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Copyright: 2016 SPIE. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file only contains the abstract of the full text item. For access to the full text item, please consult the publisher's website.

In this paper, we present an industrial application of multispectral imaging, for density measurement of colorants in photographic paper. We designed and developed a 9-band LED illumination based multispectral imaging system specifically for this application in collaboration with FUJIFILM Manufacturing Europe B.V., Tilburg, Netherlands. Unlike a densitometer, which is a spot density measurement device, the proposed system enables fast density measurement in a large area of a photo paper. Densities of the four colorants (CMYK) at every surface point in an image are calculated from the spectral reflectance image. Fast density measurements facilitate automatic monitoring of density changes (which is proportional to thickness changes), which helps control the manufacturing process for quality and consistent output. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed system.

In this paper, we demonstrate an automatic image analysis for Micro Total Analysis Systems (μTAS) or Lab-on-Paper (LoP). By placing fiducial markers on μTAS, application can crop image and remove bending distortions, also it can perform colorimetric analysis. With previously taken photo of μTAS device with applied reagents, user can determine ie. illness presence by uploading photo into the program. In the paper was prepared μTAS sheet, algorithm for finding fiducial points and software for colorimetric analysis written in Matlab.

There are several paradigms for color generation in reflective displays (e-Paper) including RGBW color filtering or stacked RGB or CMY. Theoretically, the highest white state reflectance and best color gamut are achieved by stacking three layers of pixels. However, stacking 3 layers induces significant optical losses especially at high resolution and typically does not allow for video operation. Therefore RGBW color filtering is currently preferred for higher resolution and single-layer e-Paper, but only provides color at 25% of the area and a maximum theoretical white reflectance of 50%. Presented herein is a new bi-primary color-system that cooperatively displays two complimentary colors inside a single sub-pixel, and therefore doubles the white state reflectance and color gamut for single-layer e-Paper. Also discussed are candidate e-Paper technologies that may be able to adopt the bi-primary color system, including possible advantages and challenges for each technology.

Electrophoretic display (EPD) has been widely used in e-paper applications because of its flexibility, low power consumption, good sunlight visibility. The commercial success of monochromic EPD has boosted the development of full- color EPD to further satisfy people’s demand for various applications. However, many challenges shall be overcome before commercializing it. In this paper, we will introduce the EPD’s fundamental operation, the design of driving waveform for optimizing the opto-electronic performance, and the strategies for achieving full-color EPD as well as a color EPD prototype fabricated by transfer method.

International audience; Dirty Paper Trellis Codes (DPTC) watermarking, published in 2004, is a very efficient high rate scheme. Nevertheless, it has two strong drawbacks: its security weakness and its CPU computation complexity. We propose an embedding space at least as secure and a faster embedding. The embedding space is built on the projections of some wavelet coefficients onto secret carriers. It keeps a good security level and has also good psycho-visual properties. The embedding is based on a dichotomous rotation in the Cox, Miller and Boom Plane. It gives better performances than previous fast embedding approaches. Four different attacks are performed and revealed good robustness and rapidity performances.

This paper will review the origins and state of the art in paper-based electronics, suggesting the stage is set for future promising applications. Current interest in paper-based electronics can trace its roots to recent developments in paper-based microfluidics. With a need to improve the reliability and sensitivity of paperbased microfluidics for certain tasks, there were natural efforts to begin embedding sensing electrodes into microfluidic devices. Recognizing the general benefits of paper as an advanced material (e.g., its environmental friendliness, bendable nature, and low cost), efforts in paper-based electronics also began to take a life of their own with demonstrations of transistors, batteries and devices for energy storage, energy harvesting, sensors to improve situational awareness, acoustics, and displays. The state-of-the-art paper-based electronic devices have benefited and will continue to profit from technologies for printing and transferring electronic functionality onto the surfaces of paper-based substrates. Nonetheless, the authors suggest that many future promising applications will go beyond using paper as a carrier/substrate for electronic components to explore tuning of the electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties of the paper itself. With these technical advances, paper-based electronics will move closer to economically viable killer applications.

The UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Sensors and Metrology is one of four flagship initiatives in the UK National of Quantum Technology Program. As part of a 20-year vision it translates laboratory demonstrations to deployable practical devices, with game-changing miniaturized components and prototypes that transform the state-of-the-art for quantum sensors and metrology. It brings together experts from the Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Nottingham, Southampton, Strathclyde and Sussex, NPL and currently links to over 15 leading international academic institutions and over 70 companies to build the supply chains and routes to market needed to bring 10–1000x improvements in sensing applications. It seeks, and is open to, additional partners for new application development and creates a point of easy open access to the facilities and supply chains that it stimulates or nurtures.

A new dirty paper coding technique for robust watermarking is presented based on the properties of orthogonal codes. By relying on the simple structure of these codes, a simple yet powerful technique to embed a message within the host signal is developed. In addition, the equi-energetic nature of the coded sequence, together with the adoption of a correlation-based decoder, ensures that the watermark is robust against value-metric scaling. The performance of the dirty coding algorithm are further improved by replacing orthogonal codes with Gold sequences and by concatenating them with an outer turbo code. To this aim, the inner decoder is modified so to produce a soft estimate of the embedded message and to make it possible the adoption of an iterative multistage decoding strategy. Performance analysis is carried out by means of Monte Carlo simulations proving the validity of the novel watermarking scheme. A comparison with dirty-trellis watermarking reveals the effectiveness of the new system, which, thanks to its very low computational burden, allows the adoption of extremely powerful channel coding strategies, hence ensuring a very high robustness or, even thanks to the optimum embedding procedure, a low distortion.

The paper industry has long had a need to better understand and control its papermaking process upstream, specifically at the wet end in the forming section of a paper machine. A vision-based system is under development that addresses this need by automatically measuring and interpreting the pertinent paper web parameters at the wet end in real time. The wet-end characterization of the paper web by a vision system involves a four-dimensional measurement of the slurry in real time. These measurements include the two-dimensional spatial information, the intensity profile, and the depth profile. This paper describes the real-time depth profile measurement system for the high-speed moving slurry. A laser line-based measurement method is used with a high-speed programmable camera to directly measure slurry height. The camera is programmed with a profile algorithm, producing depth data at fast sampling rates. Analysis and experimentation have been conducted to optimize the system for the characteristics of the slurry and laser line image. On-line experimental results are presented.

By combining the physical principles behind the nastic plant movements and the rich designs of paper folding art, we propose a new class of multi-functional adaptive structure called fluidic origami cellular structure. The basic elements of this structure are fluid filled origami "cells", made by connecting two compatible Miura-Ori stripes along their crease lines. These cells are assembled seamlessly into a three dimensional topology, and their internal fluid pressure or volume are strategically controlled just like in plants for nastic movements. Because of the unique geometry of the Miura-Ori, the relationships among origami folding, internal fluid properties, and the crease bending are intricate and highly nonlinear. Fluidic origami can exploit such relationships to provide multiple adaptive functions concurrently and effectively. For example, it can achieve actuation or morphing by actively changing the internal fluid volume, and stillness tuning by constraining the fluid volume. Fluidic origami can also be bistable because of the nonlinear correlation between folding and crease material bending, and such bistable character can be altered significantly by fluid pressurization. These functions are natural and essential companions with respect to each other, so that fluidic origami can holistically exhibit many attractive characteristics of plants and deliver rapid and efficient actuation/morphing while maintaining a high structural stillness. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the design and working principles of the fluidic origami, as well as to explore and demonstrate its performance potential.

IR monitoring is a basic tool for quality control and predictive maintenance in the paper industry. There are also other possible interests, e.g. measurements of temperature profiles of high speed production lines. The first possibility to use IR for the above mentioned use appears to be applications of glass heat treatment in on line production. At this time there is a lot of interest to be able to measure temperature profiles from a fast moving surface (e.g. in paper machines) with velocities like 10 - 20 m/s. Normal low speed line scanners typically give scanning speed of 50 Hz which in this case means 20 m/s/50 Hz equals 40 cm resolution. The obtained resolution is not normally high enough. To have more accurate vision from the studied surface IR camera line scanning was proposed to be a solution with line scanning frequencies of 8000 Hz which would provide resolution of 20 m/s/8000 Hz equals 0.25 cm between surface points. It is a well-known fact that all undesired frequencies in paper transfer systems disturb the uniform paper drying process which in some cases is the basic reason for low quality coating or even broken paper line. The possibility to detect these drying problems with IR frequency analysis will give a new way to control the paper drying process. With IR analysis it is possible to get information about temperature distributions along the paper track. Using a well established frequency analysis as a tool, the error estimations are obtained. In most cases an open-roll image from paper track is very desirable because there are no existing wide area measurement systems for this purpose. The careful analysis of this new method is given in the manuscript.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

