Engineering Commons^™

Sweep-N-Go 3.0, Maria Cortelyou Pieroni

Electrical Engineering

This project improves the current performance of the Sweep-N-Go LabVIEW program used in Cal Poly electrical engineering laboratories. Sweep-N-Go expedites the laboratory data collection process through automated testing. The new version of the program (Sweep-N-Go Version 3.0) reduces user debugging time, improves sustainability, increases efficiency, and considers all new lab bench equipment. Sweep-N-Go Version 3.0 includes an enhanced Graphical User Interface (GUI) to optimize user-efficiency and user-friendliness according to student survey feedback. To further achieve usability, this program has been well documented online, outlining LabVIEW functions, such as how to open the program in LabVIEW, how to run an executable …

Automated Drone Calibration System, Jackie Kelly Jong-Mee Paik, Zach Nathan Richter, Tyler Wilson Van Den Berg, Ryan Alexander Zhan, Matthew Ward Carlson

Mechanical Engineering

The final design review of the Inspired Flight Calibration Team senior project will detail the process used to complete a verification prototype of a drone calibration device and discuss lessons learned and suggestions for improving this device. Going from brainstorming and conceptual prototyping all the way through verification prototyping and testing, we were able to design a gyroscopic device that met Inspired Flight’s needs for the flight sensor calibration of their drones. The mechanical design involved comprehensive CAD models and hands-on manufacturing. The mechatronics side of the project worked heavily with electrical wiring and writing custom software to communicate and …

Polyone Smartphone, Joshua Zalmanowitz, Chi Nguyen, Gerome Cacho, Chris Lim

Electrical Engineering

The Poly One Smartphone is a student designed smartphone built to explore the implementation of 5G, provide a hardware solution to ensure personal information security and privacy, and provide longer battery life. The key features of this smartphone include but are not limited to a main cpu, some form of network connectivity in the form of Wi-fi or Cellular Data, calling functionality, a rechargeable battery that works with common power connection protocols, and compatibility with popular applications.

Post-Quantum Encryption Benchmark, Jordan David Churi

Electrical Engineering

Recent advancements in quantum computing bring the weaknesses in modern RSA encryption to the foreground. Shor's algorithm, though not implementable on today's quantum computers, shows that RSA asymmetric key encryption is not secure for the coming future. This flaw in the security has prompted the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to start a search for a new post-quantum encryption algorithm that will be resistant to future quantum computers. There are several implementations of preforming this encryption scheme. One promising technique is using lattices in an application called ring Learning with Errors (rLWE). Several algorithms have been submitted to …

Pulsed Electric Field System Development For Algae Biofuel Extraction, Juan David Gonzalez Aguayo, Aspyn Bessler

Electrical Engineering

The search for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels proves necessary due to the effects fossil fuels have on Earth’s environment. These alternatives must have a minimum ecological footprint and cause no long-term harm to the environment. An environmentally friendly fuel is necessary to usher in a generation of renewable green energy.

The production of algae refined biofuels becomes a possible solution to this growing issue. Algae absorb CO2from the atmosphere during their reproduction and growth cycles, yielding a positive environmental impact. As the biofuel is refined and becomes suitable for use, the combustion of the finished fuel generates an equal …

Electricity Price Forecasting Using A Convolutional Neural Network, Elliott Winicki

Master's Theses

Many methods have been used to forecast real-time electricity prices in various regions around the world. The problem is difficult because of market volatility affected by a wide range of exogenous variables from weather to natural gas prices, and accurate price forecasting could help both suppliers and consumers plan effective business strategies. Statistical analysis with autoregressive moving average methods and computational intelligence approaches using artificial neural networks dominate the landscape. With the rise in popularity of convolutional neural networks to handle problems with large numbers of inputs, and convolutional neural networks conspicuously lacking from current literature in this field, convolutional …

Free Space Optical Communication, Anuj Gohil

Electrical Engineering

Communication is key to day to day activities for all companies and people. Wireless communication has made us expect more from our tools. Radio Frequency has been the preferred medium for a couple decades, but there is a need for faster secure communication. Free Space Optical Communication is an alternate wireless communication system which uses optics to create a link. It utilizes low-power and converts an analog signal into digital pulses which are transmitted across space to a receiver. Its only caveat is its vulnerability under atmospheric obstacles. The goal of this project is to create a free space optical …

Performance Enhancement And Characterization Of An Electromagnetic Railgun, Paul M. Gilles

