Abstract: The present invention relates generally to a method of estimating reliability of a measurement distance of a laser rangefinder, and a localization method of a mobile robot using the laser rangefinder. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of estimating reliability of a measurement distance of a laser rangefinder, and a localization method of a mobile robot using the laser rangefinder, the method being capable of estimating a distance type of a measurement distance measured by a laser rangefinder, and estimating reliability of the measurement distance to utilize the reliability in localization of a mobile robot.

Abstract: Biometric sensor systems are provided for identifying fundamental heart rate harmonics within noisy sensor signals. The system calculates a local signal-to-noise ratio for one or more identified frequency bands received in a biometric signal. The identified frequency bands are ranked based upon the calculated local signal-to-noise ratio. The fundamental heart rate is identified based upon the ranking of the identified frequency bands.

Abstract: An apparatus comprises a magnetic target for generating a magnetic field that is uniform and concentric about a central axis of the target; an array of three-axis digital magnetic compasses for sensing the magnetic field; and a processor for finding intersection points of vectors from the compasses to the target. The vectors lie in a global X-Y plane that is normal to the central axis. Each vector indicates a direction of sensed magnetic field from one of the compasses to the magnetic target.

Abstract: Sensor data immediately after the issuance of an alarm does not exhibit the peculiarity of a failure, with the result that the wrong component is sometimes erroneously identified as the failure component. A failure component identification unit provided in a maintenance device collects an alarm issued when a measurement value exceeds a range of a measurement threshold value in an apparatus being a maintenance target. The failure component identification unit identifies the failure component on the basis of the measurement value exhibiting a condition indicating a peculiarity of the failure. An identification reliability determination unit determines the reliability of the component identification result obtained by a failure component identification unit.

Abstract: A method and system for receiving, at a sampling location recommendation module, conventional and complementary information regarding a liquid distribution system, wherein the complementary information includes at least one of a social media post or a consumer report; processing the complementary information and a database of the liquid distribution system in the sampling location recommendation module, using computational and artificial intelligence algorithms, to generate a list of locations for sampling the liquid distribution system; displaying the list of locations; receiving a geo-tagged test record indicative of a sampled contaminant concentration value of at least one location of the list of locations; processing the geo-tagged test record, at a contamination source mapping module, to estimate a location and risk of a contamination source in the liquid distribution system; and displaying the estimated location and risk of the contamination source by modifying a map of the liquid distribution system.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for estimating the frequency of a dominant periodic component in an input signal by modelling the input signal using auto-regressive models of several different orders to generate candidate frequencies for the periodic component, generating synthetic sinusoidal signals of each of the candidate frequencies, and calculating the cross-correlation of the synthetic signals with the original signal. The frequency of whichever of the synthetic signals has the highest cross-correlation with the original signal is taken as the estimate of the frequency for the dominant periodic component of the input signal. The method may be applied to any noisy signal which has a suspected periodic component, for example physiological signals such as photoplethysmogram signals, and in the estimation of heart rate and breathing rate from such physiological signals.

Abstract: A system simulator for simulating a wireless system for testing a wireless device under test comprises an uplink signal receiver for receiving an uplink signal generated by the wireless device under test and providing data blocks embedded in the uplink signal, and an uplink signal impairment unit that based on a predetermined probability value sets the data blocks provided by the uplink signal receiver as valid or erroneously received.

Abstract: A method calibrates a battery allowing calibration data linked to its state of health to be memorized. The method includes determining at least one characteristic state of the battery, between fully charged and fully discharged, by detecting a peak in variation of the derivative of its open-circuit voltage while charging or discharging the battery, or at least one characteristic state when it is fully charged or fully discharged, or defined by crossing of a voltage, or current, threshold in a constant current, or constant voltage, phase while charging or discharging the battery. The method also includes defining a reference state of the battery based on this characteristic state and measuring the open-circuit voltages of the battery in the reference state for multiple different states of health and memorizing these calibration data including at least some pairs of actual state of health/open-circuit voltage values in an electronic memory.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus to measure mass in low gravity environments are disclosed. A disclosed example low-gravity mass-measuring apparatus includes a coupler to couple a coupling portion to an object, the coupling portion including a first inertial measurement unit (IMU), a force device to provide a force to cause a movement of a dock relative to the coupling portion, where the dock is releasably couplable to the coupling portion and includes a second IMU, and a processor to calculate a mass of the object based on movement data from the first and second IMUs and the force.

Abstract: A method for determining the fault location of a ground fault relating to a line of a three-phase electrical energy supply network with an ungrounded neutral point, in which current and voltage values are measured at one line end of the line. Following the occurrence of a ground fault on the line, the location of the fault is defined using the measured current and voltage values. The measured current and voltage values are converted into ?-components and 0-components of a Clarke transformation, a location-dependent characteristic function of ?-component and 0-component fault voltage values is defined in each case using the converted components and a propagation model for travelling waves on the line. The fault location is determined to be the location at which the two characteristic functions exhibit the closest match.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for receiving light that has traveled from an optical source through an atmosphere along a distance. The system includes: a receiver lens system having an aperture and being arranged to receive the light from the optical source; a beam splitter; an imaging lens; an image processing component; a photodetector system; and a refractive index structure parameter component. The photodetector system outputs data associated with averaged scintillation data of the aperture. The image processing component generates a normalized covariance curve based on a first portion of the received light. The refractive index structure parameter component generates a refractive index structure parameter, Cn2, of the atmosphere along the distance based on the data associated with averaged scintillation data of the aperture and the normalized covariance curve.

