Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Read range'

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 22-25, 2001 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
A flexible, modular method is needed to connect test range data systems to central real-time computer networks. This is achieved by the development of a real-time, networked, VME-based range interface system. Flexibility is achieved by a modular hardware and software design. The modular hardware consists of standard network interfaces, COTS VME interfaces, and a VME single board computer (with an onboard PCI bus). The modular software is implemented in C++ using the VxWorks real-time operating system. This paper describes the conceptual design and development of the Modular Range Interface (ModRI).

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) uses RF radiation to identify physical objects. With decreasing integrated circuit (IC) cost and size, RFID applications are becoming economically feasible and gaining popularity. Researchers at MIT suggest that RFID tags operating in the 900 MHz band (ultrahigh frequency, UHF) represent the best compromise of cost, read range, and capabilities [1]. Passive RFID tags, which exclude radio transmitters and internal power sources, are popular due to their small size and low cost [1]. This project produced Cal Poly’s first ever on-campus printed, assembled, and operational UHF (902 to 928 MHz) passive RFID tag. Project goals include RFID tag antenna design and simulation using the EMPro electromagnetic (EM) simulation tool [47], establishing the tag fabrication process, and testing, operational verification, and comparisons to commercial tag performance. The tag antenna design goal is to meet or exceed the read range performance of the commercial Sirit tag [23] while minimizing the required tag conductive area. This thesis provides an overview of the UHF passive RFID tag fabrication process. Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department Laboratory applied a screen‑printing process to print RFID tag antenna patterns onto plastic (PET) substrates. RFID IC-substrate packages were manually attached to tag antennas with conductive adhesives and functionally verified and compared to commercial tag performance. RFID tag antennas were impedance matched (using EMPro) to the Monza 3 RFID IC to maximize IC to antenna power transfer and RFID tag read range.Tag antenna read range (maximum reader-tag communication distance) was characterized in Cal Poly’s Anechoic Chamber, while RFID tag matching characteristics were measured using the differential probe method [33-41] and compared to simulations. Read range results indicate that one of the designs developed in this thesis outperforms a commercial UHF RFID tag.

Différentes études empiriques montrent que l'effet du couplage mutuel et la position et l'orientation aléatoires des antennes tags dans un volume réduit entraînent une dégradation des indicateurs de performance d'un système RFID, tels que la distance et le taux de lecture. Cette thèse participe à l'analyse des performances d'un tel système RFID en explorant les phénomènes physiques à l'origine de la dégradation et en introduisant des techniques statistiques dans les investigations. Avant de procéder à l'étude du comportement de groupe, la sensibilité et l'impédance de deux puces RFID (Higgs-3 et Higgs-9) ont été mesurées. Deux tag RFID ont été utilisées, un tag commercial (ALN-9662) associé à la puce Higgs-3 et tag artisanal fabriqué au laboratoire pour s’adapter à la puce Higgs-9. La distance de lecture des deux tags a été mesurée ainsi que l'impédance de leur antenne. Les résultats des mesures ont été confrontés à des simulations électromagnétiques. Afin d'étudier différents cas de figure faisant intervenir des tags positionnés de manière aléatoire, un modèle électromagnétique et des outils de simulation (HFSS et NEC) ont été utilisés et les conclusions sont basées sur leurs résultats, tout en les validant dans quelques cas par des mesures. Pour simplifier davantage, les tags RFID sont modélisés par un ensemble de dipôles demi-onde, avec et sans le circuit d’adaptation sous forme de T-match, et le lecteur est remplacé par une onde plane. L'objectif est de confronter le comportement d'un tag isolé à celui du même tag entouré par d'autres tags et de conclure sur l'impact du type d'antenne, de la densité des tags, de l’impédance de charge et de la polarisation de l'onde sur l’observable de sortie. La liaison RFID est étudiée à travers son lien forward et reverse, et en utilisant un modèle multiport conventionnel pour les tags intégrant le couplage. Une analyse approfondie du bilan de puissance est effectuée et la puissance absorbée au niveau des charges (puces) et la puissance re-rayonnée au niveau des antennes sont évaluées. En ce qui concerne la liaison forward, le rapport entre la puissance absorbée par la puce d'un tag environné et celle d'un tag isolé est appelé puissance absorbée normalisée et constitue un outil utile pour estimer le pourcentage de tags inactifs dans un ensemble de tags. En ce qui concerne la liaison reverse, la surface équivalente radar (SER) des antennes chargées par une charge adaptée et par un court-circuit a été étudiée. La SER différentielle du tag isolé et celle du tag environné a également été évaluée et l'impact du couplage sur la puissance re-rayonnée a été étudié. Étant donné que dans un contexte aléatoire à haute densité, il est impossible de prédire les performances du système de manière réaliste avec une approche purement déterministe, plusieurs configurations de tags et de dipôles positionnés et orientés de manière aléatoire ont été simulées et les conclusions sont tirées à l'aide d'une analyse statistique. En d'autres termes, à la fin de cette étude, la dégradation des performances d'un tag particulier dans une configuration donnée de tags environnants doit être évaluée individuellement, mais les moments statistiques ainsi que les fonctions de répartition permettent de prédire le comportement d'une population de tags sous certaines conditions. Cette thèse aide le concepteur RFID à évaluer la performance d'un scénario RFID et éventuellement à ajuster certains paramètres d'entrée tels que la densité des tags afin d'atteindre les objectifs visés
Different empirical studies show that the effect of mutual coupling and the random position and orientation of tag antennas in a reduced volume result in a degradation of key performance indicators of an RFID system such as the read-range and the read-rate. This thesis takes part in the performance analysis of such an RFID system by exploring the physical phenomena behind the degradation and by introducing statistical techniques into investigations. Prior to the group behaviour investigations, the sensitivity and the impedance of two RFID chips (Higgs-3 and Higgs-9) have been measured. Two RFID tags have been used, a commercial one (ALN-9662) associated with the Higgs-3 chip and a home-made tag, which has been fabricated in laboratory to match the Higgs-9 chip. The read range of both tags has measured along with their antenna impedance. The measurement results have been confronted to electromagnetic simulations. In order to study various cases involving randomly positioned tags, an electromagnetic model and simulation tools (HFSS and NEC) have been used and the conclusions are based on their results while cross-validated in a few cases by measurements. To simplify any further, the RFID tags are modelled by a set of half-wave dipoles, with and without T-match, and the reader is replaced by a plane wave. The objective is to confront the behaviour of a single isolated tag to that of the same tag while surrounded by other tags and to conclude on the impact of the antenna type, the density of tags, the terminating load and the wave polarisation on the output under observation. The RFID link is studied through its forward and reverse links and by using a conventional grid model for tags including coupling. A thorough power budget analysis is conducted and the absorbed power at the level of the loads (chips) and the reradiated power at the level of the antennas are assessed. Regarding the forward link, the ratio of the absorbed power by the chip of a surrounded tag to that of an isolated tag is called normalised absorbed power and constitutes a useful tool to estimate the percentage of inactivated tags in the set. Regarding the reverse link, the Radar Cross Section (RCS) of loaded antennas with short-circuit and matched loads have been studied. The differential RCS of the isolated tag and that of the surrounded one has also been evaluated and the impact of coupling on the backscattered power have been studied. As in a high-density random context, predicting the system performances in a realistic way with a deterministic approach is impossible, several configurations of randomly positioned and oriented tags and dipoles have been simulated and the conclusions are drawn using statistical analysis. In other words, at the end of this study, the performance degradation of a particular tag in a given configuration of surrounding tags needs to be evaluated individually but the statistical moments as well as cumulative distribution functions allow to predict the behaviour of a population tags under given conditions. This thesis helps the RFID designer to assess the performance of an RFID scenario and eventually adjust some input parameters such as the density of tags in order to attain the desired objectives

