Power-aware sensor interfacing and signal processing using nonlinear analog techniques

本研究的目的是发现一类新的超低功耗传感器。该方法是开发非线性自适应计划，规避线性，时不变系统所面临的权衡。这项研究旨在促进应用，如移动的健康，这依赖于传感器与有限的功率预算。特别是，这项研究将使脑控人工耳蜗植入成为可能，这是一种新一代神经假体，可以解决在嘈杂背景下长期存在的语音清晰度问题。智力优势：非线性分析可以识别对应用程序的计算和状态变化至关重要的传感器数据区域。此外，自适应系统可以调整其参数和资源消耗，以专门适应这种计算相关的数据，同时丢弃剩余的不太相关的数据。这些非线性和自适应方案导致非常省电的传感器，并且所提出的项目将通过有条不紊地利用模拟元件的固有非线性动态来实现它们。通过这种方式，该项目旨在推进低功耗传感器设计领域。更广泛的影响：该项目所支持的移动的医疗设备将促进预防性的、分散的医疗保健提供模式。这可以缓解医疗保健费用的上涨。该项目将通过外展项目和跨学科研讨会将非线性系统思维融入工程教学，这些项目已经在达特茅斯学院蓬勃发展。该项目的健康应用将证明工程是一个以人为本的职业。这与妇女和少数群体有关，有人建议她们避免工程学，因为人们认为工程学与人类的直接关切脱节。

The objective of this research is to discover a new class of ultra low power sensors. The approach is to develop nonlinear adaptive schemes that circumvent the tradeoffs faced by linear, time-invariant systems. This research aims at facilitating applications like mobile health, which rely on sensors with a limited power budget. In particular, this research will enable the brain-controlled cochlear implant - a next generation neural prosthetic that addresses the long-standing problem of speech intelligibility in a noisy background.Intellectual Merit: Nonlinear analysis can identify those regions of sensor data that are critical for an application's computations and state changes. Further, an adaptive system can adjust its parameters and resource consumption to specifically accommodate such computationally-relevant data, while discarding the remaining, less relevant data. These nonlinear and adaptive schemes result in very power-efficient sensors, and the proposed project will realize them by methodically harnessing the inherent nonlinear dynamics of analog components. In this way, the project aims to advance the field of low power sensor design.Broader Impacts: The mobile health devices that this project enables will promote a preventative, decentralized model of health-care delivery. This could allay the rising cost of health care. The project will integrate nonlinear systems thinking into engineering teaching through outreach programs and interdisciplinary workshops that are already thriving at Dartmouth College. The project's health applications will demonstrate that engineering is a human-focused occupation. This is relevant to women and minorities who, it has been suggested, avoid engineering because of its perceived disconnect with direct human concerns.