• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.169-174
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• 2004

A fiber optic pH sensor has been fabricated using nile blue entrapped in an ammonia catalyzed silica sol-gel film coated on glass substrate by dip-coating. The sensor was fixed on the end of an optical fiber. The sensor showed pH sensitivity when dipped into liquids at different pHs. Linear and reproducible responses were obtained in standard buffer solutions in the pH range $6.0{\sim}8.5$, which encompasses the clinically-relevant range. The effects of interferences on the determination of pH were also investigated. The sensors were successfully applied to the determination of pH in different commercial ionic drinks.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.104-114
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• 1989

The most important subject in developing agricultural robots for fruit harvesting is to detect accurately the location of a fruit about the given coordinate system. This study was carried out to develop an image processing algorithm which enables finding out the three dimensional locations of a fruit. The digital image processing device consisted of an optosensor (Closed-circuit TV camera), image processing interface board (Digitizer) and microcomputer (IBM PC/AT). A stereo-image processing method using the two cameras attached to the manipulator was evaluated through experiment with apples. The accuracy and quickness of detecting the location of apples by this method was not satisfactory. The maximum errors of the detected locations by the stereo-image processing method in x-, Y-, and z- directions were 3, 4 and 4 cm, respectively. The maximum time required to get the rectangular coordinate data of a fruit was about 2 minutes.