Range finding are widely used in various industrial applications, such as machine vision, collision avoidance, and robotics. Presently most range finders either rely on active transmitters or sophisticated mechanical controllers and powerful processors to extract range information, which make the range finders costly, bulky, or slowly, and limit their applications. This dissertation is a detailed description of a real-time vision-based range sensing technique and its single-chip CMOS implementation. To the best of our knowledge, this system is the first single chip vision-based range finder that doesn't need any mechanical position adjustment, memory or digital processor. The entire signal processing on the chip is purely analog and occurs in parallel. The chip captures the image of an object and extracts the depth and range information from just a single picture. The on-chip, continuous-time, logarithmic photoreceptor circuits are used to couple spatial image signals into the range-extracting processing network. The photoreceptor pixels can adjust their operating regions, simultaneously achieving high sensitivity and wide dynamic range. The image sharpness processor and Winner-Take-All circuits are characterized and analyzed carefully for their temporal bandwidth and detection performance. The mathematical and optical models of the system are built and carefully verified. A prototype based on this technique has been fabricated and tested. The experimental results prove that the range finder can achieve acceptable range sensing precision with low cost and excellent speed performance in short-to-medium range coverage. Therefore, it is particularly useful for collision avoidance.

This diploma thesis is focused on the detection and protection against Slow DoS and DDoS attacks using computer network traffic analysis. The reader is introduced to the basic issues of this specific category of sophisticated attacks, and the characteristics of several specific attacks are clarified. There is also a set of methods for detecting and protecting against these attacks. The proposed methods are used to implement custom intrusion prevention system that is deployed on the border filtering server of computer network in order to protect Web servers against attacks from the Internet. Then created system is tested in the laboratory network. Presented results of the testing show that the system is able to detect attacks Slow GET, Slow POST, Slow Read and Apache Range Header and then protect Web servers from affecting provided services.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1996.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-113).
by Donald Reed Greer.
M.Eng.

Les progrès de la microfluidique, de la technologie sensorielle et de la biologie synthétique et moléculaire ont permis l'émergence d'un nouveau domaine scientifique dans lequel les principes fondamentaux de la théorie du contrôle peuvent être appliqués pour contrôler et réguler de manière externe les bioprocessus cellulaires : la cybernétique. Jusqu'à présent, la cybernétique a été capable de contrôler avec succès des réseaux génétiques complexes, multi-stables et adaptatifs au niveau de la population et de la cellule unique, mais les défis du contrôle de systèmes biologiques de type multi-agent composés de multiples composants interactifs n'ont pas encore été relevés. Dans cette étude, nous nous sommes concentrés sur des colonies denses d'E. coli, semblables à des biofilms, qui ont été cultivées à l'intérieur d'un dispositif microfluidique multicouche dont la géométrie permet la croissance des colonies dans une seule direction. De même que pour les biofilms, il est largement connu que les colonies denses d'E.coli présentent des niveaux remarquables d'organisation spatiale qui sont la conséquence de l'interaction complexe entre les gradients nutritifs et chimiques et les interactions métaboliques entre les différentes couches de la colonie. Ces interactions rendent les colonies denses et les biofilms plus résistants aux traitements antimicrobiens, ce qui les rend difficiles à éradiquer. La question de savoir si et dans quelle mesure nous pouvons contrôler ce système de l'extérieur reste ouverte. Pour répondre à cette question, nous avons d'abord analysé quantitativement les modèles de croissance à l'intérieur de la colonie pour comprendre la dynamique du système. Nous avons utilisé trois stratégies différentes pour perturber la colonie et voir l'impact sur les modèles de croissance spatiale - la modulation de l'ARN polymérase par un promoteur inductible et la modulation biochimique des ressources cellulaires par des changements de nutriments et des antibiotiques. Comme les cellules ne sont pas mobiles, la vitesse d'invasion de la colonie peut être considérée comme un descripteur global de la dynamique de croissance spatiale de la colonie. En gardant cela à l'esprit, nous avons finalement utilisé la compréhension de la dynamique des systèmes, la connaissance de la réponse des colonies à divers stimuli et une plateforme de contrôle faite sur mesure pour contrôler de manière externe la vitesse d'invasion de la colonie
Advances in microfluidics, sensory technology and synthetic and molecular biology enabled the rise of a novel scientific field in which fundamentals of control theory can be applied to externally control and regulate cellular bioprocesses-cybergenetics. So far, cybergenetics was able to successfully control complex multi-stable and adaptive gene networks at the population and the single cell level, but challenges in the control of biological multiagent-like system composed of multiple interactive components have not yet been addressed. In this study we focused on dense biofilm like colonies of E.coli which were grown inside the multilayered microfluidic device whose geometry enabled the growth of the colonies in one direction. Similarly to biofilms, it is widely known that dense E.coli colonies exhibit remarkable levels of spatial organization that come as a consequence of the complex interplay between nutrient and chemical gradients and metabolic interactions between different layers of the colony. These interactions make both dense colonies and biofilms more resistant to antimicrobial agents treatment consequently making them difficult to eradicate. Thus can we and at which extent we could externally control this system remains an open question. To answer this we firstly quantitively analyzed the growth patterns inside the colony to understand the dynamics of the system. We used three different strategies to perturb the colony and to see the impact on the spatial growth patterns - modulation of RNA polymerase by inducible promoter and biochemical modulation of the cellular resources by nutrient change and antibiotics. Since the cells were nonmotile, the invasion speed of the colony could be regarded as a global descriptor of the colony spatial growth dynamics. Thus having this in mind we finally used the understanding of the systems dynamics, knowledge of colonies response to various stimulus and a custom made control platform to externally control the invasion speed of the colony

COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
A principal meta da computação gráfica é a síntese de imagens. Essas imagens podem ser tanto geradas por computador quanto ser resultado de manipulação digital de fotografias. Diferentes métodos para captura de imagens e fotografia digital mudaram a importância da imagem digital. Em relação a imagens geradas por computador, a busca por imagens mais realistas é importante para a indústria de filmes, de desenvolvimento de jogos entre outras. Uma das maiores revoluções na computação gráfica atual está relacionada a imagens High Dynamic Range. Essas imagens representam o próximo nível em termos de representação de imagens, uma vez que seus valores são verdadeiramente proporcionais às condições de iluminação em uma cena e são capazes de codificar a dynamic range encontrado no mundo real, fato impossível para as imagens tradicionais que apresentam 24 bits por pixel. Quando imagens high dynamic range são utilizadas para codificar as condições de iluminação em uma cena, elas são chamadas mapas de radiância ou mapas de iluminação. O foco principal dessa dissertação é mostrar técnicas de renderização em tempo real utilizando mapas de iluminação. Técnicas conhecidas como Image Based Lighting. Esse trabalho apresenta os conceitos de imagens high dynamic range, seus fundamentos físicos na teoria da luz, uma série de trabalhos importantes em manipulação dessas imagens e uma discussão sobre o pipeline de aplicações em tempo real que utilizam high dynamic range. Finalmente são apresentadas as técnicas para utilização de mapas de iluminação em alta precisão em tempo real.
In 1997, the seminal work by Paul Debevec and Jitendra Malik on the generation of HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, from ordinary LDR (Low Dynamic Range) cameras, facilitated the generation of light probes enormously. In consequence, this caused a boom of works on the rendering of objects with images of light from the real world, which is known as Image- Based Lighting. The present dissertation aims to study this new area, trying to situate itself in the question of real-time compositing of synthetic objects in real images. This dissertation proposes a real-time rendering pipeline for 3D games, in the simple case of static scenes, adapting the non-real-time technique presented by Paul Debevec in 1998. There is no written work about this adaptation in the literature, although exists some reference to developments done by graphics card manufacturers in this direction. Also this dissertation presents an experiment with diffuse objects. Moreover, the author gives ideas towards the solution of shadow problems for diffuse objects.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 17-20, 1994 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California
A demonstration of near real-time performance assessment for the Program Executive Officer for Cruise Missiles Project and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Cruise Test Directorate, PEO(CU)-CT, was conducted between 22 March 1994 through 4 May 1994. The demonstration involved the temporary installation of a portable TOMAHAWK telemetry recording and telecommunications capability at the Air Force Development Test Center range at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida and a receiving telecommunications capability at the Naval Warfare Assessment Division (NWAD), Corona, California. The system was successfully used on 4 May 1994 to record TOMAHAWK missile telemetry data in real-time in support of Operational Test Launch (OTL)-163 and to transfer that data to the weapons system performance analysts at NWAD in near real-time. The one hour and three minutes of flight data was compressed in real-time as it was recorded, then, after completion of the flight, the data was transferred to NWAD in about 12 minutes using the switched 56 kbps network. Additional transfers using the Defense Commercial Telecommunications Network (DCTN) were also conducted. All transfers were secured using ethernet encryptors. The data was processed by both the NWAD telemetry ground station and the TOMAHAWK workstation complex. This paper quantifies the results and documents the lessons learned from this demonstration and proposes a standardized system design for possible implementation at TOMAHAWK test range sites in the future. A position is taken that for situations where the remote site (e.g. other range or data analysis site) does not exercise direct operational control over the test/host range, near real-time data relay solutions are not only as adequate, but in many cases are preferable to real-time solutions.

The field of automation and smart devices is currently expanding. As most devices require wireless communication, the market for low budget, low power radios is growing rapidly. Many applications, such as the remote control of machines, have real time requirements with minimal latency. In this report, the market of wireless chips in the sub-GHz region has been investigated in order to give Syntronic AB an insight of the current market. Several key features such as range, data rate and output power were ranked among the available chips. To provide Syntronic with a marketing tool when reaching out to customers in the remote control field, a demonstration prototype (demo) was implemented using one of the radio chips from the list. The demo shows real time requirements with low latency between two wireless nodes. The first node takes movement data from a computer mouse and transmits it to the other node controlling an array of light emitting diodes (LEDs). This report contains the selection of radio configurations, design of a new wireless communications protocol, and implementation of the system in hardware and software. Measurements show a latency of 3.6 ms and a range of approximately 450 m which is regarded satisfactory.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 22-25, 2001 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
The operator interface to a modern radar, sonar or weapons system trainer (WST) is typically one or more high-resolution video displays driven by PC’s or other workstations. The training system used to instruct and qualify operators for this type of mission critical application should be capable of recording RGB video data to a fine level of detail. Similarly, ground stations for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) and Operational Test & Evaluation (OT&E) applications often utilize high-resolution workstation screens to display critical test data. And often, these workstation screens are located in mobile vans, on aircraft, or are otherwise remote from test conductors who need access to the same screen data. This paper presents a solution for the efficient digitization, storage, replay, and transmission of the data displayed on the high-resolution workstation screens commonly found in these types of training system applications.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 18-21, 2004 / Town & Country Resort, San Diego, California
The Modular Range Interface (ModRI) is a reliable networked data acquisition system used to acquire and disseminate dissimilar data. ModRI’s purpose is to connect TSPI systems to a central computer network. The modular hardware design consists of an SBC, COTS network interfaces, and other COTS interfaces in a VME form factor. The modular software design uses C++ and OO patterns running under an RTOS. Current capabilities of ModRI include acquisition of Ethernet, PCM data, RS-422/232 serial data, and IRIG-B time. Future strategies might include stand-alone data acquisition, acquisition of digital video, and migration to other architectures and operating systems.

Theoretical and experimental investigation the noise spectral interferometry method for creation of the optical frequencies grids was carried out. Finding out, which kind of optical sources can be used for such tasks, and which limits of the frequency resolution has been achieved.

In  this  paper  the  performance  of  an  extended  range  electric  vehicle  (EREV)  already available on the market is analysed through a simulation using MATLAB. A real route has been modelled. The route, 140 km, is longer than the majority of the daily travelling distance  of  the  population  in  order  to  show  how  this  vehicle  is  capable  to  cover  the requirements of the drivers. The importance of an adequate recharge net for electric cars has been showed through the simulation of two different scenarios; the current scenario and  a  hypothetical  future  scenario  where  recharge  points  were  available  in  all  public parking.  In  this  second  scenario,  the  Opel  Ampera  has  been  capable  to  work  fully  in electric mode, reducing the CO 2  emissions 38%. An  optimal  management  of  the  extender  range  of  the  car  has  been  presented  which reduce  emissions 20%, reduce cost of the route  33%, and operating time of the range extender  30%,  in  the  current  scenario  compared  with  the  management  made  by  the existed conduction modes of the car.

