Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods of synthesizing a hybrid nanomaterial comprising 3D out-of-plane single- to few-layer fuzzy graphene on a scaffold, such as a Si nanowire mesh through a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. By varying graphene growth conditions (CH4 partial pressure and process time), the size, density, and electrical properties of the hybrid nanomaterial can be controlled. Porous nanowire-templated 3D graphene hybrid nanomaterials exhibit high electrical conductivity and also demonstrate exceptional electrochemical functionality.

Abstract: An electrostatic clutch is described comprising a plurality of micron-scale thickness electrodes, adjacent electrodes being separated by a thin film of dielectric material. A power source and controller apply a voltage across two electrodes, causing an electrostatic force to develop. When engaged, a force can be transferred through the clutch. A tensioning device maintains the alignment of the clutch when the electrodes are disengaged, but permits movement in at least one direction. In some embodiments, multiple clutches are connected to an output to provide variable force control and a broad range of torque input and output values. Moreover, the clutch can be used as an energy-recycling actuator that captures mechanical energy from negative work movements, and returns energy during positive work movements.

Abstract: A composition includes a polymer including extending chains, side chains, or branches. One (or more) of a plurality of a first strand of nucleic acid is attached to each of a plurality of the side chains. One (or more) of a plurality of a second strand of nucleic acid, which is complementary to the first strand of nucleic acid, is complexed to each of the plurality of the first strand of nucleic acid to form a double strand of nucleic acid on each of the plurality of the side chains. At least one fluorescent compound is associated with the double strand of nucleic acid on each of the plurality of the side chains.

Abstract: A system and method for detecting when a user contacts one arm to an opposing arm. The system comprises an emitter worn by the user on one arm and a receiver located on an opposing arm, on the user's head, or on a different part of the user's body. Contact, or touch, is indicated by comparing the value of an electrical signal flowing along a path establish, in part, through the user's skin to a threshold. When touch is initiated, multiple electrical paths are created, including one that generates airborne signal emanating from the user's body.

Abstract: A system and method to facilitate the analysis of long-term scalp EEG recordings and the investigation of underlying epileptogenicity. Pathological high frequency oscillations are identified and extracted from the EEG recordings and electrophysiological source imaging is used to reconstruct cortical activity, which can be used as an aid in surgical resection for the treatment of epilepsy.

Abstract: A high-performance thermal interface material comprising a heterogeneous copper-tin nanowire array that is ultra-compliant and that can reduce thermal resistance by two times as compared with the state-of-the-art thermal interface materials. The high-performance thermal interface material can be further used in electronic systems, ranging from microelectronics to portable electronics to massive data centers, to operate at lower temperatures, or at the same temperature but with higher performance and higher power density.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is method of performing speech recognition using audio and visual information, where the visual information provides data related to a person's face. Image preprocessing identifies regions of interest, which is then combined with the audio data before being processed by a speech recognition engine.

Abstract: A safety architecture system includes, in one aspect, a first stage comprising a primary unit that generates primary data for performing normal system functionality; a secondary unit that generates secondary data for performing alternative system functionality; a primary safety gate coupled to the primary unit, with the primary safety gate providing the primary data as a primary output responsive to a determination of validity of the primary data; and a secondary safety gate coupled to the secondary unit, with the secondary safety gate providing the secondary data as a secondary output responsive to a determination of validity of the secondary data. The system also includes an output selector that is coupled to both the primary safety gate and the secondary safety gate of the first stage, with the output selector providing a system output responsive to the determinations of the validities of the primary data and the secondary data.

Abstract: A system and method configures permission settings for applications (“apps”) running on a computing device of a user. A data center generates at least one model of collective privacy preferences. The computing device is in communication with the data center via a communications network. The computing device comprises a processor that execute at least a first app that requests access to at least one permission of the computing device and a personal privacy assistant app. The personal privacy assistant app receives the at least one model from the one or more servers of the data center; collects information about the user; identifies at least one recommended permission setting for the first app based on the at least one model and such that the recommended permission setting is user-specific; and configures the computing device to implement the received at least one user-specific recommended permission setting.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide at least one polymer covalently conjugated to an esterase. The at least one polymer includes a plurality of oxime functional groups.

