Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Car sensor'

How to display objects which were detected from different devices in one coordinate system? Nowadays most vehicles are equipped with front and back sensors to help the driver in driving process. Companies who provide this technology need to have an application which enables them for easy data fusion from these sensors and recording the process. Besides sensor’s design, programming of them is an important aspect. BASELABS Connect has the solution in a user friendly way. Creating Sensor Central component for BASELABS Connect is the main goal of this thesis. Sensor Central from BASELABS Connect requires six variables of sensor’s position for each sensor to demonstrate the objects from all sensors to one unique coordinate system. In this thesis, it was intended to create such a component which was mounted between all the sensors and the charting component to convert the objects location from different sensor’s position to one coordinate system and to be usable from other vehicles too.
www.baselabs.de

Today's smartphones are equipped with a variety of different sensors such as GPS receivers, accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers, making smartphones viable tools in many applications. The computational capacity of smartphones allows for software applications running advanced signal processing algorithms. Thus, attaching a smartphone inside a car makes it possible to estimate kinematics of the vehicle by fusing information from the different sensors inside the smartphone. Fusing information from different sources for improving estimation quality is a well-known problem and there exist a lot of methods and algorithms in this area. This thesis approaches the sensor fusion problem of estimating kinematics of cars using smartphones for the purpose of analysing driving performance. Different varieties of the coordinated turn model for describing the vehicle dynamics are investigated. Also, different measurement models are evaluated where bias errors of the sensors are taken into consideration. Pre-filtering and construction of pseudo-measurements are also considered which allow for use of state space models with a lower dimension.
Dagens smartphones är utrustade med en rad olika typer av sensorer såsom GPS mottagare, accelerometrar, gyroskop och magnetometrar vilket medför ett stort användningsområde. Beräkningskapaciteten hos smartphones gör det möjligt för mjukvaruapplikationer att använda sig av avancerade algoritmer för signalbehandling. Det är därför möjligt att placera en smartphone inuti en bil och skatta bilens kinematik genom att kombinera informationen från de olika sensorerna. Att fusionera information från olika källor för att erhålla bättre skattningar är ett välkänt område där det finns många metoder och algoritmer utvecklade. Detta examensarbete behandlar sensorfusionsproblemet att skatta bilars kinematik med hjälp av smartphones för syftet att kunna analysera körprestanda. Olika varianter av en coordinated turn modell för att beskriva bilens dynamik undersöks. Dessutom testas olika modeller för sensorerna där hänsyn till exempelvis biasfel tas. Förbehandling av data och pseudomätningar testas också vilket gör det möjligt att använda tillståndsmodeller med låg dimension.

This study aims to look at whether or not it is sufficient to only use smartphone sensors to judge if someone who is driving a car is driving aggressively or smoothly. To determine this, data were first collected from the accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and GPS sensors in the smartphone as well as values based on these sensors from the iOS operating system. After this the data, together with synthesized data based on the collected data, were used to train an artificial neural network.The results indicate that it is possible to give a binary judgment on aggressive or smooth driving with a 97% accuracy, with little model overfitting. The conclusion of this study is that it is sufficient to only use smartphone sensors to make a judgment on the drive.
Den här studien ämnar till att bedöma huruvida smartphonesensorer är tillräckliga för att avgöra om någon kör en bil aggressivt eller mjukt. För att kunna avgöra detta så samlades först data in från accelerometer, gyroskop, magnetometer och GPS-sensorerna i en smartphone, tillsammans med värden baserade på dessa data från iOS-operativ-systemet. Efter den datan var insamlad tränades ett artificiellt neuronnät med datan.Resultaten indikerar att det är möjligt att ge ett binärt utlåtande om aggressiv kontra mjuk körning med 97% säkerhet, och med liten överanpassning. Detta innebär att det är tillräckligt att enbart använda smartphonesensorer för att avgörande om körningen var mjuk eller aggressiv.

