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Since most studies for estimating an angle-of-arrival (AOA) based on the antenna array have considered the antenna array with a single configuration, they are not proper to simultaneously estimate AOAs of multiple signals with various frequencies. In this paper, we introduce a cascade AOA estimation technique consisting of CAPON and Beamspace Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC), based on a Combined Array Antenna (CAA) with Uniform Rectangular Frame Array (URFA) and Uniform Circular Array (UCA), for enhancing the above problem. In addition, we provide the computational complexity analysis for showing the low computational complexity of this technique comparing to the conventional technique.

Colored contact lenses have gained popularity in recent years. However, their production process is plagued by low efficiency, which is attributed to the complex nature of the lens color patterns. The manufacturing process involves multiple complex steps that can introduce defects or inconsistencies into the contact lenses. Moreover, manual inspection of a considerable number of contact lenses that are produced inefficiently in terms of consistency and quality by humans is prevalent. Alternatively, automatic optical inspection (AOI) systems have been developed to perform quality-control checks on colored contact lenses. However, their accuracy is limited due to the increasing complexity of the lens color patterns. To address these issues, convolutional neural networks have been used to detect and classify defects in colored contact lenses. This study aims to provide a comprehensive guide for AOI systems using artificial intelligence in the colored contact lens manufacturing process, including the benefits and challenges of using these systems. Further, future research directions to achieve a classification accuracy of >95%, which is the human recognition rate, are explored.

Nowadays, research and development of various indoor positioning systems (IPS) have been increasing owing to flourishing social and commercial interest in location-based services (LBSs). Among LBS technologies, we used the Bluetooth low energy beacon in our system, which consumes less energy and is embedded in many current smartphones and tablets. In particular, the fingerprinting method has become a prime choice in the design of IPS owing to its good location estimation and the fact that a line-of-sight from access points is not required. We propose an improved two-step fingerprinting localization using multiple fingerprint features to enhance the localization accuracy. The proposed system uses a propagation model to convert RSS of beacons to distance and estimate the weighted centroid (WC) of nearby beacons. The estimated WCs along with signal strength and rank of the nearby beacons are stored in the server database for localization instead of RSS from all the deployed beacons. First, the proposed system makes use of diverse fingerprinting features to increase localization accuracy that also reduces both the physical size of the database and the amount of data communication with the server in the execution phase; second, affinity propagation clustering minimizes the searching space of RPs and reduces the computational cost; third, exponential averaging is introduced to smooth the noisy RSS. The experimental results obtained by real field deployment show that the proposed method significantly improves the performance of the positioning system in both the positioning accuracy and radio-map database size.

The time of arrival (TOA) trilateration is one of the representative location detection technologies (LDT) that determines the true location of a mobile station (MS) using a unique intersection point of three circles based on three radii corresponding to distances between MS and base stations (BSs) and center coordinates of BSs. Since the distance between MS and BS is estimated by using the number of time delays, three circles based on the estimated radii are generally increased and they may not meet at a single point, resulting in the location estimation error. In order to compensate this estimation error and to improve estimation performance, we present two advanced TOA trilateration localization algorithms with detail mathematical expressions. The considered algorithms are the shortest distance algorithm, which calculates an average of three interior intersection points among an entire six intersection points from three intersecting circles, and the line intersection algorithm, which calculates an intersection point of three lines connecting two intersection points of two circles among the three circles, as the estimated location of the MS. In this paper, we present both algorithms with detailed mathematical expressions. The computer simulation results are provided to compare the location estimation performance of both algorithms. In addition, in this paper, mathematical analysis is provided to indicate the relation between the line intersection algorithm and the shortest distance algorithm. In this analysis, we verify that line equations based on the intersection points obtained from the shortest distance algorithm are identical to those obtained from the line intersection algorithm.

The Angle-of-Arrival (AOA) has a variety of applications in civilian and military wireless communication fields. Due to the rapid development of the location-based service (LBS) industry, the importance of the AOA estimation technique has increased. Although a large antenna array is necessary to estimate accurate AOA information of many signals, the computational complexity of conventional AOA estimation algorithms, such as Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC), is dramatically increased. In this paper, we propose a cascade AOA estimation algorithm employing CAPON and Beamspace MUSIC, based on a flexible (on/off) antenna array. First, this approach roughly finds AOA groups, including several signal AOAs using CAPON, by applying some of the antenna elements. Then, it estimates each signal AOA in the estimated AOA groups using Beamspace MUSIC by applying the full size of the antenna array. In addition to extremely low computational complexity, the proposed algorithm also has similar estimation performance to that of MUSIC. In particular, the proposed cascade AOA estimation algorithm is highly efficient when employing a massive antenna array. Representative computer simulation examples are provided to illustrate the AOA estimation performance of the proposed technique.

