An Adaptive Multi-Population Approach for Sphericity Error Evaluation in the Manufacture of Hemispherical Shell Resonators.

The performance of a hemispherical resonant gyroscope (HRG) is directly affected by the sphericity error of the thin-walled spherical shell of the hemispherical shell resonator (HSR). In the production process of the HSRs, high-speed, high-accuracy, and high-robustness requirements are necessary for evaluating sphericity errors. We designed a sphericity error evaluation method based on the minimum zone criterion with an adaptive number of subpopulations. The method utilizes the global optimal solution and the subpopulations' optimal solution to guide the search, initializes the subpopulations through clustering, and dynamically eliminates inferior subpopulations. Simulation experiments demonstrate that the algorithm exhibits excellent evaluation accuracy when processing simulation datasets with different sphericity errors, radii, and numbers of sampling points. The uncertainty of the results reached the order of 10-9 mm. When processing up to 6000 simulation datasets, the algorithm's solution deviation from the ideal sphericity error remained around -3 × 10-9 mm. And the sphericity error evaluation was completed within 1 s on average. Additionally, comparison experiments further confirmed the evaluation accuracy of the algorithm. In the HSR sample measurement experiments, our algorithm improved the sphericity error assessment accuracy of the HSR's inner and outer contour sampling datasets by 17% and 4%, compared with the results given by the coordinate measuring machine. The experiment results demonstrated that the algorithm meets the requirements of sphericity error assessment in the manufacturing process of the HSRs and has the potential to be widely used in the future.

Analytical reconstructions of full-scan multiple source-translation computed tomography under large field of views.

This paper is to investigate the high-quality analytical reconstructions of multiple source-translation computed tomography (mSTCT) under an extended field of view (FOV). Under the larger FOVs, the previously proposed backprojection filtration (BPF) algorithms for mSTCT, including D-BPF and S-BPF (their differences are different derivate directions along the detector and source, respectively), make some errors and artifacts in the reconstructed images due to a backprojection weighting factor and the half-scan mode, which deviates from the intention of mSTCT imaging. In this paper, to achieve reconstruction with as little error as possible under the extremely extended FOV, we combine the full-scan mSTCT (F-mSTCT) geometry with the previous BPF algorithms to study the performance and derive a suitable redundancy-weighted function for F-mSTCT. The experimental results indicate FS-BPF can get high-quality, stable images under the extremely extended FOV of imaging a large object, though it requires more projections than FD-BPF. Finally, for different practical requirements in extending FOV imaging, we give suggestions on algorithm selection.

Single-slice rebinning reconstruction method for segmented helical computed tomography.

Recently, to easily extend the helical field-of-view (FOV), the segmented helical computed tomography (SHCT) method was proposed, as well as the corresponding generalized backprojection filtration (G-BPF) type algorithm. Similar to the geometric relationship between helical and circular CT, SHCT just becomes full-scan multiple source-translation CT (F-mSTCT) when the pitch is zero and the number of scan cycles is one. The strategy of G-BPF follows the idea of the generalized Feldkamp approximate cone-beam algorithm for helical CT, i.e., using the F-mSTCT cone-beam BPF algorithm to approximately perform reconstruction for SHCT. The image quality is limited by the pitch size, which implies that satisfactory quality could only be obtained under the conditions of small pitches. To extend the analytical reconstruction for SHCT, an effective single-slice rebinning (SSRB) method for SHCT is investigated here. Transforming the SHCT cone-beam reconstruction into the virtual F-mSTCT fan-beam stack reconstruction task with low computational complexity, and then some techniques are developed to address the challenges involved. By using the basic BPF reconstruction with derivating along the detector (D-BPF), our experiments demonstrate that SSRB has fewer interlayer artifacts, higher z-resolution, more uniform in-plane resolution, and higher reconstruction efficiency compared to G-BPF. SSRB could promote the effective application of deep learning in SHCT reconstruction.

SHCT: segmented helical computed tomography based on multiple slant source-translation.

Micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) is inevitably required to inspect long large objects with high resolution. It is well known that helical CT solves the so-called "long object" problem, but it requires that the measured object be strictly located in the lateral field of view (FOV). Therefore, developing a novel scanning method to extend the FOV in both the lateral and axial directions (i.e., the large helical FOV) is necessary. Recently, due to the application of linearly distributed source arrays and the characteristics of easy extension of the FOV and engineering implementation, straight-line scanning systems have attracted much attention. In this paper, we propose a segmented helical computed tomography (SHCT) based on multiple slant source-translation. SHCT can readily extend the helical FOV by adjusting the source slant translation (SST) length, pitch (or elevation of the SST trajectory), and number of scanning circles. In SHCT, each projection view is truncated laterally and axially, but the projection data set within the cylindrical FOV region is complete. To ensure reconstruction efficiency and avoid the lateral truncation, we propose a generalized backprojection-filtration (G-BPF) algorithm for SHCT approximate reconstruction. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed SHCT methods for imaging large and long objects. As the pitch decreases, the proposed SHCT methods can reconstruct competitive, high-quality volumes.

Velocity feedback control method of low-frequency electromagnetic vibration exciter based on Kalman filter estimation.

