The use of syntax and multiple alternatives in the VODIS voice operated database inquiry system

The paper describes the architecture of VODIS, a voice operated database inquiry system, and presents some experiments which investigate the effects on performance of varying the level of a priori syntactic constraints. The VODIS system includes a novel mechanism for incorporating context-free grammatical constraints directly into the word recognition algorithm. This allows the degree of a priori constraint to be smoothly varied and provides for the controlled generation of multiple alternatives. The results show that when the spoken input deviates from the predefined task grammar, a combination of weak a priori syntax rules in conjunction with full a posteriori parsing on a lattice of alternative word matches provides the most robust recognition performance. © 1991.

Fibre optic distributed sensor system for condition monitoring of synthetic ropes

Reliability of the measuring devices is very important problem. Optical fibre sensors are very efficient. The use of optical fibre sensors for monitoring the physical and chemical parameters has been expanding over resent years. These sensors are applied for monitoring the structural integrity of long, parallel lay synthetic ropes. Such ropes are corrosion free, however, their operational lifetime under cyclic load is not well understood and premature failure can occur due to slippage and breakage of yarns within the rope. The monitoring system has been proposed which is based on acoustic detection of yarn breakage. Monitoring the strain and temperature is performed using the array of fibre gratings distributed along the rope length.

An experimental model of relay deployment planning tool for a wireless sensor network system to monitor civil engineering structures

It is essential to monitor deteriorated civil engineering structures cautiously to detect symptoms of their serious disruptions. A wireless sensor network can be an effective system for monitoring civil engineering structures. It is fast to deploy sensors especially in difficult-to-access areas, and it is extendable without any cable extensions. Since our target is to monitor deteriorations of civil engineering structures such as cracks at tunnel linings, most of the locations of sensors are known, and sensors are not required to move dynamically. Therefore, we focus on developing a deployment plan of a static network in order to reduce the value of a cost function such as initial installation cost and summation of communication distances of the network. The key issue of the deployment is the location of relays that forward sensing data from sensors to a data collection device called a gateway. In this paper, we propose a relay deployment-planning tool that can be used to design a wireless sensor network for monitoring civil engineering structures. For the planning tool, we formalize the model and implement a local search based algorithm to find a quasi-optimal solution. Our solution guarantees two routings from a sensor to a gateway, which can provide higher reliability of the network. We also show the application of our experimental tool to the actual environment in the London Underground.

Active sensing system with in situ adjustable sensor morphology.

BACKGROUND: Despite the widespread use of sensors in engineering systems like robots and automation systems, the common paradigm is to have fixed sensor morphology tailored to fulfill a specific application. On the other hand, robotic systems are expected to operate in ever more uncertain environments. In order to cope with the challenge, it is worthy of note that biological systems show the importance of suitable sensor morphology and active sensing capability to handle different kinds of sensing tasks with particular requirements. METHODOLOGY: This paper presents a robotics active sensing system which is able to adjust its sensor morphology in situ in order to sense different physical quantities with desirable sensing characteristics. The approach taken is to use thermoplastic adhesive material, i.e. Hot Melt Adhesive (HMA). It will be shown that the thermoplastic and thermoadhesive nature of HMA enables the system to repeatedly fabricate, attach and detach mechanical structures with a variety of shape and size to the robot end effector for sensing purposes. Via active sensing capability, the robotic system utilizes the structure to physically probe an unknown target object with suitable motion and transduce the arising physical stimuli into information usable by a camera as its only built-in sensor. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The efficacy of the proposed system is verified based on two results. Firstly, it is confirmed that suitable sensor morphology and active sensing capability enables the system to sense different physical quantities, i.e. softness and temperature, with desirable sensing characteristics. Secondly, given tasks of discriminating two visually indistinguishable objects with respect to softness and temperature, it is confirmed that the proposed robotic system is able to autonomously accomplish them. The way the results motivate new research directions which focus on in situ adjustment of sensor morphology will also be discussed.

Crosstalk analysis of a fiber laser sensor array system based on digital phase-generated carrier scheme

A detailed study on analyzing the crosstalk in a wavelength division multiplexed fiber laser sensor array system based on a digital phase generated carrier interferometric interrogation scheme is reported. The crosstalk effects induced by the limited optical channel isolation of a dense wavelength division demultiplexer (DWDM) are presented, and the necessary channel isolation to keep the crosstalk negligible to the output signal was calculated via Bessel function expansion and demonstrated by a two serial fiber laser sensors system. Finally, a three-element fiber laser sensor array system with a 50-dB channel-isolation DWDM was built up. Experimental results demonstrated that there was no measurable crosstalk between the output channels.

High-performance multiplexed vibration sensor system based on fiber lasers - art. no. 683019

This paper describes a high-performance multiplexed vibration sensor system using fiber lasers. A serial vibration sensor array consists of four short cavity fiber lasers. The system employs a single, polarization-insensitive, unbalanced Michelson interferometer to translate individual laser wavelength shifts induced by vibration signals into interferometer phase shifts. A dense wavelength division demultiplexor (DWDM) with high channel isolation is inserted to demultiplex each laser signal as a wavelength filter. Finally, a digital phase demodulator based on the phase generated carrier technique is used to achieve high-resolution interrogation. Experimental results show that no observable crosstalk is measured on the output channels, and the minimal detectable acceleration of this system is similar to 200ng/root Hz at 250Hz, which is fundamentally limited by the frequency noise of the lasers.

Unattended ground sensor system based on fiber optic disk accelerometer

The basic principle and critical characteristics of unattended ground sensors (UGS) based on fiber optic disk accelerometers are introduced. Mechanical principles of fiber optic disk accelerometers (FODA) and calculation methods are presented. An FODA with a high sensitivity of 120rad/g and a resonance frequency of 300Hz is designed and used for detection in military affair.