Abstract: An electronically scanned antenna comprising a travelling wave guiding structure having a bottom conductor and a top conductor developing each along a first direction, the top conductor comprising a plurality of first conductive patches arranged periodically along said first direction and connected in series by tuning circuits; the electronically scanned antenna further comprising a plurality of amplifiers arranged for compensating resistive and radiation losses along the length of the travelling wave guiding structure.

Abstract: Some variations provide a method of making a nanofunctionalized metal powder, comprising: providing metal particles containing metals selected from iron, nickel, copper, titanium, magnesium, zinc, silicon, lithium, silver, chromium, manganese, vanadium, bismuth, gallium, or lead; providing nanoparticles selected from zirconium, tantalum, niobium, or titanium; disposing the nanoparticles onto surfaces of the metal particles, in the presence of mixing media, thereby generating nanofunctionalized metal particles; and isolating and recovering the nanofunctionalized metal particles as a nanofunctionalized metal powder. Some variations provide a composition comprising a nanofunctionalized metal powder, the composition comprising metal particles and nanoparticles containing one or more elements selected from the group consisting of zirconium, tantalum, niobium, titanium, and oxides, nitrides, hydrides, carbides, or borides thereof, or combinations of the foregoing.

Abstract: A photonic reflector device includes a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer. The first layer, which functions as a retro-reflector, is formed of a first material contacting a second material and having a non-planar interface therebetween. The second layer, which functions as a photonic crystal, includes third and fourth materials that have different refractive indices from one another and are configured such that the second layer has a periodic optical potential along at least one dimension. The third layer, which functions as a Lambertian scatterer, includes a plurality of inclusions in a first matrix material. In combination, the layers may be optimized to synergistically reflect targeted wavelengths and/or polarizations of light.

Abstract: Described is a system for detecting adversarial activities based on detection of activity patterns in a multiplex network. The system detects one or more subnetworks that are matches to a template network of template nodes. The subnetworks are detected by filtering multiplex network nodes according to a filtering criteria that utilizes monotone function properties in the multiplex network. Nodes that do not meet the filtering criteria are eliminated, resulting in a list of candidate nodes in the multiplex network. The one or more subnetworks are formed from the list of candidate nodes. An activity pattern corresponding to a pattern of adversarial activity is identified in the one or more subnetworks. Based on the identified activity pattern, an alert of adversarial activity is generated and transmitted.

Abstract: A circuit for performing energy-efficient and high-throughput multiply-accumulate (MAC) arithmetic dot-product operations and convolution computations includes a two dimensional crossbar array comprising a plurality of row inputs and at least one column having a plurality of column circuits, wherein each column circuit is coupled to a respective row input. Each respective column circuit includes an excitatory memristor neuron circuit having an input coupled to a respective row input, a first synapse circuit coupled to an output of the excitatory memristor neuron circuit, the first synapse circuit having a first output, an inhibitory memristor neuron circuit having an input coupled to the respective row input, and a second synapse circuit coupled to an output of the inhibitory memristor neuron circuit, the second synapse circuit having a second output. An output memristor neuron circuit is coupled to the first output and second output of each column circuit and has an output.

Abstract: The disclosed structure is configured such that it does not support electromagnetic waves having frequencies within a selected band gap; those electromagnetic waves are thus reflected. Some variations provide an omnidirectional infrared reflector comprising a three-dimensional photonic crystal containing: rods of a first material that has a first refractive index, wherein the rods are arranged to form a plurality of lattice periods in three dimensions, and wherein the rods are connected at a plurality of nodes; and a second material that has a refractive index that is lower than the first refractive index, wherein the rods are embedded in the second material. The lattice spacing and the rod radius or width are selected to produce a photonic band gap within a selected band of the infrared spectrum. Methods of making and using the three-dimensional photonic crystal are described. Applications include thermal barrier coatings and blackbody emission signature control.

Abstract: Described is a system for detecting and correcting perception errors in a perception system. In operation, the system generates a list of detected objects from perception data of a scene, which allows for the generation of a list of background classes from backgrounds in the perception data associated with the list of detected objects. For each detected object in the list of detected objects, a closest background class is identified from the list of background classes. Vectors can then be used to determine a semantic feature, which is used to identify axioms. An optimal perception parameter is then generated, which is used to adjust perception parameters in the perception system to minimize perception errors.

Abstract: A system for subsurface transmission includes an array of very low frequency (VLF) transmitter nodes supported by semi-autonomous maritime, airborne, or space platforms spaced at regular intervals from their nearest neighbors and phased to localize VLF coverage to some desired area on a body of water.

Abstract: Some variations provide a multiphase polymer composition comprising a first polymer material and a second polymer material that are chemically distinct, wherein the first polymer material and the second polymer material are microphase-separated on a microphase-separation length scale from about 0.1 microns to about 500 microns, wherein the multiphase polymer composition comprises first solid functional particles selectively dispersed within the first polymer material, and wherein the first solid functional particles are chemically distinct from the first polymer material and the second polymer material. Some embodiments provide an anti-corrosion composition comprising first corrosion-inhibitor particles or precursors selectively dispersed within the first polymer material, wherein the multiphase polymer composition optionally further comprises second corrosion-inhibitor particles or precursors selectively dispersed within the second polymer material.