En la presente tesis doctoral se han desarrollado dispositivos electroquímicos de estado sólido para la detección selectiva de hidrocarburos en los gases de escape de coches. Diversos materiales fueron empleados para ello. También se llevó a cabo la activación catalítica del electrodo de trabajo para mejorar la reacción electroquímica del analito objetivo. El etileno fue seleccionado como el analito objetivo para cuantificar la cantidad total de hidrocarburos ya que es uno de los hidrocarburos más abundantes en un gas de escape. Pero el dispositivo no solo debe proporcionar una respuesta selectiva al etileno, sino que también debe tener una baja sensibilidad cruzada a otros compuestos también abundantes en un gas de escape como monóxido de carbono, agua, dióxido de nitrógeno, etc. El dispositivo consiste en un sensor potenciométrico de estado sólido en el que óxido de zirconio estabilizado con 8% de óxido de itrio (8YSZ) es empleado como electrolito. Dos electrodos son impresos en la superficie de cada cara. Primero, diversos óxidos fueron empleados como electrodo de trabajo utilizando a su vez platino como electrodo de referencia a 550ºC. Muchos de los materiales fueron descartados por su falta de selectividad al etileno, su alta sensibilidad cruzada al monóxido de carbono o por su respuesta no estable. Finalmente, Fe0.7Cr1.3O3 mezclado con 8YSZ fue seleccionado como el material más prometedor dada su buena selectividad al etileno con baja sensibilidad cruzada al monóxido de carbono. Esta configuración fue expuesta a agua como a fenantreno y metilnaftaleno. Esto produjo un aumento de la sensibilidad cruzada del dispositivo al monóxido de carbono, motivo por el que el sensor no sea adecuado para los objetivos de esta tesis. La estrategia adoptada consistió en actuar sobre el electrodo de referencia. El Platino, empleado habitualmente en la bibliografía como electrodo de referencia, fue cambiado por un conductor mixto iónico-electrónico activo al oxigeno: La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 mezclado con 8YSZ (LSM/8YSZ). Desgraciadamente, esto provocó un aumento de la sensibilidad cruzada al monóxido de carbono. Diversas nanopartículas fueron añadidas en el electrodo de trabajo para mejorar la actividad catalítica y aumentar la reacción electroquímica al etileno. Níquel, titanio y aluminio (especialmente la combinación de los dos últimos con níquel) dieron la mejor respuesta: el sensor era selectivo al etileno con baja sensibilidad cruzada al monóxido de carbono, agua y fenantreno. El efecto del espesor del electrolito en la respuesta del sensor también fue evaluado en un rango de 0.1 a 1.2 mm. Aunque no había una gran diferencia en la respuesta, la sensibilidad cruzada al monóxido de carbono era menor en el caso del dispositivo más fino. Otras alternativas al 8YSZ como electrolito también fueron evaluadas para trabajar a menores temperaturas (400 a 550ºC): oxido de cerio dopado con gadolinio (CGO) y óxido de zirconio estabilizado con un 10% de óxido de escandio (ScSZ). El dispositivo basado en ScSZ mostró un buen comportamiento a etileno a bajas temperaturas y en condiciones secas pero la adición de agua provocaba un aumento de la sensibilidad cruzada al monóxido de carbono. Una vez infiltrado el electrodo de trabajo con níquel, ambos dispositivos mostraron un buen comportamiento a bajas temperaturas en condiciones secas para concentraciones de etileno inferiores a 100 ppm, aunque la mejor respuesta fue obtenida a 550ºC. Ambos dispositivos mostraron una respuesta selectiva al etileno con baja sensibilidad cruzada al monóxido de carbono, agua y fenantreno. Se estudió también el efecto de mezclar el electrodo de trabajo con un conductor iónico (8YSZ). Se mezcló La0.87Sr0.13CrO3 (LSC) con 8YSZ sin observarse un cambio en la respuesta comparado con el electrodo solo. Además la mejor configuración Fe0.7Cr1.3O3/8YSZ//8YSZ//LSM/8YSZ (infiltrado con níquel) fue expuesto a dioxide de nitr
The present thesis is focused on the development of solid-state electrochemical devices for the selective detection of hydrocarbons in car exhaust gases. For this purpose, several materials were tested as electrodes and electrolytes. Catalytic activation of the working electrode has also been taken into account to boost the electrochemical reaction of the target analyte. Ethylene is one of the most abundant hydrocarbons in an exhaust gas and was selected as the target analyte to quantify the total amount of hydrocarbons. Not only the device has to be selective to ethylene but it must also have a low cross-sensitivity toward other pollutants abundant in an exhaust gas such as carbon monoxide, water, other hydrocarbons, nitrogen dioxide, etc. Thus, a solid-state potentiometric sensor was selected based on 8% Ytria-stabilized Zirconia (8YSZ) as electrolyte. Two electrodes were screen-printed on top of each face. First, several metal oxides were tested as working electrode with platinum (Pt) as reference electrode at 550ºC. Most of the materials were discarded because of their lack of selectivity to ethylene, high cross-sensitivity toward carbon monoxide or problems regarding stability. Fe0.7Cr1.3O3 mixed with 8YSZ was finally selected as the most promising material because of its selective response to ethylene with relatively low cross-sensitivity toward carbon monoxide. This sensor configuration was then exposed to water and phenanthrene and methylnaphthalene. This led to an increase of the cross-sensitivity of the device toward carbon monoxide making the device not suitable for the purposes of the present thesis. The approach to improve the sensor performance was to modify the reference electrode. Platinum, usually employed in literature as reference electrode, was exchanged for a mixed ionic-electronic conductor active to oxygen: La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 mixed with 8YSZ (LSM/8YSZ). Unfortunately, this increases the device activity toward carbon monoxide increasing its cross-sensitivity. Several nanoparticles were added onto the working electrode to improve the catalytic activity and boost the electrochemical reaction of ethylene. Nickel, titanium and aluminum (the last two elements combined with nickel) provided the best performance: selectivity to ethylene with low cross-sensitivity toward carbon monoxide, water and phenanthrene. The effect of the electrolyte thickness was also checked in the range from 0.1 to 1.2 mm. Although there was not a huge difference between them, the cross-sensitivity toward carbon monoxide was slightly lower for the thinnest sensor. Other alternatives to 8YSZ electrolyte were tested at lower working temperatures (400 to 550ºC) with the same electrodes materials: gadolinium-doped cerium oxide (CGO) and 10% scandia-stabilized Zirconia (ScSZ). ScsZ-based device showed a good performance in dry conditions but the addition of water decreased its suitability. Once improved the catalytic activity of the working electrode, both devices showed a good performance at lower temperature in dry conditions for ethylene concentration above 100 ppm but the best response was achieved at 550ºC. Both devices were selective to ethylene with low cross-sensitivity toward carbon monoxide, water and phenanthrene. The effect of mixing the working electrode with an ionic conductor (8YSZ) was also tested by mixing La0.87Sr0.13CrO3 (LSC) with 8YSZ and no change in response was observed when compared to the bare electrode. Finally, the best sensor configuration Fe0.7Cr1.3O3/8YSZ//8YSZ//LSM/8YSZ (after infiltration with nickel) was exposed to nitrogen dioxide to check the cross-sensitivity. The response was still selective to ethylene even with the addition of nitrogen dioxide plus water.
En la present tesi doctoral s'han desenvolupat dispositius electroquímics d'estat sòlid per a la detecció selectiva d' hidrocarburs als gasos d'escapament dels automòbils. Diversos materials van ser empleats per a tal fi. També es va dur a terme l'activació catalítica de l'elèctrode de treball per a millorar la reacció electroquímica al anàlit objectiu. L' etilè va ser seleccionat com anàlit objectiu per a quantificar la quantitat total d' hidrocarburs, ja que és un dels hidrocarburs més abundants en un gas d'escapament. Però el dispositiu no ha de ser tan sols selectiu a l'etilè, sinó que també deu proporcionar una baixa sensibilitat creuada a altres elements força abundants en un gas d'escapament com són el monòxid de carboni, l'aigua, el diòxid de nitrogen, etc. Així, el dispositiu consisteix en un sensor potenciomètric d'estat sòlid en el que l'òxid de zirconi estabilitzat amb un 8% d'òxid d'itri (8YSZ) és empleat como a electròlit. Els elèctrodes van impresos a cadascuna de les superfícies del dispositiu. Primer, diversos òxids es van emprar com a elèctrode de treball fent servir platí com elèctrode de referència a 550ºC. Molts dels materials van ser descartats per motiu de la seva manca de selectivitat al etilè, la seva alta sensibilitat creuada al monòxid de carboni o perquè la resposta no era estable. Finalment, el Fe0.7Cr1.3O3 mesclat amb 8YSZ va ser seleccionat com el material més prometedor atès a la selectivitat a l'etilè i la baixa sensibilitat creuada al monòxid de carboni. Aquesta configuració és doncs exposada tant a l'aigua com al fenantrè i al metilnaftalè. Això va produir un increment de la sensibilitat creuada al monòxid de carboni, fent que el dispositiu no resulti idoni per als objectius de la present tesi. Es va adoptar com a estratègia modificar l'elèctrode de referència. Platí, empleat sovintment com a elèctrode de referència a la bibliografia, va ser canviat per un conductor mixt iònic-electrònic actiu a l'oxigen: La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 mesclat amb 8YSZ (LSM/8YSZ). Malauradament, això va provocar l'augment de la sensibilitat creuada al monòxid de carboni. Diverses nanopartícules van ser afegides al elèctrode de treball per tal de millorar la seva activitat catalítica i així augmentar la reacció electroquímica de l'etilè. Níquel, titani i alumini (especialment la combinació dels dos darrers amb níquel) van donar la millor resposta: el sensor era selectiu a l¿etilè amb una baixa sensibilitat creuada al monòxid de carboni, l'aigua i al fenantrè. L'efecte del espessor del electròlit a la resposta del sensor també va ser avaluada en un rang de 0.1 a 1.2 mm. Malgrat que no hi ha una gran diferència en la resposta, la sensibilitat creuada al monòxid de carboni és menor en el cas del dispositiu més prim. Altres alternatives al 8YSZ com a electròlit van ser també avaluades per tal de treballar a temperatures menors (400 a 550ºC): òxid de ceri dopat amb gadolini (CGO) i òxid de zirconi estabilitzat amb un 10% d'òxid d'escandi (ScSZ). El dispositiu basat en ScSZ va mostrar un bon comportament a l'etilè a baixes temperatures en condiciones seques, però la adició d'aigua provocava un augment de la sensibilitat creuada al monòxid de carboni. Una vegada que l'elèctrode de treball es infiltrat amb níquel, ambdós dispositius mostraren un bon comportament a baixes temperatures en condicions seques per a concentracions d'etilè menors de 100 ppm, encara que la millor resposta fou obtinguda a 550ºC. La resposta era selectiva a l'etilè amb una baixa sensibilitat creuada al monòxid de carboni, l'aigua i el fenantrè. Es va comprovar també l'efecte de mesclar l'elèctrode de treball amb un conductor iònic (8YSZ). Es va mesclar La0.87Sr0.13CrO3 (LSC) amb 8YSZ sense observa cap canví en la resposta comparada amb l'electrode sense 8YSZ. la millor configuració Fe0.7Cr1.3O3/8YSZ//8YSZ//LSM/8YSZ (infiltrado con níquel) fou exposada
Toldra Reig, F. (2018). Development of electrochemical devices for hydrocarbon sensing purposes in car exhaust gases [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/110968
TESIS

