Abstract: A hard-point fixture placement system places a fixture that is pre-loaded with a curable adhesive by mechanically extruding the adhesive between the fixture and a target surface to which the fixture is to be attached. The placement system includes an irradiating device to cure the adhesive. The hard-point fixture stores the adhesive in a reservoir that is protected from the curing radiation. Once the curing process is complete, the fixture is released from the placement system leaving the fixture affixed to the target surface.

Abstract: A system and method for calibrating rigid and non-rigid arrays of 3-axis magnetometers. Such arrays might be used to analyze structures containing ferromagnetic material. The calibration determines scale factor and bias parameters of each magnetometer in the array, and the relative orientation and position of each magnetometer in the array. Once the parameters are determined, the actual magnetic field value at the magnetometer location can be simply related to magnetometer measurements. The method and system can be used to calibrate an array of 3-axis magnetometers in aggregate as opposed to individual magnetometers. This is critical in large arrays to increasing reproducibility of the calibration procedure and decreasing time required to complete calibration procedure.

Abstract: A coupling interface arrangement is described for a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) device. The PIC includes an interface coupling surface having optical grating elements arranged to form optical output locations that produce corresponding light output beams. A coupling lens couples the light output beams into a conjugate plane at a far-field scene characterized by one or more optical aberrations that degrade optical resolution of the light outputs. The optical grating elements are configured to correct for the one or more optical aberrations.

Abstract: An optical neurostimulation and detection system and method are disclosed. The system includes a medical device including an implantable body, and a stimulation controller that connects to the medical lead device and provides a light source. One or more light emitter modules of the lead body couple light signals of the light source into modulated light signals, and the modulated light signals are emitted through the one or more light emitter modules to stimulate neural cells and/or neural tissue of a subject. In a preferred embodiment, the light emitter modules include a surface acoustic wave (SAW) transducer that couples the light source into the modulated light signals. Such a system provides emitted light incident upon the neural tissue of a much higher resolution than current systems and methods and can provide long-term implantation with fewer side effects and less tissue damage than current systems and methods.

Abstract: A vision-aided inertial navigation system determines navigation solutions for a traveling vehicle. A navigation solution module analyzes image sensor poses and estimated inertial navigation solutions to produce a time sequence of system navigation solution outputs that represent changing locations of the traveling vehicle. A loop closure detector performs a two-threshold image classification to classify an incoming navigation image as novel, loop-closing, or neither, and the navigation solution module resets the navigation solution output to represent a previous location when the loop closure detector classifies an incoming navigation image as loop-closing.

Abstract: A multi-beam optical phased array on a single planar waveguide layer or a small number of planar waveguide layers enables building an optical sensor that performs much like a significantly larger telescope. Imaging systems use planar waveguides created using micro-lithographic techniques. These imagers are variants of “phased arrays,” common and familiar from microwave radar applications. However, there are significant differences when these same concepts are applied to visible and infrared light.

Abstract: MEMS-actuated optical switches can be implemented on photonic chips. These switches are compact, essentially planar, simple to implement and include only one moving MEMS component per switch. The switches exhibit low optical loss, require low power to operate, and are simple to control and easy to integrate with other optical devices. Each switch has two optical waveguides that are optically coupled in an ON switch state and not coupled in an OFF switch state. An end or a medial section of one of the two waveguides may translate between the ON and OFF states to affect the coupling. Alternatively, a coupling frustrator may translate between the ON and OFF states to affect the coupling.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods and kits for generating recombinant bacteriophage genomes.

Abstract: An electro-holographic light field generator device is disclosed. The light field generator device has an optical substrate with a waveguide face and an exit face. One or more surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulator devices are included within each light field generator device. The SAW devices each include a light input, a waveguide, and a SAW transducer, all configured for guided mode confinement of input light within the waveguide. A leaky mode deflection of a portion of the waveguided light, or diffractive light, impinges upon the exit face. Multiple output optics at the exit face are configured for developing from each of the output optics a radiated exit light from the diffracted light for at least one of the waveguides. An RF controller is configured to control the SAW devices to develop the radiated exit light as a three-dimensional output light field with horizontal parallax and compatible with observer vertical motion.

Abstract: A mold for casting a micro-scale structure includes an upper surface including a first cavity having a first depth. A negative pattern for an array of micro-scale structures is defined in a surface of the first cavity. The mold includes at least one second cavity having a second depth defined in the cavity outside of the negative pattern for the array of micro-scale structures. The at least one second cavity defines a negative pattern for a standoff of the micro-scale structure. A fabric retaining frame is disposed in the first cavity.

Abstract: Methods for use in celestial navigation system use multiple star observations from an unknown observer location using an observer camera with an observational field of view along a boresight axis and a focal plane perpendicular to the boresight axis. An observer local ECI coordinate system is determined from the star observations. Then for each of multiple observable objects in orbit around the Earth, multiple optical angular measurements relative to stars are performed over time to estimate its orbital ellipse, and its focus at the center of the Earth. From the multiple focus estimates, a position of the center of the Earth is estimated in the observer local coordinate system without use of object ephemeris data. From the estimated position of the center of the Earth, a radius vector to the observer is determined that represents the estimated observer location in Earth centered Earth fixed coordinates.

