Tracking Hardware Research Articles

Tracking tourists’ travel with smartphone-based GPS technology: a methodological discussion

This methodological paper discusses the implications of differing approaches for tracking tourists’ movement through destinations and then describes an innovative new method that utilises smartphone-based Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology and a mobile app to track tourists through regional destinations and attractions over an extended period. The method was developed by the Tasmanian Sensing Tourist Travel project team and is among the largest tracking studies ever conducted in tourism, both spatially and temporally and in terms of sample size. It tracked the movement of 472 tourists in real time via an app with three integrated surveys and GPS tracking. The research team was faced with multiple challenges given the ambitious nature of the project, including: app design, securing tracking hardware, forging partnerships with providers, participant recruitment, and the ethical and legal dimensions of both the tracking and the provision of mobile data as an incentive to participate. This paper discusses the lessons from the project and a holistic study design model to support continuous methodological progress in this growing research area.

The Role of Secondary Packaging on Brand Awareness: Analysis of 2 L Carbonated Soft Drinks in Reusable Shells Using Eye Tracking Technology

Even with new technologies emerging daily that reduce the barriers to identify and purchase products, the average consumer still reports having less time to devote to shopping. A study conducted at Clemson University, sponsored by a reusable packaging company, Rehrig Pacific Company, investigated if a unique shipping shell/crate design with on‐message and product branding (direct colour print onto the shell) increased brand awareness, attention and purchase intent when placed directly onto the retail shelf. Reusable packaging for 2 L bottles of carbonated soft drink packaged in proprietary reusable shells with a multicolour logo of the major US beverage company was chosen for the study. The branded proprietary reusable shell was evaluated against a standard reusable shell in the industry used by the same company. Testing was conducted using state‐of‐the‐art eye tracking hardware and CUshop™, a full immersion consumer retail experience laboratory. Data captured from 89 study participants indicated a strong preference for the new branded reusable shell. Statistical analysis demonstrated a 47% increase in eye fixations on the branded display and an increase in fixation duration, a measure of how long consumers looked at the display, of 34% (p < 0.05). More significantly, an increase in the visual saliency of the primary package, the 2 L bottle, was illustrated by an increase in fixation duration of 46% (p < 0.05) and an increase of the number of fixations of 54% (p < 0.01) when displayed in the branded reusable shell. Thus, results indicate that in‐store marketing incorporating a unique secondary packaging may lift brand awareness and increase purchase intent. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The SmartOR: a distributed sensor network to improve operating room efficiency.

Despite the significant expense of OR time, best practice achieves only 70% efficiency. Compounding this problem is a lack of real-time data. Most current OR utilization programs require manual data entry. Automated systems require installation and maintenance of expensive tracking hardware throughout the institution. This study developed an inexpensive, automated OR utilization system and analyzed data from multiple operating rooms. OR activity was deconstructed into four room states. A sensor network was then developed to automatically capture these states using only three sensors, a local wireless network, and a data capture computer. Two systems were then installed into two ORs, recordings captured 24/7. The SmartOR recorded the following events: any room activity, patient entry/exit time, anesthesia time, laparoscopy time, room turnover time, and time of preoperative patient identification by the surgeon. From November 2014 to December 2015, data on 1003 cases were collected. The mean turnover time was 36min, and 38% of cases met the institutional goal of ≤30min. Data analysis also identified outlier cases (>1 SD from mean) in the domains of time from patient entry into the OR to intubation (11% of cases) and time from extubation to patient exiting the OR (11% of cases). Time from surgeon identification of patient to scheduled procedure start time was 11min (institution bylaws require 20min before scheduled start time), yet OR teams required 22min on average to bring a patient into the room after surgeon identification. The SmartOR automatically and reliably captures data on OR room state and, in real time, identifies outlier cases that may be examined closer to improve efficiency. As no manual entry is required, the data are indisputable and allow OR teams to maintain a patient-centric focus.

