Engineering Commons^™

Exploring Cognition And Affect During Human-Cobot Interaction, Angelika T. Canete, Javier Gonzalez-Sanchez, Rafael Guerra Silva

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

Collaborative robots (Cobots) have recently gained popularity due to their capability to work collaboratively with human operators. This collaborative relationship has been named under the robotics discipline of Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC), in which humans and robots work together to accomplish a common task while also being in the same physical space. An important part of collaboration is the human's decision-making, which is largely affected by their affective and cognitive state. A cobot lacks this fundamental understanding of the human operator. In this research, we utilize a server-client program to communicate the affective states of a human user to a Raspberry …

Cybersecurity In Industrial Automation Lab Design For Ee 435, Jules Khalil Emile Hajjar, Emily Zhou

Electrical Engineering

This project involves the creation of an instructional laboratory aimed at teaching cybersecurity for industrial automation applications. Specifically tailored for Electrical Engineering students at Cal Poly, the experiment focuses on configuring the Modicon M580, a PLC from Schneider Electric, and serves to introduce students to relevant cybersecurity protocols and techniques. This project will be implemented into the EE435 (Industrial Power Control and Automation) course curriculum upon Cal Poly’s transition to the semester system.

Compact In-Rack Dielectric Immersion Cooling System, Salvador Landeros Jr, Joshua M. Hannaman, Marshall D. Reid

Mechanical Engineering

The Compact Dielectric Cooling team consisting of Josh Hannaman, Marshall Reid, and Salvador Landeros worked with Aria Technologies to create a thermal management system for data centers that can easily implement liquid cooling into current infrastructure for high density computing servers. The project was to design, build, and test a compact immersion cooling system for a senior project at California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo. Immersion cooling is a liquid-cooling process that involves the immersion of electrical IT equipment and the removal of heat from the hot IT components using dielectric liquid. The goal was to build a …

Inventory Locating With Quuppa: The Design And Development Of A Real-Time Process Monitoring Web Application Solution, Dylan C. Moreland, Trevor J. Howell, John W. Takiff, Patrick S. Dillon, Theo E. Fritz, William K. Mcintyre

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Viasat, Inc. requires precise inventory tracking at their production facility in San Diego, CA. Viasat has installed the Quuppa indoor real-time locating system (RTLS), which it uses to track the real-time position of high-value work-in-process items. In its current state, the system only displays in-the-moment location information, with no available functionality for storing historical data for review, analysis, or visualization. In addition, the data displayed is noisy and prone to significant random error. This paper provides an overview of RTLS methods and technologies, assesses alternative solutions to Viasat’s issue, demonstrates our RTLS integrated web app solution, analyzes its impact, and …

Development Of A Marine Biodegradable Target Balloon, Blake Samuel Robinson, Arash Sam Akhavi, David Leonardo Albarran-Martinez

Materials Engineering

The US Navy utilizes PVC target balloons, known as Killer Tomatoes, that are inflated onboard a naval vessel then deployed into the ocean to calibrate a variety of weaponry. The Navy has requested the investigation of biodegradable polymers to replace the PVC in attempts to reduce ocean waste that is generated from the leftover PVC material. After communicating with American Pacific Plastic Fabricators (APPF), the current manufacturer of the Killer Tomatoes, we gained an understanding of the manufacturing process and the material requirements that would allow a new material to be integrated into their current process. Two proprietary, trial polymers …

University Startup Accelerators: Startup Launchpads Or Vehicles For Entrepreneurial Learning?, Lynn E. Metcalf, Thomas M. Katona, Jonathan L. York

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Over the past decade, universities have invested heavily in startup accelerator programs; however, their role in the university entrepreneurial ecosystem is ambiguous. Are university startup accelerators intended to educate or are they created to facilitate business starts and to contribute to regional economic development? In contrast, most private-sector startup accelerators serve a consistent and differentiated role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem—they provide programming and resources to startups to increase the probability of a return on investment. Understanding the role of university startup accelerators is an important precursor to evaluating their impact and whether or not the return is worth the considerable …

