A hand-held ultrasound device, for placement on a subject, includes a semiconductor device and a housing to support the semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes: a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements; a plurality of pulsers coupled to the plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements; a plurality of waveform generators configured to drive the plurality of pulsers; receive processing circuitry configured to process ultrasound signals received by the plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements; and a plurality of independently controllable registers configured to store a plurality of different parameters for the waveform generators.

An ultrasonic sensor includes: a first electrode that is provided in an ultrasonic microphone including a vibration element having a function of performing conversion between mechanical vibration and an electrical signal; a second electrode that is provided at a position different from the first electrode in an in-plane direction intersecting a directional axis of the ultrasonic microphone; and a detection section that is provided to detect the presence or absence of attached matter attached to the ultrasonic sensor on the basis of a change in capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode.

An ultrasonic sensor includes: a first electrode that is provided in an ultrasonic microphone including a vibration element having a function of performing conversion between mechanical vibration and an electrical signal; a second electrode that is provided at a position different from the first electrode in an in-plane direction intersecting a directional axis of the ultrasonic microphone; and a detection section that is provided to detect the presence or absence of attached matter attached to the ultrasonic sensor on the basis of a change in capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode.

Described herein are embodiments of methods and apparatus for determining the SoC and SoH a lithium ion battery and for restoring capacity to a lithium ion battery. Some embodiments provide a method and apparatus including an ultrasound transducer designed to measure characteristics of a lithium ion battery in order to determine the SoC and SoH of the lithium ion battery, and to disrupt the SSEI layer inside the lithium ion battery. Several other methods for determination of SoC and SoH and disruption of the SSEI layer are also described. Use of such methods and apparatus may be advantageous in assessing a state of the lithium ion battery, as well as rejuvenating a lithium ion battery and increasing its life span.

Described herein are embodiments of methods and apparatus for determining the SoC and SoH a lithium ion battery and for restoring capacity to a lithium ion battery. Some embodiments provide a method and apparatus including an ultrasound transducer designed to measure characteristics of a lithium ion battery in order to determine the SoC and SoH of the lithium ion battery, and to disrupt the SSEI layer inside the lithium ion battery. Several other methods for determination of SoC and SoH and disruption of the SSEI layer are also described. Use of such methods and apparatus may be advantageous in assessing a state of the lithium ion battery, as well as rejuvenating a lithium ion battery and increasing its life span.

A method comprising: receiving, by an electronic device, a first signal having a first frequency; identifying, by the electronic device, at least one of a strength of the first signal or a signal-to-noise ratio of the first signal; outputting, by the electronic device, a second signal having a second frequency that is different from the first frequency, the second signal being output based on at least one of the strength of the first signal or the signal-to-noise ratio of the first signal; receiving the second signal by the electronic device; and detecting whether the electronic device is at least partially immersed in a liquid based on the received second signal.

A method comprising: receiving, by an electronic device, a first signal having a first frequency; identifying, by the electronic device, at least one of a strength of the first signal or a signal-to-noise ratio of the first signal; outputting, by the electronic device, a second signal having a second frequency that is different from the first frequency, the second signal being output based on at least one of the strength of the first signal or the signal-to-noise ratio of the first signal; receiving the second signal by the electronic device; and detecting whether the electronic device is at least partially immersed in a liquid based on the received second signal.

In order to acquire echo sound information about a long-distance target, an active sonar comprises a fan beam transmitter, a fan beam receiver, a propagation path calculator, a path time calculator, and a horizontal distance calculator. The active sonar transmits a plurality of transmitted fan beams horizontally wide and vertically narrow, and the elevation angles of them are mutually deferent, and receives received fan beams vertically wide and horizontally narrow. The propagation path calculator calculates a propagation path of each of the transmitted fan beams based on the profile of medium and the elevation angle of the transmission. The path time calculator calculates a path time which is the time period from the transmission to the reception. The horizontal distance calculator calculates a horizontal distance from the active sonar to a generation source point of each echo sounds based on the propagation path and the path time.

A device for detecting obstacles that is wearable by a subject, for example integrated in an item of footwear. The device includes an ultrasound source for emitting an ultrasound transmission signal and an ultrasound receiver for receiving a corresponding ultrasound signal reflected by an obstacle, a control module for measuring a time of flight between emission of the ultrasound transmission signal and reception of the corresponding ultrasound signal reflected by the obstacle and calculating, on the basis of the aforesaid time of flight, the distance at which the obstacle is located. The device comprises an inertial sensor, in particular an acceleration sensor, designed to measure acceleration of the foot along three axes, and a control module configured for enabling operation of the ultrasound source if the aforesaid acceleration values measured by the inertial sensor respect a given condition for enabling measurement of the time of flight.

Techniques, systems, and devices are described for implementing for implementing computation devices and artificial neurons based on nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) systems. In one aspect, a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) based computing element includes: a substrate; two electrodes configured as a first beam structure and a second beam structure positioned in close proximity with each other without contact, wherein the first beam structure is fixed to the substrate and the second beam structure is attached to the substrate while being free to bend under electrostatic force. The first beam structure is kept at a constant voltage while the other voltage varies based on an input signal applied to the NEMS based computing element.