This dissertation focuses on the many issues that arise from the visual rendering problem. Of primary consideration is light transport simulation, which is known to be computationally expensive. Monte Carlo methods represent a simple and general class of algorithms often used for light transport computation. Unfortunately, the images resulting from Monte Carlo approaches generally suffer from visually unacceptable noise artifacts. The result of any light transport simulation is, by its very nature, an image of high dynamic range (HDR). This leads to the issues of the display of such images on conventional low dynamic range devices and the development of data compression algorithms to store and recover the corresponding large amounts of detail found in HDR images. This dissertation presents our contributions relevant to these issues. Our contributions to high dynamic range image processing include tone mapping and data compression algorithms. This research proposes and shows the efficacy of a novel level set based tone mapping method that preserves visual details in the display of high dynamic range images on low dynamic range display devices. The level set method is used to extract the high frequency information from HDR images. The details are then added to the range compressed low frequency information to reconstruct a visually accurate low dynamic range version of the image. Additional challenges associated with high dynamic range images include the requirements to reduce excessively large amounts of storage and transmission time. To alleviate these problems, this research presents two methods for efficient high dynamic range image data compression. One is based on the classical JPEG compression. It first converts the raw image into RGBE representation, and then sends the color base and common exponent to classical discrete cosine transform based compression and lossless compression, respectively. The other is based on the wavelet transformation. It first transforms the raw image data into the logarithmic domain, then quantizes the logarithmic data into the integer domain, and finally applies the wavelet based JPEG2000 encoder for entropy compression and bit stream truncation to meet the desired bit rate requirement. We believe that these and similar such contributions will make a wide application of high dynamic range images possible. The contributions to light transport simulation include Monte Carlo noise reduction, dynamic object rendering and complex scene rendering. Monte Carlo noise is an inescapable artifact in synthetic images rendered using stochastic algorithm. This dissertation proposes two noise reduction algorithms to obtain high quality synthetic images. The first one models the distribution of noise in the wavelet domain using a Laplacian function, and then suppresses the noise using a Bayesian method. The other extends the bilateral filtering method to reduce all types of Monte Carlo noise in a unified way. All our methods reduce Monte Carlo noise effectively. Rendering of dynamic objects adds more dimension to the expensive light transport simulation issue. This dissertation presents a pre-computation based method. It pre-computes the surface radiance for each basis lighting and animation key frame, and then renders the objects by synthesizing the pre-computed data in real-time. Realistic rendering of complex scenes is computationally expensive. This research proposes a novel 3D space subdivision method, which leads to a new rendering framework. The light is first distributed to each local region to form local light fields, which are then used to illuminate the local scenes. The method allows us to render complex scenes at interactive frame rates. Rendering has important applications in mixed reality. Consistent lighting and shadows between real scenes and virtual scenes are important features of visual integration. The dissertation proposes to render the virtual objects by irradiance rendering using live captured environmental lighting. This research also introduces a virtual shadow generation method that computes shadows cast by virtual objects to the real background. We finally conclude the dissertation by discussing a number of future directions for rendering research, and presenting our proposed approaches.
Ph.D.
School of Computer Science
Engineering and Computer Science
Computer Science

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1998.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-146).
by Asuman E. Koksal.
M.S.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 29-November 02, 1990 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
This paper describes the history, planning, analysis, design and performance specifications/results of a very fast, real time data acquisition and processing system. The heart of the system is MODCOMP’s fully pre-emptive, realtime UNIX operating system REAL/IX2. The entire system consists of 19 intelligent communication/interface processors on a VME bus all managed by the REAL/X2 master processor. The application for this system was developed by Arcata Assoc. of Las Vegas, NV. for use at Nellis Air Force Base. It resides in the Nellis Range Support network as the master switching node subsystem. The Nellis Network is a data communications system which supports interactive, fullduplex communication of digital data between terminal nodes on electronic combat ranges and range user nodes at Nellis AFB. Many obstacles to meeting the specified performance had to be overcome. When the system was delivered and installed by MODCOMP it met or exceeded the original data handling requirements and throughput. Other system features involve communication processor products from SIMPACT Inc. a San Diego company. The paper will present their involvement in delivering this solution system to ARCATA and ultimately Nellis AFB as well as all performance data achieved from this multi-company venture.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / November 04-07, 1991 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
The Gulf Range Drone Control Upgrade System (GRDCUS) Mobile Control System (GMCS) is an integral part of the test ranges located on the Gulf of Mexico. This paper begins with a brief overview of the current Gulf Range systems. These systems consist of five major components: ground stations, ground computer systems, data link/transponders, consoles, and software. The GMCS van contains many of these components to provide a stand-alone range capability for remote operations. This paper describes the development and assembly of the GMCS van and focuses on the on-board computer systems, consoles, and data link technology. An overall system engineering approach was used during GMCS development and is highlighted through the use of rapid prototyping. This methodology and the lessons learned are presented in the paper. Suggestions for future applications are considered.

This thesis presents research carried out for the visualisation of surface anatomy data stored as large range images such as those produced by stereo-photogrammetric, and other triangulation-based capture devices. As part of this research, I explored the use of points as a rendering primitive as opposed to polygons, and the use of range images as the native data representation. Using points as a display primitive as opposed to polygons required the creation of a pipeline that solved problems associated with point-based rendering. The problems inves tigated were scattered-data interpolation (a common problem with point-based rendering), multi-view rendering, multi-resolution representations, anti-aliasing, and hidden-point re- moval. In addition, an efficient real-time implementation on the GPU was carried out.

ITC/USA 2009 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fifth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 26-29, 2009 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
The Common Display System (CDS) will provide all NAVAIRWD sites with a flexible Range real-time situational awareness and telemetry display/processing capability. CDS will have an extensible framework enabling all sites to quickly and conveniently develop Range unique plugins to accommodate new requirements or functionality not presently found in the applications common core plug-ins. Range unique plug-ins are separate and distinct from the application's common core engine.

ITC/USA 2015 Conference Proceedings / The Fifty-First Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 26-29, 2015 / Bally's Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV
The initial efforts that resulted in the migration of range application traffic to an IP infrastructure largely focused on the challenge of obtaining reliable transport for range application streams including telemetry and digital video via IP packet-based network technology. With the emergence of architectural elements that support robust Quality of Service, multicast routing, and redundant operation, these problems have largely been resolved, and a large number of ranges are now successfully utilizing IP-based network topology to implement their backbone transport infrastructure. The attention now turns to the need to provide supplemental features that provide enhanced functionality in addition to raw stream transport. These features include: *Stream monitoring and native test capability, usually called Service Assurance *Extended support for Ancillary Data / Metadata *Archive and Media Asset Management integration into the workflow *Temporal alignment of application streams This paper will describe a number of methods to implement these features utilizing an approach that leverages the features offered by IP-based technology, emphasizes the use of standards-based COTS implementations, and supports interworking between features.

