The limited overcrowded radio frequency spectrum compelled researchers to ex plore higher frequency ranges for wireless transmission. In recent decades, visible light communications (VLC) have gained lots of research attention thanks to the abundant bandwidth and the existing lighting infrastructure they offer. Throughout this dissertation, we study the downlink of multi-user VLC systems with the aim of operation and architecture enhancement. In this context, we accommodate the chal lenges imposed by the visible light nature such as illumination requirements and mod ulation constraints. On the operation optimization front, we investigate three VLC setups: indoor single cell, outdoor energy harvesting enabled single cell, and indoor energy harvesting enabled multi-cell VLC systems. We formulate, and provide low complexity solutions to, resource allocation problems for each setup while accounting for scenario-tailored system objectives and quality of service requirements. For the first setup, the temporal average illumination is maintained fixed while maximizing the system SE and dynamic time-division-multiple-access is employed to serve users in an interference free setup. As for the second setup, owing to the favored joint lighting and SE maximization, we solve a multi-objective optimization problem accounting for both objectives. We found that the severity of the illumination - communications tradeoff increases as the available system power budget decreases or the minimum rate requirements get tighter. In the third setup, transmitters average currents and receivers fields of view tuning strategies are developed to maximize both spectral ef ficiency and energy harvesting objectives in an interference limited scenario, where spatial illumination uniformity is required. It is found that receivers fields of view tuning is substantial to performance enhancement in dense deployments. On the architecture optimization front, we propose two intelligent reflecting surfaces-aided VLC systems and derive their power density distribution in the receiver plane. In addition, we prove their power concentration capability and quantify their relative gain with respect to one another and with respect to the reflector-free VLC systems enjoying direct line of sight. Finally, we study the channel impulse response of the proposed reflecting systems and quantify the incurred delay spread through exact ex pression, simplified bounds and asymptotic expressions when the number of reflecting elements grows unboundedly.

The microdots are very small object. The microdots are applied in protection object. The project purpose is to find and to analyze the microdots. The project consists from two parts. A first part describes the hardware sensor construction and a second part describes the software solution. I selected the optics, camera module and illumination in the hardware part. I’m analyzing of the microdots on a picture in software part.

The aim of this thesis was to design and implement the interactive Java applet used for topography 3D optic nerve head visualization. Primary purpose of the 3D vizualization is ophthalmology, especially for diagnosis of glaucoma. More over should serve as a training material, which enables to study the transformation of 2D figures to 3D model and to test the effects of adjustments and regulations to imaging of the model in 3D space. Two program versions were designed in this work using the development system NetBeans version 5.5. Their final realization is implemented as .html application working in web browser window. First version of the designed applet is simple intuitive application with several default settings, so that the figure is opened automatically to 3D model. Subsequently, the applet enables to set the size of the image, 3D depth of the image, smoothing of the surface and selection of monochrome or coloured image. The second version is the extension of the first version of the designed applet, and provides the possibility to display x, y, z axis, depiction of the 3D model surface by dots, curves or grid, and illumination of the surface. Software was tested on available topographic data acquired by HRT equipment and in different web browsers. Technical documentation and user’s manual are also involved in this thesis.

This work is focused on detection of loss in nerve fibre layer on colour pictures of retina, witch are makes by fundus camera. It describe every simple objects of retina, optic nerve head, macula lutea and vascular bed. It detect optic nerve head and his near area, witch is general for detection of breakdownds. It use several metodes of picture adjusting for picture elaboration and objects detection (segmentation, thresholding, enhancement, hough transformation ). The detection of loss in nerve fibre layer is based on comparing of statistic parameters ( average, standart deviation, skewness coefficient and kurtosis coefficient histogram, entropy ) in choosed areas with and withou destruction of nerve layers. Vascular bed have badwatsh on results, cause of this we using hand choosing of essay.

Cílem této práce bylo vytvořit kompaktní algoritmus sloužící k lokalizaci, segmentaci a sledování optického disku v sekvencích obrazů sítnice. Pro účely lokalizace byla použita nová metoda založena na „fast radial transform“. Segmentace optického disku je založena na klasické metodě Chan-Vese, která byla rozšířena o další prvky a implementována v lokalizované podobě, která umožňuje lépe segmentovat obrazy s vysokou mírou nehomogenity. Pro sledování optického disku v sekvencích obrazů byl využit optický tok založený na Lucas-Kanade algoritmu. Všechny metody byly vyhodnoceny na dvou databázích obrazů s odlišnými charakteristikami. První databází je klasická databáze s vysokým rozlišením. Druhou je pak databáze s nízkým rozlišením a vysokou mírou šumu. Všechny výsledky jsou pak porovnány s referenčními hodnotami a vyhodnoceny.

