662results about "Planetaria/globes" patented technology

A method of estimating the navigational state of a system entails acquiring observation data produced by noisy measurement sensors and providing a probabilistic inference system to combine the observation data with prediction values of the system state space model to estimate the navigational state of the system. The probabilistic inference system is implemented to include a realization of a Gaussian approximate random variable propagation technique performing deterministic sampling without analytic derivative calculations. This technique achieves for the navigational state of the system an estimation accuracy that is greater than that achievable with an extended Kalman filter-based probabilistic inference system.

A display system has a display surface having a three-dimensional convex shape. A projection system projects an object field onto a continuous image field located on the interior of the display surface the display surface is extensive in its coverage, for example subtending an angle of at least 240 degrees to provide greater hemispherical coverage.

In a color filter array to be mounted on a solid-state image pickup device, in which filters that transmit infrared light are disposed, degradation in resolution or sensitivity is restrained. Part of red filters contained in color filter array in a pattern of Bayer array are replaced by IR filters that selectively transmit infrared light. The IR filters and the R filters are disposed in a checked pattern in the relevant color filter array. Thus, two G filters are disposed in each of pixel blocks having 2×2 pixels, and consequently degradation in resolution is restrained. The number of IR filters is one for two pixel blocks, and consequently degradation in sensitivity to visible light is restrained.

An intriguing and educational display structure (1) appears to be spinning upon itself without any apparent drive mechanism, power supply or bearing. The structure comprises two concentric hollow spheres (3, 5) spaced apart by a transparent fluid (6). The outer sphere is totally transparent, immobile and may rest on a tripod (2) or other type of support. The inner sphere may be partially transparent or translucent and carries over its surface, a design such as a map of the world (7). The inner sphere rotates within, and independently from the first outer one. The internal, that is self-contained drive mechanism is referenced to either a compass, a light angle detector, or a gravity sensor, and uses either a conventional electrical motor with its own internal field winding and communitator, or one made of a rotor comprising a cross-array of electromagnets (AC, BD) that interact with the earth magnetic field.

A hand-held electronic celestial object-locating device assists in identifying a celestial object or directing a user to a desired celestial object. The device is useful for locating or identifying any celestial object including stars, constellations, planets, comets, asteroids, artificial satellites, and deep sky objects to name a few. The device utilizes sensors for 3-axis magnetic field and 3-axis gravitational field detection. The device utilizes a processor and an electronic database to perform the required calculations. The device's database may be updated through access to the Internet through which the updates may be purchased.

Apparatus and methods for finding and identifying objects in a nighttime sky include a lighted map arrangement, an electronic compass, and means to operate and view the apparatus in the dark to either find the objective in the nighttime sky or to identify an object observed in the nighttime sky. The apparatus and methods provide for orientation as to the physical geographical location of the viewer and the current date and time, as well as orientation of the viewing apparatus relative to the viewer and the nighttime sky.

The invention provides a simple, yet flexible mechanism for affixing items to a magnetic board such that they are accurately aligned to the board and to one another. Such mechanism allows positioning and repositioning of the items as desired by the user, including stacked configurations. Contact between the items and the board is aesthetically pleasing, and provides a bearing surface that allows for repositioning of items using a sliding motion. Further, aligning the items is convenient for the user and does not distract from the primary task at hand.

A hand-held electronic celestial object-locating device assists in identifying a celestial object or directing a user to a desired celestial object. The device is useful for locating or identifying any celestial object including stars, constellations, planets, comets, asteroids, artificial satellites, and deep sky objects to name a few. The device utilizes sensors for 3-axis magnetic field and 3-axis gravitational field detection. The device utilizes a processor and an electronic database to perform the required calculations. The device's database may be updated through access to the Internet through which the updates may be purchased.

A celestial compass. The celestial compass includes a camera with a wide angle lens suitable for viewing a large portion of the sky and a many-pixel sensor for collecting images of celestial objects such as stars, planets, the moon and the sun. The compass also includes a computer programmed with an (1) astronomical algorithm for providing the precise position of celestial objects based on precise input of time (date and time of day) and observation position (latitude and longitude), (2) celestial navigation software and (3) coordinate transformation software to correct distortion, convert pixel image data to astronomical coordinates and determine the instruments azimuth. The system includes provisions for the input of precise time and location information.

