Technology Overview Physics And Mathematics Avishai Bartov, VP R&D

1. Technology Overview Physics And Mathematics Avishai Bartov, VP R&D

2. Agenda • Introduction video – 3DLevelScanner • Acoustic mapping technology • Inherent tradeoffs in Acoustics • Level measurement – Narrow beam solutions • Surface mapping with a wide angle beam • Gathering multiple echoes from the surface • Calculate distance and direction of arrival • 3D Surface reconstruction • Advance Radar Signal Processing • Multi beams, multi frequency, Challenges • Volume accuracy • Self Cleaning • Product Line • Technology summary • R&D Roadmap APM Annual International Partners Conference

3. Inherent Tradeoffs in Acoustics D Low frequency => Wide Beam • Beam angle vs. Frequency • θ - Beam opening angle • λ - Wavelength • D - Antenna size APM Annual International Partners Conference

4. Beam Angle vs. Frequency F = 2.5KHz λ = 13cm θ = 108⁰ D = 7.5cm APM Annual International Partners Conference

5. Beam Angle vs. Frequency F = 4.5KHz λ = 7.5cm θ = 60⁰ D = 7.5cm APM Annual International Partners Conference

6. Beam Angle vs. Frequency F = 10KHz λ = 3.4cm θ = 27⁰ D = 7.5cm APM Annual International Partners Conference

7. Beam Angle vs. Frequency F = 20KHz λ = 1.7cm θ = 13⁰ D = 7.5cm Narrow beam requires Ultrasonic Frequency APM Annual International Partners Conference

8. Inherent Tradeoffs in Acoustics Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering University Low freq. => Effective dust penetration • Sound is a pressure wave • Dust particles and humidity in the air attenuate the wave energy • Attenuation grows sharply over 5KHz APM Annual International Partners Conference

9. Acoustic Wave Attenuation Very high attenuation at ultrasonic frequencies APM Annual International Partners Conference

10. Acoustic Wave Attenuation Effective penetration at lower frequencies APM Annual International Partners Conference

11. Level Measurement With Narrow Beam • Goal: Measure the distance to a single, well defined point on the top surface • Point measurement requires narrow beam • Narrow =>Ultrasonic => poor dust penetration • Distance measurement • Traveling twice the distance • C~340 Meter per Second • Measuring the time of flight APM Annual International Partners Conference

12. Surface Mapping - Wide Angle Beam • Goal: Multipoint (X,Y,Z) measurement of the surface • Large coverage => Transmit a wide angle pulse • Wide beam=>Low freq.=> Effective dust penetration • Multiple reflected echo coming from • Large surfaces and Extremum points • Material / Silo Wall interface • Silo Walls – False echo to be filtered • Separated by Time of Arrival APM Annual International Partners Conference

13. Direction Of Arrival (DOA) - Array Processing Path difference => TOA difference => θ • Example: 1D Array processing • Plan wave from angle - θ • Speed of sound - C • Array spacing - d • Time Of Arrival (TOA) is different • Wave Path difference between Mic’s is ΔP=d*Cos θ • Therefore, time of arrival difference:ΔT =ΔP/C= d*Cosθ/C APM Annual International Partners Conference

14. Multiple Antennas Enables Mapping R1,θ1 Multiple antennas device R2,θ2 Distance and direction R3,θ3 Single antenna device R2 R1 R3 Distance measurement APM Annual International Partners Conference

15. 3 Dimensional Surface Reconstruction Surface integral is Volume • 2 Dimensional Array of 3 Antenna • Distance (R) • Azimuth (Ф) and elevation (Θ) angles • Convert R, Ф, Θto Silo X,Y,Z coordinates • Optimal 3D surface reconstruction • Extremum and boundary points • Assume maximal material slope APM Annual International Partners Conference

16. Advance Radar Signal Processing • Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR): Required for the detection of small echo. • Long pulse => higher energy => better SNR • It is a challenge to create pulses that excel in both range resolution and SNR. • A very active research topic for military radars • Range resolution: Key figure - The minimal distance between two echo sources that are still separable APM Annual International Partners Conference

17. Advance Radar Signal Processing (2) Long pulse (7M ) - modulated sine wave, rectangular envelope After match filter -Very poor range resolution - limited to 7M! APM Annual International Partners Conference

