Future of contact lens usage

I was recently part of a small committee looking at higher qualifications in contact lens practice and the discussion turned to future technologies. There was mention of different materials and different applications of contact lenses. Drug delivery with contact lenses was discussed as this has been talked about in the literature for a while. The first paper I could find that talked about using contact lenses for drug delivery dates back over 40 years. There was a review paper in CLAE in 2008 that looked specifically at this too [1]. However, where are these products? Why are we not seeing them in the market place? Maybe the technology is not quite there yet, or maybe patents are prohibiting usage or maybe the market is not big enough to develop such products? We do have lenses on the market with slow release of lubricating agents but not therapeutic agents used for ocular or systemic conditions. Contact lenses with pathogen detectors may be part of our contact lens armoury of the future and again we can already see papers in the literature that have trialled this technology for glucose monitoring in diabetics or lactate concentration in the tear film. Future contact lenses may incorporate better optics based on aberration control and we see this starting to emerge with aspheric designs designed to minimise spherical aberration. Irregular corneas can be fitted with topography based designs and again this technology exists and is being used by some manufacturers in their designs already. Moreover, the topography based fitting of irregular corneas is certainly something we see a lot of today and CLAE has seen many articles related to this over the last decade or so. What about further into the future? Well one interesting area must the 3-dimensional contact lenses, or contact lenses with electronic devices built in that simulate a display screen. A little like the virtual display spectacles that are already sold by electronics companies. It does not take much of a stretch of the imagination to see a large electronic company taking this technology on and making it viable. Will we see people on the train watching movies on these electronic virtual reality contact lenses? I think we will, but when is harder to know.

Proximity Based Authentication in IoT

IoT consists of essentially thousands of tiny sensor nodes interconnected to the internet, each one of which executes the programmed functions under memory and power limita- tions. The sensor nodes are distributed mainly for gathering data in various situations. IoT envisions the future technologies such as e-health, smart city, auto-mobiles automa- tion, construction sites automation, and smart home. Secure communication of data under memory and energy constraints is major challenge in IoT. Authentication is the first and important phase of secure communication. This study presents a protocol to authenticate resource constraint devices in physical proximity by solely using the shared wireless communication interfaces. This model of authentication only relies on the abundance of ambient radio signals to authenticate in less than a second. To evaluate the designed protocol, SkyMotes are emulated in a network environment simulated by Contiki/COOJA. Results presented during this study proves that this approach is immune against passive and active attacks. An adversary located as near as two meters can be identified in less than a second with minimal expense of energy. Since, only radio device is used as required hardware for the authentication, this technique is scalable and interoperable to heterogeneous nature of IoT.

Modelling of changes in electricity end-use and their impacts on electricity distribution

The electricity distribution sector will face significant changes in the future. Increasing reliability demands will call for major network investments. At the same time, electricity end-use is undergoing profound changes. The changes include future energy technologies and other advances in the field. New technologies such as microgeneration and electric vehicles will have different kinds of impacts on electricity distribution network loads. In addition, smart metering provides more accurate electricity consumption data and opportunities to develop sophisticated load modelling and forecasting approaches. Thus, there are both demands and opportunities to develop a new type of long-term forecasting methodology for electricity distribution. The work concentrates on the technical and economic perspectives of electricity distribution. The doctoral dissertation proposes a methodology to forecast electricity consumption in the distribution networks. The forecasting process consists of a spatial analysis, clustering, end-use modelling, scenarios and simulation methods, and the load forecasts are based on the application of automatic meter reading (AMR) data. The developed long-term forecasting process produces power-based load forecasts. By applying these results, it is possible to forecast the impacts of changes on electrical energy in the network, and further, on the distribution system operator’s revenue. These results are applicable to distribution network and business planning. This doctoral dissertation includes a case study, which tests the forecasting process in practice. For the case study, the most prominent future energy technologies are chosen, and their impacts on the electrical energy and power on the network are analysed. The most relevant topics related to changes in the operating environment, namely energy efficiency, microgeneration, electric vehicles, energy storages and demand response, are discussed in more detail. The study shows that changes in electricity end-use may have radical impacts both on electrical energy and power in the distribution networks and on the distribution revenue. These changes will probably pose challenges for distribution system operators. The study suggests solutions for the distribution system operators on how they can prepare for the changing conditions. It is concluded that a new type of load forecasting methodology is needed, because the previous methods are no longer able to produce adequate forecasts.