Abstract: Provided herein is a two-component photosensitizer, which demonstrated robust and selective killing effects for transfected HEK cells and affibody targeted A431 cancer cells when exposed to near infrared light excitation. Free MG2I is a pure and stable fluorogen; it is easy to synthesize and modify, and has no toxicity to cells. Unlike conventional photosensitizers, the dye and FAP itself has no photosensitizing effect until they are bound. Also unlike other activation methods, the activation step is achieved by adding the fluorogen, not the presence of the targeted molecule, requiring an ‘active’ activation instead of a ‘passive’ activation. This method offers the ability to locally switch-on and selective generation of singlet oxygen at the target site and can be used for a wide variety of molecular targets.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a new type of fully-connected, hybrid beamforming transceiver architecture. The transceiver described herein is bi-directional and can be configured as a transmit beamformer or a receive beamformer. A method and apparatus are described that allows the beamformer to operate in “carrier aggregated” mode, where communication channels in multiple disparate frequency bands can be simultaneously accessed.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide at least one polymer covalently conjugated to an esterase. The at least one polymer includes a plurality of oxime functional groups.

Abstract: A method may include obtaining a base facial image, and obtaining a first set of base facial features within the base facial image, the first set of base facial features associated with a first facial AU to be detected in an analysis facial image. The method may also include obtaining a second set of base facial features within the base facial image, the second set of facial features associated with a second facial AU to be detected. The method may include obtaining the analysis facial image, and applying a first image normalization to the analysis facial image using the first set of base facial features to facilitate prediction of a probability of the first facial AU. The method may include applying a second image normalization to the analysis facial image using the second set of base facial features to facilitate prediction of a probability of the second facial AU.

Abstract: The disclosure describes a soft-matter electronic device having micron-scale features, and methods to fabricate the electronic device. In some embodiments, the device comprises an elastomer mold having microchannels, which are filled with an eutectic alloy to create an electrically conductive element. The microchannels are sealed with a polymer to prevent the alloy from escaping the microchannels. In some embodiments, the alloy is drawn into the microchannels using a micro-transfer printing technique. Additionally, the molds can be created using soft-lithography or other fabrication techniques. The method described herein allows creation of micron-scale circuit features with a line width and spacing that is an order-of-magnitude smaller than those previously demonstrated.

Abstract: A method for a touch sensing system includes generating, by a first pair of electrodes at a first location in a conductive material, an electric field in the conductive material; generating measurement data by measuring, by one or more second pairs of electrodes, the electric field in the conductive material at one or more second locations in the conductive material, with each of the one or more second locations differing from the first location; generating, based on the measurement data, an approximation of the electric field in the conductive material; and classifying, based on the approximation, one or more regions of the interface into a given state.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided that employ spatial and temporal attention-based deep reinforcement learning of hierarchical lane-change policies for controlling an autonomous vehicle. An actor-critic network architecture includes an actor network that process image data received from an environment to learn the lane-change policies as a set of hierarchical actions, and a critic network that evaluates the lane-change policies to calculate loss and gradients to predict an action-value function (Q) that is used to drive learning and update parameters of the lane-change policies. The actor-critic network architecture implements a spatial attention module to select relevant regions in the image data that are of importance, and a temporal attention module to learn temporal attention weights to be applied to past frames of image data to indicate relative importance in deciding which lane-change policy to select.

Abstract: The present invention includes provides secure, instant, and anonymous connections between two devices. The invention pairs a “cap” device with a capacitive touchscreen to a “cam” device with a camera sensor. For example, typical smartphones and tablets can be paired with each other, and these devices can be paired to even larger touchscreens, such as smart whiteboards and touchscreen monitors. The invention uses the cap device's touchscreen to detect and track the cam device, and displays color-modulated pairing data directly underneath the camera once the camera is touching the screen. The pairing data is used as configuration data for a bidirectional link, such as an ad-hoc WiFi or Bluetooth link. These links are established without requiring user configuration. As such, the present invention provides a unidirectional communication mechanism from the touchscreen to the camera, which is used to bootstrap a full bidirectional, high-speed link.

Abstract: A method for controlling automated driving operations of a vehicle includes determining vehicle origin and destination data, and generating a graphical representation of a road network with multiple candidate routes between the vehicle's origin and destination. Road-level data, including speed, turn angle, and/or gradient data, is received for each candidate route, and respective total energy uses are estimated for the vehicle to traverse across the candidate routes. Multiple candidate driving strategies, each having respective speed and acceleration profiles, are determined for the candidate route with the lowest estimated total energy use. An optimal candidate driving strategy is selected through a cost evaluation of the associated speed and acceleration profiles and forward movement simulations of the vehicle over a prediction horizon.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling a vehicle platform, the system comprising on onboard controller and an off-board controller that work together to provide autonomous navigation in fields or similar areas where the vehicle is deployed, perception for obstacle detection and avoidance, and a user interface for user/vehicle interaction and control.