In this thesis, intelligent metamaterial was designed to reduce the peak specific absorption rate (SAR) value. Intelligent metamaterial means that when the antenna is far away from a human head, the metamaterial behaves like air and it does not affect the antenna performance; when the antenna is close to a human head, however, the metamaterial acts like a single negative (SNG) material. We designed two kinds of intelligent metamaterial structures. One makes use of impedance mismatching, and the other makes use of the frequency band shift property to reduce the peak SAR value at the operating frequency. The former structure is broadband, and it can reduce the peak SAR value by 56.7%. The latter structure has a much smaller size compared to the former one, and it is suitable for cellular phone applications. The peak SAR value can be reduced by 40% using the latter structure. The proposed two kinds of the intelligent metamaterial structures do not affect the antenna performance. Finally, the intelligent metamaterial has been applied to a cellular phone. The dimension of the intelligent metamaterial is only 40 mm ¡Ñ 20 mm ¡Ñ 0.8 mm. The intelligent metamaterial does not affect the antenna performance when the antenna is far away from a human head. When the antenna is close to a human head, the peak SAR is reduced by 41.7%.

In this thesis, the circuits are designing with TSMC.18£gm CMOS process and 1.8V of supply voltage. The speed and resolution of ADC are 150MS/s and 12-bits individually. In order to achieve a high speed, low power consumption pipelined ADC. The proposed pipelined stage is replaced Flash ADC by SAR ADC and add an extra comparator to determine one additional bit in sampling phase of pipelined stage. This technique reduces large number of pipelined stage and opamp which is energy-hungry in the pipelined ADC. Second, the SAR ADC provides inherent sample-and-hold mechanism so that the front-end sample-and-hold amplifier circuit is non-need. Third, the SAR ADC can achieve rail-to-rail input signal swing and improve the conversion accuracy rather than Flash ADC. The dynamic comparator is used for lower power consumption for whole circuit. Furthermore, this pipelined ADC implement under a supply voltage as low as 1.8V. The bootstrapped switch is used for controlling the sampling in the front-end. It can reduce the impacts of linearity for operating under low supply voltage. The operation amplifier implement by the partially switched-opamp technique to reduce more power consumption. Finally, the output codes are translated by digital correction circuit, it enhance the comparators input offset error tolerance.

In this thesis, a snake like robot is implemented for search and rescue applications. The snake is intentionally selected as a reference for their ability to move on various environments, but due to the mechanical limitations the implemented snake-like robot design could not be close to the biological counterparts. Although the implemented snake like robot is not a replica of biological snakes / it captured key aspects of snakes such as flexibility, redundancy and high adaptation. To depart from the mechanical limitations / a model of the implemented robot is designed in MATLAB - SIMMECHANICS including a model for the environment. The implemented model is based on the implemented snake like robot but possessed extra features. The model is controlled to perform common snake gaits for navigation. Obstacle avoidance, object (debri or victim) v reaching and object dragging behaviors are acquired for the implemented gaits. Object dragging is accomplished by pushing an object by head or the body of the robot without lifting. For effective navigation, appropriate snake gaits are conducted by the model. All control operations such as obstacle avoidance for each gait and gait selection / a network of self tunable FACL (fuzzy actor critic) fuzzy controllers is used. Although the adapted snake gaits result in the movements which have properties that are not a replica of the real snake gaits, self tunable controllers offered best available combination of gaits for all situations. Finally, truncated version of the controller network, where the implemented mechanical robot&amp / #8217 / s abilities are not breached, is attached to the mechanical robot.