The (Plethodon nettingi) Cheat Mountain Salamander is a rare and endangered species that relies heavily on (Picea rubens) Red Spruce for habitat. P. rubens communities on the Cheat Mountain range in West Virginia have been disturbed by fires and logging, and regeneration of P. rubens stands are central to the survival of the P. netting. A supervised and unsupervised landscape classification of three Landsat images over the past 26 years was conducted to analyze change in P. rubens communities on Cheat Mountain Range. Change detection results revealed that from 1986-2012 a 52% growth increase of P. rubens stands, 18% loss, and 29% stayed the same over the last 26 years. P. rubens stands are vital habitat to the rare and endangered P. netting and regrowth of P. rubens is vital in restoring the habitat of the salamander on the Cheat Mountain. The regrowth of P. rubens on the Cheat Mountain range is critical to the survival of the P. nettingi. Identifying critical forest as it relates to salamander habitat is essential for conservation efforts. Since not all P. rubens stands are of equal significance to the P. nettingi, it is important to identify and map those that adhere to their stringent habitat needs as defined by forest fragmentation, aspect, slope, and lithology. I used spatial analysis and remote sensing techniques to define critical forest characteristics by applying a forest fragmentation model utilizing morphological image analysis, northeast and southwest aspects, moderate slopes, and limestone lithology. Patches were ranked based on this quantitative model and key P. rubens stands identified using spatial statistics. The results could aid in prioritizing research areas as well as conservation planning in regards to P. rubens and the P. nettingi. In this study, the MaxEnt modeling framework was used to predict habitat suitability for P. rubens under current conditions and under two future climate change scenarios. P. rubens distribution data was acquired from the U.S Geological Survey. Both the IPCC A1B and A2 emission scenarios of the HadCM3 global circulation model were projected to years 2040-2069 and 2070-2099. Results showed that a substantial decline in the suitability of future P. rubens habitat on the Cheat Mountain is likely under both climate change scenarios, particularly at lower elevations. By the end of the century, P. rubens is likely to be extirpated from the Cheat Mountain Range. By the end of century, the A1B and A2 scenarios predict the average habitat suitability for P. rubens on Cheat Mountain will be 0.0002 and 0.00004 respectively. Conservation as well as species migration efforts for P. rubens should be focused on areas such as Cheat Mountain to preserve this vital habitat.

In a growing number of cutting edge centres around the world, radiotherapy treatments delivered by beams of protons and carbon ions offer the opportunity to target tumours with unprecedented conformality. But a sharper dose distribution increases the need for efficient quality control. Treatments are still affected by uncertainties on the penetration depth of the beam within the patient, requiring medical physicists to add safety margins. To reduce these margins and deliver safer treatments, different projects investigate real time range control by imaging prompt gammas emitted along the proton or carbon ion tracks in the patient.

This thesis reports on the feasibility, development and test of a new type of prompt gamma camera for proton therapy. This concept uses a knife-edge slit collimator to obtain a 1-dimensional projection of the beam path on a gamma camera. It was optimized, using the Monte Carlo code MCNPX version 2.5.0, to select high energy photons correlated with the beam range and detect them with both high counting statistics and sufficient spatial resolution for use in clinical routine. To validate the Monte Carlo model, spectrometry measurements of secondary particles emitted by a PMMA target during proton irradiation at 160 MeV were realised. An excellent agreement with the simulations was observed when using subtraction methods to isolate the gammas in direct incidence. A first prototype slit camera using the HiCam gamma detector was consequently prepared and tested successfully at 100 and 160 MeV beam energies. If we neglect electronic dead times and rejection of detected events, the current solution with its collimator at 15 cm from beam axis can achieve a 1-2 mm standard deviation on range estimation in a homogeneous PMMA target for numbers of protons that correspond to doses in water at Bragg peak as low as 15 cGy at 100 MeV and 25 cGy at 160 MeV assuming pencil beams with a Gaussian profile of 5 mm sigma at target entrance.

This thesis also investigates the applicability of the slit camera for carbon ion therapy. On the basis of Monte Carlo simulations with the code MCNPX version 2.7.E, this type of camera appears not to be able to identify the beam range with the required sensitivity. The feasibility of prompt gamma imaging itself seems questionable at high beam energies given the weak correlation of secondaries leaving the patient.

This work consequently concludes to the relevance of the slit camera approach for real time range monitoring in proton therapy, but not in carbon ion therapy.
Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
The NASA GSFC’s Wallops Flight Facility’s (WFF) Mobile Range Control System (MRCS) is based on the functionality of the WFF Range Control Center at Wallops Island, Virginia. The MRCS provides real time instantaneous impact predictions, real time flight performance data, and other critical information needed by mission and range safety personnel in support of range operations at remote launch sites. The MRCS integrates a PC telemetry processing system (TELPro), a PC radar processing system (PCDQS), multiple Silicon Graphics display workstations (IRIS), and communication links within a mobile van for worldwide support of orbital, suborbital, and aircraft missions. This paper describes the MRCS configuration; the TELPro’s capability to provide single/dual telemetry tracking and vehicle state data processing; the PCDQS’ capability to provide real time positional data and instantaneous impact prediction for up to 8 data sources; and the IRIS’ user interface for setup/display options. With portability, PC-based data processing, high resolution graphics, and flexible multiple source support, the MRCS system is proving to be responsive to the ever-changing needs of a variety of increasingly complex missions.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 20-23, 2003 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Range Safety Systems are used for destruction of a vehicle should a malfunction cause the vehicle to veer off course. All vehicles launched into space require implementation of a Range Safety System. For years the IRIG receivers have been used with relatively good success. Unfortunately, the IRIG receivers do not provide a high level of security. High alphabet receivers were later developed for use on the big launchers (Atlas, Delta, Titan, etc) and the manned missions (Shuttle) to provide added security. With the IRIG based system, several problems have occurred resulting in the loss millions of dollars worth of equipment. Due to the problems that have occurred it has become apparent that there is a need for a more secure, low cost, type of range safety receiver. This paper describes the design and development of the prototype EFTS system. Mission critical parameters are discussed including selection of the encryption and forward error correction algorithms. Actual measured performance including message error rate characteristic is presented.