A celestial body observation device having a camera unit 21, a star-related database 33 including a star map data file 35 that stores star map data having positions of stars and display information including names of the stars, a comparison and determination unit 31 that compares a pixel group contained in image data picked up by the camera unit 21 with star map data within a star map data file 24 and specifies a celestial body corresponding to the pixel group, and a display control unit 34 that acquires display information of star map data associated with the pixel group from the star map data file 35 on the basis of association between the pixel group specified by the comparison and determination unit 31 and the star and generates complex image data in which the display information is superimposed on the image data.

A celestial weapons orientation measuring system. The system includes a miniature celestial direction detection device. The device includes an inclinometer, a camera for imaging at least one celestial object and a processor programmed with a celestial catalog providing known positions at specific times of at least one celestial object and algorithms for automatically calculating target direction information based on the inclination of the system as measured by the inclinometer and the known positions of the celestial object as provided by the celestial catalog and as imaged by the camera. Similar to the training technique discussed in the background section, the pretend enemy wears a GPS detector and transmitter, and a computer system is preferably provided which determines when a trigger-pull results in a “casualty”. Preferred embodiments also include an inertial navigation sensor including a magnetic compass and a memory-based optical navigation system that permits continued operation on cloudy days and even in certain in-door environments.

A mat for learning, teaching, and performing yoga is provided in which the upper surface of the mat includes visually discernable floor-contacting body part markings. Sets of the markings can be used by yoga practitioners to facilitate proper positioning for one or more yoga poses. In another aspect of the invention, mats can be made for practitioners of different sizes and abilities by varying the spacing of the sets of markings for the poses. Further, an image of the mat can be represented on another medium, such as a card, poster, or video, on which a pose is depicted and the representations of the markings of the mat for that pose can be highlighted.

Featured is a portable planetarium device suitable for use in projecting clear bright images of stars, planets, and other celestial objects onto a curved viewing surface. The portable planetarium devices of the invention comprise a point light source generators, a light dispersing lens assembly, and an opaque enclosure having transparent domains surrounding the light dispersing lens assembly. Also featured is a portable point light source comprising a light source, a light collection element and a light conducting conduit suitable for use in providing high intensity light with a small cross-sectional area.

A celestial object location and identification device.

Disclosed is a celestial identification device. According to some embodiments, the device includes a housing, a positioning sensor, and a light generator structured to generate an indicator beam that can be pointed at celestial objects. The positioning sensor can include sensors to determine altitude and azimuth of the device. The light generator can be a laser and mounted to a moveable pivot or deflected by mirrors and / or lenses such that the light beam points in a different direction than the housing. The device can be coupled to a feedback device, such as an audio player to communicate information about celestial objects to a user. The device can also contain or be coupled to a database of celestial objects such that, when combined with the positional data of the device, can determine at which object the device is pointing. Further, in some embodiments, a celestial device can be selected from the database, and the device operates to point the indicator beam at the selected object, regardless of in which direction the device is pointing.

A spherical electronic display is disclosed that includes a spherical display screen that is able to display electronically generated images on its surface using electronic display technology included in the surface, and an electronic control unit in communication with the spherical display screen, the electronic control unit being able to cause the spherical display screen to display images. The electronically controlled spherical display uses low energy display technology, such as LCD and / or OLED electronics, included within the spherical surface. This approach avoids the need to project images onto a spherical screen, and thereby avoids any need for high energy optical projectors and their associated costs and maintenance requirements. The spherical display is connectable to an electronic control unit that can be located either within the sphere or within a support base. The electronic control unit can be a conventional computer or a self-contained, dedicated controller.

Provided is a magnified-projection optical system, which can retain a considerably long back focus although a focal length is short and which has a small chromatic aberration. The optical system comprises a projecting optical system, a relay optical system and a display element, which are sequentially arrayed from a screen side along the optical axis. The projecting optical system enlarges and projects the image, which has been linearly focused by the relay optical system, on the screen, and includes a negative group and a positive group arrayed sequentially from the screen side and having a negative optical power and a positive optical power, respectively. The optical system satisfies the following conditional relations of |Fb / F|>10 and 0.5<|F / Fp|<2.0, wherein Fb: the back focus of the whole optical system including the projecting optical system and the relay optical system, F: the focal length of the whole optical system, and FP: the focal length of the projecting optical system,

In a color filter array to be mounted on a solid-state image pickup device, in which filters that transmit infrared light are disposed, degradation in resolution or sensitivity is restrained. Part of red filters contained in color filter array in a pattern of Bayer array are replaced by IR filters that selectively transmit infrared light. The IR filters and the R filters are disposed in a checked pattern in the relevant color filter array. Thus, two G filters are disposed in each of pixel blocks having 2x2 pixels, and consequently degradation in resolution is restrained. The number of IR filters is one for two pixel blocks, and consequently degradation in sensitivity to visible light is restrained.

