conditions. This paper proposes a novel target detection method by decision-level SAR and IR fusion using an Adaboost-based machine learning scheme to achieve a high detection rate and low false alarm rate. The proposed method consists of individual detection, registration, and fusion architecture. This paper presents a single framework of a SAR and IR target detection method using modified Boolean map visual theory (modBMVT) and feature-selection based fusion. Previous methods applied different algorithms to detect SAR and IR targets because of the different physical image characteristics. One method that is optimized for IR target detection produces unsuccessful results in SAR target detection. This study examined the image characteristics and proposed a unified SAR and IR target detection method by inserting a median local average filter (MLAF, pre-filter) and an asymmetric morphological closing filter (AMCF, post-filter) into the BMVT. The original BMVT was optimized to detect small infrared targets. The proposed modBMVT can remove the thermal and scatter noise by the MLAF and detect extended targets by attaching the AMCF after the BMVT. Heterogeneous SAR and IR images were registered automatically using the proposed RANdom SAmple Region Consensus (RANSARC)-based homography optimization after a brute-force correspondence search using the detected target centers and regions. The final targets were detected by feature-selection based sensor fusion using Adaboost. The proposed method showed good SAR and IR target detection performance through feature selection-based decision fusion on a synthetic database generated

Robust Ground Target Detection by SAR and IR Sensor Fusion Using Adaboost-Based Feature Selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sungho Kim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Long-range ground targets are difficult to detect in a noisy cluttered environment using either synthetic aperture radar (SAR images or infrared (IR images. SAR-based detectors can provide a high detection rate with a high false alarm rate to background scatter noise. IR-based approaches can detect hot targets but are affected strongly by the weather conditions. This paper proposes a novel target detection method by decision-level SAR and IR fusion using an Adaboost-based machine learning scheme to achieve a high detection rate and low false alarm rate. The proposed method consists of individual detection, registration, and fusion architecture. This paper presents a single framework of a SAR and IR target detection method using modified Boolean map visual theory (modBMVT and feature-selection based fusion. Previous methods applied different algorithms to detect SAR and IR targets because of the different physical image characteristics. One method that is optimized for IR target detection produces unsuccessful results in SAR target detection. This study examined the image characteristics and proposed a unified SAR and IR target detection method by inserting a median local average filter (MLAF, pre-filter and an asymmetric morphological closing filter (AMCF, post-filter into the BMVT. The original BMVT was optimized to detect small infrared targets. The proposed modBMVT can remove the thermal and scatter noise by the MLAF and detect extended targets by attaching the AMCF after the BMVT. Heterogeneous SAR and IR images were registered automatically using the proposed RANdom SAmple Region Consensus (RANSARC-based homography optimization after a brute-force correspondence search using the detected target centers and regions. The final targets were detected by feature-selection based sensor fusion using Adaboost. The proposed method showed good SAR and IR target detection performance through feature selection-based decision fusion on a synthetic

Concept and set-up of an IR-gas sensor construction kit

Science.gov (United States)

Sieber, Ingo; Perner, Gernot; Gengenbach, Ulrich

2015-10-01

The paper presents an approach to a cost-efficient modularly built non-dispersive optical IR-gas sensor (NDIR) based on a construction kit. The modularity of the approach offers several advantages: First of all it allows for an adaptation of the performance of the gas sensor to individual specifications by choosing the suitable modular components. The sensitivity of the sensor e.g. can be altered by selecting a source which emits a favorable wavelength spectrum with respect to the absorption spectrum of the gas to be measured or by tuning the measuring distance (ray path inside the medium to be measured). Furthermore the developed approach is very well suited to be used in teaching. Together with students a construction kit on basis of an optical free space system was developed and partly implemented to be further used as a teaching and training aid for bachelor and master students at our institute. The components of the construction kit are interchangeable and freely fixable on a base plate. The components are classified into five groups: sources, reflectors, detectors, gas feed, and analysis cell. Source, detector, and the positions of the components are fundamental to experiment and test different configurations and beam paths. The reflectors are implemented by an aluminum coated adhesive foil, mounted onto a support structure fabricated by additive manufacturing. This approach allows derivation of the reflecting surface geometry from the optical design tool and generating the 3D-printing files by applying related design rules. The rapid fabrication process and the adjustment of the modules on the base plate allow rapid, almost LEGO®-like, experimental assessment of design ideas. Subject of this paper is modeling, design, and optimization of the reflective optical components, as well as of the optical subsystem. The realization of a sample set-up used as a teaching aid and the optical measurement of the beam path in comparison to the simulation results are

Atmospheric turbulence and sensor system effects on biometric algorithm performance

Science.gov (United States)

Espinola, Richard L.; Leonard, Kevin R.; Byrd, Kenneth A.; Potvin, Guy

2015-05-01

Biometric technologies composed of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor systems and advanced matching algorithms are being used in various force protection/security and tactical surveillance applications. To date, most of these sensor systems have been widely used in controlled conditions with varying success (e.g., short range, uniform illumination, cooperative subjects). However the limiting conditions of such systems have yet to be fully studied for long range applications and degraded imaging environments. Biometric technologies used for long range applications will invariably suffer from the effects of atmospheric turbulence degradation. Atmospheric turbulence causes blur, distortion and intensity fluctuations that can severely degrade image quality of electro-optic and thermal imaging systems and, for the case of biometrics technology, translate to poor matching algorithm performance. In this paper, we evaluate the effects of atmospheric turbulence and sensor resolution on biometric matching algorithm performance. We use a subset of the Facial Recognition Technology (FERET) database and a commercial algorithm to analyze facial recognition performance on turbulence degraded facial images. The goal of this work is to understand the feasibility of long-range facial recognition in degraded imaging conditions, and the utility of camera parameter trade studies to enable the design of the next generation biometrics sensor systems.

Widely-tunable and sensitive optical sensor for multi-species detection in the mid-IR

KAUST Repository

Alquaity, Awad

2017-10-05

Pulsed cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) technique was used to develop a novel widely-tunable laser-based sensor for sensitive measurements of ethylene, propene, 1-butene and allene in the mid-IR. The use of an external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) enabled the sensor to cover a wide wavelength range from 10 to 11.1 µm (900 – 1000 cm-1) to detect multiple gases relevant to combustion and environment. The sensor operation was validated in a room-temperature static cell using well-characterized absorption lines of carbon dioxide near 938.69 cm-1 and 974.62 cm-1. Detection limits for ethylene, propene, 1-butene, and allene were measured to be 17, 134, 754 and 378 ppb, respectively, at 296 K and 760 Torr for a single-pass path-length of 70 cm. The excellent sensitivity of the optical sensor enabled it to measure the aforementioned gases at levels smaller than 1% of their recommended exposure limits. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first successful applications of the pulsed CRDS technique to measure trace levels of multiple gases in the 10 – 11 µm wavelength region.

Widely-tunable and sensitive optical sensor for multi-species detection in the mid-IR

KAUST Repository

Alquaity, Awad; Alsaif, Bidoor; Farooq, Aamir

2017-01-01

Pulsed cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) technique was used to develop a novel widely-tunable laser-based sensor for sensitive measurements of ethylene, propene, 1-butene and allene in the mid-IR. The use of an external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) enabled the sensor to cover a wide wavelength range from 10 to 11.1 µm (900 – 1000 cm-1) to detect multiple gases relevant to combustion and environment. The sensor operation was validated in a room-temperature static cell using well-characterized absorption lines of carbon dioxide near 938.69 cm-1 and 974.62 cm-1. Detection limits for ethylene, propene, 1-butene, and allene were measured to be 17, 134, 754 and 378 ppb, respectively, at 296 K and 760 Torr for a single-pass path-length of 70 cm. The excellent sensitivity of the optical sensor enabled it to measure the aforementioned gases at levels smaller than 1% of their recommended exposure limits. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first successful applications of the pulsed CRDS technique to measure trace levels of multiple gases in the 10 – 11 µm wavelength region.

Radar and Infrared Sensors for Landmine Detection

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Borchers, Brian

2001-01-01

.... Data from the IR camera and GPR system, in conjunction with soil water content measurements have been used to help validate theoretical models of the performance of the IR and GPR sensors for landmine detection...

A ph sensor based on a flexible substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Wen-Ding

pH sensor is an essential component used in many chemical, food, and bio-material industries. Conventional glass electrodes have been used to construct pH sensors, however, have some disadvantages. Glass electrodes are easily affected by alkaline or HF solution, they require a high input impedance pH meter, they often exhibit a sluggish response. In some specific applications, it is also difficult to use glass electrodes for in vivo biomedical or food monitoring applications due to the difficulty of size miniaturization, planarization and polymerization based on current manufacturing technologies. In this work, we have demonstrated a novel flexible pH sensor based on low-cost sol-gel fabrication process of iridium oxide (IrOx) sensing film (IROF). A pair of flexible miniature IrOx/AgCl electrode generated the action potential from the solution by electrochemical mechanism to obtain the pH level of the reagent. The fabrication process including sol-gel, thermal oxidation, and the electro-plating process of the silver chloride (AgCl) reference electrode were reported in the work. The IrOx film was verified and characterized using electron dispersive analysis (EDAX), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The flexible pH sensor's performance and characterization have been investigated with different testing parameters such as sensitivity, response time, stability, reversibility, repeatability, selectivity and temperature dependence. The flexible IrOx pH sensors exhibited promising sensing performance with a near-Nernstian response of sensitivity which is between --51.1mV/pH and --51.7mV/pH in different pH levels ranging from 1.5 to 12 at 25°C. Two applications including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) diagnosis and food freshness wireless monitoring using our micro-flexible IrOx pH sensors were demonstrated. For the GERD diagnosing system, we embedded the micro flexible pH sensor on a 1.2cmx3.8cm of the capsule size of wireless sensor

Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors and Fiber-Optic Bio-Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Pospíšilová, Marie; Kuncová, Gabriela; Trögl, Josef

2015-01-01

This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS). Fiber optic sensor (FOS) systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF) to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) (180 nm) up to middle infrared (IR) (10 µm) and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors. PMID:26437407

Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors and Fiber-Optic Bio-Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Pospíšilová, Marie; Kuncová, Gabriela; Trögl, Josef

2015-09-30

This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS). Fiber optic sensor (FOS) systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF) to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) (180 nm) up to middle infrared (IR) (10 μm) and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors.

Image quality testing of assembled IR camera modules

Science.gov (United States)

Winters, Daniel; Erichsen, Patrik

2013-10-01

Infrared (IR) camera modules for the LWIR (8-12_m) that combine IR imaging optics with microbolometer focal plane array (FPA) sensors with readout electronics are becoming more and more a mass market product. At the same time, steady improvements in sensor resolution in the higher priced markets raise the requirement for imaging performance of objectives and the proper alignment between objective and FPA. This puts pressure on camera manufacturers and system integrators to assess the image quality of finished camera modules in a cost-efficient and automated way for quality control or during end-of-line testing. In this paper we present recent development work done in the field of image quality testing of IR camera modules. This technology provides a wealth of additional information in contrast to the more traditional test methods like minimum resolvable temperature difference (MRTD) which give only a subjective overall test result. Parameters that can be measured are image quality via the modulation transfer function (MTF) for broadband or with various bandpass filters on- and off-axis and optical parameters like e.g. effective focal length (EFL) and distortion. If the camera module allows for refocusing the optics, additional parameters like best focus plane, image plane tilt, auto-focus quality, chief ray angle etc. can be characterized. Additionally, the homogeneity and response of the sensor with the optics can be characterized in order to calculate the appropriate tables for non-uniformity correction (NUC). The technology can also be used to control active alignment methods during mechanical assembly of optics to high resolution sensors. Other important points that are discussed are the flexibility of the technology to test IR modules with different form factors, electrical interfaces and last but not least the suitability for fully automated measurements in mass production.

Web-based Data Exploration, Exploitation and Visualization Tools for Satellite Sensor VIS/IR Calibration Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Gopalan, A.; Doelling, D. R.; Scarino, B. R.; Chee, T.; Haney, C.; Bhatt, R.

2016-12-01

The CERES calibration group at NASA/LaRC has developed and deployed a suite of online data exploration and visualization tools targeted towards a range of spaceborne VIS/IR imager calibration applications for the Earth Science community. These web-based tools are driven by the open-source R (Language for Statistical Computing and Visualization) with a web interface for the user to customize the results according to their application. The tool contains a library of geostationary and sun-synchronous imager spectral response functions (SRF), incoming solar spectra, SCIAMACHY and Hyperion Earth reflected visible hyper-spectral data, and IASI IR hyper-spectral data. The suite of six specific web-based tools was designed to provide critical information necessary for sensor cross-calibration. One of the challenges of sensor cross-calibration is accounting for spectral band differences and may introduce biases if not handled properly. The spectral band adjustment factors (SBAF) are a function of the earth target, atmospheric and cloud conditions or scene type and angular conditions, when obtaining sensor radiance pairs. The SBAF will need to be customized for each inter-calibration target and sensor pair. The advantages of having a community open source tool are: 1) only one archive of SCIAMACHY, Hyperion, and IASI datasets needs to be maintained, which is on the order of 50TB. 2) the framework will allow easy incorporation of new satellite SRFs and hyper-spectral datasets and associated coincident atmospheric and cloud properties, such as PW. 3) web tool or SBAF algorithm improvements or suggestions when incorporated can benefit the community at large. 4) The customization effort is on the user rather than on the host. In this paper we discuss each of these tools in detail and explore the variety of advanced options that can be used to constrain the results along with specific use cases to highlight the value-added by these datasets.

Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors and Fiber-Optic Bio-Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie Pospíšilová

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS and biosensors (FOBS. Fiber optic sensor (FOS systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV (180 nm up to middle infrared (IR (10 μm and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors.

Oil-spill remote sensors : new tools that provide solutions to old problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, C.E.; Fingas, M.F.; Goodman, R.H.

1998-01-01

A review of remote sensors used for oil spill detection and monitoring was presented. New technologies and developments in the area were highlighted. The infrared (IR) camera or a combination infrared/ultraviolet system are the two most commonly used sensors currently being used. They can detect oil under a variety of conditions, discriminate oil from some backgrounds and they have the lowest cost of any sensor. Their weakness is that they cannot identify oil on beaches, among weeds or debris, through fog, or at dawn and dusk. Also, water-in-oil emulsions are often not detected with infrared sensors. The ability of IR sensors to detect the thickness of spills was also discussed. Present day cameras use micro-bolometer technology making them more economical and practical to operate than older IR systems. The use of satellite imagery for tracking oil spills is one important new trend that can prove to be useful for wide-area searching. 37 refs

640 X 480 MOS PtSi IR sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Sauer, Donald J.; Shallcross, Frank V.; Hseuh, Fu-Lung; Meray, Grazyna M.; Levine, Peter A.; Gilmartin, Harvey R.; Villani, Thomas S.; Esposito, Benjamin J.; Tower, John R.

1991-12-01

The design of a 1st and 2nd generation 640(H) X 480(V) element PtSi Schottky-barrier infrared image sensor employing a low-noise MOS X-Y addressable readout multiplexer and on-chip low-noise output amplifier is described. Measured performance characteristics for Gen 1 devices are presented along with calculated performance for the Gen 2 design. A multiplexed horizontal/vertical input address port and on-chip decoding is used to load scan data into CMOS horizontal and vertical scanning registers. This allows random access to any sub-frame in the 640 X 480 element focal plane array. By changing the digital pattern applied to the vertical scan register, the FPA can be operated in either an interlaced or non- interlaced format, and the integration time may be varied over a wide range (60 microsecond(s) to > 30 ms, for RS170 operation) resulting in a form of 'electronic shutter,' or variable exposure control. The pixel size of 24-micrometers X 24-micrometers results in a fill factor of 38% for 1.5-micrometers process design rules. The overall die size for the IR imager is 13.7 mm X 17.2 mm. All digital inputs to the chip are TTL compatible and include ESD protection.

PEP-II IR-2 Alignment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seryi, A

2004-01-01

This paper describes the first results and preliminary analysis obtained with several alignment monitoring systems recently installed in the PEP-II interaction region. The hydrostatic level system, stretched wire system, and laser tracker have been installed in addition to the existing tiltmeters and LVDT sensors. These systems detected motion of the left raft, which correlated primarily with the low energy ring (LER) current. The motion is of the order of 120 micrometers. The cause was identified as synchrotron radiation heating the beampipe, causing its expansion which then results in its deformation and offset of the IR quadrupoles. We also discuss further plans on measurements, analysis and means to counteract this motion

Development of a diamond waveguide sensor for sensitive protein analysis using IR quantum cascade lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Piron, P.; Vargas Catalan, E.; Haas, J.; Österlund, L.; Nikolajeff, F.; Andersson, P. O.; Bergström, J.; Mizaikoff, B.; Karlsson, M.

2018-02-01

Microfabricated diamond waveguides, between 5 and 20 μm thick, manufactured by chemical vapor deposition of diamond, followed by standard lithographic techniques and inductively coupled plasma etching of diamond, are used as bio-chemical sensors in the mid infrared domain: 5-11 μm. Infrared light, emitted from a broadly tunable quantum cascade laser with a wavelength resolution smaller than 20 nm, is coupled through the diamond waveguides for attenuated total reflection spectroscopy. The expected advantages of these waveguides are a high sensitivity due to the high number of internal reflections along the propagation direction, a high transmittance in the mid-IR domain, the bio-compatibility of diamond and the possibility of functionalizing the surface layer. The sensor will be used for analyzing different forms of proteins such as α-synuclein which is relevant in understanding the mechanism behind Parkinson's disease. The fabrication process of the waveguide, its characteristics and several geometries are introduced. The optical setup of the biosensor is described and our first measurements on two analytes to demonstrate the principle of the sensing method will be presented. Future use of this sensor includes the functionalization of the diamond waveguide sensor surface to be able to fish out alpha-synuclein from cerebrospinal fluid.

A multimodal image sensor system for identifying water stress in grapevines

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yong; Zhang, Qin; Li, Minzan; Shao, Yongni; Zhou, Jianfeng; Sun, Hong

2012-11-01

Water stress is one of the most common limitations of fruit growth. Water is the most limiting resource for crop growth. In grapevines, as well as in other fruit crops, fruit quality benefits from a certain level of water deficit which facilitates to balance vegetative and reproductive growth and the flow of carbohydrates to reproductive structures. A multi-modal sensor system was designed to measure the reflectance signature of grape plant surfaces and identify different water stress levels in this paper. The multi-modal sensor system was equipped with one 3CCD camera (three channels in R, G, and IR). The multi-modal sensor can capture and analyze grape canopy from its reflectance features, and identify the different water stress levels. This research aims at solving the aforementioned problems. The core technology of this multi-modal sensor system could further be used as a decision support system that combines multi-modal sensory data to improve plant stress detection and identify the causes of stress. The images were taken by multi-modal sensor which could output images in spectral bands of near-infrared, green and red channel. Based on the analysis of the acquired images, color features based on color space and reflectance features based on image process method were calculated. The results showed that these parameters had the potential as water stress indicators. More experiments and analysis are needed to validate the conclusion.

Development of Cytoplasmic Male Sterile IR24 and IR64 Using CW-CMS/Rf17 System.

Science.gov (United States)

Toriyama, Kinya; Kazama, Tomohiko

2016-12-01

A wild-abortive-type (WA) cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) has been almost exclusively used for breeding three-line hybrid rice. Many indica cultivars are known to carry restorer genes for WA-CMS lines and cannot be used as maintainer lines. Especially elite indica cultivars IR24 and IR64 are known to be restorer lines for WA-CMS lines, and are used as male parents for hybrid seed production. If we develop CMS IR24 and CMS IR64, the combination of F1 pairs in hybrid rice breeding programs will be greatly broadened. For production of CMS lines and restorer lines of IR24 and IR64, we employed Chinese wild rice (CW)-type CMS/Restorer of fertility 17 (Rf17) system, in which fertility is restored by a single nuclear gene, Rf17. Successive backcrossing and marker-assisted selection of Rf17 succeeded to produce completely male sterile CMS lines and fully restored restorer lines of IR24 and IR64. CW-cytoplasm did not affect agronomic characteristics. Since IR64 is one of the most popular mega-varieties and used for breeding of many modern varieties, the CW-CMS line of IR64 will be useful for hybrid rice breeding.

History highlights and future trends of infrared sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Corsi, Carlo

2010-10-01

Infrared (IR) technologies (materials, devices and systems) represent an area of excellence in science and technology and, even if they have been generally confined to a selected scientific community, they have achieved technological and scientific highlights constituting 'innovation drivers' for neighbouring disciplines, especially in the sensors field. The development of IR sensors, initially linked to astronomical observations, since World War II and for many years has been fostered essentially by defence applications, particularly thermo-vision and, later on, smart vision and detection, for surveillance and warning. Only in the last few decades, the impact of silicon technology has changed the development of IR detectors dramatically, with the advent of integrated signal read-outs and the opening of civilian markets (EO communications, biomedical, environmental, transport and energy applications). The history of infrared sensors contains examples of real breakthroughs, particularly true in the case of focal plane arrays that first appeared in the late 1970s, when the superiority of bi-dimensional arrays for most applications pushed the development of technologies providing the highest number of pixels. An impressive impulse was given to the development of FPA arrays by integration with charge coupled devices (CCD), with strong competition from different technologies (high-efficiency photon sensors, Schottky diodes, multi-quantum wells and, later on, room temperature microbolometers/cantilevers). This breakthrough allowed the development of high performance IR systems of small size, light weight and low cost - and therefore suitable for civil applications - thanks to the elimination of the mechanical scanning system and the progressive reduction of cooling requirements (up to the advent of microbolometers, capable of working at room temperature). In particular, the elimination of cryogenic cooling allowed the development and commercialisation of IR Smart Sensors

Advances in miniature spectrometer and sensor development

Science.gov (United States)

Malinen, Jouko; Rissanen, Anna; Saari, Heikki; Karioja, Pentti; Karppinen, Mikko; Aalto, Timo; Tukkiniemi, Kari

2014-05-01

Miniaturization and cost reduction of spectrometer and sensor technologies has great potential to open up new applications areas and business opportunities for analytical technology in hand held, mobile and on-line applications. Advances in microfabrication have resulted in high-performance MEMS and MOEMS devices for spectrometer applications. Many other enabling technologies are useful for miniature analytical solutions, such as silicon photonics, nanoimprint lithography (NIL), system-on-chip, system-on-package techniques for integration of electronics and photonics, 3D printing, powerful embedded computing platforms, networked solutions as well as advances in chemometrics modeling. This paper will summarize recent work on spectrometer and sensor miniaturization at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) tunable filter technology has been developed in two technical versions: Piezoactuated FPIs have been applied in miniature hyperspectral imaging needs in light weight UAV and nanosatellite applications, chemical imaging as well as medical applications. Microfabricated MOEMS FPIs have been developed as cost-effective sensor platforms for visible, NIR and IR applications. Further examples of sensor miniaturization will be discussed, including system-on-package sensor head for mid-IR gas analyzer, roll-to-roll printed Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) technology as well as UV imprinted waveguide sensor for formaldehyde detection.

Smart Optoelectronic Sensors and Intelligent Sensor Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey Y. YURISH

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Light-to-frequency converters are widely used in various optoelectronic sensor systems. However, a further frequency-to-digital conversion is a bottleneck in such systems due to a broad frequency range of light-to-frequency converters’ outputs. This paper describes an effective OEM design approach, which can be used for smart and intelligent sensor systems design. The design is based on novel, multifunctional integrated circuit of Universal Sensors & Transducers Interface especially designed for such sensor applications. Experimental results have confirmed an efficiency of this approach and high metrological performances.

Mathematical Model and Calibration Procedure of a PSD Sensor Used in Local Positioning Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Navarro, David; Lázaro-Galilea, José Luis; Bravo-Muñoz, Ignacio; Gardel-Vicente, Alfredo; Domingo-Perez, Francisco; Tsirigotis, Georgios

2016-09-15

Here, we propose a mathematical model and a calibration procedure for a PSD (position sensitive device) sensor equipped with an optical system, to enable accurate measurement of the angle of arrival of one or more beams of light emitted by infrared (IR) transmitters located at distances of between 4 and 6 m. To achieve this objective, it was necessary to characterize the intrinsic parameters that model the system and obtain their values. This first approach was based on a pin-hole model, to which system nonlinearities were added, and this was used to model the points obtained with the nA currents provided by the PSD. In addition, we analyzed the main sources of error, including PSD sensor signal noise, gain factor imbalances and PSD sensor distortion. The results indicated that the proposed model and method provided satisfactory calibration and yielded precise parameter values, enabling accurate measurement of the angle of arrival with a low degree of error, as evidenced by the experimental results.

IRS Guidelines: Joint IAEA/NEA International Reporting System for Operating Experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

The International Reporting System for Operating Experience (IRS) is an international system jointly operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA). The fundamental objective of the IRS is to contribute to improving the safety of commercial nuclear power plants which are operated worldwide. This objective can be achieved by providing timely and detailed information on lessons learned from operating and construction experience at the international level. This information could be related to issues and events that are related to safety. The purpose of these guidelines is to describe the system and to give users the necessary background and guidance to enable them to produce IRS reports meeting a high standard of quality while retaining the effectiveness of the system expected by all Member States operating nuclear power plants. As this system is owned by the Member States, the IRS Guidelines have been developed and approved by the IRS National Co-ordinators with the assistance of both Secretariats (IAEA/NEA).

A self-repairing polymer waveguide sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Young J; Peters, Kara J

2011-01-01

This paper presents experimental demonstrations of a self-repairing strain sensor waveguide created by self-writing in a photopolymerizable resin system. The sensor is fabricated between two multi-mode optical fibers via lightwaves in the ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range and operates as a sensor through interrogation of the power transmitted through the waveguide in the infrared (IR) wavelength range. After failure of the sensor occurs due to loading, the waveguide re-bridges the gap between the two optical fibers through the UV resin. The response of the original sensor and the self-repaired sensor to strain are measured and show similar behaviors

Ice contamination on satellite IR sensors: the MIPAS case

Science.gov (United States)

Niro, F.; Fehr, T.; Kleinert, A.; Laur, H.; Lecomte, P.; Perron, G.

2009-04-01

MIPAS on board the ENVISAT platform is a Michelson Interferometer measuring the atmospheric limb emission in the mid-infrared (IR), from 4.15 µm to 14.5 µm [1]. The calibrated MIPAS measurements are radiance spectra as a function of wavenumber. The radiometric and spectral calibrations of the raw data are part of the Level 1 processing in the Ground Segment [2]. The accuracy of the radiometric calibration is essential in order to ensure precise temperature and trace gas retrieval in the Level 2 processing. This calibration process requires a set of cold space measurements and a series of measurements of a black body source to determine the radiometric gain function and to correct for instrument self-emission. The deep space measurements are repeated every four limb scanning sequences with the purpose of compensating the variation of instrument's temperature along the orbit. The radiometric gain function is updated every week to correct for a degraded transmission at the detector due to ice contamination. The ice contamination leads to a decrease of the signal, mainly due to ice absorption of the incoming IR radiation. This paper presents an analysis of the effect of ice contamination during the MIPAS mission; in particular we will study its impact on the radiometric accuracy and on the Level 2 retrieval precision. We will highlight the importance of the ice monitoring for the MIPAS mission and we will show that this type of monitoring allows improving the stability and the overall performances of the MIPAS instrument. The effect of ice in other ENVISAT instruments will be also mentioned (e.g., AATSR). The lessons learned during the mission about ice contamination are very important, especially for IR sensors that are the most affected by this type of problem. These lessons will be useful in order to improve the in-flight operations of present and future satellite missions. [1] H. Fischer, M. Birk, C. Blom, B. Carli, M. Carlotti, T. von Clarmann, L. Delbouille, A

Motorcycle detection and counting using stereo camera, IR camera, and microphone array

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, Bo; Gibson, David R. P.; Middleton, Dan

2013-03-01

Detection, classification, and characterization are the key to enhancing motorcycle safety, motorcycle operations and motorcycle travel estimation. Average motorcycle fatalities per Vehicle Mile Traveled (VMT) are currently estimated at 30 times those of auto fatalities. Although it has been an active research area for many years, motorcycle detection still remains a challenging task. Working with FHWA, we have developed a hybrid motorcycle detection and counting system using a suite of sensors including stereo camera, thermal IR camera and unidirectional microphone array. The IR thermal camera can capture the unique thermal signatures associated with the motorcycle's exhaust pipes that often show bright elongated blobs in IR images. The stereo camera in the system is used to detect the motorcyclist who can be easily windowed out in the stereo disparity map. If the motorcyclist is detected through his or her 3D body recognition, motorcycle is detected. Microphones are used to detect motorcycles that often produce low frequency acoustic signals. All three microphones in the microphone array are placed in strategic locations on the sensor platform to minimize the interferences of background noises from sources such as rain and wind. Field test results show that this hybrid motorcycle detection and counting system has an excellent performance.

The phase system Fe-Ir-S at 1100, 1000 and 800 degree C

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Makovicky, Emil; Karup-Møller, Sven

1999-01-01

Phase relations in the dry condensed Fe-Ir-S system were determined at 1100, 1000 and 800 degrees C. Orientational runs were performed at 500 degrees C. Between 1100 and 800 degrees C, the system comprises five sulphides and an uninterrupted field of gamma(Fe, Ir). Fe1-xS dissolves 5.8 at.% Ir...... at 1100 degrees C, 3.4 at.% Ir at 1000 degrees C and 1.0 at.% Ir at 800 degrees C. The solubility of Fe in Ir2S3, IrS2 and IrSsimilar to 3 increases with decreasing temperature, reaching 2.5 at.% in the latter two sulphides at 800 degrees C. Thiospinel 'FeIr2S4' is nonstoichiometric, from Fe22.3Ir19.8S58...

Development of pixellated Ir-TESs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zen, Nobuyuki; Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Kunieda, Yuichi; Dayanthi, Rathnayaka M.T.; Mori, Fumiakira; Fujita, Kaoru; Nakazawa, Masaharu; Fukuda, Daiji; Ohkubo, Masataka

2006-01-01

We have been developing Ir-based pixellated superconducting transition edge sensors (TESs). In the area of material or astronomical applications, the sensor with few eV energy resolution and over 1000 pixels imaging property is desired. In order to achieve this goal, we have been analyzing signals from pixellated TESs. In the case of a 20 pixel array of Ir-TESs, with 45 μmx45 μm pixel sizes, the incident X-ray signals have been classified into 16 groups. We have applied numerical signal analysis. On the one hand, the energy resolution of our pixellated TES is strongly degraded. However, using pulse shape analysis, we can dramatically improve the resolution. Thus, we consider that the pulse signal analysis will lead this device to be used as a practical photon incident position identifying TES

Towards Sensor Database Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bonnet, Philippe; Gehrke, Johannes; Seshadri, Praveen

2001-01-01

. These systems lack flexibility because data is extracted in a predefined way; also, they do not scale to a large number of devices because large volumes of raw data are transferred regardless of the queries that are submitted. In our new concept of sensor database system, queries dictate which data is extracted...... from the sensors. In this paper, we define the concept of sensor databases mixing stored data represented as relations and sensor data represented as time series. Each long-running query formulated over a sensor database defines a persistent view, which is maintained during a given time interval. We...... also describe the design and implementation of the COUGAR sensor database system....

Manual for IRS Coding. Joint IAEA/NEA International Reporting System for Operating Experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

The International Reporting System for Operating Experience (IRS) is jointly operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD/NEA). In early 2010, the IAEA and OECD/NEA jointly issued the IRS Guidelines, which described the reporting system and process and gave users the necessary elements to enable them to produce IRS reports to a high standard of quality while retaining the effectiveness of the system expected by all Member States operating nuclear power plants. The purpose of the present Manual for IRS Coding is to provide supplementary guidance specifically on the coding element of IRS reports to ensure uniform coding of events that are reported through IRS. This Coding Manual does not supersede the IRS Guidelines, but rather, supports users and preparers in achieving a consistent and high level of quality in their IRS reports. Consistency and high quality in the IRS reports allow stakeholders to search and retrieve specific event information with ease. In addition, well-structured reports also enhance the efficient management of the IRS database. This Coding Manual will give specific guidance on the application of each section of the IRS codes, with examples where necessary, of when and how these codes are to be applied. As this reporting system is owned by the Member States, this manual has been developed and approved by the IRS National Coordinators with the assistance of the IAEA and NEA secretariats

Development of pixellated Ir-TESs

Science.gov (United States)

Zen, Nobuyuki; Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Kunieda, Yuichi; Damayanthi, Rathnayaka M. T.; Mori, Fumiakira; Fujita, Kaoru; Nakazawa, Masaharu; Fukuda, Daiji; Ohkubo, Masataka

2006-04-01

We have been developing Ir-based pixellated superconducting transition edge sensors (TESs). In the area of material or astronomical applications, the sensor with few eV energy resolution and over 1000 pixels imaging property is desired. In order to achieve this goal, we have been analyzing signals from pixellated TESs. In the case of a 20 pixel array of Ir-TESs, with 45 μm×45 μm pixel sizes, the incident X-ray signals have been classified into 16 groups. We have applied numerical signal analysis. On the one hand, the energy resolution of our pixellated TES is strongly degraded. However, using pulse shape analysis, we can dramatically improve the resolution. Thus, we consider that the pulse signal analysis will lead this device to be used as a practical photon incident position identifying TES.

Perspective of Australian uncooled IR sensor technology

Science.gov (United States)

Liddiard, Kevin C.

2000-12-01

This paper presents an overview of the development in Australia of resistance bolometer technology and associated uncooled infrared sensors. A summary is given of research achievements, with the aim of placing in historic perspective Australian work in comparison with overseas research and development. Extensive research in this field was carried out at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), Salisbury, South Australia, in collaboration with the Australian microelectronic and electro-optic industries, with supporting research in Australian universities. The DSTO research has a history covering five decades, commencing with simple thin film bolometers employed in radiometric sensors, followed by protracted R&D culminating in development of micromachined focal plane detector arrays for non-imaging sensors and lightweight thermal imagers. DSTO currently maintains a microbolometer processing capability for the purposes of research collaboration and support for commercial initiatives based on patented technology. Expertise in microbolometer design, performance and processing technology has transferred to Electro-optic Sensor Design (EOSD) through a licensing agreement. Contemporary development will be described.

Intelligent Braking System using the IR Sensor

OpenAIRE

Gajanan Koli

2017-01-01

Most of the accidents in four wheeled vehicles occur because of failure of braking systems. Manual method of applying brakes is always dangerous as it leads to accidents. Unconsciousness of driver, failure in the linkages of braking systems, road conditions, uncontrollable speed of the vehicle and manual operation of braking systems are the reasons of accidents. It is necessary to control brakes automatically through electronics devices to minimize the accident problems. In this research pape...

The IRS-1 signaling system.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, M G; Sun, X J; White, M F

1994-07-01

Insulin-receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) is a principal substrate of the receptor tyrosine kinase for insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1, and a substrate for a tyrosine kinase activated by interleukin 4. IRS-1 undergoes multisite tyrosine phosphorylation and mediates downstream signals by 'docking' various proteins that contain Src homology 2 domains. IRS-1 appears to be a unique molecule; however, 4PS, a protein found mainly in hemopoietic cells, may represent another member of this family.

Mid-IR laser system for advanced neurosurgery

Science.gov (United States)

Klosner, M.; Wu, C.; Heller, D. F.

2014-03-01

We present work on a laser system operating in the near- and mid-IR spectral regions, having output characteristics designed to be optimal for cutting various tissue types. We provide a brief overview of laser-tissue interactions and the importance of controlling certain properties of the light beam. We describe the principle of operation of the laser system, which is generally based on a wavelength-tunable alexandrite laser oscillator/amplifier, and multiple Raman conversion stages. This configuration provides robust access to the mid-IR spectral region at wavelengths, pulse energies, pulse durations, and repetition rates that are attractive for neurosurgical applications. We summarize results for ultra-precise selective cutting of nerve sheaths and retinas with little collateral damage; this has applications in procedures such as optic-nerve-sheath fenestration and possible spinal repair. We also report results for cutting cornea, and dermal tissues.

Embedded sensor systems

CERN Document Server

Agrawal, Dharma Prakash

2017-01-01

This inspiring textbook provides an introduction to wireless technologies for sensors, explores potential use of sensors for numerous applications, and utilizes probability theory and mathematical methods as a means of embedding sensors in system design. It discusses the need for synchronization and underlying limitations, inter-relation between given coverage and connectivity to number of sensors needed, and the use of geometrical distance to determine location of the base station for data collection and explore use of anchor nodes for relative position determination of sensors. The book explores energy conservation, communication using TCP, the need for clustering and data aggregation, and residual energy determination and energy harvesting. It covers key topics of sensor communication like mobile base stations and relay nodes, delay-tolerant sensor networks, and remote sensing and possible applications. The book defines routing methods and do performance evaluation for random and regular sensor topology an...

Smart sensors and systems

CERN Document Server

Kyung, Chong-Min; Yasuura, Hiroto; Liu, Yongpan

2015-01-01

 This book describes for readers technology used for effective sensing of our physical world and intelligent processing techniques for sensed information, which are essential to the success of Internet of Things (IoTs).  The authors provide a multidisciplinary view of sensor technology from MEMS, biological, chemical, and electrical domains and showcase smart sensor systems in real applications including smart home, transportation, medical, environmental, agricultural, etc.  Unlike earlier books on sensors, this book will provide a “global” view on smart sensors covering abstraction levels from device, circuit, systems, and algorithms.  .

Wearable Sensor Systems for Infants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhihua Zhu

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Continuous health status monitoring of infants is achieved with the development and fusion of wearable sensing technologies, wireless communication techniques and a low energy-consumption microprocessor with high performance data processing algorithms. As a clinical tool applied in the constant monitoring of physiological parameters of infants, wearable sensor systems for infants are able to transmit the information obtained inside an infant’s body to clinicians or parents. Moreover, such systems with integrated sensors can perceive external threats such as falling or drowning and warn parents immediately. Firstly, the paper reviews some available wearable sensor systems for infants; secondly, we introduce the different modules of the framework in the sensor systems; lastly, the methods and techniques applied in the wearable sensor systems are summarized and discussed. The latest research and achievements have been highlighted in this paper and the meaningful applications in healthcare and behavior analysis are also presented. Moreover, we give a lucid perspective of the development of wearable sensor systems for infants in the future.

Water-Cut Sensor System

KAUST Repository

Karimi, Muhammad Akram; Shamim, Atif; Arsalan, Muhammad

2018-01-01

Provided in some embodiments is a method of manufacturing a pipe conformable water-cut sensors system. Provided in some embodiments is method for manufacturing a water-cut sensor system that includes providing a helical T-resonator, a helical ground

Wireless network system based multi-non-invasive sensors for smart home

Science.gov (United States)

Issa Ahmed, Rudhwan

There are several techniques that have been implemented for smart homes usage; however, most of these techniques are limited to a few sensors. Many of these methods neither meet the needs of the user nor are cost-effective. This thesis discusses the design, development, and implementation of a wireless network system, based on multi-non-invasive sensors for smart home environments. This system has the potential to be used as a means to accurately, and remotely, determine the activities of daily living by continuously monitoring relatively simple parameters that measure the interaction between users and their surrounding environment. We designed and developed a prototype system to meet the specific needs of the elderly population. Unlike audio-video based health monitoring systems (which have associated problems such as the encroachment of privacy), the developed system's distinct features ensure privacy and are almost invisible to the occupants, thus increasing the acceptance levels of this system in household environments. The developed system not only achieved high levels of accuracy, but it is also portable, easy to use, cost-effective, and requires low data rates and less power compared to other wireless devices such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, wireless USB, Ultra wideband (UWB), or Infrared (IR) wireless. Field testing of the prototype system was conducted at different locations inside and outside of the Minto Building (Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering at Carleton University) as well as other locations, such as the washroom, kitchen, and living room of a prototype apartment. The main goal of the testing was to determine the range of the prototype system and the functionality of each sensor in different environments. After it was verified that the system operated well in all of the tested environments, data were then collected at the different locations for analysis and interpretation in order to identify the activities of daily living of an occupant.