The increasing size of the car fleet makes it important to find ways of lowering the amounts of pollutants from each individual diesel or gasoline engine to almost zero levels. The pollutants from these engines predominantly originate from emissions at cold start, in the case when gasoline is utilized, and high NOx emissions and particulates from diesel engines. The cold start emissions from gasoline vehicles are primarily due to a high light-off time for the catalytic converter. Another reason is the inability to quickly heat the sensor used for controlling the air-to-fuel ratio in the exhausts, also called the lambda value, which is required to be in a particular range for the catalytic converter to work properly. This problem may be solved utilizing another, more robust sensor for this purpose. One way of treating the high NOx levels from diesel engines is to introduce ammonia in the exhausts and let it react with the NOx in a special catalytic converter to form nitrogen gas and water, which is called SCR (selective catalytic reduction). However, in order to make this system reduce NOx efficiently enough for meeting future legislations, closed loop control is required. To realize this type of system an NOx or ammonia sensor is needed. This thesis presents the efforts made to test the SiC-based field effect sensor device both as a cold start lambda sensor for gasoline engines and as an NH3 sensor for SCR systems in diesel engines. The MISiC (metal insulator silicon carbide) lambda sensor has proven to be both sensitive and selective to lambda, and its properties have been studied in lambda stairs both in gasoline engine exhausts and in the laboratory. There is, however, a small cross-sensitivity to CO. The influence of metal gate restructuring on the linearity of the sensor has also been investigated. The metal tends to form islands by time, which decreases the catalytic activity and thereby gives the sensor, which is binary when fresh, a linear behavior. Successful attempts to prevent the restructuring through depositing a protective layer of insulator on top of the metal were made. The influence of increasing the catalytic activity in the measurement cell was also studied. It was concluded that the location of the binary switch point of MISiC lambda sensors could be moved towards the stoichiometric value if the consumption of gases in the measurement cell was increased. The MISiC NH3 sensor for SCR systems has been shown to be highly sensitive to ammonia both in laboratory and diesel engine measurements. The influence of other diesel exhaust gas components, such as NOx, water or N2O has been found to be low. In order to make the ammonia sensor more long-term stable experiments on samples with different types of co-sputtered Pt or Ir/SiO2 gas-sensitive layers were performed. These samples turned out to be sensitive to NH3 even though they were dense and NH3 detection normally requires porous films. The speed of response for both sensor types has been found to be fast enough for closed loop control in each application.
On the day of the ublic defence of the doctoral thesis, the status of article IV was: accepted, article V was: submitted and article VII was: manuscript.

Connected vehicles is a growing market. There are currently several such services available, but many of them are constrained in the sense that they are bound to recently produced cars and either expensive or strongly limited in the services that they provide. In this master thesis we investigate the possibility to implement a generic platform that is of low cost and simple to install in any vehicle, but that still has the ability to provide a wide range of services. It is proposed that a crucial step in such a system is to reconstruct the vehicle’s kinematics, as this enables the possibility to developed a wide range of services by feature extraction and interpret the result from a dynamics perspective. A mathematical model that describes how the kinematics can be reconstructed is proposed, and a filter that performs such reconstruction is implemented. Based on this reconstruction, two filters that interpret the output are implemented as a proof of concept for the proposed mathematical model. The complete implemented filter solution is tested on measurement data from actual driving scenarios and it is seen that we can identify when the vehicle makes a hard turn, and find where the surrounding road conditions are poor.
Uppkopplade fordon är en växande marknad. I dagsläget finns flera sådana tjänster, men ofta är dessa begränsade i den meningen att de antingen endast finns tillgängliga för nyproducerade fordon eller bara erbjuder ett smalt utbud av tjänster. I detta examensarbete undersöker vi möjligheten att utveckla en generisk plattform för uppkopplade fordon som är billig och enkel att installera, men som också kan erbjuda ett stort urval av tjänster. Det föreslås att ett viktigt steg i en sådan lösning är att rekonstruera fordonets kinematik, då detta möjliggör utvecklandet av ett brett urval av tjänster genom att identifiera karakteristiska egenskaper i kinematiken, samt göra tolkningar utifrån dynamikbetraktelser. En matematisk modell för att beskriva hur kinematiken kan rekonstrueras från givna indata presenteras, och ett filter som utför denna rekonstruktion implementeras. Ytterligare två filter implementeras för att påvisa att den rekonstruerade kinematiken samt den föreslagna matematiska modellen kan användas till att identifiera olika scenarion ur verkligheten. Den kompletta filterlösningen testas på mätdata från faktiska körningar och vi ser att vi kan identifiera när fordonet gör skarpa svängar, samt när vägförhållandena är dåliga.

The World Health Organization predicts that by the year 2030, road traffic injuries will be one of the top five leading causes of death. Many of these deaths and injuries can be prevented by driving cars properly equipped with state-of-the-art safety and driver assistance systems. Some examples are auto-brake and auto-collision avoidance which are becoming more and more popular on the market today. A recent study by a Swedish insurance company has shown that on roadswith speeds up to 50 km/h an auto-brake system can reduce personal injuries by up to 64 percent. In fact in an estimated 40 percent of crashes, the auto-brake reduced the effects to the degree that no personal injury was sustained. It is imperative that these so called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, to be really effective, have good situational awareness. It is important that they have adequate information of the vehicle’s immediate surroundings. Where are other cars, pedestrians or motorcycles relative to our own vehicle? How fast are they driving and in which lane? How is our own vehicle driving? Are there objects in the way of our own vehicle’s intended path? These and many more questions can be answered by a properly designed system for situational awareness. In this thesis we design and evaluate, both quantitatively and qualitatively, sensor fusion algorithms for multi-target tracking. We use a combination of camera and radar information to perform fusion and find relevant objects in a cluttered environment. The combination of these two sensors is very interesting because of their complementary attributes. The radar system has high range resolution but poor bearing resolution. The camera system on the other hand has a very high bearing resolution. This is very promising, with the potential to substantially increase the accuracy of the tracking system compared to just using one of the two. We have also designed algorithms for path prediction and a first threat awareness logic which are both qualitively evaluated.

Navigation systems are one of the most commonly found electronic gadgets in modern vehicles nowadays. Alongside navigation units this technology is made readily available to individuals in everyday devices such as a mobile phone. Digital maps which come preloaded on these devices accommodate within them an extensive dataset of spatial information from around the globe which aids the driver in achieving a well guided driving experience. Apart from being essential for navigation this sensor information backs up other vehicular applications in making intelligent decisions. The quality of this information delivered is in direct relation to the underlying dataset used to produce these maps. Since we live in a highly dynamic environment with constantly changing geography, an effort is necessary to keep these maps updated with the most up to date information as frequently as possible. The digital map of interest in this study is OpenStreetMap, the underlying data of which is a combination of donated as well as crowdsourced information from the last 10 years. This extensive dataset helps in building of a detailed digital map of the world using well defined cartographic techniques. The information within OpenStreetMap is currently enhanced by a large group of volunteers who willing use donated satellite imagery, uploaded GPS tracks, field surveys etc. to correct and collect necessary data for a region of interest. Though this method helps in improving and increasing the quality and quantity of the OpenStreetMap dataset, it is very time consuming and requires a great deal of human effort. Through this thesis an effort is made to automatically enrich this dataset by preprocessing crowdsourced sensor data collected from the navigation system and driver assistance systems (Traffic Sign Recognition system and a Lane Detection System) of a driving vehicle. The kind of data that is algorithmically derived includes the calculation of the curvature of the underlying road, correction of speed limit values for individual road segments being driven and the identification of change in the geometry of existing roads due to closure of old ones or addition of new ones in the Nuremberg region of Bavaria, Germany. Except for a small percentage of speed limit information on roads segments, other information is currently not available in the OpenStreetMap database for use in safety and comfort related applications. The navigation system has the ability to deliver geographical data in form of GPS coordinates at a certain frequency. This set of GPS coordinates can grouped together to form a GPS track visualizing the actual path traversed by a driving vehicle. A large number of such GPS tracks repeatedly collected from different vehicles driving in a region of interest gives all GPS points which lie on a particular road. These points, after outlier elimination methods are used as a dataset to scientifically determine the underlying curvature of the road with the aid of curve fitting techniques. Additional information received from the lane detection system helps identify curves on a road for which the curvature must be calculated. The fusion of information from these sources helps to achieve curvature results with high accuracy. Traffic sign recognition system helps detect traffic signs while driving, the fusion of this data with geographical information from the navigation system at the instance of detection helps determine road segments for which the recognized speed limit values are valid. This thesis successfully demonstrates a method to automatically enrich OpenStreetMap data by crowdsourcing raw sensor data from multiple vehicles equipped with driver assistance systems. All OpenStreetMap attributes were 100% updated into the database and the results have proven the effectiveness our system architecture. The positive results obtained in combination with minimal errors promise a better future for assisted driving.