Registration accuracy enhancement of a surgical navigation system for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A phantom and cadaveric study

Recently, surgical navigation systems have been widely used to improve the results of various orthopaedic surgeries. However, surgical navigation has not been successful in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, owing to its inaccuracy and inconvenience. This study investigated the registration of preoperative and intraoperative data, which are the key components in improving accuracy of the navigation system. An accurate registration method was proposed using new optical tracking markers and landmark retake. A surgical planning and navigation system for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction was developed and implemented. The accuracy of the proposed system has been evaluated using phantoms and eight cadaveric knees. The present study investigated only the registration accuracy excluding the errors of optical tracking hardware and surgeon. The target registration errors of femoral tunnelling for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in phantoms were found to be 0.24±0.03mm and 0.19±0.10° for the tunnel entry position and tunnel direction, respectively. The target registration errors measured using cadavers were 0.9mm and 1.94°, respectively. The preclinical experimental results showed that the proposed methods enhanced the registration accuracy of the developed system. As the system becomes more accurate, surgeons could more precisely position and orient the femoral and tibial tunnels to their original anatomical locations.

Area-Aware Cache Update Trackers for Postsilicon Validation

The internal state of the complex modern processors often needs to be dumped out frequently during postsilicon validation. Since the caches hold most of the state, the volume of data dumped and the transfer time are dominated by the large caches present in the architecture. The limited bandwidth to transfer data present in these large caches off-chip results in stalling the processor for long durations when dumping the cache contents off-chip. To alleviate this, we propose to transfer only those cache lines that were updated since the previous dump. Since maintaining a bit-vector with a separate bit to track the status of individual cache lines is expensive, we propose two methods: 1) where a bit tracks multiple cache lines and 2) an Interval Table which stores only the starting and ending addresses of continuous runs of updated cache lines. Both methods require significantly lesser space compared with a bit-vector, and allow the designer to choose the amount of space to allocate for this design-for-debug feature. The impact of reducing storage space is that some nonupdated cache lines are dumped too. We attempt to minimize such overheads. We propose a scheme to share such cache update tracking hardware (or Update Trackers) across multiple caches in case of physically distributed caches so that they are replicated fewer times, thereby limiting the area overhead. We show that the proposed Update Trackers occupy less than 1% of cache area for both the shared and distributed caches.

Highly Parallelized Pattern Matching Hardware for Fast Tracking at Hadron Colliders

A high-performance “pattern matching” implementation based on the Associative Memory (AM) system is presented. It is designed to solve the real-time hit-to-track association problem for particles produced in high-energy physics experiments at hadron colliders. The processing time of pattern recognition in CPU-based algorithms increases rapidly with the detector occupancy due to the limited computing power and input-output capacity of hardware available on the market. The AM system presented here solves the problem by being able to process even the most complex hadron collider events produced at a rate of 100 kHz with an average latency smaller than $10 \mu \hbox{s}$ . The board built for this goal is able to execute ${\sim}{12}$ petabyte comparisons per second, with peak power consumption below 250 W, uniformly distributed on the large area of the board.

Design and user experience assessment of Kinect-based virtual windows

Nowadays, it is technologically feasible to augment an interior or closed room by creating virtual windows. This paper describes a fully functional system designed to virtually emulate a window by using Kinect-based tracking, prerecorded videos, and COTS hardware (standard PCs and Full HD TVs). The key aspects of the overall architecture design are covered, focusing specially on the enabling user tracking filters and the image transformation approaches. The Virtual Window System (VWS) is able to control one or two synchronized windows and simulate the perspective changes on the image seen by the user as s/he freely moves; additionally, it allows to configure the working logic depending on the characterization of the video to be handled. As the VWS core-tracking component can be configured by tuning different parameters (e.g. related to tracking filters and perspective transformations), the paper includes the methodology and results of a rigorous user satisfaction assessment, in which the subjective impact of different system configurations is compared through a sign test. Although several configurations offer a reasonable experience, users agree on the combination that is providing the best one. When applying this choice, the virtual windows are able to provide a good simulation of a real scene.

Optical tracking of nanoscale particles in microscale environments.

