Abstract: A display assembly, comprising: a display device (30); a microlens array (34); and an eye tracker (8), for example a pupil tracker (8), and/or a head tracker; wherein plural pixels (150) or sub-pixels of the display device (30) are provided for each microlens (160) of the microlens array (34). The display may be adapted such that only certain pixels/sub-pixels (150) are activated/selected for any particular determined pupil/eye/head position, for example such that for each microlens (160), only one respective pixel/sub-pixel (150) is activated/selected for any particular determined pupil/eye/head position. The display device (30) may be a transparent display device (30), the microlens array (34) may be a switchable microlens array (34), and the display assembly may further comprise a light blocking device (32) that is switchable between a substantially light blocking state and a substantially light passing state.

Abstract: Described herein is a method and apparatus for the formation of optical fibre structures. A fibre laying head (200) houses a source of optical fibre material (204) to which an adhesive coating is applied prior to laying the adhesive-coated optical fibre material onto a substrate (214). The fibre laying head (200) also houses a radiation source (212) that generates a radiation beam (216) to cure the adhesive in the adhesive-coated optical fibre material to form a bond between the adhesive-coated optical fibre material and the substrate.

Abstract: A system and method of sensing in a system, the system comprising: a plurality of sensors (2, 4, 6, 8); and a processor (1); wherein each sensor (2, 4, 6, 8) has a resonant frequency dependent upon the value of a physical quantity being sensed by the sensors (2, 4, 6, 8); at least one of the sensors (2, 4, 6, 8) has a different resonant frequency from another of the sensors for a given value of the physical quantity; and the processor (1) is adapted to discriminate between the resonant frequencies of the sensors. Each sensor (2, 4, 6, 8) may be a fluid level sensor. Also, the range of fluid levels sensed by a first sensor (2) may be different to that sensed by a second sensor (4), wherein the first of the sensors (2) has a different resonant frequency to the second of the sensors (4).

Abstract: A mirror structure is provided in which at least a portion of a wavefront sensor is integrated with a mirror. In particular, a mirror structure is provided in which a Hartmann mask or a microlens array of a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is integrated with a mirror to provide a very compact wavefront detector/corrector in a single device. Such a mirror structure may be used with a tip-tilt stage in a laser cavity to provide much simplified adaptive optics in the cavity. Furthermore, a Hartmann Mask may be integrated with self deforming mirror comprising an active PZT layer bonded to a passive mirror substrate, wherein the Hartmann Mask comprises an array of apertures formed through the active PZT layer.

Abstract: A seat for a vehicle is configured such that an occupant can be seated in either a lower position or in an upper position. The seat includes a base member for accommodating an occupant in the lower position and a seat back, positioned to extend generally upwards from the region of the base member. The seat back is configured to accommodate an occupant's back. A selectively deployable perch member is also provided. In a first condition, the perch member is configured as an extension of the seat back for when the occupant is seated in the lower position. In a second condition, the perch member is configured as an additional base member for supporting an occupant in the upper position.

Abstract: A component including a rechargeable battery and a method of producing such a component are disclosed. The component uses one of an acid and an alkaline chemistry and the battery has an anode structure, a cathode structure, and a separator structure which separates the anode from the cathode and contains an electrolyte. The anode structure and the cathode structure are each formed from a composite material which includes electrically conductive fibres and electrochemically active material in a binder matrix and the battery is formed to be structurally inseparable from the rest of the component.

Abstract: A seat for a vehicle is disclosed which includes a seat chassis for supporting a back member and a base member. The base member can have a first condition, which extends generally perpendicularly from the back member and is suitable for accommodating the occupant in a sitting position. In a second condition, the base member is retracted and thereby tends to reduce the profile of the seat. In selectively configuring the base member from the first condition to the second condition, the base member tilts such that it rises at the back edge and dips at the front edge.

Abstract: A waveguide 60 formed of material 62 allows propagation of image bearing light along a light pathway 64 by total internal reflection of the image bearing light. The layer of material 62 is a light transparent material arranged to allow an observer, not illustrated, to look through the layer of material 62 whilst also arranged to carry image bearing light. A grating element 66 carried within the layer of material 62 is arranged such that impinging image bearing light following the light pathway 64 is either diffracted out of the layer of material 62 as a pupil of image bearing light 68a to 68n or is reflected by either surface 70 or surface 72. The efficiency of the grating element 66 is varied along the length of the layer of material 62 to achieve the desired pupils of image bearing light 68a to 68n along the length of the layer of material 62. This results in a more even brightness of pupils of image bearing light 68a to 68n, as perceived by the observer looking through the layer of material 62.

Abstract: An aircraft 160 approaches a landing point 162 following a flight path 164 to a designation point 166, the pilot sights the landing point 162 and activates the apparatus. A first calculation of coordinates for the landing point 162 is made and landing symbology generated. The pilot reviews the landing symbology and decides whether or not there is an acceptable correlation with the landing point 162. If not, the pilot will continue along the flight path 164 activating the apparatus at further designation points 168, 170 and 172 to reduce the designation error between the coordinates calculated by the apparatus and the real world landing position 162 observed by the pilot until the pilot is satisfied. At this point the pilot enters a landing phase and the symbology provides the pilot with landing cues even when the helicopter 160 enters a brown out event indicated by cloud 174.