A hand-held, portable apparatus for recording chess moves operable between a recording mode and at least one other mode is described. The apparatus is adapted to uniquely identifying a user and includes an interface for electronically entering into a memory a chess move made by the user. A mechanism is provided for the apparatus to switch between the at least one other mode and the recording mode upon a player making a first move in a new game. The recording mode further includes a security module so that only authorized features are accessible when the apparatus is in the recording mode. The apparatus includes a power module and a communication module for securely communicating chess moves to a central location. The moves are recorded in a universal language. The invention also concerns a chess game tournament management system, as well as a system for recording and publishing chess moves.

The present invention generally relates to a liquid crystal panel using a thin film transistor and a manufacturing method thereof, and more specifically to a liquid crystal panel using a thin film transistor and a manufacturing method thereof for improving an opening ratio by forming a storage capacitor under a channel. The present invention has suggested a method for effectively contacting an upper electrode for forming a capacitor with a lower electrode since the storage capacitor is located under the channel. Compared to a prior art in which one of storage capacitor electrodes is formed side by side with a channel of a thin film transistor, capacitor electrodes formed according to the present invention are located near to a substrate, thereby forming contact electrodes in many times without forming them one time.

The invention belongs to optical technical field and specifically relates to a method for fast generating an optical starry sky background. The method comprises following steps including: a step 1, modeling a sky background in which star catalogue data of fixed stars is used as a source, by means of transformation of time and a coordinate system and correction of the apparent positions of heavenly bodies, starry sky background models at any observation point any time are constructed and a calculating result is inputted into a base in order to be used for simulation, wherein the calculating result comprises star names, star magnitudes, right ascension, and declination; and a step 2, simulating the established starry sky background model. The step 1 uses Hipparcos Catalogue as a data source of a visible light band. According to the selected Hipparcos Catalogue, the apparent positions of the fixed stars are calculated. Considered factors comprise annual parallax and proper motion caused by revolution of the earth, aberration caused by the self motion of an observer, annual aberration, precession, and nutation caused by earth revolution about the sun. The speed for generating a starry sky background by using the method may reach 50Hz.

A method and system of matchmaking based on people's combined astrological compatibility, which is calculated as a weighted average of people's compatibilities under different astrological teachings. The matchmaking is accomplished by constructing a table of combined compatibility and allowing people to search a provided database based on this combined compatibility. Each pair of combined astrological signs within the table is assigned a combined compatibility number depending on astrological compatibility of the people within this pair. The method and software program, are based on Western and Chinese combined, cross-referenced astrological compatibility charts.

A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and a RFID reader for anti-collision, and an operation method thereof are provided. The RFID tag includes a tag receiving part for receiving a tag recognition signal from a RFID reader, a tag transmitting part for transmitting a response signal and a tag data in response to the tag recognition signal, a mode switching part for switching current mode into a predetermined mode, and a controlling part for causing the predetermined mode to be switched by the mode switching part, when the response signal is transmitted by a predetermined number of times by the tag transmitting part. Accordingly, when a few number of RFID tags are used, collision of tag data can be prevented at the RFID reader, and the RFID tags are rapidly recognized.

A projection system having a set of projectors that cast images: (i) outwards onto the concave surface of a hemispherical dome, as is usual in planetariums and (ii) inward onto the convex surface of a centrally located sphere. The images thus cast may be coordinated by a controlling computer program, so that changes in the content or orientation of the images on the sphere result in corresponding changes in the images on the dome and vice versa.

A hand-held electronic celestial object-locating device assists in identifying a celestial object or directing a user to a desired celestial object. The device is useful for locating or identifying any celestial object including stars, constellations, planets, comets, asteroids, artificial satellites, and deep sky objects to name a few. The device utilizes sensors for 3-axis magnetic field and 3-axis gravitational field detection. The device utilizes a processor and an electronic database to perform the required calculations. The device's database may be updated through access to the Internet through which the updates may be purchased.