In 2018, we introduced a broadband interferometric mapping and polarization observation system (BIMAP) to study the detailed physics of lightning discharge processes (Shao et al., 2018(Shao et al., , 2020). The BIMAP system consists of three sets of spatially separated broadband RF (20-80 MHz) antennas to map the lightning sources in 2D angular space as a typical broadband lightning interferometer (e.g.,

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Embedded sensing for structural health monitoring is a rapidly expanding field, propelled by algorithmic advances in structural health monitoring and the ever-shrinking size and cost of electronic hardware necessary for its implementation. Although commercial systems are available to perform the relevant tasks, they are usually bulky and/or expensive because of their high degree of general utility to a wider range of applications. As a result, multiple separate devices may be required in order to obtain the same results that could be obtained with a structural health monitoring–specific device. This work presents the development and deployment of a versatile, Wireless Active-Sensing Platform, designed for the particular needs of embedded sensing for multi-scale structural health monitoring. The Wireless Active-Sensing Platform combines a conventional data acquisition ability to record voltage output (e.g. from strain or acceleration transducers) with ultrasonic guided wave-based active-sensing, and a seamlessly integrated impedance measurement mode, enabling impedance-based structural health monitoring and piezoelectric sensor diagnostics to reduce the potential for false positives in damage identification. The motivation, capabilities, and hardware design for the Wireless Active-Sensing Platform are reviewed, and three deployment examples are presented, each demonstrating an important aspect of embedded sensing for structural health monitoring.

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In this paper we address the problem of finding a n energy eficient locomotion scheme for multilegged walking vehicles. O u r approach makes use of compliant actuators to store and release the kinetic and potential energy of the body and legs during each gait cycle.An evolutionary strategy algorithm is used to search the initial condition parameter space until a nearly passive cyclic gait is found. T h e trajectory of this gait can then be used in a specific class of hexapods to significantly reduce the energy used over each gait cycle.