The trajectories of nanoscale particles through microscale environments record useful information about both the particles and the environments. Optical microscopes provide efficient access to this information through measurements of light in the far field from nanoparticles. Such measurements necessarily involve trade-offs in tracking capabilities. This article presents a measurement framework, based on information theory, that facilitates a more systematic understanding of such trade-offs to rationally design tracking systems for diverse applications. This framework includes the degrees of freedom of optical microscopes, which determine the limitations of tracking measurements in theory. In the laboratory, tracking systems are assemblies of sources and sensors, optics and stages, and nanoparticle emitters. The combined characteristics of such systems determine the limitations of tracking measurements in practice. This article reviews this tracking hardware with a focus on the essential functions of nanoparticles as optical emitters and microenvironmental probes. Within these theoretical and practical limitations, experimentalists have implemented a variety of tracking systems with different capabilities. This article reviews a selection of apparatuses and techniques for tracking multiple and single particles by tuning illumination and detection, and by using feedback and confinement to improve the measurements. Prior information is also useful in many tracking systems and measurements, which apply across a broad spectrum of science and technology. In the context of the framework and review of apparatuses and techniques, this article reviews a selection of applications, with particle diffusion serving as a prelude to tracking measurements in biological, fluid, and material systems, fabrication and assembly processes, and engineered devices. In so doing, this review identifies trends and gaps in particle tracking that might influence future research.

Evaluating the microsoft kinect skeleton joint tracking as a tool for home-based physiotherapy

Abstract In physiotherapy, rehabilitation outcome is majorly dependent on the patient to continue exercises at home. To support a continuous and correct execution of exercises composed by the physiotherapist it is important that the patient stays motivated. With the emergence of game consoles such as Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Eye or Microsoft Kinect that employ special controllers or camera based motion recognition as means of user input those technologies have also been found to be interesting for other real-life applications such as providing individual physiotherapy exercises and an encouraging rehabilitation routine. Due to the intended use of those motion tracking systems in a computer-game environment it remains questionable if the accuracy of the skeleton joint tracking hardware and algorithms is suflicient for physiotherapy applications. We present a basic evaluation of the joint tracking accuracy where angles between various body extremities calculated by a Kinect system were compared with a high resolution motion capture system. Results show promising results with tracking deviations between 2.7° and 14.2° with a mean of the absolute deviations of 8.7°.

Nonlocal means filter-based speckle tracking.

The objective of sensorless freehand 3-D ultrasound imaging is to eliminate the need for additional tracking hardware and reduce cost and complexity. However, the accuracy of current out-of-plane pose estimation is main obstacle for full 6-degree-of-freedom (DoF) tracking. We propose a new filter-based speckle tracking framework to increase the accuracy of out-of-plane displacement estimation. In this framework, we use the displacement estimation not only for the specific speckle pattern, but for the entire image. We develop a nonlocal means (NLM) filter based on a probabilistic normal variance mixture model of ultrasound, known as Rician-inverse Gaussian (RiIG). To aggregate the local displacement estimations, Stein's unbiased risk estimate (SURE) is used as a quality measure of the estimations. We derive an explicit analytical form of SURE for the RiIG model and use it as a weight factor. The proposed filter-based speckle tracking framework is formulated and evaluated for three commonly used noise models, including the RiIG model. The out-of-plane estimations are compared with our previously proposed model-based algorithm in a set of ex vivo experiments for different tissue types. We show that the proposed RiIG filter-based method is more accurate and less tissue-dependent than the other methods. The proposed method is also evaluated in vivo on the spines of five different subjects to assess the feasibility of a clinical application. The 6-DoF transform parameters are estimated and compared with the electromagnetic tracker measurements. The results show higher tracking accuracy for typical small lateral displacements and tilt rotations between image pairs.

Towards real-time, tracker-less 3D ultrasound guidance for spine anaesthesia.

Epidural needle insertions and facet joint injections play an important role in spine anaesthesia. The main challenge of safe needle insertion is the deep location of the target, resulting in a narrow and small insertion channel close to sensitive anatomy. Recent approaches utilizing ultrasound (US) as a low-cost and widely available guiding modality are promising but have yet to become routinely used in clinical practice due to the difficulty in interpreting US images, their limited view of the internal anatomy of the spine, and/or inclusion of cost-intensive tracking hardware which impacts the clinical workflow. We propose a novel guidance system for spine anaesthesia. An efficient implementation allows us to continuously align and overlay a statistical model of the lumbar spine on the live 3D US stream without making use of additional tracking hardware. The system is evaluated in vivo on 12 volunteers. The in vivo study showed that the anatomical features of the epidural space and the facet joints could be continuously located, at a volume rate of 0.5 Hz, within an accuracy of 3 and 7 mm, respectively. A novel guidance system for spine anaesthesia has been presented which augments a live 3D US stream with detailed anatomical information of the spine. Results from an in vivo study indicate that the proposed system has potential for assisting the physician in quickly finding the target structure and planning a safe insertion trajectory in the spine.