This report describes a method for the creation and automatic content verification of low-cost self-verifiable paper documents. The image of an original document is decomposed to symbol templates and their corresponding locations. The resulting data is further compressed and encrypted, and encoded in custom designed high-capacity color barcodes. The original image and barcodes are printed on the same paper to form a self-verifiable authentic document. During content verification, the paper document is scanned to obtain the barcodes and target image. The original image is reconstructed from data extracted from the barcodes, which is then registered with and compared to the target image. The verification is carried out hierarchically from the entire image down to word and symbol levels. For symbol level comparison, multiple types of features and shape matching are utilized in a cascade. The proposed verification method is inexpensive, robust and fast. Evaluation on 216 character tables and 102 real documents achieved greater than 99% alteration detection rate and less than 1% false positives at the word/symbol level.

Wet paper code is a complex model which mainly used in the field of image coding. This paper is based on the wet paper code model and human visual system, and constructs a new wet paper code steganographic method. According to the regional complexity and other characteristics of the host image, the secret bits are adaptively embedded into wavelet coefficients of image subbands with wet paper code. Secret information receivers do not need to know the specific method of secret writing, just do a simple matrix multiplication operation and can extract the secret information, which in many ways to improve the security of the steganographic algorithm. The experiments show that the method has good visual invisibility and resistance of active steganalysis attacks.

In this paper, a new data hiding method - writing on wet paper using multi-pixel differencing is presented in order to provide large embedding capacity and improve further steganographic embedding efficiency for the stego-image. It takes into consideration four pixels of a block, and the differences between the lowest gray-value pixel and its surrounding pixels are used to embed the secret data. The receivers can extract secret bits from carrier images only by some matrix multiplications no matter how we embed the secret message. Thus, the invisibility of this steganographic method is achieved in process of secret information transmission. The experimental results show that our scheme has a larger embedding capacity and better robust performance against the methods of active attacks such as noise addition.

This paper contains the case description of reviewing of different research papers for scientific conference and Models related to the chosen case description. The evaluation of the business models is based on the Sequal quality framework. This paper is based on the case description as provided in later sections of this paper; however the case is extended and focused as necessary to explain the business models.

Haptic is one of well-considered device which is suitable for demanding virtual reality applications such as medical equipment, mobile devices, the online marketing and so on. Nowadays, many of concepts for haptic devices have been suggested to meet the demand of industries. Cellulose has received much attention as an emerging smart material, named as electro-active paper (EAPap). The EAPap is attractive for mobile haptic devices due to its unique characteristics in terms of low actuation power, suitability for thin devices and transparency. In this paper, we suggest a new concept of haptic actuator with the use of cellulose EAPap. Its performance is evaluated depending on various actuation conditions. As a result, cellulose electrostatic force actuator shows a large output displacement and fast response, which is suitable for mobile haptic devices.

This paper gives the models of uncertain multisensor system based on norm-bounded parameter uncertain model method, by which, the centralized robust fusion estimation is developed for uncertain multisensor system based on Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) methods. The developed fusion estimation methods are used for paper basis weight estimation considering the uncertainty of paper machine in practice. The results of experiments show the application of information fusion theory can develops the estimation performance, especially, the performance of state estimation can keep well even when the sensor fails.

Since mathematic morphology of paper's defect detection method based on single-structure element has the shortcoming of obtaining incomplete and discontinued defect information, a new method of mathematical morphology defect detection on paper image using multi-scale and multi-structure elements morphology was proposed. Firstly, on the same scale, the multi-structure elements were adopted in edge detection on paper image, and then the edge image on one scale was gained through synthesizing. Secondly, the edge images on the different scales were weighted summed, binarized and suppressed the noise, and at last, the edge image of paper's defect detection was obtained using multi-scale and multi-structure elements morphology. The results of simulation show that the algorithm in this paper has better antiinterference and positioning accuracy, and the obtained edge is more complete.

