Combined surface acoustic wave and surface plasmon resonance measurement of collagen and fibrinogen layers

We use an instrument combining optical (surface plasmon resonance) and acoustic (Love mode acoustic wave device) real-time measurements on a same surface for the identification of water content in collagen and fibrinogen protein layers. After calibration of the surface acoustic wave device sensitivity by copper electrodeposition, the bound mass and its physical properties -- density and optical index -- are extracted from the complementary measurement techniques and lead to thickness and water ratio values compatible with the observed signal shifts. Such results are especially usefully for protein layers with a high water content as shown here for collagen on an hydrophobic surface. We obtain the following results: collagen layers include 70+/-20 % water and are 16+/-3 to 19+/-3 nm thick for bulk concentrations ranging from 30 to 300 ug/ml. Fibrinogen layers include 50+/-10 % water for layer thicknesses in the 6+/-1.5 to 13+/-2 nm range when the bulk concentration is in the 46 to 460 ug/ml range.Comment: 50 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

Using Data Compression for Delay Constrained Applications in Wireless Sensor Networks

International audienceData compression is a technique used to save energy in Wireless Sensor Networks by reducing the quantity of data transmitted and the number of transmission. Actually, the main cause of energy consumption in WSN is data transmission. There exist critical applications such as delay constrained activities in which the data have to arrive quickly to the Sink for rapid analysis. In this article, we explore the use of data compression algorithms for delay constrained applications by evaluating a recent data compression algorithm for WSN named K-RLE with optimal parameters on an ultra-low power microcontroller from TI MSP430 series. The relevance of the parameter K for the lossy algorithm K-RLE led us to propose and compare two methods to characterize K: the Standard deviation and the Allan deviation. The last one allow us to control the percentage of data modified. Experimental results show that data compression is an energy efficient technique which can also perform in certain cases the global data transfer time (compression plus transmission time) compared to direct transmission

One way to design the control law of a mini-UAV.

International audienceThis paper deals with a method used to design the control law of the μDrone MAV. This vehicle uses six propellers to fly and the dynamic model approximation for the motion is a MIMO linear time-invariant system. As we want to design a linear regulator, it is necessary to build a robust feedback control law. The LQ state feedback regulator design is applied to a standard model, tacking into account some perturbations. This is why the model is augmented with a perturbation vector and an observable subsystem is extracted in order to build a state estimator whose gain is the solution of a LQ problem. The subsystem is then decomposed into a controllable set and an uncontrollable one. The use of an asymptotic rejection strategy of the influence of uncontrollable modes gives the possibility to find a state feedback applied only to the controllable ones. Here again feedback matrix is chosen as the solution of a LQ problem. To compute the weighting matrices of quadratic criterions we use a “partial observability gramian”. The great advantage of this method is due to the use of only three scalars to synthesize the control law

Intérêt de l’utilisation de la photogrammétrie SfM (Structure from Motion) pour le suivi des processus nivo-glaciaires. Application au bassin du glacier Austre Lovén, Spitsberg

National audienceL’Arctique est reconnu comme un ex¬cellent indicateur des évolutions clima¬tiques contemporaines : sa sensibilité aux moindres sollicitations climatiques en fait une zone d’étude idéale. L’étude des pro¬cessus et des dynamiques glaciaires revêt, dans ce contexte, un intérêt majeur afin de mieux comprendre les impacts du climat sur la récession glaciaire observée durant cette dernière décade

FPGA Implementation Of Diffusive Realization For A Distributed Control Operator

International audienceWe focus on the question of real-time computation for optimal distributed filtering or control applicable to MEMS Arrays. We present an algorithm for the realization of a linear operator solution to a functional equation through its application to a Lyapunov operatorial equation associated to the heat equation in one dimension. It is based on the diffusive realization, and turns to be well suited for fined grained parallel computer architecture as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA). An effective FPGA implementation has been successfully carried out. Here, we report the main implementation steps and the final measured performances

