Abstract: Activity monitors and smart watches utilizing optical measurements are becoming widely popular, and users expect to get an increasingly accurate estimate of their heart rate (HR) from these devices. These devices are equipped with a light source and an optical sensor which enable estimation of HR using a technique called photoplethysmography (PPG). One of the main challenges of HR estimation using PPG is the coupling of motion into the optical PPG signal when the user is moving randomly or exercising. The present disclosure describes a computationally feasible and fast HR estimation algorithm to be executed at instances of little or no motion. Resulting HR readings may be useful on their own, or be provided to systems that monitor HR continuously to prevent the problem of such systems being locked on an incorrect HR for long periods of time. Implementing techniques described herein leads to more accurate HR measurements.

Abstract: Photoactivators comprise a photoactive moiety and a hydrophilic moiety. The photoactivators preferably comprise less than about 35%, by weight of the photoactivator, of the photoactive moiety. The photoactivators can be activated to a photo-excited state by excitation with incident radiation of a wavelength between about 350 nm and 750 nm, preferably between about 350 nm and about 420 nm. The photoactivators further encompass those having certain chemical formulations.

Abstract: A home automation (HA) system may include addressable HA devices that are not publicly accessible via the Internet and a remote user device configured to generate a connection request to communicate with a given addressable HA device. The HA system may also include a cloud server configured to cooperate with the remote user device to generate a connection file based upon the connection request, and store the connection file so that the connection file is publicly accessible via the Internet. The connection file may include instructions for establishing an encrypted connection to the given addressable HA device. The given addressable HA device may be configured to retrieve the connection file and establish the encrypted connection with the remote user device via the cloud server.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for surreptitiously installing, monitoring, and operating software on a remote computer controlled wireless communication device are described. One aspect includes a control system for communicating programming instructions and exchanging data with the remote computer controlled wireless communication device. The control system is configured to provide at least one element selected from the group consisting of: a computer implemented device controller; a module repository in electronic communication with the device controller; a control service in electronic communication with the device controller; an exfiltration data service in electronic communication with the device controller configured to receive, store, and manage data obtained surreptitiously from the remote computer controlled wireless communication device; and a listen-only recording service in electronic communication with the device controller.

Abstract: A traceable cable and method of forming the same. The cable includes at least one data transmission element, a jacket, and a side-emitting optical fiber. The side-emitting optical fiber includes a core having a first index of refraction and a cladding having a second index of refraction that is different than the first index of refraction. The cladding substantially surrounding the core and has an exterior surface with spaced apart scattering sites penetrating the exterior surface. The scattering sites are capable of scattering light so that the scattered light is emitted from the side-emitting optical fiber at discrete locations. The core also includes one or more mode coupling features capable of changing at least some low order mode light in the side-emitting optical fiber to high order mode light, thereby increasing light emitted from the scattering sites.

Abstract: A fire control group is capable of operating in multiple, user-selectable modes. The fire control group includes two disconnectors, a selector switch, and a trigger with a tang. The selector switch has a series of cams which interact with the tang of the trigger and surfaces of the two disconnectors to provide different hammer break points (i.e., distances from neutral), reset distances, overtravel distances, and pull weights, depending on a rotational position of the selector switch. In one embodiment, the fire control group is capable of a safe mode, a 2-stage trigger pull, and a 1-stage trigger pull.

Abstract: A wireless communication device includes a first circuit including a baseband circuit and a radio circuit, and at least one frontend module (FEM) remote from the first circuit and placed in close proximity to and coupled to at least one radio-frequency (RF) antenna. The FEM is coupled to the first circuit via interface circuitry. An FEM comprises a frontend (FE) circuit including one or more low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), one or more power amplifiers (PAs), and at least one of a multi-pole switch and a multiplexer. The multi-pole switch and the multiplexer being implemented on a first side of the FEM coupled to the interface circuitry. The interface circuitry includes at least some of filters, splitters, multi-pole switches, and multiplexers to reduce a count of interconnect routes to the at least one FEM.

Abstract: A system and method are presented for invoking integration actions in a unified collaboration system. A client communicates with a bridging web server through a ReST. The bridging web server comprises a cloud service which facilitates communication with integration servers, which may be located on-premises. In an embodiment, the integration server(s) host a number of plugins which are capable of implementing integration actions. The bridging web server decides which action implementation is the best one to service a request. The implementation may be based on prior configuration. Routing decisions on the bridging web server may be automatically selected based on prior configuration.

Abstract: A mechanism is described for facilitating generation of voxel representations and assignment of trust metrics according to one embodiment. A method of embodiments, as described herein, includes detecting, by a computing device, a plurality of data sources hosting image capturing devices capable of capturing images of objects in a space, where the images are capable of being received by the computing device. The method may further include tagging trust metrics to the images based on credibility of the plurality of data sources, where a trust metrics to indicate veracity of a corresponding image. The method may further include aggregating the images into an aggregated image representation, and generating a voxel representation of the aggregated image representation such that the images are presented as voxel images, where veracities of the voxel images are secured based on tagging of the trust metrics to their corresponding images.

Abstract: An apparatus for activating a chemistry disposed upon a target structure includes a handle having an axis of orientation; a structure contacting element attached to the handle a radiant energy source having an emissive outlet adjacent to the structure contacting element wherein a vector associated with the application of the apparatus to a structure intersects and is normal to the axis of orientation and passes through the structure contacting surface.