An important print quality attribute of digital printing equipment deals with the absolute position of the printed image relative to the page. Historically, the most precise method of measuring image to paper (IOP) registration is by scanning a printed sheet on a flatbed scanner. These measurements have been limited to sheets smaller than the full capacity of the printer. In addition, the precision of the measurement has been limited by the accuracy of the scanner itself and the measurement of a few (~4) points on the page have limited the information that can be gathered. The new method proposed in this paper measures IOP registration throughout the sheet in a more precise manner. In a similar fashion, the relative position of the image on both the simplex and duplex side of the print can be determined. In addition, the new method helps link the source of registration errors to individual sub-systems. By generating the individual error sources from a printed sheet enables the understanding of the percentage contribution of each sub-system, prioritizes efforts to obtain better IOP performance, finds initial IOP setup errors of a printing engine, compares different technologies affecting IOP registration in sub-systems and potentially acts as a diagnostic tool for individual sub-systems.

Based on the unique characteristic, the paper currency numbers can be put into record and the automatic identification equipment for paper currency numbers is supplied to currency circulation market in order to provide convenience for financial sectors to trace the fiduciary circulation socially and provide effective supervision on paper currency. Simultaneously it is favorable for identifying forged notes, blacklisting the forged notes numbers and solving the major social problems, such as armor cash carrier robbery, money laundering. For the purpose of recognizing the paper currency numbers, a recognition algorithm based on neural network is presented in the paper. Number lines in original paper currency images can be draw out through image processing, such as image de-noising, skew correction, segmentation, and image normalization. According to the different characteristics between digits and letters in serial number, two kinds of classifiers are designed. With the characteristics of associative memory, optimization-compute and rapid convergence, the Discrete Hopfield Neural Network (DHNN) is utilized to recognize the letters; with the characteristics of simple structure, quick learning and global optimum, the Radial-Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) is adopted to identify the digits. Then the final recognition results are obtained by combining the two kinds of recognition results in regular sequence. Through the simulation tests, it is confirmed by simulation results that the recognition algorithm of combination of two kinds of recognition methods has such advantages as high recognition rate and faster recognition simultaneously, which is worthy of broad application prospect.

Due to the rise in performance of digital printing, image-based applications are gaining popularity. This creates needs for specifying the quality potential of printers and materials in more detail than before. Both production and end-use standpoints are relevant. This paper gives an overview of an on-going study which has the goal of determining a framework model for the visual quality potential of paper in color image printing. The approach is top-down and it is founded on the concept of a layered network model. The model and its subjective, objective and instrumental measurement layers are discussed. Some preliminary findings are presented. These are based on data from samples obtained by printing natural image contents and simple test fields on a wide range of paper grades by ink-jet in a color managed process. Color profiles were paper specific. Visual mean opinion score data by human observers could be accounted for by two or three dimensions. In the first place these are related to brightness and color brightness. Image content has a marked effect on the dimensions. This underlines the challenges in designing the test images.

Lattice codes and quantization-based techniques have received considerable attention as a method of digital watermarking with side information. However, these algorithms are also recognized to be highly sensitive to common signal processing primitives such as valuemetric scaling, e.g. changes in volume of a song, or re-quantization, e.g. JPEG compression. Hence, it is reasonable to investigate alternative codes which may offer the potential for superior performance. In previous work, we designed a new class of codes, called dirty paper trellis codes (DPTC), which are by construction immune to valuemetric scaling. Although DPTC have shown themselves to be resistant to certain classes attacks, the trellises were generated randomly, thus leading to suboptimal codes. In this paper, Ungerboeck's work on trellis coded modulation (TCM) is exploited to significantly improve the performance of the DPTC. Experimental results show that the resulting trellises significantly outperform the original design.

In this paper a new method is proposed to control a vision-based robot in large navigation spaces. In this case, visual features observed by an on-board camera can change drastically or even disappear completely between the initial image, as seen at the beginning of a task, and the final image, as seen at the desired position of the robot. These features are therefore not suffcient for controlling the entire motion of the robotic system from beginning to end. This problem requires a more complete definition and representation of the navigation space. This can be achieved by a topological representation, where the environment is directly defined in the sensor space by a data-base of images. In our approach, this data-base is acquired during an offline learning step. An image retrieval method then indexes and matches a request image, given by the camera, to the closest view within the data-base. In this way, an image path is extracted from the database to link the initial and desired images providing enough information to control the robot. The central point of this paper is focused on the closed-loop control law that drives the robot to its desired position using this image path. The method proposed does not require either a global reconstruction or a temporal planning step. Furthermore, the robot is not obliged to converge directly upon each image waypoint but chooses automatically a better trajectory. The visual servoing control law designed uses specific features which ensure that the robot navigates within the visibility path. Experimental simulations are given to show the effectiveness of this method for controlling the motion of a camera in three-dimensional environments (free-flying camera, or camera moving on a plane).