Where does a glacier end ? GPR measurements to identify the limits between the slopes and the real glacier area. Application to the Austre Lovénbreen, Spitsbergen -- 79°N

International audienceGlacier limits are usually mapped according to a spatial discrimination based on color of remote sensing images or aerial photography. What appears like ice (white or light colored areas) at the end of the ablation period (end of summer) corresponds to the glacier, while what appears as rock (dark areas) is identified as the slope. This kind of visual discretization seems to be insufficient in the case of small arctic glaciers. Indeed, the slopes have been described as very unstable parts of glacial basins. Debris are generated by the inclination of the slopes, and reach the glacier surface. Thus, the visible limit does not correspond to the ice extension: a significant amount of ice is potentially covered by rock debris, enlarging the actual glacier surface with respect to the observed area. Hence, we apply Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) measurements for mapping, beyond the central parts of the glacier, the steep slopes of the Austre Lovénbreen (Spitsbergen, 79°N). The aim is to assess the discrepancy between the limits extracted from remote sensing methods -- aerial photography, satellite images and derived digital elevation models -- and the GPR data which exhibit significant ice thickness at locations considered outside the glacier itself. The ice is observed to extend typically from 25 to 30 meters, and up to 100~meters, under the slopes. These measurements allow for a new determination of the rock/ice interface location following criteria beyond the visual and morphological characteristics seen from the surface, as obtained by remote sensing techniques or in-situ observations

Approche multivariée des facteurs influençant le bilan de masse d’un glacier arctique

National audienceL’Arctique est la zone géographique où la modification du climat au cours du XXIieme siècle sera la plus forte de la planète. La totalité de la cryosphère (banquise, glaciers, pergélisol, etc.) subira de profondes altérations qui se traduiront spatialement par des évolutions majeures. Les glaciers sont de bons indicateurs de ces changements, aussi bien à une échelle locale que globale, car leur dynamique est très sensible au climat. Cette étude porte sur un glacierdu Spitsberg où il a été observé que des conditions climatiques et nivologiques contrastées d’une année sur l’autre avaient des conséquences multiples, et parfois inattendues, sur les bilans de masse

Fast contactless vibrating structure characterization using real time field programmable gate array-based digital signal processing: Demonstrations with a passive wireless acoustic delay line probe and vision

International audienceVibrating mechanical structure characterization is demonstrated using contactless techniques best suited for mobile and rotating equipments. Fast measurement rates are achieved using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices as real-time digital signal processors. Two kinds of algorithms are implemented on FPGA and experimentally validated in the case of the vibrating tuning fork. A first application concerns in-plane displacement detection by vision with sampling rates above 10 kHz, thus reaching frequency ranges above the audio range. A second demonstration concerns pulsed-RADAR cooperative target phase detection and is applied to radiofrequency acoustic transducers used as passive wireless strain gauges. In this case, the 250 ksamples/s refresh rate achieved is only limited by the acoustic sensor design but not by the detection bandwidth. These realizations illustrate the efficiency, interest, and potentialities of FPGA-based real-time digital signal processing for the contactless interrogation of passive embedded probes with high refresh rates

Glacier flow monitoring by digital camera and space-borne SAR images

International audienceMost of the image processing techniques have been first proposed and developed on small size images and progressively applied to larger and larger data sets resulting from new sensors and application requirements. In geosciences, digital cameras and remote sensing images can be used to monitor glaciers and to measure their surface velocity by different techniques. However, the image size and the number of acquisitions to be processed to analyze time series become a critical issue to derive displacement fields by the conventional correlation technique. In this paper, an efficient correlation software is used to compute from optical images the motion of a serac fall and from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images the motion of Alpine glaciers. The optical images are acquired by a digital camera installed near the Argentière glacier (Chamonix, France) and the SAR images are acquired by the high resolution TerraSAR-X satellite over the Mont-Blanc area. The results illustrate the potential of this software to monitor the glacier flow with camera images acquired every 2 h and with the size of the TerraSAR-X scenes covering 30 × 50 km2