A Wearable Wireless Energy Link for Thin-Film Batteries Charging

A wireless charger for low capacity thin-film batteries is presented. The proposed device consists of a nonradiative wireless resonant energy link and a power management unit. Experimental data referring to a prototype operating in the ISM band centered at 434 MHz are presented and discussed. In more detail, in order to facilitate the integration into wearable accessories (such as handbags or suitcases), the prototype of the wireless energy link was implemented by exploiting a magnetic coupling between two planar resonators fabricated by using a conductive fabric on a layer of leather. From experimental data, it is demonstrated that, at 434 MHz, the RF-to-RF power transfer efficiency of the link is approximately 69.3%. As for the performance of the system as a whole, when an RF power of 7.5 dBm is provided at the input port, a total efficiency of about 29.7% is obtained. Finally, experiments performed for calculating the charging time for a low capacity thin-film battery demonstrated that, for RF input power higher than 6 dBm, the time necessary for recharging the battery is lower than 50 minutes

Reflectometric System for Continuous and Automated Monitoring of Irrigation in Agriculture

In this work, a time domain reflectometry (TDR)-based system for continuous and diffused monitoring of soil water content in agriculture is presented. The proposed TDR-based system employs elongate sensing elements (SEs). In practical application, each wire-like SE is buried along the cultivation row to be monitored, and through a single TDR measurement it is possible to retrieve the water content profile of the cultivation along the length of the SE. By connecting the TDR-based monitoring system to the irrigation machines, it would be possible to automatically start/stop irrigation based on the actual water requirement of the cultivations, thus favoring precision agriculture and enhancing irrigation efficiency. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed monitoring solution, a dedicated hardware+software platform was developed and the TDR-based system was experimented in open-field cultivations

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Wearable, {AR}-based {BCI} for Robot Control in {ADHD} Treatment

A highly wearable, single-channel Brain-Computer Interface based on Augmented Reality and Steady-State Visually Evoked Potentials is proposed as a therapy for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) rehabilitation of children. Through the proposed system, the user can drive a social robot, in real-time, by simply looking at the flickering icons rendered on the Augmented Reality (AR) smart glasses. The social robot is already successfully employed for ADHD treatment. After a preliminary evaluation of the children adherence to the therapy (involving 18 subjects), a one-month therapy was conducted on 7 participants. During the tests, different tasks were assigned to the children depending on their level of involvement. The obtained results, based on the Italian Battery for ADHD, highlight that for all the participants, an improvement in the various tests proposed could be observed, even with a low number of sessions

A Wearable SSVEP BCI for AR-based, Real-time Monitoring Applications

A real-time monitoring system based on Augmented Reality (AR) and highly wearable Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) for hands-free visualization of patient's health in Operating Room (OR) is proposed. The system is designed to allow the anesthetist to monitor hands-free and in real-time the patient's vital signs collected from the electromedical equipment available in OR. After the analysis of the requirements in a typical Health 4.0 scenario, the conceptual design, implementation and experimental validation of the proposed system are described in detail. The effectiveness of the proposed AR-BCI-based real-time monitoring system was demonstrated through an experimental activity was carried out at the University Hospital Federico II (Naples, Italy), using operating room equipment

A Wearable AR-based BCI for Robot Control in ADHD Treatment: Preliminary Evaluation of Adherence to Therapy

A wearable, single-channel Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) based on Augmented Reality (AR) and Steady-State Visually Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs) for robot control is proposed as an innovative therapy for robot-based Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) rehabilitation of children. The system manages to overcome the challenges regarding immersivity and wearability, providing a direct path between human brain and social robots, already successfully employed for ADHD treatment. Through the proposed system, even without training, the user can drive a robot, in real-time, by brain signals. A preliminary evaluation of the children adherence to the therapy was conducted as a case study on 18 subjects, at an accredited rehabilitation center. After investigating the children acceptance of the proposed system, different tasks were assigned to the volunteers aiming to observe their level of involvement. The experimental activity showed encouraging results, where almost all the participants were satisfied with the experience and keen to repeat it again in the future

Study on the degradation of chitosan slurries

In the present work, we measured the degradation rate of different chitosan slurries. Several parameters were monitored such as temperature (25 °C, 37 °C, 50 °C); chitosan concentration (1% and 2% (w/V)); and polymer molecular weight. The samples were tested in dynamic sweep test mode. This test is able to provide a reliable estimation of viscosity variations of the slurries; in turn, these variations could be related to degradation rate of the system in the considered conditions. The resulting information is particularly important especially in applications in which there is a close relationship between physical properties and molecular structure. Keywords: Chitosan, Degradation, Molecular weight, Viscosit