Abstract: In an embodiment, a method includes, in a hardware processor, determining, for a processor instruction, a rule for matching a predicted memory tag. The method further includes determining a predicted memory tag based on applying the rule for matching the predicted memory tag. The method further includes determining an R tag based on applying the rule. The method further includes obtaining an actual memory tag from memory based on an operand of the processor instruction. The method further includes determining whether the predicted memory tag and the actual memory tag match. The method further includes, if the predicted memory tag and actual memory tag match, using the R tag as the R tag output.

Abstract: An all-solid state optical transmit/receive terminal includes binary optical switches to steer an optical beam, without mechanical components, phased array of emitters/collectors or large number of phase shifters. A lens optically couples a surface array of emitters/collectors to free space, giving each emitter/collector a respective direction in free space. The emitters/collectors are also coupled, via an “H-tree” or other branched optical waveguide network, to a common input/output port, and from there to a receiver and/or transmitter. The binary optical switches are disposed at optical junctions of the optical waveguide network. ON switches pass an optical signal through the optical waveguide network, between the common input/output port and one or more selected emitter/collectors, thereby selecting a free space direction(s). Only a relatively small subset of the binary optical switches needs to be ON, therefore powered, simultaneously at any given time.

Abstract: A method of lidar processing pulses a scene with laser pulse sequences from a laser light source. Reflected light from the target scene passes through receiver optics and is defocused to cover a light sensing surface of a photo detector array. The photo detector array contains multiple photon detector elements connected in parallel where each photon detector element is configured to generate corresponding photon pulse output signals based on sensing photons in the received reflected light, and each photon detector element is characterized by a non-responsive dead time period immediately after sensing a photon. The photon pulse output signals are combined to form a common real time output signal, which is converted to a digital time resolved histogram. Multiple digital time resolved histograms produced in response to multiple light pulses directed at a scanning location are combined to form a composite time resolved histogram for the scanning location.

Abstract: A multi-beam optical phased array on a single planar waveguide layer or a small number of planar waveguide layers enables building an optical sensor that performs much like a significantly larger telescope. Imaging systems use planar waveguides created using micro-lithographic techniques. These imagers are variants of “phased arrays,” common and familiar from microwave radar applications. However, there are significant differences when these same concepts are applied to visible and infrared light.

Abstract: A visual navigation system includes a compass configured to orient a user in a heading direction, an image sensor configured to capture a series of successive navigation images in the heading direction, one or more of the navigation images having at least two reference markers, data storage memory configured to store the series of successive navigation images, a navigation processor configured to identify at least one principal marker and at least one ancillary marker from the at least two reference markers, the principal marker positioned within a principal angle and the ancillary marker positioned within an ancillary angle, which is greater than the principal angle, and to determine heading direction information based on a position of the at least one principal marker and/or the at least one ancillary marker in the successive navigation images, and a user interface configured to provide the heading direction information to the user.

Abstract: A method includes receiving, for metadata processing, a current instruction with a associated metadata tags. The metadata processing is performed in a metadata processing domain isolated from a code execution domain including the current instruction. Each respective associated metadata tag representing a respective policy of the composite policy. The associated metadata tags further including pointers to tags of a component policy of the composite policy. For each respective metadata tag, the method includes determining, in the metadata processing domain and in accordance with the metadata tag and the current instruction, whether a rule exists in a rule cache for the current instruction. The rule cache including rules on metadata used by said metadata processing to define allowed instructions. The determination of whether a rule exists resulting in a respective output.

Abstract: A broadband light source apparatus, and corresponding method, includes a broadband light source configured to provide source light with a source wavelength spectrum having a centroid thermal sensitivity. The apparatus also includes a broadband optical filter characterized by a filter spectrum that has one or more spectral characteristics and a thermal sensitivity with magnitude and sign. The filter is configured to receive the source light and to deliver broadband output light with an output spectrum that is a function of the source and filter spectra and has an output centroid wavelength. The spectral characteristics and the magnitude and sign of the thermal sensitivity of the filter are configured to minimize a thermal sensitivity of the output centroid wavelength. The filter can be configured in view of a particular source spectrum to stabilize output centroid wavelength and maximize total output power passively with respect to ambient temperature fluctuations.

Abstract: A fiber optical sensor and methods for sensing a physical quantity such as rotation using the same. The sensor has an optical fiber supporting propagation of light that is configured as an interferometer. One or more segments of the optical fiber, where the segments may be non-contiguous, are poled in such a manner that a phase shift in light propagating through the fiber is created in response to application of a voltage to an electrode thereby inducing an electric field across a poled segment of the fiber. A phase modulator comprising multiple poled segments is additionally described. Applying phase-shifting effects differentially across poled segments of optical fibers of an array of optical fibers may also allow for steering an optical beam.

Abstract: A steerable optical transmit and receive terminal includes a MEMS-based N×1 optical switch network. Each optical switch in the optical switch network uses an electrostatic MEMS structure to selectively position a translatable optical grating close to or far from an optical waveguide. In the close (“ON”) position, light couples between the translatable optical grating and the optical waveguide, whereas in the far (“OFF”) position, no appreciable light couples between the translatable optical grating and the optical waveguide. The translatable optical grating is disposed at or near a surface of the optical switch network. Thus, the translatable optical grating emits light into, or receives light from, free space. The steerable optical transmit and receive terminal also includes a lens and can steer a free space optical beam in a direction determined by which port of the N×1 optical switch network is ON.