Propriedades magnéticas quase-estáticas de filmes ferromagnéticos amorfos de FeCuNbSiB

Today, one of the topics that attracts interest of the scientific community is the understanding of magnetic properties of magnetic systems with reduced dimensions, in particular, ferromagnetic thin films. In this case, the comprehension and control of these properties, as well as the development of routes to obtain them, are crucial issues in many aspects of current and future technologies for storage and transmission of information in the electro-electronic industry. There are several materials that exhibit soft magnetic properties, and we highlight the amorphous alloys and that ones obtained by partial crystallization, so-called nanocrystalline materials. The production of these alloys as magnetic ribbons is very common in scientific and technological area, but there are just a few works related to the production of these alloys as thin films. In this work, we studied the quasi-static magnetic properties of ferromagnetic thin films based on FeCuNbSiB in a wide range of thicknesses, from 20 to 500 nm, produced by sputtering. In particular, after the structural characterization performed via X-ray diffraction, the magnetic properties of the sets of samples were investigated using experimental magnetization curve, obtained using a vibrating sample magnetometer, as well as through theoretical curves obtained by theoretical modeling and numerical computation. The modeling process is based on the Stoner Wohlfarth model applied to three dimensions, and adds some energy terms, using as reference experimental results of magnetization. In this case, from the comparison between theoretical and experimental results and the analysis of the constant anisotropy behavior as a function of film thickness, we aim to obtain further information on the magnetization process of the samples, to identify routes for the production of thin films and develop a theoretical to films to use it, in the future, in the obtainment of the theoretical curves of some magnetic measurements, such as magnetoimpedance and magnetoresistance

Stabilizing molecular self-assemblies via on-surface reactions

Für die Realisierung zukünftiger Technologien, wie z.B. molekulare Elektronik, werden Strategien benötigt, um funktionale Strukturen direkt auf Oberflächen zu erzeugen. Für die Bewältigung dieser Aufgabe ist die molekulare Selbstanordnung ein äußerst vielversprechender Bottom-up-Ansatz. Hierbei ist eine der größten Herausforderungen das Zusammenspiel aus intramolekularer Wechselwirkung und der Wechselwirkung zwischen Substrat und Molekülen in ein Gleichgewicht zu bringen. Da jedoch die wirkenden Kräfte der molekularen Selbstanordnung ausschließlich reversibler Natur sind, ist eine langfristige Stabilität fragwürdig. Somit ist die kovalente Verknüpfung der gebildeten Strukturen durch Reaktionen direkt auf der Oberfläche unerlässlich, um die Stabilität der Strukturen weiter zu erhöhen. Hierzu stellt die vorliegende Arbeit eine ausführliche Studie zu molekularer Selbstanordnung und der zielgerichteten Modifikation ebensolcher Strukturen dar. Durch den Einsatz von hochauflösender Rasterkraftmikroskopie im Ultrahochvakuum, welche es erlaubt einzelne Moleküle auf Nichtleitern abzubilden, wurde der maßgebliche Einfluss von Ankerfunktionalitäten auf den Prozess der molekularen Selbstanordnung gezeigt. Des Weiteren konnte die Stabilität der selbst angeordneten Strukturen durch neue Oberflächenreaktionskonzepte entschieden verbessert werden. Der Einfluss von Ankerfunktionen, die elektrostatische Wechselwirkung zwischen Molekül und Substrat vermitteln, auf den Strukturbildungsprozess der molekularen Selbstanordnung wird eingehend durch den Vergleich eines aromatischen Moleküls und seines vierfach chlorierten Derivates gezeigt. Für diese beiden Moleküle wurde ein deutlich unterschiedliches Verhalten der Selbstanordnung beobachtet. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Fähigkeit zur Bildung selbst angeordneter, stabiler Inseln entscheidend durch die Substituenten und die Abmessungen des Moleküls beeinflusst wird. Auch wird in dieser Arbeit die erste photochemische Reaktion organischer Moleküle auf einem Isolator gezeigt. Qualitative und quantitative Ergebnisse liefern ein detailliertes Bild darüber, wie die Abmessungen des Substratgitters die Richtung der Reaktion gezielt beeinflussen. Des Weiteren wird ein allgemeines Konzept zur selektiven Stabilisierung selbstangeordneter Molekülstrukturen durch den kontrollierten Transfer von Elektronen präsentiert. Durch die gezielte Steuerung der Menge an Dotierungsatomen wird die Desorptionstemperatur der molekularen Inseln signifikant erhöht und das Desorptionsverhalten der Inseln entschieden verändert. Diese Arbeit präsentiert somit erfolgreich durchgeführte Strategien um den Prozess der molekularen Selbstanordnung zu steuern, sowie entscheidende Mechanismen um die Stabilisierung und Modifizierung von selbst angeordneten Strukturen zu gewährleisten.

