In many physical experiments, linear frequency modulated (LFM) signals are widely used to probe objects in different environments, from outer-space to underwater. These signals allow a significant improvement in measurement resolution, even when the observation distance is great. For example, using LFM probe signals in underwater investigations enables discovery of even small objects covered by bottom sediments.

Recognition of LFM (chirp) signals depends on their compression based on matched filtering. This work presents two simple solutions to improve the resolution of the short chirp signals recognition. These methods are effective only if synchronization between the signal and matched filter (MF) is obtained. This work describes both the aforementioned methods and a method of minimizing the effects of the lack of synchronization.

The proposed matched filtering method, with the use of n parallel MFs and other techniques, allows only one sample to be obtained in the main lobe and to accurately locate its position in the appropriate sampling period Ts with accuracy Ts/n. These approaches are appropriate for use in probe signal processing.

Noise-like binary sequences combined with signals with linear frequency modulation might be successfully used to increase the reliability of the recognition of both probe and communication signals in the presence of natural and artificial interference. To identify such formed sequences the usage of the two-step matched filtering was suggested and the probabilistic model of the recognition of noise-like code sequences transferred by LFM signals was developed.

Two-dimensional (2D) positive systems are 2D state-space models whose state, input and output variables take only nonnegative values. In the paper we explore how linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) can be used to address the stability problem for 2D positive systems. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the stability of positive systems have been provided. The results have been obtained for most popular models of 2D positive systems, that is: Roesser model, both Fornasini-Marchesini models (FF-MM and SF-MM) and for the general model.

Extraction of the foetal electrocardiogram from single-channel maternal abdominal signals without disturbing its morphology is difficult. We propose to solve the problem by application of projective filtering of time-aligned ECG beats. The method performs synchronization of the beats and then employs the rules of principal component analysis to the desired ECG reconstruction. In the first stage, the method is applied to the composite abdominal signals, containing maternal ECG, foetal ECG, and various types of noise. The operation leads to maternal ECG enhancement and to suppression of the other components. In the next stage, the enhanced maternal ECG is subtracted from the composite signal, and this way the foetal ECG is extracted. Finally, the extracted signal is also enhanced by application of projective filtering. The influence of the developed method parameters on its operation is presented.

The paper presents a method of obtaining short-termpositioning accuracy based on micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensors and analysis of the results. A high-accuracy and fast-positioning algorithm must be included due to the high risk of accidents in cities in the future, especially when autonomous objects are taken into account. High-level positioning systems should consider a number of sub-systems such as global positioning system (GPS), CCTV – video analysis, a system based on analysis of signal strength of access points (AP), etc. Short-term positioning means that there are other locating systems with a sufficiently high degree of accuracy based on, e.g. a video camera, but the located object can disappear when it is hidden by other objects, e.g. people, things, shelves etc. In such a case, MEMS sensors can be employed as a positioning system. The paper examines typical movement profiles of a radio-controlled (RC) model and fundamental filtering methods in respect of position accuracy. The authors evaluate the complexity and delay of the filter and the accuracy of the positioning in respect of the current speed and phase of movement (positive acceleration, constant) of the object. It is necessary to know whether and how the length of the filter changes the position accuracy. It has been shown that the use of fundamental filters, which provide solutions in a short time, enables to locate objects with a small error in a limited time.

Conventionally, the filtering technique for attitude estimation is performed using gyros or attitude dynamics

models. In order to extend the application range of an attitude filter, this paper proposes a quaternionbased

filtering framework for gyroless attitude estimation without an attitude dynamics model. The attitude

estimation system is established based on a quaternion kinematic equation and vector observation models.

The angular velocity in the system is determined through observation vectors from attitude sensors and the

statistical properties of the angular velocity error are analysed. A Kalman filter is applied to estimate the

attitude error such that the effect from the angular velocity error is compensated with its statistical properties

at each sampling moment. A numerical simulation example is presented to illustrate the performance of the

proposed algorithm.

This paper presents a geomagnetic detection method for pipeline defects using complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN) and wavelet energy product (WEP) – Teager energy operator (TEO), which improves detection accuracy and defect identification ability as encountering strong inference noise. The measured signal is first subtly decomposed via CEEMDAN into a series of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), which are then distinguished by the Hurst exponent to reconstruct the filtered signal. Subsequently, the scale signals are obtained by using gradient calculation and discrete wavelet transform and are then fused by using WEP. Finally, TEO is implemented to enhance defect signal amplitude, completing geomagnetic detection of pipeline defects. The simulation results created by magnetic dipole in a noisy environment, indoor experiment results and field testing results certify that the proposed method outperforms ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD)-gradient, EEMD-WEP-TEO, CEEMDAN-gradient in terms of detection deviation, peak side-lobe ratio (PSLR) and integrated side-lobe ratio (ISLR).

The paper deals with the application of the extended Kalman filters in the control structure of a two-mass drive system. In the first step only linear extended Kalman filter was used for the estimation of mechanical state variables of the drive including load torque value. The estimation algorithm showed good robustness to mechanical parameters variations. For the system with some parameters changing in the wide range, simultaneous estimation of the state variables and chosen system parameters is required. For this reason the non-linear extended Kalman filter, which estimates simultaneously state variables and mechanical parameters of the two-mass drive system, was developed. Parameters of covariance matrices of used Kalman filters were set using the genetic algorithm. Both proposed estimators were investigated in simulation and experimental tests, in the open-loop operation and in the state-feedback control system of the two-mass system.