The N-terminal hydrophobic domain of the phage P1 endolysin Lyz was found to facilitate the export of Lyz in a sec-dependent fashion, explaining the ability of Lyz to cause lysis of E.coli in the absence of the P1 holin. The N-terminal domain of Lyz is demonstrated to be both necessary and sufficient not only for export to the membrane but also for release into the periplasm of this endolysin. We propose that this unusual N-terminal domain functions as a "signal arrest- release" (SAR) sequence, which first directs the endolysin to the periplasm in membrane-tethered form and then allows it to be released as a soluble active enzyme in the periplasm. To understand why release from the membrane is required for the physiological expression of the lytic activity of Lyz, we examined the role of its seven cysteine residues in the biogenesis of the active endolysin. The inactive, membrane-tethered and the active, soluble forms of Lyz differ in their pattern of intramolecular disulfide bonding. We conclude that the release of Lyz from the membrane leads to an intramolecular thiol-disulfide bond isomerization causing a dramatic conformational change in the Lyz protein. As a result, an active site cleft that is missing in nascent Lyz is generated in the mature form of the endolysin. Examination of the protein sequences of related bacteriophage endolysins suggests that the presence of an SAR sequence is not unique to Lyz. Studies on holin and antiholin indicated that P1 encodes two holins, LydA and LydC. The antiholin LydB inhibits LydA by binding to it directly on the membrane. All above results demonstrate a new paradigm for control of phage lysis, which is, upon depolarization of the membrane by holin function at a programmed time, endolysin is released from the bilayer leading to the immediate lysis of the host.

<p>This report treats detection in IR-pictures taken from airplanes over the ground. The detection is divided in two parts. First there is a detection with filterkernels with the task to point on targets and objects that look like targets. The second part is a discriminator that demands more calculations and has the task to sort out the false alarms from the discriminator. Both the detector and the discriminator contain thresholds thats been trained from trainingsets of data. The results from the detector was better then expected hence it wasn’t possible to test the diskriminator properly.</p> / <p>Den här rapporten behandlar detektering i IR-bilder som är tagna från flygplan över marken. Detekteringen är i det här arbetet uppdelat i två delar. Först görs en detektering med filterkärnor som har till uppgift att peka ut mål och målliknande objekt. Den andra delen är en diskriminator som är något mer beräkningskrävande och har till uppgift att sortera bort de falskmål som detektorn fått med. Både detektorn och diskriminatorn innehåller trösklar som har tränats fram med träningsdata. Detektorn gav bättre resultat än väntat och diskriminatorn har därför inte kunnat testas ordentligt.</p>

The Successive Approximation Register (SAR) Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) is power efficient and operates at moderate resolution. However, the conversion speed is limited by settling time and control logic constraints. This report investigates a flip-flop bypass technique to reduce the required conversion time. A conventional design and flip-flop bypass design are simulated using a 0.18[micrometer] CMOS process. Background and design of the control logic, comparator, capacitive array, and switches for implementing the SAR ADCs is presented with the emphasis on optimizing for conversion speed. / text

The static linearity test is one of the fundamental production tests used to measure DC performance of analog to digital converters (ADCs). It comes with high test equipment cost. An ADC built-in-self-test (BIST) is an attractive solution. However the stringent linearity requirement for an on-chip signal generator has made it prohibitive. The stimulus error identification and removal (SEIR) method has greatly reduced the linearity requirement. However, it requires a highly stable voltage offset, which remains a daunting task. This work exploits the inherit capacitive sample-and-hold circuit used in various ADC architectures to inject offset with very good constancy. A 16-bit successive approximate register (SAR) ADC with the proposed BIST scheme is modeled and simulated in Matlab to prove its validity. The results show that the estimation error on the maximum INL is less than 0.07 LSB. This BIST solution is then naturally extended to the calibration of an ADC. It is shown missing codes of such ADC can be effectively estimated and calibrated out. / text

El propósito de esta tesis es formular el modelo de ciclo de vida de aprendizaje de sistemas autónomos de robots, la colaboración desde un sistema autónomo de robot, que se encuentra en un estado de evolución superior en el contexto del ciclo de vida propuesto, a un sistema autónomo de robot receptor, explorar una arquitectura para sistemas autónomos de robots (SARs) con un nuevo módulo de planificación en relación a los trabajos de autores anteriores. La colaboración entre sistemas autónomos de robots se debe considerar en el marco de los trabajos anteriores, comenzando Fritz W, el que considera un sistema autónomo inteligente representado por un robot con un planificador clásico, al que García Martínez R, le incorpora la ponderación de planes y mutación de teorías similares, luego Maceri P, incorpora el intercambio de teorías. Sobre estas bases resulta conveniente considerar la extensión y experimentación de mecanismos de colaboración entre SARs en el marco de un ciclo de vida de aprendizaje, donde SARs más evolucionado colaboran con SARs receptores menos evolucionados. Se presenta un modelo y la arquitectura para un ambiente de múltiples sistemas autónomos de robots, experimentándose la actuación del SAR en el marco de la propuesta. Finalmente, considerando que existen propuestas anteriores enunciadas en el marco de sistemas autónomos de robots, resulta necesario la comparación en términos del rendimiento del aprendizaje del sistema autónomo de robot (SAR), entre las propuestas de autores anteriores las que consideran la planificación, ponderación de planes, métodos de mutación de teorías e intercambio de teorías entre SAR y la propuesta de sumar el mecanismo de colaboración para un SAR. / Tesis doctoral de la Facultad de Informática (UNLP). Grado alcanzado: Doctor en Ciencias Informáticas. Director de tesis: Armando De Giusti; co-director: Ramón García Martínez.