Design and Development of transducer for IR radiation measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pattarachindanuwong, Surat; Poopat, Bovornchoke; Meethong, Wachira

2003-06-01

Recently, IR radiation has many important roles such as for plastics industry, food industry and medical instrumentation. The consequence of exposed irradiation objects from IR can be greatly affected by the quantity of IR radiation. Therefore the objectively this research is to design and develop a transducer for IR radiation measurement. By using a quartz halogen lamp as a IR heat source of IR radiation and a thermopile sensor as a transducer. The thermal conductivity of transducer and air flow, were also considered for design and development of transducer. The study shows that the designed transducer can be used and applied in high temperature process, for example, the quality control of welding, the non-contact temperature measurement of drying oven and the testing of IR source in medical therapy device

NSTX High Temperature Sensor Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCormack, B.; Kugel, H.W.; Goranson, P.; Kaita, R.

1999-01-01

The design of the more than 300 in-vessel sensor systems for the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) has encountered several challenging fusion reactor diagnostic issues involving high temperatures and space constraints. This has resulted in unique miniature, high temperature in-vessel sensor systems mounted in small spaces behind plasma facing armor tiles, and they are prototypical of possible high power reactor first-wall applications. In the Center Stack, Divertor, Passive Plate, and vessel wall regions, the small magnetic sensors, large magnetic sensors, flux loops, Rogowski Coils, thermocouples, and Langmuir Probes are qualified for 600 degrees C operation. This rating will accommodate both peak rear-face graphite tile temperatures during operations and the 350 degrees C bake-out conditions. Similar sensor systems including flux loops, on other vacuum vessel regions are qualified for 350 degrees C operation. Cabling from the sensors embedded in the graphite tiles follows narrow routes to exit the vessel. The detailed sensor design and installation methods of these diagnostic systems developed for high-powered ST operation are discussed

Bioinspired Sensor Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manel del Valle

2011-10-01

Full Text Available This editorial summarizes and classifies the contributions presented by different authors to the special issue of the journal Sensors dedicated to Bioinspired Sensor Systems. From the coupling of sensor arrays or networks, plus computer processing abilities, new applications to mimic or to complement human senses are arising in the context of ambient intelligence. Principles used, and illustrative study cases have been presented permitting readers to grasp the current status of the field.

IR technology for enhanced force protection by AIM

Science.gov (United States)

Breiter, R.; Ihle, T.; Rode, W.; Wendler, J.; Rühlich, I.; Haiml, M.; Ziegler, J.

2008-04-01

In all recent missions our forces are faced with various types of asymmetric threads like snipers, IEDs, RPGs or MANPADS. 2 nd and 3 rd Gen IR technology is a backbone of modern force protection by providing situational awareness and accurate target engagement at day/night. 3 rd Gen sensors are developed for thread warning capabilities by use of spectral or spatial information. The progress on a dual-color IR module is discussed in a separate paper [1]. A 1024x256 SWIR array with flexure bearing compressor and pulse tube cold finger provides > 50,000h lifetime for space or airborne hyperspectral imaging in pushbroom geometry with 256 spectral channels for improved change detection and remote sensing of IEDs or chemical agents. Similar concepts are pursued in the LWIR with either spectroscopic imaging or a system of LWIR FPA combined with a cooled tunable Laser to do spectroscopy with stimulated absorption of specific wavelengths. AIM introduced the RangIR sight to match the requirements of sniper teams, AGLs and weapon stations, extending the outstanding optronic performance of the fielded HuntIR with position data of a target by a laser range finder (LRF), a 3 axis digital magnetic compass (DMC) and a ballistic computer for accurate engagement of remote targets. A version with flexure bearing cooler with >30,000h life time is being developed for continuous operation in e.g. gunfire detection systems. This paper gives an overview of AIM's technologies for enhanced force protection.

Short-Range Vital Signs Sensing Based on EEMD and CWT Using IR-UWB Radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xikun Hu

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The radar sensor described realizes healthcare monitoring capable of detecting subject chest-wall movement caused by cardiopulmonary activities and wirelessly estimating the respiration and heartbeat rates of the subject without attaching any devices to the body. Conventional single-tone Doppler radar can only capture Doppler signatures because of a lack of bandwidth information with noncontact sensors. In contrast, we take full advantage of impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB radar to achieve low power consumption and convenient portability, with a flexible detection range and desirable accuracy. A noise reduction method based on improved ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD and a vital sign separation method based on the continuous-wavelet transform (CWT are proposed jointly to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR in order to acquire accurate respiration and heartbeat rates. Experimental results illustrate that respiration and heartbeat signals can be extracted accurately under different conditions. This noncontact healthcare sensor system proves the commercial feasibility and considerable accessibility of using compact IR-UWB radar for emerging biomedical applications.

A μ-biomimetic uncooled infrared sensor based on the infrared receptors of Melanophila acuminata

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siebke, Georg

2015-11-01

The pyrophilous beetle Melanophila acuminata possesses an organ sensitive to IR radiation. It employs a photomechanic detection principle: A liquid filled pressure chamber is heated by absorbing the radiation. The liquid expands and leads to the deflection of a mechanosensitive dendrite. In addition, a sophisticated compensation mechanism prevents the build-up of large pressures. In this work, a biomimetic IR sensor based on the IR receptors of Melanophila acuminata is developed by means of microsystems technology. The sensor consists of two liquid-filled chambers that are connected by a micro-fluidic system. Absorption of IR radiation by one of the chambers leads to the heating and expansion of a liquid. The increasing pressure deflects a membrane which is part of a plate capacitor with a diameter of 500 μm and an electrode distance of 500 nm. The micro-fluidic system and the second chamber represent a fluidic low-pass filter, preventing slow, but large pressure changes. A theoretical model is developed which is able to predict the modulation frequency dependent response. It allows to calculate the filter properties of the compensation mechanism which is verified by an experimental test. A simplified sensor without the compensation mechanism is manufactured to analyse the influence of several parameters on the sensor's sensitivity. Finally, a solution for the fabrication of the μ-capacitor is presented. The large aspect ratio between electrode diameter and distance prevents to use a standard sacrificial layer process. The obtained capacitors pave the way to fabricate the complete full-featured sensor.

A μ-biomimetic uncooled infrared sensor based on the infrared receptors of Melanophila acuminata

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siebke, Georg

2015-11-15

The pyrophilous beetle Melanophila acuminata possesses an organ sensitive to IR radiation. It employs a photomechanic detection principle: A liquid filled pressure chamber is heated by absorbing the radiation. The liquid expands and leads to the deflection of a mechanosensitive dendrite. In addition, a sophisticated compensation mechanism prevents the build-up of large pressures. In this work, a biomimetic IR sensor based on the IR receptors of Melanophila acuminata is developed by means of microsystems technology. The sensor consists of two liquid-filled chambers that are connected by a micro-fluidic system. Absorption of IR radiation by one of the chambers leads to the heating and expansion of a liquid. The increasing pressure deflects a membrane which is part of a plate capacitor with a diameter of 500 μm and an electrode distance of 500 nm. The micro-fluidic system and the second chamber represent a fluidic low-pass filter, preventing slow, but large pressure changes. A theoretical model is developed which is able to predict the modulation frequency dependent response. It allows to calculate the filter properties of the compensation mechanism which is verified by an experimental test. A simplified sensor without the compensation mechanism is manufactured to analyse the influence of several parameters on the sensor's sensitivity. Finally, a solution for the fabrication of the μ-capacitor is presented. The large aspect ratio between electrode diameter and distance prevents to use a standard sacrificial layer process. The obtained capacitors pave the way to fabricate the complete full-featured sensor.

BOOTES-IR: near IR follow-up GRB observations by a robotic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro-Tirado, A.J.; Postrigo, A. de Ugarte; Jelinek, M.

2005-01-01

BOOTES-IR is the extension of the BOOTES experiment, which operates in Southern Spain since 1998, to the near IR (NIR). The goal is to follow up the early stage of the gamma ray burst (GRB) afterglow emission in the NIR, alike BOOTES does already at optical wavelengths. The scientific case that drives the BOOTES-IR performance is the study of GRBs with the support of spacecraft like INTEGRAL, SWIFT and GLAST. Given that the afterglow emission in both, the NIR and the optical, in the instances immediately following a GRB, is extremely bright (reached V = 8.9 in one case), it should be possible to detect this prompt emission at NIR wavelengths too. The combined observations by BOOTES-IR and BOOTES-1 and BOOTES-2 will allow for real time identification of trustworthy candidates to have a high redshift (z > 5). It is expected that, few minutes after a GRB, the IR magnitudes be H ∼ 7-10, hence very high quality spectra can be obtained for objects as far as z = 10 by larger instruments

Distributed sensor coordination for advanced energy systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tumer, Kagan [Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States). School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

2015-03-12

Motivation: The ability to collect key system level information is critical to the safe, efficient and reliable operation of advanced power systems. Recent advances in sensor technology have enabled some level of decision making directly at the sensor level. However, coordinating large numbers of sensors, particularly heterogeneous sensors, to achieve system level objectives such as predicting plant efficiency, reducing downtime or predicting outages requires sophisticated coordination algorithms. Indeed, a critical issue in such systems is how to ensure the interaction of a large number of heterogenous system components do not interfere with one another and lead to undesirable behavior. Objectives and Contributions: The long-term objective of this work is to provide sensor deployment, coordination and networking algorithms for large numbers of sensors to ensure the safe, reliable, and robust operation of advanced energy systems. Our two specific objectives are to: 1. Derive sensor performance metrics for heterogeneous sensor networks. 2. Demonstrate effectiveness, scalability and reconfigurability of heterogeneous sensor network in advanced power systems. The key technical contribution of this work is to push the coordination step to the design of the objective functions of the sensors, allowing networks of heterogeneous sensors to be controlled. By ensuring that the control and coordination is not specific to particular sensor hardware, this approach enables the design and operation of large heterogeneous sensor networks. In addition to the coordination coordination mechanism, this approach allows the system to be reconfigured in response to changing needs (e.g., sudden external events requiring new responses) or changing sensor network characteristics (e.g., sudden changes to plant condition). Impact: The impact of this work extends to a large class of problems relevant to the National Energy Technology Laboratory including sensor placement, heterogeneous sensor

IR panoramic alerting sensor concepts and applications

Science.gov (United States)

de Jong, Arie N.; Schwering, Piet B. W.

2003-09-01

During the last decade, protection of military and civilian operational platforms against weapons like guns, grenades, missiles, Unmanned Combat Aerial (and surface) Vehicles (UCAV's) and mines, has been an issue of increased importance due to the improved kill-probability of these threats. The standard countermeasure package of armour, guns, decoys, jammers, camouflage nets and smokes is inadequate when not accompanied by a suitable sensor package, primarily consisting of an alerting device, triggering consecutive steps in the countermeasure-chain. In this process of alert four different detection techniques are considered: pre-alert, giving the directions of possible attack, detection of an action of attack, identification of the threat and finally the precise localization (3-D). The design of the alerting device is greatly depending on the platform, on which it will be used, the associated and affordable cost and the nature of the threat. A number of sensor packages, considered, developed and evaluated at TNO-FEL is presented for simple, medium size and large and expensive platforms. In recent years the requirements for these sensors have become more and more strigent due to the growing number of scenarios. The attack can practically be from any direction, implying the need for a large Field of Regard (FOR), the attack range can vary considerably and the type of threat can be very diverse, implying great flexibility and dynamic range and rapid response of the sensor. Especially the localization at short ranges is a challenging issue. Various configurations including advantages and drawbacks are discussed.

Monitoring the long term stability of the IRS-P6 AWiFS sensor using the Sonoran and RVPN sites

Science.gov (United States)

Chander, Gyanesh; Sampath, Aparajithan; Angal, Amit; Choi, Taeyoung; Xiong, Xiaoxiong

2010-10-01

This paper focuses on radiometric and geometric assessment of the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS-P6) Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) sensor using the Sonoran desert and Railroad Valley Playa, Nevada (RVPN) ground sites. Imageto- Image (I2I) accuracy and relative band-to-band (B2B) accuracy were measured. I2I accuracy of the AWiFS imagery was assessed by measuring the imagery against Landsat Global Land Survey (GLS) 2000. The AWiFS images were typically registered to within one pixel to the GLS 2000 mosaic images. The B2B process used the same concepts as the I2I, except instead of a reference image and a search image; the individual bands of a multispectral image are tested against each other. The B2B results showed that all the AWiFS multispectral bands are registered to sub-pixel accuracy. Using the limited amount of scenes available over these ground sites, the reflective bands of AWiFS sensor indicate a long-term drift in the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance. Because of the limited availability of AWiFS scenes over these ground sites, a comprehensive evaluation of the radiometric stability using these sites is not possible. In order to overcome this limitation, a cross-comparison between AWiFS and Landsat 7 (L7) Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) was performed using image statistics based on large common areas observed by the sensors within 30 minutes. Regression curves and coefficients of determination for the TOA trends from these sensors were generated to quantify the uncertainty in these relationships and to provide an assessment of the calibration differences between these sensors.

Assessment of COTS IR image simulation tools for ATR development

Science.gov (United States)

Seidel, Heiko; Stahl, Christoph; Bjerkeli, Frode; Skaaren-Fystro, Paal

2005-05-01

Following the tendency of increased use of imaging sensors in military aircraft, future fighter pilots will need onboard artificial intelligence e.g. ATR for aiding them in image interpretation and target designation. The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) in Germany has developed an advanced method for automatic target recognition (ATR) which is based on adaptive neural networks. This ATR method can assist the crew of military aircraft like the Eurofighter in sensor image monitoring and thereby reduce the workload in the cockpit and increase the mission efficiency. The EADS ATR approach can be adapted for imagery of visual, infrared and SAR sensors because of the training-based classifiers of the ATR method. For the optimal adaptation of these classifiers they have to be trained with appropriate and sufficient image data. The training images must show the target objects from different aspect angles, ranges, environmental conditions, etc. Incomplete training sets lead to a degradation of classifier performance. Additionally, ground truth information i.e. scenario conditions like class type and position of targets is necessary for the optimal adaptation of the ATR method. In Summer 2003, EADS started a cooperation with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) from Norway. The EADS/KDA approach is to provide additional image data sets for training-based ATR through IR image simulation. The joint study aims to investigate the benefits of enhancing incomplete training sets for classifier adaptation by simulated synthetic imagery. EADS/KDA identified the requirements of a commercial-off-the-shelf IR simulation tool capable of delivering appropriate synthetic imagery for ATR development. A market study of available IR simulation tools and suppliers was performed. After that the most promising tool was benchmarked according to several criteria e.g. thermal emission model, sensor model, targets model, non-radiometric image features etc., resulting in a

Multi-wavelength mid-IR light source for gas sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Karioja, Pentti; Alajoki, Teemu; Cherchi, Matteo; Ollila, Jyrki; Harjanne, Mikko; Heinilehto, Noora; Suomalainen, Soile; Viheriälä, Jukka; Zia, Nouman; Guina, Mircea; Buczyński, Ryszard; Kasztelanic, Rafał; Kujawa, Ireneusz; Salo, Tomi; Virtanen, Sami; Kluczyński, Paweł; Sagberg, Hâkon; Ratajczyk, Marcin; Kalinowski, Przemyslaw

2017-02-01

Cost effective multi-wavelength light sources are key enablers for wide-scale penetration of gas sensors at Mid-IR wavelength range. Utilizing novel Mid-IR Si-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs) filter and wide-band Mid-IR Super Luminescent Light Emitting Diodes (SLEDs), we show the concept of a light source that covers 2.5…3.5 μm wavelength range with a resolution of price can be lowered in high volumes by utilizing tailored molded IR lens technology and automated packaging and assembling technologies. The status of the development of the key components of the light source are reported. The PIC is based on the use of micron-scale SOI technology, SLED is based on AlGaInAsSb materials and the lenses are tailored heavy metal oxide glasses fabricated by the use of hot-embossing. The packaging concept utilizing automated assembly tools is depicted. In safety and security applications, the Mid-IR wavelength range covered by the novel light source allows for detecting several harmful gas components with a single sensor. At the moment, affordable sources are not available. The market impact is expected to be disruptive, since the devices currently in the market are either complicated, expensive and heavy instruments, or the applied measurement principles are inadequate in terms of stability and selectivity.

Thermal IR exitance model of a plant canopy

Science.gov (United States)

Kimes, D. S.; Smith, J. A.; Link, L. E.

1981-01-01

A thermal IR exitance model of a plant canopy based on a mathematical abstraction of three horizontal layers of vegetation was developed. Canopy geometry within each layer is quantitatively described by the foliage and branch orientation distributions and number density. Given this geometric information for each layer and the driving meteorological variables, a system of energy budget equations was determined and solved for average layer temperatures. These estimated layer temperatures, together with the angular distributions of radiating elements, were used to calculate the emitted thermal IR radiation as a function of view angle above the canopy. The model was applied to a lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) canopy over a diurnal cycle. Simulated vs measured radiometric average temperatures of the midcanopy layer corresponded with 2 C. Simulation results suggested that canopy geometry can significantly influence the effective radiant temperature recorded at varying sensor view angles.

High pressure fiber optic sensor system

Science.gov (United States)

Guida, Renato; Xia, Hua; Lee, Boon K; Dekate, Sachin N

2013-11-26

The present application provides a fiber optic sensor system. The fiber optic sensor system may include a small diameter bellows, a large diameter bellows, and a fiber optic pressure sensor attached to the small diameter bellows. Contraction of the large diameter bellows under an applied pressure may cause the small diameter bellows to expand such that the fiber optic pressure sensor may measure the applied pressure.

Design of visible and IR infrared dual-band common-path telescope system

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, YuLin; Yu, Xun; Tao, Yu; Jiang, Xu

2018-01-01

The use of visible and IR infrared dual-band combination can effectively improve the performance of photoelectric detection system,TV and IR system were designed with the common path by the common reflection optical system.A TV/IR infrared common-caliber and common-path system is designed,which can realize the Remote and all-day information.For the 640×512 cooled focal plane array,an infrared middle wave system was presented with a focal length of 600mm F number of 4 field of view(FOV) of 0.38°×0.43°, the system uses optical passive thermal design, has o compact structure and can meet 100% cold shield efficiency,meanwhile it meets the design requirements of lightweight and athermalization. For the 1920×1080 pixels CCD,a visible (TV) system ,which had 500mm focal length, 4F number,was completed.The final optical design along with their modulation transfer function is presented,showing excellent imaging performance in dual-band at the temperature range between -40° and 60°.

Multi-pollutants sensors based on near-IR telecom lasers and mid-IR difference frequency generation: development and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cousin, J.

2006-12-01

At present the detection of VOC and other anthropic trace pollutants is an important challenge in the measurement of air quality. Infrared spectroscopy, allowing spectral regions rich in molecular absorption to be probed, is a suitable technique for in-situ monitoring of the air pollution. Thus the aim of this work was to develop instruments capable of detecting multiple pollutants for in-situ monitoring by IR spectroscopy. A first project benefited from the availability of the telecommunications lasers emitting in near-IR. This instrument was based on an external cavity diode laser (1500 - 1640 nm) in conjunction with a multipass cell (100 m). The detection sensitivity was optimised by employing a balanced detection and a sweep integration procedure. The instrument developed is deployable for in-situ measurements with a sensitivity of -8 cm -1 Hz -1/2 and allowed the quantification of chemical species such as CO 2 , CO, C 2 H 2 , CH 4 and the determination of the isotopic ratio 13 CO 2 / 12 CO 2 in combustion environment The second project consisted in mixing two near-IR fiber lasers in a non-linear crystal (PPLN) in order to produce a laser radiation by difference frequency generation in the middle-IR (3.15 - 3.43 μm), where the absorption bands of the molecules are the most intense. The first studies with this source were carried out on detection of ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) and benzene (C 6 H 6 ). Developments, characterizations and applications of these instruments in the near and middle IR are detailed and the advantages of the 2 spectral ranges is highlighted. (author)

Adaptive Sensing Based on Profiles for Sensor Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshiteru Ishida

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a profile-based sensing framework for adaptive sensor systems based on models that relate possibly heterogeneous sensor data and profiles generated by the models to detect events. With these concepts, three phases for building the sensor systems are extracted from two examples: a combustion control sensor system for an automobile engine, and a sensor system for home security. The three phases are: modeling, profiling, and managing trade-offs. Designing and building a sensor system involves mapping the signals to a model to achieve a given mission.

Thermoelectric infrared imaging sensors for automotive applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hirota, Masaki; Nakajima, Yasushi; Saito, Masanori; Satou, Fuminori; Uchiyama, Makoto

2004-07-01

This paper describes three low-cost thermoelectric infrared imaging sensors having a 1,536, 2,304, and 10,800 element thermoelectric focal plane array (FPA) respectively and two experimental automotive application systems. The FPAs are basically fabricated with a conventional IC process and micromachining technologies and have a low cost potential. Among these sensors, the sensor having 2,304 elements provide high responsivity of 5,500 V/W and a very small size with adopting a vacuum-sealed package integrated with a wide-angle ZnS lens. One experimental system incorporated in the Nissan ASV-2 is a blind spot pedestrian warning system that employs four infrared imaging sensors. This system helps alert the driver to the presence of a pedestrian in a blind spot by detecting the infrared radiation emitted from the person"s body. The system can also prevent the vehicle from moving in the direction of the pedestrian. The other is a rearview camera system with an infrared detection function. This system consists of a visible camera and infrared sensors, and it helps alert the driver to the presence of a pedestrian in a rear blind spot. Various issues that will need to be addressed in order to expand the automotive applications of IR imaging sensors in the future are also summarized. This performance is suitable for consumer electronics as well as automotive applications.

A Study of Search Intermediary Working Notes: Implications for IR System Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Spink, Amanda; Goodrum, Abby

1996-01-01

Reports findings from an exploratory study investigating working notes created during encoding and external storage (EES) processes by human search intermediaries (librarians at the University of North Texas) using a Boolean information retrieval (IR) system. Implications for the design of IR interfaces and further research is discussed.…

A IR-Femtosecond Laser Hybrid Sensor to Measure the Thermal Expansion and Thermo-Optical Coefficient of Silica-Based FBG at High Temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Litong; Lv, Dajuan; Yang, Minghong; Xiong, Liangming; Luo, Jie

2018-01-26

In this paper, a hybrid sensor was fabricated using a IR-femtosecond laser to measure the thermal expansion and thermo-optical coefficient of silica-based fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). The hybrid sensor was composed of an inline fiber Fabry-Perot interferometer (FFPI) cavity and a type-II FBG. Experiment results showed that the type-II FBG had three high reflectivity resonances in the wavelength ranging from 1100 to 1600 nm, showing the peaks in 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5 μm, respectively. The thermal expansion and thermo-optical coefficient (1.3 μm, 1.5 μm) of silica-based FBG, under temperatures ranging from 30 to 1100 °C, had been simultaneously calculated by measuring the wavelength of the type-II FBG and FFPI cavity length.

Sensor-guided threat countermeasure system

Science.gov (United States)

Stuart, Brent C.; Hackel, Lloyd A.; Hermann, Mark R.; Armstrong, James P.

2012-12-25

A countermeasure system for use by a target to protect against an incoming sensor-guided threat. The system includes a laser system for producing a broadband beam and means for directing the broadband beam from the target to the threat. The countermeasure system comprises the steps of producing a broadband beam and directing the broad band beam from the target to blind or confuse the incoming sensor-guided threat.

Sensor system for web inspection

Science.gov (United States)

Sleefe, Gerard E.; Rudnick, Thomas J.; Novak, James L.

2002-01-01

A system for electrically measuring variations over a flexible web has a capacitive sensor including spaced electrically conductive, transmit and receive electrodes mounted on a flexible substrate. The sensor is held against a flexible web with sufficient force to deflect the path of the web, which moves relative to the sensor.

System-level Modeling of Wireless Integrated Sensor Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Virk, Kashif M.; Hansen, Knud; Madsen, Jan

2005-01-01

Wireless integrated sensor networks have emerged as a promising infrastructure for a new generation of monitoring and tracking applications. In order to efficiently utilize the extremely limited resources of wireless sensor nodes, accurate modeling of the key aspects of wireless sensor networks...... is necessary so that system-level design decisions can be made about the hardware and the software (applications and real-time operating system) architecture of sensor nodes. In this paper, we present a SystemC-based abstract modeling framework that enables system-level modeling of sensor network behavior...... by modeling the applications, real-time operating system, sensors, processor, and radio transceiver at the sensor node level and environmental phenomena, including radio signal propagation, at the sensor network level. We demonstrate the potential of our modeling framework by simulating and analyzing a small...

Multi-Level Sensor Fusion Algorithm Approach for BMD Interceptor Applications

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Allen, Doug

1998-01-01

... through fabrication and testing of advanced sensor hardware concepts and advanced sensor fusion algorithms. Advanced sensor concepts include onboard LADAR in conjunction with a multi-color passive IR sensor...

Gimbal Integration to Small Format, Airborne, MWIR and LWIR Imaging Sensors, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The proposed innovation is for enhanced sensor performance and high resolution imaging for Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) and Medium Wave IR (MWIR) camera systems used in...

Design, development and implementation of the IR signaling techniques for monitoring ambient and body temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baqai, A.

2014-01-01

Healthcare systems such as hospitals, homecare, telemedicine, and physical rehabilitation are expected to be revolutionized by WBAN (Wireless Body Area Networks). This research work aims to investigate, design, optimize, and demonstrate the applications of IR (Infra-Red) communication systems in WBAN. It is aimed to establish a prototype WBAN system capable of measuring Ambient and Body Temperature using LM35 as temperature sensor and transmitting and receiving the data using optical signals. The corresponding technical challenges that have to be faced are also discussed in this paper. Investigations are carried out to efficiently design the hardware using low-cost and low power optical transceivers. The experimental results reveal the successful transmission and reception of Ambient and Body Temperatures over short ranges i.e. up to 3-4 meters. A simple IR transceiver with an LED (Light Emitting Diodes), TV remote control IC and Arduino microcontroller is designed to perform the transmission with sufficient accuracy and ease. Experiments are also performed to avoid interference from other sources like AC and TV remote control signals by implementing IR tags. (author)

Design, development and implementation of the IR signaling techniques for monitoring ambient and body temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baqai, A. [Mehran Univ. of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro (Pakistan). Dept. of Information and Communication Technology

2014-07-15

Healthcare systems such as hospitals, homecare, telemedicine, and physical rehabilitation are expected to be revolutionized by WBAN (Wireless Body Area Networks). This research work aims to investigate, design, optimize, and demonstrate the applications of IR (Infra-Red) communication systems in WBAN. It is aimed to establish a prototype WBAN system capable of measuring Ambient and Body Temperature using LM35 as temperature sensor and transmitting and receiving the data using optical signals. The corresponding technical challenges that have to be faced are also discussed in this paper. Investigations are carried out to efficiently design the hardware using low-cost and low power optical transceivers. The experimental results reveal the successful transmission and reception of Ambient and Body Temperatures over short ranges i.e. up to 3-4 meters. A simple IR transceiver with an LED (Light Emitting Diodes), TV remote control IC and Arduino microcontroller is designed to perform the transmission with sufficient accuracy and ease. Experiments are also performed to avoid interference from other sources like AC and TV remote control signals by implementing IR tags. (author)

Common bus multinode sensor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, T.F.; Naviasky, E.H.; Evans, W.P.; Jefferies, D.W.; Smith, J.R.

1988-01-01

This patent describes a nuclear power plant including a common bus multinode sensor system for sensors in the nuclear power plant, each sensor producing a sensor signal. The system consists of: a power supply providing power; a communication cable coupled to the power supply; plural remote sensor units coupled between the cable and one or more sensors, and comprising: a direct current power supply, connected to the cable and converting the power on the cable into direct current; an analog-to-digital converter connected to the direct current power supply; an oscillator reference; a filter; and an integrated circuit sensor interface connected to the direct current power supply, the analog-to-digital converter, the oscillator crystal and the filter, the interface comprising: a counter receiving a frequency designation word from external to the interface; a phase-frequency comparator connected to the counter; an oscillator connected to the oscillator reference; a timing counter connected to the oscillator, the phase/frequency comparator and the analog-to-digital converter; an analog multiplexer connectable to the sensors and the analog-to-digital converter, and connected to the timing counter; a shift register operatively connected to the timing counter and the analog-to-digital converter; an encoder connected to the shift register and connectable to the filter; and a voltage controlled oscillator connected to the filter and the cable

Atmospheric Entry Experiments at IRS

Science.gov (United States)

Auweter-Kurtz, M.; Endlich, P.; Herdrich, G.; Kurtz, H.; Laux, T.; Löhle, S.; Nazina, N.; Pidan, S.

2002-01-01

3-D calculations and obtained flight data. Experience in this field and flight data are rare. But there are data bases in the USA, where public access is often difficult. The data mostly deal with reuseable launch vehi- cle technology which is a concern for the understanding of entry missions to earth and for the aim to reduce payload transportation costs in future. For X-38 about 40 international partners have been collaborating to develop, qualify and fly X-38 which is a technology demonstrator for the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) of the International Space Station (ISS). About 1000 sensors will be operated to obtain a data base which will be combined with a aerothermodynamic data base (European contribution). Additionally, a lot of instrumentation has been contributed. PYREX-KAT38 meas- uring the temperature distribution in the X-38 nose structure was developed by IRS. The data of the PYREX sensor system contribute to several fields of interest i.e. temperature histories at 5 positons in the nose structure, information about rotational degrees of freedom of the vehicle during entry, statements on the behavior of the TPS material and heat flux distribution. The paper presents experiments that are being developed at IRS. Below summaries of such experi- ments are given: PYREX is a pyrometric entry experiment measuring rear side temperatures of ceramic TPS. It has already been flown twice. The first flight was with the German-Japanese capsule EXPRESS, the second with the capsule MIRKA. PY- REX-KAT38 was delivered to NASA. It is a fully qualified temperature measurement system and will be operated aboard the X-38 vehicle. RESPECT is a spectrometer that will be used to gain spectral data in the flow field around a space vehicle. The main goal is to obtain information about the plasma state in the post shock regime of a vehicle by measuring the spectrally resolved radiation. The obtained database will provide radiation of multiple species for a comparison with computer

Proximity sensor system development. CRADA final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haley, D.C. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Pigoski, T.M. [Merrit Systems, Inc. (United States)

1998-01-01

Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation (LMERC) and Merritt Systems, Inc. (MSI) entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for the development and demonstration of a compact, modular proximity sensing system suitable for application to a wide class of manipulator systems operated in support of environmental restoration and waste management activities. In teleoperated modes, proximity sensing provides the manipulator operator continuous information regarding the proximity of the manipulator to objects in the workspace. In teleoperated and robotic modes, proximity sensing provides added safety through the implementation of active whole arm collision avoidance capabilities. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), managed by LMERC for the United States Department of Energy (DOE), has developed an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design for the electronics required to support a modular whole arm proximity sensing system based on the use of capacitive sensors developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The use of ASIC technology greatly reduces the size of the electronics required to support the selected sensor types allowing deployment of many small sensor nodes over a large area of the manipulator surface to provide maximum sensor coverage. The ASIC design also provides a communication interface to support sensor commands from and sensor data transmission to a distributed processing system which allows modular implementation and operation of the sensor system. MSI is a commercial small business specializing in proximity sensing systems based upon infrared and acoustic sensors.

Proximity sensor system development. CRADA final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haley, D.C.; Pigoski, T.M.

1998-01-01

Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation (LMERC) and Merritt Systems, Inc. (MSI) entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for the development and demonstration of a compact, modular proximity sensing system suitable for application to a wide class of manipulator systems operated in support of environmental restoration and waste management activities. In teleoperated modes, proximity sensing provides the manipulator operator continuous information regarding the proximity of the manipulator to objects in the workspace. In teleoperated and robotic modes, proximity sensing provides added safety through the implementation of active whole arm collision avoidance capabilities. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), managed by LMERC for the United States Department of Energy (DOE), has developed an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design for the electronics required to support a modular whole arm proximity sensing system based on the use of capacitive sensors developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The use of ASIC technology greatly reduces the size of the electronics required to support the selected sensor types allowing deployment of many small sensor nodes over a large area of the manipulator surface to provide maximum sensor coverage. The ASIC design also provides a communication interface to support sensor commands from and sensor data transmission to a distributed processing system which allows modular implementation and operation of the sensor system. MSI is a commercial small business specializing in proximity sensing systems based upon infrared and acoustic sensors

Optical fiber sensors: Systems and applications. Volume 2

Science.gov (United States)

Culshaw, Brian; Dakin, John

State-of-the-art fiber-optic (FO) sensors and their applications are described in chapters contributed by leading experts. Consideration is given to interferometers, FO gyros, intensity- and wavelength-based sensors and optical actuators, Si in FO sensors, point-sensor multiplexing principles, and distributed FO sensor systems. Also examined are chemical, biochemical, and medical sensors; physical and chemical sensors for process control; FO-sensor applications in the marine and aerospace industries; FO-sensor monitoring systems for security and safety, structural integrity, NDE, and the electric-power industry; and the market situation for FO-sensor technology. Diagrams, drawings, graphs, and photographs are provided.

Study on seasonal IR signature change of a ship by considering seasonal marine environmental conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Do-Hwi; Han, Kuk-Il; Choi, Jun-Hyuk; Kim, Tae-Kuk

2017-05-01

Infrared (IR) signal emitted from objects over 0 degree Kelvin has been used to detect and recognize the characteristics of those objects. Recently more delicate IR sensors have been applied for various guided missiles and they affect a crucial influence on object's survivability. Especially, in marine environment it is more vulnerable to be attacked by IR guided missiles since there are nearly no objects for concealment. To increase the survivability of object, the IR signal of the object needs to be analyzed properly by considering various marine environments. IR signature of a naval ship consists of the emitted energy from ship surface and the reflected energy by external sources. Surface property such as the emissivity and the absorptivity on the naval ship varies with different paints applied on the surface and the reflected IR signal is also affected by the surface radiative property, the sensor's geometric position and various climatic conditions in marine environment. Since the direct measurement of IR signal using IR camera is costly and time consuming job, computer simulation methods are developing rapidly to replace those experimental tasks. In this study, we are demonstrate a way of analyzing the IR signal characteristics by using the measured background IR signals using an IR camera and the estimated target IR signals from the computer simulation to find the seasonal trends of IR threats of a naval ship. Through this process, measured weather data are used to analyze more accurate IR signal conditions for the naval ship. The seasonal change of IR signal contrast between the naval ship and the marine background shows that the highest contrast radiant intensity (CRI) value is appeared in early summer.

Robust Solar Position Sensor for Tracking Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ritchie, Ewen; Argeseanu, Alin; Leban, Krisztina Monika

2009-01-01

The paper proposes a new solar position sensor used in tracking system control. The main advantages of the new solution are the robustness and the economical aspect. Positioning accuracy of the tracking system that uses the new sensor is better than 1°. The new sensor uses the ancient principle...... of the solar clock. The sensitive elements are eight ordinary photo-resistors. It is important to note that all the sensors are not selected simultaneously. It is not necessary for sensor operating characteristics to be quasi-identical because the sensor principle is based on extreme operating duty measurement...... (bright or dark). In addition, the proposed solar sensor significantly simplifies the operation of the tracking control device....

Perforated SiN membrane resonators for nanomechanical IR spectroscopy poster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kurek, Maksymilian; Carnoy, Matthias; Boisen, Anja

Constant progress in micro- and nanofabrication provides a great opportunity in development of micro- and nanomechanical resonatorsthat can be used for sensing purposes. These sensors usually consist of singly-clamped cantilever beams, doubly-clamped bridges ormembranes that exhibit resonant......, lateral dimension of1×1 mm2 and 2 µm perforation grid pitch were used instead of strings which makes the IR beam alignment significantly simpler whilemaintaining similar sampling efficiency and photothermal IR absorption sensitivity....

Overview of benefits, challenges, and requirements of wheeled-vehicle mounted infrared sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, John Lester; Clayton, Paul; Olsson, Stefan F.

2013-06-01

Requirements for vehicle mounted infrared sensors, especially as imagers evolve to high definition (HD) format will be detailed and analyzed. Lessons learned from integrations of infrared sensors on armored vehicles, unarmored military vehicles and commercial automobiles will be discussed. Comparisons between sensors for driving and those for situation awareness, targeting and other functions will be presented. Conclusions will be drawn regarding future applications and installations. New business requirements for more advanced digital image processing algorithms in the sensor system will be discussed. Examples of these are smarter contrast/brightness adjustments algorithms, detail enhancement, intelligent blending (IR-Vis) modes, and augmented reality.

A portable readout system for silicon microstrip sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marco-Hernandez, Ricardo

2010-01-01

This system can measure the collected charge in one or two microstrip silicon sensors by reading out all the channels of the sensor(s), up to 256. The system is able to operate with different types (p- and n-type) and different sizes (up to 3 cm 2 ) of microstrip silicon sensors, both irradiated and non-irradiated. Heavily irradiated sensors will be used at the Super Large Hadron Collider, so this system can be used to research the performance of microstrip silicon sensors in conditions as similar as possible to the Super Large Hadron Collider operating conditions. The system has two main parts: a hardware part and a software part. The hardware part acquires the sensor signals either from external trigger inputs, in case of a radioactive source setup is used, or from a synchronised trigger output generated by the system, if a laser setup is used. The software controls the system and processes the data acquired from the sensors in order to store it in an adequate format. The main characteristics of the system are described. Results of measurements acquired with n- and p-type detectors using both the laser and the radioactive source setup are also presented and discussed.

Irradiance sensors for solar systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Storch, A.; Schindl, J. [Oesterreichisches Forschungs- und Pruefzentrum Arsenal GesmbH, Vienna (Austria). Business Unit Renewable Energy

2004-07-01

The presented project surveyed the quality of irradiance sensors used for applications in solar systems. By analysing an outdoor measurement, the accuracies of ten commercially available irradiance sensors were evaluated, comparing their results to those of a calibrated Kipp and Zonen pyranometer CM21. Furthermore, as a simple method for improving the quality of the results, for each sensor an irradiance-calibration was carried out and examined for its effectiveness. (orig.)

Error propagation analysis for a sensor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeater, M.L.; Hockenbury, R.W.; Hawkins, J.; Wilkinson, J.

1976-01-01

As part of a program to develop reliability methods for operational use with reactor sensors and protective systems, error propagation analyses are being made for each model. An example is a sensor system computer simulation model, in which the sensor system signature is convoluted with a reactor signature to show the effect of each in revealing or obscuring information contained in the other. The error propagation analysis models the system and signature uncertainties and sensitivities, whereas the simulation models the signatures and by extensive repetitions reveals the effect of errors in various reactor input or sensor response data. In the approach for the example presented, the errors accumulated by the signature (set of ''noise'' frequencies) are successively calculated as it is propagated stepwise through a system comprised of sensor and signal processing components. Additional modeling steps include a Fourier transform calculation to produce the usual power spectral density representation of the product signature, and some form of pattern recognition algorithm

Distributed Sensor Coordination for Advanced Energy Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tumer, Kagan [Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)

2013-07-31

The ability to collect key system level information is critical to the safe, efficient and reliable operation of advanced energy systems. With recent advances in sensor development, it is now possible to push some level of decision making directly to computationally sophisticated sensors, rather than wait for data to arrive to a massive centralized location before a decision is made. This type of approach relies on networked sensors (called “agents” from here on) to actively collect and process data, and provide key control decisions to significantly improve both the quality/relevance of the collected data and the associating decision making. The technological bottlenecks for such sensor networks stem from a lack of mathematics and algorithms to manage the systems, rather than difficulties associated with building and deploying them. Indeed, traditional sensor coordination strategies do not provide adequate solutions for this problem. Passive data collection methods (e.g., large sensor webs) can scale to large systems, but are generally not suited to highly dynamic environments, such as advanced energy systems, where crucial decisions may need to be reached quickly and locally. Approaches based on local decisions on the other hand cannot guarantee that each agent performing its task (maximize an agent objective) will lead to good network wide solution (maximize a network objective) without invoking cumbersome coordination routines. There is currently a lack of algorithms that will enable self-organization and blend the efficiency of local decision making with the system level guarantees of global decision making, particularly when the systems operate in dynamic and stochastic environments. In this work we addressed this critical gap and provided a comprehensive solution to the problem of sensor coordination to ensure the safe, reliable, and robust operation of advanced energy systems. The differentiating aspect of the proposed work is in shifting the focus

The Radio Frequency Health Node Wireless Sensor System

Science.gov (United States)

Valencia, J. Emilio; Stanley, Priscilla C.; Mackey, Paul J.

