Optical Mouse Sensor for Eye Blink Detection and Pupil Tracking: Application in a Low-Cost Eye-Controlled Pointing Device

In this paper, a new application of the optical mouse sensor is presented. The optical mouse is used as a main low-cost infrared vision system of a new proposal of a head-mounted human-computer interaction (HCI) device controlled by eye movements. The default optical mouse sensor lens and illumination source are replaced in order to improve its field of view and capture entire eye images. A complementary 8-bit microcontroller is used to acquire and process these images with two optimized algorithms to detect forced eye blinks and pupil displacements which are translated to computer pointer actions. This proposal introduces an inexpensive and approachable plug and play (PnP) device for people with severe disability in the upper extremities, neck, and head. The presented pointing device performs standard computer mouse actions with no extra software required. It uses the human interface device (HID) standard class of the universal serial bus (USB) increasing its compatibility for most computer platforms. This new device approach is aimed at improving comfortability and portability of the current commercial devices with simple installation and calibration. Several performance tests were done with different volunteer users obtaining an average pupil detection error of 0.34 pixels with a successful detection in 82.6% of all mouse events requested by means of pupil tracking.

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The BabySaver: Design of a New Device for Neonatal Resuscitation at Birth with Intact Placental Circulation

Children ◽

10.3390/children8060526 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 526

Author(s):

James Ditai ◽

Aisling Barry ◽

Kathy Burgoine ◽

Anthony K. Mbonye ◽

Julius N. Wandabwa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Neonatal Resuscitation ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Skilled Birth Attendants ◽

New Device ◽

Birth Attendants ◽

Premature Babies ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Uk ◽

The University

The initial bedside care of premature babies with an intact cord has been shown to reduce mortality; there is evidence that resuscitation of term babies with an intact cord may also improve outcomes. This process has been facilitated by the development of bedside resuscitation surfaces. These new devices are unaffordable, however, in most of sub-Saharan Africa, where 42% of the world’s 2.4 million annual newborn deaths occur. This paper describes the rationale and design of BabySaver, an innovative low-cost mobile resuscitation unit, which was developed iteratively over five years in a collaboration between the Sanyu Africa Research Institute (SAfRI) in Uganda and the University of Liverpool in the UK. The final BabySaver design comprises two compartments; a tray to provide a firm resuscitation surface, and a base to store resuscitation equipment. The design was formed while considering contextual factors, using the views of individual women from the community served by the local hospitals, medical staff, and skilled birth attendants in both Uganda and the UK.

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The grades and freshness assessment of eggs based on density detection using machine vision and weighing sensor

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-96140-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Supakorn Harnsoongnoen ◽

Nuananong Jaroensuk

Keyword(s):

Machine Vision ◽

Vision System ◽

Low Cost ◽

Measuring System ◽

Coefficient Of Determination ◽

Water Displacement ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Future Potential ◽

Non Destructive ◽

Egg Freshness

AbstractThe water displacement and flotation are two of the most accurate and rapid methods for grading and assessing freshness of agricultural products based on density determination. However, these techniques are still not suitable for use in agricultural inspections of products such as eggs that absorb water which can be considered intrusive or destructive and can affect the result of measurements. Here we present a novel proposal for a method of non-destructive, non-invasive, low cost, simple and real—time monitoring of the grading and freshness assessment of eggs based on density detection using machine vision and a weighing sensor. This is the first proposal that divides egg freshness into intervals through density measurements. The machine vision system was developed for the measurement of external physical characteristics (length and breadth) of eggs for evaluating their volume. The weighing system was developed for the measurement of the weight of the egg. Egg weight and volume were used to calculate density for grading and egg freshness assessment. The proposed system could measure the weight, volume and density with an accuracy of 99.88%, 98.26% and 99.02%, respectively. The results showed that the weight and freshness of eggs stored at room temperature decreased with storage time. The relationship between density and percentage of freshness was linear for the all sizes of eggs, the coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9982, 0.9999, 0.9996, 0.9996 and 0.9994 for classified egg size classified 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. This study shows that egg freshness can be determined through density without using water to test for water displacement or egg flotation which has future potential as a measuring system important for the poultry industry.

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An Automated Light Trap to Monitor Moths (Lepidoptera) Using Computer Vision-Based Tracking and Deep Learning

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21020343 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 343

Author(s):

Kim Bjerge ◽

Jakob Bonde Nielsen ◽

Martin Videbæk Sepstrup ◽

Flemming Helsing-Nielsen ◽

Toke Thomas Høye

Keyword(s):

Computer Vision ◽

Deep Learning ◽

Vision System ◽

Low Cost ◽

Light Trap ◽

Automatic Monitoring ◽

Light Sources ◽

Monitoring Methods ◽

Computer Vision System ◽

Substantial Investment

Insect monitoring methods are typically very time-consuming and involve substantial investment in species identification following manual trapping in the field. Insect traps are often only serviced weekly, resulting in low temporal resolution of the monitoring data, which hampers the ecological interpretation. This paper presents a portable computer vision system capable of attracting and detecting live insects. More specifically, the paper proposes detection and classification of species by recording images of live individuals attracted to a light trap. An Automated Moth Trap (AMT) with multiple light sources and a camera was designed to attract and monitor live insects during twilight and night hours. A computer vision algorithm referred to as Moth Classification and Counting (MCC), based on deep learning analysis of the captured images, tracked and counted the number of insects and identified moth species. Observations over 48 nights resulted in the capture of more than 250,000 images with an average of 5675 images per night. A customized convolutional neural network was trained on 2000 labeled images of live moths represented by eight different classes, achieving a high validation F1-score of 0.93. The algorithm measured an average classification and tracking F1-score of 0.71 and a tracking detection rate of 0.79. Overall, the proposed computer vision system and algorithm showed promising results as a low-cost solution for non-destructive and automatic monitoring of moths.