This paper presents the design and development of a safe MEMS based micro electro-thermal igniter for a safe microfuze for military purpose. The proposed device"s architecture is made of: (1) one pyrotechnical micro igniter, (2) one arming function, (3) one disarming function and (3) one sterilization function. The pyrotechnical electro-thermal igniter consists in a resistive element that converts electrical energy into heat to initiate an energetic material. The arming function permits the igniter to be armed, ready to fire, only if the ignition conditions are respected. For that, a short-circuit to the electrical ground is cut and the igniter is connected to the power supply. The igniter can be reset to the safe mode (disarmed state) thanks to the disarming function that reconnects the igniter's electrical pads to the electrical ground. If necessary the igniter can be sterilized meaning that the system's ignition capability is definitively removed. All these functions are based on the use of two electro-thermal micro switches : one ON-OFF and one OFF-ON. Due to the application requirements (the fuze is used once but after a long storage, all components must have a high level of safety and reliability and the power consumption must be minimized), we opted for a new generation of one shot, safe and reliable micro switches. They are based on electro thermal mechanisms and consist in breaking one electrical connection (ON-OFF switch) or micro soldering locally two electrical connections (OFF-ON switch). Both switches have been developed in MEMS technology, characterized and are presented in this paper. A prototype of safe micro igniter with ON-OFF and OFF-ON switches has been also realized and is presented.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

This paper presents the whole process of building up a high precision, high dynamical MEMS acceleration sensor. The first samples have achieved a resolution of better than 500 ug and a bandwidth of more than 200 Hz. The sensor fabrication technology is shortly covered in the paper. A theoretical model is built from the physical principles of the complete sensor system, consisting of the MEMS sensor, the charge amplifier and the PWM driver for the sensor element. The mathematical modeling also covers problems during startup. A reduced order model of the entire system is used to design a robust control with the Mixed-Sensitivity H-infinity Approach. Since the system has an unstable pole, imposed by the electrostatic field and time delay, caused by A/D-D/A conversation delay and DSP computing time, limitations for the control design are given. The theoretical model might be inaccurate or lacks of completeness, because the parameters for the theoretical model building vary from sample to sample or might be not known. A new identification scheme for open or closed-loop operation is deployed to obtain directly from the samples the parameters of the mechanical system and the voltage dependent gains. The focus of this paper is the complete system development and identification process including practical tests in a DSP TI-TMS320C3000 environment.

In this paper a model for auditory perception is introduced. This model is based on a network of integrate-and-fire and resonate-and-fire neurons and is aimed to control the phonotaxis behavior of a roving robot. The starting point is the model of phonotaxis in Gryllus Bimaculatus: the model consists of four integrate-and-fire neurons and is able of discriminating the calling song of male cricket and orienting the robot towards the sound source. This paper aims to extend the model to include an amplitude-frequency clustering. The proposed spiking network shows different behaviors associated with different characteristics of the input signals (amplitude and frequency). The behavior implemented on the robot is similar to the cricket behavior, where some frequencies are associated with the calling song of male crickets, while other ones indicate the presence of predators. Therefore, the whole model for auditory perception is devoted to control different responses (attractive or repulsive) depending on the input characteristics. The performance of the control system has been evaluated with several experiments carried out on a roving robot.

An automatic recognition system for Paper Currency Numbers was developed in this paper. The paper currency number can be recognized and recorded by this system at the same time of binding. At First, an image of 8 bits grey-scale was acquired by CCD camera, and then some output number clusters can be through process of segmentation by Grey Ridge-Valley algorithm, orientation by projection, and character recognition by structure-analyzing algorithm. Results of experiments demonstrated that the proposed algorithm of gray ridges and valleys can extract feature effectively, the algorithm of distance of traversing number body orientation acute, and this system achieves a high recognition rate and a fast recognition speed. It still reached the practical degree. The system has applied national patent.