2009-01-01

The Radio Frequency Health Node (RFHN) wireless sensor system differs from other wireless sensor systems in ways originally intended to enhance utility as an instrumentation system for a spacecraft. The RFHN can also be adapted to use in terrestrial applications in which there are requirements for operational flexibility and integrability into higher-level instrumentation and data acquisition systems. As shown in the figure, the heart of the system is the RFHN, which is a unit that passes commands and data between (1) one or more commercially available wireless sensor units (optionally, also including wired sensor units) and (2) command and data interfaces with a local control computer that may be part of the spacecraft or other engineering system in which the wireless sensor system is installed. In turn, the local control computer can be in radio or wire communication with a remote control computer that may be part of a higher-level system. The remote control computer, acting via the local control computer and the RFHN, cannot only monitor readout data from the sensor units but can also remotely configure (program or reprogram) the RFHN and the sensor units during operation. In a spacecraft application, the RFHN and the sensor units can also be configured more nearly directly, prior to launch, via a serial interface that includes an umbilical cable between the spacecraft and ground support equipment. In either case, the RFHN wireless sensor system has the flexibility to be configured, as required, with different numbers and types of sensors for different applications. The RFHN can be used to effect realtime transfer of data from, and commands to, the wireless sensor units. It can also store data for later retrieval by an external computer. The RFHN communicates with the wireless sensor units via a radio transceiver module. The modular design of the RFHN makes it possible to add radio transceiver modules as needed to accommodate additional sets of wireless sensor

A NOVEL BCG SENSOR-ARRAY FOR UNOBTRUSIVE CARDIAC MONITORING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Böhm

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Unobtrusive heart rate monitoring is a popular research topic in biomedical engineering. The reason is that convential methods, e.g. the clinical gold standard electrocardiography, require conductive contact to the human body. Other methods such as ballistocardiography try to record these vital signs without electrodes that are attached to the body. So far, these systems cannot replace routine procedures. Most systems have some drawbacks that cannot be compensated, such as aging of the sensor materials or movement artifacts. In addition, the signal form differs greatly from an ECG, which is an electrical signal. The ballistocardiogram has a mechanical source, which makes it harder to evaluate. We have developed a new sensor array made of near-IR-LEDs to record BCGs. IR-sensors do not age in relevant time scales. Analog filtering was neccesary, because the signal amplitude was very small. The digitized data was then processed by various algorithms to extract beat-to-beat or breath-to-breath intervals. The redundancy of multiple BCG channels was used to provide a robust estimation of beat-to-beat intervals and heart rate. We installed the system beneath a mattress topper of a hospital bed, but any other bed would have been sufficient. The validation of this measurement system shows that it is well suited for BCG recordings. The use of multiple channels has proven to be superior to relying on a single BCG channel.

Sensor Technologies for Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerrero-Ibáñez, Juan; Zeadally, Sherali; Contreras-Castillo, Juan

2018-04-16

Modern society faces serious problems with transportation systems, including but not limited to traffic congestion, safety, and pollution. Information communication technologies have gained increasing attention and importance in modern transportation systems. Automotive manufacturers are developing in-vehicle sensors and their applications in different areas including safety, traffic management, and infotainment. Government institutions are implementing roadside infrastructures such as cameras and sensors to collect data about environmental and traffic conditions. By seamlessly integrating vehicles and sensing devices, their sensing and communication capabilities can be leveraged to achieve smart and intelligent transportation systems. We discuss how sensor technology can be integrated with the transportation infrastructure to achieve a sustainable Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and how safety, traffic control and infotainment applications can benefit from multiple sensors deployed in different elements of an ITS. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges that need to be addressed to enable a fully operational and cooperative ITS environment.

Sensor Technologies for Intelligent Transportation Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Guerrero-Ibáñez, Juan; Zeadally, Sherali

2018-01-01

Modern society faces serious problems with transportation systems, including but not limited to traffic congestion, safety, and pollution. Information communication technologies have gained increasing attention and importance in modern transportation systems. Automotive manufacturers are developing in-vehicle sensors and their applications in different areas including safety, traffic management, and infotainment. Government institutions are implementing roadside infrastructures such as cameras and sensors to collect data about environmental and traffic conditions. By seamlessly integrating vehicles and sensing devices, their sensing and communication capabilities can be leveraged to achieve smart and intelligent transportation systems. We discuss how sensor technology can be integrated with the transportation infrastructure to achieve a sustainable Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and how safety, traffic control and infotainment applications can benefit from multiple sensors deployed in different elements of an ITS. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges that need to be addressed to enable a fully operational and cooperative ITS environment. PMID:29659524

Sensor Technologies for Intelligent Transportation Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Guerrero-Ibáñez

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Modern society faces serious problems with transportation systems, including but not limited to traffic congestion, safety, and pollution. Information communication technologies have gained increasing attention and importance in modern transportation systems. Automotive manufacturers are developing in-vehicle sensors and their applications in different areas including safety, traffic management, and infotainment. Government institutions are implementing roadside infrastructures such as cameras and sensors to collect data about environmental and traffic conditions. By seamlessly integrating vehicles and sensing devices, their sensing and communication capabilities can be leveraged to achieve smart and intelligent transportation systems. We discuss how sensor technology can be integrated with the transportation infrastructure to achieve a sustainable Intelligent Transportation System (ITS and how safety, traffic control and infotainment applications can benefit from multiple sensors deployed in different elements of an ITS. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges that need to be addressed to enable a fully operational and cooperative ITS environment.

Land drainage system detection using IR and visual imagery taken from autonomous mapping airship and evaluation of physical and spatial parameters of suggested method

Science.gov (United States)

Koska, Bronislav; Křemen, Tomáš; Štroner, Martin; Pospíšil, Jiří; Jirka, Vladimír.

2014-10-01

An experimental approach to the land drainage system detection and its physical and spatial parameters evaluation by the form of pilot project is presented in this paper. The novelty of the approach is partly based on using of unique unmanned aerial vehicle - airship with some specific properties. The most important parameters are carrying capacity (15 kg) and long flight time (3 hours). A special instrumentation was installed for physical characteristic testing in the locality too. The most important is 30 meter high mast with 3 meter length bracket at the top with sensors recording absolute and comparative temperature, humidity and wind speed and direction in several heights of the mast. There were also installed several measuring units recording local condition in the area. Recorded data were compared with IR images taken from airship platform. The locality is situated around village Domanín in the Czech Republic and has size about 1.8 x 1.5 km. There was build a land drainage system during the 70-ties of the last century which is made from burnt ceramic blocks placed about 70 cm below surface. The project documentation of the land drainage system exists but real state surveying haveńt been never realized. The aim of the project was land surveying of land drainage system based on infrared, visual and its combination high resolution orthophotos (10 cm for VIS and 30 cm for IR) and spatial and physical parameters evaluation of the presented procedure. The orthophoto in VIS and IR spectrum and its combination seems to be suitable for the task.

Optimal sensor configuration for complex systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sadegh, Payman; Spall, J. C.

1998-01-01

configuration is based on maximizing the overall sensor response while minimizing the correlation among the sensor outputs. The procedure for sensor configuration is based on simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA). SPSA avoids the need for detailed modeling of the sensor response by simply......Considers the problem of sensor configuration for complex systems. Our approach involves definition of an appropriate optimality criterion or performance measure, and description of an efficient and practical algorithm for achieving the optimality objective. The criterion for optimal sensor...... relying on observed responses as obtained by limited experimentation with test sensor configurations. We illustrate the approach with the optimal placement of acoustic sensors for signal detection in structures. This includes both a computer simulation study for an aluminum plate, and real...

Sensor Webs as Virtual Data Systems for Earth Science

Science.gov (United States)

Moe, K. L.; Sherwood, R.

2008-05-01

The NASA Earth Science Technology Office established a 3-year Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) development program in late 2006 to explore the technical challenges associated with integrating sensors, sensor networks, data assimilation and modeling components into virtual data systems called "sensor webs". The AIST sensor web program was initiated in response to a renewed emphasis on the sensor web concepts. In 2004, NASA proposed an Earth science vision for a more robust Earth observing system, coupled with remote sensing data analysis tools and advances in Earth system models. The AIST program is conducting the research and developing components to explore the technology infrastructure that will enable the visionary goals. A working statement for a NASA Earth science sensor web vision is the following: On-demand sensing of a broad array of environmental and ecological phenomena across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, from a heterogeneous suite of sensors both in-situ and in orbit. Sensor webs will be dynamically organized to collect data, extract information from it, accept input from other sensor / forecast / tasking systems, interact with the environment based on what they detect or are tasked to perform, and communicate observations and results in real time. The focus on sensor webs is to develop the technology and prototypes to demonstrate the evolving sensor web capabilities. There are 35 AIST projects ranging from 1 to 3 years in duration addressing various aspects of sensor webs involving space sensors such as Earth Observing-1, in situ sensor networks such as the southern California earthquake network, and various modeling and forecasting systems. Some of these projects build on proof-of-concept demonstrations of sensor web capabilities like the EO-1 rapid fire response initially implemented in 2003. Other projects simulate future sensor web configurations to evaluate the effectiveness of sensor-model interactions for producing

Sensor system for fuel transport vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Earl, Dennis Duncan; McIntyre, Timothy J.; West, David L.

2016-03-22

An exemplary sensor system for a fuel transport vehicle can comprise a fuel marker sensor positioned between a fuel storage chamber of the vehicle and an access valve for the fuel storage chamber of the vehicle. The fuel marker sensor can be configured to measure one or more characteristics of one or more fuel markers present in the fuel adjacent the sensor, such as when the marked fuel is unloaded at a retail station. The one or more characteristics can comprise concentration and/or identity of the one or more fuel markers in the fuel. Based on the measured characteristics of the one or more fuel markers, the sensor system can identify the fuel and/or can determine whether the fuel has been adulterated after the marked fuel was last measured, such as when the marked fuel was loaded into the vehicle.

Solid-State Gas Sensors: Sensor System Challenges in the Civil Security Domain.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Gerhard; Hackner, Angelika; Beer, Sebastian; Göbel, Johann

2016-01-20

The detection of military high explosives and illicit drugs presents problems of paramount importance in the fields of counter terrorism and criminal investigation. Effectively dealing with such threats requires hand-portable, mobile and affordable instruments. The paper shows that solid-state gas sensors can contribute to the development of such instruments provided the sensors are incorporated into integrated sensor systems, which acquire the target substances in the form of particle residue from suspect objects and which process the collected residue through a sequence of particle sampling, solid-vapor conversion, vapor detection and signal treatment steps. Considering sensor systems with metal oxide gas sensors at the backend, it is demonstrated that significant gains in sensitivity, selectivity and speed of response can be attained when the threat substances are sampled in particle as opposed to vapor form.

Performance Evaluation of an Indoor Positioning Scheme Using Infrared Motion Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changqiang Jing

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Internet of Things (IoT for Smart Environments (SE is a new scenario that collects useful information and provides convenient services to humans via sensing and wireless communications. Infra-Red (IR motion sensors have recently been widely used for indoor lighting because they allow the system to detect whether a human is inside or outside the sensors’ range. In this paper, the performance of a position estimation scheme based on IR motion sensor is evaluated in an indoor SE. The experimental results show that we can track the dynamic position of a pedestrian in straight moving model as well as two dimensional models. Experimental results also show that higher performance in accuracy and dynamic tracking in real indoor environment can be achieved without other devices.

Integrated active sensor system for real time vibration monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Qijie; Yan, Xiaoqin; Liao, Xinqin; Cao, Shiyao; Lu, Shengnan; Zheng, Xin; Zhang, Yue

2015-11-05

We report a self-powered, lightweight and cost-effective active sensor system for vibration monitoring with multiplexed operation based on contact electrification between sensor and detected objects. The as-fabricated sensor matrix is capable of monitoring and mapping the vibration state of large amounts of units. The monitoring contents include: on-off state, vibration frequency and vibration amplitude of each unit. The active sensor system delivers a detection range of 0-60 Hz, high accuracy (relative error below 0.42%), long-term stability (10000 cycles). On the time dimension, the sensor can provide the vibration process memory by recording the outputs of the sensor system in an extend period of time. Besides, the developed sensor system can realize detection under contact mode and non-contact mode. Its high performance is not sensitive to the shape or the conductivity of the detected object. With these features, the active sensor system has great potential in automatic control, remote operation, surveillance and security systems.

Fusion of Images from Dissimilar Sensor Systems

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Chow, Khin

2004-01-01

Different sensors exploit different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum; therefore a multi-sensor image fusion system can take full advantage of the complementary capabilities of individual sensors in the suit...

Development of wireless sensor network for landslide monitoring system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suryadi; Puranto, Prabowo; Adinanta, Hendra; Tohari, Adrin; Priambodo, Purnomo S

2017-01-01

A wireless sensor network has been developed to monitor soil movement of some observed areas periodically. The system consists of four nodes and one gateway which installed on a scope area of 0.2 Km 2 . Each of nodehastwo types of sensor,an inclinometer and an extensometer. An inclinometer sensor is used to measure the tilt of a structure while anextensometer sensor is used to measure the displacement of soil movement. Each of nodeisalso supported by awireless communication device, a solar power supply unit, and a microcontroller unit called sensor module. In this system, there is also gateway module as a main communication system consistinga wireless communication device, power supply unit, and rain gauge to measure the rainfall intensity of the observed area. Each sensor of inclinometer and extensometer isconnected to the sensor module in wiring system but sensor module iscommunicating with gateway in a wireless system. Those four nodes are alsoconnectedeach other in a wireless system collecting the data from inclinometer and extensometer sensors. Module Gateway istransmitting the instruction code to each sensor module one by one and collecting the data from them. Gateway module is an important part to communicate with not only sensor modules but also to the server. This wireless system wasdesigned toreducethe electric consumption powered by 80 WP solar panel and 55Ah battery. This system has been implemented in Pangalengan, Bandung, which has high intensity of rainfall and it can be seen on the website. (paper)

Automatic Water Sensor Window Opening System

KAUST Repository

Percher, Michael

2013-01-01

A system can automatically open at least one window of a vehicle when the vehicle is being submerged in water. The system can include a water collector and a water sensor, and when the water sensor detects water in the water collector, at least one window of the vehicle opens.

Automatic Water Sensor Window Opening System

KAUST Repository

Percher, Michael

2013-12-05

A system can automatically open at least one window of a vehicle when the vehicle is being submerged in water. The system can include a water collector and a water sensor, and when the water sensor detects water in the water collector, at least one window of the vehicle opens.

Enhanced spectroscopic gas sensors using in-situ grown carbon nanotubes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Luca, A.; Cole, M. T.; Milne, W. I. [Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FA (United Kingdom); Hopper, R. H.; Boual, S.; Ali, S. Z. [Cambridge CMOS Sensors Ltd., Deanland House, 160 Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0DL (United Kingdom); Warner, J. H.; Robertson, A. R. [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); Udrea, F. [Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FA (United Kingdom); Cambridge CMOS Sensors Ltd., Deanland House, 160 Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0DL (United Kingdom); Gardner, J. W. [School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom)

2015-05-11

In this letter, we present a fully complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible microelectromechanical system thermopile infrared (IR) detector employing vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) as an advanced nano-engineered radiation absorbing material. The detector was fabricated using a commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process with tungsten metallization, comprising a silicon thermopile and a tungsten resistive micro-heater, both embedded within a dielectric membrane formed by a deep-reactive ion etch following CMOS processing. In-situ CNT growth on the device was achieved by direct thermal chemical vapour deposition using the integrated micro-heater as a micro-reactor. The growth of the CNT absorption layer was verified through scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The functional effects of the nanostructured ad-layer were assessed by comparing CNT-coated thermopiles to uncoated thermopiles. Fourier transform IR spectroscopy showed that the radiation absorbing properties of the CNT adlayer significantly enhanced the absorptivity, compared with the uncoated thermopile, across the IR spectrum (3 μm–15.5 μm). This led to a four-fold amplification of the detected infrared signal (4.26 μm) in a CO{sub 2} non-dispersive-IR gas sensor system. The presence of the CNT layer was shown not to degrade the robustness of the uncoated devices, whilst the 50% modulation depth of the detector was only marginally reduced by 1.5 Hz. Moreover, we find that the 50% normalized absorption angular profile is subsequently more collimated by 8°. Our results demonstrate the viability of a CNT-based SOI CMOS IR sensor for low cost air quality monitoring.

Electronic structure, local magnetism, and spin-orbit effects of Ir(IV)-, Ir(V)-, and Ir(VI)-based compounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laguna-Marco, M. A.; Kayser, P.; Alonso, J. A.; Martínez-Lope, M. J.; van Veenendaal, M.; Choi, Y.; Haskel, D.

2015-06-01

Element- and orbital-selective x-ray absorption and magnetic circular dichroism measurements are carried out to probe the electronic structure and magnetism of Ir 5d electronic states in double perovskite Sr2MIrO6 (M = Mg, Ca, Sc, Ti, Ni, Fe, Zn, In) and La2NiIrO6 compounds. All the studied systems present a significant influence of spin-orbit interactions in the electronic ground state. In addition, we find that the Ir 5d local magnetic moment shows different character depending on the oxidation state despite the net magnetization being similar for all the compounds. Ir carries an orbital contribution comparable to the spin contribution for Ir4+ (5d(5)) and Ir5+ (5d(4)) oxides, whereas the orbital contribution is quenched for Ir6+ (5d(3)) samples. Incorporation of a magnetic 3d atom allows getting insight into the magnetic coupling between 5d and 3d transition metals. Together with previous susceptibility and neutron diffractionmeasurements, the results indicate that Ir carries a significant local magnetic moment even in samples without a 3d metal. The size of the (small) net magnetization of these compounds is a result of predominant antiferromagnetic interactions between local moments coupled with structural details of each perovskite structure

Battery management system with distributed wireless sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Farmer, Joseph C.; Bandhauer, Todd M.

2016-02-23

A system for monitoring parameters of an energy storage system having a multiplicity of individual energy storage cells. A radio frequency identification and sensor unit is connected to each of the individual energy storage cells. The radio frequency identification and sensor unit operates to sense the parameter of each individual energy storage cell and provides radio frequency transmission of the parameters of each individual energy storage cell. A management system monitors the radio frequency transmissions from the radio frequency identification and sensor units for monitoring the parameters of the energy storage system.

Optimal sensor configuration for complex systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sadegh, Payman; Spall, J. C.

1998-01-01

. The procedure for sensor configuration is based on the simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA) algorithm. SPSA avoids the need for detailed modeling of the sensor response by simply relying on the observed responses obtained by limited experimentation with test sensor configurations. We......The paper considers the problem of sensor configuration for complex systems with the aim of maximizing the useful information about certain quantities of interest. Our approach involves: 1) definition of an appropriate optimality criterion or performance measure; and 2) description of an efficient...... and practical algorithm for achieving the optimality objective. The criterion for optimal sensor configuration is based on maximizing the overall sensor response while minimizing the correlation among the sensor outputs, so as to minimize the redundant information being provided by the multiple sensors...

Design, Development and Implementation of the IR Signalling Techniques for Monitoring Ambient and Body Temperature in WBANs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Attiya Baqai

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Healthcare systems such as hospitals, homecare, telemedicine, and physical rehabilitation are expected to be revolutionized by WBAN (Wireless Body Area Networks. This research work aims to investigate, design, optimize, and demonstrate the applications of IR (Infra-Red communication systems in WBAN. It is aimed to establish a prototype WBAN system capable of measuring Ambient and Body Temperature using LM35 as temperature sensor and transmitting and receiving the data using optical signals. The corresponding technical challenges that have to be faced are also discussed in this paper. Investigations are carried out to efficiently design the hardware using low-cost and low power optical transceivers. The experimental results reveal the successful transmission and reception of Ambient and Body Temperatures over short ranges i.e. up to 3-4 meters. A simple IR transceiver with an LED (Light Emitting Diodes, TV remote control IC and Arduino microcontroller is designed to perform the transmission with sufficient accuracy and ease. Experiments are also performed to avoid interference from other sources like AC and TV remote control signals by implementing IR tags

Sensor performance as a function of sampling (d) and optical blur (Fλ)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bijl, P.; Hogervorst, M.A.

2009-01-01

Detector sampling and optical blur are two major factors affecting Target Acquisition (TA) performance with modern EO and IR systems. In order to quantify their relative significance, we simulated five realistic LWIR and MWIR sensors from very under-sampled (detector pitch d >> diffraction blur Fλ)

Vibration welding system with thin film sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Wayne W; Abell, Jeffrey A; Li, Xiaochun; Choi, Hongseok; Zhao, Jingzhou

2014-03-18

A vibration welding system includes an anvil, a welding horn, a thin film sensor, and a process controller. The anvil and horn include working surfaces that contact a work piece during the welding process. The sensor measures a control value at the working surface. The measured control value is transmitted to the controller, which controls the system in part using the measured control value. The thin film sensor may include a plurality of thermopiles and thermocouples which collectively measure temperature and heat flux at the working surface. A method includes providing a welder device with a slot adjacent to a working surface of the welder device, inserting the thin film sensor into the slot, and using the sensor to measure a control value at the working surface. A process controller then controls the vibration welding system in part using the measured control value.

Solid-State Gas Sensors: Sensor System Challenges in the Civil Security Domain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerhard Müller

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The detection of military high explosives and illicit drugs presents problems of paramount importance in the fields of counter terrorism and criminal investigation. Effectively dealing with such threats requires hand-portable, mobile and affordable instruments. The paper shows that solid-state gas sensors can contribute to the development of such instruments provided the sensors are incorporated into integrated sensor systems, which acquire the target substances in the form of particle residue from suspect objects and which process the collected residue through a sequence of particle sampling, solid-vapor conversion, vapor detection and signal treatment steps. Considering sensor systems with metal oxide gas sensors at the backend, it is demonstrated that significant gains in sensitivity, selectivity and speed of response can be attained when the threat substances are sampled in particle as opposed to vapor form.

Active Sensor Configuration Validation for Refrigeration Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hovgaard, Tobias Gybel; Blanke, Mogens; Niemann, Hans Henrik

2010-01-01

-diagnosis methods falling short on this problem, this paper suggests an active diagnosis procedure to isolate sensor faults at the commissioning stage, before normal operation has started. Using statistical methods, residuals are evaluated versus multiple hypothesis models in a minimization process to uniquely......Major faults in the commissioning phase of refrigeration systems are caused by defects related to sensors. With a number of similar sensors available that do not differ by type but only by spatial location in the plant, interchange of sensors is a common defect. With sensors being used quite...... differently by the control system, fault-finding is difficult in practice and defects are regularly causing commissioning delays at considerable expense. Validation and handling of faults in the sensor configuration are therefore essential to cut costs during commissioning. With passive fault...

Contributions to the Data Warehouse 2 and Prospects of the IRS Program

Science.gov (United States)

Barner, Frithjof; Venkataraman, V. Raghu; Makiola, Jens

2016-08-01

During 2015 and 2016, the IRS program has significantly contributed to the CSC-DA Data Warehouse. From its suite of optical EO satellites which operate in the visible, near IR and shortwave IR domain, data from the HR LISS-III and MR AWiFS sensors on board of Resourcesat-2 have been provided. Resourcesat-2 so far acquired cloud-free images of a vast majority of the first and second coverage of HR_IMAGE_2015 and several monthly MR coverages for MR_IMAGE_2015 over the EEA-39. The results regarding the above mentioned data sets will be discussed including an appraisal of the possible future role of upcoming IRS EO satellites for European data requirements.

A neuro-fuzzy inference system for sensor monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Na, Man Gyun

2001-01-01

A neuro-fuzzy inference system combined with the wavelet denoising, PCA (principal component analysis) and SPRT (sequential probability ratio test) methods has been developed to monitor the relevant sensor using the information of other sensors. The paramters of the neuro-fuzzy inference system which estimates the relevant sensor signal are optimized by a genetic algorithm and a least-squares algorithm. The wavelet denoising technique was applied to remove noise components in input signals into the neuro-fuzzy system. By reducing the dimension of an input space into the neuro-fuzzy system without losing a significant amount of information, the PCA was used to reduce the time necessary to train the neuro-fuzzy system, simplify the structure of the neuro-fuzzy inference system and also, make easy the selection of the input signals into the neuro-fuzzy system. By using the residual signals between the estimated signals and the measured signals, the SPRT is applied to detect whether the sensors are degraded or not. The proposed sensor-monitoring algorithm was verified through applications to the pressurizer water level, the pressurizer pressure, and the hot-leg temperature sensors in pressurized water reactors

Bioinspired Infrared Sensing Materials and Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Qingchen; Luo, Zhen; Ma, Shuai; Tao, Peng; Song, Chengyi; Wu, Jianbo; Shang, Wen; Deng, Tao

2018-05-11

Bioinspired engineering offers a promising alternative approach in accelerating the development of many man-made systems. Next-generation infrared (IR) sensing systems can also benefit from such nature-inspired approach. The inherent compact and uncooled operation of biological IR sensing systems provides ample inspiration for the engineering of portable and high-performance artificial IR sensing systems. This review overviews the current understanding of the biological IR sensing systems, most of which are thermal-based IR sensors that rely on either bolometer-like or photomechanic sensing mechanism. The existing efforts inspired by the biological IR sensing systems and possible future bioinspired approaches in the development of new IR sensing systems are also discussed in the review. Besides these biological IR sensing systems, other biological systems that do not have IR sensing capabilities but can help advance the development of engineered IR sensing systems are also discussed, and the related engineering efforts are overviewed as well. Further efforts in understanding the biological IR sensing systems, the learning from the integration of multifunction in biological systems, and the reduction of barriers to maximize the multidiscipline collaborations are needed to move this research field forward. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Optical seismic sensor systems and methods

Science.gov (United States)

Beal, A. Craig; Cummings, Malcolm E.; Zavriyev, Anton; Christensen, Caleb A.; Lee, Keun

2015-12-08

Disclosed is an optical seismic sensor system for measuring seismic events in a geological formation, including a surface unit for generating and processing an optical signal, and a sensor device optically connected to the surface unit for receiving the optical signal over an optical conduit. The sensor device includes at least one sensor head for sensing a seismic disturbance from at least one direction during a deployment of the sensor device within a borehole of the geological formation. The sensor head includes a frame and a reference mass attached to the frame via at least one flexure, such that movement of the reference mass relative to the frame is constrained to a single predetermined path.

Sensor Arrays and Electronic Tongue Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manel del Valle

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes recent work performed with electronic tongue systems utilizing electrochemical sensors. The electronic tongues concept is a new trend in sensors that uses arrays of sensors together with chemometric tools to unravel the complex information generated. Initial contributions and also the most used variant employ conventional ion selective electrodes, in which it is named potentiometric electronic tongue. The second important variant is the one that employs voltammetry for its operation. As chemometric processing tool, the use of artificial neural networks as the preferred data processing variant will be described. The use of the sensor arrays inserted in flow injection or sequential injection systems will exemplify attempts made to automate the operation of electronic tongues. Significant use of biosensors, mainly enzyme-based, to form what is already named bioelectronic tongue will be also presented. Application examples will be illustrated with selected study cases from the Sensors and Biosensors Group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Effect of spin structure transition in IrMn on the CoPd/IrMn perpendicular exchange biased system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Janjua, Muhammad Bilal; Guentherodt, Gernot [II. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen (Germany)

2011-07-01

The exchange bias (EB) phenomenon is studied in MBE grown Pd(10 nm)/CoPd(x=8,16,30 nm)/IrMn(15 nm)/Pd(4 nm) samples, which exhibit a perpendicular anisotropy of Co22Pd78. These samples are field cooled along the out-of-plane direction and hysteresis loops are measured along both the out-of-plane and in-plane directions. It is observed that there is a transition temperature where the out-of-plane EB becomes greater than the in-plane EB. This behavior of EB is an evidence of the change in the spin structure of the given system, which is also revealed by the magnetization versus temperature measurements of the exchange biased and of the sole IrMn samples. It is found that with increasing temperature there is a spin structure transition in Ir25Mn75 (15nm) related to the 2Q to 3Q transition in the bulk, which is responsible for the increase in out-of-plane EB. A vertical shift in the hysteresis loop is also observed in these exchange biased samples at low temperatures (T<50 K).

Photo-redox activated drug delivery systems operating under two photon excitation in the near-IR.

Science.gov (United States)

Guardado-Alvarez, Tania M; Devi, Lekshmi Sudha; Vabre, Jean-Marie; Pecorelli, Travis A; Schwartz, Benjamin J; Durand, Jean-Olivier; Mongin, Olivier; Blanchard-Desce, Mireille; Zink, Jeffrey I

2014-05-07

We report the design and synthesis of a nano-container consisting of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with the pore openings covered by "snap-top" caps that are opened by near-IR light. A photo transducer molecule that is a reducing agent in an excited electronic state is covalently attached to the system. Near IR two-photon excitation causes inter-molecular electron transfer that reduces a disulfide bond holding the cap in place, thus allowing the cargo molecules to escape. We describe the operation of the "snap-top" release mechanism by both one- and two-photon activation. This system presents a proof of concept of a near-IR photoredox-induced nanoparticle delivery system that may lead to a new type of photodynamic drug release therapy.

Smart sensor systems for human health breath monitoring applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, G W; Xu, J C; Biaggi-Labiosa, A M; Laskowski, D; Dutta, P K; Mondal, S P; Ward, B J; Makel, D B; Liu, C C; Chang, C W; Dweik, R A

2011-09-01

Breath analysis techniques offer a potential revolution in health care diagnostics, especially if these techniques can be brought into standard use in the clinic and at home. The advent of microsensors combined with smart sensor system technology enables a new generation of sensor systems with significantly enhanced capabilities and minimal size, weight and power consumption. This paper discusses the microsensor/smart sensor system approach and provides a summary of efforts to migrate this technology into human health breath monitoring applications. First, the basic capability of this approach to measure exhaled breath associated with exercise physiology is demonstrated. Building from this foundation, the development of a system for a portable asthma home health care system is described. A solid-state nitric oxide (NO) sensor for asthma monitoring has been identified, and efforts are underway to miniaturize this NO sensor technology and integrate it into a smart sensor system. It is concluded that base platform microsensor technology combined with smart sensor systems can address the needs of a range of breath monitoring applications and enable new capabilities for healthcare.

Optimal Sensor Selection for Health Monitoring Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Santi, L. Michael; Sowers, T. Shane; Aguilar, Robert B.

2005-01-01

Sensor data are the basis for performance and health assessment of most complex systems. Careful selection and implementation of sensors is critical to enable high fidelity system health assessment. A model-based procedure that systematically selects an optimal sensor suite for overall health assessment of a designated host system is described. This procedure, termed the Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy (S4), was developed at NASA John H. Glenn Research Center in order to enhance design phase planning and preparations for in-space propulsion health management systems (HMS). Information and capabilities required to utilize the S4 approach in support of design phase development of robust health diagnostics are outlined. A merit metric that quantifies diagnostic performance and overall risk reduction potential of individual sensor suites is introduced. The conceptual foundation for this merit metric is presented and the algorithmic organization of the S4 optimization process is described. Representative results from S4 analyses of a boost stage rocket engine previously under development as part of NASA's Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT) program are presented.

Alcohol Control: Mobile Sensor System and Numerical Signal Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rolf SEIFERT

2016-10-01

Full Text Available An innovative mobile sensor system for alcohol control in the respiratory air is introduced. The gas sensor included in the sensor system is thermo-cyclically operated. Ethanol is the leading component in this context. However, other components occur in the breathing air which can influence the concentration determination of ethanol. Therefore, mono- ethanol samples and binary gas mixtures are measured by the sensor system and analyzed with a new calibration and evaluation procedure which is also incorporated in the system. The applications demonstrate a good substance identification capability of the sensor system and a very good concentration determination of the components.

Vertebrate gravity sensors as dynamic systems

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, M. D.

1985-01-01

This paper considers verterbrate gravity receptors as dynamic sensors. That is, it is hypothesized that gravity is a constant force to which an acceleration-sensing system would readily adapt. Premises are considered in light of the presence of kinocilia on hair cells of vertebrate gravity sensors; differences in loading of the sensors among species; and of possible reduction in loading by inclusion of much organic material in otoconia. Moreover, organic-inorganic interfaces may confer a piezoelectric property upon otoconia, which increase the sensitivity of the sensory system to small accelerations. Comparisons with man-made accelerometers are briefly taken up.

Sensor Selection method for IoT systems – focusing on embedded system requirements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hirayama Masayuki

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, various types of sensors have been developed. Using these sensors, IoT systems have become hot topics in embedded system domain. However, sensor selections for embedded systems are not well discussed up to now. This paper focuses on embedded system’s features and architecture, and proposes a sensor selection method which is composed seven steps. In addition, we applied the proposed method to a simple example – a sensor selection for computer scored answer sheet reader unit. From this case study, an idea to use FTA in sensor selection is also discussed.

Joint IAEA/NEA IRS guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

The Incident Reporting System (IRS) is an international system jointly operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD/NEA). The fundamental objective of the IRS is to contribute to improving the safety of commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs) which are operated worldwide. This objective can be achieved by providing timely and detailed information on both technical and human factors related to events of safety significance which occur at these plants. The purpose of these guidelines, which supersede the previous IAEA Safety Series No. 93 (Part II) and the NEA IRS guidelines, is to describe the system and to give users the necessary background and guidance to enable them to produce IRS reports meeting a high standard of quality while retaining the high efficiency of the system expected by all Member States operating nuclear power plants

Contribution To The Data Warehouse And Prospects Of The IRS Program

Science.gov (United States)

Barner, Frithjof; Haydn, Rupert; Parmar, Manish; Makiola, Jens

2013-12-01

Over the past two years, the IRS program has again significantly contributed to the GSC-DA Data Warehouse. From its suite of optical EO satellites which operate in the visible, near IR and shortwave IR domain, multispectral data from the HR LISS-III and MR AWiFS sensors have been provided. Both cameras are implemented on board of Resourcesat-1 and Resourcesat-2 respectively. Despite reduced capacities, the Resourcesat constellation of satellites so far acquired cloud-free images of a vast majority of the first HR coverage of CORE_001 and several monthly MR coverages for CORE_008 over the EEA-39. The results regarding the above mentioned data sets will be discussed including an appraisal of the possible future role of upcoming IRS EO satellites for European data requirements.

Next generation sensors and systems

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

Written by experts in their area of research, this book has outlined the current status of the fundamentals and analytical concepts, modelling and design issues, technical details and practical applications of different types of sensors and discussed about the trends of next generation of sensors and systems happening in the area of Sensing technology. This book will be useful as a reference book for engineers and scientist especially the post-graduate students find will this book as reference book for their research on wearable sensors, devices and technologies.  .

Energy-beam processing studies on Ta/U and Ir/Ta systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, E.N.; Peercy, P.S.; Jacobson, D.C.; Draper, C.W.; Huegel, F.J.; Echer, C.J.; Makowiecki, D.M.; Balser, J.D.

1983-01-01

Films of Ta metal on uranium and of Ir metal on tantalum have been irradiated and melted by pulses from Q-switched Ruby and frequency-doubled Nd:YAG lasers to investigate the nature of the resulting mixtures in light of the very different binary-phase diagrams of the two systems. In addition, a two-phase Ir-Ta alloy has been surface-processed with CW CO 2 -laser radiation and with an electron beam in order to study microstructure refinement and test the advantage of using alloys as opposed to film-on-substrate combinations for the development of claddings

Smart Sensor Network System For Environment Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javed Ali Baloch

2012-07-01

Full Text Available SSN (Smart Sensor Network systems could be used to monitor buildings with modern infrastructure, plant sites with chemical pollution, horticulture, natural habitat, wastewater management and modern transport system. To sense attributes of phenomena and make decisions on the basis of the sensed value is the primary goal of such systems. In this paper a Smart Spatially aware sensor system is presented. A smart system, which could continuously monitor the network to observe the functionality and trigger, alerts to the base station if a change in the system occurs and provide feedback periodically, on demand or even continuously depending on the nature of the application. The results of the simulation trials presented in this paper exhibit the performance of a Smart Spatially Aware Sensor Networks.

Ultra-Sensitive Transition-Edge Sensors (TESs) for Far-IR/Submm Space-Borne Spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Kenyon, M.; Day, P. K.; Bradford, C. M.; Bock, J .J.; Leduc, H. G.

2011-01-01

We have built surface micromachined thin-film metallized Si(x)N(y) optical absorbers for transition-edge sensors (TESs) suitable for the Background - Limited far-IR/Submm Spectrograph (BLISS). BLISS is a broadband (38 micrometers - 433 micrometers), grating spectrometer consisting of five wavebands each with a modest resolution of R (is) approx. 1000. Because BLISS requires the effective noise equivalent power (NEP) of the TES to be below 10 (exp 19) W/Hz(exp 1/2), our TESs consist of four long (1000 micrometers), narrow (0.4 micrometers ), and thin (0.25 micrometers ) Si(x) N(y) support beams that reduce the thermal conductance G between the substrate and the optical absorber. To reduce the heat capacity of the absorber and make the response time tau fast enough for BLISS, our absorbers are patterned into a mesh geometry with a fill factor of less than 10%. We use a bilayer of Ti/Au to make the effective impedance of the absorber match the impedance of the incoming radiation for each band. Measurements of the response time of the metallized absorbers to heat pulses show that their heat capacity exceeds the predictions of the Debye model. Our results are suggestive that the surface of the low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) Si(x)N(y) used in the absorbers' construction is the source of microstates that dominate the heat capacity.

Optimization of wireless Bluetooth sensor systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Lonnblad, J; Castano, J; Ekstrom, M; Linden, M; Backlund, Y

2004-01-01

Within this study, three different Bluetooth sensor systems, replacing cables for transmission of biomedical sensor data, have been designed and evaluated. The three sensor architectures are built on 1-, 2- and 3-chip solutions and depending on the monitoring situation and signal character, different solutions are optimal. Essential parameters for all systems have been low physical weight and small size, resistance to interference and interoperability with other technologies as global- or local networks, PC's and mobile phones. Two different biomedical input signals, ECG and PPG (photoplethysmography), have been used to evaluate the three solutions. The study shows that it is possibly to continuously transmit an analogue signal. At low sampling rates and slowly varying parameters, as monitoring the heart rate with PPG, the 1-chip solution is the most suitable, offering low power consumption and thus a longer battery lifetime or a smaller battery, minimizing the weight of the sensor system. On the other hand, when a higher sampling rate is required, as an ECG, the 3-chip architecture, with a FPGA or micro-controller, offers the best solution and performance. Our conclusion is that Bluetooth might be useful in replacing cables of medical monitoring systems.

Ultrasonic sensors in urban traffic driving-aid systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso, Luciano; Milanés, Vicente; Torre-Ferrero, Carlos; Godoy, Jorge; Oria, Juan P; de Pedro, Teresa

2011-01-01

Currently, vehicles are often equipped with active safety systems to reduce the risk of accidents, most of which occur in urban environments. The most prominent include Antilock Braking Systems (ABS), Traction Control and Stability Control. All these systems use different kinds of sensors to constantly monitor the conditions of the vehicle, and act in an emergency. In this paper the use of ultrasonic sensors in active safety systems for urban traffic is proposed, and the advantages and disadvantages when compared to other sensors are discussed. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) for urban traffic based on ultrasounds is presented as an application example. The proposed system has been implemented in a fully-automated prototype vehicle and has been tested under real traffic conditions. The results confirm the good performance of ultrasonic sensors in these systems.

MicroSensors Systems: detection of a dismounted threat

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Bill; Berglund, Victor; Falkofske, Dwight; Krantz, Brian

2005-05-01

The Micro Sensor System (MSS) is a layered sensor network with the goal of detecting dismounted threats approaching high value assets. A low power unattended ground sensor network is dependant on a network protocol for efficiency in order to minimize data transmissions after network establishment. The reduction of network 'chattiness' is a primary driver for minimizing power consumption and is a factor in establishing a low probability of detection and interception. The MSS has developed a unique protocol to meet these challenges. Unattended ground sensor systems are most likely dependant on batteries for power which due to size determines the ability of the sensor to be concealed after placement. To minimize power requirements, overcome size limitations, and maintain a low system cost the MSS utilizes advanced manufacturing processes know as Fluidic Self-Assembly and Chip Scale Packaging. The type of sensing element and the ability to sense various phenomenologies (particularly magnetic) at ranges greater than a few meters limits the effectiveness of a system. The MicroSensor System will overcome these limitations by deploying large numbers of low cost sensors, which is made possible by the advanced manufacturing process used in production of the sensors. The MSS program will provide unprecedented levels of real-time battlefield information which greatly enhances combat situational awareness when integrated with the existing Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) infrastructure. This system will provide an important boost to realizing the information dominant, network-centric objective of Joint Vision 2020.

