Development of a Low-Cost System for the Accurate Measurement of Structural Vibrations

Nowadays, engineers are widely using accelerometers to record the vibration of structures for structural verification purposes. The main obstacle for using these data acquisition systems is their high cost, which limits its use to unique structures with a relatively high structural health monitoring budget. In this paper, a Cost Hyper-Efficient Arduino Product (CHEAP) has been developed to accurately measure structural accelerations. CHEAP is a system that is composed of five low-cost accelerometers that are connected to an Arduino microcontroller as their data acquisition system. Test results show that CHEAP not only has a significantly lower price (14 times cheaper in the worst-case scenario) compared with other systems used for comparison but also shows better accuracy on low frequencies for low acceleration amplitudes. Moreover, the final output results of Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) assessments showed a better observable resolution for CHEAP than the studied control systems.

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A Low-cost System for High-frequency Solar Imagery and Power Data Acquisition

Journal of Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1088/1742-6596/1826/1/012082 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1826 (1) ◽

pp. 012082

Author(s):

G F Bassous ◽

R F Calili ◽

C R H Barbosa

Keyword(s):

Data Acquisition ◽

High Frequency ◽

Low Cost ◽

Cost System

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Planar Waveguide: Utility in Amino Acid Detection

2003 International Electronic Packaging Technical Conference and Exhibition, Volume 2 ◽

10.1115/ipack2003-35300 ◽

2003 ◽

Author(s):

David R. Wulfman ◽

Tracey Baas ◽

Ronald McGlennen

Keyword(s):

Medical Care ◽

Planar Waveguide ◽

Low Cost ◽

Test Results ◽

Gene Detection ◽

Excitation Light ◽

Future Design ◽

Standard Glass ◽

Cost System ◽

Glass Microscope Slide

A device for the detection of fluorescently labeled nucleic acid sequences immobilized or hybridized to the surface of a planar waveguide has been developed. The device described requires no image gathering or analysis utilities, nor any specially patterned waveguide surface for detection. The system consists of an excitation light source and a photo detector, filters for select fluorescent emissions and a standard glass microscope slide that functions as a planar waveguide (PWG) and assay substrate. The device can discriminate fluorescent DNA products hybridized to a glass based array as effectively as laser based reader instruments, and is a low cost system with a high potential for full automation. The system’s functional parameters are presented along with design schematics of current prototypes. Performance data is also presented showing test results comparable to pre-established fluorescence detection means. Future design goals are also discussed. It is concluded that as a component in telemedicine or other remote medical care strategies, the detection means presented can play a significant role in bringing molecular diagnosis and gene detection to arenas of medical care where it is currently unavailable.

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Temperature Control Concept for Parallel IGBT Operation

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics10040429 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 429

Author(s):

Andrej Brandis ◽

Denis Pelin ◽

Tomislav Matić ◽

Danijel Topić

Keyword(s):

Temperature Control ◽

Thermal Conditions ◽

Bipolar Transistors ◽

Test Model ◽

Test Results ◽

Case Scenario ◽

Basic Algorithm ◽

Worst Case ◽

Heating And Cooling ◽

Control Concept

This paper addresses the concept of load balancing in the operation of parallel insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), in which the temperature is used as the main control parameter. In parallel IGBT operation, it is essential to ensure an equal load distribution across all IGBTs. Two basic algorithm concepts for temperature control were developed for the purpose of balancing. A test model based on the parallel IGBTs operation was assembled in a laboratory and the developed algorithms were tested for the chosen parameters. MATLAB was used for final data processing. The comparison between the two implemented basic algorithms provides insights into the temperature behavior of parallel IGBTs in terms of individual IGBT’s heating and cooling trajectories and time constants. All tests were conducted without the heatsinks to obtain the worst-case scenario in terms of thermal conditions. The test results show that temperature control in the operation of parallel IGBTs is possible but limited.