This thesis project was carried out at Volvo Car Corporation. It is based on an EU project called Locust in which a bio-inspired visual sensor system (the Locust sensor system) for automotive collision avoidance was developed. The Locust sensor system is designed to emulate the collision avoidance functionality of the Locust grasshopper, which is well-known for its extraordinary vision based collision avoidance ability, in particular with regard to its fast reaction times to perceived threats. Volvo Car Corporation is interested in the possibility of using the bio-inspired technology developed in the Locust project to improve its already existing collision avoidance systems. Pedestrian collision avoidance is of high interest, for which the properties of the Locust grasshopper are desirable.

The purpose of this thesis project is to develop two demonstrator vehicles to test the performance of the Locust sensor system, carry out the testing, and evaluate its usability for Volvo Car Corporation. The first vehicle is a scale 1:5 model car that was originally developed in a thesis project at KTH, and the second a full scale Volvo XC90.

It was found in the testing that the Locust sensor system is promising for pedestrian collision avoidance applications. The results for detecting other vehicles were also acceptable, but Volvo Car Corporation already has other collision avoidance systems with better performance in this regard. In general the test results were very good for speeds up to about 40 km/h. This indicates that the Locust sensor system would be most usable in a city driving environment, parking lot situations, and for driving in residential areas.

This thesis deals with the design and implementation of a self-driving model race car that is intended to attend an NXP Cup race. The work describes the selection of the platform, design process of algorithm, design process of printed circuit board for obstacle detection system, and various experiments with motion control.

Orientador: Janito Vaqueiro Ferreira
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica
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Resumo: A localização tem sido definido como um dos problemas-chave da navegação autônoma. Este problema levanta a questão em relação ao fato de determinar a posição e orientação em qualquer instante durante uma trajetoria. Um dos métodos mais usados para determinar a localização de um robô movel é a odometria; embora não garanta informação precisa da posição e orientação, esse método é a base dos métodos de localização relativa. Também existem métodos de localização absoluta, que em relação a um referencial fixo provêm informação mais precisa sobre o estado de um robô, como, por exemplo, o GPS. Mas, quando erros de diferentes naturezas ocorrem, e como consequência introduzem ruído em qualquer sistema de localização, é necessário ter informação redundante para estabelecer uma informação mais precisa. Esta dissertação de mestrado propõe um sistema de localização para um veículo em escala baseado em sistemas de odometria visual e odometria clássica a fim de fornecer uma estimativa robusta de posição e orientação através de um sistema de posicionamento global simulado
Abstract: Localization has been defined as one of the key problems of autonomous navigation. This issue rises the question about the fact of determining the position and orientation at any time while tracking a trajectory. One of the most used methods to determine the localization of a mobile robot is odometry; however, despite the fact that can't provide accurate results for getting the position and orientation, this method is the basis of the relative localization methods. Also, there are methods for absolute localization which provide information more accurately about the state of the robot, such as the commonly used GPS. But when errors of different nature occur, and as a consequence, introduce noise at any localization system, it is necessary to have redundant information to establish a more accurate information. This master thesis proposes a tracking system for a scale indoor vehicle based on classic and visual odometry in order to provide a robust estimation of position and orientation relative through a simulated global positioning system
Mestrado
Mecanica dos Sólidos e Projeto Mecanico
Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

The process of finding a parking space can be a tedious task that drivers spent too much time on today. With the rising threat from global warming, reducing the time spent driving is vital. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the use of LoRaWAN for urban IoT applications by developing a sensor system for parking space monitoring to make this process easier. The main component of the developed prototype of the sensor system consists of a The Things UNO, which is a modified version of the Arduino Leonardo with an integrated RN2483 LoRaWAN transceiver module. Two types of sensors, an ultrasonic distance sensor and a magnetometer, were tested for car detecting abilities in the sensor system. The distance sensor was proven to be the more reliable sensor for detecting cars, but a combination of both a distance sensor and a magnetometer can be used to improve the power usage of the system. LoRaWAN has a high potential to work great in a parking space monitoring system and other urban IoT applications, but its coverage and reliability in different conditions requires more testing.
Att hitta en parkeringsplats kan vara en omständing uppgift, och är något som bilister idag spenderar för mycket tid på. Med den ökade risken från global uppvärmning är det viktigt att försöka reducera körtid. Syftet med den här rapporten är att utvärdera användandet av LoRaWAN för urbana IoT-applikationer genom att utveckla ett sensorsystem för att bevaka parkeringsplatser för att göra det enklare att hitta lediga parkeringsplatser. Huvudkomponenten i den utvecklade prototypen av sensorsystemet är en TheThings UNO, vilket är en modifierad version av en Arduino Leonardo med en inbyggd RN2483 LoRaWAN-modul. Två sorters sensorer, en avståndssensor och en magnetometer, testades i sensorsystemet. Avståndssensorn visade sig vara den mer pålitliga sensorn för att detektera bilar. En kombination av en avståndssensor och en magnetometer kan poteniellt användas tillsammans för att minska strömanvändningen. LoRaWANhar stor potential att fungera i ett parkeringbevakningssystem samt andra urbana IoT-applikationer, men dess täcking och pålitlighet i olika miljöer borde undersökas mer.

La navigation autonome des voitures robotisées est un domaine largement étudié avec plusieurs techniques et applications dans une démarche coopérative. Elle intègre du contrôle de bas niveau jusqu’à la navigation globale, en passant par la perception de l’environnement, localisation du robot, et autres aspects dans une approche référencée capteurs. Bien qu’il existe des travaux très avancés, ils présentent encore des problèmes et limitations liés aux capteurs utilisés et à l’environnement où la voiture est insérée.Ce travail aborde le problème de navigation des voitures robotisées en utilisant des capteurs à faible coût dans des milieux urbains. Dans cette thèse, nous avons traité le problème concernant le développement d’un système global de navigation autonome référencée capteur appliqué à un véhicule électrique intelligent, équipé avec des caméras et d’autres capteurs. La problématique traitée se décline en trois grands domaines de la navigation robotique : la perception de l’environnement, le contrôle de la navigation locale et la gestion de la navigation globale. Dans la perception de l’environnement, une approche de traitement d’image 2D et 3D a été proposé pour la segmentation de la route et des obstacles. Cette méthode est appliquée pour extraire aussi des caractéristiques visuelles, associées au milieu de la route, pour le contrôle de la navigation locale du véhicule. Avec les données perçues, une nouvelle méthode hybride de navigation référencée capteur et d’évitement d’obstacle a été appliquée pour le suivi de la route. Cette méthode est caractérisée par la validation d’une stratégie d’asservissement visuel (contrôleur délibératif) dans une nouvelle formulation de la méthode “fenêtre dynamique référencée image" (Dynamic Window Approach - DWA, en anglais) (contrôleur réactif). Pour assurer la navigation globale de la voiture, nous proposons l’association des données de cartes numériques afin de gérer la navigation locale dans les points critiques du chemin, comme les intersections de routes. Des essais dans les scénarios difficiles, avec une voiture expérimentale, et aussi en environnement simulé, montrent la viabilité de la méthode proposée
Autonomous navigation of car-like robots is a large domain with several techniques and applications working in cooperation. It ranges from low-level control to global navigation, passing by environment perception, robot localization, and many others in asensor-based approach. Although there are very advanced works, they still presenting problems and limitations related to the environment where the car is inserted and the sensors used. This work addresses the navigation problem of car-like robots based on low cost sensors in urban environments. For this purpose, an intelligent electric vehicle was equipped with vision cameras and other sensors to be applied in three big areas of robot navigation : the Environment Perception, Local Navigation Control, and Global Navigation Management. In the environment perception, a 2D and 3D image processing approach was proposed to segment the road area and detect the obstacles. This segmentation approach also provides some image features to local navigation control.Based on the previous detected information, a hybrid control approach for vision based navigation with obstacle avoidance was applied to road lane following. It is composed by the validation of a Visual Servoing methodology (deliberative controller) in a new Image-based Dynamic Window Approach (reactive controller). To assure the car’s global navigation, we proposed the association of the data from digital maps in order tomanage the local navigation at critical points, like road intersections. Experiments in a challenging scenario with both simulated and real experimental car show the viabilityof the proposed methodology

The work deals with methods of measuring the parameters of the ultrasonic beam generated by piezoelectric sensors. The theoretical part contains a literature search of methods for the analysis of the ultrasonic beam generated by piezoelectric transducers with dimensions of units of millimeters. The problematics of measurement using piezoelectric or optical fiber hydrophones is investigated in more detail. The scope of the practical part of the work is the design and implementation of measuring equipment that allows spatial analysis of the beam during propagation by a complicated signal path, for automotive level and concentration sensors of the company Vitesco Technologies s.r.o. The system uses a hydrophone method to measure the ultrasonic beam. Due to test measurements, the repeatability of the measured results is confirmed, the results are discussed in the end.