A Tactile Sensor Network System Using a Multiple Sensor Platform with a Dedicated CMOS-LSI for Robot Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Chenzhong; Tanaka, Shuji; Nakayama, Takahiro; Hata, Yoshiyuki; Bartley, Travis; Nonomura, Yutaka; Muroyama, Masanori

2017-08-28

Robot tactile sensation can enhance human-robot communication in terms of safety, reliability and accuracy. The final goal of our project is to widely cover a robot body with a large number of tactile sensors, which has significant advantages such as accurate object recognition, high sensitivity and high redundancy. In this study, we developed a multi-sensor system with dedicated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) Large-Scale Integration (LSI) circuit chips (referred to as "sensor platform LSI") as a framework of a serial bus-based tactile sensor network system. The sensor platform LSI supports three types of sensors: an on-chip temperature sensor, off-chip capacitive and resistive tactile sensors, and communicates with a relay node via a bus line. The multi-sensor system was first constructed on a printed circuit board to evaluate basic functions of the sensor platform LSI, such as capacitance-to-digital and resistance-to-digital conversion. Then, two kinds of external sensors, nine sensors in total, were connected to two sensor platform LSIs, and temperature, capacitive and resistive sensing data were acquired simultaneously. Moreover, we fabricated flexible printed circuit cables to demonstrate the multi-sensor system with 15 sensor platform LSIs operating simultaneously, which showed a more realistic implementation in robots. In conclusion, the multi-sensor system with up to 15 sensor platform LSIs on a bus line supporting temperature, capacitive and resistive sensing was successfully demonstrated.

Intelligent Wireless Sensor Networks for System Health Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Alena, Rick

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) based on the IEEE 802.15.4 Personal Area Network (PAN) standard are finding increasing use in the home automation and emerging smart energy markets. The network and application layers, based on the ZigBee 2007 Standard, provide a convenient framework for component-based software that supports customer solutions from multiple vendors. WSNs provide the inherent fault tolerance required for aerospace applications. The Discovery and Systems Health Group at NASA Ames Research Center has been developing WSN technology for use aboard aircraft and spacecraft for System Health Monitoring of structures and life support systems using funding from the NASA Engineering and Safety Center and Exploration Technology Development and Demonstration Program. This technology provides key advantages for low-power, low-cost ancillary sensing systems particularly across pressure interfaces and in areas where it is difficult to run wires. Intelligence for sensor networks could be defined as the capability of forming dynamic sensor networks, allowing high-level application software to identify and address any sensor that joined the network without the use of any centralized database defining the sensors characteristics. The IEEE 1451 Standard defines methods for the management of intelligent sensor systems and the IEEE 1451.4 section defines Transducer Electronic Datasheets (TEDS), which contain key information regarding the sensor characteristics such as name, description, serial number, calibration information and user information such as location within a vehicle. By locating the TEDS information on the wireless sensor itself and enabling access to this information base from the application software, the application can identify the sensor unambiguously and interpret and present the sensor data stream without reference to any other information. The application software is able to read the status of each sensor module, responding in real-time to changes of

Small Surface Target Detection with EO/IR Sensors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jong, A.N. de; Kemp, R.A.W.

1998-01-01

The detection of small surface targets at sea is an increasing requirement for warships. The present sensors on board do not provide the required detection probabilities for these low observable targets like small rubber boats, floating mines, periscopes, people etc. The reason for the low

Semiautonomous Avionics-and-Sensors System for a UAV

Science.gov (United States)

Shams, Qamar

2006-01-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) autonomous or remotely controlled pilotless aircraft have been recently thrust into the spotlight for military applications, for homeland security, and as test beds for research. In addition to these functions, there are many space applications in which lightweight, inexpensive, small UAVS can be used e.g., to determine the chemical composition and other qualities of the atmospheres of remote planets. Moreover, on Earth, such UAVs can be used to obtain information about weather in various regions; in particular, they can be used to analyze wide-band acoustic signals to aid in determining the complex dynamics of movement of hurricanes. The Advanced Sensors and Electronics group at Langley Research Center has developed an inexpensive, small, integrated avionics-and-sensors system to be installed in a UAV that serves two purposes. The first purpose is to provide flight data to an AI (Artificial Intelligence) controller as part of an autonomous flight-control system. The second purpose is to store data from a subsystem of distributed MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) sensors. Examples of these MEMS sensors include humidity, temperature, and acoustic sensors, plus chemical sensors for detecting various vapors and other gases in the environment. The critical sensors used for flight control are a differential- pressure sensor that is part of an apparatus for determining airspeed, an absolute-pressure sensor for determining altitude, three orthogonal accelerometers for determining tilt and acceleration, and three orthogonal angular-rate detectors (gyroscopes). By using these eight sensors, it is possible to determine the orientation, height, speed, and rates of roll, pitch, and yaw of the UAV. This avionics-and-sensors system is shown in the figure. During the last few years, there has been rapid growth and advancement in the technological disciplines of MEMS, of onboard artificial-intelligence systems, and of smaller, faster, and

Ultra-sensitive bio-sensor based on GMR in self-suspended-membrane-type germanium grating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Jianyong; Zhang, Dawei

2012-01-01

In this paper, an ultra-sensitive bio-sensor based on the GMR effect in self-suspended-membrane-type gratings (SSGs) is proposed using multilayer plane waveguide theory. It is demonstrated from our calculations that the sensitivity of our bio-sensor is near the theoretical limit compared with a conventional GMR sensor. Based on the normalized eigenfunction of a single-layer homogeneous grating, the resonance curves with respect to different refractive indices of surrounding media are calculated, which confirm the estimated sensitivity. In addition, we design a highly sensitive bio-sensor in the near- and mid-IR wavelength region for liquid and gas detection respectively, the sensor can deliver a resolution over 1 × 10 −5 in the near-IR region in a large refractive index (1.3–1.7) range and provide better than 1 × 10 −6 in the mid-IR region, which is enough for various bio-material detections. Therefore, the bio-sensor we proposed is one or two orders more sensitive than conventional GMR sensors. (paper)

Alcohol control: Mobile sensor system and numerical signal analysis

OpenAIRE

Seifert, Rolf; Keller, Hubert B.; Conrad, Thorsten; Peter, Jens

2016-01-01

An innovative mobile sensor system for alcohol control in the respiratory air is introduced. The gas sensor included in the sensor system is thermo-cyclically operated. Ethanol is the leading component in this context. However, other components occur in the breathing air which can influence the concentration determination of ethanol. Therefore, mono- ethanol samples and binary gas mixtures are measured by the sensor system and analyzed with a new calibration and evaluation procedure which is ...

Wireless Sensor Network Metrics for Real-Time Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2009-05-20

Wireless Sensor Network Metrics for Real-Time Systems Phoebus Wei-Chih Chen Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences University of California at...3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2009 to 00-00-2009 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Wireless Sensor Network Metrics for Real-Time Systems 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b... wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is moving from studies of WSNs in isolation toward studies where the WSN is treated as a component of a larger system

Ultrasonic Sensors in Urban Traffic Driving-Aid Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teresa de Pedro

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Currently, vehicles are often equipped with active safety systems to reduce the risk of accidents, most of which occur in urban environments. The most prominent include Antilock Braking Systems (ABS, Traction Control and Stability Control. All these systems use different kinds of sensors to constantly monitor the conditions of the vehicle, and act in an emergency. In this paper the use of ultrasonic sensors in active safety systems for urban traffic is proposed, and the advantages and disadvantages when compared to other sensors are discussed. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC for urban traffic based on ultrasounds is presented as an application example. The proposed system has been implemented in a fully-automated prototype vehicle and has been tested under real traffic conditions. The results confirm the good performance of ultrasonic sensors in these systems.

Ultra-Low Power Sensor System for Disaster Event Detection in Metro Tunnel Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonah VINCKE

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In this extended paper, the concept for an ultra-low power wireless sensor network (WSN for underground tunnel systems is presented highlighting the chosen sensors. Its objectives are the detection of emergency events either from natural disasters, such as flooding or fire, or from terrorist attacks using explosives. Earlier works have demonstrated that the power consumption for the communication can be reduced such that the data acquisition (i.e. sensor sub-system becomes the most significant energy consumer. By using ultra-low power components for the smoke detector, a hydrostatic pressure sensor for water ingress detection and a passive acoustic emission sensor for explosion detection, all considered threats are covered while the energy consumption can be kept very low in relation to the data acquisition. In addition to 1 the sensor system is integrated into a sensor board. The total average power consumption for operating the sensor sub-system is measured to be 35.9 µW for lower and 7.8 µW for upper nodes.

Sensor-based material tagging system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vercellotti, L.C.; Cox, R.W.; Ravas, R.J.; Schlotterer, J.C.

1991-01-01

Electronic identification tags are being developed for tracking material and personnel. In applying electronic identification tags to radioactive materials safeguards, it is important to measure attributes of the material to ensure that the tag remains with the material. The addition of a microcontroller with an on-board analog-to-digital converter to an electronic identification tag application-specific integrated-circuit has been demonstrated as means to provide the tag with sensor data. Each tag is assembled into a housing, which serves as a scale for measuring the weight of a paint-can-sized container and its contents. Temperature rise of the can above ambient is also measured, and a piezoelectric detector detects disturbances and immediately puts the tag into its alarm and beacon mode. Radiation measurement was also considered, but the background from nearby containers was found to be excessive. The sensor-based tagging system allows tracking of the material in cans as it is stored in vaults or is moved through the manufacturing process. The paper presents details of the sensor-based material tagging system and describes a demonstration system

Circuits and Systems for Low-Power Miniaturized Wireless Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Nagaraju, Manohar

The field of electronic sensors has witnessed a tremendous growth over the last decade particularly with the proliferation of mobile devices. New applications in Internet of Things (IoT), wearable technology, are further expected to fuel the demand for sensors from current numbers in the range of billions to trillions in the next decade. The main challenges for a trillion sensors are continued miniaturization, low-cost and large-scale manufacturing process, and low power consumption. Traditional integration and circuit design techniques in sensor systems are not suitable for applications in smart dust, IoT etc. The first part of this thesis demonstrates an example sensor system for biosignal recording and illustrates the tradeoffs in the design of low-power miniaturized sensors. The different components of the sensor system are integrated at the board level. The second part of the thesis demonstrates fully integrated sensors that enable extreme miniaturization of a sensing system with the sensor element, processing circuitry, a frequency reference for communication and the communication circuitry in a single hermetically sealed die. Design techniques to reduce the power consumption of the sensor interface circuitry at the architecture and circuit level are demonstrated. The principles are used to design sensors for two of the most common physical variables, mass and pressure. A low-power wireless mass and pressure sensor suitable for a wide variety of biological/chemical sensing applications and Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) respectively are demonstrated. Further, the idea of using high-Q resonators for a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) is proposed and a low-noise, wide bandwidth FBAR-based VCO is presented.

Heimdall System for MSSS Sensor Tasking

Science.gov (United States)

Herz, A.; Jones, B.; Herz, E.; George, D.; Axelrad, P.; Gehly, S.

In Norse Mythology, Heimdall uses his foreknowledge and keen eyesight to keep watch for disaster from his home near the Rainbow Bridge. Orbit Logic and the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) at the University of Colorado (CU) have developed the Heimdall System to schedule observations of known and uncharacterized objects and search for new objects from the Maui Space Surveillance Site. Heimdall addresses the current need for automated and optimized SSA sensor tasking driven by factors associated with improved space object catalog maintenance. Orbit Logic and CU developed an initial baseline prototype SSA sensor tasking capability for select sensors at the Maui Space Surveillance Site (MSSS) using STK and STK Scheduler, and then added a new Track Prioritization Component for FiSST-inspired computations for predicted Information Gain and Probability of Detection, and a new SSA-specific Figure-of-Merit (FOM) for optimized SSA sensor tasking. While the baseline prototype addresses automation and some of the multi-sensor tasking optimization, the SSA-improved prototype addresses all of the key elements required for improved tasking leading to enhanced object catalog maintenance. The Heimdall proof-of-concept was demonstrated for MSSS SSA sensor tasking for a 24 hour period to attempt observations of all operational satellites in the unclassified NORAD catalog, observe a small set of high priority GEO targets every 30 minutes, make a sky survey of the GEO belt region accessible to MSSS sensors, and observe particular GEO regions that have a high probability of finding new objects with any excess sensor time. This Heimdall prototype software paves the way for further R&D that will integrate this technology into the MSSS systems for operational scheduling, improve the software's scalability, and further tune and enhance schedule optimization. The Heimdall software for SSA sensor tasking provides greatly improved performance over manual tasking, improved

SENSORS FAULT DIAGNOSIS ALGORITHM DESIGN OF A HYDRAULIC SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matej ORAVEC

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This article presents the sensors fault diagnosis system design for the hydraulic system, which is based on the group of the three fault estimation filters. These filters are used for estimation of the system states and sensors fault magnitude. Also, this article briefly stated the hydraulic system state control design with integrator, which is important assumption for the fault diagnosis system design. The sensors fault diagnosis system is implemented into the Matlab/Simulink environment and it is verified using the controlled hydraulic system simulation model. Verification of the designed fault diagnosis system is realized by series of experiments, which simulates sensors faults. The results of the experiments are briefly presented in the last part of this article.

CP monitoring by IR free potential probe through a remote control system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lazzari, L. [Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy); Bazzoni, B. [Cescor srl, Milan (Italy); Benedetto, S. [Italgas SpA, Turin (Italy)

2004-07-01

This paper presents the results of field tests on measurement of true potential of pipelines by means of a IR drop free potential probe and a remote control system. The probe used is composed of a steel coupon, simulating a coating defect, and a reference electrode of Mixed Metal Oxide (MMO) titanium activated type, both embedded in an alkaline mortar. Laboratory and field tests confirmed the probe to be reliable and enable to eliminate the IR drop contribution in all conditions and especially in presence of stray current. A remote control system was tested for a reliable and continuous monitoring of CP parameters with the aim to operate CP systems in compliance with regulations and to reduce maintenance costs. The remote control system consists of Acquisition Units for continuous field data gathering, a Data Centre pilot all functions such as query, download and processing data, and an Internet web site for remote connections. Field data obtained in various situations are presented and discussed. (authors)

Estimation of surface Latent Heat Fluxes from IRS-P4/MSMR ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging Solutions)

IRS-P4/MSMR satellite data. Randhir Singh, B Simon and P C Joshi. Atmospheric Sciences Division, Meteorology & Oceanography Group, Space Applications Centre, ISRO. Ahmedabad 380 015, India. The brightness temperatures of the Microwave sensor MSMR (Multichannel Scanning Microwave. Radiometer) launched ...

Integrating soft sensor systems using conductive thread

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Lijun; Jeronimo, Karina; Wei, Tianqi; Nemitz, Markus P.; Lyu, Geng; Stokes, Adam A.

2018-05-01

We are part of a growing community of researchers who are developing a new class of soft machines. By using mechanically soft materials (MPa modulus) we can design systems which overcome the bulk-mechanical mismatches between soft biological systems and hard engineered components. To develop fully integrated soft machines—which include power, communications, and control sub-systems—the research community requires methods for interconnecting between soft and hard electronics. Sensors based upon eutectic gallium alloys in microfluidic channels can be used to measure normal and strain forces, but integrating these sensors into systems of heterogeneous Young’s modulus is difficult due the complexity of finding a material which is electrically conductive, mechanically flexible, and stable over prolonged periods of time. Many existing gallium-based liquid alloy sensors are not mechanically or electrically robust, and have poor stability over time. We present the design and fabrication of a high-resolution pressure-sensor soft system that can transduce normal force into a digital output. In this soft system, which is built on a monolithic silicone substrate, a galinstan-based microfluidic pressure sensor is integrated with a flexible printed circuit board. We used conductive thread as the interconnect and found that this method alleviates problems arising due to the mechanical mismatch between conventional metal wires and soft or liquid materials. Conductive thread is low-cost, it is readily wetted by the liquid metal, it produces little bending moment into the microfluidic channel, and it can be connected directly onto the copper bond-pads of the flexible printed circuit board. We built a bridge-system to provide stable readings from the galinstan pressure sensor. This system gives linear measurement results between 500-3500 Pa of applied pressure. We anticipate that integrated systems of this type will find utility in soft-robotic systems as used for wearable

Muscular condition monitoring system using fiber bragg grating sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Heon Young; Lee, Jin Hyuk; Kim, Dae Hyun

2014-01-01

Fiber optic sensors (FOS) have advantages such as electromagnetic interference (EMI) immunity, corrosion resistance and multiplexing capability. For these reasons, they are widely used in various condition monitoring systems (CMS). This study investigated a muscular condition monitoring system using fiber optic sensors (FOS). Generally, sensors for monitoring the condition of the human body are based on electro-magnetic devices. However, such an electrical system has several weaknesses, including the potential for electro-magnetic interference and distortion. Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors overcome these weaknesses, along with simplifying the devices and increasing user convenience. To measure the level of muscle contraction and relaxation, which indicates the muscle condition, a belt-shaped FBG sensor module that makes it possible to monitor the movement of muscles in the radial and circumferential directions was fabricated in this study. In addition, a uniaxial tensile test was carried out in order to evaluate the applicability of this FBG sensor module. Based on the experimental results, a relationship was observed between the tensile stress and Bragg wavelength of the FBG sensors, which revealed the possibility of fabricating a muscular condition monitoring system based on FBG sensors.

Muscular condition monitoring system using fiber bragg grating sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Heon Young; Lee, Jin Hyuk; Kim, Dae Hyun [Seoul National University of Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

Fiber optic sensors (FOS) have advantages such as electromagnetic interference (EMI) immunity, corrosion resistance and multiplexing capability. For these reasons, they are widely used in various condition monitoring systems (CMS). This study investigated a muscular condition monitoring system using fiber optic sensors (FOS). Generally, sensors for monitoring the condition of the human body are based on electro-magnetic devices. However, such an electrical system has several weaknesses, including the potential for electro-magnetic interference and distortion. Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors overcome these weaknesses, along with simplifying the devices and increasing user convenience. To measure the level of muscle contraction and relaxation, which indicates the muscle condition, a belt-shaped FBG sensor module that makes it possible to monitor the movement of muscles in the radial and circumferential directions was fabricated in this study. In addition, a uniaxial tensile test was carried out in order to evaluate the applicability of this FBG sensor module. Based on the experimental results, a relationship was observed between the tensile stress and Bragg wavelength of the FBG sensors, which revealed the possibility of fabricating a muscular condition monitoring system based on FBG sensors.

A Tactile Sensor Network System Using a Multiple Sensor Platform with a Dedicated CMOS-LSI for Robot Applications †

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Chenzhong; Tanaka, Shuji; Nakayama, Takahiro; Hata, Yoshiyuki; Bartley, Travis; Muroyama, Masanori

2017-01-01

Robot tactile sensation can enhance human–robot communication in terms of safety, reliability and accuracy. The final goal of our project is to widely cover a robot body with a large number of tactile sensors, which has significant advantages such as accurate object recognition, high sensitivity and high redundancy. In this study, we developed a multi-sensor system with dedicated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) Large-Scale Integration (LSI) circuit chips (referred to as “sensor platform LSI”) as a framework of a serial bus-based tactile sensor network system. The sensor platform LSI supports three types of sensors: an on-chip temperature sensor, off-chip capacitive and resistive tactile sensors, and communicates with a relay node via a bus line. The multi-sensor system was first constructed on a printed circuit board to evaluate basic functions of the sensor platform LSI, such as capacitance-to-digital and resistance-to-digital conversion. Then, two kinds of external sensors, nine sensors in total, were connected to two sensor platform LSIs, and temperature, capacitive and resistive sensing data were acquired simultaneously. Moreover, we fabricated flexible printed circuit cables to demonstrate the multi-sensor system with 15 sensor platform LSIs operating simultaneously, which showed a more realistic implementation in robots. In conclusion, the multi-sensor system with up to 15 sensor platform LSIs on a bus line supporting temperature, capacitive and resistive sensing was successfully demonstrated. PMID:29061954

Closed-loop System Identification with New Sensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bendtsen, Jan Dimon; Trangbæk, K; Stoustrup, Jakob

2008-01-01

This paper deals with system identification of new system dynamics revealed by online introduction of new sensors in existing multi-variable linear control systems. The so-called "Hansen Scheme" utilises the dual Youla-Kucera parameterisation of all systems stabilised by a given linear controller...... to transform closed-loop system identification problems into open-loop-like problems. We show that this scheme can be formally extended to accomodate extra sensors in a nice way. The approach is illustrated on a simple simulation example....

Enhanced exchange anisotropy in IrMn/CoFeB systems and its correlation with uncompensated interfacial spins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Du, Yuqing; Pan, Genhua; Moate, Roy

2010-01-01

Bottom pinned exchange bias systems of IrMn/CoFe and IrMn/CoFeB on CoFe seed layers were studied. Enhanced exchange anisotropy has been observed for IrMn/CoFeB samples annealed at 350 °C. The ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic layers of both samples are polycrystalline and textured {110} for the...

Energy storage management system with distributed wireless sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Farmer, Joseph C.; Bandhauer, Todd M.

2015-12-08

An energy storage system having a multiple different types of energy storage and conversion devices. Each device is equipped with one or more sensors and RFID tags to communicate sensor information wirelessly to a central electronic management system, which is used to control the operation of each device. Each device can have multiple RFID tags and sensor types. Several energy storage and conversion devices can be combined.

Enhanced technologies for unattended ground sensor systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hartup, David C.

2010-04-01

Progress in several technical areas is being leveraged to advantage in Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) systems. This paper discusses advanced technologies that are appropriate for use in UGS systems. While some technologies provide evolutionary improvements, other technologies result in revolutionary performance advancements for UGS systems. Some specific technologies discussed include wireless cameras and viewers, commercial PDA-based system programmers and monitors, new materials and techniques for packaging improvements, low power cueing sensor radios, advanced long-haul terrestrial and SATCOM radios, and networked communications. Other technologies covered include advanced target detection algorithms, high pixel count cameras for license plate and facial recognition, small cameras that provide large stand-off distances, video transmissions of target activity instead of still images, sensor fusion algorithms, and control center hardware. The impact of each technology on the overall UGS system architecture is discussed, along with the advantages provided to UGS system users. Areas of analysis include required camera parameters as a function of stand-off distance for license plate and facial recognition applications, power consumption for wireless cameras and viewers, sensor fusion communication requirements, and requirements to practically implement video transmission through UGS systems. Examples of devices that have already been fielded using technology from several of these areas are given.

Hybrid nanomaterial and its applications: IR sensing and energy harvesting

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Yi-Hsuan

In this dissertation, a hybrid nanomaterial, single-wall carbon nanotubes-copper sulfide nanoparticles (SWNTs-CuS NPs), was synthesized and its properties were analyzed. Due to its unique optical and thermal properties, the hybrid nanomaterial exhibited great potential for infrared (IR) sensing and energy harvesting. The hybrid nanomaterial was synthesized with the non-covalent bond technique to functionalize the surface of the SWNTs and bind the CuS nanoparticles on the surface of the SWNTs. For testing and analyzing the hybrid nanomaterial, SWNTs-CuS nanoparticles were formed as a thin film structure using the vacuum filtration method. Two conductive wires were bound on the ends of the thin film to build a thin film device for measurements and analyses. Measurements found that the hybrid nanomaterial had a significantly increased light absorption (up to 80%) compared to the pure SWNTs. Moreover, the hybrid nanomaterial thin film devices exhibited a clear optical and thermal switching effect, which could be further enhanced up to ten times with asymmetric illumination of light and thermal radiation on the thin film devices instead of symmetric illumination. A simple prototype thermoelectric generator enabled by the hybrid nanomaterials was demonstrated, indicating a new route for achieving thermoelectricity. In addition, CuS nanoparticles have great optical absorption especially in the near-infrared region. Therefore, the hybrid nanomaterial thin films also have the potential for IR sensing applications. The first application to be covered in this dissertation is the IR sensing application. IR thin film sensors based on the SWNTs-CuS nanoparticles hybrid nanomaterials were fabricated. The IR response in the photocurrent of the hybrid thin film sensor was significantly enhanced, increasing the photocurrent by 300% when the IR light illuminates the thin film device asymmetrically. The detection limit could be as low as 48mW mm-2. The dramatically enhanced

Development of Ir/Au-TES microcalorimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunieda, Yuichi; Fukuda, Daiji; Ohno, Masashi; Nakazawa, Masaharu; Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Ataka, Manabu; Ohkubo, Masataka; Hirayama, Fuminori

2004-01-01

We are developing X-ray microcalorimeters using transition edge sensors (TES) for high resolution x-ray spectroscopy. Microcalorimeters are thermal detectors which measure the energy of an incident x-ray photon using a TES thermometer operated at a sharp transition edge between normal and superconducting states. TES microcalorimeters can achieve faster response than conventional microcalorimeters by keeping the operating point of TES in the transition region through the use of strong negative electrothermal feedback (ETF). We developed a bilayer TES where a normal metal Au was deposited on a superconductor Ir in order to improve the thermal conductivity of the Ir-TES. We investigated resistance-temperature characteristics. As a result, it showed a very sharp transition within 1 mK at the temperature of 110 mK. The energy resolution of 9.4 eV (FWHM) was achieved for a 5899 eV Mn K al line. (author)

On-line methanol sensor system development for recombinant ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

On-line methanol sensor system development for recombinant human serum ... of the methanol sensor system was done in a medium environment with yeast cells ... induction at a low temperature and a pH where protease does not function.

Reconfigurable Sensor Monitoring System

Science.gov (United States)

Alhorn, Dean C. (Inventor); Dutton, Kenneth R. (Inventor); Howard, David E. (Inventor); Smith, Dennis A. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A reconfigurable sensor monitoring system includes software tunable filters, each of which is programmable to condition one type of analog signal. A processor coupled to the software tunable filters receives each type of analog signal so-conditioned.

Progress in triboluminescence-based smart optical sensor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olawale, David O.; Dickens, Tarik; Sullivan, William G.; Okoli, Okenwa I.; Sobanjo, John O.; Wang, Ben

2011-01-01

Extensive research work has been done in recent times to apply the triboluminescence (TL) phenomenon for damage detection in engineering structures. Of particular note are the various attempts to apply it in the detection of impact damages in composites and aerospace structures. This is because TL-based sensor systems have a great potential for wireless, in-situ and distributed (WID) structural health monitoring when fully developed. This review article highlights development and the current state-of-the-art in the application of TL-based sensor systems. The underlying mechanisms believed to be responsible for triboluminescence, particularly in zinc sulfide manganese, a highly triboluminescent material, are discussed. The challenges militating against the full exploitation and field application of TL sensor systems are also identified. Finally, viable solutions and approaches to address these challenges are enumerated. - Highlights: → The underlying mechanisms believed to be responsible for triboluminescence. → State-of-the-art in the development and application of TL-based sensor systems. → The challenges militating against the full exploitation and field application of TL sensor systems are identified. → Viable solutions and approaches to address these challenges are enumerated.

Transparent Fingerprint Sensor System for Large Flat Panel Display.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Wonkuk; Pi, Jae-Eun; Cho, Sung Haeung; Kang, Seung-Youl; Ahn, Seong-Deok; Hwang, Chi-Sun; Jeon, Ho-Sik; Kim, Jong-Uk; Lee, Myunghee

2018-01-19

In this paper, we introduce a transparent fingerprint sensing system using a thin film transistor (TFT) sensor panel, based on a self-capacitive sensing scheme. An armorphousindium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) TFT sensor array and associated custom Read-Out IC (ROIC) are implemented for the system. The sensor panel has a 200 × 200 pixel array and each pixel size is as small as 50 μm × 50 μm. The ROIC uses only eight analog front-end (AFE) amplifier stages along with a successive approximation analog-to-digital converter (SAR ADC). To get the fingerprint image data from the sensor array, the ROIC senses a capacitance, which is formed by a cover glass material between a human finger and an electrode of each pixel of the sensor array. Three methods are reviewed for estimating the self-capacitance. The measurement result demonstrates that the transparent fingerprint sensor system has an ability to differentiate a human finger's ridges and valleys through the fingerprint sensor array.

IR thermocycler for centrifugal microfluidic platform with direct on-disk wireless temperature measurement system

Science.gov (United States)

Burger, J.; Gross, A.; Mark, D.; Roth, G.; von Stetten, F.; Zengerle, R.

2011-06-01

The direct on-disk wireless temperature measurement system [1,2] presented at μTAS 2010 was further improved in its robustness. We apply it to an IR thermocycler as part of a centrifugal microfluidic analyzer for polymerase chain reactions (PCR). This IR thermocycler allows the very efficient direct heating of aqueous liquids in microfluidic cavities by an IR radiation source. The efficiency factor of this IR heating system depends on several parameters. First there is the efficiency of the IR radiator considering the transformation of electrical energy into radiation energy. This radiation energy needs to be focused by a reflector to the center of the cavity. Both, the reflectors shape and the quality of the reflecting layer affect the efficiency. On the way to the center of the cavity the radiation energy will be diminished by absorption in the surrounding air/humidity and especially in the cavity lid of the microfluidic disk. The transmission spectrum of the lid material and its thickness is of significant impact. We chose a COC polymer film with a thickness of 150 μm. At a peak frequency of the IR radiator of ~2 μm approximately 85 % of the incoming radiation energy passes the lid and is absorbed within the first 1.5 mm depth of liquid in the cavity. As we perform the thermocycling for a PCR, after heating to the denaturation temperature of ~ 92 °C we need to cool down rapidly to the primer annealing temperature of ~ 55 °C. Cooling is realized by 3 ventilators venting air of room temperature into the disk chamber. Due to the air flow itself and an additional rotation of the centrifugal microfluidic disk the PCR reagents in the cavities are cooled by forced air convection. Simulation studies based upon analogous electrical models enable to optimize the disk geometry and the optical path. Both the IR heater and the ventilators are controlled by the digital PID controller HAPRO 0135 [3]. The sampling frequency is set to 2 Hz. It could be further increased up

An Environmental Monitoring System for Managing Spatiotemporal Sensor Data over Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keun Ho Ryu

2012-03-01

Full Text Available In a wireless sensor network, sensors collect data about natural phenomena and transmit them to a server in real-time. Many studies have been conducted focusing on the processing of continuous queries in an approximate form. However, this approach is difficult to apply to environmental applications which require the correct data to be stored. In this paper, we propose a weather monitoring system for handling and storing the sensor data stream in real-time in order to support continuous spatial and/or temporal queries. In our system, we exploit two time-based insertion methods to store the sensor data stream and reduce the number of managed tuples, without losing any of the raw data which are useful for queries, by using the sensors’ temporal attributes. In addition, we offer a method for reducing the cost of the join operations used in processing spatiotemporal queries by filtering out a list of irrelevant sensors from query range before making a join operation. In the results of the performance evaluation, the number of tuples obtained from the data stream is reduced by about 30% in comparison to a naïve approach, thereby decreasing the query execution time.

Advanced interfacing techniques for sensors measurement circuits and systems for intelligent sensors

CERN Document Server

Roy, Joyanta; Kumar, V; Mukhopadhyay, Subhas

2017-01-01

This book presents ways of interfacing sensors to the digital world, and discusses the marriage between sensor systems and the IoT: the opportunities and challenges. As sensor output is often affected by noise and interference, the book presents effective schemes for recovering the data from a signal that is buried in noise. It also explores interesting applications in the area of health care, un-obstructive monitoring and the electronic nose and tongue. It is a valuable resource for engineers and scientists in the area of sensors and interfacing wanting to update their knowledge of the latest developments in the field and learn more about sensing applications and challenges.

Water-Cut Sensor System

KAUST Repository

Karimi, Muhammad Akram

2018-01-11

Provided in some embodiments is a method of manufacturing a pipe conformable water-cut sensors system. Provided in some embodiments is method for manufacturing a water-cut sensor system that includes providing a helical T-resonator, a helical ground conductor, and a separator at an exterior of a cylindrical pipe. The helical T-resonator including a feed line, and a helical open shunt stub conductively coupled to the feed line. The helical ground conductor including a helical ground plane opposite the helical open shunt stub and a ground ring conductively coupled to the helical ground plane. The feed line overlapping at least a portion of the ground ring, and the separator disposed between the feed line and the portion of the ground ring overlapped by the feed line to electrically isolate the helical T-resonator from the helical ground conductor.

Optical detection system for MEMS-type pressure sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sareło, K; Górecka-Drzazga, A; Dziuban, J A

2015-01-01

In this paper a special optical detection system designed for a MEMS-type (micro-electro-mechanical system) silicon pressure sensor is presented. The main part of the optical system—a detection unit with a perforated membrane—is bonded to the silicon sensor, and placed in a measuring system. An external light source illuminates the membrane of the pressure sensor. Owing to the light reflected from the deflected membrane sensor, the optical pattern consisting of light points is visible, and pressure can be estimated. The optical detection unit (20   ×   20   ×   20.4 mm 3 ) is fabricated using microengineering techniques. Its dimensions are adjusted to the dimensions of the pressure sensor (5   ×   5 mm 2 silicon membrane). Preliminary tests of the optical detection unit integrated with the silicon pressure sensor are carried out. For the membrane sensor from 15 to 60 µm thick, a repeatable detection of the differential pressure in the range of 0 to 280 kPa is achieved. The presented optical microsystem is especially suitable for the pressure measurements in a high radiation environment. (paper)

Impaired Insulin Signaling is Associated with Hepatic Mitochondrial Dysfunction in IR+/−-IRS-1+/− Double Heterozygous (IR-IRS1dh Mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andras Franko

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Mitochondria play a pivotal role in energy metabolism, but whether insulin signaling per se could regulate mitochondrial function has not been identified yet. To investigate whether mitochondrial function is regulated by insulin signaling, we analyzed muscle and liver of insulin receptor (IR+/−-insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1+/− double heterozygous (IR-IRS1dh mice, a well described model for insulin resistance. IR-IRS1dh mice were studied at the age of 6 and 12 months and glucose metabolism was determined by glucose and insulin tolerance tests. Mitochondrial enzyme activities, oxygen consumption, and membrane potential were assessed using spectrophotometric, respirometric, and proton motive force analysis, respectively. IR-IRS1dh mice showed elevated serum insulin levels. Hepatic mitochondrial oxygen consumption was reduced in IR-IRS1dh animals at 12 months of age. Furthermore, 6-month-old IR-IRS1dh mice demonstrated enhanced mitochondrial respiration in skeletal muscle, but a tendency of impaired glucose tolerance. On the other hand, 12-month-old IR-IRS1dh mice showed improved glucose tolerance, but normal muscle mitochondrial function. Our data revealed that deficiency in IR/IRS-1 resulted in normal or even elevated skeletal muscle, but impaired hepatic mitochondrial function, suggesting a direct cross-talk between insulin signaling and mitochondria in the liver.

Toward Sensor-Based Context Aware Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kouhei Takada

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a methodology for sensor data interpretation that can combine sensor outputs with contexts represented as sets of annotated business rules. Sensor readings are interpreted to generate events labeled with the appropriate type and level of uncertainty. Then, the appropriate context is selected. Reconciliation of different uncertainty types is achieved by a simple technique that moves uncertainty from events to business rules by generating combs of standard Boolean predicates. Finally, context rules are evaluated together with the events to take a decision. The feasibility of our idea is demonstrated via a case study where a context-reasoning engine has been connected to simulated heartbeat sensors using prerecorded experimental data. We use sensor outputs to identify the proper context of operation of a system and trigger decision-making based on context information.

Sensor Failure Detection of FASSIP System using Principal Component Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Sudarno; Juarsa, Mulya; Santosa, Kussigit; Deswandri; Sunaryo, Geni Rina

2018-02-01

In the nuclear reactor accident of Fukushima Daiichi in Japan, the damages of core and pressure vessel were caused by the failure of its active cooling system (diesel generator was inundated by tsunami). Thus researches on passive cooling system for Nuclear Power Plant are performed to improve the safety aspects of nuclear reactors. The FASSIP system (Passive System Simulation Facility) is an installation used to study the characteristics of passive cooling systems at nuclear power plants. The accuracy of sensor measurement of FASSIP system is essential, because as the basis for determining the characteristics of a passive cooling system. In this research, a sensor failure detection method for FASSIP system is developed, so the indication of sensor failures can be detected early. The method used is Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to reduce the dimension of the sensor, with the Squarred Prediction Error (SPE) and statistic Hotteling criteria for detecting sensor failure indication. The results shows that PCA method is capable to detect the occurrence of a failure at any sensor.

Bio-integrated electronics and sensor systems

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, Woon-Hong; Webb, R. Chad; Lee, Woosik; Jung, Sungyoung; Rogers, John A.

2013-05-01

Skin-mounted epidermal electronics, a strategy for bio-integrated electronics, provide an avenue to non-invasive monitoring of clinically relevant physiological signals for healthcare applications. Current conventional systems consist of single-point sensors fastened to the skin with adhesives, and sometimes with conducting gels, which limits their use outside of clinical settings due to loss of adhesion and irritation to the user. In order to facilitate extended use of skin-mounted healthcare sensors without disrupting everyday life, we envision electronic monitoring systems that integrate seamlessly with the skin below the notice of the user. This manuscript reviews recent significant results towards our goal of wearable electronic sensor systems for long-term monitoring of physiological signals. Ultra-thin epidermal electronic systems (EES) are demonstrated for extended use on the skin, in a conformal manner, including during everyday bathing and sleeping activities. We describe the assessment of clinically relevant physiological parameters, such as electrocardiograms (ECG), electromyograms (EMG), electroencephalograms (EEG), temperature, mechanical strain and thermal conductivity, using examples of multifunctional EES devices. Additionally, we demonstrate capability for real life application of EES by monitoring the system functionality, which has no discernible change, during cyclic fatigue testing.

IAEA/NEA incident reporting system (IRS). Reporting guidelines. Feedback from safety related operating experience for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

The Incident Reporting System (IRS) is an international system jointly operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD/NEA). The fundamental objective of the IRS is to contribute to improving the safety of commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs) which are operated worldwide. This objective can be achieved by providing timely and detailed information on both technical and human factors related to events of safety significance which occur at these plants. The purpose of these guidelines, which supersede the previous IAEA Safety Series No. 93 (Part II) and the NEA IRS guidelines, is to describe the system and to give users the necessary background and guidance to enable them to produce IRS reports meeting a high standard of quality while retaining the high efficiency of the system expected by all Member States operating nuclear power plants. These guidelines have been jointly developed and approved by the NEA/IAEA

Water Plume Temperature Measurements by an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).

Science.gov (United States)

DeMario, Anthony; Lopez, Pete; Plewka, Eli; Wix, Ryan; Xia, Hai; Zamora, Emily; Gessler, Dan; Yalin, Azer P

2017-02-07

We report on the development and testing of a proof of principle water temperature measurement system deployed on an unmanned aerial system (UAS), for field measurements of thermal discharges into water. The primary elements of the system include a quad-copter UAS to which has been integrated, for the first time, both a thermal imaging infrared (IR) camera and an immersible probe that can be dipped below the water surface to obtain vertical water temperature profiles. The IR camera is used to take images of the overall water surface to geo-locate the plume, while the immersible probe provides quantitative temperature depth profiles at specific locations. The full system has been tested including the navigation of the UAS, its ability to safely carry the sensor payload, and the performance of both the IR camera and the temperature probe. Finally, the UAS sensor system was successfully deployed in a pilot field study at a coal burning power plant, and obtained images and temperature profiles of the thermal effluent.

Embedded Sensor Systems for Health - A Step Towards Personalized Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindén, Maria; Björkman, Mats

2018-01-01

The demography is changing towards older people, and the challenge to provide an appropriate care is well known. Sensor systems, combined with IT solutions are recognized as one of the major tools to handle this situation. Embedded Sensor Systems for Health (ESS-H) is a research profile at Mälardalen University in Sweden, focusing on embedded sensor systems for health technology applications. The research addresses several important issues: to provide sensor systems for health monitoring at home, to provide sensor systems for health monitoring at work, to provide safe and secure infrastructure and software testing methods for physiological data management. The user perspective is important in order to solve real problems and to develop systems that are easy and intuitive to use. One of the overall aims is to enable health trend monitoring in home environments, thus being able to detect early deterioration of a patient. Sensor systems, signal processing algorithms, and decision support algorithms have been developed. Work on development of safe and secure infrastructure and software testing methods are important for an embedded sensor system aimed for health monitoring, both in home and in work applications. Patient data must be sent and received in a safe and secure manner, also fulfilling the integrity criteria.

