New possibilities have recently emerged for producing optical beams with complex and intricate structures, and for the non-contact optical manipulation of matter. Structured Light and Its Applications fully describes the electromagnetic theory, optical properties, methods and applications associated with this new technology. Detailed discussions are given of unique beam characteristics, such as optical vortices and other wavefront structures, the associated phase properties and photonic aspects, along with applications ranging from cold atom manipulation to optically driven micromachines. Features include: Comprehensive and authoritative treatments of the latest research in this area of nanophotonics, written by the leading researchers Accounts of numerous microfluidics, nanofabrication, quantum informatics and optical manipulation applications Coverage that fully spans the subject area, from fundamental theory and simulations to experimental methods and results Graduate students and established researchers in academia, national laboratories and industry will find this book an invaluable guide to the latest technologies in this rapidly developing field. Comprehensive and definitive source of the latest research in nanotechnology written by the leading people in the field From theory to applications - all is presented in detail Editor is Chair of the SPIE Nanotechnology Technical Group and is leading the way in generation and manipulation of complex beams

The optical trapping of colloidal matter is an unequalled field of technology for enabling precise handling of particles on microscopic scales, solely by the force of light. Although the basic concept of optical tweezers, which are based on a single laser beam, has matured and found a vast number of exciting applications, in particular in the life sciences, there are strong demands for more sophisticated approaches. This thesis gives an introductory overview of existing optical micromanipulation techniques and reviews the state-of-the-art of the emerging field of structured light fields and their applications in optical trapping, micromanipulation, and organisation. The author presents established, and introduces novel concepts for the holographic and non-holographic shaping of a light field. A special emphasis of the work is the demonstration of advanced applications of the thus created structured light fields in optical micromanipulation, utilising various geometries and unconventional light propagation properties. While most of the concepts developed are demonstrated with artificial microscopic reference particles, the work concludes with a comprehensive demonstration of optical control and alignment of bacterial cells, and hierarchical supramolecular organisation utilising dedicated nanocontainer particles.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the key technologies and applications related to new cameras that have brought 3D data acquisition to the mass market. It covers both the theoretical principles behind the acquisition devices and the practical implementation aspects of the computer vision algorithms needed for the various applications. Real data examples are used in order to show the performances of the various algorithms. The performance and limitations of the depth camera technology are explored, along with an extensive review of the most effective methods for addressing challenges in common applications. Applications covered in specific detail include scene segmentation, 3D scene reconstruction, human pose estimation and tracking and gesture recognition. This book offers students, practitioners and researchers the tools necessary to explore the potential uses of depth data in light of the expanding number of devices available for sale. It explores the impact of these devices on the rapidly growing field of depth-based computer vision.

“Visual Sensing and its Applications: Integration of Laser Sensors to Industrial Robots” provides comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of research and development on this robotic vision system. A laser-structured light is the main concern in discussions of visual sensing. Also addressed in this book are all components of the robotic vision system and an emphasis on how to increase the accuracy of the system using three levels of calibration. This includes calibration of the vision system (eye calibration), calibration of eye-to-hand configuration and calibration of robot kinematics (hand calibration). With the integration of the laser sensors to industrial robots numerous applications in the field of robotic welding, grinding, machining, inspection, and palletizing are illustrated based on practical engineering projects in order to demonstrate how the visual sensing is performed. The book will serve as a valuable resource for researchers and engineers in the areas of robotics and machine vision. Dr. Zhongxue Gan is a vice chairman and chief scientist of the ENN Group, China. He serves as a member of the National Energy Expert Consultation Committee of China and member of the National Coal Council of the USA. He is also a co-founder of Intersmart Robotic Systems Co. Ltd., China. He was a research fellow in flexible automation systems at ABB and a founding director of ABB Corporate Research Robot Laboratories, both in the USA and in China. Dr. Qing Tang is a co-founder and CEO of Intersmart Robotic Systems Co. Ltd., China and an adjunct professor in Physics at Sichuan University, China. He was a principle consulting engineer and project manager at the ABB Corporate Research Robot Laboratory in the USA.

This book describes active illumination techniques in computer vision. We can classify computer vision techniques into two classes: passive and active techniques. Passive techniques observe the scene statically and analyse it as is. Active techniques give the scene some actions and try to facilitate the analysis. In particular, active illumination techniques project specific light, for which the characteristics are known beforehand, to a target scene to enable stable and accurate analysis of the scene. Traditional passive techniques have a fundamental limitation. The external world surrounding us is three-dimensional; the image projected on a retina or an imaging device is two-dimensional. That is, reduction of one dimension has occurred. Active illumination techniques compensate for the dimensional reduction by actively controlling the illumination. The demand for reliable vision sensors is rapidly increasing in many application areas, such as robotics and medical image analysis. This book explains this new endeavour to explore the augmentation of reduced dimensions in computer vision. This book consists of three parts: basic concepts, techniques, and applications. The first part explains the basic concepts for understanding active illumination techniques. In particular, the basic concepts of optics are explained so that researchers and engineers outside the field can understand the later chapters. The second part explains currently available active illumination techniques, covering many techniques developed by the authors. The final part shows how such active illumination techniques can be applied to various domains, describing the issue to be overcome by active illumination techniques and the advantages of using these techniques. This book is primarily aimed at 4th year undergraduate and 1st year graduate students, and will also help engineers from fields beyond computer vision to use active illumination techniques. Additionally, the book is suitable as course material for technical seminars.

The Fundamentals and Applications of Light-Emitting Diodes: The Revolution in the Lighting Industry examines the evolution of LEDs, including a review of the luminescence process and background on solid state lighting. The book emphasizes phosphor-converted LEDs that are based on inorganic phosphors but explores different types of LEDs based on inorganic, organic, quantum dots, perovskite-structured materials, and biomaterials. A detailed description is included about the diverse applications of LEDs in fields such as lighting, displays, horticulture, biomedicine, and digital communication, as well as challenges that must be solved before using LEDs in commercial applications. Traditional light sources are fast being replaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The fourth generation of lighting is completely dominated by LED luminaires. Apart from lighting, LEDs have extended their hold on other fields, such as digital communications, horticulture, medicine, space research, art and culture, display devices, and entertainment. The technological promises offered by LEDs have elevated them as front-runners in the lighting industry. - Presents a concise overview of different types of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on inorganic phosphors, organic materials, quantum dots, perovskite-structured materials, and biomaterials - Includes a discussion of current and emerging applications in lighting, communications, horticulture, and medical fields - Addresses fundamentals, luminescence mechanisms, and key optical materials, including synthesis methods

Structured Light for Optical Communication highlights principles and applications in the rapidly evolving field of structured light in wide-ranging contexts, from classical forms of communication to new frontiers of quantum communication. Besides the basic principles and applications, the book covers the background of structured light in its most common forms, as well as state-of-the-art developments. Structured light has been hailed as affording outstanding prospects for the realization of high bandwidth communication, enhanced tools for more highly secure cryptography, and exciting opportunities for providing a reliable platform for quantum computing.This book is a valuable resource for graduate students and other active researchers, as well as others who may be interested in learning about this cutting-edge research field. - Broadly covers the use of structured light in communication applications - Highlights quantum and photonics principles, emerging and future applications - Assesses the major challenges of using structured light for communication applications