The primary function of an automobile rear View Mirror is to provide the driver with a clear vision interpretation of all objects to the rear and side of the vehicle. The rear View Mirror is a bluff body and there are several problems associated with the rear View Mirror. These include buffeting, image distortion (due to aerodynamically induced and structural vibration), aerodynamically induced noise (due to cavities and gaps) and water and dirt accumulation on Mirror glass Surface. Due to excessive glass vibration, the rear View Mirror may not provide a clear image. Thus, vibrations of Mirror can severely impair the driver's vision and safety of the vehicle and its occupants. The rear View Mirrors are generally located close to the A-pillar region on the side window. A conical vortex forms on the side window close to A-pillar due to A-pillar geometry and the presence of side rear View Mirror and flow separation from it makes the airflow even more complex. The primary objective of this work is to study the aerodynamic pressures on Mirror Surface at Various speeds to determine the effects of aerodynamics on to Mirror vibration. Additionally, the Mirror was modified by Shrouding around the external periphery to determine the possibility of minimisation of aerodynamic pressure fluctuations and thereby vibration. The Shrouding length used for the analysis was of 24mm, 34mm and 44mm length. The mean and fluctuating pressures were measured using a production rear side View Mirror fitted to a ¼ quarter production passenger car in RMIT Industrial Wind Tunnel. The tests were also conducted in semi-isolation condition to understand influence of the A-pillar geometry. The mean and fluctuating pressures were converted into non-dimensional pressure coefficients (Cp and Cprms) and the frequency content of the fluctuating pressure was analysed. The results show that the fluctuating aerodynamic pressures are not uniformly distributed over an automobile Mirror Surface. The highest magnitude of fluctuating pressure for the standard Mirror was found at the central bottom part of the Mirror Surface. The highest magnitude of fluctuating pressure for the modified Mirror was found at the central top part of the Mirror Surface. As expected, the modification has significant effect on the magnitude of fluctuating pressure. The results show that an increase of Shrouding length reduces the magnitude of the fluctuating pressure. The frequency-based analysis was done to understand the energy characteristics of the flow, particularly to its phase, since it is the out of phase components that usually cause Mirror rotational vibration. The spectral analysis showed that the magnitude of the energy distribution reduces with increase of shrouding length throughout the frequency range. Flow visualisation was also used to supplement the pressure data. The effects of yaw angles were not included in this study, however, are thought to be worthy of further investigation. On road testing and the variation of mirror locations might have some effects on the fluctuating pressures. These need to be investigated in the future work. The quarter model used in this study was a car specific. However, for more generic results, a simplified model with variable geometry can be used in future study.

The diploma thesis deals with examinations of forces which are acting from road surface on tyres. The aim is to design and build measuring circuit which measure forces in front suspension. The thesis deals with designing of mathematical model in addition describes problematic of strain gauge sensors, their calibration and verification measure in details. The results are data obtained from static and dynamic measurement and outputs from multi-body system softwares. The results are evaluated and compared at conclusion.

This research project took part in the SENA project (Autonomous Embedded Navigation System), which was developed at the Mobile Robotics Lab of the Mechatronics Group at the Engineering School of São Carlos, University of São Paulo (EESC - USP) in collaboration with the São Carlos Institute of Physics. Aiming for an autonomous behavior in the prototype vehicle this dissertation focused on deploying some machine learning algorithms to support its perception. These algorithms enabled the vehicle to execute articial-intelligence tasks, such as prediction and memory retrieval for object classication. Even though in autonomous navigation there are several perception, cognition and actuation tasks, this dissertation focused only on perception, which provides the vehicle control system with information about the environment around it. The most basic information to be provided is the existence of objects (obstacles) around the vehicle. In formation about the sort of object it is also provided, i.e., its classication among cars, pedestrians, stakes, the road, as well as the scale of such an object and its position in front of the vehicle. The environmental data was acquired by using a camera and a Velodyne LiDAR. A ceiling analysis of the object detection pipeline was used to simulate the proposed methodology. As a result, this analysis estimated that processing specic regions in the PDF Compressor Pro xii image (i.e., Regions of Interest, or RoIs), where it is more likely to nd an object, would be the best way of improving our recognition system, a process called image normalization. Consequently, experimental results in a data-fusion approach using laser data and images, in which RoIs were found using the LiDAR data, showed that the fusion approach can provide better object detection and classication compared with the use of either camera or LiDAR alone. Deploying a data-fusion classication using RoI method can be executed at 6 Hz and with 100% precision in pedestrians and 92.3% in cars. The fusion also enabled road estimation even when there were shadows and colored road markers in the image. Vision-based classier supported by LiDAR data provided a good solution for multi-scale object detection and even for the non-uniform illumination problem.
Este projeto de pesquisa fez parte do projeto SENA (Sistema Embarcado de Navegação Autônoma), ele foi realizado no Laboratório de Robótica Móvel do Grupo de Mecatrônica da Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC), em colaboração com o Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC). A grande motivação do projeto SENA é o desenvolvimento de tecnologias assistidas e autônomas que possam atender às necessidades de diferentes tipos de motoristas (inexperientes, idosos, portadores de limitações, etc.). Vislumbra-se que a aplicação em larga escala desse tipo de tecnologia, em um futuro próximo, certamente reduzirá drasticamente a quantidade de pessoas feridas e mortas em acidentes automobilísticos em estradas e em ambientes urbanos. Nesse contexto, este projeto de pesquisa teve como objetivo proporcionar informações relativas ao ambiente ao redor do veículo, ao sistema de controle e de tomada de decisão embarcado no veículo autônomo. As informações mais básicas fornecidas são as posições dos objetos (obstáculos) ao redor do veículo; além disso, informações como o tipo de objeto (ou seja, sua classificação em carros, pedestres, postes e a própria rua mesma), assim como o tamanho deles. Os dados do ambiente são adquiridos através do emprego de uma câmera e um Velodyne LiDAR. Um estudo do tipo ceiling foi usado para simular a metodologia da detecção dos obstáculos. Estima-se que , após realizar o estudo, que analisar regiões especificas da imagem, chamadas de regiões de interesse, onde é mais provável encontrar um obstáculo, é o melhor jeito de melhorar o sistema de reconhecimento. Observou-se na implementação da fusão dos sensores que encontrar regiões de interesse usando LiDAR, e classificá-las usando visão artificial fornece um melhor resultado na hora de compará-lo com os resultados ao usar apenas câmera ou LiDAR. Obteve-se uma classificação com precisão de 100% para pedestres e 92,3% para carros, rodando em uma frequência de 6 Hz. A fusão dos sensores também forneceu um método para estimar a estrada mesmo quando esta tinha sombra ou faixas de cor. Em geral, a classificação baseada em visão artificial e LiDAR mostrou uma solução para detecção de objetos em várias escalas e mesmo para o problema da iluminação não uniforme do ambiente.