Battery system with temperature sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Steven J.; Trester, Dale B.

2012-11-13

A battery system to monitor temperature includes at least one cell with a temperature sensing device proximate the at least one cell. The battery system also includes a flexible member that holds the temperature sensor proximate to the at least one cell.

Urinary incontinence monitoring system using laser-induced graphene sensors

KAUST Repository

Nag, Anindya

2017-12-25

This paper presents the design and development of a sensor patch to be used in a sensing system to deal with the urinary incontinence problem primarily faced by women and elderly people. The sensor patches were developed from laser-induced graphene from low-cost commercial polyimide (PI) polymers. The graphene was manually transferred to a commercial tape, which was used as sensor patch for experimentation. Salt solutions with different concentrations were tested to determine the most sensitive frequency region of the sensor. The results are encouraging to further develop this sensor in a platform for a fully functional urinary incontinence detection system.

Development of an equipment diagnostic system that evaluates sensor drift

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanada, Masaki; Arita, Setsuo; Tada, Nobuo; Yokota, Katsuo

2011-01-01

The importance of condition monitoring technology for equipment has increased with the introduction of condition-based maintenance in nuclear power plants. We are developing a diagnostic system using process signals for plant equipment, such as pumps and motors. It is important to enable the diagnostic system to distinguish sensor drift and equipment failure. We have developed a sensor drift diagnostic method that combines some highly correlative sensor signals by using the MT (Mahalanobis-Taguchi) method. Furthermore, we have developed an equipment failure diagnostic method that measures the Mahalanobis distance from the normal state of equipment by the MT method. These methods can respectively detect sensor drift and equipment failure, but there are the following problems. In the sensor drift diagnosis, there is a possibility of misjudging the sensor drift when the equipment failure occurs and the process signal changes because the behavior of the process signal is the same as that of the sensor drift. Oppositely, in the equipment failure diagnosis, there is a possibility of misjudging the equipment failure when the sensor drift occurs because the sensor drift influences the change of process signal. To solve these problems, we propose a diagnostic method combining the sensor drift diagnosis and the equipment failure diagnosis by the MT method. Firstly, the sensor drift values are estimated by the sensor drift diagnosis, and the sensor drift is removed from the process signal. It is necessary to judge the validity of the estimated sensor drift values before removing the sensor drift from the process signal. We developed a method for judging the validity of the estimated sensor drift values by using the drift distribution based on the sensor calibration data. And then, the equipment failure is diagnosed by using the process signals after removal of the sensor drifts. To verify the developed diagnostic system, several sets of simulation data based on abnormal cases

A smart sensor-based vision system: implementation and evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elouardi, A; Bouaziz, S; Dupret, A; Lacassagne, L; Klein, J O; Reynaud, R

2006-01-01

One of the methods of solving the computational complexity of image-processing is to perform some low-level computations on the sensor focal plane. This paper presents a vision system based on a smart sensor. PARIS1 (Programmable Analog Retina-like Image Sensor1) is the first prototype used to evaluate the architecture of an on-chip vision system based on such a sensor coupled with a microcontroller. The smart sensor integrates a set of analog and digital computing units. This architecture paves the way for a more compact vision system and increases the performances reducing the data flow exchanges with a microprocessor in control. A system has been implemented as a proof-of-concept and has enabled us to evaluate the performance requirements for a possible integration of a microcontroller on the same chip. The used approach is compared with two architectures implementing CMOS active pixel sensors (APS) and interfaced to the same microcontroller. The comparison is related to image processing computation time, processing reliability, programmability, precision, bandwidth and subsequent stages of computations

A smart sensor-based vision system: implementation and evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elouardi, A; Bouaziz, S; Dupret, A; Lacassagne, L; Klein, J O; Reynaud, R [Institute of Fundamental Electronics, Bat. 220, Paris XI University, 91405 Orsay (France)

2006-04-21

One of the methods of solving the computational complexity of image-processing is to perform some low-level computations on the sensor focal plane. This paper presents a vision system based on a smart sensor. PARIS1 (Programmable Analog Retina-like Image Sensor1) is the first prototype used to evaluate the architecture of an on-chip vision system based on such a sensor coupled with a microcontroller. The smart sensor integrates a set of analog and digital computing units. This architecture paves the way for a more compact vision system and increases the performances reducing the data flow exchanges with a microprocessor in control. A system has been implemented as a proof-of-concept and has enabled us to evaluate the performance requirements for a possible integration of a microcontroller on the same chip. The used approach is compared with two architectures implementing CMOS active pixel sensors (APS) and interfaced to the same microcontroller. The comparison is related to image processing computation time, processing reliability, programmability, precision, bandwidth and subsequent stages of computations.

Capillarity-based preparation system for optical colorimetric sensor arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Xiao-Gang; Yi, Xin; Bu, Xiang-Nan; Hou, Chang-Jun; Huo, Dan-Qun; Yang, Mei; Fa, Huan-Bao; Lei, Jin-Can

2017-03-01

In recent years, optical colorimetric sensor arrays have demonstrated beneficial features, including rapid response, high selectivity, and high specificity; as a result, it has been extensively applied in food inspection and chemical studies, among other fields. There are instruments in the current market available for the preparation of an optical colorimetric sensor array, but it lacks the corresponding research of the preparation mechanism. Therefore, in connection with the main features of this kind of sensor array such as consistency, based on the preparation method of contact spotting, combined with a capillary fluid model, Washburn equation, Laplace equation, etc., this paper develops a diffusion model of an optical colorimetric sensor array during its preparation and sets up an optical colorimetric sensor array preparation system based on this diffusion model. Finally, this paper compares and evaluates the sensor arrays prepared by the system and prepared manually in three aspects such as the quality of array point, response of array, and response result, and the results show that the performance index of the sensor array prepared by a system under this diffusion model is better than that of the sensor array of manual spotting, which meets the needs of the experiment.

CMOS-MEMS Chemiresistive and Chemicapacitive Chemical Sensor System

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarus, Nathan S.

Integrating chemical sensors with testing electronics is a powerful technique with the potential to lower power and cost and allow for lower system limits of detection. This thesis explores the possibility of creating an integrated sensor system intended to be embedded within respirator cartridges to notify the user that hazardous chemicals will soon leak into the face mask. For a chemical sensor designer, this application is particularly challenging due to the need for a very sensitive and cheap sensor that will be exposed to widely varying environmental conditions during use. An octanethiol-coated gold nanoparticle chemiresistor to detect industrial solvents is developed, focusing on characterizing the environmental stability and limits of detection of the sensor. Since the chemiresistor was found to be highly sensitive to water vapor, a series of highly sensitive humidity sensor topologies were developed, with sensitivities several times previous integrated capacitive humidity sensors achieved. Circuit techniques were then explored to reduce the humidity sensor limits of detection, including the analysis of noise, charge injection, jitter and clock feedthrough in a charge-based capacitance measurement (CBCM) circuit and the design of a low noise Colpitts LC oscillator. The characterization of high resistance gold nanoclusters for capacitive chemical sensing was also performed. In the final section, a preconcentrator, a heater element intended to release a brief concentrated pulse of analate, was developed and tested for the purposes of lowering the system limit of detection.

Enhanced/Synthetic Vision Systems - Human factors research and implications for future systems

Science.gov (United States)

Foyle, David C.; Ahumada, Albert J.; Larimer, James; Sweet, Barbara T.

1992-01-01

This paper reviews recent human factors research studies conducted in the Aerospace Human Factors Research Division at NASA Ames Research Center related to the development and usage of Enhanced or Synthetic Vision Systems. Research discussed includes studies of field of view (FOV), representational differences of infrared (IR) imagery, head-up display (HUD) symbology, HUD advanced concept designs, sensor fusion, and sensor/database fusion and evaluation. Implications for the design and usage of Enhanced or Synthetic Vision Systems are discussed.

Transparent Fingerprint Sensor System for Large Flat Panel Display

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wonkuk Seo

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we introduce a transparent fingerprint sensing system using a thin film transistor (TFT sensor panel, based on a self-capacitive sensing scheme. An armorphousindium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO TFT sensor array and associated custom Read-Out IC (ROIC are implemented for the system. The sensor panel has a 200 × 200 pixel array and each pixel size is as small as 50 μm × 50 μm. The ROIC uses only eight analog front-end (AFE amplifier stages along with a successive approximation analog-to-digital converter (SAR ADC. To get the fingerprint image data from the sensor array, the ROIC senses a capacitance, which is formed by a cover glass material between a human finger and an electrode of each pixel of the sensor array. Three methods are reviewed for estimating the self-capacitance. The measurement result demonstrates that the transparent fingerprint sensor system has an ability to differentiate a human finger’s ridges and valleys through the fingerprint sensor array.

Recent events in NPPs and incident reporting system (IRS) activity. Working material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The IAEA convened the 1996 Joint Meeting to Exchange Information on Recent Events in Nuclear Power Plants and the Technical Committee-Annual Meeting of the Incident Reporting System (IRS) national co-ordinators, organized jointly with the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the OECD in Paris, France from 22-26 April 1996. These consecutive meetings took place at the OECD Headquarters, 2 rue Andre Pascal. The main objective of the first meeting (22-24 April 1996) was to exchange and discuss information on recent events which occurred in NPPs. The second meeting (25-26 April 1996) was devoted to the IAEA and NEA activity in the framework of the IRS. The main issues of the programme at the meetings were as follows: in-depth discussion on NPP recent events, presented by the participants; panel discussion on operational safety experience issues identified by the participants; IAEA and NEA activities on IRS subjects in 1995-1996 and plans for the future; issues from the inter-agency's IRS Advisory Committee. Annexes I and II provide more information on the programme at the meetings. A list of participants is given in Annex III (50 participants from 22 countries and 3 international organization). Annexes IV and V provide information on national presentations on recent events. Figs, tabs

Active Sensing System with In Situ Adjustable Sensor Morphology

Science.gov (United States)

Nurzaman, Surya G.; Culha, Utku; Brodbeck, Luzius; Wang, Liyu; Iida, Fumiya

2013-01-01

Background Despite the widespread use of sensors in engineering systems like robots and automation systems, the common paradigm is to have fixed sensor morphology tailored to fulfill a specific application. On the other hand, robotic systems are expected to operate in ever more uncertain environments. In order to cope with the challenge, it is worthy of note that biological systems show the importance of suitable sensor morphology and active sensing capability to handle different kinds of sensing tasks with particular requirements. Methodology This paper presents a robotics active sensing system which is able to adjust its sensor morphology in situ in order to sense different physical quantities with desirable sensing characteristics. The approach taken is to use thermoplastic adhesive material, i.e. Hot Melt Adhesive (HMA). It will be shown that the thermoplastic and thermoadhesive nature of HMA enables the system to repeatedly fabricate, attach and detach mechanical structures with a variety of shape and size to the robot end effector for sensing purposes. Via active sensing capability, the robotic system utilizes the structure to physically probe an unknown target object with suitable motion and transduce the arising physical stimuli into information usable by a camera as its only built-in sensor. Conclusions/Significance The efficacy of the proposed system is verified based on two results. Firstly, it is confirmed that suitable sensor morphology and active sensing capability enables the system to sense different physical quantities, i.e. softness and temperature, with desirable sensing characteristics. Secondly, given tasks of discriminating two visually indistinguishable objects with respect to softness and temperature, it is confirmed that the proposed robotic system is able to autonomously accomplish them. The way the results motivate new research directions which focus on in situ adjustment of sensor morphology will also be discussed. PMID:24416094

Active sensing system with in situ adjustable sensor morphology.

Science.gov (United States)

Nurzaman, Surya G; Culha, Utku; Brodbeck, Luzius; Wang, Liyu; Iida, Fumiya

2013-01-01

Despite the widespread use of sensors in engineering systems like robots and automation systems, the common paradigm is to have fixed sensor morphology tailored to fulfill a specific application. On the other hand, robotic systems are expected to operate in ever more uncertain environments. In order to cope with the challenge, it is worthy of note that biological systems show the importance of suitable sensor morphology and active sensing capability to handle different kinds of sensing tasks with particular requirements. This paper presents a robotics active sensing system which is able to adjust its sensor morphology in situ in order to sense different physical quantities with desirable sensing characteristics. The approach taken is to use thermoplastic adhesive material, i.e. Hot Melt Adhesive (HMA). It will be shown that the thermoplastic and thermoadhesive nature of HMA enables the system to repeatedly fabricate, attach and detach mechanical structures with a variety of shape and size to the robot end effector for sensing purposes. Via active sensing capability, the robotic system utilizes the structure to physically probe an unknown target object with suitable motion and transduce the arising physical stimuli into information usable by a camera as its only built-in sensor. The efficacy of the proposed system is verified based on two results. Firstly, it is confirmed that suitable sensor morphology and active sensing capability enables the system to sense different physical quantities, i.e. softness and temperature, with desirable sensing characteristics. Secondly, given tasks of discriminating two visually indistinguishable objects with respect to softness and temperature, it is confirmed that the proposed robotic system is able to autonomously accomplish them. The way the results motivate new research directions which focus on in situ adjustment of sensor morphology will also be discussed.

Miniaturized, low power FGMOSFET radiation sensor and wireless dosimeter system

KAUST Repository

Arsalan, Muhammad; Shamim, Atif; Tarr, Nicholas Garry; Roy, Langis

2013-01-01

A miniaturized floating gate (FG) MOSFET radiation sensor system is disclosed, The sensor preferably comprises a matched pair of sensor and reference FGMOSFETs wherein the sensor FGMOSFET has a larger area floating gate with an extension over a field oxide layer, for accumulation of charge and increased sensitivity. Elimination of a conventional control gate and injector gate reduces capacitance, and increases sensitivity, and allows for fabrication using standard low cost CMOS technology. A sensor system may be provided with integrated signal processing electronics, for monitoring a change in differential channel current I.sub.D, indicative of radiation dose, and an integrated negative bias generator for automatic pre-charging from a low voltage power source. Optionally, the system may be coupled to a wireless transmitter. A compact wireless sensor System on Package solution is presented, suitable for dosimetry for radiotherapy or other biomedical applications.

Miniaturized, low power FGMOSFET radiation sensor and wireless dosimeter system

KAUST Repository

Arsalan, Muhammad

2013-08-27

A miniaturized floating gate (FG) MOSFET radiation sensor system is disclosed, The sensor preferably comprises a matched pair of sensor and reference FGMOSFETs wherein the sensor FGMOSFET has a larger area floating gate with an extension over a field oxide layer, for accumulation of charge and increased sensitivity. Elimination of a conventional control gate and injector gate reduces capacitance, and increases sensitivity, and allows for fabrication using standard low cost CMOS technology. A sensor system may be provided with integrated signal processing electronics, for monitoring a change in differential channel current I.sub.D, indicative of radiation dose, and an integrated negative bias generator for automatic pre-charging from a low voltage power source. Optionally, the system may be coupled to a wireless transmitter. A compact wireless sensor System on Package solution is presented, suitable for dosimetry for radiotherapy or other biomedical applications.

Air to fuel ratio sensor for internal combustion engine control system; Nainen kikan no nensho seigyoyo kunen hi sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsuzuki, M.; Kawai, T.; Yamada, T.; Nishio [NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd., Aichi (Japan)

1998-06-01

Air to fuel ratio sensor is used for emission control system of three-way catalyst, and constitutes the important functional part of combustion control system. For further precise combustion control application, universal air to fuel ratio heated exhaust gas oxygen sensor (UEGO sensor) has been developed. This paper introduces heater control system for constant element temperature of UEGO sensor. By the heater wattage feedback control of sensing cell impedance, the change of sensor element temperature is decreased. 9 refs., 13 figs.

Multimodal surveillance sensors, algorithms, and systems

CERN Document Server

Zhu, Zhigang

2007-01-01

From front-end sensors to systems and environmental issues, this practical resource guides you through the many facets of multimodal surveillance. The book examines thermal, vibration, video, and audio sensors in a broad context of civilian and military applications. This cutting-edge volume provides an in-depth treatment of data fusion algorithms that takes you to the core of multimodal surveillance, biometrics, and sentient computing. The book discusses such people and activity topics as tracking people and vehicles and identifying individuals by their speech.Systems designers benefit from d

Wireless MEMs BioSensor, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Crossfield is proposing to develop a low cost, single chip plant bio-monitor using an embedded MEMs based infrared (IR) spectroscopy gas sensor for carbon dioxide...

Sensor network based vehicle classification and license plate identification system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frigo, Janette Rose [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Brennan, Sean M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Rosten, Edward J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Raby, Eric Y [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Kulathumani, Vinod K [WEST VIRGINIA UNIV.

2009-01-01

Typically, for energy efficiency and scalability purposes, sensor networks have been used in the context of environmental and traffic monitoring applications in which operations at the sensor level are not computationally intensive. But increasingly, sensor network applications require data and compute intensive sensors such video cameras and microphones. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of two such systems: a vehicle classifier based on acoustic signals and a license plate identification system using a camera. The systems are implemented in an energy-efficient manner to the extent possible using commercially available hardware, the Mica motes and the Stargate platform. Our experience in designing these systems leads us to consider an alternate more flexible, modular, low-power mote architecture that uses a combination of FPGAs, specialized embedded processing units and sensor data acquisition systems.

Wireless energizing system for an automated implantable sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swain, Biswaranjan; Nayak, Praveen P.; Kar, Durga P.; Bhuyan, Satyanarayan; Mishra, Laxmi P. [Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar 751030 (India)

2016-07-15

The wireless drive of an automated implantable electronic sensor has been explored for health monitoring applications. The proposed system comprises of an automated biomedical sensing system which is energized through resonant inductive coupling. The implantable sensor unit is able to monitor the body temperature parameter and sends back the corresponding telemetry data wirelessly to the data recoding unit. It has been observed that the wireless power delivery system is capable of energizing the automated biomedical implantable electronic sensor placed over a distance of 3 cm from the power transmitter with an energy transfer efficiency of 26% at the operating resonant frequency of 562 kHz. This proposed method ensures real-time monitoring of different human body temperatures around the clock. The monitored temperature data have been compared with a calibrated temperature measurement system to ascertain the accuracy of the proposed system. The investigated technique can also be useful for monitoring other body parameters such as blood pressure, bladder pressure, and physiological signals of the patient in vivo using various implantable sensors.

Wireless energizing system for an automated implantable sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swain, Biswaranjan; Nayak, Praveen P.; Kar, Durga P.; Bhuyan, Satyanarayan; Mishra, Laxmi P.

2016-01-01

The wireless drive of an automated implantable electronic sensor has been explored for health monitoring applications. The proposed system comprises of an automated biomedical sensing system which is energized through resonant inductive coupling. The implantable sensor unit is able to monitor the body temperature parameter and sends back the corresponding telemetry data wirelessly to the data recoding unit. It has been observed that the wireless power delivery system is capable of energizing the automated biomedical implantable electronic sensor placed over a distance of 3 cm from the power transmitter with an energy transfer efficiency of 26% at the operating resonant frequency of 562 kHz. This proposed method ensures real-time monitoring of different human body temperatures around the clock. The monitored temperature data have been compared with a calibrated temperature measurement system to ascertain the accuracy of the proposed system. The investigated technique can also be useful for monitoring other body parameters such as blood pressure, bladder pressure, and physiological signals of the patient in vivo using various implantable sensors.

Wireless energizing system for an automated implantable sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Swain, Biswaranjan; Nayak, Praveen P; Kar, Durga P; Bhuyan, Satyanarayan; Mishra, Laxmi P

2016-07-01

The wireless drive of an automated implantable electronic sensor has been explored for health monitoring applications. The proposed system comprises of an automated biomedical sensing system which is energized through resonant inductive coupling. The implantable sensor unit is able to monitor the body temperature parameter and sends back the corresponding telemetry data wirelessly to the data recoding unit. It has been observed that the wireless power delivery system is capable of energizing the automated biomedical implantable electronic sensor placed over a distance of 3 cm from the power transmitter with an energy transfer efficiency of 26% at the operating resonant frequency of 562 kHz. This proposed method ensures real-time monitoring of different human body temperatures around the clock. The monitored temperature data have been compared with a calibrated temperature measurement system to ascertain the accuracy of the proposed system. The investigated technique can also be useful for monitoring other body parameters such as blood pressure, bladder pressure, and physiological signals of the patient in vivo using various implantable sensors.

A novel design of an automatic lighting control system for a wireless sensor network with increased sensor lifetime and reduced sensor numbers.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamaddoust, Reza; Haghighat, Abolfazl Toroghi; Sharif, Mohamad Javad Motahari; Capanni, Niccolo

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are currently being applied to energy conservation applications such as light control. We propose a design for such a system called a lighting automatic control system (LACS). The LACS system contains a centralized or distributed architecture determined by application requirements and space usage. The system optimizes the calculations and communications for lighting intensity, incorporates user illumination requirements according to their activities and performs adjustments based on external lighting effects in external sensor and external sensor-less architectures. Methods are proposed for reducing the number of sensors required and increasing the lifetime of those used, for considerably reduced energy consumption. Additionally we suggest methods for improving uniformity of illuminance distribution on a workplane's surface, which improves user satisfaction. Finally simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness of our design.

Sensores ópticos com detecção no infravermelho próximo e médio Near and mid infrared optical sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kássio M. G. Lima

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Optical chemical sensors with detection in the near and mid infrared region are reviewed. Fundamental concepts of infrared spectroscopy and optical chemical sensors are briefly described, before presenting some aspects on optical chemical sensors, such as synthesis of NIR and IR reagents, preparation of new materials as well as application in determinations of species of biological, industrial and environmental importance.

Heat Flux Sensors for Infrared Thermography in Convective Heat Transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Carlomagno, Giovanni Maria; de Luca, Luigi; Cardone, Gennaro; Astarita, Tommaso

2014-01-01

This paper reviews the most dependable heat flux sensors, which can be used with InfraRed (IR) thermography to measure convective heat transfer coefficient distributions, and some of their applications performed by the authors' research group at the University of Naples Federico II. After recalling the basic principles that make IR thermography work, the various heat flux sensors to be used with it are presented and discussed, describing their capability to investigate complex thermo-fluid-dynamic flows. Several applications to streams, which range from natural convection to hypersonic flows, are also described. PMID:25386758

Heat Flux Sensors for Infrared Thermography in Convective Heat Transfer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Maria Carlomagno

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the most dependable heat flux sensors, which can be used with InfraRed (IR thermography to measure convective heat transfer coefficient distributions, and some of their applications performed by the authors’ research group at the University of Naples Federico II. After recalling the basic principles that make IR thermography work, the various heat flux sensors to be used with it are presented and discussed, describing their capability to investigate complex thermo-fluid-dynamic flows. Several applications to streams, which range from natural convection to hypersonic flows, are also described.

Patient Posture Monitoring System Based on Flexible Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Youngsu Cha

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Monitoring patients using vision cameras can cause privacy intrusion problems. In this paper, we propose a patient position monitoring system based on a patient cloth with unobtrusive sensors. We use flexible sensors based on polyvinylidene fluoride, which is a flexible piezoelectric material. Theflexiblesensorsareinsertedintopartsclosetothekneeandhipoftheloosepatientcloth. We measure electrical signals from the sensors caused by the piezoelectric effect when the knee and hip in the cloth are bent. The measured sensor outputs are transferred to a computer via Bluetooth. We use a custom-made program to detect the position of the patient through a rule-based algorithm and the sensor outputs. The detectable postures are based on six human motions in and around a bed. The proposed system can detect the patient positions with a success rate over 88 percent for three patients.

Development of sensor system for indoor location based service implementation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cha, Joo Heon; Lee, Kyung Ho [Kookmin Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2012-11-15

This paper introduces a sensor system based on indoor locations in order to implement the Building Energy Management System. This system consists of a thermopile sensor and an ultrasonic sensor. The sensor module is rotated by 360 .deg. and yawed up and down by two electric motors. Therefore, it can simultaneously detect the number and location of the inhabitants in the room. It uses wireless technology to communicate with the building manager or the smart home server, and it can save electric energy by controlling the lighting system or heating/air conditioning equipment automatically. We also demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed system by applying it to a real environment.

Development of sensor system for indoor location based service implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cha, Joo Heon; Lee, Kyung Ho

2012-01-01

This paper introduces a sensor system based on indoor locations in order to implement the Building Energy Management System. This system consists of a thermopile sensor and an ultrasonic sensor. The sensor module is rotated by 360 .deg. and yawed up and down by two electric motors. Therefore, it can simultaneously detect the number and location of the inhabitants in the room. It uses wireless technology to communicate with the building manager or the smart home server, and it can save electric energy by controlling the lighting system or heating/air conditioning equipment automatically. We also demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed system by applying it to a real environment

Compact, self-contained enhanced-vision system (EVS) sensor simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Tiana, Carlo

2007-04-01

We describe the model SIM-100 PC-based simulator, for imaging sensors used, or planned for use, in Enhanced Vision System (EVS) applications. Typically housed in a small-form-factor PC, it can be easily integrated into existing out-the-window visual simulators for fixed-wing or rotorcraft, to add realistic sensor imagery to the simulator cockpit. Multiple bands of infrared (short-wave, midwave, extended-midwave and longwave) as well as active millimeter-wave RADAR systems can all be simulated in real time. Various aspects of physical and electronic image formation and processing in the sensor are accurately (and optionally) simulated, including sensor random and fixed pattern noise, dead pixels, blooming, B-C scope transformation (MMWR). The effects of various obscurants (fog, rain, etc.) on the sensor imagery are faithfully represented and can be selected by an operator remotely and in real-time. The images generated by the system are ideally suited for many applications, ranging from sensor development engineering tradeoffs (Field Of View, resolution, etc.), to pilot familiarization and operational training, and certification support. The realistic appearance of the simulated images goes well beyond that of currently deployed systems, and beyond that required by certification authorities; this level of realism will become necessary as operational experience with EVS systems grows.

Electron beam diagnostic system using computed tomography and an annular sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Elmer, John W.; Teruya, Alan T.

2014-07-29

A system for analyzing an electron beam including a circular electron beam diagnostic sensor adapted to receive the electron beam, the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor having a central axis; an annular sensor structure operatively connected to the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor, wherein the sensor structure receives the electron beam; a system for sweeping the electron beam radially outward from the central axis of the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor to the annular sensor structure wherein the electron beam is intercepted by the annular sensor structure; and a device for measuring the electron beam that is intercepted by the annular sensor structure.

Multispectral simulation environment for modeling low-light-level sensor systems

Science.gov (United States)

Ientilucci, Emmett J.; Brown, Scott D.; Schott, John R.; Raqueno, Rolando V.

1998-11-01

Image intensifying cameras have been found to be extremely useful in low-light-level (LLL) scenarios including military night vision and civilian rescue operations. These sensors utilize the available visible region photons and an amplification process to produce high contrast imagery. It has been demonstrated that processing techniques can further enhance the quality of this imagery. For example, fusion with matching thermal IR imagery can improve image content when very little visible region contrast is available. To aid in the improvement of current algorithms and the development of new ones, a high fidelity simulation environment capable of producing radiometrically correct multi-band imagery for low- light-level conditions is desired. This paper describes a modeling environment attempting to meet these criteria by addressing the task as two individual components: (1) prediction of a low-light-level radiance field from an arbitrary scene, and (2) simulation of the output from a low- light-level sensor for a given radiance field. The radiance prediction engine utilized in this environment is the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Image Generation (DIRSIG) model which is a first principles based multi-spectral synthetic image generation model capable of producing an arbitrary number of bands in the 0.28 to 20 micrometer region. The DIRSIG model is utilized to produce high spatial and spectral resolution radiance field images. These images are then processed by a user configurable multi-stage low-light-level sensor model that applies the appropriate noise and modulation transfer function (MTF) at each stage in the image processing chain. This includes the ability to reproduce common intensifying sensor artifacts such as saturation and 'blooming.' Additionally, co-registered imagery in other spectral bands may be simultaneously generated for testing fusion and exploitation algorithms. This paper discusses specific aspects of the DIRSIG radiance prediction for low

A multi-agent system architecture for sensor networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuentes-Fernández, Rubén; Guijarro, María; Pajares, Gonzalo

2009-01-01

The design of the control systems for sensor networks presents important challenges. Besides the traditional problems about how to process the sensor data to obtain the target information, engineers need to consider additional aspects such as the heterogeneity and high number of sensors, and the flexibility of these networks regarding topologies and the sensors in them. Although there are partial approaches for resolving these issues, their integration relies on ad hoc solutions requiring important development efforts. In order to provide an effective approach for this integration, this paper proposes an architecture based on the multi-agent system paradigm with a clear separation of concerns. The architecture considers sensors as devices used by an upper layer of manager agents. These agents are able to communicate and negotiate services to achieve the required functionality. Activities are organized according to roles related with the different aspects to integrate, mainly sensor management, data processing, communication and adaptation to changes in the available devices and their capabilities. This organization largely isolates and decouples the data management from the changing network, while encouraging reuse of solutions. The use of the architecture is facilitated by a specific modelling language developed through metamodelling. A case study concerning a generic distributed system for fire fighting illustrates the approach and the comparison with related work.

Wireless Integrated Microelectronic Vacuum Sensor System

Science.gov (United States)

Krug, Eric; Philpot, Brian; Trott, Aaron; Lawrence, Shaun

2013-01-01

NASA Stennis Space Center's (SSC's) large rocket engine test facility requires the use of liquid propellants, including the use of cryogenic fluids like liquid hydrogen as fuel, and liquid oxygen as an oxidizer (gases which have been liquefied at very low temperatures). These fluids require special handling, storage, and transfer technology. The biggest problem associated with transferring cryogenic liquids is product loss due to heat transfer. Vacuum jacketed piping is specifically designed to maintain high thermal efficiency so that cryogenic liquids can be transferred with minimal heat transfer. A vacuum jacketed pipe is essentially two pipes in one. There is an inner carrier pipe, in which the cryogenic liquid is actually transferred, and an outer jacket pipe that supports and seals the vacuum insulation, forming the "vacuum jacket." The integrity of the vacuum jacketed transmission lines that transfer the cryogenic fluid from delivery barges to the test stand must be maintained prior to and during engine testing. To monitor the vacuum in these vacuum jacketed transmission lines, vacuum gauge readings are used. At SSC, vacuum gauge measurements are done on a manual rotation basis with two technicians, each using a handheld instrument. Manual collection of vacuum data is labor intensive and uses valuable personnel time. Additionally, there are times when personnel cannot collect the data in a timely fashion (i.e., when a leak is detected, measurements must be taken more often). Additionally, distribution of this data to all interested parties can be cumbersome. To simplify the vacuum-gauge data collection process, automate the data collection, and decrease the labor costs associated with acquiring these measurements, an automated system that monitors the existing gauges was developed by Invocon, Inc. For this project, Invocon developed a Wireless Integrated Microelectronic Vacuum Sensor System (WIMVSS) that provides the ability to gather vacuum

Sense, decide, act, communicate (SDAC): next generation of smart sensor systems

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Nina; Davis, Jesse; Ko, Teresa H.; Kyker, Ron; Pate, Ron; Stark, Doug; Stinnett, Regan; Baker, James; Cushner, Adam; Van Dyke, Colin; Kyckelhahn, Brian

2004-09-01

The recent war on terrorism and increased urban warfare has been a major catalysis for increased interest in the development of disposable unattended wireless ground sensors. While the application of these sensors to hostile domains has been generally governed by specific tasks, this research explores a unique paradigm capitalizing on the fundamental functionality related to sensor systems. This functionality includes a sensors ability to Sense - multi-modal sensing of environmental events, Decide - smart analysis of sensor data, Act - response to environmental events, and Communication - internal to system and external to humans (SDAC). The main concept behind SDAC sensor systems is to integrate the hardware, software, and networking to generate 'knowledge and not just data'. This research explores the usage of wireless SDAC units to collectively make up a sensor system capable of persistent, adaptive, and autonomous behavior. These systems are base on the evaluation of scenarios and existing systems covering various domains. This paper presents a promising view of sensor network characteristics, which will eventually yield smart (intelligent collectives) network arrays of SDAC sensing units generally applicable to multiple related domains. This paper will also discuss and evaluate the demonstration system developed to test the concepts related to SDAC systems.

State Estimation for Sensor Monitoring System with Uncertainty and Disturbance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianhong Sun

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the state estimation problem for the sensor monitoring system which contains system uncertainty and nonlinear disturbance. In the sensor monitoring system, states of each inner sensor node usually contains system uncertainty, and external noise often works as nonlinear item. Besides, information transmission in the system is also time consuming. All mentioned above may arouse in unstable of the monitoring system. In this case, states of sensors could be wrongly sampled. Under this circumstance, a proper mathematical model is proposed and by the use of Lipschitz condition, the nonlinear item is transformed to linear one. In addition, we suppose that all sensor nodes are distributed arranged, no interface occurs with each other. By establishing proper Lyapunov– Krasovskii functional, sufficient conditions are acquired by solving linear matrix inequality to make the error augmented system stable, and the gains of observers are also derived. Finally, an illustrated example is given to show that system observed value tracks system states well, which fully demonstrate the effectiveness of our result.

Testing of a Wireless Sensor System for Instrumented Thermal Protection Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kummer, Allen T.; Weir, Erik D.; Morris, Trey J.; Friedenberger, Corey W.; Singh, Aseem; Capuro, Robert M.; Bilen, Sven G.; Fu, Johnny; Swanson, Gregory T.; Hash, David B.

2011-01-01

Funded by NASA's Constellation Universities Institutes Project (CUIP), we have been developing and testing a system to wirelessly power and collect data from sensors on space platforms in general and, in particular, the harsh environment of spacecraft re-entry. The elimination of wires and associated failures such as chafing, sparking, ageing, and connector issues can increase reliability and design flexibility while reducing costs. These factors present an appealing case for the pursuit of wireless solutions for harsh environments, particularly for their use in space and on spacecraft. We have designed and built a prototype wireless sensor system. The system, with capabilities similar to that of a wired sensor system, was tested in NASA Ames Research Center s Aerodynamic Heating Facility and Interaction Heating Facility. This paper discusses the overall development effort, testing results, as well as future directions.

Radioluminescence dating: the IR emission of feldspar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schilles, Thomas.; Habermann, Jan

2000-01-01

A new luminescence reader for radioluminescence (RL) measurements is presented. The system allows detection of RL emissions in the near infrared region (IR). Basic bleaching properties of the IR-RL emission of feldspars are investigated. Sunlight-bleaching experiments as a test for sensitivity changes are presented. IR-bleaching experiments were carried out to obtain information about the underlying physical processes of the IR-RL emission

A Novel Design of an Automatic Lighting Control System for a Wireless Sensor Network with Increased Sensor Lifetime and Reduced Sensor Numbers

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamaddoust, Reza; Haghighat, Abolfazl Toroghi; Sharif, Mohamad Javad Motahari; Capanni, Niccolo

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are currently being applied to energy conservation applications such as light control. We propose a design for such a system called a Lighting Automatic Control System (LACS). The LACS system contains a centralized or distributed architecture determined by application requirements and space usage. The system optimizes the calculations and communications for lighting intensity, incorporates user illumination requirements according to their activities and performs adjustments based on external lighting effects in external sensor and external sensor-less architectures. Methods are proposed for reducing the number of sensors required and increasing the lifetime of those used, for considerably reduced energy consumption. Additionally we suggest methods for improving uniformity of illuminance distribution on a workplane’s surface, which improves user satisfaction. Finally simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness of our design. PMID:22164114

Design of mini-multi-gas monitoring system based on IR absorption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tan, Q.L.; Zhang, W.D.; Xue, C.Y.; Xiong, J.J.; Ma, Y.C.; Wen, F. [Northern University of China, Taiyuan (China)

2008-07-15

In this paper, a novel non-dispersive infrared ray (IR) gas detection system is described. Conventional devices typically include several primary components: a broadband source (usually all incandescent filament), a rotating chopper shutter, a narrow-band filter, a sample tube and a detector. But we mainly use file mini-multi-channel detector, electrical modulation means and mini-gas-cell structure. To solve the problems of gas accidents in coal mines, and for family safety that results from using gas, this new IR detection system with integration, miniaturization and non-moving parts has been developed. It is based on the principle that certain gases absorb infrared radiation at specific (and often unique) wavelengths. The infrared detection optics principle used in developing this system is mainly analyzed. The idea of multi-gas detection is introduced and guided through the analysis of the single-gas detection. Through researching the design of cell structure, a cell with integration and miniaturization has been devised. By taking a single-chip microcomputer (SCM) as intelligence handling, the functional block diagram of a gas detection system is designed with the analyzing and devising of its hardware and software system. The way of data transmission on a controller area network (CAN) bus and wireless data transmission mode is explained. This system has reached the technology requirement of lower power consumption, mini-volume, wide measure range, and is able to realize multi-gas detection.

Selected examples of intelligent (micro) sensor systems: state-of-the-art and tendencies

Science.gov (United States)

Hauptmann, Peter R.

2006-03-01

The capability of intelligent sensors to have more intelligence built into them continues to drive their application in areas including automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial, intelligent house and wear, medical and homeland security. In principle it is difficult to overestimate the importance of intelligent (micro) sensors or sensor systems within advanced societies but one characteristic feature is the global market for sensors, which is now about 20 billion annually. Therefore sensors or sensor systems play a dominant role in many fields from the macro sensor in manufacturing industry down to the miniaturized sensor for medical applications. The diversity of sensors precludes a complete description of the state-of-the-art; selected examples will illustrate the current situation. MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) devices are of special interest in the context of micro sensor systems. In past the main requirements of a sensor were in terms of metrological performance. The electrical (or optical) signal produced by the sensor needed to match the measure relatively accurately. Such basic functionality is no longer sufficient. Data processing near the sensor, the extraction of more information than just the direct sensor information by signal analysis, system aspects and multi-sensor information are the new demands. A shifting can be observed away from aiming to design perfect single-function transducers and towards the utilization of system-based sensors as system components. In the ideal case such systems contain sensors, actuators and electronics. They can be realized in monolithic, hybrid or discrete form—which kind is used depends on the application. In this article the state-of-the-art of intelligent sensors or sensor systems is reviewed using selected examples. Future trends are deduced.

New optical sensor systems for high-resolution satellite, airborne and terrestrial imaging systems

Science.gov (United States)

Eckardt, Andreas; Börner, Anko; Lehmann, Frank

2007-10-01

The department of Optical Information Systems (OS) at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has more than 25 years experience with high-resolution imaging technology. The technology changes in the development of detectors, as well as the significant change of the manufacturing accuracy in combination with the engineering research define the next generation of spaceborne sensor systems focusing on Earth observation and remote sensing. The combination of large TDI lines, intelligent synchronization control, fast-readable sensors and new focal-plane concepts open the door to new remote-sensing instruments. This class of instruments is feasible for high-resolution sensor systems regarding geometry and radiometry and their data products like 3D virtual reality. Systemic approaches are essential for such designs of complex sensor systems for dedicated tasks. The system theory of the instrument inside a simulated environment is the beginning of the optimization process for the optical, mechanical and electrical designs. Single modules and the entire system have to be calibrated and verified. Suitable procedures must be defined on component, module and system level for the assembly test and verification process. This kind of development strategy allows the hardware-in-the-loop design. The paper gives an overview about the current activities at DLR in the field of innovative sensor systems for photogrammetric and remote sensing purposes.

Long range position and Orientation Tracking System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armstrong, G.A.; Jansen, J.F.; Burks, B.L.

