Infrared Sensor System Research Articles

Association between a pyroelectric infrared sensor monitoring system and a 3-dimensional accelerometer to assess movement in preweaning dairy calves

The objective of this study was to correlate movement assessed by a pyroelectric infrared sensor system in preweaning dairy calves with lying and standing time assessed by a 3D accelerometer considering the temperature-humidity index (THI). A total of 35 dairy calves (1–7 d of age) were enrolled in the study and 20 calves were included in the final analyses. The lying and standing time of the calves was monitored with a 3D accelerometer (Hobo Pendant G Data Logger, Onset Computer Corporation, USA), which was used as the gold standard reference. The infrared sensor monitoring system (IMS; Calf Monitoring System, Futuro Farming GmbH, Germany) was fixed to the fence of the calf hutch within the calf's reach. Temperature-humidity was monitored with 2 validated THI sensors inside and on outside of each calf hutch. Additionally, one THI sensor was located near the calf hutches. The observation period lasted 14 consecutive days. The average standing time assessed by the 3D accelerometer was 13.4 ± 12.7 (mean ± standard deviation) min/h and the average lying time was 46.6 (±12.7) min/h. The median (25th percentile; 75th percentile) number of movements measured by the IMS was 360 (60; 919) movements per hour. Number of movements per hour measured by the IMS was compared with data obtained with a validated 3D accelerometer. The Pearson correlation coefficient between both standing and lying time and the number of movements was r = 0.85 and r = −0.85, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficients were only slightly influenced by THI (low THI [<68]: r = 0.86; medium THI [68–72]: r = 0.85; high THI [>72]: r = 0.81). Our data show that the number of movements of dairy calves measured by IMS were highly correlated with the chosen gold standard reference method. High THI slightly affects the measurement accuracy of IMS.

FSAS: An IoT-Based Security System for Crop Field Storage

Internet of Things abstracts the ability to remotely associate and observe things or objects over the Internet. When it comes to agriculture, this idea has been incorporated to make agriculture-related tasks smart, secure, and automated. Agriculture is vital for economic growth and also for the survival of humans. Farmers living in rural areas of India face a common problem of the theft of equipment like induction motors from small storage houses meant for storing commodities in crop fields. In this study, we present a remote security management framework for monitoring the crop field storage house, known as the farm security alert system (FSAS). FSAS is a small, energy efficient, low cost, and accurate security management system that uses microcontroller-based passive infrared (PIR) sensor and global system for mobile communication (GSM) module to generate an alert to the farm owner if there is an intrusion event at the crop field store. The microcontroller board utilized in the proposed model is the Arduino Uno, and PIR motion sensor is used to recognize the intruder. In addition, FSAS also can be used for monitoring of induction motor by utilizing a similar arrangement of sensors. The sensor signal is transmitted to the cloud whenever the intruder is within the sensing range of the sensor node. Naive Bayes’ prediction model is used to identify the level of encroachment as no (green), mild (yellow), or high (red) threat. The status and the alarms can be received by the farm owners, either on their smartphones as application alerts or as a short message/phone call, at any distance, and independent of whether their cell phones are connected to the Internet.

Enhancement of absorption in a CH3NH3PbI3-based photonic crystal in the presence of the monolayer MoS2

Using the transfer matrix approach, we investigate theoretically the absorbance, transmittance, and reflectance through one-dimensional CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite-based photonic crystal at room temperature. In our proposed structure, a monolayer MoS2 film is embedded between two CH3NH3PbI3 layers. We found that, the presence of monolayer MoS2 film increases the absorbance in longer wavelengths (lambda > 600begin{array}{*{20}c} , , {rm nm} end{array} ). With increasing the number of periods, absorbance increases in most wavelengths of the incident light. It was shown that, by controlling the number of periods, the absorbance coefficient can be tuned according to the wavelength and angle of incident light. Furthermore, for incident light with longer wavelength, the absorbance, transmittance as well as reflectance versus thickness of the perovskite layer have an oscillatory behavior, and with increasing the number of periods this oscillatory behavior becomes more obvious and prominent. For the incident light in the infrared region, by increasing the number of periods the absorbance as opposed to the transmittance increases for different incidence angles. While, the reflectance coefficient first shows oscillatory behavior by increasing the number of periods, then with a further increase in the number of periods it reaches a constant value. The proposed structure can be useful for optoelectronic and optical devices. Such as improving the efficiency of solar cells based on the hybrid inorganic–organic perovskites and infrared sensor system.

Interpretable Passive Multi-Modal Sensor Fusion for Human Identification and Activity Recognition.

