USB Connection Research Articles

Medieval Habit, Modern Sensation:

[H]abit is an immensely powerful agent for regulating, even creating, the acuity of sentience. Just as one may regulate the amount of light by opening and closing one’s eyelids or by turning and tilting one’s head through hundreds of angles and planes, so habit acts to set in place countless gateways that either open and allow the world to rush toward one or instead close it to keep it wholly at bay. —elaine scarry1

Automated Measurement and Monitoring of the Electromagnetic Fields from GSM Systems

Abstrac t—The main objective of the present study is to introduce a virtual instrumentation system for automated characterization of the electromagnetic fields generated by GSM systems. The system consists of calibrated antennas, remotely controlled spectrum analyzer with USB connectivity and dedicated LabVIEW software for data transfer, processing, analysis and monitoring. Primarily intended to determine the RF fields from GSM base stations, it can also be used for investigating the RF exposure from other communication technologies.

Development of a Novel Fiber Optic Sensor Combined with a Fluorescence Turn-on Probe for Cu (II) Detection

Existing staining-based methodology for the detection of metal ions is not well suited for real-time or in situ use. This is a significant problem, given that these ions can have a considerable impact on both human health and the environment. Thus, there is growing interest and need for simple, rapid and in-situ monitoring techniques for the purpose of detecting various target analytes (e.g. heavy metals), which is of a significant importance in many fields ranging from environmental monitoring to the study of intracellular processes. Among various sensors developed, optical fiber-optic sensors (FOS), based on fluorescence, are one class of sensors that address this goal (1). Optical fibers are ideal for environmental sensing applications because of their ability to transmit optical signals to and from the sensing region without the use of free-space optics. In this work, we present, for the first time, a simple FOS incorporating novel fluorescence mechanism (2) that could detect Cu (II) as low as 10 -4 M. Traditionally, fluorescence quenching or turn-off was used to detect Cu (II) (3). In recent years, fluorescence turn-on emerges as a preferable tool. The developed fiber-optic sensor has two fiber leads and one probe head. One fiber lead includes 6 fibers for He-Ne laser excitation light delivery (e-fibers). Another fiber lead has one receiving fiber (r-fiber) connected to an Ocean Optics QE65000 scientific grade spectrometer, which is interrogated by a computer via USB connection. The SpectroSuite software is used to observe and to record all spectra. The probe head combines all fibers together to form a coaxial structure with the r-fiber placed in the center. The key component in the proposed fluorescent sensing system is a probe prepared by binding a receptor containing a zwitterionic chromophore (M1), through noncovalent interactions, to the fluorescent polymer (P1) resulting in quenching its emission. The sensing mechanism involves the release of P1 (a fluorescent indicator) from its non-fluorescent indicator/receptor (P1/M1) pair upon exposure to Cu (II). The zwitterionic chromophore (M1) was found to show high selectivity and sensitivity to Cu (II), making it an ideal receptor for the recognition of Cu (II) (4). The optimum operating conditions and performance characteristics for the new sensor will be discussed.

PIC32-Based Scheme for Signaling and Transferring Images From an FFT-CCD Sensor Through USB

The paper presents important design characteristics of the control scheme for an FFT-CCD sensor. The hardwaremodule employs a microchip PIC32 core with a Hamamatsu CCD sensor, for image retrieval, conversion and transferto a computer. The paper focuses on describing the core programming for sensor control and USB communication.The description provides useful information for researchers and hardware interface developers. The system wastested for transfer delay in USB connections with different number of endpoints and three endpoint sizes. Resultsshow that USB connections with three endpoints and 64-byte endpoint size have the smallest transfer delay, 1second. Connections with two endpoints increase delay in 100 milliseconds; however, this setup is simpler toimplement.

Physical AWGN Channel Emulator for Bit Error Rate Test of Digital Baseband Communication

This paper presents a physical channel emulator solution for applications such as Bit Error Rate Testing of Error Correcting Codes. The solution relies on an analog White Gaussian Noise Generator coupled additively with an analog data signal to emulate the communication channel. This is interfaced to a computer through a USB connection, allowing the use of programs in different environments, such as Matlab and Labview. This solution can allow different types of channels to be emulated and with different noise sources. A software-based method to measure Signal to Noise Ratio and to characterize the channel is also presented. The system has been validated using a Matlab interface implementing multiple error correcting codes and showed good agreement with the theoretical model.