Keeping Humans In The Loop: Pooling Knowledge Through Artificial Swarm Intelligence To Improve Business Decision Making, Lynn E. Metcalf, David A. Askay, Louis B. Rosenberg

Industrial Technology and Packaging

This article explores how a collaboration technology called Artificial Swarm Intelligence (ASI) addresses the limitations associated with group decision making, amplifies the intelligence of human groups, and facilitates better business decisions. It demonstrates of how ASI has been used by businesses to harness the diverse perspectives that individual participants bring to groups and to facilitate convergence upon decisions. It advances the understanding of how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to enhance, rather than replace, teams as they collaborate to make business decisions.

Amplifying The Collective Intelligence Of Teams With Swarm Ai, David Askay, Lynn E. Metcalf, Louis B. Rosenberg, Gregg Willcox, David Baltaxe

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Group decision-making is strengthened by the varied knowledge and perspectives that each member brings, yet teams often fail to capitalize on their diversity. This paper describes how Swarm AI, a novel collaborative intelligence technology modeled on the decision-making process of honey bee swarms, enables networked human groups to more effectively leverage their combined insights. Through an empirical study conducted on 60 small teams, each of 3 to 6 members, we demonstrate the capacity of Swarm AI to significantly amplify the collective intelligence of human groups. A well-known testing instrument—the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME) test —was used to …

Application Of Big Data Analytics In Agriculture Supply Chain Management, Sankara Narayanan Mangalam Ananthapadmanabhan

Master's Theses

The increasing trend in frequency of natural disasters in tandem with globalization of business makes the agricultural supply chain significantly vulnerable to disruption. This thesis presents a pragmatic approach for creating a Business Continuity Model that can notify supply chain planners when there is an increase in risk of agriculture supply chain disruption due to natural disasters. The methodology presented in this thesis applied big data analytics and machine learning algorithms along with agriculture product related exponential decay function to create a regionalized composite risk score, that incorporated both direct and indirect risk associated with the Agriculture Fresh Supply Chain. …

Enhancing Group Social Perceptiveness Through A Swarm-Based Decision-Making Platform, David A. Askay, Lynn E. Metcalf, Louis Rosenberg, Gregg Willcox

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Swarm Intelligence is natural phenomenon that enables social animals to make group decisions in real-time systems. This process has been deeply studied in fish schools, bird flocks, and bee swarms, where collective intelligence has been observed to emerge. The present paper describes swarm.ai—a collaborative technology that enables swarms of humans to collectively converge upon a decision as a real-time system. Then we present the results of a study investigating if groups working as “human swarms” can amplify their social perceptiveness, a key predictor of collective intelligence. Results showed that groups reduced their social perceptiveness errors by more than half when …

Measuring Group Personality With Swarm Ai, Gregg Willcox, David Askay, Louis Rosenberg, Lynn Metcalf, Bryan Kwong, Richard Liu

Industrial Technology and Packaging

The aggregation of individual personality tests to predict team performance is widely accepted in management theory but has significant limitations: the isolated nature of individual personality surveys fails to capture much of the team dynamics that drive real-world team performance. Artificial Swarm Intelligence (ASI), a technology that enables networked teams to think together in real-time and answer questions as a unified system, promises a solution to these limitations by enabling teams to take personality tests together and converge upon answers that best represent the group’s disposition. In the present study, the group personality of 94 small teams was assessed by …

Amplifying The Social Intelligence Of Teams Through Human Swarming, Louis Rosenberg, Gregg Willcox, David Askay, Lynn Metcalf

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Artificial Swarm Intelligence (ASI) is a method for amplifying the collective intelligence of human groups by connecting networked participants into real-time systems modeled after natural swarms and moderated by AI algorithms. ASI has been shown to amplify performance in a wide range of tasks, from forecasting financial markets to prioritizing conflicting objectives. This study explores the ability of ASI systems to amplify the social intelligence of small teams. A set of 61 teams, each of 3 to 6 members, was administered a standard social sensitivity test —"Reading the Mind in the Eyes” or RME. Subjects took the test both as …