1996-01-01

The long range Position and Orientation Tracking System is an active triangulation-based system that is being developed to track a target to a resolution of 6.35 mm (0.25 in.) and 0.009 degrees(32.4 arcseconds) over a range of 13.72 m (45 ft.). The system update rate is currently set at 20 Hz but can be increased to 100 Hz or more. The tracking is accomplished by sweeping two pairs of orthogonal line lasers over infrared (IR) sensors spaced with known geometry with respect to one another on the target (the target being a rigid body attached to either a remote vehicle or a remote manipulator arm). The synchronization and data acquisition electronics correlates the time that an IR sensor has been hit by one of the four lasers and the angle of the respective mirror at the time of the hit. This information is combined with the known geometry of the IR sensors on the target to determine position and orientation of the target. This method has the advantage of allowing the target to be momentarily lost due to occlusions and then reacquired without having to return the target to a known reference point. The system also contains a camera with operator controlled lighting in each pod that allows the target to be continuously viewed from either pod, assuming their are no occlusions

A Highly Selective Sensor for Cyanide in Organic Media and on Solid Surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belygona Barare

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The application of IR 786 perchlorate (IR-786 as a selective optical sensor for cyanide anion in both organic solution (acetonitrile (MeCN, 100% and solvent-free solid surfaces was demonstrated. In MeCN, IR-786 was selective to two anions in the following order: CN− > OH−. A significant change in the characteristic dark green color of IR-786 in MeCN to yellow was observed as a result of nucleophilic addition of CN− to the fluorophore, i.e., formation of IR 786-(CN, which was also verified by a blue shift in the 775 nm absorbance peak to 430 nm. A distinct green fluorescence emission from the IR-786-(CN in MeCN was also observed, which demonstrated the selectivity of IR-786 towards CN− in MeCN. Fluorescence emission studies of IR-786 showed that the lower detection limit and the sensitivity of IR-786 for CN− in MeCN was 0.5 μM and 0.5 to 8 μM, respectively. The potential use of IR-786 as a solvent-free solid state sensor for the selective sensing and monitoring of CN− in the environment was also demonstrated. On solvent-free solid state surfaces, the sensitivity of the IR-786 to CN− in water samples was in the range of 50–300 μM with minimal interference by OH−.

ENERGY EFFICIENT TRACKING SYSTEM USING WIRELESS SENSORS

OpenAIRE

Thankaselvi Kumaresan; Sheryl Mathias; Digja Khanvilkar; Prof. Smita Dange

2014-01-01

One of the most important applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is surveillance system, which is used to track moving targets. WSN is composed of a large number of low cost sensors which operate on the power derived from batteries. Energy efficiency is an important issue in WSN, which determines the network lifetime. Due to the need for continuous monitoring with 100% efficiency, keeping all the sensor nodes active permanently leads to fast draining of batteries. Hen...

Synergistic multi-sensor and multi-frequency retrieval of cloud ice water path constrained by CloudSat collocations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Islam, Tanvir; Srivastava, Prashant K.

2015-01-01

The cloud ice water path (IWP) is one of the major parameters that have a strong influence on earth's radiation budget. Onboard satellite sensors are recognized as valuable tools to measure the IWP in a global scale. Albeit, active sensors such as the Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) onboard the CloudSat satellite has better capability to measure the ice water content profile, thus, its vertical integral, IWP, than any passive microwave (MW) or infrared (IR) sensors. In this study, we investigate the retrieval of IWP from MW and IR sensors, including AMSU-A, MHS, and HIRS instruments on-board the N19 satellite, such that the retrieval is consistent with the CloudSat IWP estimates. This is achieved through the collocations between the passive satellite measurements and CloudSat scenes. Potential benefit of synergistic multi-sensor multi-frequency retrieval is investigated. Two modeling approaches are explored for the IWP retrieval – generalized linear model (GLM) and neural network (NN). The investigation has been carried out over both ocean and land surface types. The MW/IR synergy is found to be retrieved more accurate IWP than the individual AMSU-A, MHS, or HIRS measurements. Both GLM and NN approaches have been able to exploit the synergistic retrievals. - Highlights: • MW/IR synergy is investigated for IWP retrieval. • The IWP retrieval is modeled using CloudSat collocations. • Two modeling approaches are explored – GLM and ANN. • MW/IR synergy performs better than the MW or IR only retrieval

On Packaging of MEMS. Simulation of Transfer Moulding and Packaging Stress and their Effect on a Family of piezo-resistive Pressure Sensors

OpenAIRE

Krondorfer, Rudolf H.

2004-01-01

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) produced to date include IR detectors, accelerometers, pressure sensors, micro lenses, actuators, chemical sensors, gear drives, RF devices, optical processor chips, micro robots and devices for biomedical analysis. The track for tomorrow has already been set and products like 3D TV, physician on a chip, lab on a chip, micro aircraft and food safety sensors will be developed when the technology matures and the market is ready. Todays MEMS fabricatio...

Direct determination of glucose, lactate and triglycerides in blood serum by a tunable quantum cascade laser-based mid-IR sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Brandstetter, M.; Volgger, L.; Genner, A.; Jungbauer, C.; Lendl, B.

2013-02-01

This work reports on a compact sensor for fast and reagent-free point-of-care determination of glucose, lactate and triglycerides in blood serum based on a tunable (1030-1230 cm-1) external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL). For simple and robust operation a single beam set-up was designed and only thermoelectric cooling was used for the employed laser and detector. Full computer control of analysis including liquid handling and data analysis facilitated routine measurements. A high optical pathlength (>100 μm) is a prerequisite for robust measurements in clinical practice. Hence, the optimum optical pathlength for transmission measurements in aqueous solution was considered in theory and experiment. The experimentally determined maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was around 140 μm for the QCL blood sensor and around 50 μm for a standard FT-IR spectrometer employing a liquid nitrogen cooled mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) detector. A single absorption spectrum was used to calculate the analyte concentrations simultaneously by using a partial-least-squares (PLS) regression analysis. Glucose was determined in blood serum with a prediction error (RMSEP) of 6.9 mg/dl and triglycerides with an error of cross-validation (RMSECV) of 17.5 mg/dl in a set of 42 different patients. In spiked serum samples the lactate concentration could be determined with an RMSECV of 8.9 mg/dl.

Passive sensor systems for nuclear material monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simpson, M.L.; Boatner, L.A.; Holcomb, D.E.; McElhaney, S.A.; Mihalczo, J.T.; Muhs, J.D.; Roberts, M.R.; Hill, N.W.

1993-01-01

Passive fiber optic sensor systems capable of confirming the presence of special nuclear materials in storage or process facilities are being developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). These sensors provide completely passive, remote measurement capability. No power supplies, amplifiers, or other active components that could degrade system reliability are required at the sensor location. ORNL, through its research programs in scintillator materials, has developed a variety of materials for use in alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and neutron-sensitive scintillator detectors. In addition to sensors for measuring radiation flux, new sensor materials have been developed which are capable of measuring weight, temperature, and source location. An example of a passive sensor for temperature measurement is the combination of a thermophosphor (e.g., rare-earth activated Y 2 O 3 ) with 6 LiF (95% 6 Li). This combination results in a new class of scintillators for thermal neutrons that absorb energy from the radiation particles and remit the energy as a light pulse, the decay rate of which, over a specified temperature range, is temperature dependent. Other passive sensors being developed include pressure-sensitive triboluminescent materials, weight-sensitive silicone rubber fibers, scintillating fibers, and other materials for gamma and neutron detection. The light from the scintillator materials of each sensor would be sent through optical fibers to a monitoring station, where the attribute quantity could be measured and compared with previously recorded emission levels. Confirmatory measurement applications of these technologies are being evaluated to reduce the effort, costs, and employee exposures associated with inventorying stockpiles of highly enriched uranium at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant

Fluorescent sensors for selective detection of thiols: expanding the intramolecular displacement based mechanism to new chromophores.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Li-Ya; Zheng, Hai-Rong; Chen, Yu-Zhe; Wu, Li-Zhu; Tung, Chen-Ho; Yang, Qing-Zheng

2014-03-21

Biological thiols, including cysteine (Cys), homocystein (Hcy) and glutathione (GSH), play crucial roles in maintaining the appropriate redox status of biological systems. An abnormal level of biothiols is associated with different diseases, therefore, the discrimination between them is of great importance. Herein, we present two fluorescent sensors for selective detection of biothiols based on our recently reported intramolecular displacement mechanism. We expanded this mechanism to commercially available chromophores, 4-chloro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-Cl) and heptamethine cyanine dye IR-780. The sensors operate by undergoing displacement of chloride by thiolate. The amino groups of Cys/Hcy further replace the thiolate to form amino-substituted products, which exhibit dramatically different photophysical properties compared to sulfur-substituted products from the reaction with GSH. NBD-Cl is highly selective towards Cys/Hcy and exhibits significant fluorescence enhancement. IR-780 showed a variation in its fluorescence ratio towards Cys over other thiols. Both of the sensors can be used for live-cell imaging of Cys. The wide applicability of the mechanism may provide a powerful tool for developing novel fluorescent sensors for selective detection of biothiols.

Systems and Sensors for Debris-flow Monitoring and Warning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorenzo Marchi

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Debris flows are a type of mass movement that occurs in mountain torrents. They consist of a high concentration of solid material in water that flows as a wave with a steep front. Debris flows can be considered a phenomenon intermediate between landslides and water floods. They are amongst the most hazardous natural processes in mountainous regions and may occur under different climatic conditions. Their destructiveness is due to different factors: their capability of transporting and depositing huge amounts of solid materials, which may also reach large sizes (boulders of several cubic meters are commonly transported by debris flows, their steep fronts, which may reach several meters of height and also their high velocities. The implementation of both structural and nonstructural control measures is often required when debris flows endanger routes, urban areas and other infrastructures. Sensor networks for debris-flow monitoring and warning play an important role amongst non-structural measures intended to reduce debris-flow risk. In particular, debris flow warning systems can be subdivided into two main classes: advance warning and event warning systems. These two classes employ different types of sensors. Advance warning systems are based on monitoring causative hydrometeorological processes (typically rainfall and aim to issue a warning before a possible debris flow is triggered. Event warning systems are based on detecting debris flows when these processes are in progress. They have a much smaller lead time than advance warning ones but are also less prone to false alarms. Advance warning for debris flows employs sensors and techniques typical of meteorology and hydrology, including measuring rainfall by means of rain gauges and weather radar and monitoring water discharge in headwater streams. Event warning systems use different types of sensors, encompassing ultrasonic or radar gauges, ground vibration sensors, videocameras, avalanche

Simple fabrication of closed-packed IR microlens arrays on silicon by femtosecond laser wet etching

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Xiangwei; Chen, Feng; Yang, Qing; Bian, Hao; Du, Guangqing; Hou, Xun

2015-10-01

We demonstrate a simple route to fabricate closed-packed infrared (IR) silicon microlens arrays (MLAs) based on femtosecond laser irradiation assisted by wet etching method. The fabricated MLAs show high fill factor, smooth surface and good uniformity. They can be used as optical devices for IR applications. The exposure and etching parameters are optimized to obtain reproducible microlens with hexagonal and rectangular arrangements. The surface roughness of the concave MLAs is only 56 nm. This presented method is a maskless process and can flexibly change the size, shape and the fill factor of the MLAs by controlling the experimental parameters. The concave MLAs on silicon can work in IR region and can be used for IR sensors and imaging applications.

Active Multimodal Sensor System for Target Recognition and Tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Yufu; Zhang, Guirong; Zou, Zhaofan; Liu, Ziyue; Mao, Jiansen

2017-06-28

High accuracy target recognition and tracking systems using a single sensor or a passive multisensor set are susceptible to external interferences and exhibit environmental dependencies. These difficulties stem mainly from limitations to the available imaging frequency bands, and a general lack of coherent diversity of the available target-related data. This paper proposes an active multimodal sensor system for target recognition and tracking, consisting of a visible, an infrared, and a hyperspectral sensor. The system makes full use of its multisensor information collection abilities; furthermore, it can actively control different sensors to collect additional data, according to the needs of the real-time target recognition and tracking processes. This level of integration between hardware collection control and data processing is experimentally shown to effectively improve the accuracy and robustness of the target recognition and tracking system.

Integrated tunneling sensor for nanoelectromechanical systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sadewasser, S.; Abadal, G.; Barniol, N.

2006-01-01

Transducers based on quantum mechanical tunneling provide an extremely sensitive sensor principle, especially for nanoelectromechanical systems. For proper operation a gap between the electrodes of below 1 nm is essential, requiring the use of structures with a mobile electrode. At such small...... distances, attractive van der Waals and capillary forces become sizable, possibly resulting in snap-in of the electrodes. The authors present a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the interplay between the involved forces and identify requirements for the design of tunneling sensors. Based...... on this analysis, a tunneling sensor is fabricated by Si micromachining technology and its proper operation is demonstrated. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics....

The design and application of a multi-band IR imager

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lijuan

2018-02-01

Multi-band IR imaging system has many applications in security, national defense, petroleum and gas industry, etc. So the relevant technologies are getting more and more attention in rent years. As we know, when used in missile warning and missile seeker systems, multi-band IR imaging technology has the advantage of high target recognition capability and low false alarm rate if suitable spectral bands are selected. Compared with traditional single band IR imager, multi-band IR imager can make use of spectral features in addition to space and time domain features to discriminate target from background clutters and decoys. So, one of the key work is to select the right spectral bands in which the feature difference between target and false target is evident and is well utilized. Multi-band IR imager is a useful instrument to collect multi-band IR images of target, backgrounds and decoys for spectral band selection study at low cost and with adjustable parameters and property compared with commercial imaging spectrometer. In this paper, a multi-band IR imaging system is developed which is suitable to collect 4 spectral band images of various scenes at every turn and can be expanded to other short-wave and mid-wave IR spectral bands combination by changing filter groups. The multi-band IR imaging system consists of a broad band optical system, a cryogenic InSb large array detector, a spinning filter wheel and electronic processing system. The multi-band IR imaging system's performance is tested in real data collection experiments.

A Multi-Agent System Architecture for Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Guijarro

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The design of the control systems for sensor networks presents important challenges. Besides the traditional problems about how to process the sensor data to obtain the target information, engineers need to consider additional aspects such as the heterogeneity and high number of sensors, and the flexibility of these networks regarding topologies and the sensors in them. Although there are partial approaches for resolving these issues, their integration relies on ad hoc solutions requiring important development efforts. In order to provide an effective approach for this integration, this paper proposes an architecture based on the multi-agent system paradigm with a clear separation of concerns. The architecture considers sensors as devices used by an upper layer of manager agents. These agents are able to communicate and negotiate services to achieve the required functionality. Activities are organized according to roles related with the different aspects to integrate, mainly sensor management, data processing, communication and adaptation to changes in the available devices and their capabilities. This organization largely isolates and decouples the data management from the changing network, while encouraging reuse of solutions. The use of the architecture is facilitated by a specific modelling language developed through metamodelling. A case study concerning a generic distributed system for fire fighting illustrates the approach and the comparison with related work.

Assessment of sensors and aircraft for oil spill remote sensing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fingas, M.F.; Fruhwirth, M.

1993-01-01

Environment Canada has assessed sensors and aircraft suitable for remote sensing, particularly the capability of sensors to detect oil and to discriminate oil from background targets. The assessment was based on past experience and technical considerations. The first sensor recommended for use is an infrared camera or an IR/UV system. This recommendation is based on the system's ability to detect oil and discriminate this from the background, and the low cost of these sensors. The laser fluorosensor is recommended as the second device, as it is the only unit capable of positively discriminating oil on water, among weeds, and in sediment or beach material. Cameras operating in the visible region of the spectrum are recommended for two functions: documentation and providing background or location imagery for other sensors. Imaging radars, be they SAR or SLAR, are recommended for long-range searches or for oil spill work at night or when fog is present. Radars are expensive and require dedicated aircraft. Passive microwave devices are currently being developed but have not been proven as an alternative to radar or for measuring slick thickness. A laser based thickness sensor is under development. Satellite systems were also assessed. Satellite sensors operating in the visible spectrum have only limited application to major oil spills. New radar sensors show limited potential. The major limitation of any satellite system is the limited coverage time that is a function of its orbit. A study of aircraft and aircraft modifications was carried out to catalog aircraft modifications necessary to operate oil spill remote sensors. A potential user could select modifications that are already approved and thus save the high costs of aircraft modification design. The modifications already approved in Canada and the US for a given aircraft provide criteria for the selection of an aircraft

Catalytic mechanisms of direct pyrrole synthesis via dehydrogenative coupling mediated by PNP-Ir or PNN-Ru pincer complexes: Crucial role of proton-transfer shuttles in the PNP-Ir system

KAUST Repository

Qu, Shuanglin

2014-04-02

Kempe et al. and Milstein et al. have recently advanced the dehydrogenative coupling methodology to synthesize pyrroles from secondary alcohols (e.g., 3) and β-amino alcohols (e.g., 4), using PNP-Ir (1) and PNN-Ru (2) pincer complexes, respectively. We herein present a DFT study to characterize the catalytic mechanism of these reactions. After precatalyst activation to give active 1A/2A, the transformation proceeds via four stages: 1A/2A-catalyzed alcohol (3) dehydrogenation to give ketone (11), base-facilitated C-N coupling of 11 and 4 to form an imine-alcohol intermediate (18), base-promoted cyclization of 18, and catalyst regeneration via H2 release from 1R/2R. For alcohol dehydrogenations, the bifunctional double hydrogen-transfer pathway is more favorable than that via β-hydride elimination. Generally, proton-transfer (H-transfer) shuttles facilitate various H-transfer processes in both systems. Notwithstanding, H-transfer shuttles play a much more crucial role in the PNP-Ir system than in the PNN-Ru system. Without H-transfer shuttles, the key barriers up to 45.9 kcal/mol in PNP-Ir system are too high to be accessible, while the corresponding barriers (<32.0 kcal/mol) in PNN-Ru system are not unreachable. Another significant difference between the two systems is that the addition of alcohol to 1A giving an alkoxo complex is endergonic by 8.1 kcal/mol, whereas the addition to 2A is exergonic by 8.9 kcal/mol. The thermodynamic difference could be the main reason for PNP-Ir system requiring lower catalyst loading than the PNN-Ru system. We discuss how the differences are resulted in terms of electronic and geometric structures of the catalysts and how to use the features in catalyst development. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

Bayesian based design of real-time sensor systems for high-risk indoor contaminants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sreedharan, Priya [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2007-01-01

The sudden release of toxic contaminants that reach indoor spaces can be hazardousto building occupants. To respond effectively, the contaminant release must be quicklydetected and characterized to determine unobserved parameters, such as release locationand strength. Characterizing the release requires solving an inverse problem. Designinga robust real-time sensor system that solves the inverse problem is challenging becausethe fate and transport of contaminants is complex, sensor information is limited andimperfect, and real-time estimation is computationally constrained.This dissertation uses a system-level approach, based on a Bayes Monte Carloframework, to develop sensor-system design concepts and methods. I describe threeinvestigations that explore complex relationships among sensors, network architecture,interpretation algorithms, and system performance. The investigations use data obtainedfrom tracer gas experiments conducted in a real building. The influence of individual sensor characteristics on the sensor-system performance for binary-type contaminant sensors is analyzed. Performance tradeoffs among sensor accuracy, threshold level and response time are identified; these attributes could not be inferred without a system-level analysis. For example, more accurate but slower sensors are found to outperform less accurate but faster sensors. Secondly, I investigate how the sensor-system performance can be understood in terms of contaminant transport processes and the model representation that is used to solve the inverse problem. The determination of release location and mass are shown to be related to and constrained by transport and mixing time scales. These time scales explain performance differences among different sensor networks. For example, the effect of longer sensor response times is comparably less for releases with longer mixing time scales. The third investigation explores how information fusion from heterogeneous sensors may improve the sensor-system

Online Sensor Calibration Assessment in Nuclear Power Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coble, Jamie B.; Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Meyer, Ryan M.; Hashemian, Hash

2013-01-01

Safe, efficient, and economic operation of nuclear systems (nuclear power plants, fuel fabrication and storage, used fuel processing, etc.) relies on transmission of accurate and reliable measurements. During operation, sensors degrade due to age, environmental exposure, and maintenance interventions. Sensor degradation can affect the measured and transmitted signals, including sensor failure, signal drift, sensor response time, etc. Currently, periodic sensor recalibration is performed to avoid these problems. Sensor recalibration activities include both calibration assessment and adjustment (if necessary). In nuclear power plants, periodic recalibration of safety-related sensors is required by the plant technical specifications. Recalibration typically occurs during refueling outages (about every 18 to 24 months). Non-safety-related sensors also undergo recalibration, though not as frequently. However, this approach to maintaining sensor calibration and performance is time-consuming and expensive, leading to unnecessary maintenance, increased radiation exposure to maintenance personnel, and potential damage to sensors. Online monitoring (OLM) of sensor performance is a non-invasive approach to assess instrument calibration. OLM can mitigate many of the limitations of the current periodic recalibration practice by providing more frequent assessment of calibration and identifying those sensors that are operating outside of calibration tolerance limits without removing sensors or interrupting operation. This can support extended operating intervals for unfaulted sensors and target recalibration efforts to only degraded sensors

Micro optical sensor systems for sunsensing applications

Science.gov (United States)

Leijtens, Johan; de Boom, Kees

2017-11-01

Optimum application of micro system technologies allows building small sensor systems that will alter procurement strategies for spacecraft manufacturers. One example is the decreased size and cost for state of the art sunsensors. Integrated sensor systems are being designed which, through use of microsystem technology, are an order of magnitutde smaller than most current sunsensors and which hold due to the large reproducibility through batch manufacturing the promise of drastic price reduction. If the Commercial Of The Shelf (COTS) approach is adopted by satellite manufacturers, this will drastically decrease mass and cost budgets associated with sunsensing applications.

Water Plume Temperature Measurements by an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony DeMario

2017-02-01

Full Text Available We report on the development and testing of a proof of principle water temperature measurement system deployed on an unmanned aerial system (UAS, for field measurements of thermal discharges into water. The primary elements of the system include a quad-copter UAS to which has been integrated, for the first time, both a thermal imaging infrared (IR camera and an immersible probe that can be dipped below the water surface to obtain vertical water temperature profiles. The IR camera is used to take images of the overall water surface to geo-locate the plume, while the immersible probe provides quantitative temperature depth profiles at specific locations. The full system has been tested including the navigation of the UAS, its ability to safely carry the sensor payload, and the performance of both the IR camera and the temperature probe. Finally, the UAS sensor system was successfully deployed in a pilot field study at a coal burning power plant, and obtained images and temperature profiles of the thermal effluent.

Innovative monolithic detector for tri-spectral (THz, IR, Vis) imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Pocas, S.; Perenzoni, M.; Massari, N.; Simoens, F.; Meilhan, J.; Rabaud, W.; Martin, S.; Delplanque, B.; Imperinetti, P.; Goudon, V.; Vialle, C.; Arnaud, A.

2012-10-01

Fusion of multispectral images has been explored for many years for security and used in a number of commercial products. CEA-Leti and FBK have developed an innovative sensor technology that gathers monolithically on a unique focal plane arrays, pixels sensitive to radiation in three spectral ranges that are terahertz (THz), infrared (IR) and visible. This technology benefits of many assets for volume market: compactness, full CMOS compatibility on 200mm wafers, advanced functions of the CMOS read-out integrated circuit (ROIC), and operation at room temperature. The ROIC houses visible APS diodes while IR and THz detections are carried out by microbolometers collectively processed above the CMOS substrate. Standard IR bolometric microbridges (160x160 pixels) are surrounding antenna-coupled bolometers (32X32 pixels) built on a resonant cavity customized to THz sensing. This paper presents the different technological challenges achieved in this development and first electrical and sensitivity experimental tests.

Hybrid Exploration Agent Platform and Sensor Web System

Science.gov (United States)

Stoffel, A. William; VanSteenberg, Michael E.

2004-01-01

A sensor web to collect the scientific data needed to further exploration is a major and efficient asset to any exploration effort. This is true not only for lunar and planetary environments, but also for interplanetary and liquid environments. Such a system would also have myriad direct commercial spin-off applications. The Hybrid Exploration Agent Platform and Sensor Web or HEAP-SW like the ANTS concept is a Sensor Web concept. The HEAP-SW is conceptually and practically a very different system. HEAP-SW is applicable to any environment and a huge range of exploration tasks. It is a very robust, low cost, high return, solution to a complex problem. All of the technology for initial development and implementation is currently available. The HEAP Sensor Web or HEAP-SW consists of three major parts, The Hybrid Exploration Agent Platforms or HEAP, the Sensor Web or SW and the immobile Data collection and Uplink units or DU. The HEAP-SW as a whole will refer to any group of mobile agents or robots where each robot is a mobile data collection unit that spends most of its time acting in concert with all other robots, DUs in the web, and the HEAP-SWs overall Command and Control (CC) system. Each DU and robot is, however, capable of acting independently. The three parts of the HEAP-SW system are discussed in this paper. The Goals of the HEAP-SW system are: 1) To maximize the amount of exploration enhancing science data collected; 2) To minimize data loss due to system malfunctions; 3) To minimize or, possibly, eliminate the risk of total system failure; 4) To minimize the size, weight, and power requirements of each HEAP robot; 5) To minimize HEAP-SW system costs. The rest of this paper discusses how these goals are attained.

Alkoholio ir tabako pasiūlos ir paklausos teisinio reguliavimo raida Lietuvos Respublikoje: problemos ir sprendimai

OpenAIRE

Mockevičius, Arminas

2014-01-01

Viešosios teisės magistro studijų programos studento Armino Mockevičiaus buvo parašytas magistro baigiamasis darbas „Alkoholio ir tabako pasiūlos ir paklausos teisinio reguliavimo raida Lietuvos Respublikoje: problemos ir sprendimai“. Šis darbas parašytas Vilniuje, 2014 metais, Mykolo Romerio universiteto Teisės fakulteto Konstitucinės ir administracinės teisės institute, vadovaujant dr. Gintautui Vilkeliui, apimtis 98 p. Darbo tikslas yra atskleisti alkoholio ir tabako pasiūlos ir paklau...

Performance Management Systems: IRS's Systems for Frontline Employees and Managers Align with Strategic Goals but Improvements Can Be Made

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2002-01-01

.... For agencies like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that are undergoing a cultural change, performance management systems help reinforce behaviors and actions that support the agency's obsession...

Smart sensors and systems innovations for medical, environmental, and IoT applications

CERN Document Server

Yasuura, Hiroto; Liu, Yongpan; Lin, Youn-Long

2017-01-01

This book describes the technology used for effective sensing of our physical world and intelligent processing techniques for sensed information, which are essential to the success of Internet of Things (IoT). The authors provide a multidisciplinary view of sensor technology from materials, process, circuits, and big data domains and showcase smart sensor systems in real applications including smart home, transportation, medical, environmental, agricultural, etc. Unlike earlier books on sensors, this book provides a “global” view on smart sensors covering abstraction levels from device, circuit, systems, and algorithms. Profiles active research on smart sensors based on CMOS microelectronics; Describes applications of sensors and sensor systems in cyber physical systems, the social information infrastructure in our modern world; Includes coverage of a variety of related information technologies supporting the application of sensors; Discusses the integration of computation, networking, actuation, database...

Validation of an Inertial Sensor System for Swing Analysis in Golf

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Lückemann

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Wearable inertial sensor systems are an upcoming tool for self-evaluation in sports, and can be used for swing analysis in golf. The aim of this work was to determine the validity and repeatability of an inertial sensor system attached to a player’s glove using a radar system as a reference. 20 subjects performed five full swings with each of three different clubs (wood, 7-iron, wedge. Clubhead speed was measured simultaneously by both sensor systems. Limits of Agreement were used to determine the accuracy and precision of the inertial sensor system. Results show that the inertial sensor system is quite accurate but with a lack of precision. Random error was quantified to approximately 17 km/h. The measurement error was dependent on the club type and was weakly negatively correlated to the magnitude of clubhead speed.

Operation of remote mobile sensors for security of drinking water distribution systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Perelman, By Lina; Ostfeld, Avi

2013-09-01

The deployment of fixed online water quality sensors in water distribution systems has been recognized as one of the key components of contamination warning systems for securing public health. This study proposes to explore how the inclusion of mobile sensors for inline monitoring of various water quality parameters (e.g., residual chlorine, pH) can enhance water distribution system security. Mobile sensors equipped with sampling, sensing, data acquisition, wireless transmission and power generation systems are being designed, fabricated, and tested, and prototypes are expected to be released in the very near future. This study initiates the development of a theoretical framework for modeling mobile sensor movement in water distribution systems and integrating the sensory data collected from stationary and non-stationary sensor nodes to increase system security. The methodology is applied and demonstrated on two benchmark networks. Performance of different sensor network designs are compared for fixed and combined fixed and mobile sensor networks. Results indicate that complementing online sensor networks with inline monitoring can increase detection likelihood and decrease mean time to detection. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wearable PPG sensor based alertness scoring system.

Science.gov (United States)

Dey, Jishnu; Bhowmik, Tanmoy; Sahoo, Saswata; Tiwari, Vijay Narayan

2017-07-01

Quantifying mental alertness in today's world is important as it enables the person to adopt lifestyle changes for better work efficiency. Miniaturized sensors in wearable devices have facilitated detection/monitoring of mental alertness. Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors through Heart Rate Variability (HRV) offer one such opportunity by providing information about one's daily alertness levels without requiring any manual interference from the user. In this paper, a smartwatch based alertness estimation system is proposed. Data collected from PPG sensor of smartwatch is processed and fed to machine learning based model to get a continuous alertness score. Utility functions are designed based on statistical analysis to give a quality score on different stages of alertness such as awake, long sleep and short duration power nap. An intelligent data collection approach is proposed in collaboration with the motion sensor in the smartwatch to reduce battery drainage. Overall, our proposed wearable based system provides a detailed analysis of alertness over a period in a systematic and optimized manner. We were able to achieve an accuracy of 80.1% for sleep/awake classification along with alertness score. This opens up the possibility for quantifying alertness levels using a single PPG sensor for better management of health related activities including sleep.

Interface adjustment and exchange coupling in the IrMn/NiFe system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spizzo, F.; Tamisari, M.; Chinni, F.; Bonfiglioli, E.; Del Bianco, L., E-mail: lucia.delbianco@unife.it

2017-01-01

The exchange bias effect was investigated, in the 5–300 K temperature range, in samples of IrMn [100 Å]/NiFe [50 Å] (set A) and in samples with inverted layer-stacking sequence (set B), produced at room temperature by DC magnetron sputtering in a static magnetic field of 400 Oe. The samples of each set differ for the nominal thickness (t{sub Cu}) of a Cu spacer, grown at the interface between the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic layers, which was varied between 0 and 2 Å. It has been found out that the Cu insertion reduces the values of the exchange field and of the coercivity and can also affect their thermal evolution, depending on the stack configuration. Indeed, the latter also determines a peculiar variation of the exchange bias properties with time, shown and discussed with reference to the samples without Cu of the two sets. The results have been explained considering that, in this system, the exchange coupling mechanism is ruled by the glassy magnetic behavior of the IrMn spins located at the interface with the NiFe layer. Varying the stack configuration and t{sub Cu} results in a modulation of the structural and magnetic features of the interface, which ultimately affects the spins dynamics of the glassy IrMn interfacial component. - Highlights: • Exchange bias effect in IrMn/NiFe samples with interfacial Cu spacer. • A variation of exchange bias with time is observed in as-deposited samples. • Magnetic modification of the interface by varying the stack sequence and Cu thickness. • Interface adjustment affects the dynamics of interfacial IrMn spins. • The exchange bias properties can be tuned by interface adjustment.

Wireless Sensor Network Based Smart Parking System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey JOSEPH

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Ambient Intelligence is a vision in which various devices come together and process information from multiple sources in order to exert control on the physical environment. In addition to computation and control, communication plays a crucial role in the overall functionality of such a system. Wireless Sensor Networks are one such class of networks, which meet these criteria. These networks consist of spatially distributed sensor motes which work in a co-operative manner to sense and control the environment. In this work, an implementation of an energy-efficient and cost-effective, wireless sensor networks based vehicle parking system for a multi-floor indoor parking facility has been introduced. The system monitors the availability of free parking slots and guides the vehicle to the nearest free slot. The amount of time the vehicle has been parked is monitored for billing purposes. The status of the motes (dead/alive is also recorded. Information like slot allocated, directions to the slot and billing data is sent as a message to customer’s mobile phones. This paper extends our previous work 1 with the development of a low cost sensor mote, about one tenth the cost of a commercially available mote, keeping in mind the price sensitive markets of the developing countries.

Development of basic system for sensor calibration support in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kusumi, Naohiro; Ohga, Yukiharu; Fukuda, Mitsuko; Ishizaki, Yuuichi; Koyama, Mikio; Maeda, Akihiko

2004-01-01

It is strongly desirable to reduce maintenance costs and shorten the time of periodic inspections in nuclear power plants. Therefore, it is important to reduce the amount of maintenance work during the inspection. In Japan, sensor calibration is usually performed at every periodic inspection, and the sensor calibration requires a large amount of work. A system for sensor calibration support has been developed to reduce sensor calibration work. The system is composed of two subsystems: a statistical analysis subsystem and a drift detection subsystem, as well as a human-machine interface, which offers support information. The statistical analysis subsystem supports the decision of the sensor calibration intervals based on the statistical analysis of sensor calibration data. There is the possibility that sensor drift increases beyond an allowance value before the sensor calibration intervals determined by the statistical analysis subsystem because of malfunctions, etc. To cope with this, the drift detection subsystem detects the sensor drift online during the plant operation. By combining the statistical analysis subsystem and the drift detection subsystem, a reliable sensor calibration support system is realized. The basic system composed of two subsystems was developed and evaluated using real plant data. The results showed that the sensor calibration intervals can be extended beyond current intervals and that the system is capable of detecting the sensor drift online. (author)

The tsunami service bus, an integration platform for heterogeneous sensor systems

Science.gov (United States)

Haener, R.; Waechter, J.; Kriegel, U.; Fleischer, J.; Mueller, S.

2009-04-01

1. INTRODUCTION Early warning systems are long living and evolving: New sensor-systems and -types may be developed and deployed, sensors will be replaced or redeployed on other locations and the functionality of analyzing software will be improved. To ensure a continuous operability of those systems their architecture must be evolution-enabled. From a computer science point of view an evolution-enabled architecture must fulfill following criteria: • Encapsulation of and functionality on data in standardized services. Access to proprietary sensor data is only possible via these services. • Loose coupling of system constituents which easily can be achieved by implementing standardized interfaces. • Location transparency of services what means that services can be provided everywhere. • Separation of concerns that means breaking a system into distinct features which overlap in functionality as little as possible. A Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as e. g. realized in the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) and the advantages of functional integration on the basis of services described below adopt these criteria best. 2. SENSOR INTEGRATION Integration of data from (distributed) data sources is just a standard task in computer science. From few well known solution patterns, taking into account performance and security requirements of early warning systems only functional integration should be considered. Precondition for this is that systems are realized compliant to SOA patterns. Functionality is realized in form of dedicated components communicating via a service infrastructure. These components provide their functionality in form of services via standardized and published interfaces which could be used to access data maintained in - and functionality provided by dedicated components. Functional integration replaces the tight coupling at data level by a dependency on loosely coupled services. If the interfaces of the service providing

Teaching IR to Medical Students: A Call to Action.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Aoife M; Lee, Michael J

2018-02-01

Interventional radiology (IR) has grown rapidly over the last 20 years and is now an essential component of modern medicine. Despite IR's increasing penetration and reputation in healthcare systems, IR is poorly taught, if taught at all, in most medical schools. Medical students are the referrers of tomorrow and potential IR recruits and deserve to be taught IR by expert IRs. The lack of formal IR teaching curricula in many medical schools needs to be addressed urgently for the continued development and dissemination of, particularly acute, IR services throughout Europe. We call on IRs to take up the baton to teach IR to the next generation of doctors.

Research on MEMS sensor in hydraulic system flow detection

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hongpeng; Zhang, Yindong; Liu, Dong; Ji, Yulong; Jiang, Jihai; Sun, Yuqing

2011-05-01

With the development of mechatronics technology and fault diagnosis theory, people regard flow information much more than before. Cheap, fast and accurate flow sensors are urgently needed by hydraulic industry. So MEMS sensor, which is small, low cost, well performed and easy to integrate, will surely play an important role in this field. Based on the new method of flow measurement which was put forward by our research group, this paper completed the measurement of flow rate in hydraulic system by setting up the mathematical model, using numerical simulation method and doing physical experiment. Based on viscous fluid flow equations we deduced differential pressure-velocity model of this new sensor and did optimization on parameters. Then, we designed and manufactured the throttle and studied the velocity and pressure field inside the sensor by FLUENT. Also in simulation we get the differential pressure-velocity curve .The model machine was simulated too to direct experiment. In the static experiments we calibrated the MEMS sensing element and built some sample sensors. Then in a hydraulic testing system we compared the sensor signal with a turbine meter. It presented good linearity and could meet general hydraulic system use. Based on the CFD curves, we analyzed the error reasons and made some suggestion to improve. In the dynamic test, we confirmed this sensor can realize high frequency flow detection by a 7 piston-pump.

Impact of Humidity on Quartz-Enhanced Photoacoustic Spectroscopy Based CO Detection Using a Near-IR Telecommunication Diode Laser

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xukun Yin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A near-IR CO trace gas sensor based on quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS is evaluated using humidified nitrogen samples. Relaxation processes in the CO-N2-H2O system are investigated. A simple kinetic model is used to predict the sensor performance at different gas pressures. The results show that CO has a ~3 and ~5 times slower relaxation time constant than CH4 and HCN, respectively, under dry conditions. However, with the presence of water, its relaxation time constant can be improved by three orders of magnitude. The experimentally determined normalized detection sensitivity for CO in humid gas is 1.556 × 10 − 8   W ⋅ cm − 1 / Hz 1 / 2 .

Large area CMOS image sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turchetta, R; Guerrini, N; Sedgwick, I

2011-01-01

CMOS image sensors, also known as CMOS Active Pixel Sensors (APS) or Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS), are today the dominant imaging devices. They are omnipresent in our daily life, as image sensors in cellular phones, web cams, digital cameras, ... In these applications, the pixels can be very small, in the micron range, and the sensors themselves tend to be limited in size. However, many scientific applications, like particle or X-ray detection, require large format, often with large pixels, as well as other specific performance, like low noise, radiation hardness or very fast readout. The sensors are also required to be sensitive to a broad spectrum of radiation: photons from the silicon cut-off in the IR down to UV and X- and gamma-rays through the visible spectrum as well as charged particles. This requirement calls for modifications to the substrate to be introduced to provide optimized sensitivity. This paper will review existing CMOS image sensors, whose size can be as large as a single CMOS wafer, and analyse the technical requirements and specific challenges of large format CMOS image sensors.

An Embedded Multi-Agent Systems Based Industrial Wireless Sensor Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Taboun, Mohammed S; Brennan, Robert W

2017-09-14

With the emergence of cyber-physical systems, there has been a growing interest in network-connected devices. One of the key requirements of a cyber-physical device is the ability to sense its environment. Wireless sensor networks are a widely-accepted solution for this requirement. In this study, an embedded multi-agent systems-managed wireless sensor network is presented. A novel architecture is proposed, along with a novel wireless sensor network architecture. Active and passive wireless sensor node types are defined, along with their communication protocols, and two application-specific examples are presented. A series of three experiments is conducted to evaluate the performance of the agent-embedded wireless sensor network.

Design of Mine Ventilators Monitoring System Based on Wireless Sensor Network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Sheng; Song Haiqiang

2012-01-01

A monitoring system for a mine ventilator is designed based on ZigBee wireless sensor network technology in the paper. The system consists of a sink node, sensor nodes, industrial personal computer and several sensors. Sensor nodes communicate with the sink node through the ZigBee wireless sensor network. The sink node connects with the configuration software on the pc via serial port. The system can collect or calculate vibration, temperature, negative pressure, air volume and other information of the mine ventilator. Meanwhile the system accurately monitors operating condition of the ventilator through these parameters. Especially it provides the most original information for potential faults of the ventilator. Therefore, there is no doubt that it improves the efficiency of fault diagnosis.

Design of Mine Ventilators Monitoring System Based on Wireless Sensor Network

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Sheng; Song, Haiqiang

2012-05-01

A monitoring system for a mine ventilator is designed based on ZigBee wireless sensor network technology in the paper. The system consists of a sink node, sensor nodes, industrial personal computer and several sensors. Sensor nodes communicate with the sink node through the ZigBee wireless sensor network. The sink node connects with the configuration software on the pc via serial port. The system can collect or calculate vibration, temperature, negative pressure, air volume and other information of the mine ventilator. Meanwhile the system accurately monitors operating condition of the ventilator through these parameters. Especially it provides the most original information for potential faults of the ventilator. Therefore, there is no doubt that it improves the efficiency of fault diagnosis.

