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We present our twenty years of experience in the live broadcasting of astronomical events, with the main focus on total lunar eclipses. Our efforts were motivated by the great impact and high number of viewers of these events. Visitors from over a hundred countries watched our live broadcasts. Our viewer record was set on July 27, 2018, with the live transmission of the total lunar eclipse from the Feldberg, the highest mountain in the Black Forest, attracting nearly half a million viewers in five hours.
An especially challenging activity was the live observing of the Mercury transit on 9 May 2016, which we presented as ‘live astronomy’ with hands-on telescope. The main goal of this event was to awake our students enthusiasm for optics and astronomy.
Furthermore, we report on our experiences with the photography of optical phenomena such as polar lights and green flash.
Art and Photonics
(2019)
In this paper we report on our continuous efforts to apply optics and photonics in art. This results in interdisciplinary projects which sometimes lead to concrete art installations.
We presented some of these projects at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, at the opening ceremony of the International Year of Light and the inaugural ceremony of the International Day of Light.
Some newer projects, such as “A Maze: Ingenious Pipes” and “The Power of Your Eyes,” are also presented in this paper.
After the successful International Year of Light 2015, the idea of sustainability became increasingly imminent. After a preparatory year on 16 May 2018, the International Day of Light was launched for the first time. This event was celebrated with a public celebration in Paris at the UNESCO headquarters. In this paper we will present our projects dedicated to the International Day of Light in Paris. Together with a group of students from our university, we had the special opportunity to be integrated in the program of the opening ceremony at UNESCO in Paris. With our interdisciplinary projects we have tried to build a bridge between optics, photonics, art and media installations.
The authors explain a developed concept for research-oriented education in optics and photonics. It is presented which goals are to be achieved, which strategies have been developed and how these can be implemented in a blended learning scenario. The goal of our education is the best possible qualification of the students on the basis of a strong scientific and research-oriented education, which also includes the acquisition of important interdisciplinary competences. All phases of a research process are to be mapped in the learning process and offer students an insight into current research topics in optics and photonics.
Increased knowledge transfer through the integration of research projects into university teaching
(2019)
This paper describes the integration of the research project "Characterization of Color Vision using Spectroscopy and Nanotechnology: Application to Media Photonics" into an engineering course in the field of media technology. The aim is to develop the existing learning concept towards a more research-oriented teaching. Involving students in research projects as part of the learning process provides a deeper insight into current research topics and the key elements of scientific work. This makes it easier for students to recognize the importance of the acquired theoretical knowledge for the practice, which enables them to derive new insights of their own.
Walking interfaces offer advantages in navigation of VE systems over other types of locomotion. However, VR helmets have the disadvantage that users cannot see their immediate surroundings. Our publication describes the prototypical implementation of a virtual environment (VE) system, capable of detecting possible obstacles using an RGB-D sensor. In order to warn users of potential collisions with real objects while they are moving throughout the VE tracking area, we designed 4 different visual warning metaphors: Placeholder, Rubber Band, Color Indicator and Arrow. A small pilot study was carried out in which the participants had to solve a simple task and avoid any arbitrarily placed physical obstacles when crossing the virtual scene. Our results show that the Placeholder metaphor (in this case: trees), compared to the other variants, seems to be best suited for the correct estimation of the position of obstacles and in terms of the ability to evade them.
Mobile learning (m-learning) can be considered as a new paradigm of e-learning. The developed solution enables the presentation of animations and 3D virtual reality (VR) on mobile devices and is well suited for mobile learning. Difficult relations in physics as well as intricate experiments in optics can be visualised on mobile devices without need for a personal computer. By outsourcing the computational power to a server, the coverage is worldwide.
The authors set the focus in this paper on the description of polarization with the help of the Jones calculus and the application of polarization in photography. Furthermore, the effect of the circular polarization filter is described by using the Jones calculus. Also, an enhancement of artistic and creative possibilities in photography through quantization or parametrization by the Jones matrices is presented.