Wide field of view compressive light field display using a multilayer architecture and tracked viewers

In this paper, we discuss an intuitive extension to compressive multilayer light field displays that greatly extends their field of view and depth of field. Rather than optimizing these displays to create a moderately narrow field of view at the center of the display, we constrain optimization to create narrow view cones that are directed to a few viewers' eyes, allowing the available display bandwidth to be utilized more efficiently. These narrow view cones follow the viewers, creating a wide apparent field of view. Imagery is also recalculated for the viewers' exact eye positions, creating a greater depth of field. The view cones can be scaled to match the positional error and latency of the tracking system. Using more efficient optimization and commodity tracking hardware and software, we demonstrate a real-time, glasses-free 3D display that offers a 100° × 40° field of view.

36.1: Wide Field of View Compressive Light Field Display using a Multilayer Architecture and Tracked Viewers

AbstractIn this paper, we discuss a simple extension to existing compressive multilayer light field displays that greatly extends their field of view and depth of field. Rather than optimizing these displays to create a moderately narrow field of view at the center of the display, we constrain optimization to create narrow view cones that are directed to the viewer's eyes, allowing the available display bandwidth to be utilized more efficiently. These narrow view cones follow the viewer, creating a wide apparent field of view. Imagery is also recalculated for the viewer's exact position, creating a greater depth of field. The view cones can be scaled to match the positional error and latency of the tracking system. Using more efficient optimization and commodity tracking hardware and software, we demonstrate a real‐time, glasses‐free 3D display that offers a 110times45 degree field of view.

A bifurcation-based coupled linear-bistable system for microscale mass sensing

Bifurcation-based mass sensing provides for dramatically enhanced detection sensitivity and less performance deterioration due to measurement noise as compared to frequency shift-based methods. Recent bifurcation-based mass sensing studies have employed directly excited nonlinear oscillators to induce critical jump events, but the approaches may still require active tracking hardware to determine exact mass adsorption, could induce adverse nonlinear phenomena by prolonged excitation near the bifurcation, and are limited in the number and versatility of jump events. In this work, an alternative sensor architecture and method for mass sensing are presented to address these concerns. The architecture is based upon the coupling of a host linear structure to a small bistable inclusion. It is shown that the sensor enables unique functionality including means for passive mass quantification and direct adjustment of bifurcation sweeping rate for reliable detection and enhanced robustness to noise. Deterministic, stochastic, and non-stationary analyses demonstrate the operational principles and sensitivities of the method while experiments with proof-of-concept samples corroborate analytical results and give clear evidence of the advantages of the new approach.

Low-latency adaptive mode transitions and hierarchical power management in asymmetric clustered cores

Recently, engineering solutions that include asymmetric multicores have been fabricated for low form-factor computing devices, indicating a potential direction for future evolution of processors. In this article we propose an asymmetric clustered core architecture, exhibiting low-latency switching between modes relative to asymmetric multicores, and having similarities with the same asymmetric multicore architecture in the context of a wider dynamic range of the processor power-performance characteristic. Asymmetric clustered cores incur additional microarchitectural complexity and area cost inside a core but exhibit better chip-level integration characteristics compared to asymmetric multicores. Focusing on power efficiency of asymmetric clustered cores, we describe: (1) a hierarchical power management partitioning between the operating system and on-die firmware for coarse-grain switch policies, and (2) core-internal tracking hardware for fine-grain switching. The mode switch policies of the core's tracking hardware are dependent on higher-level directives and hints from the operating system, on-die firmware, and compiler or profiling software. We further explore the potential power management benefits of asymmetric clustered cores relative to asymmetric multicores, demonstrating that the ability of asymmetric clustered cores to use tight training periods for adaptive behavior, with low overhead switching between modes, results in a more efficient utilization of power management directives.

