Terahertz Sensing for Encoder and Positioning Systems

Over the past two decades, there have been increased interests in terahertz (THz) sensing in either a reflection or transmission mode, due to the broad applications in gas sensing, moisture analysis, non-destructive evaluation, biomedical diagnosis, package inspection, and security screening. In this talk, we will introduce a new industrial application of THz sensing for encoder and positioning systems in harsh environment where dust, dirt, smoke and fire may prevent use of other sensing modalities. We will review the THz-based encoder system and its industrial applications, point out key challenges for system components, and highlight a variational Bayesian algorithm to efficiently recover pseudo-random reflectance patterns which encode positioning information. We will validate the THz-based encoder concept with real-world experimental datasets.