A low cost, open source autonomous passive acoustic recording unit for recording marine animals

An autonomous passive acoustic recording unit (ARU) was developed through a collaboration between the Boston University Department of Mechanical Engineering and the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center. The ARU consists of two main sections, an electronic data logger and a mechanical pressure case and release. The datalogger makes use of widely adopted commercial hardware such as SD card memory and USB connectivity. In addition, WAV file formats and open-source compiler software allow flexibility and programmability at minimal expense. The pressure case was designed for shallow water (100 m) applications with few machined parts and several “off the shelf” parts. The overall system can be constructed at a minimal cost and has been successfully tested during both laboratory and at-sea trials.

A Wireless Reflectance Pulse Oximeter With Digital Baseline Control for Unfiltered Photoplethysmograms

Pulse oximeters are central to the move toward wearable health monitoring devices and medical electronics either hosted by, e.g., smart phones or physically embedded in their design. This paper presents a small, low-cost pulse oximeter design appropriate for wearable and surface-based applications that also produces quality, unfiltered photo-plethysmograms (PPGs) ideal for emerging diagnostic algorithms. The design's "filter-free" embodiment, which employs only digital baseline subtraction as a signal compensation mechanism, distinguishes it from conventional pulse oximeters that incorporate filters for signal extraction and noise reduction. This results in high-fidelity PPGs with thousands of peak-to-peak digitization levels that are sampled at 240 Hz to avoid noise aliasing. Electronic feedback controls make these PPGs more resilient in the face of environmental changes (e.g., the device can operate in full room light), and data stream in real time across either a ZigBee wireless link or a wired USB connection to a host. On-board flash memory is available for store-and-forward applications. This sensor has demonstrated an ability to gather high-integrity data at fingertip, wrist, earlobe, palm, and temple locations from a group of 48 subjects (20 to 64 years old).

Enabling High Grayscale Resolution Displays and Accurate Response Time Measurements on Conventional Computers

Display systems based on conventional computer graphics cards are capable of generating images with 8-bit gray level resolution. However, most experiments in vision research require displays with more than 12 bits of luminance resolution. Several solutions are available. Bit++ (1) and DataPixx (2) use the Digital Visual Interface (DVI) output from graphics cards and high resolution (14 or 16-bit) digital-to-analog converters to drive analog display devices. The VideoSwitcher (3) described here combines analog video signals from the red and blue channels of graphics cards with different weights using a passive resister network (4) and an active circuit to deliver identical video signals to the three channels of color monitors. The method provides an inexpensive way to enable high-resolution monochromatic displays using conventional graphics cards and analog monitors. It can also provide trigger signals that can be used to mark stimulus onsets, making it easy to synchronize visual displays with physiological recordings or response time measurements. Although computer keyboards and mice are frequently used in measuring response times (RT), the accuracy of these measurements is quite low. The RTbox is a specialized hardware and software solution for accurate RT measurements. Connected to the host computer through a USB connection, the driver of the RTbox is compatible with all conventional operating systems. It uses a microprocessor and high-resolution clock to record the identities and timing of button events, which are buffered until the host computer retrieves them. The recorded button events are not affected by potential timing uncertainties or biases associated with data transmission and processing in the host computer. The asynchronous storage greatly simplifies the design of user programs. Several methods are available to synchronize the clocks of the RTbox and the host computer. The RTbox can also receive external triggers and be used to measure RT with respect to external events. Both VideoSwitcher and RTbox are available for users to purchase. The relevant information and many demonstration programs can be found at http://lobes.usc.edu/.

Measuring the colour of virgin olive oils in a new colour scale using a low-cost portable electronic device

The Modified Uniform Oil Colour Scale (MUOCS) is proposed for the colour specification of virgin olive oils. MUOCS has 60 standard colours, the same number as the two previous scales available for the same purpose: Uniform Oil Colour Scale (UOCS) and Bromthymol Blue (BTB). A remarkable improvement in accuracy can be achieved from MUOCS standards: For a broad dataset of 1700 virgin olive oils produced in Spain during four different harvests, the average colour differences to the closest standards were 2.86, 3.99, and 8.17 CIELAB units using MUOCS, UOCS and BTB, respectively. A low-cost (<60 Euros) portable electronic device is proposed for the colour specification of virgin olive oils based on MUOCS and BTB standards. This device can operate with USB connection to a computer or AAA batteries, and is based on fast (<0.25s) transmittance measurements of the virgin-olive-oil sample placed in a 5-mm pathlength quartz cell. The device may avoid the use of expensive laboratory instrumentation for colour measurement and can be easily employed by non-technician users. For a reduced set of commercial virgin olive oils with random colours, the MUOCS classifications provided by our device agreed with those given by conventional spectrophotometric measurements in 92% of the cases.