Developing A Greenometer For Green Manufacturing Assessment, Ahmed H. Salem, Ahmed M. Deif

Industrial Technology and Packaging

In this paper a toolbox (Greenometer) to assess the greenness level of manufacturing companies is proposed. The assessment approach is based on capturing the relative greenness position of any company among other industries from different sectors as well as within the same sector. The assessment was based on selected greenness attributes and their composing indicators at each of the two levels of the developed Greenometer. Geometric Mean Method (GMM) was adopted to be the generic assessment technique for cross industries greenness evaluation, while Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was employed to assess the greenness level of intra-industries layer. Three different industrial …

Insights On Lean Gamifications For Higher Education, Ahmed Deif

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Purpose

There is no argument that using games (gamification) is an efficient way of learning in higher education. The questions, though, are which gamification approach is most suitable at that level and how to assess its suitability? This paper aims to attempt to partially answer these two questions, in the context of lean thinking education.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper offers an assessment criteria to investigate the impact of lean gamification based on the evaluation of motivational, cognitive and social processing during games. In addition, a study is conducted among selected games using these assessment criteria. The study included statistical as well …

Evaluation Of Career Readiness At An Industrial Technology Program Using A Fuzzy Approach, Ahmed Deif, Cameron Stark, Kathryn Butler, Eric Olsen

Industrial Technology and Packaging

In this research, a quantitative model to measure the “career readiness” performance level of the current curriculum of the Industrial Technology and Packaging program at California Polytechnic State University is proposed. Career readiness is first defined through performance attributes and these attributes are further classified into specific categories and metrics. Using a fuzzy logic computational approach, “career readiness” measures are developed and a “career readiness” score referred to as (CRS) is calculated. The model is designed to be flexible, dynamic and easy to use. It should enable a systematic measurement of career readiness by producing a final integrated unit-less score. …

Photovoltaic Cooking In The Developing World, Tyler Watkins, Christopher O'Day, Omar Arriaga

Mechanical Engineering

The challenge of clean cooking is faced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. We present a cooking technology consisting of a solar panel directly connected to an electric heater in a well-insulated chamber. Assuming continued decrease in solar panel prices, we anticipate that in a few decades Solar Electric Cooking technologies will be the most common cooking technology for the poor. Appropriate use of insulation reduces the power demand making low-power Insulated Solar Electric Cooking systems already cost competitive.

Variety And Volume Dynamic Management For Value Creation In Changeable Manufacturing Systems, Ahmed M. Deif, Hoda A. Elmaraghy

Industrial Technology and Packaging

In today’s uncertain market and continuously evolving technology, managing manufacturing systems are more complex than ever. This paper studies the dynamics of managing variety and volume to enhance value creation in manufacturers implementing system-level advanced and automated manufacturing technology (AAMT). The demand is composed of heterogeneous customers who make purchasing decisions depending on the variety levels and lead times of the firm’s product offerings. The cost structure adopted calculates profit as the difference between customer value creation rate (VCR) and costs associated with the process of creating this value. Reported results contribute to the variety and volume management literature by …

Variety And Volume Dynamic Management For Value Creation In Changeable Manufacturing Systems, Ahmed Deif, Hoda A. Elmaraghy

Industrial Technology and Packaging

In today’s uncertain market and continuously evolving technology, managing manufacturing systems are more complex than ever. This paper studies the dynamics of managing variety and volume to enhance value creation in manufacturers implementing system-level advanced and automated manufacturing technology (AAMT). The demand is composed of heterogeneous customers who make purchasing decisions depending on the variety levels and lead times of the firm’s product offerings. The cost structure adopted calculates profit as the difference between customer value creation rate (VCR) and costs associated with the process of creating this value. Reported results contribute to the variety and volume management literature by …