Spatial navigation is a cognitive skill fundamental to successful interaction with our environment. Normal aging is associated with weaknesses in this skill, with severe deficits in the context of Alzheimer's disease. Identifying mechanisms underlying how the aged brain navigates is important to understanding these age-related weaknesses and potentially strengthening or preserving spatial navigation ability in the aging population. One understudied aspect of spatial navigation is self-motion perception. Important to self-motion perception is optic flow, which is the pattern of visual motion experienced while moving through our environment. Several brain regions are optic flow-sensitive (OF-sensitive), responding more strongly to optic flow than other types of visual motion. The goal of the experiments in this dissertation was to examine the role of visual motion perception and cortical motion area dynamics in spatial navigation in cognitively intact aged adults. Visual path integration tasks were used because they highlight the use of radial and translational optic flow to keep track of one’s position and orientation, respectively. In the first experiment, a positive relationship between radial optic flow sensitivity and visual path integration accuracy that was stronger in aged adults was found. In the second experiment, brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while participants performed visual path integration (VPI) and turn counting (TC) tasks. Stronger activity in the OF-sensitive regions LMT+ and RpVIP during VPI, not TC, was associated with greater VPI accuracy in aged adults. In the third experiment, the functional connectivity between OF-sensitive regions and the rest of the brain during the VPI and TC tasks was measured using fMRI. Stronger average functional connectivity between the OF-sensitive regions LMT+, RMT+, LpVIP, RpVIP, LpV6 and right supramarginal gyrus and posterior cingulate during VPI, not TC, was associated with greater VPI task accuracy in aged adults. The results demonstrate novel relationships between visual path integration accuracy and radial motion perception, the response of OF-sensitive cortical regions during visual navigation, and the interaction strength between OF-sensitive regions and parietal cortex during visual navigation in aged adults. This work expands our knowledge of mechanisms underlying spatial navigation processes in the aged human brain.

[pt] A crescente demanda do uso de sistemas de comunicação óptica, seja pelo aumento do número de usuários ou pela quantidade de informação enviada, requer um aumento substancial na necessidade de desenvolvimento de novos sistemas e componentes. A reectometria óptica no domínio do tempo (OTDR) é a técnica mais empregada para detecção de falhas em enlaces de fibra óptica. Em alguns tipos de rede óptica, como é o caso das redes ópticas passivas (PONs), as perdas nos enlaces são muito elevadas devido à presença de splitters, que dividem o sinal para cada usuário (no cenário FTTH) ou cada grupo de usuários (FTTB / FTTA), o que diminui consideravelmente a máxima distância atingida pelo OTDR. Em termos de componentes aplicados à comunicação óptica, aqueles utilizados para a amplificação óptica são de grande importância. Entre eles estão presentes os amplificadores ópticos de semicondutores. Uma forma de vencer as limitações impostas pelas altas perdas está no emprego de um amplificador óptico semicondutor (SOA), que ao mesmo tempo amplifica o sinal e funciona como uma chave, inibindo a emissão de ASE nos intervalos entre os pulsos do OTDR. Ainda assim, o ganho adicional pode ser insuficiente devido à baixa potência de saturação do SOA. Neste trabalho, será desenvolvido experimentalmente um método para superar a limitação de saturação de um SOA e permitir maiores ganhos de amplificação para pulsos de OTDR. O conceito básico consiste em se aproveitar do fato de que o ciclo de uso de um OTDR é relativamente baixo, o que permite subdividir os pulsos em sub-pulsos, amplificá-los um a um e depois recombiná-los, de forma transparente ao OTDR. Com base na ideia proposta acima, nesta dissertação de mestrado terão avaliados métodos usando a polarização e o comprimento de onda dos pulsos. / [en] The growing demand of using optical communication systems, either by increasing the number of users or the amount of information sent, requires a substantial increase in the need to develop new systems and components. The optical time domain re ectometry (OTDR) is the most common technique for detecting faults in fiber optic links. In some types of optical network, such as passive optical networks (PONs), losses in the links are very high due to the presence of splitters that divide the signal to each user (in FTTH scenario) or each user group ( FTTB / FTTA), which considerably reduces the maximum distance reached by the OTDR. In terms of components used for optical communication, those used for optical amplification is of great importance. Among them are present optical semiconductor amplifiers. One way to overcome the limitations imposed by high losses is the use of a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), which at the same time amplifies the signal and acts as a key, inhibiting the emission ASE in the intervals between the OTDR pulses. Still, the additional gain may be insufficient due to low saturation power SOA. This work will develop experimentally a method to overcome the limitation of saturation of an SOA and allow higher amplification gains for OTDR pulse. The basic concept is to take advantage of the fact that the use of an OTDR cycle is relatively low, which allows to split the pulses into sub-pulses, amplify them one by one and then recombine them in a transparent manner to the OTDR. Based on the idea proposed above, this master thesis will be evaluated using methods polarization and wavelength of the pulses.

In this thesis, a method to improve survivability is developed for fiber Bragg gratings under high velocity impact in dynamic body armor shape sensing applications by encasing the fiber in silicone. Utilizing the slipping of the fiber within the silicone channel, a proportionality relationship between the strain of the fiber to the acceleration of the impacting projectile is found and is used to obtain the rate of the back-face deformation. A hybrid model is developed to handle errors caused by the stick-slip of the fiber by fitting an inverse exponential to stuck sections found in a captured strain profile and double integrated to transform the stuck section to its equivalent slipping. Displacement errors below 10% was achieved using the hybrid model. A graphical user interface with a step-by-step walkthrough and a fiber Bragg grating interrogation system was designed for test engineers to utilize this technology. Test engineers from the Army Test Center in Aberdeen, MD were trained on this technology and successfully captured and processed shots using this technology. A method for cutting Silicon through wire-EDM machining is developed by utilizing the photoconductive properties of Silicon. Cut rates for unilluminated and illuminated Silicon was compared and a 3x faster cut was achieved on the illuminated cuts.