Teaching and learning concepts that are adapted to the constantly evolving requirements due to rapid technological progress are essential for teaching in media photonics technology. After the development of a concept for research-oriented education in optics and photonics, the next step will be a conceptual restructuring and redesign of the entire curriculum for education in media photonics technology. By including typical research activities as essential components of the learning process, a broad platform for practical projects and applied research can be created, offering a variety of new development opportunities.
The industry of the agave-derived bacanora, in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, has been growing substantially in recent years. However, this higher demand still lies under the influences of a variety of social, legal, cultural, ecological and economic elements. The governmental institutions of the state have tried to encourage a sustainable development and certain levels of standardization in the production of bacanora by applying different economical and legal strategies. However, a large portion of this alcoholic beverage is still produced in a traditional and rudimentary fashion. Beyond the quality of the beverage, the lack of proper control, by using adequate instrumental methods, might represent a health risk, as in several cases traditional-distilled beverages can contain elevated levels of harmful materials. The present article describes the qualitative spectral analysis of samples of the traditional-produced distilled beverage bacanora in the range from 0 cm−1 to 3500 cm−1 by using a Fourier Transform Raman spectrometer. This particular technique has not been previously explored for the analysis of bacanora, as in the case of other beverages, including tequila. The proposed instrumental arrangement for the spectral analysis has been built by combining conventional hardware parts (Michelson interferometer, photo-diodes, visible laser, etc.) and a set of self-developed evaluation algorithms. The resulting spectral information has been compared to those of pure samples of ethanol and to the spectra from different samples of the alcoholic beverage tequila. The proposed instrumental arrangement can be used the analysis of bacanora.
The International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies 2015 (IYL 2015) was celebrated around the world. Worldwide activities were organized to highlight the impact of optics and photonics on life, science, economics, arts and culture, and also in education. With most of our activities at Offenburg University of Applied Sciences (Offenburg/Germany), we reached our own students and the general population of our region: - University for Children: “The Magic of Light“ winter lecture program and “Across the Universe with Relativity and Quantum Theory” summer lecture program - “Students Meet Scientists” - “A Century of General Relativity Theory” lecture program Nevertheless, with some of our activities we also engaged a worldwide audience: - IYL 2015 art poster collection (Magic of Light and No Football, Just Photonics) - Smart Interactive Projection - Twitter Wall - “Invisible Light” - Live broadcasting of the total lunar eclipse - Film Festival Merida Mexico The authors will highlight recent activities at our university dedicated to promote, celebrate, and create a legacy for the IYL 2015.
In the age data digitalization, important applications of optics and photonics based sensors and technology lie in the field of biometrics and image processing. Protecting user data in a safe and secure way is an essential task in this area. However, traditional cryptographic protocols rely heavily on computer aided computation. Secure protocols which rely only on human interactions are usually simpler to understand. In many scenarios development of such protocols are also important for ease of implementation and deployment. Visual cryptography (VC) is an encryption technique on images (or text) in which decryption is done by human visual system. In this technique, an image is encrypted into number of pieces (known as shares). When the printed shares are physically superimposed together, the image can be decrypted with human vision. Modern digital watermarking technologies can be combined with VC for image copyright protection where the shares can be watermarks (small identification) embedded in the image. Similarly, VC can be used for improving security of biometric authentication. This paper presents about design and implementation of a practical laboratory experiment based on the concept of VC for a course in media engineering. Specifically, our contribution deals with integration of VC in different schemes for applications like digital watermarking and biometric authentication in the field of optics and photonics. We describe theoretical concepts and propose our infrastructure for the experiment. Finally, we will evaluate the learning outcome of the experiment, performed by the students. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Paper presents the design and development of a blended learning concept for an engineering course in the field of color representation and display technologies. A suitable learning environment is crucial for the success of the teaching scenario. A mixture of theoretical lectures and hands-on activities with practical applications and experiments, combined with the advantages of modern digital media is the main topic of the paper. Blended learning describes the didactical change of attendance periods and online periods. The e-learning environment for the online period is designed toward an easy access and interaction. Present digital media extends the established teaching scenarios and enables the presentation of videos, animations and augmented reality (AR). Visualizations are effective tools to impart learning contents with lasting effect. The preparation and evaluation of the theoretical lectures and the hands-on activities are stimulated and affects positively the attendance periods. The tasks and experiments require the students to work independently and to develop individual solution strategies. This engages and motivates the students, deepens the knowledge. The authors will present their experience with the implemented blended learning scenario in this field of optics and photonics. All aspects of the learning environment will be introduced.
