SammanfattningExamensarbetet har syftat till att undersöka möjligheten att utrusta Husqvarnas autonomagräsklippare med avståndssensorer. Dessa ska hindra gräsklipparen från att kollidera med hinder i sinomgivning. Gräsklipparen arbetar i en miljö där väder, temperatur, ljusförhållanden och underlagvarierar kraftigt. Detta innebär att kravet på sensorerna är högt.Av de sensorer som undersökts har det visat sig att ultraljud och ”structured light” är de system sombäst skulle kunna uppfylla all dessa krav till ett rimligt pris.I examensarbetet undersöks därför ultraljudssensorer från företaget Maxbotix närmare ochimplementeras i en prototyp. Fyra stycken sensorer placeras på gräsklipparens kaross. Dessakommunicera med en mikrokontroller som i sin tur förmedlar mätdata till en dator. På datorn körsen sökalgoritm som tolkar och sammanfogar sensorernas mätdata.Efter ett antal tester visar det sig att de sensorer som valts inte uppfyller de krav som ställts. Dockbör den metod och algoritm som används kunna uppfylla kraven om en annan typ av sensor används. / AbstractThis master thesis is aiming to investigate the possibility of adding distance sensors to Husqvarna’sautonomic lawnmower. The goal is to prevent the lawnmower from colliding with obstacles in itssurroundings. The environment where the lawnmower is working is very dynamic in sense ofweather, temperature, ambient lightning and terrain. This gives high requirements on the sensors.Of all the sensors that were examined, ultrasonic and structured lightning came out as the ones bestfit to fill these requirements to a reasonable cost.In this thesis ultrasonic sensors from Maxbotix were implemented on a prototype. Four sensors wereplaced on the lawnmower body and connected to a microcontroller. The microcontroller then passesalong the sensor data to a computer that is running a search algorithm. The algorithm is used tointerpret the data and merge the different measurements.After certain amount of testing it was shown that the chosen sensor did not meet all therequirements. However the method and the chosen algorithm should suffice with another type ofsensor.

Applications for lab-on-a-chip devices have been expanding rapidly in the last decade due to their lower required volume of sample, faster experiments, smaller tools, more control, and ease of parallelization compared to their macroscale counterparts. Moreover, lab-on-a-chip devices provide important capabilities, including isolating rare cells from body fluids, such as isolating circulating tumor cells from blood or peritoneal fluid, which are not feasible or at least extremely difficult with macroscale devices. Particles experience different forces (and/or torques) when they are suspended in a fluid in a microdevice. A dominant force is the drag force on the particle as it flows through the fluid.  External forces such as dielectrophoresis, the motion of a particle due to its polarization in the presence of a non-uniform electric field, may also be applied. For instance, well-specified mixing or separation of particles can be achieved by using the combination of drag and dielectrophoretic forces. Two major mechanisms for manipulating particles in a microdevice include control of forces applied to the particles, such as those due to electric and velocity fields, and the geometry of the device that affects the nature of these fields. The coupling between the geometry of the microdevices and applied fields makes the prediction of associated forces inside the microdevice challenging and increasingly difficult when the applied field is time-dependent. Understanding the interaction of external forces and particles and fluid is critical for engineering novel microsystems. Determining this interaction is even more complicated when dealing with bioparticles, especially cells, due to their complex intrinsic biological properties which influence their electrical and mechanical properties. Particles with non-spherical geometries further increase the complexity, making drag and other shape-dependent forces, such as dielectrophoretic force, less predictable and more complicated. In order to introduce more complexity to the system and maintain precise control over particle movement and fluid flow, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding about the mechanics of particles-fluid interaction and the dynamics of the particle movement. Although microfluidics has been investigated extensively, unanswered questions about the effect of forces on the particle remain. Answering these questions will facilitate designing novel and more practical microdevices for medical, biological, and chemical applications Microfluidics devices were engineered for differentiation of subpopulations of cells based on their bioelectrical properties. These microdevices were utilized for separating prostate, leukemia, and three different stages of breast cancer cells from hematologic cells with concentrations as low as 1:106 with efficiency of >95%. The microfluidic platform was also utilized to isolate prostate cancer stem cells (CSCs) from normal cancer cells based on their electrical signature. Isolating these cells is the first step towards the development of cancer specific therapies. The signal parameters required to selectively isolate ovarian cancer cells at different cancer stages were also compared with peritoneal cells as the first step in developing an early diagnostic clinical system centered on cell biophysical properties. Moreover, the effect of non-toxic concentrations of two metabolites, with known anti-tumor and pro-tumor properties, on the intrinsic electrical properties of early and late stages of ovarian cancer cells was investigated. This work is the first to show that treatment with non-toxic doses of these metabolites correlate with changes in cells electrical properties. / Ph. D.