Over the last twenty years, there has been a growing interest in the design of tunable devices at microwave frequencies by us- ing liquid crystals technology. In particular, the use of liquid crystals with high dielectric anisotropy allows manufacturing voltage-controlled devices to operate in a wide frequency range. In this work the frequency response of a liquid crystal band-pass filter with dual-mode microstrip structure has been studied in depth by using a simulation software tool. A reshap- ing of a conventional dual-mode square patch resonator bandpass filter with a square notch, studied in the literature, has been proposed with the goal of improving the filter performance. The main features achieved are a significant increase in the return loss of the filter and a narrowing of a 3-dB bandwidth. Specifically, a reduction in the filter bandwidth from 800 MHz to 600 MHz, which leads to a return loss increase from 6 dB to 12.5 dB, has been achieved. The filter centre frequency can be tuned from 4.54 GHz to 5.19 GHz.

The Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm and its variants are currently the most frequently used adaptation algorithms; therefore, it is desirable to understand them thoroughly from both theoretical and practical points of view. One of the main aspects studied in the literature is the influence of the step size on stability or convergence of LMS-based algorithms. Different publications provide different stability upper bounds, but a lower bound is always set to zero. However, they are mostly based on statistical analysis. In this paper we show, by means of control theoretic analysis confirmed by simulations, that for the leaky LMS algorithm, a small negative step size is allowed. Moreover, the control theoretic approach alows to minimize the number of assumptions necessary to prove the new condition. Thus, although a positive step size is fully justified for practical applications since it reduces the mean-square error, knowledge about an allowed small negative step size is important from a cognitive point of view.

In this paper we studied the intensification of the water clarification process on contact clarifiers with quartz sand fil-tering bed, which was modified with a solution of aluminum sulphate coagulant. The modification of the quartz sand filter-ing bed was carried out by applying to the surface of grains of quartz sand solution of coagulant aluminum sulphate with different doses. Investigation of the electrokinetic potential of the filtering material (quartz sand) was carried out by the percolation potential method.

The influence of electrical properties (size and sign of the charge) of the filtering bed itself and suspended solids in the water on the filtration process was studied. The filter material – quartz sand used in contact clarifiers has a negative electric charge. When the electric charge of the particles decreases, that is, as the ζ-potential decreases, the repulsive forces de-crease and it the adhesion of particles becomes possible. This is the process of coagulation of the colloid. The forces of mu-tual gravity between the colloidal particles begin to predominate over the electric repulsive forces at the ζ-potential of thesystem less than 0.03 V.

Modification of quarts filtering bed with a solution of coagulant aluminum sulphate recommended for the purification of surface water allows: to intensify the process of water clarification, to reduce the consumption of reagents by 25–30%, with the obtaining purified water of the required quality, to reduce the production areas necessary for reagent management of treatment facilities, and to reduce the cost of water treatment by 20–25%.

An electronic system and an algorithm for estimating pedestrian geographic location in urban terrain is reported in the paper. Different sources of kinematic and positioning data are acquired (i.e.: accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS receiver, raster maps of terrain) and jointly processed by a Monte-Carlo simulation algorithm based on the particle filtering scheme. These data are processed and fused to estimate the most probable geographical location of the user. A prototype system was designed, built and tested with a view to aiding blind pedestrians. It was shown in the conducted field trials that the method yields superior results to sole GPS readouts. Moreover, the estimated location of the user can be effectively sustained when GPS fixes are not available (e.g. tunnels).

Various components of surface texture are identified, namely form, waviness and roughness. Separation of these components is done by digital filtering. Several problems exist during analysis of two-process surfaces. Therefore the Gaussian robust profile filtering technique was established and has been studied here. The computer generated 2D profiles and 3D surface topographies having triangular scratches as well as measured stratified surfaces were subjected to filtration. However even robust filter applications cause distortion of profiles having valleys wider than 100 μm. In order to minimize the distortion associated with wide and deep valleys, the robust filter should be modified. A special procedure was elaborated for minimizing distortion of roughness profiles caused by filtration. Application of this method to analyses of several profiles was presented. The difference between 1-D and 2-D filtering of surface topography using the same kind of filter was discussed. As a result we found that modification of a 2-D surface topography filter was not necessary.

The secretiveness of sonar operation can be achieved by using continuous frequency-modulated sounding signals with reduced power and significantly prolonged repeat time. The application of matched filtration in the sonar receiver provides optimal conditions for detection against the background of white noise and reverberation, and a very good resolution of distance measurements of motionless targets. The article shows that target movement causes large range measurement errors when linear and hyperbolic frequency modulations are used. The formulas for the calculation of these errors are given. It is shown that for signals with linear frequency modulation the range resolution and detection conditions deteriorate. The use of hyperbolic frequency modulation largely eliminates these adverse effects.

The equipment mounted on the carbody chassis of the railway vehicles is a critical component of the vehicle in terms of ride comfort. The reason for that is their large mass, able to visibly influence the vibrations mode of the carbody. The paper examines the influence of the equipment upon the mode of vertical vibrations of the carbody in the high-speed vehicles, reached on the basis of the frequency response functions of the acceleration in three carbody reference points – at the centre and above the bogies. These functions are derived from the numerical simulations developed on a rigid-flexible coupled model, with seven degrees of freedom. As a rule, the results herein prove the influence of the equipment mounting mode (rigid or elastic), along with the speed regime, upon the level of vibrations in the carbody reference points, at the resonance frequency of the symmetrical bending mode. Similarly, it is also demonstrated how the equipment mass and the damping degree of the suspension system affect the level of the vibrations in the carbody.