18. Advance Radar Signal Processing (3) State of the art - Chen and Cantrell 2002 After match filter - 50cm resolution, 1/13 side lobes APM Annual International Partners Conference

19. Advance Radar Signal Processing (4) APM Propriety – Patent pending After detection: Significantly improved resolution, virtually no side lobes! APM Annual International Partners Conference

20. Advance Radar Signal Processing (5) State of the art APM 3 targets: The importance of resolution and low side lobs More points => Better mapping APM Annual International Partners Conference

21. Advance Radar Signal Processing (6) • APM proprietary scheme combines • The resolution in detection of a short pulse • The energy of a long pulse • Using relatively small bandwidth, optimized for the application • Virtually no side lobes • Applicable for the entire scanning range • Maintain constant resolution across the scanning range • The longer the distance – the higher the pulse energy • Very efficient numerical implementation APM Annual International Partners Conference

22. Beam Steering Technology • Beam direction can be tilted by modifying the signal phase in the antennas • Significantly improve false echo separation and the investigation of complex surfaces by • Looking at the same point through several beam tilts to solve symmetry problems (i.e. dual echo at +10 and -10 degrees) • Pointing null to suspicious point to verify null reception • Allowing high SNR at much larger sphere APM Annual International Partners Conference

23. Multi Frequency Technology • Different multipath trajectories • Different dust penetration capabilities • Improved robustness to acoustic noise sources • Gather information from different perspectives • Beam angle - Interaction with silos wall • Interaction with material, specular vs. scattering reflections APM Annual International Partners Conference

24. Directional False Echo Filtering • Automatic mapping of false echo from silo structure • Multipath between the walls and ceiling of the silo and the topography of the material • Filtering analysis based on • Distance and Direction measurement • Information from other frequencies • Information from other beams • Silo geometry APM Annual International Partners Conference

25. Self Cleaning Self Cleaning due to acoustic energy vibration APM Annual International Partners Conference

26. Volume Accuracy • Accuracy is < 3% • Accuracy estimation considerations • Surface topography scenarios - typically, a complex surface yields more points! • Direction of arrival accuracy • Distance measurement accuracy • Silo geometry • Beams coverage – MVL for very large silos APM Annual International Partners Conference

27. Product Line • 3DLevelScanner M/MV • 3DLevelScanner M • Wide beam, Mapping capabilities • Min, Max and average level values • 3DLevelScanner MV • Surface mapping visualization • 3DLevelScanner MVL Series • For large silos and open bins • An integrated solutions of multiple scanner and a dedicated controller • 3DMultiVision Software • Multi-site inventory monitoring system • 3DLinkPro • Remote communication solution APM Annual International Partners Conference

28. Device types M/MV3DLevelScanner M 70º opening beam angle - covers wide surface area Real-time, accurate volume measurement Suitable for big silos that require high accuracy and inventory control Provides minimum/maximum and average distance Provides average volume at 4..20 mA output. 3D Mapping – detects mapping points of the surface area Visualization of 3D mapping - disabled APM Annual International Partners Conference

29. Device types M/MV3DLevelScanner MV 70º opening beam angle - covers wide surface area Real-time, accurate volume measurement Suitable for big silos that require high accuracy and inventory control Provides minimum/maximum and average distance Provides average volume at 4..20 mA output 3D Mapping – detects mapping points of the surface area Visualization of 3D mapping is enabled APM Annual International Partners Conference

30. 3DLevelScanner MVL Series • Multiple scanners • Large Silos, Warehouses, and Open bins • Number of scanners is application dependant • Integrated solution • Scanners synchronization • Merges reading into a unified surface • Min, Max and average level values • Visualization of the Measured Surface • Client server architecture APM Annual International Partners Conference

31. 3D MultiVision software • Inventory monitoring S/W • Real time tracking of multiple silos • Monitoring bulk solid inventories in the entire site • Multiple sites via remote connection • Client / Server architecture • Server / scanners RS485 or TCP/IP to M/MV/MVL Products • Multiple remote clients connection • Provides • Min / Max levels Volume and Mass • 3D Visualization APM Annual International Partners Conference

