Abstract: A system for synchronizing communications in a radio ranging process involves transmitting calibration signals according to a predetermined schedule of nominal transmission times. Timing offsets are determined. A start time is determined for a transmission of a ranging signal. The start time is earlier than a nominal start time of the ranging signal by at least the largest timing offset. Another system for synchronization involves a radio device transmitting a calibration signal to a second radio device and receiving a calibration response signal from the second radio device. A time-of-flight value is determined in dependence on a time of departure of the calibration signal and a time of arrival of the calibration response signal. A ranging signal is transmitted at a time determined in dependence on the determined time-of-flight value. A ranging response signal is received and processed to determine a range value.

Abstract: A method facilitating volume replacement using cloud volume snapshots includes halting, by a system including at least one processor, input/output (I/O) activity to a first volume of a cloud computing system in response to the first volume being determined to be unreachable; obtaining, by the system, a snapshot of the first volume in response to the halting; and creating, by the system, a second volume, of the cloud computing system and other than the first volume, using the snapshot.

Abstract: A method includes providing a current collector comprising metal and forming a lithium layer on at least one side of the current collector. This includes dipping the current collector into a bath of molten lithium, and controlling the thickness of the lithium layer at least partly by at least one of: setting a line speed through the bath or a resident time that the current collector is to be within the bath. Then, the method provides the current collector with the lithium layer to form a lithium metal anode for a battery cell.

Abstract: A hot-dip coating system comprising a substrate pathway comprising one or more rollers configured to move a substrate along the substrate pathway between a first end and a second end, a pre-coating section arranged with respect to the substrate pathway and configured to apply a first coating to the substrate, a pre-heating section arranged with respect to the substrate pathway and configured to heat the substrate and the first coating, and a hot-dip coating section arranged with respect to the substrate pathway and configured to apply a second coating to the substrate.

Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure include a thickness control manifold for molten lithium dip coating. An exemplary thickness control manifold includes a plurality of rollers positioned to guide a current collector from a feed roller to a molten lithium bath and to provide a vertical current collector pull from the molten lithium bath. A gas knife is positioned after the vertical current collector pull and against a side of the current collector. The manifold includes a cold gas tip having a first gas port and a first gas channel that is positioned to eject a cooled fluid to the side of the current collector and a hot gas tip having a second gas port and a second gas channel that is positioned to eject a heated fluid to the side of the current collector. The hot gas tip is between the cold gas tip and the molten lithium bath.

Abstract: A system can maintain a computer cluster that comprises a group of nodes, wherein a node of the group of nodes comprises a group of storage drives, wherein the node is a member of a failure domain that comprises a subgroup of nodes of the group of nodes, wherein the failure domain is configured to preserve data stored in the failure domain when at least one node within the failure domain fails. The system can obtain a reservation for the node, wherein the reservation permits the node to make the group of storage drives unavailable for data access, and wherein other nodes within the failure domain are unable to obtain the reservation while the node possesses the reservation. The system can, while the node possesses the reservation, update firmware for respective storage drives for the group of storage drives in parallel.

Abstract: A system configured to roll a metal into a foil. The system includes work rollers spaced apart to accommodate the metal therebetween. The work rollers are configured to press against the metal to roll the metal into the foil. A cooling subsystem is spaced apart from the work rollers on a work line configured to feed the metal to the work rollers. The cooling subsystem is configured to cool the metal as the metal moves along the work line.

Abstract: A method facilitating storage capacity expansion using volume addition for cloud computing clusters includes suspending, by a system including at least one processor, changes to an infrastructure configuration of a group of virtual machines (VMs) of a cloud computing system in response to receiving a request to expand a storage capacity of the group of VMs; associating, by the system in response to the suspending, new storage volumes with respective VMs of the group of VMs; and resuming, by the system, the changes to the infrastructure configuration of the group of VMs in response to the associating being determined to have successfully completed.

Abstract: A method facilitating volume replacement using cloud volume snapshots includes halting, by a system including at least one processor, input/output (I/O) activity to a first volume of a cloud computing system in response to the first volume being determined to be unreachable; obtaining, by the system, a snapshot of the first volume in response to the halting; and creating, by the system, a second volume, of the cloud computing system and other than the first volume, using the snapshot.

Abstract: A system configured to roll a metal into a foil. The system includes rollers spaced apart to receive the metal therebetween. The rollers are configured to press against the metal to roll the metal into the foil. A cooling sub-system is configured to cool the rollers with a coolant, thereby cooling the foil in contact with the rollers.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing an alkali metal coated current collector for a battery, the method includes melting the alkali metal, removing impurities floating on the surface of the melted alkali metal; applying the purified melted alkali metal to the surface of at least one side of a passing current collector substrate to form a coating on the current collector substrate.

Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure include an electrode calendering system for manufacturing electrodes with enhanced edge quality. An exemplary system includes an active material supply including an electrode material and a coating roll coupled to the active material supply. The coating roll is positioned to coat a current collector with the electrode material. A back roll is positioned to transfer the current collector to the coating roll. The system includes at least one of a bare foil supporting material roll and a coated foil supporting material roll. The bare foil supporting material roll is positioned to apply a support material onto a first portion of the current collector prior to the current collector being coated with the electrode material. The coated foil supporting material roll is positioned to apply the support material onto the first portion of the current collector after the current collector is coated with the electrode material.

Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure include a roll press design for manufacturing tailored porosity electrodes. An exemplary roll press includes a top roller and a bottom roller separated from the top roller by a gap. At least one of the top roller and the bottom roller includes a raised region and an indented region. The raised region includes a first radius and the indented region includes a second radius less than the first radius. The gap includes a distance selected to accommodate a current collector. The current collector includes a bare portion and a coated portion having thereon an electrode material of a first thickness. A difference between the first radius and the second radius is selected, based on the first thickness, to evenly distribute stress across the bare portion and the coated portion of the current collector during a calendering process for forming a tailored porosity electrode.

Abstract: A method for determining a distance between an initiator radio transceiver and a reflector radio transceiver is provided. The method comprises the initiator radio transceiver transmitting a first radio signal at a first transmission time and the reflector radio transceiver receiving the first radio signal at a first reception time. The reflector transceiver samples the first radio signal using a sampling clock signal having a sampling period and determines a first reception-time value at a temporal resolution that is finer than the sampling period, including a fractional component representative of a fraction of the sampling period. The reflector transceiver transmits a second radio signal at a second transmission time that is offset from the sampling clock signal by an amount that depends on said fractional component so as to provide a predetermined dwell time that is determined to an accuracy finer than the sampling period.

Abstract: In an embodiment, a method for detecting leaks in a shaft of a cryoablation system includes placing a vacuum pump in fluid communication with a return tube and a supply tube; pulling a vacuum within the supply tube and the return tube; after pulling the vacuum for a predetermined amount of time, measuring a vacuum pressure within the supply tube and the return tube; and analysis of the vacuum pressure to assist with identifying leaks in the system.

Abstract: Provided are food products that have structures, textures, and other properties comparable to those of animal meat, and that may therefore serve as substitutes for animal meat. Also provided are processes for production of such ground meat-like food products.

Abstract: An apparatus for demodulating a frequency-modulated signal comprises a joint frequency-offset & modulation-index estimator, and a signal demodulator. The joint estimator receives data representative of a preamble portion of the signal, modulated with predetermined preamble data. It jointly determines a frequency-offset estimate and a modulation-index estimate by using an optimization process that minimizes a cost function that is a function of the received data and that is parameterised by a frequency-offset parameter and by a modulation-index parameter. The signal demodulator receives data representative of a message portion of the signal, modulated with message data, and uses the frequency-offset estimate to demodulate the message.

Abstract: A method of, and apparatus for, demodulating a frequency-modulated signal.

Abstract: A receiver comprises a matched filter bank, decision logic and a frequency offset estimator. The matched filter bank comprises an input for receiving data representative of a frequency- or phase-modulated signal. The decision logic generates a sequence of demodulated symbol values from outputs of the matched filter bank. The frequency offset estimator determines a first phase value from a first output and a second phase value from a second output of the matched filter bank, the second output being offset from the first by L symbol periods. It also determines a phase adjustment value from an L-symbol subsequence within the sequence of demodulated symbol values, each subsequence value being determined from values output by the matched filter bank between the first and second outputs. It estimates a frequency offset based on the difference between the first phase value plus the phase adjustment value, and the second phase value.

Abstract: A radio receiver comprises a matched filter bank and a decision unit. The matched filter bank has a plurality of filter modules for generating correlation-strength data from a sampled radio signal, each filter module being configured to cross-correlate the sampled signal with data representing a respective filter sequence. The decision unit is configured to use the correlation-strength data to generate a sequence of decoded symbols from the sampled signal. The matched filter bank and/or decision unit are configured to determine the value of each symbol in the sequence in part based on the value of a respective earlier decoded symbol from the sequence of decoded symbols.