Temperature Sensor Array

Use the top metal layer of a CMOS process to build structures that resonate at a specific frequency. Use the layer below to excite the resonance. Use the layer below that to build a similar structure and use as a reference. By measuring the difference in frequency between the two, small changes/differences in the structure (like length) could be detected. If possible, coat the top layer to a dark color. Stick a lens in front of it and maybe you have an un-cooled thermal imaging system with decent sensitivity and probably pretty good response time?

The response time for heating would be a function of the thermal mass, the absorbed/long energy, and conduction through the vias. Maybe by holding the lower metal that the via is attached to at a temperature lower than the ambient or observed, better response times would be seen (by Newtonian cooling, greater temperature difference, greater rate of heat transfer).

The reference would just act as a way to make a differential measurement and, possibly, reduce the speed of the logic required since beat frequencies could be detected using mixing rather than using the fundamental of each. Localized heating (heating that warmed the whole structure, reference and detector) would most likely be somewhat widespread and slow allowing diode temperature sensors, spread all over the chip on the silicon layer, to be used to compensate.

If this ran at hundreds of MHz or GHz, this would probably be pretty sensitive.

The sensor resonant frequency would be measured capacitively, maybe by looking at the time between voltage peaks (changing the plate separation in a capacitor with a fixed charge changes the voltage) or be looking at a sweeping excitation frequency and the maximum sensor displacement (by measuring the capacitance directly.

Maybe having the excitation “plate” be a similar structure, and then looking at the beat frequency in the impedance between the two would be easier.

Some fancy deconvolution could probably be used to help get rid of the motion blur cause by the slow response time of the sensors, especially since the heating and cooling response would probably be non linear (from Newtonian cooling).

For densities…using a 0.18um CMOS process…and using a 2um minimum top metal trace width (double that to include spacing) and an aspect ratio of 5, and a 20mm by 15mm sensor, that would be something like 277 by 370 pixels (assuming square pixels). Or, for 35mm frame (34mm by 24mm), 629 by 533 pixels. This could be made greater by rearranging the sensors, using non-square pixels, or having smaller aspect ratios (which would lower sensitivity).

I assume someone is already doing this.

Edit: Here is a paper on making structures using the metal layer and etching away the silicon to free them: Experiments on the Release of CMOS-Micromachined Metal Layers. This might mean that it’s not possible to have a hanging structure in the upper metal layer…only on the lowest layer.

Idea Idea: Compass belt implementation

In the wired article about the compass belt, a complaint was that the motors were always buzzing away. I think a better implementation would be to only vibrate the motors on a change.

So, if you’re facing north, as you rotate, the motors would vibrate with direction change, but only remain vibration for a maximum of 500ms.

Idea: Fluidised flour bed for opticle table stability?

So, when making holograms, the total movement between the light, film, and object can’t be more than 1/2 to 1/4 the wavelength of the color of light you’re using (red is around 650nm). The less movement, the better.

Would flowing air into a block of flour (baking soda, or something similar), supporting the optical table, work to isolate vibrations? It would act like a super dampened spring. Adjusting the airflow would increase the amount of air in the block which would, I assume, increase the spring effect and lower the spring constant. Since the exposure time for a hologram is less than 30 seconds, only a small amount of air would be required. Ideally the air would come from a compressed tank since pumping usually creates pulses of air. The air could be let in through a grid of openings at the bottom or an array throughout the block. I’m guessing that letting the air flow then lowering the table would be best. I assume settling would be very fast, maybe a few minutes.

Software Idea: Jump alarm clock

An alarm clock that looks for a “jump” pattern from the accelerometer. This should be pretty hard to copy with your hand once “calibrated” with a real jump. Yeah, so I have trouble waking up.

Software Idea: Excersize Helper

This has probably been done…but…

A little program that uses the accelerometer on a phone to count push-ups (not the diapers), jumping jacks, and sit ups…things you can do in your living room. It would be somewhat game oriented, where it would have a silly little beat and a fun “Wii” type voice counting your repetitions and encouraging you. For instance, if you started to slow down, it could reduce the “goal count” and say something like “come on, two more”. There could also be a twitch mode like the “Bop it” game. “2 sit ups”, “One jumping jack”, and it would go faster and faster until you started to screw up. I guess I imagine something between “Bop it” and the Wii type experience.

It should work okay while in a pocket, but a belt holder would be best. Orientation would be used to detect between the difference exercises.