32. Technology Summary • Low operating frequencies provides both effective penetration and wide angle coverage • 3D surface mapping based on digital array processing • Measure angle and distance to multiple echoes from the surface • Surface integral is volume • Key technologies (Patent pending) • Advance RADAR signal processing • Excellent Range resolution compared to known state of the art technology • High energy via long pulses for long range measurements • Multi beam technology – phase array based beam tilting • Multi frequency • Directional False echo filtering • Self Cleaning due to acoustic energy vibration • Volume accuracy is better than 3% • Multi Scanner product addresses a new market of very large silos, warehouses and open bins APM Annual International Partners Conference

33. R&D Roadmap APM Annual International Partners Conference

34. R&D Roadmap main drivers - Accuracy (1) • Superior accuracy is APM’s key value proposition • The new MVL product is targeting the lucrative high end market of huge inventory silos, domes and open beans • In the inventory market, measurement accuracy is translated to return on investment • There is a growing demand for differential measurement that requires more than the current 3% spec • Special bins and domes, never served before, are challenging APM Annual International Partners Conference

35. R&D Roadmap main drivers: (2) Ease of use for traditional industry personnel • APM’s products, especially supporting the high end MVL product is a challenge • Today, most high end applications must go through customer support for approval, many of them must be approved by R&D. • This is very inefficient cycle that delay the closing of lucrative sales. • There is an urgent need for an expert system to support • Analyse the expected measurement accuracy • Recommend the required number of scanners • Determine the optimal installation positions taking into account the application constrains • Recommend the optimal parameters configuration • Assist with connectivity to enterprise management S/W APM Annual International Partners Conference

36. R&D Roadmap main drivers: (3) Applications for new markets • Example – foam over liquid thickness measurement • Important problem in several industries such as Beer, Mining and Oil. • Thick layer of foam on top of the liquid. • The challenge is to measure both liquid level and the level of the foam above. • This new application represents for APM a huge potential market that could not be served in the past APM Annual International Partners Conference

37. Wideband And Multiband Signals Based DOA Algorithm • Goals • Significantly improve angular resolution – the ability to separate two echoes of the same range • Achieve (~x2) range resolution improvement • Resolve the fundamental problem of spatial aliasing, when wavelength is significantly smaller than the distance between the antennas • Improve gain for single path reflections APM Annual International Partners Conference

38. Multi Antenna Array Architecture(1) • The current 3 antennas architecture is the minimal required for locating the DOA of a reflected echo in 3 dimensions. • A new design of between 7 to 10 elements will provide the following benefit: • An order of magnitude improvement in angular resolution • Significant improvement of beam steering directivity • Improved SNR • The R&D effort will include: • Brand new algorithm, able to take advantage of the multi-element array and provide a very significant improvement of angular resolution. • Mechanical redesign of the antenna case • Electronic board modifications to support a large transducers array APM Annual International Partners Conference

39. Multi Antenna Array Architecture(2) APM Annual International Partners Conference

40. Virtual Sparse Antenna Array By Synchronized Scanners In Real-time • Real-Time synchronization of several scanners • H/W synchronization: echo in response to a pulse from one of the scanners will be received by others. • Located at some optimal positions • Create a virtual (sparse) antenna • Advantages • SNR improvement, significantly higher probability to receive a specular (mirror) echo • Significantly improved direction estimation • Improved SNR (Linear) • Main tasks • Project continuation from last year • Waiting for the final Electronic board APM Annual International Partners Conference

41. Protective Cover Against Very Sticky Materials (1) APM scanners self clean due to the vibration of the relatively low frequency acoustic signal. It is a competitive advantage of APM, especially in the market segment of the more sticky materials The thin Radum is always clean for all materials. Some very sticky materials accumulate inside the horn, eventually blocking the acoustic signal Currently there is no solution in the market for this problem Radars will be fully covered within few days APM is in the best position to solve this customer problem. APM Annual International Partners Conference

42. Protective Cover Against Very Sticky Materials (2) The goal is to develop an add-on cover, to be installed at the very end of the horns The protective cover will be made of a Radum that will stay clean due to the acoustic vibrations The design should be done in a way that will not damage the acoustic path APM Annual International Partners Conference

43. Backup APM Annual International Partners Conference

44. Remote Communication3DLinkPro • The 3DLinkPro is used for remote assistance and tracking the measurements. • SIM card with SMS (Text) and GPRS enabled is required. • Automatic power reset when losing cellular signal. • Enable upgrading the 3DLevelScanner remotely to the various product types (M/MV). • Enable performing firmware updates remotely. APM Annual International Partners Conference