During this project we have designed a new type of antenna that uses an array of antenna elements in order to emit electromagnetic radiation as signals and to be able to control the beam. After an extended time the design yielded a simulation which had the correct characteristics. After printing and constructing a prototype of the antenna it was tested in an anechoic chamber at Uppsala University. The array was divided into two different sub-arrays: the upper and the lower sub-arrays. Each of these consisted in itself of two sides: the long and the short sides. Each side had seven radiating elements, during the tests only one of the two sub-arrays (upper or lower) was running. Both sub-arrays are excited via a rat-race or 90 degree coupler. While the antenna was running it had 14 radiating elements and two phase shifters, two per sub-array and two per side. The idea was for a signal to travel passing the radiating elements and the phase shifter which would steer the induced electromagnetic signal in one direction, a traveling-wave array. This direction could be changed since the phase shifters were configurable in three different states per phase shifter, hence the induced electromagnetic beam was steerable. The beam was also steerable through the feed which was re-configurable, since there were two feeds per sub-array a phase shift could be introduced between the long and the short side. The beam steering range was between -2 degrees and 11 degrees oriented as 0 degrees would be a perpendicular line from the array to the receiving end. The design itself worked which could be stated from the results in the upper part of the array, the test results from the lower part however did not match the simulated results. This is likely due to an error in the construction of the antenna rather than the theory since the upper and lower part of the array was mirrored versions of each other. The phase shifters worked as intended in the bigger picture but were slightly different in the simulations compared to the physical ones, likely due to the same type of error source as regarding the full antenna.

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Smoothing filters have been extensively used for noise removal and image restoration. Directional filters are widely used in computer vision and image processing tasks such as motion analysis, edge detection, line parameter estimation and texture analysis. It is practically impossible to tune the filters to all possible positions and orientations in real time due to huge computation requirement. The efficient way is to design a few basis filters, and express the output of a directional filter as a weighted sum of the basis filter outputs. Directional filters having these properties are called "Steerable Filters." This thesis work emphasis is on the implementation of proposed computationally efficient separable and steerable Gaussian smoothers on a Xilinx VirtexII Pro FPGA platform. FPGAs are Field Programmable Gate Arrays which consist of a collection of logic blocks including lookup tables, flip flops and some amount of Random Access Memory. All blocks are wired together using an array of interconnects. The proposed technique [2] is implemented on a FPGA hardware taking the advantage of parallelism and pipelining.

Ces travaux de recherches s’inscrivent dans le cadre d’une amélioration du bilan de liaison des données de télémesures sur les lanceurs spatiaux. Pour cela, un dispositif d’antenne à pointage électronique a été choisi. Celui-ci utilise un réseau de quatre antennes patchs alimentés par un prototype composé d’un diviseur de puissance 1 vers 4 et de quatre déphaseurs. Les états de phases choisis pour chacun des déphaseurs sont 0°, 90° et 180°. Après une étude bibliographique, les meilleurs déphaseurs pouvant assurer cette fonction sont les déphaseurs à base de coupleur hybride. Grâce à l’utilisation de MEMS-RF dans ces circuits, il est n’est pas nécessaire de rajouter des amplificateurs de puissance, car ces composants sont faibles pertes RF et linéaires. Plusieurs topologies de déphaseurs à base de coupleur hybride utilisant ces commutateurs ont été étudiés. D’après cette étude, il a été possible de réduire la taille des circuits sans détériorer les performances RF, ce qui nous a permis d’en choisir deux d’entre eux. Un commande à distance est nécessaire pour ces dispositifs alors une boîte à relais a été choisie pour assurer ce rôle. Le premier prototype est composé d’un diviseur de puissance qui a été commandé et de quatre déphaseurs fabriqués. Le deuxième prototype est entièrement intégré sur puce, ce qui a permis de réduire la surface du dispositif ainsi que d’améliorer les pertes RF. Ces travaux ont donc pu montrer la faisabilité de fabriquer un prototype simple, faible pertes, et linéaire. / These research works is within the context of an improved link budget telemetry data on space launchers. For this device, an electronically steerable antenna was chosen. It uses an array of four patch antennas supplied by a prototype composed of a power splitter 1 to 4 and four phase shifters. For each selected phase shifters, the phase states are 0 °, 90 ° and 180 °.After a bibliographical study, the best phase shifters that can perform this function are the shifters based on hybrid coupler. Thanks to the use of RF-MEMS in these circuits, it is not necessary to add power amplifiers because these components are linear and present low RF losses. Several topologies of phase shifters based on hybrid coupler using RF-MEMS were studied. According to this study, it was possible to reduce the size of circuits without damaging the RF performance, which allowed us to choose two of them. A remote control is needed for these devices to relay box then was chosen for this role. The first prototype consists of a power divider which was commissioned and produced phase shifters. The second prototype is fully integrated on-chip, which has reduced the device surface and improves the RF losses.These studies were able to demonstrate the feasibility to produce a simple linear prototype with low RF losses.

