A solar tracker device continuously captures sun rays to be redirected towards a target The device includes a mirror defining a center point and fixedly mounted to a heliostat, an imaging device having an optical axis passing through the mirror center point, an electronic board, and a partly transparent dome extending between the imaging device and the target When sun rays penetrate said dome, the mirror reflects rays toward the dome and a portion are reflected back by the dome to the imaging device to form an image of the mirror center point An image of the fixed target is formed on the imaging device through the dome and defines an image of the target Whenever the images of the mirror and the target center are not in coincidence, the electronic board is activated to rotate the heliostat reflecting surface toward an orientation for which coincidence is obtained.

A solar tracker device continuously captures sun rays to be redirected towards a target The device includes a mirror defining a center point and fixedly mounted to a heliostat, an imaging device having an optical axis passing through the mirror center point, an electronic board, and a partly transparent dome extending between the imaging device and the target When sun rays penetrate said dome, the mirror reflects rays toward the dome and a portion are reflected back by the dome to the imaging device to form an image of the mirror center point An image of the fixed target is formed on the imaging device through the dome and defines an image of the target Whenever the images of the mirror and the target center are not in coincidence, the electronic board is activated to rotate the heliostat reflecting surface toward an orientation for which coincidence is obtained.

A system for detecting and tracking one or more of direction, orientation and position of one or more light sources includes one or more optical fiber sensors configured to receive light from the one or more light sources and to generate a plurality of cones of light according to relative positions of the one or more optical fiber sensors relative to the one or more light sources. The system includes light data processing circuitry configured to detect characteristics of the plurality of cones of light and to determine one or more of direction, orientation, or position of the one or more light sources relative to the one or more optical fibers.

A system for detecting and tracking one or more of direction, orientation and position of one or more light sources includes one or more optical fiber sensors configured to receive light from the one or more light sources and to generate a plurality of cones of light according to relative positions of the one or more optical fiber sensors relative to the one or more light sources. The system includes light data processing circuitry configured to detect characteristics of the plurality of cones of light and to determine one or more of direction, orientation, or position of the one or more light sources relative to the one or more optical fibers.

A device includes a multiple-wavelength (e.g., dual wavelength) vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array including a first VCSEL set including one or more first VCSEL to emit first VCSEL radiation at a first wavelength, and a second VCSEL set including one or more second VCSEL to emit second VCSEL radiation at a second wavelength different than the first wavelength. The device includes upstream optics to upstream optics to (a) collimate the first VCSEL radiation emitted by the first VCSEL set and (b) collimate the second VCSEL radiation emitted by the second VCSEL set. The device also includes a vapor cell to receive the collimated first VCSEL radiation and the collimated second VCSEL radiation and to provide an output beam as a function of the received collimated first VCSEL radiation and collimated second VCSEL radiation, and measurement circuitry to analyze the output beam provided by the vapor cell.

A sensor and method for sleep position detection including: a transmitter configured to transmit electromagnetic waves between 30 GHz and 300 GHz; a receiver configured to receive the electromagnetic waves from the transmitter, wherein the transmitter and receiver are positioned in relation to person sleeping such that the receiver receives reflected electromagnetic waves; and a control station configured to analyze the transmitted and received electromagnetic waves to determine a position of the person sleeping. In some cases, the method may include: forming a radar cube of results; performing a fast fourier transform (FFT) on the radar cube; applying a constant false alarm rate (CFAR) processor to the FFT data; determining a capon gradient; forming a 5-dimensional feature space based on the capon gradient; and conducting an optimization of SVM.

A sensor and method for sleep position detection including: a transmitter configured to transmit electromagnetic waves between 30 GHz and 300 GHz; a receiver configured to receive the electromagnetic waves from the transmitter, wherein the transmitter and receiver are positioned in relation to person sleeping such that the receiver receives reflected electromagnetic waves; and a control station configured to analyze the transmitted and received electromagnetic waves to determine a position of the person sleeping. In some cases, the method may include: forming a radar cube of results; performing a fast fourier transform (FFT) on the radar cube; applying a constant false alarm rate (CFAR) processor to the FFT data; determining a capon gradient; forming a 5-dimensional feature space based on the capon gradient; and conducting an optimization of SVM.

A system for automatically controlling a gimbaled camera system of a vehicle. The system includes a camera positioned relative to a body of the vehicle and one or more sensors configured to sense the pointing direction of the camera. One or more sensors are configured to monitor movement of the vehicle relative to a surface. A processor is configured to receive the sensed camera pointing direction data and vehicle movement data. The processor establishes and stores a target position representative of the position of a target object relative to the vehicle body based on an object independent association and automatically adjusts the camera pointing direction in response to the vehicle movement data such that the camera remains aimed on the target position. A method for automatically controlling the gimbaled camera system is also provided.

There is provided in a first form, an apparatus. The apparatus includes a detector array having a plurality of elements, the detector array comprising a photosensitive material and a photosensitive region disposed about and distinct from the plurality of elements. Electrical circuitry is coupled to each of the elements of the detector array. The electrical circuitry is configured to generate a set of first signals, each first signal of the set of first signals is based on optical energy impinging on a respective one of the plurality of elements of the detector array. The photosensitive region is coupled to the electrical circuitry and the electrical circuitry is configured to generate a second signal having a first value if no portion of optical energy impinging on the plurality of elements of the detector array impinges on the region disposed about the plurality of elements of the detector array. The second signal has a second value, distinct from the first value, if a portion of an optical energy impinging on the plurality of elements of the detector array impinges on the photosensitive region disposed about the plurality of elements of the detector array, the portion of the optical energy impinging on the photosensitive region disposed about the plurality of elements exceeds a threshold energy.

The present disclosure relates to a device and method for accurately measuring an azimuth angle and an elevation angle of mid-infrared laser light. The device includes a laser, an atomic gas cell, a filter, a displacement platform, and a beam mass spectrometer. Pump light generated by the laser enters the atomic gas cell along an optical axis which is a Z-axis for a spontaneous frequency conversion process, and a generated reference beam enters the beam mass spectrometer through the filter; target mid-infrared laser light and the pump light intersect in the atomic gas cell to induce a second frequency conversion process, and a generated beam to be measured enters the beam mass spectrometer through the filter; and the beam mass spectrometer is arranged on the displacement platform and simultaneously detect spot images of the reference beam and the beam to be measured at different positions, respectively.