Compact Hip-Force Sensor for a Gait-Assistance Exoskeleton System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyundo Choi

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a compact force sensor system for a hip-mounted exoskeleton for seniors with difficulties in walking due to muscle weakness. It senses and monitors the delivered force and power of the exoskeleton for motion control and taking urgent safety action. Two FSR (force-sensitive resistors sensors are used to measure the assistance force when the user is walking. The sensor system directly measures the interaction force between the exoskeleton and the lower limb of the user instead of a previously reported force-sensing method, which estimated the hip assistance force from the current of the motor and lookup tables. Furthermore, the sensor system has the advantage of generating torque in the walking-assistant actuator based on directly measuring the hip-assistance force. Thus, the gait-assistance exoskeleton system can control the delivered power and torque to the user. The force sensing structure is designed to decouple the force caused by hip motion from other directional forces to the sensor so as to only measure that force. We confirmed that the hip-assistance force could be measured with the proposed prototype compact force sensor attached to a thigh frame through an experiment with a real system.

Compact Hip-Force Sensor for a Gait-Assistance Exoskeleton System.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Hyundo; Seo, Keehong; Hyung, Seungyong; Shim, Youngbo; Lim, Soo-Chul

2018-02-13

In this paper, we propose a compact force sensor system for a hip-mounted exoskeleton for seniors with difficulties in walking due to muscle weakness. It senses and monitors the delivered force and power of the exoskeleton for motion control and taking urgent safety action. Two FSR (force-sensitive resistors) sensors are used to measure the assistance force when the user is walking. The sensor system directly measures the interaction force between the exoskeleton and the lower limb of the user instead of a previously reported force-sensing method, which estimated the hip assistance force from the current of the motor and lookup tables. Furthermore, the sensor system has the advantage of generating torque in the walking-assistant actuator based on directly measuring the hip-assistance force. Thus, the gait-assistance exoskeleton system can control the delivered power and torque to the user. The force sensing structure is designed to decouple the force caused by hip motion from other directional forces to the sensor so as to only measure that force. We confirmed that the hip-assistance force could be measured with the proposed prototype compact force sensor attached to a thigh frame through an experiment with a real system.

A Survey of Wireless Sensor Network Based Air Pollution Monitoring Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Wei Ying; Lo, Kin Ming; Mak, Terrence; Leung, Kwong Sak; Leung, Yee; Meng, Mei Ling

2015-12-12

The air quality in urban areas is a major concern in modern cities due to significant impacts of air pollution on public health, global environment, and worldwide economy. Recent studies reveal the importance of micro-level pollution information, including human personal exposure and acute exposure to air pollutants. A real-time system with high spatio-temporal resolution is essential because of the limited data availability and non-scalability of conventional air pollution monitoring systems. Currently, researchers focus on the concept of The Next Generation Air Pollution Monitoring System (TNGAPMS) and have achieved significant breakthroughs by utilizing the advance sensing technologies, MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). However, there exist potential problems of these newly proposed systems, namely the lack of 3D data acquisition ability and the flexibility of the sensor network. In this paper, we classify the existing works into three categories as Static Sensor Network (SSN), Community Sensor Network (CSN) and Vehicle Sensor Network (VSN) based on the carriers of the sensors. Comprehensive reviews and comparisons among these three types of sensor networks were also performed. Last but not least, we discuss the limitations of the existing works and conclude the objectives that we want to achieve in future systems.

Sensor concentrator unit for the Continuous Automated Vault Inventory System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nodine, R.N.; Lenarduzzi, R.

1997-06-01

The purpose of this document is to describe the use and operation of the sensor concentrator in the Continuous Automated Vault Inventory System (CAVIS). The CAVIS electronically verifies the presence of items of stored special nuclear material (SNM). US Department of Energy orders require that stored SNM be inventoried periodically to provide assurance that the material is secure. Currently this inventory is a highly manual activity, requiring personnel to enter the storage vaults. Using a CAVIS allows the frequency of physical inventories to be significantly reduced, resulting in substantial cost savings, increased security, and improved safety. The electronic inventory of stored SNM requires two different types of sensors for each item. The two sensors measure different parameters of the item, usually weight and gamma rays. A CAVIS is constructed using four basic system components: sensors, sensor concentrators, a data collection unit, and a database/user interface unit. One sensor concentrator supports the inventory of up to 20 items (40 sensors) and continuously takes readings from the item sensors. On request the sensor concentrator outputs the most recent sensor readings to the data collection unit. The information transfer takes place over a RS485 communications link. The data collection unit supports from 1 to 120 sensor concentrators (1 to 2,400 items) and is referred to as the Sensor Polling and Configuration System (SPCS). The SPCS is connected by a secure Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network to the database/user interface unit, which is referred to as the Graphical Facility Information Center (GraFIC). A CAVIS containing more than 2,400 items is supported by connecting additional SPCS units to the GraFIC.

Sensor concentrator unit for the Continuous Automated Vault Inventory System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nodine, R.N.; Lenarduzzi, R.

1997-06-01

The purpose of this document is to describe the use and operation of the sensor concentrator in the Continuous Automated Vault Inventory System (CAVIS). The CAVIS electronically verifies the presence of items of stored special nuclear material (SNM). US Department of Energy orders require that stored SNM be inventoried periodically to provide assurance that the material is secure. Currently this inventory is a highly manual activity, requiring personnel to enter the storage vaults. Using a CAVIS allows the frequency of physical inventories to be significantly reduced, resulting in substantial cost savings, increased security, and improved safety. The electronic inventory of stored SNM requires two different types of sensors for each item. The two sensors measure different parameters of the item, usually weight and gamma rays. A CAVIS is constructed using four basic system components: sensors, sensor concentrators, a data collection unit, and a database/user interface unit. One sensor concentrator supports the inventory of up to 20 items (40 sensors) and continuously takes readings from the item sensors. On request the sensor concentrator outputs the most recent sensor readings to the data collection unit. The information transfer takes place over a RS485 communications link. The data collection unit supports from 1 to 120 sensor concentrators (1 to 2,400 items) and is referred to as the Sensor Polling and Configuration System (SPCS). The SPCS is connected by a secure Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network to the database/user interface unit, which is referred to as the Graphical Facility Information Center (GraFIC). A CAVIS containing more than 2,400 items is supported by connecting additional SPCS units to the GraFIC

New IR-UV gas sensor to energy and transport sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fateev, A.; Clausen, S.

2010-12-15

In situ simultaneous measurements of gas temperature and gas composition are of great interest in combustion research and give useful information about conditions, chemical reactions and gas mixing in many industrial processes. An optically based technique is beneficial because it is non-intrusive, accurate, fast and can be performed in situ for various extremely hard conditions. In humid and hot gas flows UV technique is more sensitive than FTIR one for fast gas concentration measurements of NO and SO{sub 2} and gives a great opportunity for simultaneous measurements of O{sub 2} concentration. Analysis of the fine structure of the UV absorption bands of, for example, NO, SO{sub 2} or O{sub 2} allows also to determine a value of the gas temperature. Absorption cross sections of CO{sub 2}, H{sub 2}O and SO{sub 2} measured using Risoe DTU's hot gas cell facility at elevated temperatures up to 1500 deg. C are reported. Design of a new developed 9-m long water-cooled fiber-optic probe with removable optical head suitable for fast IR/UV local gas absorption/emission measurements is described. The probe performance was successfully tested in several trial measurements on full scale multi-fuel fired boiler. A concept of fast time/spectralresolved measurements has been used in measurements on a large ship engine based on IR and UV broad band spectroscopy. (Author)

A Printed Organic Amplification System for Wearable Potentiometric Electrochemical Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiwaku, Rei; Matsui, Hiroyuki; Nagamine, Kuniaki; Uematsu, Mayu; Mano, Taisei; Maruyama, Yuki; Nomura, Ayako; Tsuchiya, Kazuhiko; Hayasaka, Kazuma; Takeda, Yasunori; Fukuda, Takashi; Kumaki, Daisuke; Tokito, Shizuo

2018-03-02

Electrochemical sensor systems with integrated amplifier circuits play an important role in measuring physiological signals via in situ human perspiration analysis. Signal processing circuitry based on organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) have significant potential in realizing wearable sensor devices due to their superior mechanical flexibility and biocompatibility. Here, we demonstrate a novel potentiometric electrochemical sensing system comprised of a potassium ion (K + ) sensor and amplifier circuits employing OTFT-based pseudo-CMOS inverters, which have a highly controllable switching voltage and closed-loop gain. The ion concentration sensitivity of the fabricated K + sensor was 34 mV/dec, which was amplified to 160 mV/dec (by a factor of 4.6) with high linearity. The developed system is expected to help further the realization of ultra-thin and flexible wearable sensor devices for healthcare applications.

Dual cameras acquisition and display system of retina-like sensor camera and rectangular sensor camera

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Nan; Cao, Fengmei; Lin, Yabin; Bai, Tingzhu; Song, Shengyu

2015-04-01

For a new kind of retina-like senor camera and a traditional rectangular sensor camera, dual cameras acquisition and display system need to be built. We introduce the principle and the development of retina-like senor. Image coordinates transformation and interpolation based on sub-pixel interpolation need to be realized for our retina-like sensor's special pixels distribution. The hardware platform is composed of retina-like senor camera, rectangular sensor camera, image grabber and PC. Combined the MIL and OpenCV library, the software program is composed in VC++ on VS 2010. Experience results show that the system can realizes two cameras' acquisition and display.

Electrochromic Molecular Imprinting Sensor for Visual and Smartphone-Based Detections.

Science.gov (United States)

Capoferri, Denise; Álvarez-Diduk, Ruslan; Del Carlo, Michele; Compagnone, Dario; Merkoçi, Arben

2018-05-01

Electrochromic effect and molecularly imprinted technology have been used to develop a sensitive and selective electrochromic sensor. The polymeric matrices obtained using the imprinting technology are robust molecular recognition elements and have the potential to mimic natural recognition entities with very high selectivity. The electrochromic behavior of iridium oxide nanoparticles (IrOx NPs) as physicochemical transducer together with a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as recognition layer resulted in a fast and efficient translation of the detection event. The sensor was fabricated using screen-printing technology with indium tin oxide as a transparent working electrode; IrOx NPs where electrodeposited onto the electrode followed by thermal polymerization of polypyrrole in the presence of the analyte (chlorpyrifos). Two different approaches were used to detect and quantify the pesticide: direct visual detection and smartphone imaging. Application of different oxidation potentials for 10 s resulted in color changes directly related to the concentration of the analyte. For smartphone imaging, at fixed potential, the concentration of the analyte was dependent on the color intensity of the electrode. The electrochromic sensor detects a highly toxic compound (chlorpyrifos) with a 100 fM and 1 mM dynamic range. So far, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first work where an electrochromic MIP sensor uses the electrochromic properties of IrOx to detect a certain analyte with high selectivity and sensitivity.

Wireless Zigbee strain gage sensor system for structural health monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Ide, Hiroshi; Abdi, Frank; Miraj, Rashid; Dang, Chau; Takahashi, Tatsuya; Sauer, Bruce

2009-05-01

A compact cell phone size radio frequency (ZigBee) wireless strain measurement sensor system to measure the structural strain deformation was developed. The developed system provides an accurate strain measurement data stream to the Internet for further Diagnostic and Prognostic (DPS) correlation. Existing methods of structural measurement by strain sensors (gauges) do not completely satisfy problems posed by continuous structural health monitoring. The need for efficient health monitoring methods with real-time requirements to bidirectional data flow from sensors and to a commanding device is becoming critical for keeping our daily life safety. The use of full-field strain measurement techniques could reduce costly experimental programs through better understanding of material behavior. Wireless sensor-network technology is a monitoring method that is estimated to grow rapidly providing potential for cost savings over traditional wired sensors. The many of currently available wireless monitoring methods have: the proactive and constant data rate character of the data streams rather than traditional reactive, event-driven data delivery; mostly static node placement on structures with limited number of nodes. Alpha STAR Electronics' wireless sensor network system, ASWN, addresses some of these deficiencies, making the system easier to operate. The ASWN strain measurement system utilizes off-the-shelf sensors, namely strain gauges, with an analog-to-digital converter/amplifier and ZigBee radio chips to keep cost lower. Strain data is captured by the sensor, converted to digital form and delivered to the ZigBee radio chip, which in turn broadcasts the information using wireless protocols to a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) or Laptop/Desktop computers. From here, data is forwarded to remote computers for higher-level analysis and feedback using traditional cellular and satellite communication or the Ethernet infrastructure. This system offers a compact size, lower cost

Sensor Systems for Vehicle Environment Perception in a Highway Intelligent Space System

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Xiaofeng; Gao, Feng; Xu, Guoyan; Ding, Nenggen; Cai, Yao; Ma, Mingming; Liu, Jianxing

2014-01-01

A Highway Intelligent Space System (HISS) is proposed to study vehicle environment perception in this paper. The nature of HISS is that a space sensors system using laser, ultrasonic or radar sensors are installed in a highway environment and communication technology is used to realize the information exchange between the HISS server and vehicles, which provides vehicles with the surrounding road information. Considering the high-speed feature of vehicles on highways, when vehicles will be passing a road ahead that is prone to accidents, the vehicle driving state should be predicted to ensure drivers have road environment perception information in advance, thereby ensuring vehicle driving safety and stability. In order to verify the accuracy and feasibility of the HISS, a traditional vehicle-mounted sensor system for environment perception is used to obtain the relative driving state. Furthermore, an inter-vehicle dynamics model is built and model predictive control approach is used to predict the driving state in the following period. Finally, the simulation results shows that using the HISS for environment perception can arrive at the same results detected by a traditional vehicle-mounted sensors system. Meanwhile, we can further draw the conclusion that using HISS to realize vehicle environment perception can ensure system stability, thereby demonstrating the method's feasibility. PMID:24834907

Tank Monitor and Control System sensor acceptance test procedure. Revision 5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scaief, C.C. III.

1994-01-01

The purpose of this acceptance test procedure (ATP) is to verify the correct reading of sensor elements connected to the Tank Monitor and Control System (TMACS). This ATP is intended to be used for testing of the connection of existing temperature sensors, new temperature sensors, pressure sensing equipment, new Engraf level gauges, sensors that generate a current output, and discrete (on/off) inputs. It is intended that this ATP will be used each time sensors are added to the system. As a result, the data sheets have been designed to be generic. The TMACS has been designed in response to recommendations from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board primarily for improved monitoring of waste tank temperatures. The system has been designed with the capability to monitor other types of sensor input as well

Intelligent Chemical Sensor Systems for In-space Safety Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, G. W.; Xu, J. C.; Neudeck, P. G.; Makel, D. B.; Ward, B.; Liu, C. C.

2006-01-01

Future in-space and lunar operations will require significantly improved monitoring and Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) throughout the mission. In particular, the monitoring of chemical species is an important component of an overall monitoring system for space vehicles and operations. For example, in leak monitoring of propulsion systems during launch, inspace, and on lunar surfaces, detection of low concentrations of hydrogen and other fuels is important to avoid explosive conditions that could harm personnel and damage the vehicle. Dependable vehicle operation also depends on the timely and accurate measurement of these leaks. Thus, the development of a sensor array to determine the concentration of fuels such as hydrogen, hydrocarbons, or hydrazine as well as oxygen is necessary. Work has been on-going to develop an integrated smart leak detection system based on miniaturized sensors to detect hydrogen, hydrocarbons, or hydrazine, and oxygen. The approach is to implement Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) based sensors incorporated with signal conditioning electronics, power, data storage, and telemetry enabling intelligent systems. The final sensor system will be self-contained with a surface area comparable to a postage stamp. This paper discusses the development of this "Lick and Stick" leak detection system and it s application to In-Space Transportation and other Exploration applications.

Sensor Buoy System for Monitoring Renewable Marine Energy Resources.

Science.gov (United States)

García, Emilio; Quiles, Eduardo; Correcher, Antonio; Morant, Francisco

2018-03-22

In this paper we present a multi-sensor floating system designed to monitor marine energy parameters, in order to sample wind, wave, and marine current energy resources. For this purpose, a set of dedicated sensors to measure the height and period of the waves, wind, and marine current intensity and direction have been selected and installed in the system. The floating device incorporates wind and marine current turbines for renewable energy self-consumption and to carry out complementary studies on the stability of such a system. The feasibility, safety, sensor communications, and buoy stability of the floating device have been successfully checked in real operating conditions.

Underwater Animal Monitoring Magnetic Sensor System

KAUST Repository

Kaidarova, Altynay

2017-10-01

Obtaining new insights into the behavior of free-living marine organisms is fundamental for conservation efforts and anticipating the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems. Despite the recent advances in biotelemetry, collecting physiological and behavioral parameters of underwater free-living animals remains technically challenging. In this thesis, we develop the first magnetic underwater animal monitoring system that utilizes Tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors, the most sensitive solid-state sensors today, coupled with flexible magnetic composites. The TMR sensors are composed of CoFeB free layers and MgO tunnel barriers, patterned using standard optical lithography and ion milling procedures. The short and long-term stability of the TMR sensors has been studied using statistical and Allan deviation analysis. Instrumentation noise has been reduced using optimized electrical interconnection schemes. We also develop flexible NdFeB-PDMS composite magnets optimized for applications in corrosive marine environments, and which can be attached to marine animals. The magnetic and mechanical properties are studied for different NdFeB powder concentrations and the performance of the magnetic composites for different exposure times to sea water is systematically investigated. Without protective layer, the composite magnets loose more than 50% of their magnetization after 51 days in seawater. The durability of the composite magnets can be considerably improved by using polymer coatings which are protecting the composite magnet, whereby Parylene C is found to be the most effective solution, providing simultaneously corrosion resistance, flexibility, and enhanced biocompatibility. A Parylene C film of 2μm thickness provides the sufficient protection of the magnetic composite in corrosive aqueous environments for more than 70 days. For the high level performance of the system, the theoretically optimal position of the composite magnets with respect to the sensing

A Smart Sensor Data Transmission Technique for Logistics and Intelligent Transportation Systems

OpenAIRE

Kyunghee Sun; Intae Ryoo

2018-01-01

When it comes to Internet of Things systems that include both a logistics system and an intelligent transportation system, a smart sensor is one of the key elements to collect useful information whenever and wherever necessary. This study proposes the Smart Sensor Node Group Management Medium Access Control Scheme designed to group smart sensor devices and collect data from them efficiently. The proposed scheme performs grouping of portable sensor devices connected to a system depending on th...

Experimental investigation of integrated refrigeration system (IRS) with gas engine, compression chiller and absorption chiller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Z.G.

2008-01-01

An integrated refrigeration system (IRS) with a gas engine, a vapor-compression chiller and an absorption chiller is set up and tested. The vapor-compression refrigeration cycle is operated directly by the gas engine. The waste heat from the gas engine operates the absorption refrigeration cycle, which provides additional cooling. The performance of the IRS is described. The cooling capacity of the IRS is about 596 kW, and primary energy ratio (PER) reaches 1.84 at air-conditioning rated conditions. The refrigerating capacity of the prototype increased and PER of prototype decreased with the increase of the gas engine speed. The gas engine speed was preferably regulated at part load condition in order to operate the prototype at high-energy efficiency. The refrigerating capacity and PER of the prototype increased with the increase of the outlet temperature of chilled water or the decrease of the inlet temperature of cooling water. The integrated refrigeration chiller in this work saves running costs as compared to the conventional refrigeration system by using the waste heat

An Embedded Multi-Agent Systems Based Industrial Wireless Sensor Network

Science.gov (United States)

Brennan, Robert W.

2017-01-01

With the emergence of cyber-physical systems, there has been a growing interest in network-connected devices. One of the key requirements of a cyber-physical device is the ability to sense its environment. Wireless sensor networks are a widely-accepted solution for this requirement. In this study, an embedded multi-agent systems-managed wireless sensor network is presented. A novel architecture is proposed, along with a novel wireless sensor network architecture. Active and passive wireless sensor node types are defined, along with their communication protocols, and two application-specific examples are presented. A series of three experiments is conducted to evaluate the performance of the agent-embedded wireless sensor network. PMID:28906452

Handbook of sensor networks compact wireless and wired sensing systems

CERN Document Server

Ilyas, Mohammad

2004-01-01

INTRODUCTION Opportunities and Challenges in Wireless Sensor Networks, M. Haenggi, Next Generation Technologies to Enable Sensor Networks, J. I.  Goodman, A. I. Reuther, and D. R. Martinez Sensor Networks Management, L. B. Ruiz, J. M. Nogueira, and A. A. F. Loureiro Models for Programmability in Sensor Networks, A. Boulis Miniaturizing Sensor Networks with MEMS, Brett Warneke A Taxonomy of Routing Techniques in Wireless Sensor Networks, J. N. Al-Karaki and A. E. Kamal Artificial Perceptual Systems, A. Loutfi, M. Lindquist, and P. Wide APPLICATIONS Sensor Network Architecture and Appl

IR-camera methods for automotive brake system studies

Science.gov (United States)

Dinwiddie, Ralph B.; Lee, Kwangjin

1998-03-01

Automotive brake systems are energy conversion devices that convert kinetic energy into heat energy. Several mechanisms, mostly related to noise and vibration problems, can occur during brake operation and are often related to non-uniform temperature distribution on the brake disk. These problems are of significant cost to the industry and are a quality concern to automotive companies and brake system vendors. One such problem is thermo-elastic instabilities in brake system. During the occurrence of these instabilities several localized hot spots will form around the circumferential direction of the brake disk. The temperature distribution and the time dependence of these hot spots, a critical factor in analyzing this problem and in developing a fundamental understanding of this phenomenon, were recorded. Other modes of non-uniform temperature distributions which include hot banding and extreme localized heating were also observed. All of these modes of non-uniform temperature distributions were observed on automotive brake systems using a high speed IR camera operating in snap-shot mode. The camera was synchronized with the rotation of the brake disk so that the time evolution of hot regions could be studied. This paper discusses the experimental approach in detail.

Novel Wireless Sensor System for Dynamic Characterization of Borehole Heat Exchangers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raimundo García-Olcina

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The design and field test of a novel sensor system based in autonomous wireless sensors to measure the temperature of the heat transfer fluid along a borehole heat exchanger (BHE is presented. The system, by means of two specials valves, inserts and extracts miniaturized wireless sensors inside the pipes of the borehole, which are carried by the thermal fluid. Each sensor is embedded in a small sphere of just 25 mm diameter and 8 gr weight, containing a transceiver, a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a power supply. A wireless data processing unit transmits to the sensors the acquisition configuration before the measurements, and also downloads the temperature data measured by the sensor along its way through the BHE U-tube. This sensor system is intended to improve the conventional thermal response test (TRT and it allows the collection of information about the thermal characteristics of the geological structure of subsurface and its influence in borehole thermal behaviour, which in turn, facilitates the implementation of TRTs in a more cost-effective and reliable way.

Novel wireless sensor system for dynamic characterization of borehole heat exchangers.

Science.gov (United States)

Martos, Julio; Montero, Álvaro; Torres, José; Soret, Jesús; Martínez, Guillermo; García-Olcina, Raimundo

2011-01-01

The design and field test of a novel sensor system based in autonomous wireless sensors to measure the temperature of the heat transfer fluid along a borehole heat exchanger (BHE) is presented. The system, by means of two special valves, inserts and extracts miniaturized wireless sensors inside the pipes of the borehole, which are carried by the thermal fluid. Each sensor is embedded in a small sphere of just 25 mm diameter and 8 gr weight, containing a transceiver, a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a power supply. A wireless data processing unit transmits to the sensors the acquisition configuration before the measurements, and also downloads the temperature data measured by the sensor along its way through the BHE U-tube. This sensor system is intended to improve the conventional thermal response test (TRT) and it allows the collection of information about the thermal characteristics of the geological structure of subsurface and its influence in borehole thermal behaviour, which in turn, facilitates the implementation of TRTs in a more cost-effective and reliable way.

IR-360 nuclear power plant safety functions and component classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yousefpour, F.; Shokri, F.; Soltani, H.

2010-01-01

The IR-360 nuclear power plant as a 2-loop PWR of 360 MWe power generation capacity is under design in MASNA Company. For design of the IR-360 structures, systems and components (SSCs), the codes and standards and their design requirements must be determined. It is a prerequisite to classify the IR-360 safety functions and safety grade of structures, systems and components correctly for selecting and adopting the suitable design codes and standards. This paper refers to the IAEA nuclear safety codes and standards as well as USNRC standard system to determine the IR-360 safety functions and to formulate the principles of the IR-360 component classification in accordance with the safety philosophy and feature of the IR-360. By implementation of defined classification procedures for the IR-360 SSCs, the appropriate design codes and standards are specified. The requirements of specific codes and standards are used in design process of IR-360 SSCs by design engineers of MASNA Company. In this paper, individual determination of the IR-360 safety functions and definition of the classification procedures and roles are presented. Implementation of this work which is described with example ensures the safety and reliability of the IR-360 nuclear power plant.

IR-360 nuclear power plant safety functions and component classification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yousefpour, F., E-mail: fyousefpour@snira.co [Management of Nuclear Power Plant Construction Company (MASNA) (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shokri, F.; Soltani, H. [Management of Nuclear Power Plant Construction Company (MASNA) (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2010-10-15

The IR-360 nuclear power plant as a 2-loop PWR of 360 MWe power generation capacity is under design in MASNA Company. For design of the IR-360 structures, systems and components (SSCs), the codes and standards and their design requirements must be determined. It is a prerequisite to classify the IR-360 safety functions and safety grade of structures, systems and components correctly for selecting and adopting the suitable design codes and standards. This paper refers to the IAEA nuclear safety codes and standards as well as USNRC standard system to determine the IR-360 safety functions and to formulate the principles of the IR-360 component classification in accordance with the safety philosophy and feature of the IR-360. By implementation of defined classification procedures for the IR-360 SSCs, the appropriate design codes and standards are specified. The requirements of specific codes and standards are used in design process of IR-360 SSCs by design engineers of MASNA Company. In this paper, individual determination of the IR-360 safety functions and definition of the classification procedures and roles are presented. Implementation of this work which is described with example ensures the safety and reliability of the IR-360 nuclear power plant.

Characterization of a novel miniaturized burst-mode infrared laser system for IR-MALDESI mass spectrometry imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekelöf, Måns; Manni, Jeffrey; Nazari, Milad; Bokhart, Mark; Muddiman, David C

2018-03-01

Laser systems are widely used in mass spectrometry as sample probes and ionization sources. Mid-infrared lasers are particularly suitable for analysis of high water content samples such as animal and plant tissues, using water as a resonantly excited sacrificial matrix. Commercially available mid-IR lasers have historically been bulky and expensive due to cooling requirements. This work presents a novel air-cooled miniature mid-IR laser with adjustable burst-mode output and details an evaluation of its performance for mass spectrometry imaging. The miniature laser was found capable of generating sufficient energy for complete ablation of animal tissue in the context of an IR-MALDESI experiment with exogenously added ice matrix, yielding several hundred confident metabolite identifications. Graphical abstract The use of a novel miniature 2.94 μm burst-mode laser in IR-MALDESI allows for rapid and sensitive mass spectrometry imaging of a whole mouse.

A Mobile Sensor Network System for Monitoring of Unfriendly Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Guangming; Zhou, Yaoxin; Ding, Fei; Song, Aiguo

2008-11-14

Observing microclimate changes is one of the most popular applications of wireless sensor networks. However, some target environments are often too dangerous or inaccessible to humans or large robots and there are many challenges for deploying and maintaining wireless sensor networks in those unfriendly environments. This paper presents a mobile sensor network system for solving this problem. The system architecture, the mobile node design, the basic behaviors and advanced network capabilities have been investigated respectively. A wheel-based robotic node architecture is proposed here that can add controlled mobility to wireless sensor networks. A testbed including some prototype nodes has also been created for validating the basic functions of the proposed mobile sensor network system. Motion performance tests have been done to get the positioning errors and power consumption model of the mobile nodes. Results of the autonomous deployment experiment show that the mobile nodes can be distributed evenly into the previously unknown environments. It provides powerful support for network deployment and maintenance and can ensure that the sensor network will work properly in unfriendly environments.

A Novel Attitude Determination System Aided by Polarization Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Zhi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to develop a novel attitude determination system aided by polarization sensor. An improved heading angle function is derived using the perpendicular relationship between directions of E-vector of linearly polarized light and solar vector in the atmospheric polarization distribution model. The Extended Kalman filter (EKF with quaternion differential equation as a dynamic model is applied to fuse the data from sensors. The covariance functions of filter process and measurement noises are deduced in detail. The indoor and outdoor tests are conducted to verify the validity and feasibility of proposed attitude determination system. The test results showed that polarization sensor is not affected by magnetic field, thus the proposed system can work properly in environments containing the magnetic interference. The results also showed that proposed system has higher measurement accuracy than common attitude determination system and can provide precise parameters for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV flight control. The main contribution of this paper is implementation of the EKF for incorporating the self-developed polarization sensor into the conventional attitude determination system. The real-world experiment with the quad-rotor proved that proposed system can work in a magnetic interference environment and provide sufficient accuracy in attitude determination for autonomous navigation of vehicle.

A Novel Attitude Determination System Aided by Polarization Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhi, Wei; Chu, Jinkui; Li, Jinshan; Wang, Yinlong

2018-01-09

This paper aims to develop a novel attitude determination system aided by polarization sensor. An improved heading angle function is derived using the perpendicular relationship between directions of E-vector of linearly polarized light and solar vector in the atmospheric polarization distribution model. The Extended Kalman filter (EKF) with quaternion differential equation as a dynamic model is applied to fuse the data from sensors. The covariance functions of filter process and measurement noises are deduced in detail. The indoor and outdoor tests are conducted to verify the validity and feasibility of proposed attitude determination system. The test results showed that polarization sensor is not affected by magnetic field, thus the proposed system can work properly in environments containing the magnetic interference. The results also showed that proposed system has higher measurement accuracy than common attitude determination system and can provide precise parameters for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight control. The main contribution of this paper is implementation of the EKF for incorporating the self-developed polarization sensor into the conventional attitude determination system. The real-world experiment with the quad-rotor proved that proposed system can work in a magnetic interference environment and provide sufficient accuracy in attitude determination for autonomous navigation of vehicle.

Multi-Sensor Fusion of Infrared and Electro-Optic Signals for High Resolution Night Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Lawrence

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Electro-optic (EO image sensors exhibit the properties of high resolution and low noise level at daytime, but they do not work in dark environments. Infrared (IR image sensors exhibit poor resolution and cannot separate objects with similar temperature. Therefore, we propose a novel framework of IR image enhancement based on the information (e.g., edge from EO images, which improves the resolution of IR images and helps us distinguish objects at night. Our framework superimposing/blending the edges of the EO image onto the corresponding transformed IR image improves their resolution. In this framework, we adopt the theoretical point spread function (PSF proposed by Hardie et al. for the IR image, which has the modulation transfer function (MTF of a uniform detector array and the incoherent optical transfer function (OTF of diffraction-limited optics. In addition, we design an inverse filter for the proposed PSF and use it for the IR image transformation. The framework requires four main steps: (1 inverse filter-based IR image transformation; (2 EO image edge detection; (3 registration; and (4 blending/superimposing of the obtained image pair. Simulation results show both blended and superimposed IR images, and demonstrate that blended IR images have better quality over the superimposed images. Additionally, based on the same steps, simulation result shows a blended IR image of better quality when only the original IR image is available.

A Wildlife Monitoring System Based on Wireless Image Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junguo Zhang

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Survival and development of wildlife sustains the balance and stability of the entire ecosystem. Wildlife monitoring can provide lots of information such as wildlife species, quantity, habits, quality of life and habitat conditions, to help researchers grasp the status and dynamics of wildlife resources, and to provide basis for the effective protection, sustainable use, and scientific management of wildlife resources. Wildlife monitoring is the foundation of wildlife protection and management. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN technology has become the most popular technology in the field of information. With advance of the CMOS image sensor technology, wireless sensor networks combined with image sensors, namely Wireless Image Sensor Networks (WISN technology, has emerged as an alternative in monitoring applications. Monitoring wildlife is one of its most promising applications. In this paper, system architecture of the wildlife monitoring system based on the wireless image sensor networks was presented to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional monitoring methods. Specifically, some key issues including design of wireless image sensor nodes and software process design have been studied and presented. A self-powered rotatable wireless infrared image sensor node based on ARM and an aggregation node designed for large amounts of data were developed. In addition, their corresponding software was designed. The proposed system is able to monitor wildlife accurately, automatically, and remotely in all-weather condition, which lays foundations for applications of wireless image sensor networks in wildlife monitoring.

Analog Organic Electronics Building Blocks for Organic Smart Sensor Systems on Foil

CERN Document Server

Marien, Hagen; Heremans, Paul

2013-01-01

 This book provides insight into organic electronics technology and in analog circuit techniques that can be used to increase the performance of both analog and digital organic circuits. It explores the domain of organic electronics technology for analog circuit applications, specifically smart sensor systems.  It focuses on all the building blocks in the data path of an organic sensor system between the sensor and the digital processing block. Sensors, amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters and DC-DC converters are discussed in detail. Coverage includes circuit techniques, circuit implementation, design decisions and measurement results of the building blocks described. Offers readers the first book to focus on analog organic circuit design; Discusses organic electronics technology for analog circuit applications in the context of smart sensor systems; Describes all building blocks necessary for an organic sensor system between the sensor and the digital processing block; Includes circuit techniques, cir...

Effect of sensor systems for cow management on milk production, somatic cell count, and reproduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Steeneveld, W; Vernooij, J C M; Hogeveen, H

2015-06-01

To improve management on dairy herds, sensor systems have been developed that can measure physiological, behavioral, and production indicators on individual cows. It is not known whether using sensor systems also improves measures of health and production in dairy herds. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using sensor systems on measures of health and production in dairy herds. Data of 414 Dutch dairy farms with (n=152) and without (n=262) sensor systems were available. For these herds, information on milk production per cow, days to first service, first calving age, and somatic cell count (SCC) was provided for the years 2003 to 2013. Moreover, year of investment in sensor systems was available. For every farm year, we determined whether that year was before or after the year of investment in sensor systems on farms with an automatic milking system (AMS) or a conventional milking system (CMS), or whether it was a year on a farm that never invested in sensor systems. Separate statistical analyses were performed to determine the effect of sensor systems for mastitis detection (color, SCC, electrical conductivity, and lactate dehydrogenase sensors), estrus detection for dairy cows, estrus detection for young stock, and other sensor systems (weighing platform, rumination time sensor, fat and protein sensor, temperature sensor, milk temperature sensor, urea sensor, β-hydroxybutyrate sensor, and other sensor systems). The AMS farms had a higher average SCC (by 12,000 cells/mL) after sensor investment, and CMS farms with a mastitis detection system had a lower average SCC (by 10,000 cells/mL) in the years after sensor investment. Having sensor systems was associated with a higher average production per cow on AMS farms, and with a lower average production per cow on CMS farms in the years after investment. The most likely reason for this lower milk production after investment was that on 96% of CMS farms, the sensor system investment occurred

Active Hearing Mechanisms Inspire Adaptive Amplification in an Acoustic Sensor System.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerreiro, Jose; Reid, Andrew; Jackson, Joseph C; Windmill, James F C

2018-06-01

Over many millions of years of evolution, nature has developed some of the most adaptable sensors and sensory systems possible, capable of sensing, conditioning and processing signals in a very power- and size-effective manner. By looking into biological sensors and systems as a source of inspiration, this paper presents the study of a bioinspired concept of signal processing at the sensor level. By exploiting a feedback control mechanism between a front-end acoustic receiver and back-end neuronal based computation, a nonlinear amplification with hysteretic behavior is created. Moreover, the transient response of the front-end acoustic receiver can also be controlled and enhanced. A theoretical model is proposed and the concept is prototyped experimentally through an embedded system setup that can provide dynamic adaptations of a sensory system comprising a MEMS microphone placed in a closed-loop feedback system. It faithfully mimics the mosquito's active hearing response as a function of the input sound intensity. This is an adaptive acoustic sensor system concept that can be exploited by sensor and system designers within acoustics and ultrasonic engineering fields.

AN INTEROPERABLE ARCHITECTURE FOR AIR POLLUTION EARLY WARNING SYSTEM BASED ON SENSOR WEB

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Samadzadegan

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Environmental monitoring systems deal with time-sensitive issues which require quick responses in emergency situations. Handling the sensor observations in near real-time and obtaining valuable information is challenging issues in these systems from a technical and scientific point of view. The ever-increasing population growth in urban areas has caused certain problems in developing countries, which has direct or indirect impact on human life. One of applicable solution for controlling and managing air quality by considering real time and update air quality information gathered by spatially distributed sensors in mega cities, using sensor web technology for developing monitoring and early warning systems. Urban air quality monitoring systems using functionalities of geospatial information system as a platform for analysing, processing, and visualization of data in combination with Sensor Web for supporting decision support systems in disaster management and emergency situations. This system uses Sensor Web Enablement (SWE framework of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC, which offers a standard framework that allows the integration of sensors and sensor data into spatial data infrastructures. SWE framework introduces standards for services to access sensor data and discover events from sensor data streams as well as definition set of standards for the description of sensors and the encoding of measurements. The presented system provides capabilities to collect, transfer, share, process air quality sensor data and disseminate air quality status in real-time. It is possible to overcome interoperability challenges by using standard framework. In a routine scenario, air quality data measured by in-situ sensors are communicated to central station where data is analysed and processed. The extracted air quality status is processed for discovering emergency situations, and if necessary air quality reports are sent to the authorities. This research

An Interoperable Architecture for Air Pollution Early Warning System Based on Sensor Web

Science.gov (United States)

Samadzadegan, F.; Zahmatkesh, H.; Saber, M.; Ghazi khanlou, H. J.

2013-09-01

Environmental monitoring systems deal with time-sensitive issues which require quick responses in emergency situations. Handling the sensor observations in near real-time and obtaining valuable information is challenging issues in these systems from a technical and scientific point of view. The ever-increasing population growth in urban areas has caused certain problems in developing countries, which has direct or indirect impact on human life. One of applicable solution for controlling and managing air quality by considering real time and update air quality information gathered by spatially distributed sensors in mega cities, using sensor web technology for developing monitoring and early warning systems. Urban air quality monitoring systems using functionalities of geospatial information system as a platform for analysing, processing, and visualization of data in combination with Sensor Web for supporting decision support systems in disaster management and emergency situations. This system uses Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) framework of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), which offers a standard framework that allows the integration of sensors and sensor data into spatial data infrastructures. SWE framework introduces standards for services to access sensor data and discover events from sensor data streams as well as definition set of standards for the description of sensors and the encoding of measurements. The presented system provides capabilities to collect, transfer, share, process air quality sensor data and disseminate air quality status in real-time. It is possible to overcome interoperability challenges by using standard framework. In a routine scenario, air quality data measured by in-situ sensors are communicated to central station where data is analysed and processed. The extracted air quality status is processed for discovering emergency situations, and if necessary air quality reports are sent to the authorities. This research proposed an

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems...

Integration of Fiber-Optic Sensor Arrays into a Multi-Modal Tactile Sensor Processing System for Robotic End-Effectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Kampmann

2014-04-01

Full Text Available With the increasing complexity of robotic missions and the development towards long-term autonomous systems, the need for multi-modal sensing of the environment increases. Until now, the use of tactile sensor systems has been mostly based on sensing one modality of forces in the robotic end-effector. The use of a multi-modal tactile sensory system is motivated, which combines static and dynamic force sensor arrays together with an absolute force measurement system. This publication is focused on the development of a compact sensor interface for a fiber-optic sensor array, as optic measurement principles tend to have a bulky interface. Mechanical, electrical and software approaches are combined to realize an integrated structure that provides decentralized data pre-processing of the tactile measurements. Local behaviors are implemented using this setup to show the effectiveness of this approach.

Therapeutic hypertension system based on a microbreathing pressure sensor system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diao Z

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Ziji Diao1, Hongying Liu1, Lan Zhu1, Xiaoqiang Gao1, Suwen Zhao1, Xitian Pi1,2, Xiaolin Zheng1,21Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Chongqing University, Ministry of Education, Chongqing; 2Key Laboratories for National Defense Science and Technology of Innovative Micronano Devices and System Technology, Chongqing, People’s Republic of ChinaBackground and methods: A novel therapeutic system for the treatment of hypertension was developed on the basis of a slow-breath training mechanism, using a microbreathing pressure sensor device for the detection of human respiratory signals attached to the abdomen. The system utilizes a single-chip AT89C51 microcomputer as a core processor, programmed by Microsoft Visual C++6.0 to communicate with a PC via a full-speed PDIUSBD12 interface chip. The programming is based on a slow-breath guided algorithm in which the respiratory signal serves as a physiological feedback parameter. Inhalation and exhalation by the subject is guided by music signals.Results and conclusion: Our study indicates that this microbreathing sensor system may assist in slow-breath training and may help to decrease blood pressure.Keywords: hypertension, microbreathing sensor, single-chip microcomputer, slow-pace breathing

Sensor Selection and Data Validation for Reliable Integrated System Health Management

Science.gov (United States)

Garg, Sanjay; Melcher, Kevin J.

