Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for preventing the spread of damage due to a fire in an electric vehicle charging station in a building parking lot in a communication system. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus in which, when a fire is detected in one charging station of a plurality of electric vehicle charging stations installed in a building parking lot in a communication system, the charging station is closed, and a plurality of charging systems cooperate with each other to provide an optimal escape route as well as position information of the origin of the fire and a warning according to a fire situation, thereby minimizing the spread of damage and quickly responding to the fire.

Abstract: An ultrasonic object detection device includes a vibrating plate made of resin, an ultrasonic sensor, and an ultrasonic absorber. The vibrating plate made of resin is disposed outside a door that opens and closes an opening part of a vehicle body so as to extend in the vehicle length direction. The ultrasonic sensor is disposed on an inner surface of the vibrating plate, and can transmit and receive an ultrasonic wave. The ultrasonic absorber is disposed so as to cover the inner surface of the vibrating plate including the ultrasonic sensor.

Abstract: A sonar device including reception circuitry and processing circuitry is disclosed. The reception circuitry acquires sonar data from one or more targets in an underwater environment. The processing circuitry includes a target detector, a first noise filter, a second noise filter, and a selector. The target detector generates a binary mask that indicates presence or absence of target based on the sonar data. The first and second noise filters receive the sonar data, perform first and second noise filtering on the sonar data to reduce noise in the sonar data respectively, and output first and second filtered sonar data respectively. The first noise filtering is based on a first threshold. The second noise filtering is based on a second threshold different from the first threshold. The selector selects one of the first filtered sonar data and the second filtered sonar data as output based on the binary mask.

Abstract: A system includes a modulator configured to generate a communication signal whose modulation represents coded information to be transmitted to a local management unit connected to a photovoltaic module. A local management unit is configured to receive a communication signal whose modulation represents coded information from an inverter or a transmitter. The local management unit is configured to receive a unique pairing sequence; pair to a first transmitter or inverter; and receive communications from the first transmitter or inverter. The local management unit is configured to ignore communications from a second transmitter or inverter that is not paired to the local management unit.

Abstract: A smartphone marine vessel location system utilizes global positioning to determine the location and trajectory of marine vessels. When two marine vessels have a trajectory that will bring the vessels within a warning zone a trajectory alert is activated and when the two vessels enter into a warning zone, a collision warning is activated. An App on the smartphones may produce a display showing the location of the marine vessels and may produce the alerts when required. The smartphone may also communicate with other navigational system on the marine vessel to produce a display and alerts, such as through Bluetooth. The location of marine vessels may be acquired through the App, through a crowd-sourcing application, and/or through a carrier sourced location.

Abstract: An apparatus for controlling a vehicle and method thereof includes an air injector that injects air of a preset target pressure to a driver of the vehicle, an ultrasonic transducer that transmits an ultrasonic wave to the driver and receives an echo of the ultrasonic wave, and a processor. The processor is configured to determine a skin stress of the driver based on the target pressure, determine a skin strain of the driver based on the echo, determine a skin stiffness of the driver based on the skin stress and the skin strain, and generate a vehicle sound by use of a volume function generated based on the skin stiffness.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method executed by an electronic retail self-checkout system, the method comprising: receiving (102), by a server computer (612), a terminal-check-in request from the portable telecommunication device of a customer, the terminal-check-in request comprising a customer-ID of the customer and comprising beacon signal information indicative of the one of the one or more checkout-terminals where the customer tries to perform the terminal-check-in; reading (104), by a scanning unit of a checkout-terminal, information from product tags attached to goods positioned in and/or within a predefined distance to a cavity of the scanning unit; upon determining (106), by the checkout-terminal via a person-presence-sensor, that a person is present in and/or moves within an area (210, 212) within a predefined spatial proximity of the checkout-terminal, sending (108) a payment request to the server computer, the payment request comprising the read tag information and the terminal-ID of the one checkou

Abstract: RFID tags may compensate for non-RFID power sources by automatically enforcing data or state persistence even while powered. A tag may measure a time interval between successive detected modulated reader transmissions. If the interval exceeds a minimum time, then the tag may deassert a protocol flag, erase data, and/or change tag operating states, even if the tag would normally not perform these actions while powered.

Abstract: While in a walk-test mode, a battery powered wireless sensor transmits a plurality of wireless communication signals each at a different transmit power level, and for each of the plurality of wireless communication signals, listens for a corresponding wireless acknowledgement signal. A security panel listens for the plurality of wireless communication signals transmitted by the battery powered wireless sensor, attenuates the plurality of wireless communication signals by a predetermined margin, and transmits a wireless acknowledgement signal to the battery powered wireless sensor for those attenuated wireless communication signals that are received and recognized by the security panel. The battery powered wireless sensor determines a minimum transmit power level based at least in part upon the wireless acknowledgement signals from the security panel.

Abstract: A method performed by an information processing apparatus, the method includes, for each of a plurality of vehicles for which charging in a target time period has been applied for, acquiring vehicle information including predicted remaining SOC to be remaining at a start of the target time period and/or predicted consumed SOC to be consumed in a vehicle use period after an end of the target time period, determining, based on the vehicle information, whether each of the plurality of vehicles is a target for charging in the target time period, and determining a charging plan to charge a vehicle being determined to be eligible for charging, among the plurality of vehicles, in the target time period.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are wireless networks of gunshot detector arrays providing the firing location and trajectory of a gunshot, while being tolerant of clock drift among the network. Individual gunshot detectors may be battery-powered employing one or more microphones. Detectors may time-synchronize infrequently to conserve power. Detectors may communicate wirelessly to a central device that evaluates gunshot candidates, associates those candidates between detectors to individual gunshot events, and performs calculations to arrive at a solution for a gunshot direction and/or origin. Combinations of contemporaneous gunshot candidates may be reviewed for a best positional solution. The location of gunshot events may be displayed on an overhead image or map, to persons providing remedial actions, optionally with trajectories and potential zones of impact and damaged assets.