Gas sensing is essential for safety and maintenance operations in many industries, including power generation, petrochemical, capture and storage technologies, and the food-processing sector. The properties of fiber-optic sensors make them a superior choice for environmental monitoring applications, especially in extreme conditions, and particularly when compared against conventional electro-optical sensors. Their advantageous properties include immunity to electromagnetic radiation, high temperature durability, high sensitivity and the ability for high resolution detection, as well as multifunctional sensing capabilities such as temperature, humidity, pressure, strain, and corrosion. Among different types of interferometers, Mach-Zehnder Interferometers (MZI) have received significant attention because they are robust, compact, and have high levels of precision. In this dissertation, we present an in-line and compact MZI point sensor designed for sensing refractive index. In comparison with various types of interferometers, fiber MZI based RI sensing was selected based on its enhanced sensitivity and fabrication simplicity. The MZI sensor is developed using photonic crystal fiber and demonstrated for high sensitivity detection and measurement of pure gases. The transmission spectrum of MZI sensors is formed by interference between the cladding and core modes. To construct the device, the sensing element fiber was placed and aligned between two single-mode fibers with air gaps at each side. Two linear-translation micro stages were used to accurately differ and adjust gap lengths from 0 to 5mm. Great measurement repeatability was shown in the cyclic test for the detection of various gases such as methane and helium. A high RI measurement resolution of 2.1 E-7 and a sensitivity of 4629 nm/RIU was achieved, which is among the highest reported. Results show that the sensitivity of the fabricated MZI increases from 3000 nm/RIU to 4600 nm/RIU when the length of the sensing element fiber decreases from 5 mm to 3.3 mm. Furthermore, the device was packaged to demonstrate the laboratory-scale monitoring, as well as leakage detection of different concentrations of CO2 in both subsurface soil and aqueous environments. Two water resistant but gas permeable membranes were used to package the sensor, to achieve a good balance of CO2 permeability and water resistance. The experimental study of this work reveals the great potential of the fiber-optic approach for environmental monitoring of CO2. This study also explores other potential applications. Three types of sensors were fabricated using the proposed configuration employing 4 mm stub of (i) solid core Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF), (ii) 10 µm Hollow core PCF (HC-PCF), and (iii) 20 µm HC-PCF as the sensing elements. We compared the performance of these sensors for detecting and measuring the quantity of gas present. As the transmission signals correspond to the frequency components in the sensor’s Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) spectrum, the effect of gap distance on the number and amplitude distribution of the modes was examined in an effort to optimize the design elements. The MZI sensors are highly sensitive to low percentages of CH4 and CO2, making them suitable for greenhouse gas measurement. / Graduate

Path integration is a navigational process that humans and animals use to track changes in their position and orientation. Animal and computational studies suggest that a spatially-tuned navigation system supports path integration, yet this system is not well understood in humans. Here, the prediction was tested that path integration mechanisms and goal-directed navigation in humans would recruit the same key brain regions within the parietal cortex and medial temporal lobes as predicted by animal and computational models. The three experiments described in this dissertation used behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging methods in 131 adults (18-35 years) to examine behavioral and brain correlates of navigation. In a landmark-free environment, path integration mechanisms are utilized to update position and orientation to a goal. Experiment 1 examined neural correlates of these mechanisms in the human brain. The results demonstrated that successful first and third person perspective navigation recruited the anterior hippocampus. The posterior hippocampus was found to track distance and temporal proximity to a goal location. The retrosplenial and posterior parietal cortices were additionally recruited for successful goal-directed navigation. In a landmark-rich environment, humans utilize route-based strategies to triangulate between their position, landmarks, and navigational goal. Experiment 2 contrasted path integration and landmark-based strategies by adding a solitary landmark to a sparse environment. The results demonstrated that successful navigation with and without an orienting landmark recruited the anterior hippocampus. Activity in the bilateral posterior hippocampus was modulated by larger triangulation between current position, landmark, and goal location during first person perspective navigation. The caudate nucleus was additionally recruited for landmark-based navigation. Experiment 3 used functional connectivity methods coupled with two fMRI tasks to determine whether areas responsive to optic flow, specifically V3A, V6, and the human motion complex (hMT+), are functionally connected to brain regions recruited during first person perspective navigation. The results demonstrated a functional relationship between optic flow areas and navigationally responsive regions, including the hippocampus, retrosplenial, posterior parietal, and medial prefrontal cortices. These studies demonstrate that goal-directed navigation is reliant upon a navigational system supported by hippocampal position computations and orientation calculations from the retrosplenial and posterior parietal cortices.