Synthesis Of Nanoporous Carbohydrate Metal-Organic Framework And Encapsulation Of Acetaldehyde, Saleh Al-Ghamdi, Ajay Kathuria, Mohamad G. Abiad, Rafael Auras

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Gamma cyclodextrin (γ-CD) metal organic frameworks (CDMOFs) were synthesized by coordinating γ-CDs with potassium hydroxide (KOH), referred hereafter as CDMOF-a, and potassium benzoate (C₇H₅KO₂), denoted as CDMOF-b. The obtained CDMOF structures were characterized using nitrogen sorption isotherm, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). High surface areas were achieved by the γ-CD based MOF structures where the Langmuir specific surface areas (SSA) of CDMOF-a and CDMOF-b were determined as 1376 m² g⁻¹ and 607 m² g⁻¹; respectively. The dehydrated CDMOF structures demonstrated good thermal stability …

Solar Turbines Compressor Blade Installation Tools, Ryan Bruce, Carolyn Honeycutt, Stephen Oltrogge, Emmett Ross

Mechanical Engineering

The following report documents a California Polytechnic State University, Mechanical Engineering Senior Project sponsored by the gas turbine manufacturer, Solar Turbines. The senior project team consisted of four senior mechanical engineering students at Cal Poly, all with general concentrations; Ryan Bruce, Carolyn Honeycutt, Steve Oltrogge, and Emmett Ross. Kenneth Thomas sponsored the group and serves as the point of contact between the senior project team and Solar Turbines. He is a member of the Solar Turbines Mechanical Design Engineering Team and a Cal Poly graduate. Christoph Maurer served as the project team’s on-campus advisor.

A gas turbine uses internal combustion …

Assessing Leanness Level With Demand Dynamics In A Multi-Stage Production System, Rehab M. Ali, Ahmed Deif

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Purpose

Design/methodology/approach

Mapping Kinematic Functional Abilities Of The Hand To Three Dimensional Shapes For Inclusive Design, Samuel T. Leitkam, Laura Bix, Javier De La Fuente, Tamara Reid Bush

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Loss of hand function can have adverse effects on an individual's ability to maintain independence. The ability to perform daily activities, such as food preparation and medication delivery, is dependent on the hand's ability to grasp and manipulate objects. Therefore, the goal of this research was to demonstrate that three dimensional (3D) modeling of hand function can be used to improve the accessibility of handheld objects for individuals with reduced functionality through informed design. Individual models of hand functionality were created for 43 participants and group models were developed for groups of individuals without (Healthy) and with reduced functionality due …

The Influence Of Cu3(Btc)2 Metal Organic Framework On The Permeability And Perm-Selectivity Of Plla-Mof Mixed Matrix Membranes, Ajay Kathuria, Saleh Al-Ghamdi, Mohamad G. Abiad, Rafael Auras

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) - 20% (w/w) and Cu₃(BTC)₂ metal organic framework (MOF) based mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were fabricated by a vertical corotating twin screw microcompounder followed by an injection molding process. Water vapor, CO_2, O₂, and selected aroma mass transfer properties of PLLA and PLLA MMMs were evaluated. The CO₂/O₂ perm-selectivity of PLLA (α_CO2/O2) MMMs increased from 7.6 to 10.3 with the incorporation of 20% Cu₃(BTC)₂ MOF. Gravimetric permeability studies of trans-2-hexenal performed at 23°C and 50% RH indicated that permeability coefficient of PLLA MMMs …

Development Of A Tridimensional Measuring Application For Ipads, Michael Casebolt, Nicolas Kouatli, Jack Mullen

Computer Science and Software Engineering

In today’s fast-paced distribution centers workers and management alike are constantly searching for the quickest and most efficient way to package items for distribution. Even with the advancement of app-oriented solutions to a variety of problems across many industries there is a distinct unmet need in distribution environments for an application capable of increasing the efficiency and accuracy of packaging items. This senior project focused on the development and testing of an application utilizing the Structure Three Dimensional Sensor and a 4th generation iPad to scan an object or group of objects to be packaged and determine the overall dimensions …