Abstract: A hierarchical heat exchanger manifold includes: first and second fluid passages respectively open to an inlet and an outlet in a first level of the heat exchanger manifold; a plurality of first and second fluid passages in a second level of the heat exchanger manifold; and a plurality of first and second fluid passages in a third level of the heat exchanger manifold. A number of the first fluid passages in the third level is greater than a number of the first fluid passages in the second level. Each of the first fluid passages in the second level is in fluid communication with the inlet and at least one of the first fluid passages in the third level, and each of the second fluid passages in the second level is in fluid communication with the outlet and at least one of the second fluid passages in the third level.

Abstract: Some variations provide an anisotropic thermally conductive polymer composition comprising a plurality of polarizable, thermotropic main-chain liquid-crystal polymer molecules with crystalline domains. The liquid-crystal polymer molecules are in a nematic phase or a smectic phase, and at least 80% of the crystalline domains are aligned along a crystal axis. A method of making an anisotropic thermally conductive polymer composition comprises: synthesizing or obtaining a polymer containing polarizable domains; heating the polymer to form a polymer melt; cooling the polymer melt to form a thermotropic liquid-crystal polymer; exposing the thermotropic liquid-crystal polymer to an electrical field, thereby aligning the polarizable domains along a crystal axis; and recovering the thermotropic liquid-crystal polymer as an anisotropic thermally conductive polymer composition.

Abstract: Described a system for anomaly detection using anomaly cueing. In operation, an input image having two-dimensional (2D) image mixtures of primary components is reformatted into one-dimensional (1D) input signals. Blind source signal separation is used to separate the 1D input signals into separate output primary components, which are 1D output signals. The 1D output signals are reformatted into 2D spatially independent component output images. The system then calculates all possible pair product images of the 2D spatially independent component output images and corresponding signal-to-noise ratios. A pair product image is selected based on the peak signal-to-noise ratio and thresholded to identify anomalies in the pair product image. Several types of devices can then be controlled based on the identified anomalies in the pair product image.

Abstract: Described is a method for forming a planar transmission line low-pass filter and a resulting filter. The method comprises several acts, including using lithographic processes and a castable polymer with absorptive matrix as a spin-on dielectric to form the planar transmission line low-pass filter.

Abstract: Some variations provide an aluminum alloy feedstock for additive manufacturing, the aluminum alloy feedstock comprising from 81.5 wt % to 88.8 wt % aluminum; from 1.1 wt % to 2.1 wt % copper; from 3.0 wt % to 4.6 wt % magnesium; and from 7.1 wt % to 9.0 wt % zinc. The aluminum alloy feedstock may be in the form of a free-flowing powder or a feedstock ingot, for example. In some variations, the aluminum alloy feedstock comprises from 84.9 wt % to 88.3 wt % aluminum; from 1.2 wt % to 2.0 wt % copper; from 3.2 wt % to 4.4 wt % magnesium; and from 7.3 wt % to 8.7 wt % zinc.

Abstract: Described is a system for producing indicators and warnings of adversarial activities. The system receives multiple networks of transactional data from different sources. Each node of a network of transactional data represents an entity, and each edge represents a relation between entities. A worldview graph is generated by merging the multiple networks of transactional data. Suspicious subgraph regions related to an adversarial activity are identified in the worldview graph through activity detection. The suspicious subgraph regions are used to generate and transmit an alert of the adversarial activity.

Abstract: Described is a system for controlling a mobile platform. A neural network that runs on the mobile platform is trained based on a current state of the mobile platform. A Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMT) solver capable of reasoning over non-linear activation functions is periodically queried to obtain examples of states satisfying specified constraints of the mobile platform. The neural network is then trained on the examples of states. Following training on the examples of states, the neural network selects an action to be performed by the mobile platform in its environment. Finally, the system causes the mobile platform to perform the selected action in its environment.

Abstract: Described is a system and method for generating safety conditions for a cyber-physical system with state space S, action space A and trajectory data labelled as either safe or unsafe. In operation, the system receives inputs and ten minimizes loss functions to cause a neural network to become a barrier function. Based on the barrier function, the system can then determine if the cyber-physical system is entering an usafe state, such that if the cyber-physical system is entering the usafe state, then the cyber-physical system is caused to initiate a maneuver to position the cyber-physical system into a safe state.

Abstract: A thin-walled metal part, and a method to fabricate such a part out of various alloys. A plurality of layers are formed, each of the layers being formed on a polymer template or on a previously formed layer. A homogenizing heat treatment is used to cause chemical elements in the layers to interdiffuse, to form a single continuous layer with a substantially uniform alloy composition.

Abstract: Described is a system for detecting adversarial activities. During operation, the system generates a multi-layer temporal graph tensor (MTGT) representation based on an input tag stream of activities. The MTGT representation is decomposed to identify normal activities and abnormal activities, with the abnormal activities being designated as adversarial activities. A device can then be controlled based on the designation of the adversarial activities.

Abstract: Described is a system for continual learning using experience replay. In operation, the system receives a plurality of tasks sequentially, from which a current task is fed to an encoder. The current task has data points associated with the current task. The encoder then maps the data points into an embedding space, which reflects the data points as discriminative features. A decoder then generates pseudo-data points from the discriminative features, which are provided back to the encoder. The discriminative features are updated in the embedding space based on the pseudo-data points. The encoder then learns (updates) a classification of a new task by matching the new task with the discriminative features in the embedding space.