Titanate-based paraelectric glass-ceramics for applications in GHz electronics

Das Gebiet der drahtlosen Kommunikationsanwendungen befindet sich in einem permanenten Entwicklungsprozess (Mobilfunkstandards: GSM/UMTS/LTE/5G, glo-bale Navigationssatellitensysteme (GNSS): GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou) zu immer höheren Datenraten und zunehmender Miniaturisierung, woraus ein hoher Bedarf für neue, optimierte Hochfrequenzmaterialien resultiert. Diese Entwicklung zeigt sich besonders in den letzten Jahren in der zunehmenden Entwicklung und Anzahl von Smartphones, welche verschiedene Technologien mit unterschiedlichen Arbeitsfrequenzen innerhalb eines Geräts kombinieren (data: 1G-4G, GPS, WLAN, Bluetooth). Die für zukünftige Technologien (z.B. 5G) benötigte Performance-steigerung kann durch die Verwendung von auf MIMO basierenden Antennensystemen realisiert werden (multiple-input & multiple-output, gesteuerte Kombination von mehreren Antennen) für welche auf dielectric Loading basierende Technologien als eine der vielversprechendsten Implementierungslösungen angesehen werden. rnDas Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Entwicklung einer geeigneten paraelektrischen Glaskeramik ($varepsilon_{r}$ > 20, $Qf$ > 5000 GHz, |$tau_f$| < 20 ppm/K; im GHz Frequenzbe-reich) im $mathrm{La_{2}O_{3}}$-$mathrm{TiO_{2}}$-$mathrm{SiO_{2}}$-$mathrm{B_{2}O_{3}}$-System für auf dielectric Loading basierende Mobilfunkkommunikationstechnologien als Alternative zu existierenden kommerziell genutzten Sinterkeramiken. Der Fokus lag hierbei auf der Frage, wie die makroskopi-schen dielektrischen Eigenschaften der Glaskeramik mit ihrer Mikrostruktur korreliert bzw. modifiziert werden können. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass die dielektrischen Materialanforderungen durch das untersuchte System erfüllt werden und dass auf Glaskeramik basierende Dielektrika weitere vorteilhafte nichtelektro-nische Eigenschaften gegenüber gesinterten Keramiken besitzen, womit dielektrische Glaskeramiken durchaus als geeignete Alternative angesehen werden können. rnEin stabiles Grünglas mit minimalen Glasbildneranteil wurde entwickelt und die chemische Zusammensetzung bezüglich Entglasung und Redoxinstabilitäten optimiert. Geeignete Dotierungen für dielektrisch verlustarme $mathrm{TiO_{2}}$-haltige Glaskeramiken wurden identifiziert.rnDer Einfluss der Schmelzbedingungen auf die Keimbildung wurde untersucht und der Keramisierungsprozess auf einen maximalen Anteil der gewünschten Kristallphasen optimiert um optimale dielektrische Eigenschaften zu erhalten. Die mikroskopische Struktur der Glaskeramiken wurde analysiert und ihr Einfluss auf die makroskopischen dielektrischen Eigenschaften bestimmt. Die Hochfrequenzverlustmechanismen wurden untersucht und Antennen-Prototypenserien wurden analysiert um die Eignung von auf Glaskeramik basierenden Dielektrika für die Verwendung in dielectric Loading Anwendungen zu zeigen.