2008-01-01

For new access to space systems with challenging mission requirements, effective implementation of integrated system health management (ISHM) must be available early in the program to support the design of systems that are safe, reliable, highly autonomous. Early ISHM availability is also needed to promote design for affordable operations; increased knowledge of functional health provided by ISHM supports construction of more efficient operations infrastructure. Lack of early ISHM inclusion in the system design process could result in retrofitting health management systems to augment and expand operational and safety requirements; thereby increasing program cost and risk due to increased instrumentation and computational complexity. Having the right sensors generating the required data to perform condition assessment, such as fault detection and isolation, with a high degree of confidence is critical to reliable operation of ISHM. Also, the data being generated by the sensors needs to be qualified to ensure that the assessments made by the ISHM is not based on faulty data. NASA Glenn Research Center has been developing technologies for sensor selection and data validation as part of the FDDR (Fault Detection, Diagnosis, and Response) element of the Upper Stage project of the Ares 1 launch vehicle development. This presentation will provide an overview of the GRC approach to sensor selection and data quality validation and will present recent results from applications that are representative of the complexity of propulsion systems for access to space vehicles. A brief overview of the sensor selection and data quality validation approaches is provided below. The NASA GRC developed Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy (S4) is a model-based procedure for systematically and quantitatively selecting an optimal sensor suite to provide overall health assessment of a host system. S4 can be logically partitioned into three major subdivisions: the knowledge base, the down

A screen-printed flexible flow sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moschos, A; Kaltsas, G; Syrovy, T; Syrova, L

2017-01-01

A thermal flow sensor was printed on a flexible plastic substrate using exclusively screen-printing techniques. The presented device was implemented with custom made screen-printed thermistors, which allows simple, cost-efficient production on a variety of flexible substrates while maintaining the typical advantages of thermal flow sensors. Evaluation was performed for both static (zero flow) and dynamic conditions using a combination of electrical measurements and IR imaging techniques in order to determine important characteristics, such as temperature response, output repeatability, etc. The flow sensor was characterized utilizing the hot-wire and calorimetric principles of operation, while the preliminary results appear to be very promising, since the sensor was successfully evaluated and displayed adequate sensitivity in a relatively wide flow range. (paper)

Internetting tactical security sensor systems

Science.gov (United States)

Gage, Douglas W.; Bryan, W. D.; Nguyen, Hoa G.

1998-08-01

The Multipurpose Surveillance and Security Mission Platform (MSSMP) is a distributed network of remote sensing packages and control stations, designed to provide a rapidly deployable, extended-range surveillance capability for a wide variety of military security operations and other tactical missions. The baseline MSSMP sensor suite consists of a pan/tilt unit with video and FLIR cameras and laser rangefinder. With an additional radio transceiver, MSSMP can also function as a gateway between existing security/surveillance sensor systems such as TASS, TRSS, and IREMBASS, and IP-based networks, to support the timely distribution of both threat detection and threat assessment information. The MSSMP system makes maximum use of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components for sensing, processing, and communications, and of both established and emerging standard communications networking protocols and system integration techniques. Its use of IP-based protocols allows it to freely interoperate with the Internet -- providing geographic transparency, facilitating development, and allowing fully distributed demonstration capability -- and prepares it for integration with the IP-based tactical radio networks that will evolve in the next decade. Unfortunately, the Internet's standard Transport layer protocol, TCP, is poorly matched to the requirements of security sensors and other quasi- autonomous systems in being oriented to conveying a continuous data stream, rather than discrete messages. Also, its canonical 'socket' interface both conceals short losses of communications connectivity and simply gives up and forces the Application layer software to deal with longer losses. For MSSMP, a software applique is being developed that will run on top of User Datagram Protocol (UDP) to provide a reliable message-based Transport service. In addition, a Session layer protocol is being developed to support the effective transfer of control of multiple platforms among multiple control

Tank Monitor and Control System sensor acceptance test procedure. Revision 6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scaief, C.C. III.

1994-01-01

The purpose of this Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) is to verify the correct reading of sensor elements connected to the Tank Monitor and Control System (TMACS). The system functional requirements are contained in WHC-SD-WM-RD-013, Rev. 1 (WHC 1992a). This ATP is intended to be used for testing of the connection of existing temperature sensors, new temperature sensors, pressure sensing equipment, new Enraf level gauges, sensors that generate a current output, and discrete (on/off) inputs. The TMACS operation was verified by the original ATP (WHC 1991 c). It is intended that this ATP will be used each time sensors are added to the system. As a result, the data sheets have been designed to be generic

System-in Package of Integrated Humidity Sensor Using CMOS-MEMS Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sung Pil

2015-10-01

Temperature/humidity microchips with micropump were fabricated using a CMOS-MEMS process and combined with ZigBee modules to implement a sensor system in package (SIP) for a ubiquitous sensor network (USN) and/or a wireless communication system. The current of a diode temperature sensor to temperature and a normalized current of FET humidity sensor to relative humidity showed linear characteristics, respectively, and the use of the micropump has enabled a faster response. A wireless reception module using the same protocol as that in transmission systems processed the received data within 10 m and showed temperature and humidity values in the display.

Integrated Microfluidic Sensor System with Magnetostrictive Resonators

KAUST Repository

Liang, Cai; Kosel, Jü rgen; Gooneratne, Chinthaka

2011-01-01

The present embodiments describe a method that integrates a magnetostrictive sensor with driving and detecting elements into a microfluidic chip to detect a chemical, biochemical or biomedical species. These embodiments may also measure the properties of a fluid such as viscosity, pH values. The whole system can be referred to lab-on-a-chip (LOC) or micro-total-analysis-systems (.mu.TAS). In particular, this present embodiments include three units, including a microfluidics unit, a magnetostrictive sensor, and driving/detecting elements. An analyzer may also be provided to analyze an electrical signal associated with a feature of a target specimen.

Integrated Microfluidic Sensor System with Magnetostrictive Resonators

KAUST Repository

Liang, Cai

2011-12-08

The present embodiments describe a method that integrates a magnetostrictive sensor with driving and detecting elements into a microfluidic chip to detect a chemical, biochemical or biomedical species. These embodiments may also measure the properties of a fluid such as viscosity, pH values. The whole system can be referred to lab-on-a-chip (LOC) or micro-total-analysis-systems (.mu.TAS). In particular, this present embodiments include three units, including a microfluidics unit, a magnetostrictive sensor, and driving/detecting elements. An analyzer may also be provided to analyze an electrical signal associated with a feature of a target specimen.

Image acquisition system using on sensor compressed sampling technique

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Pravir Singh; Choi, Gwan Seong

2018-01-01

Advances in CMOS technology have made high-resolution image sensors possible. These image sensors pose significant challenges in terms of the amount of raw data generated, energy efficiency, and frame rate. This paper presents a design methodology for an imaging system and a simplified image sensor pixel design to be used in the system so that the compressed sensing (CS) technique can be implemented easily at the sensor level. This results in significant energy savings as it not only cuts the raw data rate but also reduces transistor count per pixel; decreases pixel size; increases fill factor; simplifies analog-to-digital converter, JPEG encoder, and JPEG decoder design; decreases wiring; and reduces the decoder size by half. Thus, CS has the potential to increase the resolution of image sensors for a given technology and die size while significantly decreasing the power consumption and design complexity. We show that it has potential to reduce power consumption by about 23% to 65%.

Sensor network infrastructure for a home care monitoring system.

Science.gov (United States)

Palumbo, Filippo; Ullberg, Jonas; Stimec, Ales; Furfari, Francesco; Karlsson, Lars; Coradeschi, Silvia

2014-02-25

This paper presents the sensor network infrastructure for a home care system that allows long-term monitoring of physiological data and everyday activities. The aim of the proposed system is to allow the elderly to live longer in their home without compromising safety and ensuring the detection of health problems. The system offers the possibility of a virtual visit via a teleoperated robot. During the visit, physiological data and activities occurring during a period of time can be discussed. These data are collected from physiological sensors (e.g., temperature, blood pressure, glucose) and environmental sensors (e.g., motion, bed/chair occupancy, electrical usage). The system can also give alarms if sudden problems occur, like a fall, and warnings based on more long-term trends, such as the deterioration of health being detected. It has been implemented and tested in a test environment and has been deployed in six real homes for a year-long evaluation. The key contribution of the paper is the presentation of an implemented system for ambient assisted living (AAL) tested in a real environment, combining the acquisition of sensor data, a flexible and adaptable middleware compliant with the OSGistandard and a context recognition application. The system has been developed in a European project called GiraffPlus.

SENSOR: a tool for the simulation of hyperspectral remote sensing systems

Science.gov (United States)

Börner, Anko; Wiest, Lorenz; Keller, Peter; Reulke, Ralf; Richter, Rolf; Schaepman, Michael; Schläpfer, Daniel

The consistent end-to-end simulation of airborne and spaceborne earth remote sensing systems is an important task, and sometimes the only way for the adaptation and optimisation of a sensor and its observation conditions, the choice and test of algorithms for data processing, error estimation and the evaluation of the capabilities of the whole sensor system. The presented software simulator SENSOR (Software Environment for the Simulation of Optical Remote sensing systems) includes a full model of the sensor hardware, the observed scene, and the atmosphere in between. The simulator consists of three parts. The first part describes the geometrical relations between scene, sun, and the remote sensing system using a ray-tracing algorithm. The second part of the simulation environment considers the radiometry. It calculates the at-sensor radiance using a pre-calculated multidimensional lookup-table taking the atmospheric influence on the radiation into account. The third part consists of an optical and an electronic sensor model for the generation of digital images. Using SENSOR for an optimisation requires the additional application of task-specific data processing algorithms. The principle of the end-to-end-simulation approach is explained, all relevant concepts of SENSOR are discussed, and first examples of its use are given. The verification of SENSOR is demonstrated. This work is closely related to the Airborne PRISM Experiment (APEX), an airborne imaging spectrometer funded by the European Space Agency.

Calibrating a novel multi-sensor physical activity measurement system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

John, D; Sasaki, J E; Howe, C A; Freedson, P S; Liu, S; Gao, R X; Staudenmayer, J

2011-01-01

Advancing the field of physical activity (PA) monitoring requires the development of innovative multi-sensor measurement systems that are feasible in the free-living environment. The use of novel analytical techniques to combine and process these multiple sensor signals is equally important. This paper describes a novel multi-sensor 'integrated PA measurement system' (IMS), the lab-based methodology used to calibrate the IMS, techniques used to predict multiple variables from the sensor signals, and proposes design changes to improve the feasibility of deploying the IMS in the free-living environment. The IMS consists of hip and wrist acceleration sensors, two piezoelectric respiration sensors on the torso, and an ultraviolet radiation sensor to obtain contextual information (indoors versus outdoors) of PA. During lab-based calibration of the IMS, data were collected on participants performing a PA routine consisting of seven different ambulatory and free-living activities while wearing a portable metabolic unit (criterion measure) and the IMS. Data analyses on the first 50 adult participants are presented. These analyses were used to determine if the IMS can be used to predict the variables of interest. Finally, physical modifications for the IMS that could enhance the feasibility of free-living use are proposed and refinement of the prediction techniques is discussed

Experimental Study of Nuclear Security System Components for Achieving the Intrusion Process via Sensor's Network System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

EL-Kafas, A.A.

2011-01-01

Cluster sensors are one of nuclear security system components which are used to detect any intrusion process of the nuclear sites. In this work, an experimental measuring test for sensor performance and procedures are presented. Sensor performance testing performed to determine whether a particular sensor will be acceptable in a proposed design. We have access to a sensors test field in which the sensor of interest is already properly installed and the parameters have been set to optimal levels by preliminary testing. The glass-breakage (G.B) and open door (O.D) sensors construction, operation and design for the investigated nuclear site are explained. Intrusion tests were carried out inside the field areas of the sensors to evaluate the sensor performance during the intrusion process. Experimental trials were performed for achieving the intrusion process via sensor network system. The performance and intrusion senses of cluster sensors inside the internal zones was recorded and evaluated. The obtained results explained that the tested and experimented G.B sensors have a probability of detection P (D) value 65% founded, and 80% P (D) of Open-door sensor

Development of nanostructured protective "sight glasses" for IR gas sensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bergmann, René; Davis, Zachary James; Schmidt, Michael Stenbæk

2011-01-01

In this work protective "sight glasses" for infrared gas sensors showing a sub-wavelength nanostructure with random patterns have been fabricated by reactive ion etching (RIE) in an easy and comparable cheap single step mask-less process. By an organic coating, the intrinsic water repellent...

Comparison of Three Non-Imaging Angle-Diversity Receivers as Input Sensors of Nodes for Indoor Infrared Wireless Sensor Networks: Theory and Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beatriz R. Mendoza

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In general, the use of angle-diversity receivers makes it possible to reduce the impact of ambient light noise, path loss and multipath distortion, in part by exploiting the fact that they often receive the desired signal from different directions. Angle-diversity detection can be performed using a composite receiver with multiple detector elements looking in different directions. These are called non-imaging angle-diversity receivers. In this paper, a comparison of three non-imaging angle-diversity receivers as input sensors of nodes for an indoor infrared (IR wireless sensor network is presented. The receivers considered are the conventional angle-diversity receiver (CDR, the sectored angle-diversity receiver (SDR, and the self-orienting receiver (SOR, which have been proposed or studied by research groups in Spain. To this end, the effective signal-collection area of the three receivers is modelled and a Monte-Carlo-based ray-tracing algorithm is implemented which allows us to investigate the effect on the signal to noise ratio and main IR channel parameters, such as path loss and rms delay spread, of using the three receivers in conjunction with different combination techniques in IR links operating at low bit rates. Based on the results of the simulations, we show that the use of a conventional angle-diversity receiver in conjunction with the equal-gain combining technique provides the solution with the best signal to noise ratio, the lowest computational capacity and the lowest transmitted power requirements, which comprise the main limitations for sensor nodes in an indoor infrared wireless sensor network.

Opposed piston linear compressor driven two-stage Stirling Cryocooler for cooling of IR sensors in space application

Science.gov (United States)

Bhojwani, Virendra; Inamdar, Asif; Lele, Mandar; Tendolkar, Mandar; Atrey, Milind; Bapat, Shridhar; Narayankhedkar, Kisan

2017-04-01

A two-stage Stirling Cryocooler has been developed and tested for cooling IR sensors in space application. The concept uses an opposed piston linear compressor to drive the two-stage Stirling expander. The configuration used a moving coil linear motor for the compressor as well as for the expander unit. Electrical phase difference of 80 degrees was maintained between the voltage waveforms supplied to the compressor motor and expander motor. The piston and displacer surface were coated with Rulon an anti-friction material to ensure oil less operation of the unit. The present article discusses analysis results, features of the cryocooler and experimental tests conducted on the developed unit. The two-stages of Cryo-cylinder and the expander units were manufactured from a single piece to ensure precise alignment between the two-stages. Flexure bearings were used to suspend the piston and displacer about its mean position. The objective of the work was to develop a two-stage Stirling cryocooler with 2 W at 120 K and 0.5 W at 60 K cooling capacity for the two-stages and input power of less than 120 W. The Cryocooler achieved a minimum temperature of 40.7 K at stage 2.

Narrow field electromagnetic sensor system and method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McEwan, T.E.

1996-01-01

A narrow field electromagnetic sensor system and method of sensing a characteristic of an object provide the capability to realize a characteristic of an object such as density, thickness, or presence, for any desired coordinate position on the object. One application is imaging. The sensor can also be used as an obstruction detector or an electronic trip wire with a narrow field without the disadvantages of impaired performance when exposed to dirt, snow, rain, or sunlight. The sensor employs a transmitter for transmitting a sequence of electromagnetic signals in response to a transmit timing signal, a receiver for sampling only the initial direct RF path of the electromagnetic signal while excluding all other electromagnetic signals in response to a receive timing signal, and a signal processor for processing the sampled direct RF path electromagnetic signal and providing an indication of the characteristic of an object. Usually, the electromagnetic signal is a short RF burst and the obstruction must provide a substantially complete eclipse of the direct RF path. By employing time-of-flight techniques, a timing circuit controls the receiver to sample only the initial direct RF path of the electromagnetic signal while not sampling indirect path electromagnetic signals. The sensor system also incorporates circuitry for ultra-wideband spread spectrum operation that reduces interference to and from other RF services while allowing co-location of multiple electronic sensors without the need for frequency assignments. 12 figs

IR laser sensors for the detection food adulteration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giubileo, Gianfranco

2015-01-01

The paper reports the results of the project SAL@CQO aimed at the development of instrumentation Innovative optical, laser based sensors, for the improvement of the level of safety of products food and for the detection of food fraud. Through the developed prototypes, the project aims provide on the one hand a means of rapid screening, automated, and to facilitate the use of simplified Work of the Audit Institutions responsible for monitoring and repression of food frauds. On the other hand It intends to provide a method of production chains practical monitoring for the maintenance of a of the final product quality standards. [it

A Method of Data Aggregation for Wearable Sensor Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Shen

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Data aggregation has been considered as an effective way to decrease the data to be transferred in sensor networks. Particularly for wearable sensor systems, smaller battery has less energy, which makes energy conservation in data transmission more important. Nevertheless, wearable sensor systems usually have features like frequently dynamic changes of topologies and data over a large range, of which current aggregating methods can’t adapt to the demand. In this paper, we study the system composed of many wearable devices with sensors, such as the network of a tactical unit, and introduce an energy consumption-balanced method of data aggregation, named LDA-RT. In the proposed method, we develop a query algorithm based on the idea of ‘happened-before’ to construct a dynamic and energy-balancing routing tree. We also present a distributed data aggregating and sorting algorithm to execute top-k query and decrease the data that must be transferred among wearable devices. Combining these algorithms, LDA-RT tries to balance the energy consumptions for prolonging the lifetime of wearable sensor systems. Results of evaluation indicate that LDA-RT performs well in constructing routing trees and energy balances. It also outperforms the filter-based top-k monitoring approach in energy consumption, load balance, and the network’s lifetime, especially for highly dynamic data sources.

One-port portable SAW sensor system

Science.gov (United States)

Hoa Nguyen, Vu; Peters, Oliver; Schnakenberg, Uwe

2018-01-01

A portable device using the SAW-based impedance sensor type based on one interdigital transducer simultaneously as SAW generator and sensor element (1-port approach) is introduced. As a novelty, the so far required expensive vector network analyzer (VNA) is replaced by a hand-held device to measure the impedance spectrum of the SAW sensor by RF-gain-phase meters. Hence, some of the best features from the conventional oscillator and VNA approaches are combined to develop a low-cost and self-contained measurement system, including signal in- and output ability for real-time measurements. The pivotal aspect of the portable system is the transfer of the sophisticated high frequency approach into a quasi-static one. This enables the use of simple lumped electronics without the need of impedance matching circuits. Proof-of-concept was carried out by measuring conductivities of phosphate-buffered solutions and viscosities of glycerin. Sensitivities for temperature of 0.3%/°C, viscosity of 10.1% (mPa s)-1 and conductivity of 0.5% (S cm)-1 have been determined, respectively, which are competitive results compared to the benchmark approaches.

Bedside arterial blood gas monitoring system using fluorescent optical sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Bartnik, Daniel J.; Rymut, Russell A.

1995-05-01

We describe a bedside arterial blood gas (ABG) monitoring system which uses fluorescent optical sensors in the measurement of blood pH, PCO2 and PO2. The Point-of-Care Arterial Blood Gas Monitoring System consists of the SensiCathTM optical sensor unit manufactured by Optical Sensors Incorporated and the TramTM Critical Care Monitoring System with ABG Module manufactured by Marquette Electronics Incorporated. Current blood gas measurement techniques require a blood sample to be removed from the patient and transported to an electrochemical analyzer for analysis. The ABG system does not require removal of blood from the patient or transport of the sample. The sensor is added to the patient's existing arterial line. ABG measurements are made by drawing a small blood sample from the arterial line in sufficient quantity to ensure an undiluted sample at the sensor. Measurements of pH, PCO2 and PO2 are made within 60 seconds. The blood is then returned to the patient, the line flushed and results appear on the bedside monitor. The ABG system offers several advantages over traditional electrochemical analyzers. Since the arterial line remains closed during the blood sampling procedure the patient's risk of infection is reduced and the caregiver's exposure to blood is eliminated. The single-use, disposable sensor can be measure 100 blood samples over 72 hours after a single two-point calibration. Quality Assurance checks are also available and provide the caregiver the ability to assess system performance even after the sensor is patient attached. The ABG module integrates with an existing bedside monitoring system. This allows ABG results to appear on the same display as ECG, respiration, blood pressure, cardiac output, SpO2, and other clinical information. The small module takes up little space in the crowded intensive care unit. Performance studies compare the ABG system with an electrochemical blood gas analyzer. Study results demonstrated accurate and precise blood

Smart container UWB sensor system for situational awareness of intrusion alarms

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, Carlos E.; Haugen, Peter C.; Zumstein, James M.; Leach, Jr., Richard R.; Vigars, Mark L.

2013-06-11

An in-container monitoring sensor system is based on an UWB radar intrusion detector positioned in a container and having a range gate set to the farthest wall of the container from the detector. Multipath reflections within the container make every point on or in the container appear to be at the range gate, allowing intrusion detection anywhere in the container. The system also includes other sensors to provide false alarm discrimination, and may include other sensors to monitor other parameters, e.g. radiation. The sensor system also includes a control subsystem for controlling system operation. Communications and information extraction capability may also be included. A method of detecting intrusion into a container uses UWB radar, and may also include false alarm discrimination. A secure container has an UWB based monitoring system

Cardiorespiratory system monitoring using a developed acoustic sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbasi-Kesbi, Reza; Valipour, Atefeh; Imani, Khadije

2018-02-01

This Letter proposes a wireless acoustic sensor for monitoring heartbeat and respiration rate based on phonocardiogram (PCG). The developed sensor comprises a processor, a transceiver which operates at industrial, scientific and medical band and the frequency of 2.54 GHz as well as two capacitor microphones which one for recording the heartbeat and another one for respiration rate. To evaluate the precision of the presented sensor in estimating heartbeat and respiration rate, the sensor is tested on the different volunteers and the obtained results are compared with a gold standard as a reference. The results reveal that root-mean-square error are determined sensor estimate sounds of [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] obtained PCG signal with sensitivity and specificity 98.1% and 98.3% in turn that make 3% improvement than previous works. The results prove that the sensor can be appropriate candidate for recognising abnormal condition in the cardiorespiratory system.

Bioinspired optical sensors for unmanned aerial systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chahl, Javaan; Rosser, Kent; Mizutani, Akiko

2011-04-01

Insects are dependant on the spatial, spectral and temporal distributions of light in the environment for flight control and navigation. This paper reports on flight trials of implementations of insect inspired behaviors on unmanned aerial vehicles. Optical flow methods for maintaining a constant height above ground and a constant course have been demonstrated to provide navigation capabilities that are impossible using conventional avionics sensors. Precision control of height above ground and ground course were achieved over long distances. Other vision based techniques demonstrated include a biomimetic stabilization sensor that uses the ultraviolet and green bands of the spectrum, and a sky polarization compass. Both of these sensors were tested over long trajectories in different directions, in each case showing performance similar to low cost inertial heading and attitude systems. The behaviors demonstrate some of the core functionality found in the lower levels of the sensorimotor system of flying insects and shows promise for more integrated solutions in the future.

Continuous liquid level monitoring sensor system using fiber Bragg grating

Science.gov (United States)

Sengupta, Dipankar; Kishore, Putha

2014-01-01

The design and packaging of simple, small, and low cost sensor heads, used for continuous liquid level measurement using uniformly thinned (etched) optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) are proposed. The sensor system consists of only an FBG and a simple detection system. The sensitivity of sensor is found to be 23 pm/cm of water column pressure. A linear optical fiber edge filter is designed and developed for the conversion of Bragg wavelength shift to its equivalent intensity. The result shows that relative power measured by a photo detector is linearly proportional to the liquid level. The obtained sensitivity of the sensor is nearly -15 mV/cm.

Real-Time Performance of a Self-Powered Environmental IoT Sensor Network System.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Fan; Rüdiger, Christoph; Yuce, Mehmet Rasit

2017-02-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) play an increasingly important role in monitoring applications in many areas. With the emergence of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), many more lowpower sensors will need to be deployed in various environments to collect and monitor data about environmental factors in real time. Providing power supply to these sensor nodes becomes a critical challenge for realizations of IoT applications as sensor nodes are normally battery-powered and have a limited lifetime. This paper proposes a wireless sensor network that is powered by solar energy harvesting. The sensor network monitors the environmental data with low-power sensor electronics and forms a network using multiple XBee wireless modules. A detailed performance analysis of the network system under solar energy harvesting has been presented. The sensor network system and the proposed energy-harvesting techniques are configured to achieve a continuous energy source for the sensor network. The proposed energy-harvesting system has been successfully designed to enable an energy solution in order to keep sensor nodes active and reliable for a whole day. The paper also outlines some of our experiences in real-time implementation of a sensor network system with energy harvesting.

Real-Time Performance of a Self-Powered Environmental IoT Sensor Network System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fan Wu

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Wireless sensor networks (WSNs play an increasingly important role in monitoring applications in many areas. With the emergence of the Internet-of-Things (IoT, many more lowpower sensors will need to be deployed in various environments to collect and monitor data about environmental factors in real time. Providing power supply to these sensor nodes becomes a critical challenge for realizations of IoT applications as sensor nodes are normally battery-powered and have a limited lifetime. This paper proposes a wireless sensor network that is powered by solar energy harvesting. The sensor network monitors the environmental data with low-power sensor electronics and forms a network using multiple XBee wireless modules. A detailed performance analysis of the network system under solar energy harvesting has been presented. The sensor network system and the proposed energy-harvesting techniques are configured to achieve a continuous energy source for the sensor network. The proposed energy-harvesting system has been successfully designed to enable an energy solution in order to keep sensor nodes active and reliable for a whole day. The paper also outlines some of our experiences in real-time implementation of a sensor network system with energy harvesting.

Sensor fusion to enable next generation low cost Night Vision systems

Science.gov (United States)

Schweiger, R.; Franz, S.; Löhlein, O.; Ritter, W.; Källhammer, J.-E.; Franks, J.; Krekels, T.

2010-04-01

The next generation of automotive Night Vision Enhancement systems offers automatic pedestrian recognition with a performance beyond current Night Vision systems at a lower cost. This will allow high market penetration, covering the luxury as well as compact car segments. Improved performance can be achieved by fusing a Far Infrared (FIR) sensor with a Near Infrared (NIR) sensor. However, fusing with today's FIR systems will be too costly to get a high market penetration. The main cost drivers of the FIR system are its resolution and its sensitivity. Sensor cost is largely determined by sensor die size. Fewer and smaller pixels will reduce die size but also resolution and sensitivity. Sensitivity limits are mainly determined by inclement weather performance. Sensitivity requirements should be matched to the possibilities of low cost FIR optics, especially implications of molding of highly complex optical surfaces. As a FIR sensor specified for fusion can have lower resolution as well as lower sensitivity, fusing FIR and NIR can solve performance and cost problems. To allow compensation of FIR-sensor degradation on the pedestrian detection capabilities, a fusion approach called MultiSensorBoosting is presented that produces a classifier holding highly discriminative sub-pixel features from both sensors at once. The algorithm is applied on data with different resolution and on data obtained from cameras with varying optics to incorporate various sensor sensitivities. As it is not feasible to record representative data with all different sensor configurations, transformation routines on existing high resolution data recorded with high sensitivity cameras are investigated in order to determine the effects of lower resolution and lower sensitivity to the overall detection performance. This paper also gives an overview of the first results showing that a reduction of FIR sensor resolution can be compensated using fusion techniques and a reduction of sensitivity can be

A temperature and pressure controlled calibration system for pressure sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, John J.; Kahng, Seun K.

1989-01-01

A data acquisition and experiment control system capable of simulating temperatures from -184 to +220 C and pressures either absolute or differential from 0 to 344.74 kPa is developed to characterize silicon pressure sensor response to temperature and pressure. System software is described that includes sensor data acquisition, algorithms for numerically derived thermal offset and sensitivity correction, and operation of the environmental chamber and pressure standard. This system is shown to be capable of computer interfaced cryogenic testing to within 1 C and 34.47 Pa of single channel or multiplexed arrays of silicon pressure sensors.

FT-IR microscopical analysis with synchrotron radiation: The microscope optics and system performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reffner, J.A.; Martoglio, P.A.; Williams, G.P.

1995-01-01

When a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectrometer was first interfaced with the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) in September 1993, there was an instant realization that the performance at the diffraction limit had increased 40-100 times. The synchrotron source transformed the IR microspectrometer into a true IR microprobe, providing high-quality IR spectra for probe diameters at the diffraction limit. The combination of IR microspectroscopy and synchrotron radiation provides a powerful new tool for molecular spectroscopy. The ability to perform IR microspectroscopy with synchrotron radiation is still under development at Brookhaven National Laboratory, but several initial studies have been completed that demonstrate the broad-ranging applications of this technology and its potential for materials characterization

FT-IR microscopical analysis with synchrotron radiation: The microscope optics and system performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reffner, J.A.; Martoglio, P.A. [Spectra-Tech, Inc., Shelton, CT (United States); Williams, G.P. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)

1995-01-01

When a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectrometer was first interfaced with the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) in September 1993, there was an instant realization that the performance at the diffraction limit had increased 40-100 times. The synchrotron source transformed the IR microspectrometer into a true IR microprobe, providing high-quality IR spectra for probe diameters at the diffraction limit. The combination of IR microspectroscopy and synchrotron radiation provides a powerful new tool for molecular spectroscopy. The ability to perform IR microspectroscopy with synchrotron radiation is still under development at Brookhaven National Laboratory, but several initial studies have been completed that demonstrate the broad-ranging applications of this technology and its potential for materials characterization.

Innovative multi-cantilever array sensor system with MOEMS read-out

Science.gov (United States)

Ivaldi, F.; Bieniek, T.; Janus, P.; Grabiec, P.; Majstrzyk, W.; Kopiec, D.; Gotszalk, T.

2016-11-01

Cantilever based sensor system are a well-established sensor family exploited in several every-day life applications as well as in high-end research areas. The very high sensitivity of such systems and the possibility to design and functionalize the cantilevers to create purpose built and highly selective sensors have increased the interest of the scientific community and the industry in further exploiting this promising sensors type. Optical deflection detection systems for cantilever sensors provide a reliable, flexible method for reading information from cantilevers with the highest sensitivity. However the need of using multi-cantilever arrays in several fields of application such as medicine, biology or safety related areas, make the optical method less suitable due to its structural complexity. Working in the frame of a the Joint Undertaking project Lab4MEMS II our group proposes a novel and innovative approach to solve this issue, by integrating a Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical-System (MOEMS) with dedicated optics, electronics and software with a MOEMS micro-mirror, ultimately developed in the frame of Lab4MEMSII. In this way we are able to present a closely packed, lightweight solution combining the advantages of standard optical read-out systems with the possibility of recording multiple read-outs from large cantilever arrays quasi simultaneously.

An overview on the research of Sr2IrO4-based system probed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Jie; Zhu, Chaomin; Ma, Jingyuan; Wang, Yu; Liu, Shengli

2018-03-01

Investigations of materials with 5d transition metal ions have opened up new paradigms in condensed-matter physics because of their large spin-orbit coupling (SOC) interactions. The typical compound is Sr2IrO4, which attracted much attention due to its similarities to the parent compound of high-Tc cuprate superconductor La2CuO4. Theoretical calculations predicted that the unconventional superconductivity can occur in carrier doped-Sr2IrO4 system. Until now, hundreds of experimental methods were devoted to investigate the carrier doping effect on Sr2IrO4. Synchrotron radiation-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) made great contributions to the local lattice and electronic structure, and also the intimate relationship between the local structure and physical properties induced by carrier doping. The aim of this review is a short introduction to the progress of research on Sr2IrO4-based system probed by the unique technique — XAS, including the strength of the SOC, valence changes upon doping and even local lattice structure with atomic level for this Sr2IrO4-based family.

An expert system for sensor data validation and malfunction detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashemi, S.; Hajek, B.K.; Miller, D.W.; Chandrasekaran, B.; Punch, W.F. III.

1987-01-01

During recent years, applications of expert systems in different fields of engineering have been under study throughout the world. At the Ohio State University, the theories developed by the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence Research (LAIR) have been implemented for nuclear power plants and chemical processing systems. For nuclear power plants, these techniques have been further developed to reach diagnostic conclusions about malfunctions and faulty sensors, as well as to suggest corrective actions about the malfunctions. This paper concentrates on the AI applications to plant diagnosis and faulty sensor identifications. To achieve the above goals without adding extra sensors in a plant, the use of unlike sensor data (such as relationships between pressure and temperature in a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)) and diagnostic conclusions about malfunctions as backups for suspicious sensors has been made. This extra evidence is readily available throughout the plant and is not generally used to backup suspicious sensor data in any manner

A Smart Sensor Data Transmission Technique for Logistics and Intelligent Transportation Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyunghee Sun

2018-03-01

Full Text Available When it comes to Internet of Things systems that include both a logistics system and an intelligent transportation system, a smart sensor is one of the key elements to collect useful information whenever and wherever necessary. This study proposes the Smart Sensor Node Group Management Medium Access Control Scheme designed to group smart sensor devices and collect data from them efficiently. The proposed scheme performs grouping of portable sensor devices connected to a system depending on the distance from the sink node and transmits data by setting different buffer thresholds to each group. This method reduces energy consumption of sensor devices located near the sink node and enhances the IoT system’s general energy efficiency. When a sensor device is moved and, thus, becomes unable to transmit data, it is allocated to a new group so that it can continue transmitting data to the sink node.

Image registration of naval IR images

Science.gov (United States)

Rodland, Arne J.

1996-06-01

In a real world application an image from a stabilized sensor on a moving platform will not be 100 percent stabilized. There will always be a small unknown error in the stabilization due to factors such as dynamic deformations in the structure between sensor and reference Inertial Navigation Unit, servo inaccuracies, etc. For a high resolution imaging sensor this stabilization error causes the image to move several pixels in unknown direction between frames. TO be able to detect and track small moving objects from such a sensor, this unknown movement of the sensor image must be estimated. An algorithm that searches for land contours in the image has been evaluated. The algorithm searches for high contrast points distributed over the whole image. As long as moving objects in the scene only cover a small area of the scene, most of the points are located on solid ground. By matching the list of points from frame to frame, the movement of the image due to stabilization errors can be estimated and compensated. The point list is searched for points with diverging movement from the estimated stabilization error. These points are then assumed to be located on moving objects. Points assumed to be located on moving objects are gradually exchanged with new points located in the same area. Most of the processing is performed on the list of points and not on the complete image. The algorithm is therefore very fast and well suited for real time implementation. The algorithm has been tested on images from an experimental IR scanner. Stabilization errors were added artificially to the image such that the output from the algorithm could be compared with the artificially added stabilization errors.

Activity uniformity of Ir-192 seeds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ling, C.C.; Gromadzki, Z.C.

1981-01-01

A simple device that uses materials and apparatus commonly available in a radiotherapy department has been designed, fabricated and used in routine quality control relative to the activity uniformity of clinical Ir-192 seeds in ribbons. Detailed evaluation indicated that this system is easy to use and can yield relative activity measurements of individual Ir-192 seeds accurate to within 2%. With this device, activity uniformity of commercial Ir-192 seeds from two manufacturers has been assessed. For the seven shipments of Ir-192 seeds studied, the root mean square variations of individual seed strength from the average of each shipment ranged from 3.4 to 7.1%. Variation in seed activity by more than +- 10% from the average is not uncommon

A Wireless Self-Powered Urinary Incontinence Sensor System

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Ami; Utsunomiya, Fumiyasu; Douseki, Takakuni

A self-powered urinary incontinence sensor system consisting of a urine-activated coin battery and a wireless transmitter has been developed as an application for wireless biosensor networks. The urine-activated battery makes possible both the sensing of urine leakage and self-powered operation. An intermittent power-supply circuit that uses an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) with a small internal resistance suppresses the supply voltage drop due to the large internal resistance of the battery. This circuit and a 1-V surface acoustic wave (SAW) oscillator reduce the power dissipation of a wireless transmitter. The SAW oscillator quickly responds to the on-off control of the power supply, which is suitable for intermittent operation. To verify the effectiveness of the circuit scheme, the authors fabricated a prototype sensor system. When the volume of urine is 0.2 ml, the battery outputs a voltage of over 1.3 V; and the sensor system can transmit signals over a distance of 5 m.

Packaged Capacitive Pressure Sensor System for Aircraft Engine Health Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Scardelletti, Maximilian C.; Zorman, Christian A.

2016-01-01

This paper describes the development of a packaged silicon carbide (SiC) based MEMS pressure sensor system designed specifically for a conventional turbofan engine. The electronic circuit is based on a Clapp-type oscillator that incorporates a 6H-SiC MESFET, a SiCN MEMS capacitive pressure sensor, titanate MIM capacitors, wirewound inductors, and thick film resistors. The pressure sensor serves as the capacitor in the LC tank circuit, thereby linking pressure to the resonant frequency of the oscillator. The oscillator and DC bias circuitry were fabricated on an alumina substrate and secured inside a metal housing. The packaged sensing system reliably operates at 0 to 350 psi and 25 to 540C. The system has a pressure sensitivity of 6.8 x 10E-2 MHzpsi. The packaged system shows negligible difference in frequency response between 25 and 400C. The fully packaged sensor passed standard benchtop acceptance tests and was evaluated on a flight-worthy engine.

Implementing GPS into Pave-IR.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-03-01

To further enhance the capabilities of the Pave-IR thermal segregation detection system developed at the Texas Transportation Institute, researchers incorporated global positioning system (GPS) data collection into the thermal profiles. This GPS capa...

Development of Remote-Type Haptic Catheter Sensor System using Piezoelectric Transducer

Science.gov (United States)

Haruta, Mineyuki; Murayama, Yoshinobu; Omata, Sadao

This study describes the development of Remote-Type Haptic Catheter Sensor System which enables the mechanical property evaluation of a blood vessel. This system consists of a feedback circuit and a piezoelectric ultrasound transducer, and is operated based on a phase shift method so that the entire system oscillates at its inherent resonance frequency. Ultrasound reflected by the blood vessel makes a phase shift of the resonance system depending on the acoustic impedance of the reflector. The phase shift is then measured as a change in resonance frequency of the system; therefore, the detection resolution is highly improved. The correlation between the acoustic impedance and the resonance frequency change of the sensor system was demonstrated using silicone rubbers, metals and actual blood vessels from a pig. The performance of the sensor was also examined using vessel shaped phantom model. Finally, the discussion surveys a possibility of the novel sensor system in an application for intra vascular diagnosis.

Direct sensor orientation of a land-based mobile mapping system.

Science.gov (United States)

Rau, Jiann-Yeou; Habib, Ayman F; Kersting, Ana P; Chiang, Kai-Wei; Bang, Ki-In; Tseng, Yi-Hsing; Li, Yu-Hua

2011-01-01

A land-based mobile mapping system (MMS) is flexible and useful for the acquisition of road environment geospatial information. It integrates a set of imaging sensors and a position and orientation system (POS). The positioning quality of such systems is highly dependent on the accuracy of the utilized POS. This limitation is the major drawback due to the elevated cost associated with high-end GPS/INS units, particularly the inertial system. The potential accuracy of the direct sensor orientation depends on the architecture and quality of the GPS/INS integration process as well as the validity of the system calibration (i.e., calibration of the individual sensors as well as the system mounting parameters). In this paper, a novel single-step procedure using integrated sensor orientation with relative orientation constraint for the estimation of the mounting parameters is introduced. A comparative analysis between the proposed single-step and the traditional two-step procedure is carried out. Moreover, the estimated mounting parameters using the different methods are used in a direct geo-referencing procedure to evaluate their performance and the feasibility of the implemented system. Experimental results show that the proposed system using single-step system calibration method can achieve high 3D positioning accuracy.

Landslide and Flood Warning System Prototypes based on Wireless Sensor Networks