Browse Topic: Optics
g-C₃N₄, a metal-free semiconductor photocatalyst, demonstrates remarkable potential, but its practical application in pollutant degradation is significantly limited by the rapid recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and low photocatalytic efficiency. To address this, a series of magnetic recyclable g-C₃N₄/CoFe₂O₄ composite photocatalysts with different CoFe₂O₄ doping ratios were innovatively designed and prepared via thermal polymerization, sol- gel, and combined with ultrasonic and heat treatment processes. The novelty of this composite design lies in the effective integration of magnetic CoFe₂O₄ with g-C₃N₄ through a heterojunction structure. It substantially boosts the absorption of visible light. Concurrently, it effectively fosters the separation and mobility of photo-induced charge carriers. The composite materials were systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Using tetracycline hydrochloride as the target pollutant, the photocatalytic activity of the composites was evaluated under visible light irradiation, and the effects of initial concentration, catalyst dosage, and the influence of solution pH on degradation efficiency were also examined. The results indicated that the composite with a CoFe₂O₄ to g-C₃N₄ mass ratio of 1:3 (denoted as 3-CN/CFO) exhibited the optimal performance: a TCH degradation rate of 80.29 % within 105 minutes and a total organic carbon removal rate of 61.63 %. After five consecutive cycling experiments, the degradation efficiency remained above 70 %, demonstrating good reusability and stability. The performance improvement is attributed to the formation of heterojunctions in the composite, which effectively facilitates charge separation, inhibits carrier recombination, and enhances visible light absorption. Furthermore, the inherent magnetism of the composite permits efficient recovery, streamlining its integration into practical applications. Toward the purification of antibiotic-contaminated water, this research proposes a viable method for fabricating highly effective and recyclable photocatalysts.
When quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operate in urban low-altitude airspace, especially within complex environments, their sensor perception signals are highly susceptible to blockages, deviations, and the inclusion of high-frequency noise. These factors, in turn, induce nonlinear variations in the UAVs’ flight mechanical properties, giving rise to abnormal flight stability issues such as attitude jitter, altitude fluctuations, and trajectory deviations. To address these challenges, this paper puts forward a method aimed at enhancing the positional accuracy of quadrotor UAVs, which is based on Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) multi-sensor fusion. In conjunction with the redundant configuration of sensors, a proportional-integral controller is specifically designed to allow optical flow sensors to compensate for the speed data generated by inertial sensors. Building on the EKF method, a comprehensive data fusion model is established, encompassing both position and speed states. Leveraging the MATLAB platform, trajectory flight simulations are conducted, utilizing multi-sensor data fused via EKF, with the sensor suite including GPS, IMU, Optical Flow sensors, and Barometers. The simulation results demonstrate that this proposed method can effectively mitigate the adverse impacts of environmental interference and sensor noise on the positional accuracy of quadrotors. By continuously correcting position information and accurately estimating position states, it significantly improves the UAVs’ flight position accuracy. This research outcome lays a robust and theoretically sound foundation for in-depth investigations on critical issues related to general aviation applications, such as the safe and efficient autonomous flight, adaptive and reliable intelligent navigation, and ultra-precise and mission-critical operations of quadrotor UAVs, thereby significantly contributing to the sustained and innovative advancement of the field.
In order to reduce traffic accidents caused by cars straying from lanes, a lane line recognition and deviation warning system based on machine vision is designed. It mainly includes image preprocessing, lane line detection, and the design of a deviation warning model. “In this study, an ROS-based intelligent vehicle-mounted camera is adopted for road image collection. To reduce the computational load of data processing while guaranteeing the algorithm’s accuracy and reliability, grayscale conversion and region of interest (ROI) extraction are implemented to finish the image preprocessing stage. Additionally, a fusion strategy of global and local thresholds is introduced to enhance both the operational speed and detection accuracy of the algorithm” use the Canny operator for the edge feature extraction; and complete the fitted lane lines with the improved Hough transform. Finally, based on the Kalman filter and camera viewpoint conversion coefficient algorithm, the lane line offset is detected in real time, and the deviation is judged in combination with the monitoring interface. Simulation experiments show that the system is able to effectively recognize the lane line and judge the deviation status under the condition of setting the offset threshold of 70 pixels, which significantly improves the accuracy and real-time performance of the lane deviation warning and provides effective technical support for reducing traffic accidents.