Abstract: A fire control group is capable of operating in multiple, user-selectable modes. The fire control group includes two disconnectors, a selector switch, and a trigger with a tang. The selector switch has a series of cams which interact with the tang of the trigger and surfaces of the two disconnectors to provide different hammer break points (i.e., distances from neutral), reset distances, overtravel distances, and pull weights, depending on a rotational position of the selector switch. In one embodiment, the fire control group is capable of a safe mode, a 2-stage trigger pull, and a 1-stage trigger pull.

Abstract: A terahertz source implementing a {hacek over (C)}erenkov difference-frequency generation scheme in a quantum cascade laser. The laser includes an undoped or semi-insulating InP substrate with an exit facet that is polished at an angle between 10° to 40°. The laser further includes a first waveguide cladding layer(s) in contact with an active layer (arranged as a multiple quantum well structure) and a current extraction layer on top of the substrate. Furthermore, the laser includes a second waveguide cladding layer(s) on top of the active layer, where the first and second waveguide cladding layers are disposed to form a waveguide structure by which terahertz radiation generated in the active layer is guided inside the laser. The terahertz radiation is emitted into the substrate at a {hacek over (C)}erenkov angle relative to a direction of the nonlinear polarization wave in the active layer, and once in the substrate, propagates towards the exit facet.

Abstract: Smooth animation effects during zooming are provided by retaining content displayed at a previous zoom level. If the zoom operation is a zoom out operation, new content is stretched to a current zoom level, aligned with the retained content, and placed underneath it. If the zoom operation is a zoom in operation, new content is scaled down to the current zoom level, aligned with the retained content, and displayed on top of the retained content. The new content is then zoomed with the retained content. The retained content is then deleted. When zooming out, the retained content fades out. When zooming in, the new content fades in. Smooth scrolling animation is also provided by pre-rendering a portion of content and teleporting to a final viewport position and thereby skipping over blank content.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and software for mediating SMS messages, and especially type 0 SMS messages, in a wireless mobile communications device configured to send and receive data using a GSM protocol and including a subscriber identity module (“SIM”) including electronic hardware and computer software executed by the hardware such that the SIM is configured to send, receive, and process messages using a Short Message System (“SMS”) between the wireless mobile communications device and a communications network. One aspect includes a method for mediating SMS messages comprising: configuring electronic hardware on the wireless mobile communications device to implement a firewall on the wireless mobile communications device, the firewall configured to identify and optionally mediate infrastructure SMS messages.

Abstract: An apparatus for activating a chemistry disposed upon a target structure includes a handle; a structure contacting element rotatably attached to the handle and adapted to roll without slipping upon a target structure; and a radiant energy source having an emissive outlet at least partially within the structure contacting element wherein said contacting element is at least partly transparent or translucent to said radiant energy.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices. The aerosol delivery devices may include a housing and a cartridge including an atomizer and a reservoir configured to contain an aerosol precursor composition. The cartridge may be configured to move relative to at least a portion of the housing between a retracted configuration and an extended configuration. Related assembly methods are also provided.

Abstract: Many devices present a cursor on a display. In order to facilitate the user's visual identification and tracking of the location of the cursor, the device may present the cursor with many visual variations, such as blinking the cursor, or selecting colors for the cursor that contrast with the background. However, these techniques may only marginally increase the visibility of the cursor in some circumstances, and/or may appear visually unappealing to the user. Presented herein are techniques for presenting a cursor on the display as a first cursor layer in a first cursor color that blends with the background color, and, under the first layer, a second cursor layer in a contrasting cursor color with respect to the first cursor color and the background. The device may also periodically remove the first layer to display the contrasting second layer and to indicate the location of the cursor to the user.

Abstract: Many processes for audio signal processing can benefit from voice activity detection, which aims to detect the presence of speech as opposed to silence or noise. The present disclosure describes, among other things, leveraging energy-based features of voice and insights on first and second formant frequencies of vowels to provide a low-complexity and low-power voice activity detector. A pair of two channels is provided whereby each channel is configured to detect voice activity in respective frequency bands of interest. Simultaneous activity detected in both channels can be a sufficient condition for determining that voice is present. More channels or pairs of channels can be used to detect different types of voices to improve detection and/or to detect voices present in different audio streams.

Abstract: An optical coupling device includes a multi-core fiber alignment station, a single-mode fiber alignment station, and a furcation lens assembly. The multi-core fiber alignment station and single-mode fiber alignment station include alignment hardware configured to position optical fibers at fixed positions relative to an optical axis of the furcation lens assembly. The furcation lens assembly includes a furcating and projecting axicon surfaces that are rotationally invariant and are configured such that optical modes of an optical fiber aligned in one of the fiber alignment stations are spatially separated and substantially telecentrically mapped to corresponding optical modes of optical fibers aligned in the other fiber alignment station.

Abstract: Smooth animation effects during zooming are provided by retaining content displayed at a previous zoom level. If the zoom operation is a zoom out operation, new content is stretched to a current zoom level, aligned with the retained content, and placed underneath it. If the zoom operation is a zoom in operation, new content is scaled down to the current zoom level, aligned with the retained content, and displayed on top of the retained content. The new content is then zoomed with the retained content. The retained content is then deleted. When zooming out, the retained content fades out. When zooming in, the new content fades in. Smooth scrolling animation is also provided by pre-rendering a portion of content and teleporting to a final viewport position and thereby skipping over blank content.