Muscular rehabilitation is essential for injury or surgery recovery by restoring strength, flexibility, and range of motion to the affected joints and muscles. It can also improve posture correction and performance by strengthening weak areas, reducing the risk of injury, and managing chronic conditions like arthritis, osteoporosis, or chronic pain. Currently, there is only physical therapy for these problems, and the treatment is in person at a specific location, such as a hospital or a clinic. Other works proposed mounting surface electromyography to recognize muscle activation patterns or wrist-forearm for muscle fatigue or using cameras to video call for sessions. Regrettably, such works put the patient’s privacy or comfort in danger. Our proposed solution is a radar and machine learning-based monitoring and classification of rehabilitation exercises. This RF-based system can accurately monitor and classify exercises that are part of the treatment for a specific need and in the privacy of the patient’s house. The proposed solution uses the RF reflections of the body and the environment. It uses these signals to analyze them in a machine learning algorithm to classify the exercise the person executes. This solution could be used anywhere in the home by any patient with minimal setup effort. Our results, done by four subjects in their own homes, show that the already trained model can classify with an accuracy of 87% to 97%.

The dissertation presented here describes two research projects that may, at first glance, seem unrelated. Their unifying principle is the measurement of electrical impedance for the detection and analysis of biological materials. Impedance measurements have long been employed and studied in scientific fields, and the dissertation begins with a summary of historical methodology, applications, and terminology. Utilizing impedance measurements for microscopic imaging is the driving motivation for Scanning Impedance Imaging (SII). This technique manifests the distribution of electrical impedance inside biological tissues and is described after the dissertation's introduction. SII can provide micron-scale imaging resolution by scanning a shielded microprobe over a sample placed on a conducting plane. A known voltage is applied to the microprobe and the sample immersed in a conductive aqueous medium. Both the probe height and the shield spacing were evaluated and optimized and two hardware configurations were developed to implement image scanning. A combined value ρh (resistivity × height) was used to represent impedance for heterogeneous samples. Experiments on photosensitive polymers, a butterfly wing, an oxide coated silicon wafer and cancer cells were performed and impedance images obtained. Impedance measurements for sensitive detection are demonstrated using a microchip capable of capillary electrophoresis separations. The chip was built using exclusively thin film deposition techniques, fully compatible with microelectronics batch processing. Standard photolithography provided control of the spacing between impedance measurement electrodes used in and overall channel geometry. The chip's performance was tested using concentrations of sodium chloride and calcium chloride ranging from 1 µM to 1 mM in a 5 mM MES/His buffer. Separations were performed by applying different voltages to reservoirs positioned at the four fluid channel openings. Impedance detection was performed by applying a small AC voltage (1 Vrms, 250 kHz) to the insulated electrodes positioned inside the fluid channels. Electropherograms were obtained and signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) was calculated. Measurements indicated that the trend of S/N as a function of molar concentrations was consistent with bulk conductivity tests and the chip's detection limit was below 1 µM for both sodium and calcium cations.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka framtidsutsikter och utmaningar för kontaktlös betalningsmetod som är NFC-baserad. Detta mynnade ut i frågor som undersökte kring varför enbart ett fåtal banker valt att satsa på kontaktlösa betalkort, vilka utmaningar som NFC-baserade betalningar står inför i den svenska marknaden och även vilka framtidsutsikter den kontaktlösa betalningsmetoden har i den svenska betalningsbranschen. För att svara på dessa frågor, tillämpades en kvalitativ fallstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Två respondenter från varsin bank som infört kontaktlös betalningsmetod i Sverige intervjuades, likaså en respondent från en bank som inte hade infört kontaktlös betalningsmetod i Sverige och ytterligare två respondenter från en annan bank som inte infört kontaktlösa betalningsmetoder i Sverige. Utöver detta, intervjuades