Practical exercises are a crucial part of many curricula. Even simple exercises can improve the understanding of the underlying subject. Most experimental setups require special hardware. To carry out e. g. a lens experiments the students need access to an optical bench, various lenses, light sources, apertures and a screen. In our previous publication we demonstrated the use of augmented reality visualization techniques in order to let the students prepare with a simulated experimental setup. Within the context of our intended blended learning concept we want to utilize augmented or virtual reality techniques for stationary laboratory exercises. Unlike applications running on mobile devices, stationary setups can be extended more easily with additional interfaces and thus allow for more complex interactions and simulations in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The most significant difference is the possibility to allow interactions beyond touching a screen. The LEAP Motion controller is a small inexpensive device that allows for the tracking of the user’s hands and fingers in three dimensions. It is conceivable to allow the user to interact with the simulation’s virtual elements by the user’s very hand position, movement and gesture. In this paper we evaluate possible applications of the LEAP Motion controller for simulated experiments in augmented and virtual reality. We pay particular attention to the devices strengths and weaknesses and want to point out useful and less useful application scenarios. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The paper describes the implementation of practical laboratory settings in a virtual environment. With the entry of VR glasses into the mass market, there is a chance to establish educational and training applications for displaying some teaching materials and practical works. Therefore our project focuses on the realization of virtual experiments and environments, which gives users a deep insight into selected subfields of Optics and Photonics. Our goal is not to substitute the hand on experiments rather to extend them. By means of VR glasses, the user is offered the possibility to view the experiment from several angles and to make changes through interactive control functions. During the VR application, additional context-related information is displayed. By using object recognition, the specific graphics and texts for the respective object are loaded and supplemented at the appropriate place. Thus, complex facts are supported in an informative way. The prototype is developed using the Unity Engine and can thus be exported to different platforms and end devices. Another major advantage of virtual simulations to the real situation is the high degree of controllability as well as the easy repeatability. With slight modifications, entire experiments can be reused. Our research aims to acquire new knowledge in the field of e-learning in association with VR technology. Here we try to answer a core question of the compatibility of the individual media components.
In short-reach connections, large-diameter multimode fibres allow for robust and easy connections. Unfortunately, their propagation properties depend on the excitation conditions. We propose a launching technique using a fibre stub that can tolerate fabrication tolerances in terms of tilts and off-sets to a large extent. A study of the influence of displaced connectors along the transmission link shows that the power distributions approach a steady-state power distribution very similar to the initial distribution established by the proposed launching scheme.
VR-based implementation of interactive laboratory experiments in optics and photonics education
(2022)
Within the framework of a developed blended learning concept, a lot of experience has already been gained with a mixture of theoretical lectures and hands-on activities, combined with the advantages of modern digital media. Here, visualizations using videos, animations and augmented reality have proven to be effective tools to convey learning content in a sustainable way. In the next step, ideas and concepts were developed to implement hands-on laboratory experiments in a virtual environment. The main focus is on the realization of virtual experiments and environments that give the students a deep insight into selected subfields of optics and photonics.
The bandwidth behavior of graded-index multimode fibers (GI-MMFs) for different launching conditions is investigated to understand and characterize the effect of differential mode delay. In order to reduce the launch-power distribution the near field of a single-mode fiber is used to produce a controlled restricted launch. The baseband response is measured by observing the broadening of a narrow input pulse (time-domain measurement). The paper verifies the degradation in bandwidth due to profile distortion by scanning the spot of the single-mode fiber with a transversal offset from the center of the test sample. In addition, the impact of the launch-power distribution tuned by different spot-size diameters is demonstrated. Measurements were taken on ‘older’ 50-μm and 62.5-μm GI-MMFs as well as on laser-performance-optimized fibers more recently developed.