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A low-cost Raspberry PI-based vision system for upper-limb prosthetics

2020 27th IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems (ICECS) ◽

10.1109/icecs49266.2020.9294901 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rinku Roy ◽

Kianoush Nazarpour

Keyword(s):

Upper Limb ◽

Vision System ◽

Low Cost ◽

Raspberry Pi ◽

Upper Limb Prosthetics

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A New Cadmium Reduction Device for the Microplate Determination of Nitrate in Water, Soil, Plant Tissue, and Physiological Fluids

Journal of AOAC International ◽

10.5740/jaoacint.10-454 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 94 (6) ◽

pp. 1896-1905 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

James D Crutchfield ◽

John H Grove

Keyword(s):

Plant Tissue ◽

Low Cost ◽

Statistical Validation ◽

Soil Science Society ◽

Widespread Application ◽

Tissue Samples ◽

New Device ◽

Low Concentrations ◽

Groundwater Samples ◽

Interlaboratory Validation

Abstract A reusable catalytic reductor consisting of 96 copperized-cadmium pins attached to a microplate lid was developed to simultaneously reduce nitrate (NO3–) to nitrite (NO2–) in all wells of a standard microplate. The resulting NO2– is analyzed colorimetrically by the Griess reaction using a microplate reader. Nitrate data from groundwater samples analyzed using the new device correlated well with data obtained by ion chromatography (r2 = 0.9959). Soil and plant tissue samples previously analyzed for NO3– in an interlaboratory validation study sponsored by the Soil Science Society of America were also analyzed using the new technique. For the soil sample set, the data are shown to correlate well with the other methods used (r2 = 0.9976). Plant data correlated less well, especially for samples containing low concentrations of NO3–. Reasons for these discrepancies are discussed, and new techniques to increase the accuracy of the analysis are explored. In addition, a method is presented for analyzing NO3– in physiological fluids (blood serum and urine) after matrix modification with Somogyi's reagent. A protocol for statistical validation of data when analyzing samples with complex matrixes is also established. The simplicity, adaptability, and low cost of the device indicate its potential for widespread application.

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Application of infrared vision system for potato thermal control

Journal of Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1088/1742-6596/1084/1/012002 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1084 ◽

pp. 012002 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A Churikov ◽

A Divin ◽

A Egorov ◽

L Podestà

Keyword(s):

Vision System ◽

Thermal Control ◽

Infrared Vision

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Indoor Positioning Method Based on Infrared Vision and UWB Fusion

Journal of Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1088/1742-6596/2078/1/012070 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2078 (1) ◽

pp. 012070

Author(s):

Qianrong Zhang ◽

Yi Li

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Indoor Localization ◽

Low Cost ◽

Ultra Wideband ◽

Coverage Area ◽

Positioning Accuracy ◽

Mobile Vehicle ◽

Positioning Method ◽

Positioning Algorithm ◽

Infrared Vision

Abstract Ultra-wideband (UWB) has broad application prospects in the field of indoor localization. In order to make up for the shortcomings of ultra-wideband that is easily affected by the environment, a positioning method based on the fusion of infrared vision and ultra-wideband is proposed. Infrared vision assists locating by identifying artificial landmarks attached to the ceiling. UWB uses an adaptive weight positioning algorithm to improve the positioning accuracy of the edge of the UWB positioning coverage area. Extended Kalman filter (EKF) is used to fuse the real-time location information of the two. Finally, the intelligent mobile vehicle-mounted platform is used to collect infrared images and UWB ranging information in the indoor environment to verify the fusion method. Experimental results show that the fusion positioning method is better than any positioning method, has the advantages of low cost, real-time performance, and robustness, and can achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy.

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Low-cost and home-made immersive systems

International Journal of Virtual Reality ◽

10.20870/ijvr.2012.11.3.2846 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 9-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sébastien Kuntz ◽

Ján Cíger

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Vision System ◽

Low Cost ◽

Immersive Virtual Reality ◽

Simple Application ◽

3D Vision ◽

Head Mounted Display ◽

Good Level ◽

Application Sharing ◽

Immersive Systems

A lot of professionals or hobbyists at home would like to create their own immersive virtual reality systems for cheap and taking little space. We offer two examples of such "home-made" systems using the cheapest hardware possible while maintaining a good level of immersion: the first system is based on a projector (VRKit-Wall) and cost around 1000$, while the second system is based on a head-mounted display (VRKit-HMD) and costs between 600� and 1000�. We also propose a standardization of those systems in order to enable simple application sharing. Finally, we describe a method to calibrate the stereoscopy of a NVIDIA 3D Vision system.

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