Gyroscopic effects split circumferential traveling-wave resonances of rotating structures into forward and backward branches. This work first analyzes the splitting in the co-rotating (Lagrangian) frame to provide physical intuition for the evolution of the two branches with spin speed. A transformation to the inertial (Eulerian) frame is then derived, showing that the observed frequencies are shifted by a kinematic Doppler-like term that acts with opposite sign on the forward and backward waves, leading to different Campbell-diagram slopes depending on the observation frame. The resulting framework is validated experimentally on a freely rotating, unloaded tire using two complementary sensing modalities: wireless on-tire accelerometers (co-rotating view) and a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (inertial view). A frequency-domain SVD-based identification (FDD/ODS-SVD) is used to extract poles and deformation patterns over a range of spin speeds, enabling Campbell diagrams in both frames. The application of the proposed transformation maps the co-rotating branches onto the inertial observations, yielding consistent forward/backward splitting between the two measurement systems.
In the two months since Microvision bought Luminar and acquired key tech and talent, the sensor company has been busy. In that time, they've merged key lidar units from each company and created a perception software stack to run it in a convincing demo of its ADAS and autonomous capabilities. The company is also pushing innovative lidar tech into the defense drone and antidrone markets, already working with a German defense supplier that works with NATO member countries.
Compliance verification in aerospace systems often relies on labor-intensive workflows that demand extensive manual effort to produce structured review documentation and requirement matrices. These processes can span dozens of hours per review, are vulnerable to inconsistencies due to non-standardized annotations, and depend heavily on individual interpretation of fragmented technical sources. With a growing backlog of review tasks and a steady influx of new requests, the need for scalable automation has become increasingly important. This study presents a modular automation framework designed to streamline compliance assessments through intelligent document parsing, requirement extraction, and matrix generation. The system integrates optical character recognition, computer vision, and natural language processing techniques to process both scanned and digital documents. By digitizing data across multiple hardware configurations and automating extraction from diverse technical records, the framework enables consistent evaluation across a broad spectrum of requirement categories. Automation scripts and standardized templates facilitate rapid population of compliance matrices, reducing manual hand-offs and minimizing reliance on specialized expertise. Implementation led to a 39% reduction in turnaround time and a 62% increase in monthly throughput, demonstrating measurable efficiency gains in the compliance review process. This framework exemplifies how intelligent automation can drive operational efficiency, deliver measurable cost savings, and pioneer data-driven and scalable innovation in aerospace compliance engineering.
Under a microscope, a bouquet of lollipop-like structures, each smaller than a grain of sand, waves gently in a petri dish of liquid. Suddenly, they snap together, like the jaws of a Venus flytrap, as a scientist waves a small magnet over the dish. What was previously an assemblage of tiny passive structures has transformed instantly into an active robotic gripper.
NEC Corporation Tokyo, Japan
Medical imaging technology is advancing rapidly, bringing new opportunities and challenges for machine designers. Systems that once required dedicated hospital rooms and significant floor space are becoming more compact, faster, mobile and capable of delivering increasingly detailed clinical insight. From advanced CT scanners to imaging platforms integrated with surgical robotics, imaging equipment is evolving toward more point-of-care (POC) solutions to meet rising expectations for diagnostic accuracy, procedural guidance and operational efficiency.
As satellites take on more onboard processing - from Earth imaging to autonomy - spacecraft computing designers are pushing for higher performance under tight thermal and radiation constraints. Here's how suppliers are approaching heat removal, radiation mitigation and production-scale space-grade computing for LEO and beyond.
Space vehicle and satellite development programs are driving demand for new small- and medium-sized satellites across commercial and defense imaging, data collection, and other space-based applications.
