Abstract
The purpose of the present work is to construct a reaction board based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) that could be used for estimation of the 2D coordinates of the projection of center of gravity (CG) of an object. The apparatus is consisted of a rigid equilateral triangular board mounted on three supports at the vertices, two of which have cantilevers instrumented with FBGs. When an object of known weight is placed on the board, the bending strain of the cantilevers is measured by a proportional wavelength shift of the FBGs. Applying the equilibrium conditions of a rigid body and proper calibration procedures, the wavelength shift is used to estimate the vertical reaction forces and moments of force at the supports and the coordinates of the object's CG projection on the board. This method can be used on a regular basis to estimate the CG of the human body or objects with complex geometry and density distribution. An example is provided for the estimation of the CG projection coordinates of two orthopaedic femur bone models, one intact, and the other with a hip stem implant encased. The clinical implications of changing the normal CG location by means of a prosthesis have been discussed.

Abstract

Abstract
In this work, an alternative method of coupling light into microstructured polymer fibers is presented. The solution consists in using a fiber taper fabricated with a CO2 laser. The connection is formed by inserting a tapered silica tip into the holes of a microstructured polymer fiber. This alternative method is duly characterized and the feasibility of such fiber connection to enable the polymer fiber as a displacement sensor is also demonstrated. © 2018 by the authors.

Abstract
A brief review of new fiber microsphere geometries is presented. Simple microspheres working as Fabry-Perot cavities are interrogated in reflection and in transmission. Two microspheres were also spliced together, and subjected to different physical parameters. These structures are an alternative solution for load measurement and, when read in transmission, it is also possible to apply strain. Moreover, the structure is capable of being used under extreme ambient temperatures up to 900 degrees C. Random signal in cleaved microspheres was demonstrated with the possibility of using it for random laser or sensing applications. All this work was developed at the Centre for Applied Photonics, INESC TEC.

Abstract
A silica resonator was demonstrated for random laser generation. The resonator consisted of a conventional microsphere fabricated in an optical fiber tip through electric arc discharge, and modifications to its geometry were carried out to create asymmetry inside the silica structure. The resulting Bunimovich stadium-like microsphere promotes multiple reflections with the boundaries, following the stochastic properties of dynamic billiards. The interference of the multiple scattered beams generates a random signal whose intensity was increased by sputter-coating the microstadium with a gold thin film. The random signal is amplified using an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) in a ring cavity configuration with feedback, and lasing is identified as temporal and spectral random variations of the signal between consecutive measurements.

Abstract
The placement of an Erbium-doped Fiber Amplifier and a Fabry-Perot cavity inside a fiber ring resonator can generate a sinusoidal modulation in the optical signal obtained. The characterization of this behavior is achieved by changing the length of the Fabry-Perot cavity, which acts as a sensing device. A theoretical model of the optical signal modulation obtained with such configuration is also presented.