även en forskare från Sveriges riksbank och en konsult som arbetar inom ett forum för kontaktlös betalningsmetod. Studien påvisade att anledningen till att ett fåtal banker erbjudit kontaktlös betalningsmetod till sina kunder var till följd av att Sverige varit relativt sena med att byta från magnetremsa som betalningsmetod till chip och PIN, vilket gjort att man ogärna investerade i kontaktlös betalningsmetod. Utmaningar som kontaktlös betalningsmetod står inför är att se till att infrastrukturen utökas i Sverige samt informera kunder om kontaktlös betalningsmetod. Framtidsutsikterna för kontaktlös betalningsmetod är positiva och tanken bland flera aktörer är att kontaktlös betalningsmetod ska vara väldigt utbrett i Sverige år 2020. / The purpose of this research was to investigate future prospects and challenges regarding contactless payment method which is based on NFC. These lead to the formulation of questions which researched why only a few banks had chosen to employ contactless payment cards, which challenges that NFC-based payments are facing in the Swedish market, and also which future prospects the contactless payment method has in the Swedish payment market. In order to answer these questions, a qualitative case study with semi-structured interviews was utilized. Interviews were conducted with two respondents from respective banks which had introduced contactless payment in Sweden while additional interviews were conducted with one respondent from a bank which had not introduced contactless payment in Sweden and two respondents from another bank which had not introduced contactless payment methods in Sweden. In addition to this, one respondent from the central bank of Sweden and one consultant working within a forum regarding contactless payment have been interviewed. The study showed that the reason to why few banks have offered contactless payment method to their customers was due to that Sweden had been relatively late in regards to changing from magnetic strip as a payment method to chip and PIN, which resulted in that the market participants did not wish to invest in the contactless payment method. Challenges which the contactless payment method is facing, is to make sure that the infrastructure will be increased in Sweden, and inform customers about the contactless payment method. The future prospects for the contactless payment methods are positive and the intention among several market participants is that the contactless payment method will be very widespread in Sweden 2020.

Dynamic characteristics of machining systems are analysed for improved understanding of both structural and process properties. The thesis stresses the use of testing methods under operational like conditions as these are more representative of closed loop systems, such as machining systems, as compared to conventional testing methods. The test instrument proposed is a contactless excitation and response system, developed for testing of machine tool spindles under load and with rotating spindle. The instrument uses electromagnetic excitation and displacement sensors for analysis of rotating milling tools subject to load. A graphical tool for displaying and analysing rotor displacement was developed in conjunction with this. A modelling procedure for both off-line and on-line estimation of dynamic properties of mechanical structure and process information is presented. The proposed auto-regressive moving average models enable calculation of operational dynamic parameters and they can be estimated in a recursive manner, thus enabling real-time monitoring. The discrimination between stable and unstable processes, both in turning and milling, was performed by analysing the damping obtained from the operational dynamic parameters. / <p>QC 20170330</p>

This work deals with dual detection of organic and inorganic analytes after separation by capillary zone electrophoresis. In the first part, two types of hydrodynamic sampling are tested. Standard hydrodynamic sampling most often used in laboratory-made electrophoretic apparatus, based on lifting the vessel with the sample, in which the sampling end of the capillary is immersed, and a new method based on increasing the pressure in the sampling vessel without moving the capillary. This sampling procedure minimizes experimenter activity because it is controlled by software. Experimenter only changes vessel containing the sample solution for one with separation electrolyte. The experimental parameters, the sampling time and pressure, are optimized to achieve maximum separation efficiency and adequate detection sensitivity. In the second part of the work, the developed method is tested for the separation of amino-acids in a biological sample (urine).