The aging of the population has been a key issue worldwide, with mobility and fall of the elderly an important problem to be solved. In this paper, we propose an elderly mobility assist system based on the intelligent power-assisted device consisting of an assistive cane and an intelligent companion. It has the functions of standing support after falling, daily support and on-site rest. The assistive cane adopts a two-stage expansion mechanism of crank and slider structure, which forms a stable triangular support after unfolding, so that the patient can stand safely. The intelligent companion platform is driven by drive wheels, equipped with pushrod motors and vacuum suction devices, it can automatically approach the user and form an stable support column when the cane is in the out-of reach range; the control system is designed by combining microcontroller, camera object recognition, wristband remote control, to realize automatic steering and autonomous navigation at differential speed. The overall design satisfies the requirements of safety and strength through mechanical verification and stress analysis. The proposed system can help the elderly people to recover from falls better and enhance their independence and safety in their daily walks.
The Army requires rotorcraft drive systems to operate for 30 minutes following a loss of lubrication event to make an emergency landing. Coatings research has shown great promise for loss of lubrication, but coating repeatability and quality control is a primary hurdle. The Army partnered with Acree Technologies via a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) effort to develop an optimized gear coating for loss of lubrication. The research culminated in a system level transmission experiment that maintained flight relevant torque and speed through a helicopter gearbox without oil for three hours. The authors decided to shutdown the experiment for inspection after three hours of operation without oil because the temperature and vibration signals maintained steady state conditions without signs of failure. Teardown analysis showed the transmission gear surfaces did not scuff, scanning electron microscope analysis showed coating remained on the gear teeth, and cross-sectional SEM analysis showed a measurable coating thickness remaining on the gear teeth after three-hours of operation without oil.
This study investigates the aerodynamic response of a small-scale UAV propeller under steady and transient conditions at low Reynolds numbers (104–105;). In this regime, phenomena such as laminar separation, transition, and the formation of recirculation bubbles strongly influence airfoil performance. In addition, the flow response to rapid changes in rotational speed is still poorly understood, as most existing models assume quasi-steady behavior. Experiments were conducted in a low-speed wind tunnel using a commercially available 10-inch class propeller (X500 V2 1045). The propeller was subjected to controlled rotor speed ramps, and phase-locked particle image velocimetry (PIV) was combined with synchronized load measurements to track the flow evolution during acceleration and deceleration. A hysteresis was observed in the thrust response when comparing increasing and decreasing rotational speed at identical operating conditions. At the same time, the PIV measurements reveal that the inflow field and the effective angles of attack at the blade scale evolve dynamically throughout the transient. These findings highlight the importance of transient trajectories in low-Reynolds-number propeller operation and show that quasi-steady models are insufficient to describe the observed aerodynamic behavior.
This paper presents an experimental investigation of ship airwake-rotor interaction under cruise-only and longitudinal gust conditions (cruise + gust). A model-scale NATO Generic Destroyer and rotorcraft were tested using time-resolved stereoscopic particle image velocimetry, a six-axis force/torque load cell, and flush pressure sensors. Flow structures, pressure distributions, and spectral energy within the pilot workload-relevant frequency bands were analyzed. High-pressure regions on the ship deck surface show the interactions between the ship recirculation region and rotor ground effects from downwash. The reduced forward velocity within the airwake leads to decreased thrust and a nose-down pitching moment across the ship deck. For high-disk-loading rotorcraft, the rotor ground effects are less important than the ship airwake effects. The power spectral densities of CT, CMx, and CMy decrease toward higher frequencies, while the PSDs of CFx and CFy retain comparatively higher energy at the upper end of the full-scale pilot workload frequency band. A maximum increase of 54.3% in the CMy pilot workload factor in the cruise + gust conditions is observed at Ldeck, which denotes a significant rise in the demand of pilot inputs near the ship stern. The overall pilot workload factor in the cruise + gust case increased by 35.6% compared to cruise-only at 1.5Ldeck, and decreases into the deck. Overall, gust-driven airwake dynamics intensify rotor loading and increase pilot workload demands during shipboard helicopter operations.
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