A Smartphone Compatible SONAR Ranging Attachment for 2-D Mapping

The ability to attach external devices to smartphones has revolutionized the role of smartphones by extending their capabilities beyond the limitations of commodity hardware. Developing external attachments that allow smartphones to sense the depth of an area will facilitate the development of new immersive applications and technologies. In this paper, we propose a smartphone compatible SONAR ranging attachment and address the compatibility problem by proposing a hybrid hardware/software modulator that allows a digital sensor to communicate with a smartphone via the 3.5-mm headphone jack, found on most smartphones. We evaluate the proposed sensor using two metrics, accuracy and spatial resolution. We evaluate the accuracy of this system by measuring known distances with the sensor and comparing them. We measure the sensor\u27s spatial resolution by using ranging information from the SONAR module along with the phone\u27s gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer to construct a two-dimensional map of a space

Enhancing The Sensing Capabilities of Mobile and Embedded Systems

In this work, we aim to develop new sensors and sensing platforms that facilitate the development of new mobile and embedded devices. Mobile and embedded devices have become an integral part of our everyday lives and the sensing capabilities of these devices have improved throughout the years. Developing new and innovative sensors and sensing platforms will provide the building blocks for developing new sensing systems. In an effort to facilitate these innovations we have developed two new in-air sonar sensors and a new reconfigurable sensing platform. The first in-air sonar sensor is designed for ranging applications and uses the phone\u27s microphone and rear speaker to generate a wide beam of sound. The second in-air sonar sensor is an external module which uses a narrow beam of sound for high resolution ranging. This ranging information is then combined with orientation data from the phone\u27s gyroscope,magnetometer and accelerometer to generate a two dimensional map of a space. While researching ways of enhancing the sensing capabilities of mobile and embedded devices, we found that the process often requires developing new hardware prototypes. However, developing hardware prototypes is time-consuming. In an effort to lower the barrier to entry for small teams and software researchers, we have developed a new reconfigurable sensing platform that uses a code first approach to embedded design. Instead of designing software to run within the limited constraints of the hardware, our proposed code-first approach allows software researchers to synthesize the hardware configuration that is required to run their software

Creating DYOR: Do your own robot an educational robotic toy kit

[EN] This project presents DYOR: an educational robotic toy kit how it helps the school students to get better understanding of the aspects of engineering before they get ready to choose their career. It provides an ideal platform enabling school students understand various elements like science, manufacturing technology, mathematics, design and apply their knowledge in these areas effectively with additional inputs like programming, logical analysis to create solutions for the given task.[ES] Este proyecto presenta DYOR: un kit de juguete robótico educativa cómo ayuda a los estudiantes de la escuela para obtener una mejor comprensión de los aspectos de la ingeniería antes de que se disponen a elegir su carrera. Proporciona una plataforma ideal estudiantes de la escuela que permite comprender diversos elementos como la ciencia, la tecnología de fabricación, las matemáticas, el diseño y aplican sus conocimientos en estas áreas eficazmente con entradas adicionales como la programación, análisis lógico para crear soluciones para la tarea encomendada.Singh, H. (2016). Creating DYOR: Do your own robot an educational robotic toy kit. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/67515TFG

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Black Box

This project created a stand-alone unit capable of providing on-board sensing and processing for robotic vehicles. This unit was designed to be compact, lightweight, inexpensive, and adaptable. The goal of this project is to help advance robotics research in mapping and multi-agent coordination by making it easier to equip vehicles to perform mapping and localization functions. Software integration for the sensing components was accomplished using the LSD-SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) Package in ROS (Robot Operating System) and localization testing was done to verify functionality. Key Words: UAV, Robotics, Mapping, Localization, SLAM, Sensing, Processin

Smart marine sensing systems for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA)

