Timothy J Mccarthy

US Patent:

20180120122, May 3, 2018

Filed:

Nov 3, 2017

Appl. No.:

15/803367

Inventors:

- Cambridge MA, US
Simone B. Bortolami - Belmont MA, US
Jeffrey Korn - Lexington MA, US
Gregory P. Blasche - Burlington MA, US
Matthew T. Jamula - Wilmington MA, US
Paul A. Bohn - St. Petersburg FL, US
Robin Mark Adrian Dawson - Waltham MA, US
Benjamin F. Lane - Sherborn MA, US
Eric T. Hoke - Somerville MA, US
Daniel M. Meiser - Providence RI, US
Joseph M. Kinast - Cambridge MA, US
Timothy J. McCarthy - Danvers MA, US
Stephen P. Smith - Acton MA, US

International Classification:

G01C 21/36
G06T 7/73
H04W 4/02

Abstract:

A visual navigation system includes a compass configured to orient a user in a heading direction, an image sensor configured to capture a series of successive navigation images in the heading direction, one or more of the navigation images having at least two reference markers, data storage memory configured to store the series of successive navigation images, a navigation processor configured to identify at least one principal marker and at least one ancillary marker from the at least two reference markers, the principal marker positioned within a principal angle and the ancillary marker positioned within an ancillary angle, which is greater than the principal angle, and to determine heading direction information based on a position of the at least one principal marker and/or the at least one ancillary marker in the successive navigation images, and a user interface configured to provide the heading direction information to the user.

US Patent:

20180045540, Feb 15, 2018

Filed:

Jan 11, 2017

Appl. No.:

15/403443

Inventors:

- Cambridge MA, US
Richard E. Stoner - Framingham MA, US
Adam J. Saltzman - Cambridge MA, US
Timothy J. McCarthy - Cambridge MA, US
Stephen P. Smith - Acton MA, US

International Classification:

G01D 5/353
G01D 5/34

Abstract:

A fiber optical sensor and methods for sensing a physical quantity such as rotation using the same. The sensor has an optical fiber supporting propagation of light that is configured as an interferometer. One or more segments of the optical fiber, where the segments may be non-contiguous, are poled in such a manner that a phase shift in light propagating through the fiber is created in response to application of a voltage to an electrode thereby inducing an electric field across a poled segment of the fiber. A phase modulator comprising multiple poled segments is additionally described. Applying phase-shifting effects differentially across poled segments of optical fibers of an array of optical fibers may also allow for steering an optical beam.