Development of a Double-Channel Medical Signal Generator Based on STM32 with High Performance

An open-ended and multifunctional double-channel signal generator, which based on a 32 bits monolithic integrated microcomputer, highly integrated device and LCD, is introduced in this paper. The instrument is composed of micro-computer STM32F103RD and some integrated chips (IC), which includes programmable waveform generators-AD9833 with highly frequency and phase precision. As a result, this signal generator may output not only double channels accurate sine, square or triangle waveforms with digital-controlled frequency and phase at the same time, but also many kinds of physiological signals that can be modified by USB connection with well open property. Therefore, it is convenient to measure and teach about hearing, research and study on frequency characteristic of human ear and impedance characteristic of human body in medical science. In addition, it is also very easy in experiment and research of college and medical physics for using double channels sine signal to show synthesis of two simple harmonic vibrations under different frequency, phase difference and direction, such as beat pattern and Lissajous figures. Thus it has many merits, such as the small volume, stable property, simple operation, visual display and so on. Consequently, it can be widely used in researching, teaching, debugging and maintaining.

Acquisition System and Detector Interface for Power Pulsed Detectors

A common DAQ system is being developed within the CALICE collaboration. It provides a flexible and scalable architecture based on giga-ethernet and 8b/10b serial links in order to transmit either slow control data, fast signals or read out data. A detector interface (DIF) is used to connect detectors to the DAQ system based on a single firmware shared among the collaboration but targeted on various physical implementations. The DIF allows to build, store and queue packets of data as well as to control the detectors providing USB and serial link connectivity. The overall architecture is foreseen to manage several hundreds of thousands channels.

Versatile iPad forensic acquisition using the Apple Camera Connection Kit

The Apple iPad is a popular tablet device presented by Apple in early 2010. The idiosyncracies of this new portable device and the kind of data it may store open new opportunities in the field of computer forensics. Given that its design, both internal and external, is very similar to the iPhone, the current easiest way to obtain a forensic image is to install an SSH server and some tools, dump its internal storage and transfer it to a remote host via wireless networking. This approach may require up to 20 hours. In this paper, we present a novel approach that takes advantage of an undocumented feature so that it is possible to use a cheap iPad accessory, the Camera Connection Kit, to image the disk to an external hard drive attached via USB connection, greatly reducing the required time.

A new laboratory radio frequency identification (RFID) system for behavioural tracking of marine organisms.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) devices are currently used to quantify several traits of animal behaviour with potential applications for the study of marine organisms. To date, behavioural studies with marine organisms are rare because of the technical difficulty of propagating radio waves within the saltwater medium. We present a novel RFID tracking system to study the burrowing behaviour of a valuable fishery resource, the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus L.). The system consists of a network of six controllers, each handling a group of seven antennas. That network was placed below a microcosm tank that recreated important features typical of Nephrops’ grounds, such as the presence of multiple burrows. The animals carried a passive transponder attached to their telson, operating at 13.56 MHz. The tracking system was implemented to concurrently report the behaviour of up to three individuals, in terms of their travelled distances in a specified unit of time and their preferential positioning within the antenna network. To do so, the controllers worked in parallel to send the antenna data to a computer via a USB connection. The tracking accuracy of the system was evaluated by concurrently recording the animals’ behaviour with automated video imaging. During the two experiments, each lasting approximately one week, two different groups of three animals each showed a variable burrow occupancy and a nocturnal displacement under a standard photoperiod regime (12 h light:12 h dark), measured using the RFID method. Similar results were obtained with the video imaging. Our implemented RFID system was therefore capable of efficiently tracking the tested organisms and has a good potential for use on a wide variety of other marine organisms of commercial, aquaculture, and ecological interest.

Low latency breathing frequency detection and monitoring on a personal computer

We demonstrate a low latency respiratory/breathing frequency detection system that is fast (<5 ms), easy to operate, requires no batteries or external power supply and operates fully via computer-standard USB connection. Exercises in controlling ones breathing frequency, usually referred to as paced-breathing exercises, have shown positive effects in treating pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular diseases and stress/anxiety-related disorders. We developed a breathing frequency detection system which uses two pairs of microphones to detect exhalation activity, eliminate noise from the environment and stream the recording data via USB connection to a personal computer. It showed 97.1% reliability (10 subjects) when monitoring breathing activity in non-guided free breathing and 100% reliability (10 subjects) when monitoring breathing activity during interactive paced-breathing exercises. We also evaluated the breathing frequency detection systems noise elimination functionality which showed a reduction of 84.2 dB for stationary (white noise) and a reduction of 79.3 dB for non-stationary (hands clapping) noise.