O trabalho descrito nesta tese mostra a aplicação de um sistema de detecção condutométrica sem contato acoplado capacitivamente (C4D) para monitorar interações biomoleculares em microssistemas analíticos. Inicialmente, o desempenho analítico de microssistemas fabricados em vidro, poli(dimetilsiloxano) (PDMS) e poliéster-toner (PT) foi avaliado de modo a escolher o melhor material (em termos de facilidades de fabricação, custo e repetibilidade) para os ensaios biomoleculares. Dentre os materiais estudados, os dispositivos fabricados em PT mostraram-se mais adequados para testes rápidos, onde a repetibilidade analítica não é o parâmetro mais importante. Os dispositivos fabricados em PDMS e selados contra uma placa de vidro apresentaram os melhores resultados em termos de repetibilidade e o desempenho analítico foi similar aos dispositivos de vidro. Dessa maneira, os dispositivos fabricados em PDMS/vidro foram escolhidos para a demonstração dos objetivos da tese. Por outro lado, os dispositivos fabricados em PT foram explorados para estudar a configuração geométrica do sistema de C4D. A instrumentação para monitoramento dos ensaios de ligação foi composta basicamente de dois sistemas de C4D, um software escrito em LabVIEW e um sistema de bombeamento das soluções. De modo a encontrar a configuração ideal da cela de detecção, geometrias contendo três, quatro e cinco eletrodos foram avaliadas em dispositivos de PT. A configuração ótima foi composta de três eletrodos, espaçados simetricamente. Nesta geometria, um eletrodo é utilizado para aplicar o sinal senoidal de excitação e os outros dois são utilizados para capturar o sinal resultante. As dimensões dos eletrodos (largura e espaçamento entre eles) foram otimizados usando ferramentas quimométricas. O complexo avidina-biotina foi utilizado como modelo de ligação para mostrar a aplicabilidade do sistema proposto. Para os microssistemas biomoleculares, os eletrodos (com geometria otimizada) foram fabricados sobre a superfície de uma placa de vidro por fotolitografia, sputtering e lift-off. Os eletrodos de detecção foram isolados com uma camada de óxido de silício com espessura de 50 nm, depositada pelo processo de deposição química em fase de vapor assistida por plasma. A camada de SiO2 foi modificada quimicamente com solução de 3-amino-propil-trietóxi-silano em etanol. Para imobilização covalente de biotina, uma alíquota de 10 ?L de fotobiotina dissolvida em água (0,1 mg/mL) foi adicionada à superfície e exposta a radiação ultravioleta (365 nm, 10 mW/cm2) durante 15 min. A detecção foi realizada aplicando um sinal senoidal, a partir de um gerador de funções, ao eletrodo de excitação registrando o sinal resultante nos dois eletrodos receptores. Para minimizar a captura de ruído elétrico, os experimentos foram realizados em uma gaiola de Faraday. O controle e a aquisição de dados foi feito mediante um software escrito em LabVIEW monitorando os sensorgramas de condutividade em tempo real. Os canais microfluídicos foram fabricados em PDMS por litografia suave e selados irrevesivelmente contra a placa de vidro contendo os eletrodos isolados e modificados quimicamente. As soluções (tampão e amostra) foram manuseadas com auxílio de uma bomba peristáltica ou duas bombas seringas. Soluções contendo tampão e avidina foram introduzidas nos microcanais e as mudanças de conductividade foram monitoradas em função do tempo. As soluções contendo avidina permaneceram em contato com a superfície modificada até o sinal de condutividade atingir um patamar de equilíbrio. Depois disso, solução tampão foi introduzida no microcanal para remover os analitos adsorvidos à superfície. Duas válvulas solenóides foram utilizadas para