Abstract: A tracking system for tracking a moving target includes a processor and a tracking module that implements an iterative process for tracking the moving target. The iterative process includes receiving sensor data for a current state of the moving target. The process also includes applying a filter engine to the sensor data and a measure of error of a previous prediction of the current state of the target to produce a first estimate for an upcoming state and a first measure of error thereof. The process also includes receiving from at least one second tracking system, at least one second estimate for the upcoming state and second measure of error thereof. The process further includes defining a consensus estimate for the upcoming state and a consensus measure of error thereof using the first estimate and the at least one second estimate and the first and second measure of error thereof.

Abstract: In example implementations, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes an interface, an inheritance engine, an anomaly detection module and a processor. The interface communicates with a sensor array. The inheritance engine is used to create a model of the sensor array based on information collected from the each one of a plurality of nodes in the sensor array over the interface. The anomaly detection engine is used to monitor the sensor array in accordance with the model to detect an anomaly and initiate a corrective action to correct the anomaly in two or more of the plurality of nodes within the sensor array simultaneously. The processor is in communication with the inheritance engine and the anomaly detection engine is used to execute instructions associated with the inheritance engine and the anomaly detection engine.

Abstract: An obstacle detection device (10) is provided with a distance measurement sensor (11) which measures a detection distance to an object to be detected, a detection image generation unit (30a) which generates a detection image indicating a presence of the object to be detected in a detection range, based on a result of measurement by the distance measurement sensor (11), a rainfall determination unit (30b) which performs a rainfall determination of whether or not a region in the detection range is in a rainfall state, a rain removal processing unit (30c) which executes a rain removal process for removing the isolated points from the detection image, and an obstacle determination unit (30d) which performs an obstacle determination of whether or not the object to be detected is an obstacle.

Abstract: An analysis system may determine a discharge pressure or a suction pressure using a single measurement sensor coupled to a computing device. The measurement sensor may include a pressure sensor or a strain sensor. In some aspects, the pressure sensor may generate a pressure signal representing the total pressure in a chamber of the pressure pump. The computing device may apply an envelope filter to the pressure signal to determine the discharge or suction pressure in the chamber from the pressure signal. In other aspects, the strain sensor may generate a strain signal representing the strain in the chamber. The computing device may determine the discharge or suction portions of the strain signal and may correlate the portions with a predetermined internal pressure for the pressure pump to determine the discharge or suction pressure in the chamber.

Abstract: A sample analysis system is provided with: a reference substance database including measurement results and component classification information of reference substances obtained by each analysis device on information of each reference substance; a reference substance designation unit; a measurement result collation unit to obtain the commonality of the components, the difference between the physical quantities of the respective components, and the degree of coincidence of the measurement results for each analysis device for the designated reference substance; an integration coincidence degree calculation unit to obtain an integration degree of coincidence; and a judgment unit to judge whether or not the difference between the contents of contained components is within an allowable range and classify the corresponding component based on the component classification information.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method for estimating interval anellipticity parameter by inversing effective anellipticity parameter in the depth domain using a least-squares method. One embodiment of interval anellipticity parameter estimator includes: 1) an interface configured to receive seismic data and borehole information; 2) a depth convertor configured to obtain a function of depth of effective anisotropy parameter based on said borehole information; 3) an inverse transformer configured to set up said function of depth of effective anisotropy parameter as a least-squares fitting problem based on said P-wave data; and 4) an iterative solver configured to use iterative methods to solve said least-squares fitting problem and to obtain an anisotropy model containing interval anellipticity parameter.

Abstract: A method for guiding implantation of a first prosthetic component includes determining, using a virtual model of a joint including first and second bones, a planned orientation of the first prosthetic component in the joint, applying a valgus/varus moment to the joint at a plurality of flexion positions of the joint, and recording positional data indicative of relative positions of the first bone and the second bone at the plurality of flexion positions of the joint. The method also includes calculating estimated separation distances between the first prosthetic component and a second prosthetic component, adjusting the planned orientation of the first prosthetic component in the joint in response to an error between the estimated separation distances and one or more desired separation distances, and guiding implantation of the first prosthetic component on the first bone in accordance with the adjusted planned orientation of the first prosthetic component.

Abstract: A method for determining net complexity of a clinical trial includes determining procedures to be performed during the clinical trial, determining which of the procedures may be routinely performed on clinical trial subjects suffering from the disease that the drug under test is designed to treat, determining the net procedures to be performed for the clinical trial itself, and calculating a complexity score for the net procedures. An apparatus for determining net complexity of a clinical trial is also described and claimed.

Abstract: Various examples are provided extended Kalman filtering estimators for generators. In one example, among others an extended Kalman filtering estimator includes a dynamics estimator configured to calculate an estimated variable such as an estimated dynamic state or an estimated parameter of a generator, a geometry estimator configured to estimate generator values, and a Kalman filter component configured to determine a correction to the estimated state variable.