A digital oscilloscope setup for the measurement of a transistor’s characteristic curves

Measuring the I-V characteristics of a transistor constitutes an important step in an introductory electronics course. We demonstrate the use of a digital oscilloscope with a USB connection to perform a measurement of the characteristic curves with no additional custom circuitry. The setup is presented alongside the open-source software that allows the signal acquisition and analysis of the results.

System of nano-silver inkjet printed memory cards and PC card reader and programmer

This work describes the development of inkjet printed, low-cost memory cards, and complementary pair of memory card reader and card reader/programmer for PCs. This constitutes a complete system that can be used for various applications. The memory cards are manufactured by inkjet printing nano-silver ink on photo paper substrate. The printed memory structures have an initial high resistance that can later be programmed to specific values representing data on the cards, the so called Write Once Read Many (WORM) memories. The memory card reader measures the resistance values of the memory cells and reads it back to the computer by USB connection. Using multiple resistance levels that represent different states it is possible to have a larger number of selectable combinations with fewer physical bits compared to binary coding. This somewhat counters one of the limitations of resistive memory technology that basically each cell needs one physical contact. The number of possible states is related to the resolution of the reader and the stability of the WORM memory.

An ounce of prevention can save a pound of audiometer trouble

An ounce of prevention can save a pound of audiometer trouble

Hand Gesture Recognition for Human-Computer Interaction Through Infrared Motion Sensing

Abstract:This paper presents a method of computer interaction using the IS-300Pro PrecisionMotion Tracker. The motion tracker compares the gestures with a defined pattern ofmovement so that it can be recognized. The method is developed using infrared lightemitting diodes (IR LEDs) attached to the thumb and index fingers of two gloves, andthe IS-300Pro motion tracker connected to a computer using the USB port. Amicrocontroller unit (MCU) supporting USB connection is employed for computerinterface. Software developed specifically for the application is installed in thecomputer. The system is able to recognize gestures for alphanumeric characters, as wellas user-defined gestures. The software interprets the gestures captured by the motiontracker and translates them to corresponding response hardcoded in the software. Threesoftware programs were developed to demonstrate the capabilities of the system.Experiments show that distance between the sensor and IR LEDs affects the accuracy ofgesture recognition and interpretation.

RTbox: A device for highly accurate response time measurements

Although computer keyboards and mice are frequently used in measuring response times (RTs), the accuracy of these measurements is quite low. Specialized RT collection devices must be used to obtain more accurate measurements. However, all the existing devices have some shortcomings. We have developed and implemented a new, commercially available device, the RTbox, for highly accurate RT measurements. The RTbox has its own microprocessor and high-resolution clock. It can record the identities and timing of button events with high accuracy, unaffected by potential timing uncertainty or biases during data transmission and processing in the host computer. It stores button events until the host computer chooses to retrieve them. The asynchronous storage greatly simplifies the design of user programs. The RTbox can also receive and record external signals as triggers and can measure RTs with respect to external events. The internal clock of the RTbox can be synchronized with the computer clock, so the device can be used without external triggers. A simple USB connection is sufficient to integrate the RTbox with any standard computer and operating system.

A compact cosmic ray telescope for outreach activities

The aim of this work is to introduce non-expert people in astroparticle physics by using a portable tracking telescope for muons. The device is composed of 10 planes of Resistive Plate Chamber (already used in the VETO, XPC and Spectrometers sub-apparatus of the OPERA experiment), each one 50 × 50 cm 2 equipped with orthogonal read-out strips (double view, X and Y) for the track reconstruction. A custom read-out system has been developed. It is based on the use of standard PCB as read-out system in which the strips have been drawn. Particle tracks are displayed by means of 32 LEDs (16 per view, 1 per strip) for each plane. A Controller Board acquires data from telescope and drives the LED lighting. All the features, as working parameters, gas flowing, high voltage, current monitoring, trigger conditions and event display can be managed by a laptop with a simple USB connection. The telescope will be operative at the end of this year and will be used by LNGS team in public events as well as to promote the scientific activities of the Laboratory.