Human monitoring applications in indoor environments depend on accurate human identification and activity recognition (HIAR). Single modality sensor systems have shown to be accurate for HIAR, but there are some shortcomings to these systems, such as privacy, intrusion, and costs. To combat these shortcomings for a long-term monitoring solution, an interpretable, passive, multi-modal, sensor fusion system PRF-PIR is proposed in this work. PRF-PIR is composed of one software-defined radio (SDR) device and one novel passive infrared (PIR) sensor system. A recurrent neural network (RNN) is built as the HIAR model for this proposed solution to handle the temporal dependence of passive information captured by both modalities. We validate our proposed PRF-PIR system for a potential human monitoring system through the data collection of eleven activities from twelve human subjects in an academic office environment. From our data collection, the efficacy of the sensor fusion system is proven via an accuracy of 0.9866 for human identification and an accuracy of 0.9623 for activity recognition. The results of the system are supported with explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) methodologies to serve as a validation for sensor fusion over the deployment of single sensor solutions. PRF-PIR provides a passive, non-intrusive, and highly accurate system that allows for robustness in uncertain, highly similar, and complex at-home activities performed by a variety of human subjects.

Productivity enhancement by using programmable logic controller-based automated guided vehicles for material handling

The programmable logic controller (PLC) based and magnetic tape guided automatic guided vehicles were designed and implemented in a production environment where significant material handling is involved. The work is focused on transporting the components of transmission plant of a small car from the machining line (consisting of multitude of machine tools) to the assembly line. The new automated material handling system was designed to replace the existing manual material handling system. The PLC controller deals with the movement of the vehicle in forward and reverse path with the use of four different sensors. Magnetic tape-based guiding lines that are relatively inexpensive, and less-complex are implemented for the movement of automated guided vehicle (AGV) in a specified path. Infrared sensor system is integrated to the AGV for effective obstacle detection during the material movement. Auto-charging of the batteries of the AGV without needing them to halt specifically for charging is implemented. The results showed that lithium-ion batteries are more suitable compared to the led-acid batteries for the present type of AGVs and their charging strategy. The overall AGV system showed promise and proved to be more productive and reliable compared to the previously existing manual material handling system.

Productivity enhancement by using programmable logic controller-based automated guided vehicles for material handling

The programmable logic controller (PLC) based and magnetic tape guided automatic guided vehicles were designed and implemented in a production environment where significant material handling is involved. The work is focused on transporting the components of transmission plant of a small car from the machining line (consisting of multitude of machine tools) to the assembly line. The new automated material handling system was designed to replace the existing manual material handling system. The PLC controller deals with the movement of the vehicle in forward and reverse path with the use of four different sensors. Magnetic tape-based guiding lines that are relatively inexpensive, and less-complex are implemented for the movement of automated guided vehicle (AGV) in a specified path. Infrared sensor system is integrated to the AGV for effective obstacle detection during the material movement. Auto-charging of the batteries of the AGV without needing them to halt specifically for charging is implemented. The results showed that lithium-ion batteries are more suitable compared to the led-acid batteries for the present type of AGVs and their charging strategy. The overall AGV system showed promise and proved to be more productive and reliable compared to the previously existing manual material handling system.

High mobility sputtered InSb film by blue laser diode annealing

InSb thin film was deposited on glass by r.f. sputtering using the InSb (atomic ratio of 1:1) target. The film was capped by SiO2 film to prevent the effusion of Sb of low melting point. After that, blue laser beam at 445 nm of controlled power density was irradiated using CW scanning mode. The film was crystalized successfully with keeping the ratio of In and Sb as (1:1). High electron Hall mobility of 1,050 cm2/(Vs) was obtained without degrading under glass. New device applications such as magnetic or infrared sensor system with poly Si TFTs are expected not only on glass but also on flexible panel such as on plastic sheet.

An infrared sensor system for the analysis and differentiation of living mammalian cells using D2O based microfluidics

In this study, we designed and realized a sensor platform using deuterium oxide (D2O) based microfluidics to allow in vitro infrared (IR) analysis of living cells. Using D2O instead of H2O based medium successfully resolved the high IR absorption issue of H2O at the 3.3–3.6μm wavelength region. The spectra in this region contain the symmetric and antisymmetric CH2 and CH3 absorption, which can be used to monitor changes in the cells or the cell membranes. To demonstrate the performance and possible use of the system, IR analyses were conducted on three mammalian cell lines: Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK), rat basophilic cells (RS-ATL8), and aneuploid immortalized keratinocyte cells of adult human skin (HaCaT). The determination of the CH2 and CH3 absorption peaks allowed in vitro differentiation of the mammalian cell types. Successive viability tests showed normal cell proliferation in culture medium after incubation in D2O-PBS for 30min. The IR spectra of fifteen separate measurements showed only small absorbance tolerances, which proved the high level of repeatability of the sensor system. This measurement system opens up the way to perform infrared cell analysis in liquid environments.