Abstract: Disclosed is a pilot aircraft system control input arrangement for a light aircraft having primary flight controls, the pilot aircraft system control input arrangement integrated into an armrest for a pilot's seat, the armrest providing forearm support for a pilot and having integrated therein or associated therewith a primary flight control and wherein the pilot aircraft system control input arrangement is disposed to be reached by fingers of a pilot with their forearm resting on the armrest, the pilot system control input arrangement comprising: a numerical keypad interface for inputting data; a rotatable selector for inputting data; a function selector operable to switch the pilot input arrangement between at least two input functions that each enable the pilot input arrangement to receive a different type of input, wherein the types of input for the at least two input functions are selected from at least two of the following input categories: a pressure setting for an altimeter; a transponder code for a t

Abstract: Interactive panels are used to display information to one or more users that are interacting with the interactive panels. One or more detection devices (e.g., sensors, communication devices, or the like) detect that users may be located near the interactive panels. The information displayed to the users may be any type of information, such as user information, product information, entity information, area information, or other like information. The interactive panels may be used in any type of barrier, such as doors, walls, fee-standing structures within or outside of a building, adaptable panels that are moveable, or the like. The interactive panels may have energy harvesting layers that at least partially aid in powering the interactive panels and/or components thereof. The interactive panels may have protection layers that at least partially aid in protecting the displays and/or energy harvesting layers of the interactive panels from damage.

Abstract: Devices, methods, and systems for a self-calibrating fire sensing device are described herein. One device includes an adjustable particle generator and a variable airflow generator configured to generate aerosol having a particular particle size and optical scatter properties at a controllable density level, a first transmitter light-emitting diode (LED) configured to emit a first light that passes through the aerosol, a second transmitter LED configured to emit a second light that passes through the aerosol, a photodiode configured to detect a scatter level of the first light that passes through the aerosol and detect a scatter level of the second light that passes through the aerosol, and a controller configured to calibrate a gain of the photodiode based on the detected scatter level of the first light, the detected scatter level of the second light, and the controllable aerosol density level.

Abstract: A method includes receiving an audio signal from a microphone and processing the audio signal to identify a signal component that is associated with a resonance of at least part of a microphone unit disposed on a vehicle. The microphone unit includes the microphone and a protective element arranged to shield the microphone from environmental material. The method includes determining, based at least in part on the identified signal components, a characteristic indicative of the protective element having shielded the microphone from environmental material.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic control device and an electronic control system capable of achieving power supply redundancy while suppressing an increase in number of wirings. The present invention is an electronic control device 1 including a data processing circuit that performs data communication with one or more another electronic control devices, the electronic control device 1 including: a power source terminal 105 connected to a first power source 60; a first data terminal 101a to which a first external data line is connected; and a power source selection circuit that has an input side to which the power source terminal 105 and the first data terminal 101a are connected and an output side to which the data processing circuit 100 is connected, selects any one with a higher potential of power from the power source terminal 105 and the first data terminal 101a on the input side, and connects the selected one to the data processing circuit on the output side.

Abstract: Systems and methods for amenity management are described. An amenity management system can include a plurality of amenities and an amenity manager communicatively coupled to the plurality of amenities. The amenity manager can implement a user authentication module configured to generate a user profile including user authentication data and an access status, selectively provide access to the plurality of amenities based on the access status, and update the user profile to include amenity use data for each instance a particular amenity of the plurality of amenities is accessed by the user profile, an amenity status tracking module configured to receive cleanliness data of each of the plurality of amenities, and a user management module configured to update the access status of the user profile based on the user authentication data, the amenity use data, and the cleanliness data.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a system for detecting the position and/or the operating state of a movable component of an aircraft, wherein the system has one movable component, two actuators, two motion sensors, one asymmetry sensor, one drive train, and one monitoring device; wherein the component can be actuated by the at least two mutually offset actuators; wherein at least one motion sensor is provided for one respective actuator; wherein the motion sensor can monitor a mechanical movement of the drive train; wherein the monitoring device is connected to the motion sensors and to the asymmetry sensor, and wherein the system is configured such that an initialization of the monitoring device and/or of the motion sensors and/or of the asymmetry sensor can take place after a booting of the system and/or when the component has adopted a fully retracted and/or a fully extended position.

Abstract: The in-vehicle management device includes: a detection unit configured to detect the presence of a target device that is an in-vehicle device that does not support a predetermined message among in-vehicle devices included in an in-vehicle network; and a control unit configured to perform control for causing the target device detected by the detection unit to transition to a sleep state when a state where the predetermined message from the in-vehicle devices does not arrive at the in-vehicle management device has continued for a predetermined period.

Abstract: An object monitoring system including a plurality of tags, each tag being associated with a respective object in use and including a tag transceiver configured to transmit or receive messages and a tag processing device. The tag processing device is configured to determine context data indicative of a context associated with the object and/or other objects and generate tag history data indicative of an object type identifier indicative of an object type of the respective object and at least some context data for a time period. One or more processing devices are configured to analyse tag history data so that results of the analysis can be used to predict trigger events.