La perception monoculaire par caméra est un problème loin d’être résolu, qui oppose de nombreux acteurs et qui malgré des investissements massifs n’a toujours pas le niveau de performance requis pour les applications de conduite autonome. Si certaines fonctionnalités d’aides à la conduite laissent penser que l’attention du conducteur peut être réduite, ce n’est pas le cas en pratique car la question de la responsabilité repose encore sur les épaules du conducteur. Ce travail a pour objectif de construire une solution de vision frontale robuste, combinant plusieurs modalités, à travers l’utilisation d’un seul et même capteur. L’imageur retenu ici est la rétine CMOS, ou l’imageur événementiel, dont les pixels sont capables de détecter et d’horodater des changements relatifs de luminance, positifs ou négatifs. La fréquence d’acquisition des données est ainsi rythmée par la cinématique du scénario, qui peut être importante dans les scènes automobiles. Les deux modalités extraites du capteur sont d’un coté l’utilisation d’algorithmes conventionnels de traitement d’image, et de l’autre la détection de signaux modulés à haute fréquence émis par les cibles, et caractérisant également l’état ou l’orientation de l’objet. Il est d’abord question dans ce travail de mesurer les paramètres des rétines CMOS, pour d’une part les simuler et de l’autre évaluer leurs variations face à la dynamique de l’environnement des scénarios automobiles. Cette étape s’articule autour de la mise en place d’un banc de caractérisation et d’un modèle de simulation du capteur capable de faire le lien avec les mesures réalisées sur banc. Ce dernier permet également de quantifier les performances des algorithmes de détection des signaux modulés développés, pour permettre de s’assurer que chaque détection correspond bien au signal recherché, et permet aussi d’optimiser la réponse du capteur face aux signaux coopératifs. La détection de ces signaux est démontrée par simulation et sur prototype, avec une portée supérieure à 150 mètres et une fréquence de modulation de 5 kHz. Les algorithmes proposés permettent de conserver un flux de données totalement asynchrone. Les verrous technologiques des rétines CMOS ont été identifiés pour cette fonction, et une attention particulière pourra être portée aux prochaines générations de ces capteurs. En parallèle, une méthode de détection et de classification de cible à base de réseaux de neurones convolutifs est mise en place. Elle consiste à créer des images artificielles en intégrant les événements au cours du temps, et d’opérer un transfert d’apprentissage avec une architecture entraı̂née sur des images conventionnelles, rendu possible en adaptant les méthodes d’entraı̂nement pour éviter le sur-apprentissage. Ce réseau permet ensuite d’initialiser les fonctions de suivi pour estimer le temps avant collision. Cette étape tire parti de la nature asynchrone des événements, en estimant le déplacement d’un objet dans le plan focal de manière événementielle via l’évaluation du flot optique local. Le modèle de simulation du capteur permet par ailleurs d’estimer les algorithmes testés et proposés face aux variation des paramètres de bruit et de latence du capteur. Un dispositif de test sur piste permet de montrer que le suivi événementiel est plus précis que le suivi basé sur les détections synchrones des cibles. Enfin, des pistes de fusion entre les deux modalités ont été testées,et montrent que l’apport de la détection des signaux modulés sur le positionnement de la cible correspondante est complexe à implémenter sans s’appuyer sur le contenu de l’image. En revanche, le suivi du mouvement basé sur les détections de signaux coopératifs permet dans certains cas de filtrer la densité de la scène, ce qui améliore les performances de suivi. (...)
The perception by monocular vision is an issue not solved yet. While a competition exists between many companies and huge investments were raised, the expected level of performance to autonomous driving is still not reached. Even if some advanced driving assistance systems functionalities make the driver believe that he can be less focused, it is not the case in practice and the responsibility is still based on its shoulder. This work aims at building a robust front vision system combining two modalities, thanks to the use of an artificial CMOS retina, or an event-based sensor, whose pixels can detect and timestamp positive or negative relative changes of illuminance. The frequency of data acquisition depends on the kinetic of the scene which could vary a lot in automotive scenarios. The two modalities extracted from the sensor are on one side conventional image processing algorithms, and on the other side the detection of light signals emitted by targets, modulated with high frequencies and characterizing the state or the orientation of the object. This work firstly aims at measuring CMOS retinas parameters, in order to design a simulation model and also to determine how the parameters evolve when facing automotive constraints. This step is articulated around the design of a characterization setup and the implementation of a sensor modelusing the measurements realized on the characterization setup. This latter also enables to quantify the performances achieved by the algorithms which detect modulated light signals, to check that each detection corresponds to the good cooperative signal and enable to optimize the sensor’s response to the range of frequencies used. The detection is demonstrated on simulation experiments and on a prototype, with a scope of 150 meters using a frequency equal to 5 kHz. The algorithms proposed in this work allow to keep the asynchronous characteristic of the data stream. The limitations of the technology have been identified to realize signal’s detection, and an attention can be provided to the next generations of CMOS retinas. In parallel, a detection and classification method based on convolutional neural networks is implemented. It consists of the creation of artificial images by integrating events over time, and to apply a transfer learning technique with a network trained on conventional images, made possible using dedicated data augmentation strategies to avoid overlearning. This network is then used to initialized tracking functions to determine the time to collision. This step uses the asynchronous advantage of event-based data, byestimating the movement locally through the computation of the optical flow. The simulation model of the sensor allows to test some algorithms and to evaluate the performance as a function of sensor’s parameters like the latency or the background noise. A prototype is set on test tracks to demonstrate that event-based tracking is much more efficient than image-based tracking. Finally, some attempts are tested to fuse the two modalities, and illustrate that the positioning of the target emitting the cooperative signal is complicated to manage without using the content of the conventional image. However, the classification and the tracking of the objects is improved in some cases thanks to the cooperative signal, which removes the density of a scene to be more focused on targets. This work, between sensors and algorithms, demonstrate how a cooperative vision system can be inserted into the perception function of autonomous vehicles to guarantee an optimal level of performances

The goal of this thesis is design of platform capable of sensor output emulation. The platform allows to emulate either digital sensors, communicating over UART, SPI, I2C, CAN and RS-485 buses, or analog sensors and sensors with frequency output. Design of computer interface to configure the platform is also a part of the thesis. Special emphasis is placed on the universality and overall user-friendliness of the entire system.

Senior Health Care System (SHCS) is created for users to enter participants' conditions and store information in a central database. When users are ready for quarterly assessments the system generates a simple summary that can be reviewed, modified, and saved as part of the summary assessments, which are required by Federal and California law.

Monitoring water level in harsh environment in order to handle the start and stop function of drainage pumps has been a major issue. Several environmental factors are present, which affect and disturb sensor measurements. Current solutions with mechanical float switches, mounted outside of pumps, wear out, get entangled and account for more than half of all the emergency call outs to pumping stations. Since pumps are frequently moved around, a new sensor solution is needed which can be integrated within the pump house and is able to continuously monitor water level to optimize the operation of the pump and to decrease wear, cost and energy consumption. This thesis presents an investigation how different sensor techniques can be combined to improve reliability for monitoring water level and handle the start and stop function of drainage pumps in harsh environment. The main focus has been to identify suitable water level sensing techniques and to investigate how sensors are affected by build-up materials building up on the pump surface and covering the sensor probes. A support vector machine algorithm is implemented to fuse sensor data in order to increase reliability of the sensor solution in contaminated condition. Results show that a combination of a pressure sensor and a capacitive sensor is the most suitable combination for withstanding build-up materials. For operating conditions when sensors are covered with soft or viscous build-ups, sensors were able to monitor water level through the build-up materials. No solution was found that could satisfactorily monitor water level through solidified build-up materials.
Att övervaka vattennivån i extrema miljöer för att hantera start- och stoppfunktion av dräneringspumpar har varit ett stort problem. Flera påverkande faktorer från pumpomgivningen influerar och stör sensormätningarna. Nuvarande lösningar med mekaniskt rörliga nivåvippor som är monterade utanför pumparna slits ut, trasslar in sig och står för mer än hälften av alla jourutryckningar till pumpstationerna. Eftersom pumpar ofta flyttas runt, behövs en ny sensorlösning som kan integreras i pumpen och som kontinuerligt kan övervaka vattennivån för att optimera pumpdriften och minska  slitage, kostnad och energiförbrukning. Den här masteruppsatsen presenterar en undersökning av hur olika givartekniker kan kombineras för att förbättra tillförlitligheten för övervakning av vattennivån och hantera start- och stoppfunktionen av dräneringspumpar i extrema miljöer. Fokus har legat på att identifiera lämpliga givartekniker för att mäta vattennivå och undersöka hur givare påverkas av beläggningar som byggs upp på pumpytan och täcker givarna. En support vector machine algoritm har implementerats för att kombinera givardata i syfte att öka tillförlitligheten hos givarlösningen i kontaminerat skick. Resultaten visar att en kombination av en tryckgivare och en kapacitiv givare är den mest lämpliga kombinationen för att motstå beläggningsmaterial. För driftsförhållanden när givarna är täckta med mjuka beläggningar kunde givarna mäta vattennivån genom beläggningarna. Ingen lösning identifierades som på ett tillfredsställande sätt kunde mäta vattennivå genom stelnade, solida beläggningsmaterial.