A Localized Analysis of the Sterilization Process by Direct Steam Monitoring

Steam sterilization is a standard tool in the field of healthcare and medical equipment as it is economical, effective, and reliable. Considering the increase of antibiotic resistance and the challenge in sterilizing narrow tubes used for keyhole surgery, a safe process control is required. To achieve this, a full understanding of the local dynamics of the sterilization process inside the sterilizer is crucial. In this paper, water condensation under high temperature and high pressure, focusing on sterilization conditions, is qualitatively analyzed. An infrared sensor system was designed supplied by two LEDs, at a steam-absorbing and a non-absorbing wavelength, respectively. The local water vapor concentration was directly detected by evaluating the absorbance of infrared light as it passes through steam. Based on the absorbance monitored by this optical sensor, the condition of the steam was classified with respect to saturation and the onset of condensation. For typical sterilization cycles, differences as well as identical behavior between the local sensor measurements and the global results calculated from the temperature and pressure sensors are discussed.

Cider fermentation process monitoring by Vis-NIR sensor system and chemometrics.

Optimization of a multivariate calibration process has been undertaken for a Visible-Near Infrared (400-1100nm) sensor system, applied in the monitoring of the fermentation process of the cider produced in the Basque Country (Spain). The main parameters that were monitored included alcoholic proof, l-lactic acid content, glucose+fructose and acetic acid content. The multivariate calibration was carried out using a combination of different variable selection techniques and the most suitable pre-processing strategies were selected based on the spectra characteristics obtained by the sensor system. The variable selection techniques studied in this work include Martens Uncertainty test, interval Partial Least Square Regression (iPLS) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). This procedure arises from the need to improve the calibration models prediction ability for cider monitoring.

An integrated dynamic power safeguard system using defence surveillance robots

The defence environment is prone to many security threats. Human surveillance will put the human life into stake. Hence, this system developed with a robotic vehicle for restricting the unauthorised persons intruding the defence area. For identifying the authorised persons the passive infrared (PIR) sensor and radio frequency identification (RFID) system is deployed. Initially, the sensor identifies whether the entering object is human or not, then the RFID reader checks for the identification of that person. The robotic vehicle consists of a webcam for capturing the image of the unauthorised persons. If any unauthorised person enters the restricted area, the webcam sends the information to control section wirelessly. This paper mainly focuses on the robot which has the significant twofold batteries one for the normal use of robot movements, the other one consumes the energy constantly from the solar source or through RF waves.

Monitoring dissolved carbon dioxide and methane in brine environments at high pressure using IR-ATR spectroscopy

An on-line infrared sensor system for monitoring greenhouse gases in brine environments is demonstrated. Evident changes of distinctive infrared signatures of dissolved methane and carbon dioxide under conditions relevant for greenhouse gas storage are shown, which are of particular relevance for understanding their subsurface behaviour after injection during carbon capture and storage (CCS) processes.

Data Validation and Case Studies using the TET-1 Thermal Infrared Satellite System

Abstract. Based on the DLR satellite system BIRD, launched and operated in the early 2000, the TET-1 satellite has been launched in 2012 as part of the FireBird satellite constellation. The constellation will consist of two satellites, the second one to be launched in the first half of 2016. Acquired imagery is processed and archived by DLR and will be publicly available. For this purpose, a processing chain has been implemented converting raw data (level 0 product) to geo-annotated at-sensor radiance (level 1b). Further data products can be derived, e.g. information on brightness temperature, fire radiative power, and surface emissivity. Other processing levels, such as atmospherically corrected reflectance, could also be produced. The sensitivity of a Thermal Infrared (TIR) sensor system depends on its spectral characteristics and its spatial resolution. Various methods for high temperature event (HTE) detection and quantification have been developed, which can be categorized into single- and multi-band algorithms. While single band methods rely on the robust demarcation of background pixels and higher temperature pixels, considered as being anomalous, the TET-1 system facilitates the application of the widely used bi-spectral algorithm approach introduced by Dozier (1981), using the mid-infrared and longwave-infrared channel. This approach takes advantage of the non-linear nature of the Planck’s curves to calculate temperatures and the HTE area on a sub-pixel basis. TIR remote sensing can make a significant contribution to the detection and, partly, the monitoring of land surface temperature (LST), HTE and of parameters describing the surface energy balance for specific areas.