A non-supervised clustering based method for classifying paper according to its quality is presented. The method is simple to train, requiring minimal human involvement. The approach is based on Self-Organizing Maps and texture features that discriminate the texture of effectively. Multidimensional texture feature vectors are first extracted from paper images. The dimensionality of the data is then reduced by a Self-Organizing Map (SOM). In dimensionality reduction, the feature data are projected to a two-dimensional space and clustered according to their similarity. The clusters represent different paper qualities and can be labeled according to the quality information of the training samples. After that, it is easy to find the quality class of the inspected paper by checking where a sample is placed in the low-dimensional space. Tests based on images taken in a laboratory environment from four different paper quality classes provided very promising results. Local Binary Pattern (LBP) texture features combined with a SOM-based approach classified the test data almost perfectly: the error percentage was only 0.2% with the multiresolution version of LBP and 1.6% with the regular LBP. The improvement to the previously used texture features in paper inspection is huge: the classification error is reduced over 40 times. In addition to the excellent classification accuracy, the method also offers a self-intuitive user interface and a synthetic view to the inspected data.

This paper introduces tracking control system with visual feedback to a moving object by using the measurement device which we developed. In order to recognize the moving object, we use two method, using cross-shape mark and Orientation Code Matching (OCM). And the measurement device is constructed PID control system with Extended Kalman Filter in order to track to object. Through the several experiments, we verify the percormance of recognition and tracking.

In this paper we present our work analysing electroencephalographic (EEG) signals for the detection of seizure precursors in epilepsy. Volterra-systems and Cellular Nonlinear Networks are considered for a multidimensional signal analysis which is called the feature extraction problem throughout this contribution. Recent results obtained by applying a pattern detection algorithm and a nonlinear prediction of brain electrical activity will be discussed in detail. The aim of this interdisciplinary project is the realization of an implantable seizure warning and preventing system.

Our paper is an overview of different methods, which were recently developed or adopted for the simulation of organic electronic devices. In the first part of this work we will briefly review state of the art approaches for simulating current flow through single molecules, while in the second and longer part we will focus on the design of architectures for molecular-scale computing. We will put special emphasis on field-coupling, which is a promising unconventional way for integrating a large number of molecules into a computing device.

This paper discusses the optics content of the UK A level Advancing Physics course. Some of the novel teaching approaches are presented as well as a teaching sequence. Computer animations and lab work will be demonstrated in the main talk.

This paper reports the current status of the DARPA Quantum Network, which became fully operational in BBN's laboratory in October 2003, and has been continuously running in 6 nodes operating through telecommunications fiber between Harvard University, Boston University, and BBN since June 2004. The DARPA Quantum Network is the world's first quantum cryptography network, and perhaps also the first QKD systems providing continuous operation across a metropolitan area. Four more nodes are now being added to bring the total to 10 QKD nodes. This network supports a variety of QKD technologies, including phase-modulated lasers through fiber, entanglement through fiber, and freespace QKD. We provide a basic introduction and rational for this network, discuss the February 2005 status of the various QKD hardware suites and software systems in the network, and describe our operational experience with the DARPA Quantum Network to date. We conclude with a discussion of our ongoing work.

In this paper, we present schedulers that minimize the total transmit power in a multihop wireless network. The focus is on guaranteeing an end-to-end delay bound for a single variable bit rate flow on a multihop fading channel. We first compute an analytical approximation for the transmit power required to send a variable bit rate source over a finite state fading channel. We then use this approximation to derive schedulers that have low complexity and near optimal performance over multihop networks where the fading processes on the multiple hops are independent. Properties of the optimal delay allocation are also studied; in the special case of a Gaussian network, the optimal delay allocation strategy is completely characterized.

Up until now, conventional cutting methods by using metal or diamond wheels have been widely in use in numerous glass industries. Along with the market trend towards clean and more sophisticated process, constraints by the traditional methods have been unavoidable. Hence, laser separation is seen as an alternative and breakthrough solution to many and in this paper, an overview on laser separation as a whole is provided in terms of its process theories and its system as process equipment. Also glass application varieties as well as market requirements are discussed.

In forming an historical perspective of the development of optical scanning, we ask a probing question: What was the first major optical scanning innovation? We offer one having unexpected attributes, and seek audience ideas. We then demonstrate the pioneering work in Optical Scanning for information transfer, some created long before we arrived on the scene. Our job has been and is: Make it Faster and Better . The body of the presentation addresses how our technology advanced to this useful state.