The development of phased array antenna systems requires considerable resources and time. Due to this constraint, the Naval Air Command (NAVAIR) needs a phased array that can be physically reconfigured to meet the demands of multiple missions without added development time or cost. This work develops and demonstrates a solution to this problem by implementing an adaptive calibration approach to the development of electronically steerable antennas (ESAs). In contrast to previous analog adaptive beamformer systems, this system allows for an arbitrary antenna configuration with a variable number of antenna elements and locations. A simulation model of arbitrary phased array configurations was developed to test the beamformer calibration algorithm and was used to show practical tile locations. To demonstrate this approach, four 4x4 ULA phased array antenna tiles were built and tested together in various configurations to show the viability of developing a physically reconfigurable phased array system.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A joint project between the KU Leuven and Stellenbosch Universities was at the time of this thesis underway to develop a space borne electronically beam steerable antenna and the associated ground-space segments. This thesis covers the development of an aircraft based satellite emulator to facilitate convenient aircraft based testing of an antenna array, intended for low earth orbit satellite deployment and subsystems to control the antenna array. A flight strategy is developed to emulate such a satellite pass as best possible, with the strategy implemented in software on in-flight PC hardware. A full interface between the aircraft avionics and satellite bus system has been developed to enable generation of the required antenna steering commands and to create a satellite bus image to the payload. Successful test results are presented, as obtained from the actual aircraft ight simulator. The thesis describes the successful development and testing of a low altitude flight test strategy for certain satellite borne systems, as a cost-effective and realistic interim step to actual and very expensive space flight testing. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 'n Gesamentlike projek deur KU Leuven en Stellenbosch Universiteit was tydens die verloop van hierdie tesis besig met die ontwikkeling om 'n ruimte gebaseerde elektroniese straal beheerde antenna en geassosieerde substelsels daar te stel. Hierdie tesis handel oor die ontwikkeling van 'n vliegtuig gebaseerde satelliet emulator om die toetsing van 'n elektroniese stuurbare antenna, wat bedoel is vir 'n lae aardse wentelbaan, te fasiliteer en die ontwikkeling van substelsels wat die stuurbare antenna beheer. 'n Vlug strategie is ontwikkel om so 'n satelliet wentelbaan so na as moontlik te emuleer. Die strategie word dan geïmplementeer in die sagteware van die aanboord vlug rekenaar. 'n Intervlak tussen die vliegtuig instrumente en satellietbus is ontwikkel om die generering van die nodinge instruksies te fasiliteer en om 'n virtuele satellietbus vir die res van die satelliet stelsel te skep. Suksesvolle toets resultate word getoon wat met behulp van 'n vliegtuig simulator verkry is. Die tesis beskryf die suksesvolle ontwikkeling en toetsing van 'n lae vlugtoets strategie vir satelliet stelsels, as 'n koste effektiewe en realistiese tussenstap, tot baie duur ruimte vlugtoetsing.