Aquaculture farming faces challenges to increase production whilst maintaining sustainability by reducing environmental impact and ensuring efficient resource usage. One solution is to use an Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) approach, where a variety of different species are grown in the same site, taking advantage of by-products (such as waste and uneaten food) from one species as inputs (fertilizer, food, and energy) for the growth of other species. However, the remote monitoring of environmental and biological conditions is crucial to understand how the species interact with each other and with the environment, and to optimise the IMTA production and management system. Environmental monitoring of aquatic environments is already well supplied by commercial off-the-shelf sensors, but these sensors often measure only one parameter, which increases the power consumption and cost when monitoring multiple environmental variables with a fine-scale resolution. Current monitoring solutions for seaweed and kelp also include satellite and aerial sensing, which cover large areas effectively. However, these methods do not offer high-resolution, specific local data for growing sites, and are usually limited by turbidity and weather conditions. Another limitation of available commercial systems is data recovery. Most of them require that the sensor be retrieved to download data directly, increasing cost of maintenance. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems that transmit in the near field (Near Field Communication – NFC) are less attenuated by the seawater environment than higher-frequency communications, and thus potentially provide a more viable alternative for underwater data transmission. In this work, we present a novel miniature low-power multi-sensor modality NFC-enabled data acquisition system to monitor a variety of farmed aquaculture species. This sensor system monitors temperature, light intensity, depth, and motion, logging the data collected internally. The sensor device can communicate with NFC-enabled readers (such as smartphones) to configure the sensors with custom sampling frequencies, communicate status, and to download data. It also has an internal machine learning enabled microcontroller, which can be used to perform data analysis internally. The device is designed to be attachable to seaweed and kelp blades or stipes. The system designed was tested in lab to characterise its sensors and to determine its battery lifetime. The sensor device was then deployed in an IMTA farm in Bertraghboy Bay, Connemara, Ireland, with the help of the Marine Institute. The data collected from the device was then correlated with environmental sensors placed in the site. Future work involves incorporating data analytics and machine learning algorithms to process data internally, allowing for lower transmission requirements

Enhancing the museum experience with a sustainable solution based on contextual information obtained from an on-line analysis of users’ behaviour

Human computer interaction has evolved in the last years in order to enhance users’ experiences and provide more intuitive and usable systems. A major leap through in this scenario is obtained by embedding, in the physical environment, sensors capable of detecting and processing users’ context (position, pose, gaze, ...). Feeded by the so collected information flows, user interface paradigms may shift from stereotyped gestures on physical devices, to more direct and intuitive ones that reduce the semantic gap between the action and the corresponding system reaction or even anticipate the user’s needs, thus limiting the overall learning effort and increasing user satisfaction. In order to make this process effective, the context of the user (i.e. where s/he is, what is s/he doing, who s/he is, what are her/his preferences and also actual perception and needs) must be properly understood. While collecting data on some aspects can be easy, interpreting them all in a meaningful way in order to improve the overall user experience is much harder. This is more evident when we consider informal learning environments like museums, i.e. places that are designed to elicit visitor response towards the artifacts on display and the cultural themes proposed. In such a situation, in fact, the system should adapt to the attention paid by the user choosing the appropriate content for the user’s purposes, presenting an intuitive interface to navigate it. My research goal is focused on collecting, in a simple,unobtrusive, and sustainable way, contextual information about the visitors with the purpose of creating more engaging and personalized experiences

Methods and apparatuses for estimating bladder status

The present invention relates to apparatuses for estimating the status of a bladder, especially with respect to the likelihood of an imminent voiding of the bladder. More particularly the present invention relates to apparatuses for treating urinary incontinence, suitably by providing pre-void alerts that allow a patient to void in a dignified manner

Apparatuses for estimating bladder status (Vorrichtungen Zur Schätzung Des Blasenstatus) (Appareils Pour L’estimation D’état De Vessie). EP3834726B1.

The present invention relates to apparatuses for estimating the status of a bladder, especially with respect to the likelihood of an imminent voiding of the bladder. More particularly the present invention relates to apparatuses for treating urinary incontinence, suitably by providing pre-void alerts that allow a patient to void in a dignified manner

Kinisi: A Platform for Autonomizing Off-Road Vehicles

This project proposed a modular system that would autonomize off-road vehicles while retaining full manual operability. This MQP team designed and developed a Level 3 autonomous vehicle prototype using an SAE Baja vehicle outfitted with actuators and exteroceptive sensors. At the end of the project, the vehicle had a drive-by-wire system, could localize itself using sensors, generate a map of its surroundings, and plan a path to follow a desired trajectory. Given a map, the vehicle could traverse a series of obstacles in an enclosed environment. The long- term goal is to alter the software system to make it modular and operate in real-time, so the vehicle can autonomously navigate off-road terrain to rescue and aid a distressed individual