(Table 1) UK research stations, refuges and major depots between 1944 and 2010

Globally, areas categorically known to be free of human visitation are rare, but still exist in Antarctica. Such areas may be among the most pristine locations remaining on Earth and, therefore, be valuable as baselines for future comparisons with localities impacted by human activities, and as sites preserved for scientific research using increasingly sophisticated future technologies. Nevertheless, unvisited areas are becoming increasingly rare as the human footprint expands in Antarctica. Therefore, an understanding of historical and contemporary levels of visitation at locations across Antarctica is essential to a) estimate likely cumulative environmental impact, b) identify regions that may have been impacted by non-native species introductions, and c) inform the future designation of protected areas under the Antarctic Treaty System. Currently, records of Antarctic tourist visits exist, but little detailed information is readily available on the spatial and temporal distribution of national governmental programme activities in Antarctica. Here we describe methods to fulfil this need. Using information within field reports and archive and science databases pertaining to the activities of the United Kingdom as an illustration, we describe the history and trends in its operational footprint in the Antarctic Peninsula since c. 1944. Based on this illustration, we suggest that these methodologies could be applied productively more generally.

Development of a methodology and tool to evaluate the impact of ICT measures on road transport emissions

The paper presents the main elements of a project entitled ICT-Emissions that aims at developing a novel methodology to evaluate the impact of ICT-related measures on mobility, vehicle energy consumption and CO2 emissions of vehicle fleets at the local scale, in order to promote the wider application of the most appropriate ICT measures. The proposed methodology combines traffic and emission modelling at micro and macro scales. These will be linked with interfaces and submodules which will be specifically designed and developed. A number of sources are available to the consortium to obtain the necessary input data. Also, experimental campaigns are offered to fill in gaps of information in traffic and emission patterns. The application of the methodology will be demonstrated using commercially available software. However, the methodology is developed in such a way as to enable its implementation by a variety of emission and traffic models. Particular emphasis is given to (a) the correct estimation of driver behaviour, as a result of traffic-related ICT measures, (b) the coverage of a large number of current vehicle technologies, including ICT systems, and (c) near future technologies such as hybrid, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles. The innovative combination of traffic, driver, and emission models produces a versatile toolbox that can simulate the impact on energy and CO2 of infrastructure measures (traffic management, dynamic traffic signs, etc.), driver assistance systems and ecosolutions (speed/cruise control, start/stop systems, etc.) or a combination of measures (cooperative systems).The methodology is validated by application in the Turin area and its capacity is further demonstrated by application in real world conditions in Madrid and Rome.

