Summaries

Article Summaries

Spread Spectrum Techniques in Wireless Communication
Part 2: Transmission Issues in Free Space
(Summary)


Miguel Pereira

The second part of a discussion on Spread Spectrum Techniques in Wireless Communication, this article focuses on wireless transmission issues and implementation of a water quality assessment wireless system. Concepts of electromagnetic propagation and free space electromagnetic transmission are presented. Common occurrences that impair the transmission’s quality or can even block the communication between network nodes are discussed, and primary techniques to mitigate propagation problems are offered.

This summary includes text from the article.

Load Cells in Force Sensing Analysis—Theory and a Novel Application
 (Summary)

Ivan Muller, Renato Machado de Brito, Carlos Eduardo Pereira,
and Valner Brusamarello


This paper describes some of the theory and practice of load cells, including their basic elements and the electronics necessary for measurement. As an application example, the development of a 3-ring spherical load cell which can be used to measure compression forces on fruit during storage and transportation is presented.

This summary includes text from the article.  


A Do-It-Yourself Approach to Securing Patent Protection
Part 1 in a Series on Protecting Your Inventions with Limited Resources

(Summary)

Reuven K. Mouallem

Part 1 of the series explores the issues involved in securing provisional patent protection at the nascent stage of invention. This is a way to defer costs for inventors and entrepreneurs. The Provisional Patent Application (PPA) is explained, including the patentability requirements, what defines a patentable invention, how to search for patentability, and a suitable PPA disclosure.

This summary includes text from the article.

Software Defined Radio
Tutorial 22


(Summary)

Fred harris and Wade Lowdermilk .


This article presents an overview of the driving forces and environment that have facilitated the development of software defined radio systems (SDR) and the levels of signal processing involved in their performance. When compared to DSP-based radio, SDR and its embedded software-controlled DSP engines can expand utility, extend operating regime, reduce cost and impress users by its enhanced capabilities.

This summary includes text from the article.   

 

Column Summaries

Instrumentation Notes

(Summary)

Andrzej Michalski and Borgdan Dziadak

Quality Engineering Tools used to Design & Optimize
a Mobile Measurement Station

Implementing the Quality Function Deployment method during the design process can focus the attention of the designer on the most important elements of reliability and work quality.  The Analytic Hierarchy Process helps the engineer make complex decisions in designing today’s measurement systems that have many extreme optimization problems.  Using these methods should decrease the cost of manufacturing and maintenance of measurement systems.  This paper explains these methods and then shows how they work in designing a distributed system for a mobile measurement station 


This summary includes text from the column.

My Favorite Experiment

(Summary)

John Witzel

Magnetic Levitation

Most materials can be recognized with respect to magnetic properties as diamagnetic, paramagnetic or ferromagnetic.  In our everyday world, we are familiar with ferromagnetic materials and how they react within the influence of a magnetic field, but diamagnetic and paramagnetic effects are more subtle.  This month’s experiment in magnetic levitation demonstrates the magnetic properties of two diamagnetic materials: water and pyrolitic graphite.

This summary was written by Kristy Virostek.

Recalibration

(Summary)

Terry Quinn

World-wide Recognition of National Measurement Standards:
Ten Years of the CIPM MRA

In 1999, the Directors of the National Metrology Institutes signed a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) for their national measurement standards, a document that had been drawn up by the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM). Now ten years later, the CIPM MRA covers some 200 institutes in 72 countries as well as two international organizations. This paper overviews the importance of this standardization in the past decade as technical services and expertise is increasingly shared among countries and lab standards are critical. .

This summary includes text from the column.