Modern day vehicles is full of electronics, different sensors and software. To test that all these different systems works as expected it is suitable to build test beds. These test beds consists of, as far as possible, real components that should be implemented in the vehicles. A vehicle has various temperature sensors. Something that is important totest is how the vehicles systems reacts to different temperatures. This thesis aim is to construct a unit that can simulate a temperature sensor of type PT100. The unit should be able to be controlled via CAN and it should also be able to simulate short cicruit and open load. Digital potentiometers in parallel was used to simulate the temperature sensor. Relays was used to simulate short circuit and open load. The unit was calibrated and tested witha multimeter. When the multimeter was used the unit produced satisfactory results. When the unit was tested against the test bed it showed different values than with the multimeter thus further work is requierd. This thesis was conducted at BAE Systems Hägglunds AB in Örnsköldsvik.

With the growing complexity of vehicle control systems it is becoming increasingly important to understand the interaction between drivers and vehicles. Existing driver models do not adequately characterise limitations resulting from drivers’ physical systems. In particular, sensory dynamics limit the ability of drivers to perceive the states of real or simulated vehicles. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to understand the impact of sensory dynamics on the control performance of a human driver in real and virtual environments. A new model of driver steering control is developed based on optimal control and state estimation theory, incorporating models of sensory dynamics, delays and noise. Some results are taken from published literature, however recent studies have shown that sensory delays and noise amplitudes may increase during an active control task such as driving. Therefore, a parameter identification procedure is used to fit the model predictions to measured steering responses of real drivers in a simulator. The model is found to fit measured results well under a variety of conditions. An initial experiment is designed with the physical motion of the simulator matching the motion of the virtual vehicle at full scale. However, during more realistic manoeuvres the physical motion must be scaled or filtered, introducing conflicts between measurements from different sensory systems. Drivers are found to adapt to simple conflicts such as scaled motion, but they have difficulty adapting to more complicated motion filters. The driver model is initially derived for linear vehicles with stochastic target and disturbance signals. In later chapters it is extended to account for transient targets and disturbances and vehicles with nonlinear tyres, and validated once again with experimental results. A series of simulations is used to demonstrate novel insights into how drivers use sensory information, and the resulting impact on control performance. The new model is also shown to predict difficulties real drivers have controlling unstable vehicles more reliably than existing driver models.

This dissertation builds on the current anthropological studies of care relations in practice. It draws inspiration from science and technology studies (STS) and postfeminist technoscience. A qualitative ethnographic approach grounds the empirical data collection and analysis. This entails ethnographic fieldwork with senior home care in the United States and Sweden during 2007–2008 and 2011–2012. Analytical attention centers on how movements situate various tensions of senior home care in practice. Four interrelated published works comprise the main thematic chapters. Each article exemplifies how human and nonhuman relations move and mediate care. They develop several heuristic terms that advance ideas about how older people, aging bodies, technologies, spaces, and times that tinker each other through movements of care in practice. The comprehensive summary frames these articles with an overview of the primary thematic orientations and methodological concerns. A discussion of the main contributions and implications of the dissertation concludes the work.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 25, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-105).

Mobile phones especially smart phones have become increasingly more popular over the years. In 2016, the number of mobile phone users worldwide was 4.61 billion and it is projected by 2019 to pass the 5 billion mark. According to the 5^th Annual Makovsky/Kelton “Pulse of Online Health” Survey, 66 percent of Americans would use a mobile application or “app” to manage health-related issues.

The Senior Saver app is a mobile healthcare application targeted to coordinate care for seniors and make transition of care easier and smoother between family members and providers. The Senior Saver app is designed to be the “lifesaver” helping to save senior lives and saving the family members and providers from extra stress and/or problems.

The aim of the thesis is to design a web services architecture that shall support the automatic determination of a personalised sensor-system, which is embedded in smart garments, and which shall be used in self-care in order to allow a profane user to record himself a personal electrocardiogram (ECG), at anytime and anywhere. The main challenge consists in the intelligent and dynamic orchestration of context-aware business services that supply the user with an optimal personalised solution, while mastering the system's complexity: context dependent user and system interactions, knowledge extraction from subject-specific vital signs, services reconfiguration automation. The solution to this challenge is to create an Ambient Intelligence which goes beyond Ubiquitous Computing and is capable to replace an expert by proposing an Intelligent Assistance to any citizen. We propose a methodology expressed in terms of Data and Model driven Service Oriented Architecture (DM-SOA), which provides a framework for the production of context-aware intelligent business services. This architecture supports the automation of sophisticated and personalised expert activities, which apply professional knowledge to process an individual case. The proposed solution is based on a new dynamic business process modelling approach and in its implementation via automatically reconfigurable services. It consists in setting-up an intelligent environment based on a business process ontology of context-aware concepts and on related context handling rules for services orchestration. A core-ontology has been designed to support the automation of expert activities related to decision-making. The soundness of the method and of the underlying decision-making techniques has been demonstrated in the cardiology domain for selecting the most adequate subject-specific sensor-system, characterised by its ability to yield for an ECG signal of similar diagnostic content than a standard 12-lead ECG. We propose the design of a new three modalities sensor-system prototype as a response to the need of sensor-systems used on demand in self-care situations and ensuring diagnostic quality signals recordings. This prototype has been tested on a set of healthy volunteers presenting various characteristics in age, sex and morphology. In this context, Ambient Intelligence is demonstrated as an ensemble of professional quality services ready to use by profane users. These services are accessible pervasively, trough the objects people work with / wear on / use each day, and provide an appropriate guidance to the non-competent users. Such an Ambient Intelligence approach strongly supports the vision of an Information Society which corresponds to the long-term goal of the EU Information Society Technologies Research Programme that aims to ease knowledge access. The future healthcare will benefit from this approach and will significantly improve patient care.

This thesis focuses on inductive base sensor design at MHz range frequency. The background theory, design, experiments and results for a new magnetic particles sensor is presented. A new magnetic sensor based on a planar coil was investigated for DNA pathogen detection. Change in inductance of the planar coil due to the presence of magnetic particles with varying mass was measured. The experimental set-up consisted of different sized planar coil with associated electronics for inductance measurements. The best sensor performance was accomplished using two different inductors while oscillating at frequencies 2.4MHz using 9.5μH inductor and 7.2MHz with 85μH inductor. The sensor has very large signal to noise ratio (580×103), while the average amount of frequency drift was 0.58. This sensor was tested with various types of magnetic particles. In addition, iron-oxide nanoparticles were synthesized through water in oil microemulsion method and with an average size of 25nm. The best sensitivity achieved for detection of 50μg iron-oxide particles was with the bead size of 10nm. 81Hz frequency shift was attained in regard to that amount of particles. This research shows that increasing the resonance frequency to 7.2MHz can cause the larger output signal difference (frequency shift) in the presence of magnetic particles; however, the sensor stability is the most important factor for determining the detection resolution and sensitivity. The sensitivity is better if the sensor can detect smaller amount of magnetic sample. The results of this research demonstrate that while the sample consists of smaller size particles, the sensor can detect the lower amount of sample. This is due to the heating effect of nanoparticles. On the other hand the sample distance from the sensor has a major impact on the sensitivity too; the shorter the distance, the higher the sensitivity. This technique can potentially be extended to detect several different types of bacterial pathogens and can be modified for multiplex quantitative detection. This sensing technique will be incorporated into a handheld, disposable microfluidic chip for point-of-care diagnostics for sexually transmitted diseases.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 14, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 174-182).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed November 19, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-148).