Sistema de información geográfica Campus Sur UPM

El proyecto que he realizado ha consistido en la creación de un sistema de información geográfica para el Campus Sur UPM, que puede servir de referencia para su implantación en cualquier otro campus universitario. Esta idea surge de la necesidad por parte de los usuarios de un campus de disponer de una herramienta que les permita consultar la información de los distintos lugares y servicios del campus, haciendo especial hincapié en su localización geográfica. Para ello ha sido necesario estudiar las tecnologías actuales que permiten implementar un sistema de información geográfica, dando lugar al sistema propuesto, que consiste en un conjunto de medios informáticos (hardware y software), que van a permitir al personal del campus obtener la información y localización de los elementos del campus desde su móvil. Tras realizar un análisis de los requisitos y funcionalidades que debía tener el sistema, el proyecto ha consistido en el diseño e implementación de dicho sistema. La información a consultar estará almacenada y disponible para su consulta en un equipo servidor accesible para el personal del campus. Para ello, durante la realización del proyecto, ha sido necesario crear un modelo de datos basado en el campus y cargar los datos geográficos de utilidad en una base de datos. Todo esto ha sido realizado mediante el producto software Smallword Core 4.2. Además, ha sido también necesario desplegar un software servidor que permita a los usuarios consultar dichos datos desde sus móviles vía WIFI o Internet, el producto utilizado para este fin ha sido Smallworld Geospatial Server 4.2. Para la realización de las consultas se han utilizado los servicios WMS(Web Map Service) y WFS(Web Feature Service) definidos por el OGC(Open Geospatial Consortium). Estos servicios están adaptados para la consulta de información geográfica. El sistema también está compuesto por una aplicación para dispositivos móviles con sistema operativo Android, que permite a los usuarios del sistema consultar y visualizar la información geográfica del campus. Dicha aplicación ha sido diseñada y programada a lo largo de la realización del proyecto. Para la realización de este proyecto también ha sido necesario un estudio del presupuesto que supondría una implantación real del sistema y el mantenimiento que implicaría tener el sistema actualizado. Por último, el proyecto incluye una breve descripción de las tecnologías futuras que podrían mejorar las funcionalidades del sistema: la realidad aumentada y el posicionamiento en el interior de edificios. ABSTRACT. The project I've done has been to create a geographic information system for the Campus Sur UPM, which can serve as a reference for implementation in any other college campus. This idea arises from the need for the campus users to have a tool that allows them to view information from different places and services, with particular emphasis on their geographical location. It has been necessary to study the current technologies that allow implementing a geographic information system, leading to the proposed system, which consists of a set of computer resources (hardware and software) that will allow campus users to obtain information and location of campus components from their mobile phones. Following an analysis of the requirements and functionalities that the system should have, the project involved the design and implementation of the system . The information will be stored and available on a computer server accessible to campus users. Accordingly, during the project, it was necessary to create a data model based on campus data and load this data in a database. All this has been done by Smallword Core 4.2 software product. In addition, it has also been necessary to deploy a server software that allows users to query the data from their phones via WIFI or Internet, the product used for this purpose has been Smallworld Geospatial Server 4.2 . To carry out the consultations have used the services WMS (Web Map Service) and WFS (Web Feature Service) defined by the OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium). These services are tailored to the geographic information retrieval. The system also consists of an application for mobile devices with Android operating system, which allows users to query and display geographic information related to the campus. This application has been designed and programmed over the project. For the realization of this project has also been necessary to study the budget that would be a real system implementation and the maintenance that would have the system updated. Finally, the project includes a brief description of future technologies that could improve the system's functionality: augmented reality and positioning inside the buildings.

5G innovation opportunities-- A discussion paper

On the shaping of 5G technologies and networks, scope for wider service and applications innovation and UK strengths and opportunities.

Time Reversed Electromagnetic Wave Propagation as a Novel Method of Wireless Power Transfer

We investigate the application of time-reversed electromagnetic wave propagation to transmit energy in a wireless power transmission system. “Time reversal” is a signal focusing method that exploits the time reversal invariance of the lossless wave equation to direct signals onto a single point inside a complex scattering environment. In this work, we explore the properties of time reversed microwave pulses in a low-loss ray-chaotic chamber. We measure the spatial profile of the collapsing wavefront around the target antenna, and demonstrate that time reversal can be used to transfer energy to a receiver in motion. We demonstrate how nonlinear elements can be controlled to selectively focus on one target out of a group. Finally, we discuss the design of a rectenna for use in a time reversal system. We explore the implication of these results, and how they may be applied in future technologies.

Wireless Power Link Design for Both High-Power Inductive Coupling and Smart Metasurfaces Exploitation

As future technologies are going to be autonomous under the umbrella of the Internet of things (IoT) we can expect WPT to be the solution for intelligent devices. WPT has many industrial and medical applications both in the near-field and far-field domains. Considering the impact of WPT, this thesis is an attempt to design and realize both near-field and far-field WPT solutions for different application scenarios. A 27 MHz high frequency inductive wireless power link has been designed together with the Class-E switching inverter to compensate for the efficiency loss because of the varying weak coupling between transmitter and receiver because of their mutual misalignment. Then a system of three coils was introduced for SWIPT. The outer coil for WPT and the inner two coils were designed to fulfil the purpose of communication and testing, operating at frequencies different from the WPT coil. In addition to that, a trapping filter technique has also been adopted to ensure the EM isolation of the coils. Moreover, a split ring resonator-based dual polarization converter has been designed with good efficiency over a wide frequency range. The gap or cuts have been introduced in the adjacent sides of the square ring to make it a dual-polarization converter. The converter is also stable over a wide range of incident angles. Furthermore, a meta-element based intelligent surface has been designed to work in the reflection mode at 5 GHz. In this research activity, interdigital capacitors (IDCs) instead of ICs are introduced and a thin layer of the HfZrO between substrate and meta elements is placed whose response can be tuned and controlled with the applied voltage to achieve IRS.