Methods and apparatuses to obtain increased performance and differentiation for an inductive position sensor through improvements to the sense element and target design are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a sense element includes a transmit coil, a first receive coil that includes a first plurality of arrayed loops, wherein two or more of the first plurality of arrayed loops are at least one of phase blended and amplitude arrayed, and a second receive coil that includes a second plurality of arrayed loops, wherein two or more of the second plurality of arrayed loops are at least one of phase blended and amplitude arrayed, and wherein the first receive coil and the second receive coil are phase shifted. The sense element coils are arrayed in several geometries and layouts, and the coil and target geometry are manipulated to compensate for inherent errors in the fundamental design of an inductive position sensor.

A utility pole degradation detection system according to the present disclosure includes: a sensing optical fiber (10) laid on a plurality of utility poles (30); a receiving unit (201) that receives vibration information detected by the sensing optical fiber (10); an identifying unit (202) that identifies a natural frequency of each of the plurality of utility poles (30) on the basis of the vibration information; and an analyzing unit (203) that analyzes a degradation state of at least one utility pole (30) among the plurality of utility poles (30) on the basis of a natural frequency of each of the plurality of utility poles (30).

A system for interrogating sensors in a fiber optical sensor network includes groups of sensors. The sensors in one group operate at different wavelengths, and the sensors of other groups may have overlapping wavelengths. A light source generates a broadband light signal, input and output means for guides the broadband light to the fiber optical sensor network for illuminating the sensors and for coupling the light signal coming from the sensors of the fiber optical sensor network to the detection system, and a detection system detects the received light signal, during a detection integration time. The system is arranged for selecting pre-dominantly the received light coming from the different sensors of a selected group of sensors using a code-division multiplexing technique and simultaneously detecting sensors of the selected group of sensors using a wavelength-division multiplexing technique.

An optical sensing system comprising an optical fiber, a light source, a first interrogator and a second interrogator. The optical fiber includes one or more optical sensors. The light source is placed at a first end of the optical fiber and is configured to direct light towards the one or more optical sensors. The first interrogator is placed at the first end of the optical fiber. The second interrogator placed at a second, opposite end of the optical fiber. The first interrogator is configured to receive reflected light from the one or more optical sensors, and the second interrogator is configured to receive transmitted light from the one or more optical sensors.

An intelligent skin based on a small-size distributed optical fiber sensing array. The intelligent skin includes an epidermis sensing array, an embedded optical fiber sensing array, a data collection system module, and a data processing mode recognition module. The body of the intelligent skin is made of a flexible material. The embedded optical fiber sensing array in an epidermis includes a plurality of all-fiber interferomatic sensing arrays. The data collection system module includes a broadband light source, an optical combiner/splitter, an optical path change-over switch, a signal detector and a computer. The data processing mode recognition module includes mode recognition and training of a neural network. The intelligent skin further includes an external display software used to perform intelligent sensing recognition for sense of touch, position, shape, and ingredient, temperature and vibration of an object and so on.

A sensing system including: a sensor located in an external environment, including: an electrically powered sensor element sensing an environment variable and converting the sensing to a corresponding analog electrical value measure; an electrically powered sensor value conversion system connected to the electrically powered sensor and converting the analog electrical value measure to a digital measure, in addition to encoding the digital measure with sensor identification information; a transducer element for sending the sensed data information over an optical conduit for inputting an optical power signal and outputting optical sensed data information; a coupler splitting a first portion of the optical power signal to an energy storage system; and an energy storage system converting the first portion of the optical power signal into corresponding electrical energy and storing it for on demand usage; said electrically powered sensor value conversion system being supplied with electrical power from said energy storage system.

Assembly comprising: a set of strands that extends in a direction of tension in which the set of strands is intended to experience tensile stresses; at least one diagnostic fiber that is integrated into the set of strands and able to conduct light, the light propagating through the diagnostic fiber between an entrance end and an exit end, that extends in the direction of tension, and that has a mechanical tensile strength close to that of one of the strands; and a diagnostic device comprising a light source for sending a light beam into the diagnostic fiber via the entrance end, a first optical sensor for delivering a signal representative of the light intensity at the exit end of the diagnostic fiber, the light intensity at the exit end of the diagnostic fiber being correlated to the mechanical state of the diagnostic fiber.

A supporting apparatus for supporting insertion of a flexible insertion member into a subject and removal of the insertion member includes an attention point acquisition unit, a first displacement acquisition unit and a determination unit. The attention point acquisition unit specifies at least one first attention point specified by a shape of the insertion member. The first displacement acquisition unit acquires a first displacement of the first attention point. The determination unit determines how a state of the insertion member or the subject is at a position corresponding to the first attention point, based on displacement information including information on the first displacement.

The present disclosure relates to a shift device for a control system for a vehicle. The shift device may include at least one optical fiber for conducting a light signal, where the light signal has an input characteristic when entering the shift device, and where the light signal has an output characteristic when exiting the shift device. The shift device may further include a control element, where the control element can be moved between a home position, a first actuation position, and a second actuation position by an actuation force. The control element may have an adjustment device for adjusting the characteristic of the light signal, where the adjustment device is configured to set the output characteristic of the light signal to a first value when the control element is in the home position.

A system for interrogating sensors in a fiber optical sensor network includes groups of sensors. The sensors in one group operate at different wavelengths, and the sensors of other groups may have overlapping wavelengths. A light source generates a broadband light signal, input and output means for guides the broadband light to the fiber optical sensor network for illuminating the sensors and for coupling the light signal coming from the sensors of the fiber optical sensor network to the detection system, and a detection system detects the received light signal, during a detection integration time. The system is arranged for selecting pre-dominantly the received light coming from the different sensors of a selected group of sensors using a code-division multiplexing technique and simultaneously detecting sensors of the selected group of sensors wavelength-division multiplexing technique.