Accelerated protons are excellent candidates for treating several types of tumours. Such charged particles stop at a defined depth, where their ionisation density is maximum. As the dose deposit beyond this distal edge is very low, proton therapy minimises the damage to normal tissue compared to photon therapy. Nonetheless, inherent range uncertainties cast doubts on the irradiation of tumours close to organs at risk and lead to the application of conservative safety margins. This constrains significantly the potential benefits of proton over photon therapy and limits its ultimate aspirations. Prompt gamma rays, a by-product of the irradiation that is correlated to the dose deposition, are reliable signatures for the detection of range deviations and even for three-dimensional in vivo dosimetry. In this work, two methods for Prompt Gamma-ray Imaging (PGI) are investigated: the Compton camera (Cc) and the Prompt Gamma-ray Timing (PGT). Their applicability in a clinical scenario is discussed and compared. The first method aspires to reconstruct the prompt gamma ray emission density map based on an iterative imaging algorithm and multiple position sensitive gamma ray detectors. These are arranged in scatterer and absorber plane. The second method has been recently proposed as an alternative to collimated PGI systems and relies on timing spectroscopy with a single monolithic detector. The detection times of prompt gamma rays encode essential information about the depth-dose profile as a consequence of the measurable transit time of ions through matter. At Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and OncoRay, detector components are characterised in realistic radiation environments as a step towards a clinical Cc. Conventional block detectors deployed in commercial Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners, made of Cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate - Lu2SiO5:Ce (LSO) or Bismuth Germanium Oxide - Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) scintillators, are suitable candidates for the absorber of a Cc due to their high density and absorption efficiency with respect to the prompt gamma ray energy range (several MeV). LSO and BGO block detectors are compared experimentally in clinically relevant radiation fields in terms of energy, spatial and time resolution. On a different note, two BGO block detectors (from PET scanners), arranged as the BGO block Compton camera (BbCc), are deployed for simple imaging tests with high energy prompt gamma rays produced in homogeneous Plexiglas targets by a proton pencil beam. The rationale is to maximise the detection efficiency in the scatterer plane despite a moderate energy resolution. Target shifts, increase of the target thickness and beam energy variation experiments are conducted. Concerning the PGT concept, in a collaboration among OncoRay, HZDR and IBA, the first test at a clinical proton accelerator (Westdeutsches Protonentherapiezentrum Essen) with several detectors and heterogeneous phantoms is performed. The sensitivity of the method to range shifts is investigated, the robustness against background and stability of the beam bunch time profile is explored, and the bunch time spread is characterised for different proton energies. With respect to the material choice for the absorber of the Cc, the BGO scintillator closes the gap with respect to the brighter LSO. The reason behind is the high energies of prompt gamma rays compared to the PET scenario, which increase significantly the energy, spatial and time resolution of BGO. Regarding the BbCc, shifts of a point-like radioactive source are correctly detected, line sources are reconstructed, and one centimetre proton range deviations are identified based on the evident changes of the back projection images. Concerning the PGT experiments, for clinically relevant doses, range differences of five millimetres in defined heterogeneous targets are identified by numerical comparison of the spectrum shape. For higher statistics, range shifts down to two millimetres are detectable. Experimental data are well reproduced by analytical modelling. The Cc and the PGT are ambitious approaches for range verification in proton therapy based on PGI. Intensive detector characterisation and tests in clinical facilities are mandatory for developing robust prototypes, since the energy range of prompt gamma rays spans over the MeV region, not used traditionally in medical applications. Regarding the material choice for the Cc: notwithstanding the overall superiority of LSO, BGO catches up in the field of PGI. It can be considered as a competitive alternative to LSO for the absorber plane due to its lower price, higher photoabsorption efficiency, and the lack of intrinsic radioactivity. The results concerning the BbCc, obtained with relatively simple means, highlight the potential application of Compton cameras for high energy prompt gamma ray imaging. Nevertheless, technical constraints like the low statistics collected per pencil beam spot (if clinical currents are used) question their applicability as a real-time and in vivo range verification method in proton therapy. The PGT is an alternative approach, which may have faster translation into clinical practice due to its lower price and higher efficiency. A proton bunch monitor, higher detector throughput and quantitative range retrieval are the upcoming steps towards a clinically applicable prototype, that may detect significant range deviations for the strongest beam spots. The experimental results emphasise the prospects of this straightforward verification method at a clinical pencil beam and settle this novel approach as a promising alternative in the field of in vivo dosimetry
Beschleunigte Protonen sind ausgezeichnete Kandidaten für die Behandlung von diversen Tumorarten. Diese geladenen Teilchen stoppen in einer bestimmten Tiefe, bei der die Ionisierungsdichte maximal ist. Da die deponierte Dosis hinter der distalen Kante sehr klein ist, minimiert die Protonentherapie den Schaden an normalem Gewebe verglichen mit der Photonentherapie. Inhärente Reichweitenunsicherheiten stellen jedoch die Bestrahlung von Tumoren in der Nähe von Risikoorganen in Frage und führen zur Anwendung von konservativen Sicherheitssäumen. Dadurch werden die potentiellen Vorteile der Protonen- gegenüber der Photonentherapie sowie ihre letzten Ziele eingeschränkt. Prompte Gammastrahlung, ein Nebenprodukt der Bestrahlung, welche mit der Dosisdeposition korreliert, ist eine zuverlässige Signatur um Reichweitenunterschiede zu detektieren und könnte sogar für eine dreidimensionale in vivo Dosimetrie genutzt werden. In dieser Arbeit werden zwei Methoden für Prompt Gamma-ray Imaging (PGI) erforscht: die Compton-Kamera (CK) und das Prompt Gamma-ray Timing (PGT)-Konzept. Des Weiteren soll deren Anwendbarkeit im klinischen Szenario diskutiert und verglichen werden. Die erste Methode strebt nach der Rekonstruktion der Emissionsdichtenverteilung der prompten Gammastrahlung und basiert auf einem iterativen Bildgebungsalgorithmus sowie auf mehreren positionsempfindlichen Detektoren. Diese werden in eine Streuer- und Absorberebene eingeteilt. Die zweite Methode ist vor Kurzem als eine Alternative zu kollimierten PGI Systemen vorgeschlagen worden, und beruht auf dem Prinzip der Zeitspektroskopie mit einem einzelnen monolithischen Detektor. Die Detektionszeiten der prompten Gammastrahlen beinhalten entscheidende Informationen über das Tiefendosisprofil aufgrund der messbaren Durchgangszeit von Ionen durch Materie. Am Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) und OncoRay werden Detektorkomponenten in realistischen Strahlungsumgebungen als ein Schritt zur klinischen CK charakterisiert. Konventionelle Blockdetektoren, welche in kommerziellen Positronen-Emissions-Tomographie (PET)-Scannern zum Einsatz kommen und auf Cer dotiertem Lutetiumoxyorthosilikat - Lu2SiO5:Ce (LSO) oder Bismutgermanat - Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) Szintillatoren basieren, sind geeignete Kandidaten für den Absorber einer CK wegen der hohen Dichte und Absorptionseffizienz im Energiebereich von prompten Gammastrahlen (mehrere MeV). LSO- und BGO-Blockdetektoren werden in klinisch relevanten Strahlungsfeldern in Bezug auf Energie-, Orts- und Zeitauflösung verglichen. Weiterhin werden zwei BGO-Blockdetektoren (von PET-Scannern), angeordnet als BGO Block Compton-Kamera (BBCK), benutzt, um die Bildgebung von hochenergetischen prompten Gammastrahlen zu untersuchen, die in homogenen Plexiglas-Targets durch einen Protonen-Bleistiftstrahl emittiert werden. Die Motivation hierfür ist, die Detektionseffizienz der Streuerebene zu maximieren, wobei jedoch die Energieauflösung vernachlässigt wird. Targetverschiebungen, sowie Änderungen der Targetdicke und der Teilchenenergie werden untersucht. In einer Kollaboration zwischen OncoRay, HZDR and IBA, wird der erste Test des PGT-Konzepts an einem klinischen Protonenbeschleuniger (Westdeutsches Protonentherapiezentrum Essen) mit mehreren Detektoren und heterogenen Phantomen durchgeführt. Die Sensitivität der Methode hinsichtlich Reichweitenveränderungen wird erforscht. Des Weiteren wird der Einfluss von Untergrund und Stabilität des Zeitprofils des Strahlenbündels untersucht, sowie die Zeitverschmierung des Bündels für verschiedene Protonenenergien charakterisiert. Für die Materialauswahl für den Absorber der CK ergibt sich, dass sich BGO dem lichtstärkeren LSO Szintillator angleicht. Der Grund dafür sind die höheren Energien der prompten Gammastrahlung im Vergleich zum PET Szenario, welche die Energie-, Orts- und Zeitauflösung von BGO stark verbessern. Anhand von offensichtlichen Änderungen der Rückprojektionsbilder zeigt sich, dass mit der BBCK Verschiebungen einer punktförmigen radioaktiven Quelle erfolgreich detektiert, Linienquellen rekonstruiert und Verschiebungen der Protonenreichweite um einen Zentimeter identifiziert werden. Für die PGT-Experimente können mit einem einzigen Detektor Reichweitenunterschiede von fünf Millimetern für definierte heterogene Targets bei klinisch relevanten Dosen detektiert werden. Dies wird durch den numerischen Vergleich der Spektrumform ermöglicht. Bei größerer Ereigniszahl können Reichweitenunterschiede von bis zu zwei Millimetern detektiert werden. Die experimentellen Daten werden durch analytische Modellierung wiedergegeben. Die CK und das PGT-Konzept sind ambitionierte Ansätze zur Verifizierung der Reichweite in der Protonentherapie basierend auf PGI. Intensive Detektorcharakterisierung und Tests an klinischen Einrichtungen sind Pflicht für die Entwicklung geeigneter Prototypen, da der Energiebereich prompter Gammastrahlung sich über mehrere MeV erstreckt, was nicht dem Normbereich der traditionellen medizinischen Anwendungen entspricht. Im Bezug auf die Materialauswahl der CK wird ersichtlich, dass BGO trotz der allgemeinen Überlegenheit von LSO für die Anwendung im Bereich PGI aufholt. Wegen des niedrigeren Preises, der höheren Photoabsorptionseffizienz und der nicht vorhandenen Eigenaktivität erscheint BGO als eine konkurrenzfähige Alternative für die Absorberebene der CK im Vergleich zu LSO. Die Ergebnisse der BBCK, welche mit relativ einfachen Mitteln gewonnen werden, heben die potentielle Anwendung von Compton-Kameras für die Bildgebung prompter hochenergetischer Gammastrahlen hervor. Trotzdem stellen technische Beschränkungen wie die mangelnde Anzahl von Messereignissen pro Bestrahlungspunkt (falls klinische Ströme genutzt werden) die Anwendbarkeit der CK als Echtzeit- und in vivo Reichweitenverifikationsmethode in der Protonentherapie in Frage. Die PGT-Methode ist ein alternativer Ansatz, welcher aufgrund der geringeren Kosten und der höheren Effizienz eine schnellere Umsetzung in die klinische Praxis haben könnte. Ein Protonenbunchmonitor, höherer Detektordurchsatz und eine quantitative Reichweitenrekonstruktion sind die weiteren Schritte in Richtung eines klinisch anwendbaren Prototyps, der signifikante Reichweitenunterschiede für die stärksten Bestrahlungspunkte detektieren könnte. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse unterstreichen das Potential dieser Reichweitenverifikationsmethode an einem klinischen Bleistiftstrahl und lassen diesen neuartigen Ansatz als eine vielversprechende Alternative auf dem Gebiet der in vivo Dosimetrie erscheinen

