Design and realization of multi-channel wireless data acquisition system for laboratory-scale experiments on structural health monitoring

In this paper, we present the design steps of a low cost multi-channel accelerometer system accompanied with an open-source data acquisition software. Hardware part of the system, named KACC, is composed of battery powered tri-axial MEMS accelerometers that use IEEE 802.15.1 protocol for data transmission. The software part, named PyKACC, is developed under Python© open-source environment and handles initiation of data acquisition, data synchronization and data logging. The developed system is tested for synchronization and reliability via shake-table tests and results are presented

Design of a Broadband Semi-Conical PVDF Ultrasonic Sensor For Obstacle Detection Applications

Abstract Most of the commercially available air ultrasonic transducers are ceramic based and operate at 40 kHz. This paper describes a method to design and build ultrasonic transducers using low-cost piezoelectric Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) film. The transducer has a semi-conical geometry, which provides a higher bandwidth, low ringing time compared to traditional ceramic ultrasonic transducers. We have built a prototype sensor and compared its typical characteristics with a commercially available ceramic transducer. In experiments, pulse compression technique used to detect reflected ultrasonic waves with a high SNR. We found it to be practical for applications requiring short-range obstacle detection and distance measurement

The Elements, Lawrence University Flute Ensemble, January 30, 2017

Harper Hal

Incu-Stream 1.0: An Open-Hardware Live-Cell Imaging System Based on Inverted Bright-Field Microscopy and Automated Mechanical Scanning for Real-Time and Long-Term Imaging of Microplates in Incubator

Microplate (i.e. microwell plate) is a flat plate that has a specific number of wells to be used as small test tubes in cell-culture studies. In most of the low-budget mammalian cell study laboratories, highly skilled laboratory personnel should determine microscopic changes in microplate well media by taking the microplate outside the incubator and by imaging each well medium under a microscope, with the risk of contamination and reliability degrading. An alternative solution is to use an in-incubator operated live-cell imaging device, which, however, cannot be afforded by low-cost laboratories. In this paper, we present the design, realization, and test stages of a microplate compatible inverted bright-field microscope system that can be used in incubators. The developed system enables real-time and long-term in-incubator imaging of any user-selectable microplate type. The device can capture bright-field microscopic images by using a low-cost CMOS image sensor, an inverted varifocal CCTV lens and an array of light emitting diodes. In addition, by developed two-axial movement stage and image augmenting algorithms, the whole area of a user selectable well (e.g. area of a 6.5 mm diameter well in a 96-well plate) can be automatically imaged without using any other third party software. The long-term performance of the system is tested in incubators with human embryonic kidney and breast cancer cell lines