Le prochain secteur à être fortement automatisé est sans doute celui du transport routier. D’abord en environnement peu complexe comme c’est déjà le cas sur autoroute, puis à terme dans les scénarios les plus difficiles, comme ceux rencontrés au coeur du trafic urbain. Une étape intermédiaire consiste à introduire des véhicules autonomes en milieu urbain, mais hors du trafic, comme sur des sites fermés. Ces environnements présentent des caractéristiques particulières, comme un encombrement important. Alors, pour être en mesure de naviguer en toute autonomie, les véhicules doivent être à la fois agiles, précis et sûrs, mais aussi efficaces, donc rapides. Ce travail de thèse adresse deux problématiques clés de la navigation autonome en milieu encombré : la planification et le suivi de chemin pour les véhicules à deux trains directeurs (4WS). En effet, la cinématique 4WS est la réponse des constructeurs au besoin d’agilité et nécessite le développement de techniques de commande adaptées. La planification de chemin en temps-réel permet l’évitement d’obstacles, de façon à rendre le service robuste aux aléas de l’environnement. Le contrôle automatique de la direction permet ensuite de suivre ces chemins avec précision. La principale difficulté concernant la planification de chemin est le contraste entre la faible puissance de calcul embarquée sur le véhicule et la forte contrainte temporelle qu’impose le besoin de réactivité. Il s’agit donc de choisir l’approche adéquate et de mettre en place les simplifications algorithmiques les plus efficaces, c’est-à-dire qui réduisent la quantité de calculs nécessaires sans réduire la qualité des chemins générés. De plus, la planification de chemin en milieu encombré pose le problème des impasses dans lesquelles les méthodes les plus réactives restent coincées. De fait, l’approche retenue consiste à construire une fonction de navigation en deux dimensions dont est extrait le chemin. Au sens des critères choisis, il est optimal pour un véhicule circulaire. Des stratégies sont alors mises en place pour adapter cet algorithme aux véhicules 4WS de forme rectangulaire, comme la notion centrale de double-chemin qui permet de représenter la trajectoire d’un mobile à trois degrés de liberté dans un espace en deux dimensions. Enfin, d’autres stratégies et heuristiques sont introduites pour optimiser les performances de l’algorithme de planification et lui permettre de générer des manoeuvres efficaces. Concernant le développement du contrôleur de direction, il s’agit de choisir le modèle d’évolution qui retranscrit au mieux le comportement du véhicule vis-à-vis du double chemin qu’il doit suivre, puis d’en déduire les lois de commande des trains avant et arrière. Ayant été éprouvé par de nombreux travaux, le modèle bicyclette 4WS a été choisi. Ce modèle cinématique permet d’introduire facilement des angles de dérive utiles à la compensation des glissements des pneus sur le sol, qu’ils soient dus à un manque d’adhérence ou à une géométrie imparfaite des trains. Des lois de commande par retour d’état sont ensuite synthétisées et une stratégie de gestion de la saturation des actionneurs est proposée. Enfin, ce premier contrôleur est décliné en une version prédictive qui apporte un suivi de chemin d’une grande stabilité sur les véhicules réels. Les contributions ont toutes été évaluées en simulation et lors d’expérimentations en vraie grandeur sur l’EZ10, une navette électrique 4WS industrielle. Enfin, il se trouve que les performances obtenues dépassent les attentes initiales. / The next sector to be highly automated is probably road transport. First in an uncomplicated environment as is already the case on highway, then eventually in the most difficult scenarios, such as those encountered at the heart of the urban traffic. An intermediate step is to introduce autonomous vehicles in urban areas, but outside traffic, as on closed sites. These environments have particular characteristics, they can be very cluttered. So to be able to navigate autonomously, the vehicles have to be agile, precise and safe, but also efficient, i.e. fast. This thesis addresses two key issues of autonomous navigation in cluttered environments: path planning and tracking for bi-steerable (4WS) vehicles. Indeed, the 4WS kinematics is the response of the manufacturers to the need for agility and requires the development of adapted control techniques. Real-time path planning allows the avoidance of obstacles in order to make the service robust to the vagaries of the environment. The automatic control of the direction then makes it possible to follow these paths with precision. The main difficulty about path planning is the contrast between the low onboard computing power and the high temporal constraints imposed by the need for reactivity. It is thus necessary to choose the appropriate approach and to implement the most efficient algorithmic simplifications, i.e. reducing the amount of calculations without reducing the quality of the generated paths. In addition, path planning in cluttered environment raises the problem of dead-ends in which the most reactive methods remain stuck. Then, the adopted approach consists in constructing a navigation function in two dimensions from which the path is extracted. In the sense of the chosen criteria, it is optimal for a circular vehicle. Strategies are then put in place to adapt this algorithm to 4WS vehicles of rectangular shape, such as the central dual-path concept which allows to represent the trajectory of a mobile with three degrees of freedom in a two-dimensional space. Finally, other strategies and heuristics are introduced to optimize the performance of the planning algorithm and allow it to generate efficient maneuvers. Concerning the development of the controller, it is about choosing the evolution model which best reflects the behavior of the vehicle with respect to the dual-path that it must follow and then deducing the front and rear control laws. The 4WS bicycle model has shown itself to be very effective. This kinematic model makes it possible to easily introduce useful side-slip angles allowing to compensate the slippage of the tires on the ground, whether due to a lack of grip or an imperfect geometry of the axles. State feedback control laws are then synthesized and a strategy for managing the saturation of the actuators is proposed. Finally, this first controller is declined in a predictive version that provides a very stable tracking on real vehicles.The contributions were all evaluated in simulation and in full-scale experiments on the EZ10, an industrial 4WS electric shuttle. Finally, it turns out that the performances exceed initial expectations.