permitir um controle automático da distribuição das soluções nos microcanais. O limite de detecção obtido para a interação entre avidina e biotina foi de 75 nmol L-1. / The study reported in this thesis shows the application of a capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C4D) for monitoring biomolecular interactions on analytical microsystems. Initially, the analytical performance of the microsystems fabricated in glass, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and polyester-toner (PT) was investigated in order to choose the best material (in terms of fabrication facilities, costs and repeatability) for the biomolecular assays. Among all substrate materials studied, devices fabricated in PT showed suitability for quick experiments, in which the analytical repeatability is not the most important parameter. The devices fabricated in PDMS and sealed against a glass plate presented the best results in terms of repeatability and the analytical performance was similar to that one of glass devices. For this reason, PDMS/glass devices were chosen for showing the goals of this thesis. On the other hand, PT devices were employed to study the geometrical design of the C4D system. The instrumentation for monitoring binding assays was basically composed of two C4D systems, a software written in LabVIEW and a solution pumping system. In order to find the suitable detection cell configuration for this dual-C4D system, designs containing three, four and five electrodes were evaluated on PT devices. The optimal design was composed of three electrodes symmetrically spaced. In this configuration, one electrode is used for applying an excitation sinusoidal wave and the other two for picking up the resulting signal. The dimensions of the electrodes (width and gap) were optimized by chemometric tools. The avidin-biotin complex was used as a binding model for showing the feasibility of the proposed system. For the biomolecular microsystems, electrodes were fabricated on glass surface using photolithographic, sputtering and lift-off processes. Detection electrodes were insulated with a 50-nm silicon oxide layer deposited by plasmaenhanced chemical vapor deposition. The SiO2 layer was functionalized by immersing the cleaned surface in a 3-aminopropyltriethoxy-silane solution in ethanol for 3 h. For biotinylation of the amino-silane layer, 10 ?L of photobiotin dissolved in deionized water (0.1 mg/mL) was dropped on the modified glass surface and exposed to a 365 nm UV radiation at intensity of 10 mW/cm2 for 15 min. Detection was carried out by passing a sinusoidal excitation signal from the function signal generator to the first electrode and picking up the resulting signal at the two receiver electrodes. To reduce electrical noise pickup, all measurements were carried out in a Faraday cage. The data acquisition was obtained in a software written in LabVIEW and the conductivity sensorgrams were recorded in real-time. The microfluidic network was fabricated in PDMS by soft lithography and irreversibly sealed against the electrodes plate. Solutions were handled into microfluidic channels using a peristaltic pump or two syringe pumps. Buffer and avidin-containing solution was injected into the microchannels and conductivity changes were monitored over time. Avidin solutions were allowed to remain in contact with the surface until a stable conductivity had reached equilibrium. Avidin-free buffer solutions were then injected to rinse off non-specifically bound analytes. Two solenoid valves were used to allow an automatic dispensing of the sample/buffer solution into microchannels. The limit of detection found for avidin-biotin system was 75 nmol L-1.

