Mars laser altimeter based on a single photon ranging technique

The Mars 94/96 Mission will carry, among others things, the balloon probe experiment. The balloon with the scientific cargo in the gondola underneath will drift in the Mars atmosphere, its altitude will range from zero, in the night, up to 5 km at noon. The accurate gondola altitude will be determined by an altimeter. As the Balloon gondola mass is strictly limited, the altimeter total mass and power consumption are critical; maximum allowed is a few hundred grams a few tens of mWatts of average power consumption. We did propose, design, and construct the laser altimeter based on the single photon ranging technique. Topics covered include the following: principle of operation, altimeter construction, and ground tests

Smartphone Based Fluorescence Imaging for Online Control of Cattle Fodder Preparation

A simple and cost-effective technique has been suggested for online monitoring of grist concentration in fodder. The technique is based on fluorescence imaging with grow light lamp excitation and a consumer CMOS camera (DSLR or smartphone) for photo capturing. A prototype instrument has been developed and tested in the laboratory for quantitative express determination of rapeseed grist concentration in fodder. In situ measurement of grist concentration during cattle food preparation has been demonstrated, and the perspectives were discussed. The developed instrument has the potential to ensure more accurate preparation of individual cattle diets compared to currently available methods, which will improve the efficiency of the cattle food production