The invention falls within the field of the techniques for manufacturing seismic monitoring systems and is applicable to structures related to civil engineering.

A seismic monitoring system (1) is implemented by the method according to the present invention which includes a set of equipment (such as accelerometric sensors (2a, 2b) and an acquisition unit (3); the accelerometric sensors (2a, 2b) measure at predetermined instants, with a predetermined frequency, the acceleration values of the points of the structure (11) at which said accelerometric sensors are positioned; each of the one or more acquisition units (3) comprises, in addition to a RAM memory, a mass memory in which at least part of the data measured by the accelerometric sensors (2a, 2b) connected to said acquisition unit and transmitted by said accelerometric sensors to said acquisition unit is stored; said seismic monitoring system (1), if said structure (11) is subjected to seismic actions, is adapted to be used to detect, after the seismic event, by processing the measured data, in addition to the accelerations, also the displacements of the points of said structure (11) at which the accelerometric sensors (2a, 2b) are positioned.

A navigation device including an image sensor, a processor and a memory is provided. The memory stores a lookup table of a plurality of moving speeds each corresponding to one frame period. The image sensor captures image frames successively. The processor calculates a current speed according to a current image frame and a previous image frame, reads a frame period from the lookup table according to the calculated current speed, wherein the read frame period is multiplied by a ratio, which is smaller than 1, when an acceleration is confirmed by the processor according to the captured image frames.

A system for calculating an internal load of a component includes an acceleration module, a skew matrix module, a center of gravity calculation module, a mass/inertia module, and an internal load module. The acceleration module may obtain a plurality of acceleration measurements associated with a component, where each acceleration measurement is associated with a response point relative to a center of gravity of the component. The skew matrix module may determine a skew matrix based on the response points. The center of gravity calculation module may calculate a center of gravity response for the component based on the plurality of acceleration measurements and the skew matrix. The mass/inertia module may determine a mass/inertia matrix based on measured mass and inertia values associated with the component. The internal load module may calculate an internal load of the component based on the calculated center of gravity response and the mass/inertia matrix.

An accelerometer may comprise a proof mass, a first tether mechanically coupled to the side of the proof mass and to an anchor, and a ring resonator integrated with the tether to form a sensing tether. The ring resonator and the tether may be configured such that a strain sustained by the sensing tether causes a change of a resonance condition of the ring resonator. The accelerometer may comprise a wavelength locking loop configured to adaptively maintain a center frequency of the light energy at a resonant frequency of the sensing element, and a scale factor calibrator configured to stabilize a scale factor associated with the accelerometer. The accelerometer may further include a detection processor configured to receive the detection signal and produce an acceleration signal therefrom. The acceleration signal may correspond to an amount of change of the resonance condition with respect to a reference resonance condition.

A micromechanical spring for a sensor element, including at least two spring sections formed along a sensing axis, the at least two spring sections each having a defined length, and the at least two spring sections having different defined widths.

An illustrative example embodiment of a sensing device includes a force sensor that detects a force and provides an output indicative of the detected force. An acceleration sensor detects acceleration and provides an output indicative of the detected acceleration. A processor receives the output from the force sensor and the acceleration sensor. The processor provides an indication of a relationship between the detected force and the detected acceleration.

The invention relates to a system for determining the distance between a boat and at least one object at least partially immerged in a water area, said system comprising a capturing module, configured to be mounted on said boat, for example on a mast, said capturing module comprising at least one camera, said at least one camera being configured to generate at least one sequence of images of said water area, and a processing module, configured to be embedded onboard said boat, said processing module being configured to receive the at least one sequence of images from said at least one camera, to detect at least one object in said at least one received sequence of images and to determine the distance between the boat and the at least one detected object using the received sequence of images.

A device is described that includes a pendulous proof mass, a support base, a flexure, and at least two resonators. The support base defines a plane and supports the pendulous proof mass. The flexure flexibly connects the pendulous proof mass to the support base, suspends the pendulous proof mass within the support base, and in response to an acceleration of the device, the pendulous proof mass rotates about the flexure in the plane defined by the support base. The at least two resonators flexibly connect the pendulous proof mass to the support base and flex based on the rotation of the pendulous proof mass about the flexure, wherein each of the at least two resonators resonate at a respective resonant frequency.

A tunneling accelerometer that can be implemented as a MEMS micro sensor provides differential sensing that minimizes large forces resulting from undesired environmental effects. Used as a seismic sensor, for example, the accelerometer exhibits maximum sensitivity for small seismic waves and suppresses very large seismic activities occurring at shallower depths. In one embodiment, detected current decreases from its maximum for stronger forces and is maximized for small vibrations. In another embodiment, separation of columns of top and bottom tunneling tip pairs, one column from the next, increases gradually so that the tunneling accelerometer suppresses sensitivity to large accelerations such as large seismic activity. A manufacturing process for the accelerometer provides reduced complexity for better yield.

A shock indicator, including a first cover, a base, a counterweight, and a shrapnel, is provided. The first cover has an accommodating space. The base is disposed in the accommodating space of the first cover. The counterweight is located in the accommodating space. The counterweight has a pivot end pivotally disposed on the base, and the counterweight rotates relative to the base with the pivot end as a rotation axis. The shrapnel is disposed on the base and is located in the accommodating space. The counterweight and the shrapnel are located on two opposite sides of the base. The shrapnel has two ends, and the two ends of the shrapnel clamp the counterweight along a contour of the counterweight.