An Optoelectronic Monitoring System for Aviation Hydraulic Fluids

A non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor system has been designed to monitor the state of contamination and degradation of aviation hydraulic fluids. Core part of this system is a MOEMS subsystem consisting of a micro cuvette, a MEMS thermal IR emitter and a four-channel thermopile array. For ruggedness, this MOEMS subsystem is integrated into a high-pressure resistant metal package. The MOEMS subsystem measures the transparency of the fluid under test at four specifically chosen spectral channels. Three of these channels allow the water content, the total acidity number and the remaining acid scavenger reserve to be monitored. The forth channel serves for calibration and self-test purposes. Fluid monitoring systems of this kind will form key components in an innovative AIRBUS aircraft maintenance system.

Multi-channel IR sensor system for determination of oil degradation

Abstract. A miniaturized infrared (IR) multi-channel sensor system was realized to determine chemical oil degradation, e.g., oxidation, increasing water content. Different artificially aged oil samples (synthetic motor oil, mineral hydraulic oil and ester-based hydraulic fluid) were prepared by oxidative degradation at elevated temperatures or addition of water, and characteristic degradation features in the IR spectrum were detected using FTIR spectroscopy. In addition, the absorption behavior of water contaminated synthetic motor oil was analyzed with increasing temperature. To determine the influence of different degradation effects on the measurement results the sensor system was characterized with the various oil samples. The system uses a reference channel to suppress the effect of decreasing transmission over the entire spectrum caused, e.g., by increasing soot content in the oil or contamination of the optical path.

A novel method to position an endotracheal tube at the correct depth using an infrared sensor stylet

This study is a feasibility assessment to determine the ability of novice users to utilize an infrared (IR) sensor stylet as a guide to position the tip of the endotracheal tube (ETT) 40 mm proximal to the carina in the swine trachea. We developed a stylet system using an IR sensor attached to the tip of a stylet to facilitate measuring the distance of the ETT from the carina. The indicator lamp of the IR sensor system turns on through calibration when the ETT tip arrives at a point 20 mm proximal to the carina. In order to place the ETT tip 40 mm (middle of 20-60 mm) from the carina after the indicator lamp turns on, the operator uses the ETT marker to withdraw the ETT 20 mm. For this study, five fresh swine airways were used in random order after drawing lots, and ten novices were recruited to attempt the procedure ten times on each swine's airway. Five hundred endotracheal intubations were performed. For the target distance of 40 mm from the ETT tip to the carina, the mean (standard deviation) of the total data set was 37.9 (3.5) mm; all data were within a 20-60 mm range (500/500), and 98.2% (491/500) of the attempts fell within the 30-50 mm range. The IR sensor stylet system can facilitate correct positioning of the ETT tip at an appropriate depth above the carina in the swine trachea. Evaluation of the IR sensor stylet methodology in human subjects is warranted.

Cell membrane morphology analysis using an infrared sensor system

In this paper, we report on the CH2-symmetric to CH2-antisymmetric stretch ratio as a method to determine membrane morphology alterations in mammalian cells. Cell membrane morphology is an important parameter for tumour development studies and for determining the lowest effective dose of antitumour agents, reducing the occurrence of side effects. For this study a normal epithelial kidney cell line and three human melanoma cell lines were investigated. The epithelial kidney cell line Madin-Darby Canine Kidney was exposed to the cholesterol reduction agent methyl-β-cyclodextrin. The cholesterol reduction changes the cell membrane morphology and the plasma membrane of the cells become less rigid. A thin layer chromatography analysis was performed into test the efficiency of the cholesterol reduction method.The antitumour agent cisplatin is known to cause the opposite effect and makes the cell membrane more rigid. In order to investigate the cell membrane morphology change three human melanoma cell lines were treated with cisplatin.For the CH2-stretch ratio measurements we used a self-designed infrared sensor system, which has the potential to be further developed in a point-of-care instrument. With the sensor system the morphology changes due to cholesterol reduction and cisplatin treatments were established.This study proves that the CH2-symmetric to CH2-antisymmetric stretch ratio can be successfully applied for label-free cell membrane morphology analysis.