The absence of an appropriate low-frequency vibration velocity detection method to establish feedback control limits the further improvement of the low-frequency vibration performance of electromagnetic vibration exciters. In this article, a low-frequency vibration velocity feedback control method based on the Kalman filter estimation is proposed for the first time to reduce the total harmonic distortion of the vibration waveform. The rationality of establishing velocity feedback control in the velocity characteristic band of the electromagnetic vibration exciter is analyzed. Based on an identification model of the system and measured vibration displacements, the vibration velocity is estimated with high accuracy through the Kalman filter. The velocity feedback control system is established to suppress the impacts of disturbances effectively. Experimental results show that the method proposed in this paper can reduce the harmonic distortion of vibration waveform by 40%, which is 20% higher than the traditional control method, thoroughly verifying its superiority.

MilliLoc: Human computer interaction oriented acoustic millimeter-level real-time locating system.

In recent years, people have become more interested in using acoustics to locate equipment in intelligent human-computer interfaces (HCI). However, existing acoustic locating systems have poor compatibility with smart devices. To achieve millimeter-level accuracy, most systems require large microphone spacing, complex algorithms, and a high cost. In this paper, we propose a new HCI system, MilliLoc, to achieve millimeter-level real-time acoustic locating. Our first contribution is to design a high-performance and convenient microphone array. It has a high sampling rate of 96 kHz, real-time complete dataflow, and is compatible with any smart device. The second contribution is to propose an improved generalized cross-correlation phase transform method with simplicity and real-time capability. Even if the signal-to-noise ratio is not high enough, it can still estimate the time delay accurately. We combine the microphone array with the algorithm to illustrate the implementation of MilliLoc. Experiments show that MilliLoc has a median 2D accuracy of 7.2 mm in a 60 cm sector area and achieves millimeter-level locating.

Oscillation of the orientation of cardiomyocyte aggregates in human left ventricle free wall.

Orientation of local cardiomyocyte aggregates in the human left ventricle free wall experiences an oscillation in the laminar structure regions, besides its gradual change trend. We described this oscillation using five transmural samples imaged at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility with an isotropic voxel size of 3.5 × 3.5 × 3.5 µm3 . In the reconstructed volume of each sample, we manually selected a region containing a regular laminar structure as the region of interest and measured the distribution of the orientation of local cardiomyocyte aggregates inside using a Fourier-based method. Then, we extracted the gradual change part of the orientation of cardiomyocyte aggregates with a three-dimensional centered Gaussian filter and measured the angle between the original orientation vector of local cardiomyocyte aggregates and its gradual change part. Further, we assessed the measured angles in different local coordinates. The results indicate that the oscillation amplitude of the orientation of cardiomyocyte aggregates is regional in the left ventricle wall, which may promote our understanding of the rearrangement mechanism of the cardiomyocyte aggregates and provide a new biomarker to study the heart physiological status.

Discrete fringe phase unwrapping algorithm based on Kalman motion estimation for high-speed I/Q-interferometry.

A discrete fringe phase unwrapping algorithm (DFPUA) based on Kalman motion estimation is proposed to accurately demodulate the phases of I/Q-interferometers with deeply under-sampled quadrature signals, thus to break through the limitations of the Nyquist frequency for high-speed measurement. The basic concept of DFPUA is to estimate the current displacement according to the former motion state, then confirm the actual phase integer number by comparing the estimated phase decimal with the actual phase decimal; in this way, peak acceleration/jerk instead of peak velocity becomes the factor that determines the sampling rate. Two types of DFPUA including velocity estimation and velocity-acceleration estimation are illustrated in detail. Simulation experiment results indicate that the DFPUA realizes a significant reduction in the sampling rate and the amount of data for low frequency vibration measurement, proposing a practical approach for high-speed and long-time measurement such as ultra-low frequency vibration calibration.

Realization of a robust homodyne quadrature laser interferometer by performing wave plate yawing to realize ultra-low error sensitivity.

The deviation of wave plates' optical axes from their intended angles, which may result from either instability or assembly error, is the main cause of quadrature phase error in homodyne quadrature laser interferometers (HQLIs). The quadrature phase error sensitivity to wave plate angle deviations, which is an effective measure of HQLI robustness, is further amplified by beam splitter imperfections. In this paper, a new HQLI design involving non-polarization beam splitting is presented, and a method of making this HQLI robust by yawing the wave plates in the measurement and reference arms is proposed. The theoretical analysis results indicate that ultra-low quadrature phase error sensitivities to wave plate angle deviations can be realized and that non-polarizing beam splitter imperfections can be adequately compensated for. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can reduce the quadrature phase error sensitivity by more than 1 order of magnitude, from a theoretical value of 1.4°/1° to 0.05°/1°.

Homodyne laser interferometer involving minimal quadrature phase error to obtain subnanometer nonlinearity.

The demand for minimal cyclic nonlinearity error in laser interferometry is increasing as a result of advanced scientific research projects. Research shows that the quadrature phase error is the main effect that introduces cyclic nonlinearity error, and polarization-mixing cross talk during beam splitting is the main error source that causes the quadrature phase error. In this paper, a new homodyne quadrature laser interferometer configuration based on nonpolarization beam splitting and balanced interference between two circularly polarized laser beams is proposed. Theoretical modeling indicates that the polarization-mixing cross talk is elaborately avoided through nonpolarizing and Wollaston beam splitting, with a minimum number of quadrature phase error sources involved. Experimental results show that the cyclic nonlinearity error of the interferometer is up to 0.6 nm (peak-to-valley value) without any correction and can be further suppressed to 0.2 nm with a simple gain and offset correction method.