Neste trabalho, foram efetuados estudos sobre o comportamento eletroforético dos íons hidrônio (H3O+) e hidroxila (OH-) utilizando eletroforese capilar em zona em meio não-tamponado e detecção condutométrica sem contato. Alterações na composição do eletrólito de corrida devido à eletrólise foram evitadas empregando um sistema de eletrólise separada. A determinação de ácidos com pKas menores ou iguais ao pH do eletrólito de corrida foi possível. A possibilidade da análise em bases fortes também foi demonstrada. Eletrólitos de corrida com pH entre 4,5 e 7,0 (para o H3O+) e entre 7,0 e 9,0 (para o OH-) mostraram-se favoráveis para a análise. Ambas as espécies apresentaram interação com os grupos silanóis do capilar. Dificuldades na análise do íon OH- decorreram também de: reação da sílica com o analito e com o eletrólito de corrida e absorção de CO2 atmosférico. A mobilidade do íon H3O+ medida foi 8% abaixo da obtida por outras técnicas. A curva para determinação de OH- em base forte, com solução de trifluoracetato de lítio 10 mmol L-1 (pH 8,5) como eletrólito de corrida, mostrou boa linearidade na faixa de 0,5 a 7,0 mmol L-1. As curvas de quantificação de H3O+ titulável em amostras de ácidos fortes, fracos e suas misturas, com solução de LiCl (pH 5,5) como eletrólito de corrida, apresentaram ampla faixa de resposta linear, com boa linearidade, ao redor de 0,05 a 10 mmol L-1. / In this work, studies about the electrophoretic behavior of hydronium (H3O+) and hydroxyl (OH-) ions using capillary zone electrophoresis in unbuffered medium and contactless conductity detection were developed. Variations in running electrolyte composition due to electrolysis were avoided using an electrolysis separated system. The analysis of acids with the same or lower pKa than the running electrolyte pH was possible. The possibility of strong bases analysis was demonstrated as well. Good results were achieved using running electrolytes with pH between 4.5 and 7.0, for H3O+ analysis, and between 7.0 and 9.0, for OH- analysis. Both species interacted with the silanol groups of silica capillary. Other problems in the determination of OH- were: reaction of silica with the analyte as well as with the running electrolyte and absorption of atmospheric CO2. The H3O+ mobility calculated was 8% lower than values obtained in the literature. Analytical curve of OH- ion in strong base, using 10 mmol L-1 litium trifluoracetate (pH 8.5) as running electrolyte, resulted in good linearity in a range of 0.5 to 7.0 mmol L-1. Analytical curves of titrable hydronium ion in samples of strong and weak acids, as well in their mixture, using 10 mmol L-1 LiCl (pH 5.5) as running electrolyte, resulted in wide linear range (0.05 mmol L-1 to 10 mmol L-1).

Design techniques for heterogeneous three-dimensional (3-D) integrated circuits are developed in this thesis. Heterogeneous 3-D integration is a platform for multifunctional, high performance, and low power electronics. For the advancement of heterogeneous 3-D ICs, contactless solutions are investigated to implement inter-tier communication between tiers manufactured with disparate processes and heterogeneous technologies. Two challenges for the development of contactless inter-tier communication are addressed, the design of energy efficient, heterogeneous inductive link transceivers and the impact of crosstalk noise due to the on-chip spiral inductors. Inter-tier communication between circuits fabricated with disparate technologies requires transceivers capable of operating at dissimilar voltages. A low power transceiver design methodology is proposed exploiting the difference in the core voltage between disparate manufacturing processes in a 3-D system in package. A transceiver is designed to provide inter-tier communication between a sensing layer, designed in a commercial 0.35 Âμm process and a processing layer, designed in an advanced 65 nm process. A significant gain in the power consumed by the transceiver is shown compared to equivalent state-of-the-art prototypes, profiting by the tradeoff between the core voltage and sensing ability of the transceiver circuit in each process. Due to their wireless nature, however the use of inductive links introduces crosstalk noise due to the coupling between the on-chip inductor and on-chip interconnects in the vicinity of the inductor. The noise caused by the inductor on the power distribution network of an integrated system is explored, analysed, and modelled through electromagnetic simulations. The spatial distribution of the noise is described for several power distribution topologies to determine the preferred placement solution for the power and ground network in the vicinity of the inductor, considering the impact on other sources of noise, such as the resistive drop. Depending upon the power distribution network topology, the induced noise can be reduced up to 70% when the additional noise caused by the inductive link is considered by the routing algorithm. Additionally, a methodology utilising an analytic model is proposed for the evaluation of the crosstalk noise without resorting to electromagnetic simulations. A closed-form magnetostatic model is developed to assess the mutual inductance between the on-chip inductor and the power distribution network. Utilising the mutual inductance model, the crosstalk noise is evaluated with SPICE simulations. A signifcant benefit in speedup is achieved, up to four orders of magnitude for determining the mutual inductance and up to 4.7× for the assessment of the crosstalk noise. The accuracy of the model is within 10% of the electromagnetic simulation.