This thesis presents tools and components necessary to further develop an implementation of a method. The method attempts to use the non invasive electroglottographic signal to locate rapid transitions between voice registers. Implementations for sample entropy and the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) implemented for the programming language SuperCollider are presented along with tools necessary to evaluate the method and present the results in real time. Since different algorithms have been used, both for clustering and cycle separation, a comparison between algorithms for both of these steps has also been done.
Denna rapport presenterar verktyg och komponenter som är nödvändiga för att vidareutveckla en implementation av en metod. Metoden försöker att använda en icke invasiv elektroglottografisk signal för att hitta snabba övergångar mellan röstregister. Det presenteras implementationer för sampelentropi och den diskreta fourier transformen för programspråket SuperCollider samt verktyg som behövs för att utvärdera metoden och presentera resultaten i realtid. Då olika algoritmer har använts för både klustring och cykelseparation så har även en jämförelse mellan algoritmer för dessa steg gjorts.

This project had 2 major objectives. The first objective was to assess how well the revised U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Foraging Habitat Guidelines depict good quality habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) at Camp Lejeune, NC. To accomplish this, I used multiple linear and logistic regression to examine the relationships between fitness, habitat use, home range size, and habitat characteristics described in the guidelines. I assumed that habitat characteristics that confer quality were related to higher fitness, greater habitat use, and reduced home range size. To a large extent, the guidelines are validated. Red-cockaded woodpeckers responded favorably to habitat that mimics the historical, mature, and fire-maintained pine forests of the southeastern U.S., characterized by high densities of large pines, low densities of small and medium pines, and a lush herbaceous groundcover. Variables positively associated with habitat use and fitness were associated with reduced home range size, and those negatively associated with habitat use and fitness with increased home range size. Percent herbaceous groundcover was a significant regressor indicative of quality in every model. The second objective was to assess how well USFWS foraging partitions represent habitat used by red-cockaded woodpeckers. I conducted home range follows of 23 groups of red-cockaded woodpeckers and estimated the percentage of each home range encompassed by partitions of varying radii. The percentage of the actual home range included in the partition increased as a function of partition radius. The standard 800 m circular partition, on average, included 91% of the home range, but significant variation existed between groups.
Master of Science

This project had 2 major objectives. The first objective was to assess how well the revised U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Foraging Habitat Guidelines depict good quality habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) at Camp Lejeune, NC. To accomplish this, I used multiple linear and logistic regression to examine the relationships between fitness, habitat use, home range size, and habitat characteristics described in the guidelines. I assumed that habitat characteristics that confer quality were related to higher fitness, greater habitat use, and reduced home range size. To a large extent, the guidelines are validated. Red-cockaded woodpeckers responded favorably to habitat that mimics the historical, mature, and fire-maintained pine forests of the southeastern U.S., characterized by high densities of large pines, low densities of small and medium pines, and a lush herbaceous groundcover. Variables positively associated with habitat use and fitness were associated with reduced home range size, and those negatively associated with habitat use and fitness with increased home range size. Percent herbaceous groundcover was a significant regressor indicative of quality in every model. The second objective was to assess how well USFWS foraging partitions represent habitat used by red-cockaded woodpeckers. I conducted home range follows of 23 groups of red-cockaded woodpeckers and estimated the percentage of each home range encompassed by partitions of varying radii. The percentage of the actual home range included in the partition increased as a function of partition radius. The standard 800 m circular partition, on average, included 91% of the home range, but significant variation existed between groups.
Master of Science

This thesis seeks to provide guidance on the deployment of Bluetooth sensors for travel time measurement in work zone corridors. The investigation focuses on the detection characteristics of Class 1 and Class 2 Bluetooth devices, and how cultivating an understanding of these characteristics together with the effect of the sensor inquiry cycle length can suggest a more precise method of travel time measurement. This thesis also explores the range of detection location around a Bluetooth sensor in order to recommend a minimum corridor separation of Bluetooth sensors, and to ascertain the best method of Bluetooth travel time derivation. Finally, this thesis investigates these principles further through multiple side-fire deployments on the I-285 corridor in Atlanta, Georgia; as well as two deployments capturing several hours of active work zone travel time.