Recently, reconfigurable antennas have attracted significant interest due to their high adaptation with changing system requirements and environmental conditions. Reconfigurable antennas have the ability to change their radiation pattern, frequency or polarization independently according to the application requirements. In this thesis, three different reconfigurable antenna structures have been designed / beam-steerable meanderline antenna, dual circularly polarized meanderline antenna and dual-frequency slot-dipole array. Traveling wave meanderline antenna arrays are investigated in detail and a beam-steerable traveling wave meanderline antenna array has been introduced for X-band applications. Beam-steering capability of the antenna array has been achieved by loading the antenna elements with varactor diodes. Theoretical analysis and computer simulations of the proposed antenna have been verified with experimental results. Radiation direction of the 8-element meanderline array can be rotated 10&deg / by changing the varactor diode&rsquo / s bias voltage from 0V up to 20V. Also, a polarization-agile meanderline antenna array has been designed and simulated. Polarization of the circularly polarized meanderline array can be altered between right hand circularly polarized and left hand circularly polarized by using RF MEMS switches. The third type of reconfigurable antenna investigated in this thesis is a dual frequency slot-dipole array operating at X- and Ka-band. Electrical length of the slot dipoles has been tuned by using RF MEMS switches. Antenna prototypes have been manufactured for &lsquo / on&rsquo / and &lsquo / off&rsquo / states of RF MEMS switches and it has been shown that the operating frequency can be changed between 10 GHz and 15.4 GHz.

Cílem této práce je návrh pevného tříkolového podvozku pro jednomotorový čtyřmístný celokompozitní letoun s dodržováním certifikačních specifikací CS-23. To zahrnuje návrh kompozitních pružinových hlavních podvozkových vzpěr v kombinaci s hydropneumatickým tlumičem příďového podvozku. Proces návrhu se dělí do pěti specifických fází; požadavky na konstrukci, předběžný návrh, detailní návrh, příprava výroby a zkoušení prototypu. Zatížení podvozku pro jednotlivé případy a konfigurace letounu je definován v předběžné fázi návrhu. Detailní návrh zahrnuje pevnostní analýzu jednotlivých komponentů. Fáze zkoušení prototypu definuje způsob ověření únosnosti zkouškou. Závěr obsahuje podrobnou technickou dokumentaci.

This thesis deals with the design of an antenna array for the MSPS Radar L band application. The introduction covers a research for a suitable antenna element which can be used as an element of steerable antenna array. The control of the main beam is enabled in the vertical plane. Based on a presented theory, a slotted waveguide antenna array with an omnidirectional radiation in the vertical plane is designed. The operating frequency is set to 1 367.5 MHz. Slotted array achieves 20° width of the main beam in elevation plane. The achieved gain of the array is 9.15 dBi. Further attention of this work is focused on the beam steering that is allowed by diode switching. The last part of the thesis presents manufacturing process of the designed model. The CST Microwave Studio software was used for the antenna array designing process.