A test strip holder includes: a holding member at which at least a portion of a lower side of an inner periphery is a cylindrical surface having a cylindrical shape, and at whose interior a test strip is held, and at which a direction of an imaginary central axis of the cylindrical surface is a horizontal direction or a direction inclined with respect to a vertical direction; an opening portion provided in an outer surface of the holding member; a sorting member rotating at an interior of the holding member around a rotation axis that coincides with the central axis; a pushing piece projecting out from a distal end edge, which is parallel to the central axis, at the sorting member in a direction of rotation of the sorting member; and a sorting piece projecting out from a distal end of the pushing piece toward the cylindrical surface.

A laser shearography end effector for inspection in an automated inspection and repair system for composite parts. A laser shearography system including an excitation system and a laser shearography camera is supported on a frame for movement with the frame. A slave tool changer is secured to the frame for releasably and operatively connecting the inspection tool to an industrial robot such that the industrial robot can move the inspection tool along a work piece as the laser shearography system inspects the work piece and such that the laser shearography end effector is interchangeable with at least one other automatic inspection end effector or repair end effector of the automated inspection and repair system.

An ellipsometer, polarimeter and the like system operating in the infrared spectral range (0.75 um to 1000 .Math.m), utilizing a tunable quantum cascade laser (QCL) source with the capability if reducing speckle and standing wave effects, dual-rotatable optical elements, a single-point detector, as well as optional means of reducing the size of the probe beam at the measurement surface and optional chopper for lock-in detection.

An ellipsometer, polarimeter and the like system operating in the infrared spectral range (0.75 μm to 1000 μm), utilizing a tunable quantum cascade laser (QCL) source in combination with dithering capability to reduce speckle and standing wave effects, dual-rotating optical elements, a single-point detector, as well as optional means of reducing the size of the probe beam at the measurement surface and optional chopper for lock-in detection.

A housing includes a first opening and a second opening, and encloses a light-emitting element and a first light receiving unit. The first opening is provided in a first light guide path, and is arranged so that light output from the light-emitting element travels toward a target surface. The second opening is provided in a second light guide path arranged between the target surface and the first light receiving unit. The first opening is an exit opening of a through-hole provided penetrating through the housing, and a shape of the through-hole is a shape in which diffracted light of the +1st order and higher orders and diffracted light of the −1st order and higher orders produced at the target surface to be irradiated are not incident on the first light receiving unit.

A crop stand analyzer includes a first plurality of reflective laser proximity sensors, the reflective laser proximity sensors arranged in a vertical row and perpendicularly to a ground surface to detect plant objects, a distance sensor, and a processor operatively connected to the first plurality of reflective laser proximity sensors and the distance sensor. The crop stand analyzer is configured to generate side-view profiles for the plant objects and then extract plant stand information via these profiles.

An implantable unit includes fluorescent sensor molecules, each of which includes a binding site for an analyte, a donor fluorophore, and an acceptor fluorophore; and a first light source. An external system includes an external reading unit, which includes a light sensor; and a processor, which is configured to (i) during a first time period: (a) drive the first light source to generate light having a first illumination peak wavelength appropriate for excitation of the donor fluorophore, and (b) receive, from the light sensor, a first measurement of the fluorescent light emitted from the acceptor fluorophore, (ii) during a second time period: (a) drive a second light source to generate light having a second illumination peak wavelength appropriate for direct excitation of the acceptor fluorophore, and (b) receive, from the light sensor, a second measurement of the fluorescent light emitted from the acceptor fluorophore, and (iii) calculate the concentration of the analyte based on the measurements.

Apparatus and methods for acquiring a Raman spectral map of a sample including a material species. The apparatus includes: a pulsed illumination source providing pulsed illumination radiation for exciting the sample and producing scattered radiation; a microscope objective focusing the pulsed illumination radiation onto a region of the sample corresponding to a data point of the map, and collecting emitted radiation from the region; a translation stage translating the sample relative to the microscope objective in at least two directions; a spectral filter spectrally filtering the emitted radiation collected by the objective to obtain a filtered portion of radiation corresponding to a characteristic Raman spectral feature of the material species; a detector receiving the filtered portion and providing output electrical pulses indicative thereof; and readout electronics applying a time gate to the output electrical pulses to distinguish detection events corresponding to the Raman scattered radiation from events associated with photoluminescence.

A multi-mode illumination system, including: a first illumination module; a second illumination module; and a third illumination module, as disclosed herein.

An assembly for detecting defects on a bodywork of a motor vehicle that includes a gantry, of inverted U-shaped cross section, shaped to allow the passage of the motor vehicle in a longitudinal direction, from the rear of the gantry to the front of the gantry. The gantry includes an inner surface extending transversely between two lateral free ends and includes a light source suitable for illuminating, in a substantially uniform manner, the bodywork of the motor vehicle during its passage, the gantry including at least one opaque strip extending transversely over the entire length of the inner surface. The assembly includes a plurality of cameras installed at a distance from the gantry, in at least one longitudinal direction, so as to capture images of the bodywork of the motor vehicle during its passage under the gantry, and a detection member suitable for receiving the images captured by the plurality of cameras and for detecting, according to these images, defects in the bodywork, by analyzing the reflection of the opaque strip on the bodywork and by directly recognizing, in the images, defects on the bodywork.