Accuracy improvement in the TDR-based localization of water leaks

A time domain reflectometry (TDR)-based system for the localization of water leaks has been recently developed by the authors. This system, which employs wire-like sensing elements to be installed along the underground pipes, has proven immune to the limitations that affect the traditional, acoustic leak-detection systems.Starting from the positive results obtained thus far, in this work, an improvement of this TDR-based system is proposed. More specifically, the possibility of employing a low-cost, water-absorbing sponge to be placed around the sensing element for enhancing the accuracy in the localization of the leak is addressed.To this purpose, laboratory experiments were carried out mimicking a water leakage condition, and two sensing elements (one embedded in a sponge and one without sponge) were comparatively used to identify the position of the leak through TDR measurements. Results showed that, thanks to the water retention capability of the sponge (which maintains the leaked water more localized), the sensing element embedded in the sponge leads to a higher accuracy in the evaluation of the position of the leak. Keywords: Leak localization, TDR, Time domain reflectometry, Water leaks, Underground water pipe

Broadband Power Line Communication in Railway Traction Lines: A Survey

Power line communication (PLC) is a technology that exploits existing electrical transmission and distribution networks as guiding structures for electromagnetic signal propagation. This facilitates low-rate data transmission for signaling and control operations. As the demand in terms of data rate has greatly increased in the last years, the attention paid to broadband PLC (BPLC) has also greatly increased. This concept also extended to railways as broadband traction power line communication (BTPLC), aiming to offer railway operators an alternative data network in areas where other technologies are lacking. However, BTPLC implementation faces challenges due to varying operating scenarios like urban, rural, and galleries. Hence, ensuring coverage and service continuity demands the suitable characterization of the communication channel. In this regard, the scientific literature, which is an indicator of the body of knowledge related to BTPLC systems, is definitely poor if compared to that addressed to BPLC systems installed on the electrical transmission and distribution network. The relative papers dealing with BTPLC systems and focusing on the characterization of the communication channel show some theoretical approaches and, rarely, measurements guidelines and experimental results. In addition, to the best of the author's knowledge, there are no surveys that comprehensively address these aspects. To compensate for this lack of information, a survey of the state of the art concerning BTPLC systems and the measurement methods that assist their installation, assessment, and maintenance is presented. The primary goal is to provide the interested readers with a thorough understanding of the matter and identify the current research gaps, in order to drive future research towards the most significant issues

Performance and Usability Evaluation of an Extended Reality Platform to Monitor Patient’s Health during Surgical Procedures

An extended-reality (XR) platform for real-time monitoring of patients' health during surgical procedures is proposed. The proposed system provides real-time access to a comprehensive set of patients' information, which are made promptly available to the surgical team in the operating room (OR). In particular, the XR platform supports the medical staff by automatically acquiring the patient's vitals from the operating room instrumentation and displaying them in real-time directly on an XR headset. Furthermore, information regarding the patient clinical record is also shown upon request. Finally, the XR-based monitoring platform also allows displaying in XR the video stream coming directly from the endoscope. The innovative aspect of the proposed XR-based monitoring platform lies in the comprehensiveness of the available information, in its modularity and flexibility (in terms of adaption to different sources of data), ease of use, and most importantly, in a reliable communication, which are critical requirements for the healthcare field. To validate the proposed system, experimental tests were conducted using instrumentation typically available in the operating room (i.e., a respiratory ventilator, a patient monitor for intensive care, and an endoscope). The overall results showed (i) an accuracy of the data communication greater than 99 %, along with (ii) an average time response below ms, and (iii) satisfying feedback from the SUS questionnaires filled out by the physicians after intensive use

Assessment and Scientific Progresses in the Analysis of Olfactory Evoked Potentials

The human sense of smell is important for many vital functions, but with the current state of the art, there is a lack of objective and non-invasive methods for smell disorder diagnostics. In recent years, increasing attention is being paid to olfactory event-related potentials (OERPs) of the brain, as a viable tool for the objective assessment of olfactory dysfunctions. The aim of this review is to describe the main features of OERPs signals, the most widely used recording and processing techniques, and the scientific progress and relevance in the use of OERPs in many important application fields. In particular, the innovative role of OERPs is exploited in olfactory disorders that can influence emotions and personality or can be potential indicators of the onset or progression of neurological disorders. For all these reasons, this review presents and analyzes the latest scientific results and future challenges in the use of OERPs signals as an attractive solution for the objective monitoring technique of olfactory disorder