Abstract: A sensor device for monitoring the environment of a vehicle includes at least two sensors, each with a signal generator, a transmitting antenna, and at least two receiving antennas, characterized in that at least one reference clock pulse generator for generating a common reference clock pulse for the signal generators of the at least two sensors is provided.

Abstract: A wireless short range radio-frequency master device adapted to create and maintain a portable private network of wireless short range radio-frequency slave devices wherein the master device is configured to detect and register suitable slave devices for a network, and is capable of determining the proximity of any registered slave device with respect to the master device in use, the master device further being adapted to enable a user to define two or more groups of registered slave devices selected from the total number of registered slave devices and to enable a user to select a defined group of such registered slave devices as an active group, thereby forming an active portable private network of wireless short range radio frequency devices comprising the master device and selected registered slave devices within the selected group.

Abstract: A system for detecting objects in the vicinity of a vehicle, comprising: a sensor for gathering data relating to objects in the vicinity of the vehicle; and a processor operable to: detect objects, from the sensor data, based on one or more detection criteria, the detection being regulated by one or more detection parameters; analyze the detected objects; and in response to the number of detected objects, vary one or more of the detection parameters.

Abstract: A system and method for providing a spectrally compact modulation of a tracking signal for directional beam scanning systems is presented. The system and method scans a tracking signal to produce a modulation of the tracking signal. When an impairment is anticipated, the system and method modifies the scan path to avoid the impairment and maintains the spectral compactness of the modulation of the tracking signal.

Abstract: The invention features a method and system for identifying a plurality of tags using an efficient memoryless protocol. The system includes a reader and a plurality of tags. The reader is adapted to maintain an ordered set of query strings; select a string from the set of query strings; broadcast a query message containing the selected string or a portion of the selected string to the tags; and receive a response from one of the tags. The tags operate without batteries and are adapted to respond to the selected string broadcast by the reader. Accordingly, the tag identification methods are efficient in terms of both time and communication complexities.

Abstract: An energy absorption, rotation and redirection system for use with a vehicle traveling astride a barrier, the vehicle including a front end with a bumper and first and second sides. The system includes a plurality of air bag actuating units mounted at specified locations along the front end and first and second sides of the vehicle. Preferably three air bag units are located at spaced intervals along the front bumper of the vehicle, with individual and additional air bags being located on the sides of the vehicle. An activator mechanism is associated with one or more of the actuating units for selectively instructing the inflation of an exterior air bag associated with the given bag actuating unit. The activator mechanism includes a reflective target strip applied along the barrier, as well as laser emitter/receptor units associated with each of the air bag actuating units.

Abstract: A lane detection sensor for detecting opposite lane markers of a road, comprising: an image shooting member for shooting an image of the road ahead of a running motor vehicle; an image data memory for storing data on the image of the road from the image shooting member; a contour point extracting member for extracting, by using the data on the image of the road stored in the image data memory, contour points corresponding to the lane markers of the road; a curve detecting member for calculating polynomial curves by using the contour points corresponding to the lane markers of the road from the contour point extracting member; a Hough transformation limiting member for bounding a region of Hough transformation by using coefficients of the polynomial curves calculated by the curve detecting member; a Hough transformation member for performing Hough transformation by using the polynomial curves from the curve detecting member and the region of Hough transformation bounded by the Hough transformation limiting mem

Abstract: A direct detection receiver for a passive microwave and millimeter wave radiometric imaging system. The receiver includes a balanced switch low-noise amplifier (BSLNA). A front-end, low-noise amplifier (LNA) is inserted before the BSLNA to achieve a low-noise figure, as well as provide sufficient gain to minimize the input noise figure degradation due to loss of the BSLNA. A high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) diode is used as a power detector. The front-end amplifier, BSLNA and diode are process compatible for monolithic integration.

Abstract: A feeding method and device, particularly for a Doppler VOR system, and to a Doppler VOR system using such a feeding device. The feeding method performs a blending function, which is an approximation of the sinX/X function limitedly to the three central lobes, and is obtained by amplitude overmodulation of a single signal according to a periodic function. The blending function can be controlled through the control of the periodic function.

Abstract: A Doppler position locator for determining the bearing of a signal source from a moving receiver. The signal source encodes a digital signal indicating its actual transmitting frequency on a transmitted carrier. The moving receiver such as an airplane receives a Doppler shifted carrier frequency and the digital information on what the actual transmitted frequency was. Comparison of the received frequency to the digital information on the transmitted frequency yields a Doppler frequency (the increase or decrease caused by the relative motion, i.e., the numerical difference between the transmitted and received frequencies). From the aircraft velocity and the two frequencies, the bearing can be determined using the formula .crclbar.=cos.sup.-1 (d*c)/(f*v) where .crclbar. is the bearing angle, f is the transmitted frequency, d is the Doppler shift or change in frequency, c is the speed of light and v is the magnitude of the receiver velocity.

Abstract: Radiodirection finding method and apparatus using Doppler effect frequency modulation for measuring the bearing of a source transmitting a high frequency signal, wherein either on the reception side or on the transmission side, several antenna strands are used in pairs diametrically spaced from each other and spaced evenly apart angularly about a circumference. A first pair of diametrically spaced antenna strands are energized and then the next pair of diametrically spaced antenna strands in turn are selectively energized so as to create, at all times, a mobile fictitious antenna moving diametrically and alternately between the two diametrically opposite antenna strands of the particular pair of antenna strands considered. Different pairs of diametrically opposite antenna strands are successively energized in an angularly rotating sequence from the first pair of antenna strands.