Recent advances in electro-optic transmitters for improved transmission performances are presented, with special focus on lithium niobate based devices for extended reach applications.

We report, for the first time, the design and simulation of electrostatic MEMS comb-drive actuators incorporating gray-scale technology to tailor actuator properties. Specifically, 3-dimensional comb-fingers and suspensions enable customized displacement characteristics and lower driving voltages without increasing the device footprint. The local height of each comb-finger is varied using gray-scale technology to modify the change in capacitance with position, thereby altering the generated force. The displacement characteristics of various comb-finger geometries were simulated using analytical approximations and finite element analysis (FEMLAB). Simulations show that variable height comb-finger designs may reduce the local change in capacitance (or force) by up to 75%, resulting in increased displacement resolution. We also show that gray-scale technology is capable of simultaneously reducing the height of comb-drive suspensions, causing a corresponding reduction in spring constant for lower driving voltages. The design and simulation of variable height comb-drives is presented along with experimental confirmation of the simulated performance.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

We present recent results obtained for an optical chaos communications system using optoelectronic devices. These devices are used to improve privacy and security in information transmission. Two kind of chaos based emitters and receivers are described: a semiconductor laser subject to all-optical feedback and operating in a non-linear regime and a semiconductor laser subject to non-linear electro-optical feedback and operating in a linear regime. We show that both configuration give very good synchronization properties and are suitable for message enconding/decoding at bit rates as high as Gbit/s.

A 128(H) x 64(V) x RGB CMOS imager is integrated with region-of-interest selection, RGB-to-HSI transformation, HSI-based pixel segmentation, 36-bins x 12bits HSI histogramming and sum-of-absolute-difference (SAD) template matching. 32 learned color templates are stored and compared to each image. The chip captures the R, G and B images using in-pixel storage before passing the pixel content to a multiplying digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for white balancing. The DAC can also be used to pipe in images for a PC. The color processing uses a biologically inspired color opponent representation and an analog look-up table to determine the Hue (H) of each pixel. Saturation (S) is computed using a loser-take-all circuit. Intensity (I) is given by the sum color components. A histogram of the segments of the image, constructed by counting the number of pixels falling into 36 Hue intervals of 10 degrees, is stored on chip and compared against the histograms of new segments using SAD comparisons. We demonstrate color-based image segmentation and object recognition with this chip. Running at 30fps, it uses 1mW. To our knowledge, this is the first chip that integrates imaging, color segmentation and color-based object recognition at the focal plane.

We present two novel modulation formats, namely, optical differential 8-level phase-shift keying (OD8PSK) and differential polarization-phase-shift keying (DPolPSK) for high-spectral efficiency optical transmission. Both formats are constant-amplitude, tolerant to fiber nonlinearities, especially cross-phase modulation (XPM). Both formats use direct detection without the use of either active polarization control or phase locking at the receiver. DPolPSK also addresses practical use of polarization.

The ability to coherently generate and process arbitrary waveforms over wide frequency range is recognized as the core technology required for spectral dominance. Low observable (LO) radar technologies are expected to radically change the nature of tracking, acquisition and targeting in future combat environments. While passive LO designs drastically reduce backscatter radar cross section (RCS), they inherently compromise the performance of the airframe: a minimal RCS solution is not necessarily the optimal aerodynamic geometry. Recent demonstrations unify both LO and wide flight envelope. However, the approach dictates very high per-unit cost and is unlikely to lead to mass production seen in the past. In contrast, active LO techniques do not compromise aerodynamic properties, while still drastically reducing RCS. Unfortunately, active LO is expected to proliferate in the near term: it is cost-effective and can be used to qualitatively improve capability of the existing air forces by retrofitting not only the manned fleet, but also the existing missile ordnance. Airframes in service are simply upgraded by portable (100kg or less) units reducing the RCS section by more than two orders of magnitude. Unlike passive LO that can be countered by receiver spatial diversity, active LO reduces both backscattered and refracted radiation, requiring spectral, rather than spatially diverse countermeasures.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

