Supervised and unsupervised learning using a fully-plastic all-optical unit of artificial intelligence based on solitonic waveguides

The software implementations of neuronal systems have shown great effectiveness, even if the natural hardware separation between the processing and memory areas in computers slows down the analysis capacity. To overcome these limitations, new hardware configurations are moving towards neuromorphic models, capable of unifying the processing/memory dichotomy. Recently, integrated photonic X-junctions formed by waveguides written by spatial solitons have shown the ability to perform supervised learning. The solitonic technology, compared to the traditional one, offers the advantage of realizing plastic circuitry, a typical characteristic of biological neural networks. This work extensively studies both supervised and unsupervised learning of photonic soliton X-junctions. By exploiting the plasticity of the nonlinear refractive index at the base of the soliton formation, X-junctions can readdress their behaviours forwarding data to different outputs. In this article, we will extend the state-of-the-art: starting from supervised learning, for which all possible cases are now investigated, a material sensitive to the transported signals will be introduced to allow the junction to carry out unsupervised learning. In this way, the junction autonomously recognises the transported signals without the external intervention of the operator. Learning and memory now physically coincide in fact, learning means that the junction slowly switches based on the information sent; any further unknown information sent will find the junction in the modified state which corresponds to the learned information and will be recognised as well (reasoning based on comparison with stored information).

Development of an Optoelectronic Plant for the Analysis and Sorting of Grain Products

The grain industry is an important branch of agriculture. It is directly related to the harvesting, transportation, storage and processing of grain. To ensure the high quality of grain bulk products, there are currently used various electrotechnological grain cleaning plants. The most modern and effective are optoelectronic grain sort-ers (photo separators). However, there are a number of technological and structural disadvantages that reduce the efficiency of separating the grain mass into fractions and the performance of photo separators. That is why the problem of increasing the efficiency of optoelectronic installations for sorting agricultural grain products is urgent. (Research purpose) The research purpose is in development of an electrotechnological optoelectronic installation with justification of the parameters and modes of its operation. (Materials and methods) The development of an optoelectronic system for sorting agricultural grain products was carried out in accordance with the theoretical laws of mechanics, electrical engineering and optics, as well as on the basis of the norms and requirements of GOST for grain products. Testing of the efficiency of this unit was carried out on the basis of a laboratory unit in the Kuban State Agrarian University. The reliability of the results is confirmed by the repeated repetition of the conducted studies and the reproducibility of the obtained results, the use of generally accepted methods, devices, and mathematical processing of experimental data. (Results and discussion) The article presents the technological scheme and technical characteristics of the optoelectronic installation for the analysis and sorting of agricultural grain products, and parameters and modes of its operation. The main elements of this installation are: feed conveyors and an electromagnetic drum that provide a piecebypiece supply of seeds to the analysis zone, an optical unit of cameras for obtaining a threedimensional image of seeds, an executive unit for the rejection of grain products (pneumatic ejectors). (Conclusions) An experimental study of the efficiency of the designed installation was carried out. This device can be used for sorting analysis of various grain products: wheat, corn, barley, rice, buckwheat. The results of the study showed the high efficiency of the developed optoelectronic plant for the separation of grain products into fractions (the separation accuracy reaches 98%). The article reveals the possibility of determining phytopathologies by means of color analysis of seed images.

Design of Positioning Mechanism Fit Clearances Based on On-Orbit Re-Orientation Accuracy

The factors affecting the re-orientation accuracy of the on-orbit replaceable optical unit were studied, and the mathematical models of the relationships between fit clearances of positioning mechanisms and the limits of rotation angles were deduced. When the relative position relationship of positioning mechanisms was determined, fit clearances were designed according to the requirement of the rotation angle limits, and the rotation angle limits were determined to ensure that the angles were within the index range. Theodolites were used to measure the re-orientation angles of the optical unit, and the errors between the measurement angles and the real angles were deduced. Then, the numerical simulation proved that the errors were within limits. The microgravity test environment was established, and the weight of the optical unit was unloaded by a suspension method to simulate the state of the optical unit when it was replaced on orbit. The test results confirmed the correctness of the design method.

Simulation of segmented mirrors with adaptive optics

This work deals with the simulation-based investigation and control of optical systems that are mechanically influenced. Here, the focus is on the dynamic-optical modeling of vibration-sensitive, segmented mirror systems, which are used, for example, in large astronomic telescopes. Furthermore, an adaptive optical unit usually compensates for the optical aberrations due to atmospheric disturbances. In practice, these aberrations are detected and corrected within a few seconds using deformable mirrors. However, to further improve the performance of these optical systems, dynamic disturbances in the mechanics, i.e. small movements and deformations of the optical surfaces, must also be taken into account. For the investigation of such cases, multidisciplinary simulation methods are developed and presented.