An Affordance-Based Methodology For Package Design, Javier De La Fuente Phd, Stephanie Gustafson, Colleen L. Twomey, Laura Bix

Industrial Technology and Packaging

The term affordance describes an object's utilitarian function or actionable possibilities. Product designers have taken great interest in the concept of affordances because of the bridge they provide relating to design, the interpretation of design and, ultimately, functionality in the hands of consumers. These concepts have been widely studied and applied in the field of psychology but have had limited formal application to packaging design and evaluation. We believe that the concepts related to affordances will reveal novel opportunities for packaging innovation. To catalyse this, presented work had the following objectives: (a) to propose a method by which packaging designers …

Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson

Master's Theses

Packed-bed digesters are an alternative to covered lagoon digesters for methane production and anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewaters such as dairy barn flush water. The physical media of packed-beds retain biofilms, often allowing increased treatment rates. Previous studies have evaluated several types of media for digestion of dilute wastewaters, but cost and media fouling have setback commercial development. A major operational cost has been effluent recirculation pumping.

In the present effort, a novel approach to anaerobic digestion of flush dairy water was developed at pilot-scale: broken walnut shells were used as a low-cost packed-bed medium and effluent recirculation was replaced …

Cost Performance Dynamics In Lean Production Leveling, Ahmed Deif, Hoda Elmaraghy

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Balancing of production systems is one of the main lean manufacturing principles as it reduces in-process storage and related forms of waste. A dynamic systems approach is proposed to investigate challenges of implementing production leveling and associated costs. A lean cell producing at takt time is modeled using system dynamics. The model captures various lean tools influencing production leveling and their implications. Comparative cost analysis between various leveling implementation policies for stochastic demand with multiple products is conducted. Results showed that determining the most feasible leveling policy is highly dictated by both the cost and limitations of capacity scalability. In …

Dynamic Modelling Of Impact Of Lean Policies On Production Levelling Feasibility, Hoda Elmaraghy, Ahmed Deif

Industrial Technology and Packaging

A dynamic systems approach is proposed to investigate challenges of implementing production leveling and associated costs. A model of a lean cell is developed using system dynamics. The model captures various lean tools influencing production leveling. Comparative cost analysis between various leveling implementation policies for stochastic demand with multiple products is conducted. Results showed that determining the most feasible leveling policy is highly dictated by both capacity scalability cost and limitations. The developed model and revealed insights can help lean practitioners to better decide on when and how to implement production leveling as well as determine production lots sizes.

Impact Of Dynamic Capacity Policies On Wip Level In Mix Leveling Lean Environment, Ahmed Deif, Hoda Elmaraghy

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Balancing demand's product variety in production planning is one aspect of variety management challenge. This phenomenon is described in lean systems as mix leveling. This paper approach product mix leveling problem from a dynamic perspective. A system dynamics model is developed to explore the dynamics associated with the WIP level performance at different mix leveling policies in a lean environment. The system captures different lean tools and policies. Results showed that the best WIP performance is sensitive to both the degree of lean tools implementation as well as the capacity scalability level of the system. The presented analysis showed that …

Dynamic Lean Assessment For Takt Time Implementation, Rehab M. Ali, Ahmed M. Deif

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Increasing volatility, global competitiveness, and sales crisis all force the manufacturers to commit to the journey of world-class manufacturing performance via adopting “lean systems” to enable economic success in difficult times. Among the journey to lean, one of the hardest steps is measuring the progress of lean polices implementation especially in this highly dynamic market. This paper presents a dynamic model to evaluate the degree of leanness in manufacturing firms. The model is based on system dynamics approach and presents a “leanness score” for the manufacturing system. In addition, it examines the dynamics associated with the application of “One-piece flow” …