We consider fundamental limits on information acquisition from localized regions of molecular-scale electronic systems. Our approach is based on a quantitative measure we call the volume accessible information, defined as the (Shannon) mutual information associated with the best possible quantum measurement that can access a system through a specified readout volume. Using results and techniques from quantum measurement theory, we obtain a general expression for an upper bound on the volume accessible information that depends only on the manner in which information is encoded in electron states and specification of the readout volume. An illustrative study of a model tight-binding system indeed reveals that the volume accessible information is sharply reduced at small sampling volumes, where the state distinguishability required for reliable information extraction is diminished.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

A direct comparison between continuous and discrete forms of analysis of control and stability is investigated theoretically and numerically. We demonstrate that the continuous method provides a more energy-efficient means of controlling the switching of a periodically-driven class-B laser between its stable and unstable pulsing regimes. We provide insight into this result using the close correspondence that exists between the problems of energy-optimal control and the stability of a steady state.

We have investigated information transmission in an array of threshold units with multiplicative noise that have a common input signal. We demonstrate a phenomenon similar to stochastic resonance with additive noise, and show that information transmission can be enhanced by a non-zero multiplicative noise level. Given that sensory neurons in the nervous system have multiplicative as well as additive noise sources, and they act approximately like threshold units, our results suggest that multiplicative noise might be an essential part of neural coding.

We have previously advocated the deliberate addition of noise to cochlear implant signals to enhance the speech comprehension of cochlear implant users. The function of the additive noise is to mimic noise sources that are present in a healthy ear (originating, for example, from Brownian motion of the hair cells and the fluctuations induced by the opening and closing of ion channels) but are largely absent in a deafened ear where the hair cells have been damaged or destroyed. The normal ear, however, also contains multiplicative noise sources that result from the quantal nature of synaptic transmission between the inner hair-cells and the cochlear nerve. These noise synaptic noise sources are also largely absent in the deafened ear. Given that previous studies suggest that additive noise can enhance information coding by sensory systems, we have investigated whether multiplicative noise also enhances coding in a model of electrical stimulation of the cochlear nerve by a cochlear implant. The model was based on leaky integrate-and-fire dynamics and modelled refractory and accommodation effects by a threshold dependency derived from the sodium-inactivation dynamics of the Frankenhauser-Huxley equations for myelinated nerves. We show that multiplicative noise leads to a fundamental change in the coding mechanism and can lead to a marked increase in the transmitted information compared with additive noise or a control condition with no noise. These results suggest that multiplicative noise in the normal aud itory system might have a functional role. Keywords: cochlear implant, stochastic resonance, multiplicative noise, information rate

Time-varying multipath fading associated with the wireless link limit the capacity of a wireless system. To adapt to this adverse radio environment efficiently, we investigate the use of a pilot-aided fade-resistant transmission scheme for the uplink of a chip-interleaved code division multiple access (CDMA) system. We analyze the trade-off between the number of diversity branches and the channel estimation error. We derive the optimum ratio of pilot signal power to information signal power. Our numerical study indicates that depending on the transmitter power and channel condition, the proposed system is capable of outperforming the conventional CDMA system.

Data from a recent “first-look” at using Long Wave InfraRed Imaging Polarimetry (LWIR-IP) to detect surface swimmers is presented and discussed. A significant increase in detection SNR over conventional IR imaging techniques was discovered. The physical phenomena that produces the increased SNR is discussed along with data that shows range effects and their degradation on the SNR. Most significantly, a method to classify the detected object using the same dataset is discussed. Augmenting current swimmer detection systems using this technique will likely significantly decrease the false alarm rates of the system, thus saving manpower resources and preserving force readiness.

Ultrahigh resolution OCT using broadband light sources achieves improved axial image resolutions of ~2-3 um compared to standard 10 um resolution OCT used in current commercial instruments. High-speed OCT using Fourier/spectral domain detection enables dramatic increases in imaging speeds. 3D OCT retinal imaging is performed in human subjects using high-speed, ultrahigh resolution OCT, and the concept of an OCT fundus image is introduced. Three-dimensional data and high quality cross-sectional images of retinal pathologies are presented. These results show that 3D OCT may be used to improve coverage of the retina, precision of cross-sectional image registration, quality of cross-sectional images, and visualization of subtle changes in retinal topography. 3D OCT imaging and mapping promise to help elucidate the structural changes associated with retinal disease as well as to improve early diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression and response to treatment.