Abstract: A large and massive panel is manoeuvred and supported by a work piece support which has an upper horizontal work piece support surface for receiving the panel in extended surface-to-surface contact. An array of apertures is provided in the work piece support surface, beneath same of which are provided low friction bearing elements moveable between a raised, load-bearing position in which the panel can be slid onto the work piece support and a retracted position in which the panel is left in extended surface to surface contact with the work piece support.

Abstract: A method of controlling a radar system by receiving a radar return signal from a target and generating a range-Doppler target image signature of the target; selecting a spectral line within the range-Doppler target image signature from a modulation feature on the target which includes an effective point scatterer; providing a range profile for the spectral line; obtaining a reference range profile of a reference point scatterer; determining a difference between a power at a range shorter than a peak corresponding to the modulation feature in the range profile and a power at a corresponding range of the reference range profile; and generating a first control signal or a second control signal arranged to provide or prevent provision of the range-Doppler target image signature based on the difference.

Abstract: A method and apparatus (1) for processing SAR imagery data, comprising: determining variance ratio data from the SAR imagery data; and processing, for use in change detection, the determined variance ratios data by making use of the F-distribution. The method may further comprise selecting a desired false alarm rate; and wherein making use of the F-distribution comprises determining a change detection threshold for the determined variance ratios data that is dependent upon the F-distribution and the desired false alarm rate. Another possibility is that making use of the F-distribution comprises using the F-distribution to determine probabilities for the determined variance ratios data.

Abstract: An armour system, comprising at least two elements, wherein said elements are arranged at an angle(?)°, characterised wherein said at least two elements comprise a plurality of perforations.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for applying a fixed non-linear profile of power (amplitude) and delay to signals across the aperture of an array antenna having multiple antenna elements where multiple beams are formed to span the field of view of the antenna. Using such fixed profiles in combination enables a substantially constant beam width to be maintained across a wide range of operational frequencies, e.g. 6-18 GHz, ensuring that the points of overlap for adjacent beams does not drop below a certain level, e.g. ?3dB, and hence maintaining a substantially uniform coverage across the field of view of the antenna at all frequencies in the range.

Abstract: An electronic flight planning system is provided, arranged to implement a preferred method for identifying conflicts between flight plans for aircraft. In the preferred method, the system receives, as data input from one or more users, a plurality of flight plans each defining a flight by an aircraft; the system determines, for each aircraft and its respective received flight plan, a three-dimensional region of potential conflict, representative both of the uncertainty in the position of the aircraft and of a region of air exclusion appropriate for the aircraft or for the respective received flight plan; and the system determines, on the basis of the determined regions of potential conflict, whether one of the received flight plans is in conflict with any of the other received flight plans.

Abstract: A support for machinery, and for isolating vibration from the machinery, comprises a plurality of mounts, each mount comprising an elastomeric block for completely supporting the static load of the machinery, and active isolation means comprising inertial shakers arranged to maintain essentially a zero stiffness of the mount to excited structural resonances over a desired frequency band above said mount resonant frequency, and to modify the transmission of out of balance forces to the hull. A control system coupled to the inertial shakers includes a means for applying damping force signals, such as to dampen structural resonances, to inhibit the onset of resonant vibration.

Abstract: A hardware device for monitoring and intercepting data packetized data traffic at full line rate, is proved. In high bandwidth embodiments, full line rate corresponds to rates that exceed 100 Mbytes/s and in some cases 1000 Mbytes/s. Monitoring and intercepting software, alone, is not able to operate on such volumes of data in real-time. An exemplary embodiment comprises: a data delay buffer with multiple delay outputs; a search engine logic for implementing a set of basic search tools that operate in real-time on the data traffic; a programmable gate array; an interface for passing data quickly to software sub-systems; and control means for implementing software control of the operation of the search tools. The programmable gate array inserts the data packets into the delay buffer, extracts them for searching at the delay outputs and formats and schedules the operation of the search engine logic.

Abstract: An image processing method includes: capturing image data from a sequence of images of a scene from different but repeatable viewpoints; associating captured images with a respective viewpoint identification; tracking a region of interest in the sequence of images; performing an eigenspace projection for the respective images to calculate respective points in the eigenspace projection; and comparing the calculated points to points previously obtained for a reference image for substantially the same viewpoints. A change between a calculated point and a corresponding previously obtained point indicates a change in the image content of the region of interest between the corresponding captured image and the corresponding reference image for a substantially same viewpoint.

Abstract: A planar Vivaldi antenna array, and method of forming such an array, the array comprising: a plurality of slots at an end of the antenna array, the slots extending through the whole thickness of the planar structure of the antenna array; and a plurality of grooves extending from the slots; wherein: the grooves do not extend through the whole thickness of the planar structure of the antenna array; and the cross-sectional shape of the grooves is complementary to the cross-sectional shape of the slots.

Abstract: A health monitoring system for complex networked apparatus includes a number of neuro-fuzzy inference apparatuses feeding inference results into a data fusion hierarchy. At each level in the hierarchy, fuzzy inference is applied to generate a desired output signal by processing selected input signals in accordance with a knowledge base defining fuzzy membership functions and fuzzy inference rules defined in advance. The knowledge base includes alternative definitions of membership functions and/or inference rules. The apparatus selects which definition to use according to environmental or other conditions, and predetermined selection criteria.