SIVEH: Numerical Computing Simulation of Wireless Energy-Harvesting Sensor Nodes

The paper presents a numerical energy harvesting model for sensor nodes, SIVEH (Simulator I–V for EH), based on I–V hardware tracking. I–V tracking is demonstrated to be more accurate than traditional energy modeling techniques when some of the components present different power dissipation at either different operating voltages or drawn currents. SIVEH numerical computing allows fast simulation of long periods of time—days, weeks, months or years—using real solar radiation curves. Moreover, SIVEH modeling has been enhanced with sleep time rate dynamic adjustment, while seeking energy-neutral operation. This paper presents the model description, a functional verification and a critical comparison with the classic energy approach.

Optofluidic solar concentrators using electrowetting tracking: Concept, design, and characterization

We introduce a novel optofluidic solar concentration system based on electrowetting tracking. With two immiscible fluids in a transparent cell, we can actively control the orientation of fluid–fluid interface via electrowetting. The naturally-formed meniscus between the two liquids can function as a dynamic optical prism for solar tracking and sunlight steering. An integrated optofluidic solar concentrator can be constructed from the liquid prism tracker in combination with a fixed and static optical condenser (Fresnel lens). Therefore, the liquid prisms can adaptively focus sunlight on a concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) cell sitting on the focus of the Fresnel lens as the sun moves. Because of the unique design, electrowetting tracking allows the concentrator to adaptively track both the daily and seasonal changes of the sun’s orbit (dual-axis tracking) without bulky, expensive and inefficient mechanical moving parts. This approach can potentially reduce capital costs for CPV and increases operational efficiency by eliminating the power consumption of mechanical tracking. Importantly, the elimination of bulky tracking hardware and quiet operation will allow extensive residential deployment of concentrated solar power. In comparison with traditional silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) solar cells, the electrowetting-based self-tracking technology will generate ∼70% more green energy with a 50% cost reduction.

Real-time visual tracking of less textured three-dimensional objects on mobile platforms

Natural feature-based approaches are still challenging for mobile applications (e.g., mobile augmented reality), because they are feasible only in limited environments such as highly textured and planar scenes/objects, and they need powerful mobile hardware for fast and reliable tracking. In many cases where conventional approaches are not effective, three-dimensional (3-D) knowledge of target scenes would be beneficial. We present a well-established framework for real-time visual tracking of less textured 3-D objects on mobile platforms. Our framework is based on model-based tracking that efficiently exploits partially known 3-D scene knowledge such as object models and a background’s distinctive geometric or photometric knowledge. Moreover, we elaborate on implementation in order to make it suitable for real-time vision processing on mobile hardware. The performance of the framework is tested and evaluated on recent commercially available smartphones, and its feasibility is shown by real-time demonstrations.

Multimodality Image Fusion–Guided Procedures: Technique, Accuracy, and Applications

Personalized therapies play an increasingly critical role in cancer care: Image guidance with multimodality image fusion facilitates the targeting of specific tissue for tissue characterization and plays a role in drug discovery and optimization of tailored therapies. Positron-emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) may offer additional information not otherwise available to the operator during minimally invasive image-guided procedures, such as biopsy and ablation. With use of multimodality image fusion for image-guided interventions, navigation with advanced modalities does not require the physical presence of the PET, MRI, or CT imaging system. Several commercially available methods of image-fusion and device navigation are reviewed along with an explanation of common tracking hardware and software. An overview of current clinical applications for multimodality navigation is provided.

Zebrafish embryos and larvae in behavioural assays

Zebrafish embryos and early larvae are becoming increasingly important as models in biomedical research because of their low cost, high throughput and potential as a replacement for adult, higher vertebrate model species. The functional domains of drug targets, and other functionally important proteins, are often highly conserved between the zebrafish and mammals. Furthermore, the zebrafish embryo or larva shows a complex behavioural repertoire only a few days after fertilization. Here, we show how behavioural studies in mammals are being translated to the zebrafish embryo/larva model. We give emphasis to behavioural studies that may be relevant to drug screening or safety toxicology. We show how video tracking hardware and software can be used to provide an automated, high data-content readout for zebrafish behavioural responses. Published behavioural assays using zebrafish developmental stages include responses to dark challenge, acoustic stimuli, novel environments and various pharmacological compounds. Future prospects for zebrafish developmental behavioural studies include the potential to move from 96-well format studies into microfluidic-based embryo cultures. The zebrafish embryo model is already becoming a useful system for identifying molecular-genetic pathways associated with behavioural responses.