Abstract: A system for detecting a hot surface is provided. The system includes a sensor for sensing an infrared radiation radiating from the hot surface and a high pass filter to eliminate low frequency components from the sensor signal. The system also includes an absolute value module to compute absolute values of a filtered signal, a first comparator to compare output of the absolute value module to a first threshold and a peak detector to report a peak value of the sensor signal's output. The system further includes a second comparator to compare output of peak detector to a second threshold.

Abstract: A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program including instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to acquire route data in a first format for a route, the route data comprising a plurality of route parameters for a plurality of route locations. The computer is further programmed to re-format the acquired route data in the first format into a second format different from the first format, filter the reformatted route data into a route dataset having a lesser number of route locations than the number of route locations in the acquired route data, and to store the route dataset in computer memory.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods for analyzing ion mobility data. In one embodiment, a method for analyzing ion mobility spectrometry data is disclosed. The method comprises conducting a number of ion mobility scans on a sample, generating an ion map comprising a first ion line, comparing the first ion line to a standard deviation, wherein the standard deviation is calculated from the system measurement noise, and determining if the sample is a contraband substance.

Abstract: A vehicle location determination system and method provide an estimate of real time location of the vehicle along a route in response solely to vehicle GPS information and vehicle speed information such that the estimated real time distance is robust to errors and disturbances associated with both the vehicle GPS information and vehicle speed information to ensure the estimated real time location information is accurate.

Abstract: Hot rail car bearings or wheels are identified by sensing an infrared radiation from the hot surface and determining whether features of the sensed signals are indicative of hot rail car surfaces. The features may include the signals themselves, with distances or correlations being established between the signals and signals of known hot bearings or wheels. The features may be analyzed in a feature or decision space, with boundaries being established that identify hot bearings or wheels, or that establish false positive features or noise. The identification may also be implemented as a matched filter.

Abstract: A system for detecting a moving hot bearing or wheel of a rail car is provided. The system includes a first comparator to receive input signals representative of radiation emitted by the moving hot rail car bearing or wheel, and to compare the input signals to a threshold value. The system further includes a counter for counting incidents of the input signals exceeding the threshold value and a second comparator to compare a number of incidents of the input signals exceeding the threshold value to a count threshold as an indication of detection of a hot rail car bearing or wheel.

Abstract: A system for detecting a moving hot bearing or wheel is provided. The system includes a summer for combining an input signal representative of radiation emitted by the moving hot rail car bearing with a feedback signal. The system also includes an integrator to accumulate an error resulting from the combination of the input signal and the feedback signal. The system further includes a feedback loop to feedback output of the integrator to the summer.

Abstract: A system for detecting a hot surface is provided. The system includes a sensor for sensing an infrared radiation radiating from the hot surface and a high pass filter to eliminate low frequency components from the sensor signal. The system also includes an absolute value module to compute absolute values of a filtered signal, a first comparator to compare output of the absolute value module to a first threshold and a peak detector to report a peak value of the sensor signal's output. The system further includes a second comparator to compare output of peak detector to a second threshold.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods for analyzing ion mobility data. In one embodiment, a method for analyzing ion mobility spectrometry data is disclosed. The method comprises conducting a number of ion mobility scans on a sample, generating an ion map comprising a first ion line, comparing the first ion line to a standard deviation, wherein the standard deviation is calculated from the system measurement noise, and determining if the sample is a contraband substance.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for performing prognosis and asset management services is provided. The method includes calculating an accumulated damage estimate for a component via a diagnostics function and applying future mission data for the component to at least one model that calculates accumulated damage or remaining life of the component. The method also includes inputting the accumulated damage estimate to the model and aggregating damage over time and quality assessments produced by the model. The method further includes calculating a damage propagation profile and remaining life estimate for the component based on the aggregating and providing an uncertainty estimate for the damage estimate and the remaining life estimate.

Abstract: A method for performing a fault estimation based on residuals of detected signals includes determining an operating regime based on a plurality of parameters, extracting predetermined noise standard deviations of the residuals corresponding to the operating regime and scaling the residuals, calculating a magnitude of a measurement vector of the scaled residuals and comparing the magnitude to a decision threshold value, extracting an average, or mean direction and a fault level mapping for each of a plurality of fault types, based on the operating regime, calculating a projection of the measurement vector onto the average direction of each of the plurality of fault types, determining a fault type based on which projection is maximum, and mapping the projection to a continuous-valued fault level using a lookup table.