Idea: Touch Pad Typing

Copy paste from chat, cause I’m lazy…
 me:  Hrmm…I just had a thought for the toupad typing problem. me:  You can’t feel the keys, so it’s easy to drift.So, why not have a vibrate that changes depending on how close to the edge of teh key you are?so, the more on center, the more “right” it will feel.the closer to the edge of the key you get, the more “wrong” it will feel.that way, you’re able to “feel” if you’re on the key or not. wouldn’t do much for the initial touch, but, while typing, it’d let you stay on center.

Maybe the edge vibration could feel less sharp (slow frequency, softer, or boing a little), on center being the sharpest and quickest feel.

Pretty obvious, but might work.

Sense pattern might look something like this, with a smooth gradient. Center would give center feel, where it would change as you moved to the edge. The edge would give a distinct feel, something where a person would go, “Oops!” and look down and fix their position.

Idea: Building Dot Matrix Printer

It would use a small robot that would move around on the buildings face by pulling tethers. Electric paint sprayers and a vacuum hood would do the bulk of the work. Refilling would be done by retreating to home. Power would be delivered over one of the tethers. Colors would be mixed mid spray to keep from having to premix paints.

Ideally, the whole paint process could be completed at night.

Wow……it would make a lot of waste though.

Idea: Looking at the control response of people

Say you have a linear motor that can apply a force to a stick with a mark on it. You tell the person holding the stick to attempt to keep the stick positioned so the mark stays at some fixed point. What does the step function look like? Is there a difference between an athlete and some regular guy? How well can a person control a bouncing or nonlinear or some other crazy force pattern? How does the response improve after a few tries?

We can learn to respond to the motion of the stick…maybe there’s some interesting data or models in an experiment like this?

Idea (not unique): Using deconvolved images for viewing

The idea was to use deconvoluted images to make an image sharper when viewed by a near or far sighted person. Could make distant signs sharper or help diagnose eye problems. For instance, a person with eye problems could sit in front of a screen (at a known distance, far or close). Deconvolved images could be displayed on the screen where the person would press buttons indicating which deconvolution resulted in the sharpest image. This would be done iteratively to eventually estimate the point spread function of their eye only using a computer screen (might be useful for countries that couldn’t afford regular vision diagnostic tools).

First part has been done: http://dsplab.eng.fiu.edu/DSP/Research/research_deconvolution_project.html
Pretty cool stuff. With the example image, you can blur your eyes or use an out of focus camera to convolve and restore the shape of the letters. I think the lack of clarity comes from the fact that they used full intensity black and white images…which means there will absolutely be artifacts since the screen can’t have enough dynamic range.

I’m sure using it for diagnostics has been done…just don’t know optometry terms.

Idea: Redundant Cloud

In response to Picasaweb going down, I posted this:

“Hrmm…it sounds like someone needs to make a cloud redirecting service. To post a link to an image or a document,  the link, rather than pointing directly to the document resource, would point to the redirect service. This would check to see if the cloud resource was available and, if not, change the redirect to an available/redundant resource….maybe even hosted by a different provider. It could even perform load balancing by randomly choosing the redundant sources or always choosing those with the lowest response time.

This is how the cloud will always be…might as well prepare for it.”

Fairly obvious.

Data: Weight by resturaunt

It would be interesting to see the distribution of the weights of people entering different restaurants. Could place a “mat” scale at the entrance, then log all of the weights.

Idea: Resonant weight

Old idea. A voice coil with a weight would be attached to a surface. The weight would oscillate and tune to the frequency of the surface it was attached to, creating the most noise/vibration possible! Lots of mischievous uses (what if you attached it to a piece of plate glass!).

Might have some use in vibration testing, where it would find all of the vibration frequencies, and give you the ability to do sweeps. Might save time for package designers that don’t have access to a vibration table?

Silly Control Idea: Splash free…

Wave dampening

Bob-on-a-string array that would be controlled to dampen (and possibly detect) waves in a liquid, such as a pool or shipping container. If placed in the corner of a pool, the bob array would absorb the wave’s energy.

“No Spill” Coffee Cup

Fluid would sit in a portion of a gimbal. A few vertical capacitive sensor strips would be placed around the cup to detect the shifting of water. Gimbal rotation would be controlled to maintain a flat water surface relative to the bottom of the cup.

Idea: Dissolvable Plastic?

Would be interesting to look at the chemicals created during landfill decomposition. Then, knowing these chemicals, create a packaging that dissolves in their presence, ideally creating more to speed the reaction.