SmartMirror: A Glance into the Future

In todays society, information is available to us at a glance through our phones, our laptops, our desktops, and more. But an extra level of interaction is required in order to access the information. As technology grows, technology should grow further and further away from the traditional style of interaction with devices. In the past, information was relayed through paper, then through computers, and in todays day and age, through our phones and multiple other mediums. Technology should become more integrated into our lives - more seamless and more invisible. We hope to push the envelope further, into the future. We propose a new simple way of connecting with your morning newspaper. We present our idea, the SmartMirror, information at a glance. Our system aims to deliver your information quickly and comfortably, with a new modern aesthetic. While modern appliances require input through modules such as keyboards or touch screen, we hope to follow a model that can function purely on voice and gesture. We seek to deliver your information during your morning routine and throughout the day, when taking out your phone is not always possible. This will cater to a larger audience base, as the average consumer nowadays hopes to accomplish tasks with minimal active interaction with their adopted technology. This idea has many future applications, such as integration with new virtual or augmented reality devices, or simplifying consumer personal media sources

Development of a Ground-Based Aerial-Tracking Instrument for Open-Path Spectroscopy to Monitor Atmospheric Constituents

A ground-based aerial-tracking instrument, known as the Ground Tracker, designed to provide spectral data to quantify greenhouse gases is under development. The Ground Tracker includes an Optical System including a high power rifle scope, video camera, and spectrometer used to locate an active light source from the Emitter, and collect spectral data by utilizing an actuating mirror. The implementation of this instrument could be made low cost by utilizing existing weather balloon infrastructure to allow the Emitter to be placed into the lower stratosphere. The recovery of the emitter will be possible by tracking the GPS coordinates. Weather balloon instrument packages contain shipping instructions and postage for those packages that go beyond GPS range or are lost. The Ground Tracker and Emitter Gimbal, while not ready for implementation, demonstrate the feasibility of a spectroscopy system that could provide important data for climate observation and modeling at temporal and spatial resolutions not currently available to state-of-the-art satellites

J-PET Framework: Software platform for PET tomography data reconstruction and analysis

J-PET Framework is an open-source software platform for data analysis, written in C++ and based on the ROOT package. It provides a common environment for implementation of reconstruction, calibration and filtering procedures, as well as for user-level analyses of Positron Emission Tomography data. The library contains a set of building blocks that can be combined by users with even little programming experience, into chains of processing tasks through a convenient, simple and well-documented API. The generic input-output interface allows processing the data from various sources: low-level data from the tomography acquisition system or from diagnostic setups such as digital oscilloscopes, as well as high-level tomography structures e.g. sinograms or a list of lines-of-response. Moreover, the environment can be interfaced with Monte Carlo simulation packages such as GEANT and GATE, which are commonly used in the medical scientific community.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

CMOS design of chaotic oscillators using state variables: a monolithic Chua's circuit

This paper presents design considerations for monolithic implementation of piecewise-linear (PWL) dynamic systems in CMOS technology. Starting from a review of available CMOS circuit primitives and their respective merits and drawbacks, the paper proposes a synthesis approach for PWL dynamic systems, based on state-variable methods, and identifies the associated analog operators. The GmC approach, combining quasi-linear VCCS's, PWL VCCS's, and capacitors is then explored regarding the implementation of these operators. CMOS basic building blocks for the realization of the quasi-linear VCCS's and PWL VCCS's are presented and applied to design a Chua's circuit IC. The influence of GmC parasitics on the performance of dynamic PWL systems is illustrated through this example. Measured chaotic attractors from a Chua's circuit prototype are given. The prototype has been fabricated in a 2.4- mu m double-poly n-well CMOS technology, and occupies 0.35 mm/sup 2/, with a power consumption of 1.6 mW for a +or-2.5-V symmetric supply. Measurements show bifurcation toward a double-scroll Chua's attractor by changing a bias current

Solid Modeling and Stereolithography as a Solid Freeform Fabrication Technique at Texas Instruments Incorporated

Over the past 25 years, the CAE/CAD/CAM industry has developed technological advances that have provided industrial users the ability to increase productivity and decrease the cycle time necessary for product development. These technologies include basic wireframe and surface design, specializedapplication software packages, finite element analysis, numerical control, solid modeling, and rapid prototyping. Each of these technologies plays a significant role in industry today. The Defense Systems & Electronics Group of Texas Instruments currently uses these technologies in the mechanical design engineering process. This paper discusses the two specific technologies of solid modeling and rapid prototyping (specifically stereolithography), including their advantages, benefits, and practical applications within the Texas Instruments Defense Systems & Electronics Group. This paper also discusses the use of stereolithography (SLA) rapid~prototype parts within the solid-mold investment~casting process.Mechanical Engineerin

Second-order neural core for bioinspired focal-plane dynamic image processing in CMOS

Based on studies of the mammalian retina, a bioinspired model for mixed-signal array processing has been implemented on silicon. This model mimics the way in which images are processed at the front-end of natural visual pathways, by means of programmable complex spatio-temporal dynamic. When embedded into a focal-plane processing chip, such a model allows for online parallel filtering of the captured image; the outcome of such processing can be used to develop control feedback actions to adapt the response of photoreceptors to local image features. Beyond simple resistive grid filtering, it is possible to program other spatio-temporal processing operators into the model core, such as nonlinear and anisotropic diffusion, among others. This paper presents analog and mixed-signal very large-scale integration building blocks to implement this model, and illustrates their operation through experimental results taken from a prototype chip fabricated in a 0.5-μm CMOS technology.European Union IST 2001 38097Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC 2003 09817 C02 01Office of Naval Research (USA) N00014021088

Stereography using a single lens

In this paper we have put forth an innovative method of obtaining a stereographic image on a single frame using a single lens. This method has been verified experimentally. A preliminary prototype of the same is built with an optimized use of the material available in the laboratory. The prospective applications of this technique are also explored in brief. This method once commercialized, will reduce the expenses incurred in the stereo videography. We also propose a simplified method of obtaining anaglyph.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, This paper has been submitted to American Journal of Physic

Smart-Pixel Cellular Neural Networks in Analog Current-Mode CMOS Technology

This paper presents a systematic approach to design CMOS chips with concurrent picture acquisition and processing capabilities. These chips consist of regular arrangements of elementary units, called smart pixels. Light detection is made with vertical CMOS-BJT’s connected in a Darlington structure. Pixel smartness is achieved by exploiting the Cellular Neural Network paradigm [1], [2], incorporating at each pixel location an analog computing cell which interacts with those of nearby pixels. We propose a current-mode implementation technique and give measurements from two 16 x 16 prototypes in a single-poly double-metal CMOS n-well 1.6-µm technology. In addition to the sensory and processing circuitry, both chips incorporate light-adaptation circuitry for automatic contrast adjustment. They obtain smart-pixel densities up to 89 units/mm2, with a power consumption down to 105 µW/unit and image processing times below 2 µs