Abstract: An apparatus for monitoring the health of a compressor comprising at least one sensor operatively coupled to the compressor for monitoring at least one compressor parameter, a calibration system coupled to the at least one sensor, the calibration system performing time-series analysis on the monitored parameter, a processor system for processing and computing stall precursors from the time-series analyzed data, a comparator that compares the stall precursors with predetermined baseline data, and a controller operatively coupled to the comparator which initiates corrective actions to prevent a compressor surge and stall if the stall precursors deviate from the baseline data which represents predetermined level of compressor operability. The processor system preferably includes a frequency demodulator and a system for processing the frequency demodulated signals to extract stall precursor characteristics.

Abstract: Shape of a long reach device, e.g., a welding torch, suitable for use within a portion of an object along a joint curve, e.g., a weld joint, is determined by dissecting the long reach device into a discrete number of portions, identifying ranges of movement between each of the portions, and discretizing the ranges of movement into a predetermined number of intervals. A total number of possible shapes is determined based on the total portions of the long reach device having the first movement range discretized into a predetermined number of intervals. A representation of the long reach device having one of the possible shapes is compared with the representation of the portion of the object.

Abstract: An apparatus for monitoring the health of a compressor comprising at least one sensor operatively coupled to the compressor for monitoring at least one compressor parameter, a calibration system coupled to the at least one sensor, the calibration system performing time-series analysis on the monitored parameter, a processor system for processing and computing stall precursors from the time-series analyzed data, a comparator that compares the stall precursors with predetermined baseline data, and a controller operatively coupled to the comparator which initiates corrective actions to prevent a compressor surge and stall if the stall precursors deviate from the baseline data which represents predetermined level of compressor operability. The processor system preferably includes a frequency demodulator and a system for processing the frequency demodulated signals to extract stall precursor characteristics.

Abstract: In one embodiment of the present invention, a system for lifting objects comprises a Cartesian manipulator, a machine vision system for acquiring video images of the objects, and a control processor for processing the video images and providing position command signals to the Cartesian manipulator.

Abstract: Shape of a long reach device, e.g., a welding torch, suitable for use within a portion of an object along a joint curve, e.g., a weld joint, is determined by dissecting the long reach device into a discrete number of portions, identifying ranges of movement between each of the portions, and discretizing the ranges of movement into a predetermined number of intervals. A total number of possible shapes is determined based on the total portions of the long reach device having the first movement range discretized into a predetermined number of intervals. A representation of the long reach device having one of the possible shapes is compared with the representation of the portion of the object.

Abstract: The invention provides an indication of boil phase, such as during cooking. In one embodiment, a boil phase determination system is used in connection with a range heater during heating of a liquid. Sensors, which may include a timer, acoustic sensors, optical sensors, and such or temperature sensors, measure certain parameter values during the heating process. The sensors in turn provide output readings to a processor. The processor is operative for determining a boil phase based on the sensor information. The processor may derive and/or store boil phase relationships, for example, based on the operation of an induction tool with respect to test data. Upon making the boil phase determination, the processor provides an output indicative of the determined boil phase. The output may be used to notify a user of a boil phase such as by sounding an alarm or providing a visual output. The boil phase determination may also be used to operate a controller to thereby control operation of the range heater.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of determining the boil states of a liquid as measured by an acoustic sensor which measures the acoustic signal generated by the liquid as it is heated. The acoustic signal is smoothed and a first derivative of the acoustic signal is calculated. Also the frequency of the acoustic signal is measured. Derivative inflection points, zero slope points, and acoustic signal frequencies are utilized to determine the pre-simmer, simmer, pre-boil, boil, boil dry, and boil over states of the liquid.

Abstract: The precise three-axis attitude of a space-borne phases-array antenna is estimated based on the assumption that the array geometry, consisting of the number of radiating elements and their relative spacing in three dimensions, is known and that the array position and coarse knowledge of the array attitude are available a priori. An estimate is first made of the set of complex-valued gains that define each element's straight-through contribution to the signals received at each of two or more remote calibration sites, where a "straight-through" antenna configuration is defined as the condition in which all elements are made to radiate with the same amplitude and phase. An optimization strategy is then used to determine which array attitude lying in the neighborhood of the coarsely known attitude is most consistent with the full set of straight-through gain values.

Abstract: A detection system includes flame sources at least two of which are independently controllable; photodetectors each having an independent view of the flame sources and being capable of producing a respective current signal in response to flames produced by the flame sources; and a device for analyzing the current signals to determine state values of a plurality of state variables and transform the state values into at least one parameter value. A number of the flame sources is at least as high as a number of the state variables, and a number of the photodetectors is at least as high as the number of the state variables. In one embodiment, the flame sources include gas burners in a gas combustion chamber, the photodetectors include silicon carbide photodiodes, and the parameter value is representative of fuel rate, temperature, acoustic dynamics, nitrogen oxide concentration, or carbon monoxide concentration.