I determined abundance, movement and activity patterns of the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis jamaicensis, RTHA) in Río Abajo Forest, Puerto Rico and surrounding lands during 2003-2004. Captive-reared Puerto Rican Parrots (Amazona vittata, PRPA) are scheduled for release in Rio Abajo Forest in 2006. Annual density of RTHAs (0.90 RTHAs/km2) was similar to the Caribbean National Forest (CNF; 1.29 RTHAs/ km2). RTHAs annual survival was high (0.89), and birds maintained compressed territories around the Rio Abajo Forest. Home ranges were 91% smaller than estimates reported for CNF, yet similar to those in North America. Approximately 98.3% of RTHA locations occurred outside the Río Abajo Forest boundaries. RTHAs exhibited random macrohabitat use patterns in north-central Puerto Rico. However, within their home ranges, RTHAs selected fragmented habitats with high patch and edge density, and avoided large tracts of dense closed canopy forest. Encounters between RTHAs and PRPAs may increase as parrots venture beyond the boundaries of Rio Abajo Forest.

I Sverige används värdeområden för att fånga de variabler som påverkar värdet av ekonomibyggnader beroende av var de är belägna. Taxeringsvärdet är kopplat till marknadsvärdet. När värdeområden skapas sker en massvärdering som kan baseras på hedoniska värderingsmodeller vilket innebär att marknadsvärdet är en funktion av många olika variabler. Idag används sällan ekonomibyggnader i aktiva lantbruk då många lantbruk har lagt ner sin verksamhet under de senaste årtiondena. Detta leder till att marknadsvärdet för ekonomibyggnader inte längre påverkas av samma variabler som de en gång gjorde.   Målet med arbetet är därför att utreda aktualiteten av dagens värdeområdesindelning för ekonomibyggnader som inte används i lantbruk och att utreda hur dessa ekonomibyggnader bör taxeras. Studien utreder hur marknadsvärdet för ekonomibyggnader ska uppskattas vid taxering och vilken användning ekonomibyggnader har idag. Studien ger även svar på hur marknadsvärdet för ekonomibyggnader påverkas av var de är belägna.   Intervjuer har genomförts med sakkunniga inom området för att kartlägga användningen av ekonomibyggnader idag och hur marknadsvärdet för ekonomibyggnader varierar i olika delar av Sverige i relation till orterna de är belägna vid. En studie genomfördes även för att göra en jämförelse mellan marknadsvärden för ekonomibyggnader och industrier.   Resultatet av studien visar att marknadsvärdet för ekonomibyggnader påverkas av närheten till städer och ”hot spots” för lokala marknader. Där det finns tillgång till kommunikationsleder är avstånden från marknadens centrum till den gräns där marknadsvärdet börjar falla längre. Ekonomibyggnader används ofta som lager, som uthyrningsstall eller till handel.   Slutsatsen är att värdeområden för ekonomibyggnader kan inspireras av pristrenden för industrier utanför städer och att avkastningsmetoden bör användas vid värdering av ekonomibyggnader inför taxering. För varje enskild ort måste dock sakkunniga tillfrågas hur förhållandena ser ut i deras verksamhetsområde, då lokala marknader kan finnas.

Presentationen är redan genomförd.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 26-29, 1992 / Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California
The ethernet technology has vastly improved the capability to make real-time decisions during the flight of a vehicle. This asset combined with a PC telemetry data processor and the power of a high resolution graphics workstation, allows the decision makers to have a highly reliable graphical display of information on which to make vehicle related safety decisions in real-time.

Parental care in animals can be costly and is shared between both parents in many bird species. Not surprisingly, most studies of how parental care is shared between the sexes are in sexually dimorphic species, and much less in known about sexually monomorphic species where sex cannot be determined in the field. This has prevented a full understanding of parental care behaviors – which are intrinsically linked to fitness – in species such as the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) that is experiencing population declines throughout much of its range. In this study we assessed whether Redheaded Woodpecker brooding time, nestling provisioning rates, and nest cleaning rates vary as a function of parent sex, habitat type (savanna and closed canopy forest), brood size, nestling age, temperature and/or date. We recorded and analyzed 128 hours of high-quality video from 21 broods at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia where this species is relatively abundant. We captured and color-banded Red-headed Woodpeckers, taking breast feather samples for genetic sexing, and determined brood size and chick age of nests using an extendable pole camera. Using generalized linear mixed models, we found the best predictor of nestling provisioning was an interaction between chick age and date; older chicks were fed more frequently in early summer (before 7 July) compared to late summer. The seasonal reduction in provisioning could be related to a reduction in resource availability, but whether or not provisioning in later nests affects nestling survival warrants further study. We found chick age and parent sex to be the best predictors in brooding models, with females brooding more when chicks are less than 10 days old and males being the only parent to enter the cavity after 10 days. Additionally, males almost exclusively remove fecal sacs from nests, highlighting an observational method to determine sex of breeding adults in the field. Such division of reproductive roles is similar to what is known for dimorphic woodpecker species and likely indicates energetic constraints due to the need for high parental investment from both sexes. Parental care is inextricably linked with habitat quality and home range size. Parents will travel to obtain the resources necessary to provision their young, and larger home ranges during the demanding nestling provisioning stage may indicate increased effort resulting from fewer available resources near the nest. We estimated home range sizes of 25 breeding adult Red-headed Woodpeckers using PinPoint GPS tags and 95% kernel density estimates (KDEs) with plug-in smoothing factors. We modeled the effects of habitat, sex, nest stage, date, and distance to nearest neighbor on home range estimates. Red-headed Woodpecker males have larger home ranges than females, and late summer home ranges are smaller than those measured before 7 July. More study is needed to determine if sex or date is a stronger factor on home range, given our naive sampling which resulted in more females sampled in late summer and observations that did not continue to the end of the breeding season (late August). Since we found date to be an influential factor to both provisioning rate and home range size, it is possible that seasonal resource changes are an important, unstudied factor related to nationwide declines of this species.