Part I: Various image reconstruction algorithms used for subsurface targets are reviewed. It is shown how some approximate wavefield inversion techniques: Stripmap Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Kirchhoff Migration (KM) and Frequency-Wavenumber (FK) migration are developed from various models for wavefield scattering. The similarities of these techniques are delineated both from a theoretical and practical perspective and it is shown that Stripmap SAR is, computationally, almost identical to FK migration. A plane wave interpretation of both Stripmap SAR and FK migration is used to show why they are so similar. The electromagnetic assumptions made in the image reconstruction algorithms are highlighted. In addition, it is shown that, theoretically, FK and KM are identical. Image reconstruction results for KM, Stripmap SAR and FK are shown for both synthetic and experimental Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data. Subjectively the reconstructed images show little difference, but computationally, Stripmap SAR (and therefore, FK migration) are much more efficient. Part II: A preliminary investigation into the use of the Singularity Expansion Method (SEM) for use in identifying landmines is completed using a Finite-Difference Time-Domain code to simulate a simplified GPR system. The Total Least Squares Matrix Pencil Method (TLS-MPM) is used to determine the complex poles from an arbitrary late-time signal. Both dielectric and metallic targets buried in lossless and lossy half-spaces are considered. Complex poles (resonances) of targets change significantly when the objects are buried in an external medium, and perturbation formulae for Perfect Electric Conductor (PEC) and dielectric targets are highlighted and used. These perturbation formulae are developed for homogenous surrounding media, and their utilization for the half-space (layered medium) GPR problem causes inaccuracies in their predictions. The results show that the decay rate (real part) of the complex poles is not suitable for identification in this problem, but that with further research, the resonant frequency (imaginary part) of the complex poles shows promise as an identification feature.

Spatial intensity variation introduced by illumination changes is a challenging problem for image segmentation and classification. Many techniques have been proposed which focus on removing this illumination variation by estimating or modelling it. There is limited research on developing an illumination invariant classification technique which does not use any preprocessing. A major focus of this research is on automatically classifying synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. These are large satellite images which pose many challenges for image classification including the incidence angle effect which is a strong illumination variation across the image. Mapping of full scene satellite images of sea-ice is important for navigational purposes for ships and also for climate research. The images obtained from the RADARSAT-2 satellite are dual band, high quality images. Currently, sea ice chart are produced manually by ice analysts at the Canadian Ice Service. However, this process can be automated to reduce processing time and obtain more detailed pixel-level ice maps. An automated classification algorithm to achieve sea ice and open water separation will greatly help the ice analyst by providing sufficient guidance in the initial stages of creating an ice map. It would also help the analyst to improve the accuracy while finding ice concentrations and remove subjective bias. The existing Iterative Region Growing by Semantics (IRGS) algorithm is not effective for full scene segmentation because of the incidence angle effect. This research proposes a "glocal" (global as well as local) approach to solve this problem. The image is divided in a rectangular grid and each rectangle is segmented using IRGS. This is viewed as an over-segmentation of the original image. Finally, IRGS is used globally to glue together the over-segmented regions. This method yields acceptable results with the denoised images. The proposed technique can also be used for general image classification purposes. Extensive testing was done to investigate the best set of parameters for the proposed approach. Images were simulated with the SAR illumination variation and multiplicative speckle noise. The technique was effective for general classification and attained accurate results for full scene SAR segmentation.