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System-on-Package MHMIC Milimeter-Wave Frequency Synthesizer for 60 GHz WPANs

International Journal of Microwave Science and Technology ◽

10.1155/2012/906516 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Boris Spokoinyi ◽

Rony E. Amaya ◽

Ibrahim Haroun ◽

Jim Wight

Keyword(s):

Phase Noise ◽

Frequency Synthesizer ◽

Low Cost ◽

Data Rate ◽

Wave Frequency ◽

Design Approach ◽

Area Network ◽

60 Ghz ◽

Case Scenario ◽

Worst Case

We present a low-cost millimeter-wave frequency synthesizer with ultralow phase noise, implemented using system-on-package (SoP) techniques for high-data-rate wireless personal area network (WPAN) systems operating in the unlicensed 60 GHz ISM band (57–64 GHz). The phase noise specification of the proposed frequency synthesizer is derived for a worst case scenario of an 802.11.3c system, which uses a 64-QAM 512-carrier-OFDM modulation, and a data rate of 5.775 Gbps. Our design approach adopts commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) components integrated in a low-cost alumina-based miniature hybrid microwave integrated circuit (MHMIC) package. The proposed design approach reduces not only the system cost and time-to-market, but also enhances the system performance in comparison with system-on-chip (SoC) designs. The synthesizer has measured phase noise of -111.5 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset and integrated phase noise of 2.8° (simulated: 2.5°) measured at 57.6 GHz with output power of +1 dBm.

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Indirect UAV Strip Georeferencing by On-Board GNSS Data under Poor Satellite Coverage

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs11151765 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (15) ◽

pp. 1765 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Gianfranco Forlani ◽

Fabrizio Diotri ◽

Umberto Morra di Cella ◽

Riccardo Roncella

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽

Case Scenario ◽

Worst Case ◽

Satellite Systems ◽

Ground Control Points ◽

Flight Height ◽

Camera Position ◽

Global Navigation Satellite ◽

Gnss Data

The so-called Real Time Kinematic (RTK) option, which allows one to determine with cm-level accuracy the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) camera position at shooting time, is also being made available on medium- or low-cost drones. It can be foreseen that a sizeable amount of UAV surveys will be soon performed (almost) without Ground Control Points (GCP). However, obstacles to Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signal at the optimal flight altitude might prevent accurate retrieval of camera station positions, e.g., in narrow gorges. In such cases, the master block can be georeferenced by tying it to an (auxiliary) block flown at higher altitude, where the GNSS signal is not impeded. To prove the point in a worst case scenario, but under controlled conditions, an experiment was devised. A single strip about 700 m long, surveyed by a multi-copter at 30 m relative flight height, was referenced with cm-level accuracy by joint adjustment with a block flown at 100 m relative flight height, acquired by a fixed-wing UAV provided with RTK option. The joint block orientation was repeated with or without GCP and with pre-calibrated or self-calibrated camera parameters. Accuracy on ground was assessed on a fair number of Check Points (CP). The results show that, even without GCP, the precision is effectively transferred from the auxiliary block projection centres to the object point horizontal coordinates and, with a pre-calibrated camera, also to the elevations.

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CONSTRUCTION OF A LOW-COST SYSTEM FOR HIGH FREQUENCY DATA ACQUISITION DURING ELECTROCHEMICAL EXPERIMENTS

Química Nova ◽

10.5935/0100-4042.20150062 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Lázaro J. Dalla Costa Jr. ◽

Ernesto C. Pereira

Keyword(s):

Data Acquisition ◽

High Frequency ◽

Low Cost ◽

High Frequency Data ◽

Frequency Data ◽

Cost System

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DEVELOPING A LOW-COST SYSTEM FOR 3D DATA ACQUISITION

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-2-w8-119-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol XLII-2/W8 ◽

pp. 119-126

Author(s):

S. Kossieris ◽

O. Kourounioti ◽

P. Agrafiotis ◽

A. Georgopoulos

Keyword(s):

Data Acquisition ◽

Low Cost ◽

Outdoor Environment ◽

High Definition ◽

Processing Times ◽

Cost System ◽

3D Data ◽

Viable Solution ◽

3D Documentation ◽

Greek Island

In this paper, a developed low-cost system is described, which aims to facilitate 3D documentation fast and reliably by acquiring the necessary data in outdoor environment for the 3D documentation of façades especially in the case of very narrow streets. In particular, it provides a viable solution for buildings up to 8-10m high and streets as narrow as 2m or even less. In cases like that, it is practically impossible or highly time-consuming to acquire images in a conventional way. This practice would lead to a huge number of images and long processing times. The developed system was tested in the narrow streets of a medieval village on the Greek island of Chios. There, in order to by-pass the problem of short taking distances, it was thought to use high definition action cameras together with a 360˚ camera, which are usually provided with very wide-angle lenses and are capable of acquiring images, of high definition, are rather cheap and, most importantly, extremely light. Results suggest that the system can perform fast 3D data acquisition adequate for deliverables of high quality.

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