The ever-growing mobile station (MS) localization technologies provide an increasingly important role in all aspects of the wireless cellular systems and Internet of Things (IoT). The accurate MS location information is the basis in connection of different devices in IoT. The MS localization techniques based on time of arrival (TOA) trilateration algorithm, which determines the location of MS using an intersection point of three circles based on distances between MS and base stations (BS) and coordinates of BSs, have been actively studied. In general, the distance between the MS and BS is calculated by counting the number of delay samples or measuring the power of the received signal. Since the estimated distance (radius of a circle) between MS and BS is commonly increased, three circles may not meet at a single point, resulting in the estimation error of MS localization. In order to improve this problem, in this paper, we propose the hybrid TOA trilateration algorithm based on the line intersection algorithm for the general case for intersection of three circles and the comparison approach of intersection distances for the specific case where a small circle is located inside the area of two large circles. The line intersection algorithm has an excellent location estimation performance in the general case, but it does not work in the specific case. The comparison approach of intersection distances has good performance only for the specific case. In addition, we propose the mode selection algorithm to efficiently select a proper mode between the general and specific cases. The representative computer simulation examples are provided to verify the localization performance of the proposed algorithm.

This paper proposes a method of estimating the attitude of an underwater vehicle. The proposed method uses two field measurements, namely, a gravitational field and a magnetic field represented in terms of vectors in three-dimensional space. In many existing methods that convert the measured field vectors into Euler angles, the yaw accuracy is affected by the uncertainty of the gravitational measurement and by the uncertainty of the magnetic field measurement. Additionally, previous methods have used the magnetic field measurement under the assumption that the magnetic field has only a horizontal component. The proposed method utilizes all field measurement components as they are, without converting them into Euler angles. The bias in the measured magnetic field vector is estimated and compensated to take full advantage of all measured field vector components. Because the proposed method deals with the measured field independently, uncertainties in the measured vectors affect the attitude estimation separately without adding up. The proposed method was tested by conducting navigation experiments with an unmanned underwater vehicle inside test tanks. The results were compared with those obtained by other methods, wherein the Euler angles converted from the measured field vectors were used as measurements.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a tracking technology that enables immediate automatic object identification and rapid data sharing for a wide variety of modern applications using radio waves for data transmission from a tag to a reader. RFID is already well established in technical areas, and many companies have developed corresponding standards and measurement techniques. In the construction industry, effective monitoring of materials and equipment is an important task, and RFID helps to improve monitoring and controlling capabilities, in addition to enabling automation for construction projects. However, on construction sites, there are many tagged objects and multiple RFID tags that may interfere with each other’s communications. This reduces the reliability and efficiency of the RFID system. In this paper, we propose an anti-collision algorithm for communication between multiple tags and a reader. In order to suppress interference signals from multiple neighboring tags, the proposed algorithm employs the time-division (TD) technique, where tags in the interrogation zone are assigned a specific time slot so that at every instance in time, a reader communicates with tags using the specific time slot. We present representative computer simulation examples to illustrate the performance of the proposed anti-collision technique for multiple RFID tags.

The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) displays the state of a tire on a display to inform a driver of the relevant information, by means of a sensor installed on the tire of the vehicle. When the data measured from the tire are wirelessly transmitted to a receiving antenna located in the center of the vehicle, the exact transmission of data is affected by the interference from various external electronic and electrical devices. In this paper, we suggest a minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformer based on the angle-of-arrival (AOA) vector for suppressing external interference and receiving accurate data. Although the MVDR beamformer effectively suppresses the interference, it has high computational complexity because of the calculation of an autocorrelation matrix. In order to address this issue, we also suggest a generalized sidelobe canceler (GSC) beamformer which does not have the same performance of the interference suppression to MVDR but also has low computational complexity. Since the signal from each tire can cause interference to others, we consider utilizing a unique Gold Code to each tire to minimize intertire interference and reduce power consumption of a battery installed in each tire.