PHOTOGRAMMETRIC EVALUATION OF MULTI-TEMPORAL FIXED WING UAV IMAGERY

Abstract. Several flights have been undertaken with PAMS (Photogrammetric Aerial Mapping System) by Germatics, Germany, which is briefly introduced. This system is based on the SmartPlane fixed-wing UAV and a CANON IXUS camera system. The plane is equipped with GPS and has an infrared sensor system to estimate attitude values. A software has been developed to link the PAMS output to a standard photogrammetric processing chain built on Trimble INPHO. The linking of the image files and image IDs and the handling of different cases with partly corrupted output have to be solved to generate an INPHO project file. Based on this project file the software packages MATCH-AT, MATCH-T DSM, OrthoMaster and OrthoVista for digital aerial triangulation, DTM/DSM generation and finally digital orthomosaik generation are applied. The focus has been on investigations on how to adapt the "usual" parameters for the digital aerial triangulation and other software to the UAV flight conditions, which are showing high overlaps, large kappa angles and a certain image blur in case of turbulences. It was found, that the selected parameter setup shows a quite stable behaviour and can be applied to other flights. Investigations have been performed to improve the image quality estimates by the PAMS software and extend it to whole images. This gives the user a reliable basis when deciding on rejecting images with low quality for the follow-up process. Flights over the same area at different times have been compared to each other. The major objective was first to see, on how far differences occur relative to each other, without having access to ground control data, which would have a potential for applications with low requirements on the absolute accuracy. In a second stage the results are compared to GPS measurements on the ground. The results show, that there are influences of weather and illumination visible. The "unusual" flight pattern, which shows big time differences for neighbouring strips has an influence on the AT and DTM/DSM generation. The results obtained so far do indicate problems in the stability of the camera calibration and a need for some GCPs. It is clearly recommended to use at least a moderate number of GCPs for all projects, independent on the application, as the GPS data of the sensor does not proof to be sufficient.

PHOTOGRAMMETRIC MEASUREMENTS IN FIXED WING UAV IMAGERY

Abstract. Several flights have been undertaken with PAMS (Photogrammetric Aerial Mapping System) by Germap, Germany, which is briefly introduced. This system is based on the SmartPlane fixed-wing UAV and a CANON IXUS camera system. The plane is equipped with GPS and has an infrared sensor system to estimate attitude values. A software has been developed to link the PAMS output to a standard photogrammetric processing chain built on Trimble INPHO. The linking of the image files and image IDs and the handling of different cases with partly corrupted output have to be solved to generate an INPHO project file. Based on this project file the software packages MATCH-AT, MATCH-T DSM, OrthoMaster and OrthoVista for digital aerial triangulation, DTM/DSM generation and finally digital orthomosaik generation are applied. The focus has been on investigations on how to adapt the "usual" parameters for the digital aerial triangulation and other software to the UAV flight conditions, which are showing high overlaps, large kappa angles and a certain image blur in case of turbulences. It was found, that the selected parameter setup shows a quite stable behaviour and can be applied to other flights. A comparison is made to results from other open source multi-ray matching software to handle the issue of the described flight conditions. Flights over the same area at different times have been compared to each other. The major objective was here to see, on how far differences occur relative to each other, without having access to ground control data, which would have a potential for applications with low requirements on the absolute accuracy. The results show, that there are influences of weather and illumination visible. The "unusual" flight pattern, which shows big time differences for neighbouring strips has an influence on the AT and DTM/DSM generation. The results obtained so far do indicate problems in the stability of the camera calibration. This clearly requests a usage of GCPs for all projects, independent on the application. The effort is estimated to be even higher as expected, as also self-calibration will be an issue to handle a possibly instable camera calibration. To overcome some of the encountered problems with the very specific features of UAV flights a software UAVision was developed based on Open Source libraries to produce input data for bundle adjustment of UAV images by PAMS. The empirical test results show a considerable improvement in the matching of tie points. The results do, however, show that the Open Source bundle adjustment was not applicable to this type of imagery. This still leaves the possibility to use the improved tie point correspondences in the commercial AT package.

A Microcontroller-Based IR Range Finder System With Dynamic Range Enhancement

The present paper describes the development of a microcontroller-based infrared (IR) range finder system, employing two IR light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and an IR sensor. The system employs a software array-based approach where both the burst frequency of IR energy transmitted by the IR LEDs and the duration of this energy transmission in one sweep are progressively reduced, in a bid to increase the possibility of sensing the IR energy reflected back from the object. The proposed system can perform dynamic range enhancement, by utilizing an intelligent scheme, where, the output from the IR sensor system is used as a feedback to adaptively switch one of the IR LEDs. Experimental studies confirm that our developed system can indeed implement dynamic range enhancement, when compared to a conventional IR range finder system.