Antibiotics are some of the most effective drugs saving uncountable lives since their introduction more than 70 years ago. However, drug-resistant bacteria are rapidly spreading and posing one of the gravest threats to human health. Furthermore, the evolution of resistance is outpacing the discovery and development of new antibiotics. Therefore, stewardship of our existing and precious antibiotics is urgently needed. The objective of this thesis is to develop point-of-care sensors for therapeutic antibiotic monitoring, particularly for vancomycin, which not only allow prudent antibiotic use, but very importantly lead to better health outcomes associated with lower healthcare costs. The sensor development is approached with two different detection techniques: I) colourimetric detection via visible spectroscopy, and II) nanomechanical detection via cantilever array sensors. I) The thesis’ main focus was to develop a colourimetric vancomycin assay that builds on the point-of-care bench top device ‘Pelorus’ of our industrial partner – Sphere Medical Ltd. in Cambridge, UK. The assay could be successfully developed and benchmarked to UCLH’s gold standard. It includes extraction from whole serum prior to a labelling reaction that permits subsequent quantification via visible spectroscopy. Free and bound drug concentrations can be quantified within minutes, which is crucial for the determination of antibacterial activity and an advantage over current routine assays. Furthermore, the labelling reaction produced a novel molecule, which was structurally characterised. The developed assay could be patented with recent PCT entry. II) Nanomechanical detection of active free antibiotic concentration in human serum via cantilever arrays could be demonstrated. Combined with equilibrium theory, it led to better understanding of the biophysical mode of action improving treatment, dosage and drug discovery. It could be published in an article in Nature Nanotechnology. This project has been early stage proof-of-concept work. The next step towards commercialisation should involve clinical evaluation from whole blood and may further extend to multi-analyte and hand-held sensors for therapeutic monitoring.

This thesis is focused on the design and realisation of inertial navigation unit INS. The unit is capable to measure, store and send data to a PC in real-time for a later offline processing. The first part of the thesis introduces the reader with the basic principles of accelerometers, gyroscopes and MEMS sensors. An introduction to coordinate systems and measuring errors is also included. The second and third part of the thesis deals with the analysis of the solution and the implementation of the INS unit. The fourth part of the document is dedicated to the software for the INS unit. This thesis concludes with explanation how the gathered data are processed.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed December 2, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-45).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed November 10, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-68).

Den här rapporten beskriver ett examensarbete i elektroteknik på Kungliga tekniska högskolan. Syftet var att skapa en unik systemlösning där ett CAN-adapterkort (Controller Area Network) skulle integreras med ett system för övervakning av däcktryck i tunga fordon. Målet var att presentera mätvärden från ventilsensorer på en persondator. Systemet för övervakning av lufttryck heter J1939 – TPMS och är en färdig produkt. J1939 – TPMS skickar CAN-ramar på en CAN-buss i J1939-format. Dessa ramar ska läsas in av adapterkortet och presenteras på ett terminalprogram på en persondator. Arbetet har bestått av att utreda hur systemet J1939 – TPMS fungerar i detalj. Rollen för protokollet J1939 och dess förhållande till CAN har förklarats. Hur J1939-ramar tolkas och hur mätdata rörande TPMS avkodas har beskrivits i detalj. Principer för hur en CAN-nod fungerar har klargjorts. Baserat på detta har ett CAN-adapterkort konstruerats. Konstruktionen har inneburit komponentval, design av elektronikschema, design av mönsterkort och utveckling av inbyggd programvara. Resultatet blev ett färdigt och fungerande CAN-adapterkort som har testats med J1939 – TPMS. Kraven för projektet uppfylldes. Dock så kommer mer arbete med kortet och systemet behövas för att det ska bli en färdig produkt. Arbetet genomfördes hos Motion Control i Västerås AB i samarbete med Transeco Däckservice.
This report describes a degree project at the Royal Institute of Technology. The purpose was to create a unique system solution in which a CAN adapter card (Controller Area Network) was to be integrated with an air pressure monitoring system for heavy duty vehicles. The goal was to present measurement values ​​from valve sensors on a personal computer. The air pressure monitoring system is called J1939 - TPMS and is a finished product. J1939 - TPMS sends CAN-frames to a CAN-bus in J1939 format. These frames are to be read by the adapter card and presented on a terminal program on a personal computer. The job has been to investigate how the J1939 - TPMS system works in detail. The role of the J1939 protocol and its relationship with CAN has been clarified. Also, a detailed description of how J1939 frames are interpreted and how the measuring data TPMS is decoded is done. Principles for how a CAN node works has been clarified. Based on this, a CAN adapter card has been designed. The design has included component selection, design of electronics schema, design of computer cards and development of embedded software. The result was a ready-to-use CAN adapter card tested with J1939-TPMS. Requirements for the project were met. However, more work with the card will be needed to make it a finished product. The work was carried out at Motion Control in Västerås AB in cooperation with Transeco Däckservice (Transeco Tire Service).

Within dementia care, there is a need to facilitate appropriate sensory experiences and opportunities for meaningful engagement for people living with dementia, particularly in later stages. As such, the provision of multisensory environments designed to meet the needs of these individuals and offering suitable occupation and stimulation, have increasingly gained significance. In this context, this paper explores the meaning of experience-focused, sensory design and the importance of appropriate sensory stimulation for wellbeing. It refers to recent interdisciplinary research in this area and a new guide advising on design of sensory enhanced spaces in residential dementia care. The primary focus of the paper is a case study showcasing the implementation of sensory design, based on these guidelines. The case study reports on the co-creation of a sensory, experience-focused space for residents with dementia in a London care-home. Based on this example, the paper highlights the value and impact of appropriate sensory design on the wellbeing of people with dementia and their carers. The conclusion discusses the learning and knowledge gained from this process as well as perspectives on further research activities including the analysis of user feedback and evaluation of the design intervention.

In the last twenty five years the health of individuals worldwide has changed. Life expectancy has substantially increased and the proportion of older citizens is growing constantly. This growing population of elderly people will dominate the housing market in the coming years. An increased demand for housing and health care services for the elderly calls not only for much greater supply than we have ever experienced, but also for new approaches, one of which is based on the graduation of care. Provincial and local governments are looking for innovative options and design solutions which could meet the needs and expectations of a new wave of seniors at the end of this century. It is the intention of this thesis to identify and define what are the underlying principles in planning housing and services for the contemporary elderly. The Thesis has been developed as a research cycle based on a three-phase methodology of analysis-synthesis-evaluation. Analysis commences with comprehensive research into existing facilities and introduces the notion of multi-level care of the elderly. It investigates the real meaning of the quality environment within the elderly facility in terms of a continuum of his/her lifestyle. Synthesis defines the phenomenon of the continuum of care environment in the full scale facility program for the proposed Continuum of Care Complex (CCC) in West Point Grey in Vancouver, B.C. Evaluation investigates the feasibility of the program implementation on a test site. A basic premise of the thesis is that a multi-level care facility is a viable way of achieving an environment, which may fulfill a comprehensive array of needs of the elderly. It should include housing alternatives for the elderly, both in terms of tenure and supportive services, but above all should provide a specific ambiance equal to a home-like environment. The thesis has been structured as a hypothetical model of a programming system based on the principle of the continuum of care. This model includes four major functional components of the proposed complex: residential, long-term care, community services and outdoor activity spaces that blending together create a quality environment. This model has been developed in the real situation of the Point Grey Community on the principle of an active interaction. Subsequently this model has been tested on a selected site in terms of identification of opportunities and constraints which may affect successful program implementation. The thesis concludes that a hypothetical model of the Continuum of Care Complex can be successfully implemented on the selected test site of the Point Grey Community. "Continuum of Care" environment for the elderly developed in the model may satisfy a broad range of needs for the elderly: physical, physiological and sociopsychological.
Applied Science, Faculty of
Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of
Graduate

碩士
國立臺灣科技大學
機械工程系
98
Nowadays, vehicle navigation system which integrates GPS and INS to provide continuous vehicle positions is a common application. However GPS are subjected to satellite signal availability and cannot guarantee uninterrupted positioning in urban environment at all times. Using low cost MEMS inertial sensors with GPS in PNDs to provide continuous, uninterrupted navigation capability has become an important topic. In order to get accurate position information without valid GPS signal, calibration algorithms and special signal processing for MEMS sensors must be considered to bring satisfactory navigation performance in three-dimensional space, including gravity compensation, motion detection, tunnel pressure wave removal, and adaptive online calibration are introduced. With proper calibrations and signal processing, navigation errors from MEMS sensors are reduced and the dead-reckoning result can be more reliable to provide continuing navigation in the absence of GPS signals. In this thesis, a minimum sensor configuration consists of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a barometer is proposed for portable navigation system 3-D dead-reckoning applications and the measurement models for these sensors are presented. All algorithms are more uncomplicated and suitable than common Kalman Filter algorithm to implement on real-time system.