Master's Theses

Collision with orbital debris poses a serious threat to spacecraft and astronauts. Hypervelocity impacts resulting from collisions mean that objects with a mass less than 1g can cause mission-ending damage to spacecraft. A means of shielding spacecraft against collisions is necessary. A means of testing candidate shielding methods for their efficacy in mitigating hypervelocity impacts is therefore also necessary. Cal Poly’s Electromagnetic Railgun was designed with the goal of creating a laboratory system capable of simulating hypervelocity (≥ 3 km/s) impacts. Due to several factors, the system was not previously capable of high-velocity (≥ 1 km/s) tests. A deficient projectile …

Utilizing Trajectory Optimization In The Training Of Neural Network Controllers, Nicholas Kimball

Master's Theses

Applying reinforcement learning to control systems enables the use of machine learning to develop elegant and efficient control laws. Coupled with the representational power of neural networks, reinforcement learning algorithms can learn complex policies that can be difficult to emulate using traditional control system design approaches. In this thesis, three different model-free reinforcement learning algorithms, including Monte Carlo Control, REINFORCE with baseline, and Guided Policy Search are compared in simulated, continuous action-space environments. The results show that the Guided Policy Search algorithm is able to learn a desired control policy much faster than the other algorithms. In the inverted pendulum …

Alzheimer’S Disease Detection Using Convolutional Neural Netowork & Wavelets, Ean Hendrickson, Gabriel Amancio, Chloe Eusbio, Kaioli Bessert

Electrical Engineering

It is estimated that 5.7 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s dementia, including about 1 in 10 people above the age of 65. Alzheimer’s disease detection can help doctors to diagnose patients earlier and help them with preventative, proactive treatment. In this project, we attempt to use two different methods to analyze MRI brain images for Alzheimer’s disease detection, one with convolutional neural network and deep learning algorithm, and the other one with discrete wavelet transform. Computer simulation results are presented in the report.

Development Of A Myoelectric Detection Circuit Platform For Computer Interface Applications, Nickolas Andrew Butler

Master's Theses

Personal computers and portable electronics continue to rapidly advance and integrate into our lives as tools that facilitate efficient communication and interaction with the outside world. Now with a multitude of different devices available, personal computers are accessible to a wider audience than ever before. To continue to expand and reach new users, novel user interface technologies have been developed, such as touch input and gyroscopic motion, in which enhanced control fidelity can be achieved. For users with limited-to-no use of their hands, or for those who seek additional means to intuitively use and command a computer, novel sensory systems …

Eye Pressure Monitior, Andrea Nella Levy

Computer Engineering

The document describes a mobile application that takes information from an attached device which tests eye pressure. The device consists of an IOIO board connected to a custom device that measures the frequency of a given waveform. The device was designed by another student for their senior project, which I am taking over. This device is connected to an IOIO board which is a board designed by a Google employee which works with an android phone in order to create applications that work with embedded systems. The board comes with an API and connects to the phone via a micro-USB. …

Test Bench Design For The Fontana Gaf Facility, Dalton Paul Wunderlich

Electrical Engineering

This senior design project consists of designing and building a test bench set up in the GAF facility located in Fontana CA. The project creates an area where testing of different configurations of equipment takes place before implementing the equipment on the production line. Having this isolated environment allows the engineers and technicians to follow several design build test iterations on new systems. The design has the versatility to handle different equipment set ups and test a large quantity of diverse situations. The test bench implements Allen Bradley ControLogix, PLC-5, multiple Powerflex drives and multiple Kinetix servo drives simultaneously. The …

Logging, Visualization, And Analysis Of Network And Power Data Of Iot Devices, Neal Huynh Nguyen

Master's Theses

There are approximately 23.14 billion IoT(Internet of Things) devices currently in use worldwide. This number is projected to grow to over 75 billion by 2025. Despite their ubiquity little is known about the security and privacy implications of IoT devices. Several large-scale attacks against IoT devices have already been recorded.

To help address this knowledge gap, we have collected a year’s worth of network traffic and power data from 16 common IoT devices. From this data, we show that we can identify different smart speakers, like the Echo Dot, from analyzing one minute of power data on a shared power …

Iris Biometric Identification Using Artificial Neural Networks, Kevin Joseph Haskett

Master's Theses

A biometric method is a more secure way of personal identification than passwords. This thesis examines the iris as a personal identifier with the use of neural networks as the classifier. A comparison of different feature extraction methods that include the Fourier transform, discrete cosine transform, the eigen analysis method, and the wavelet transform, is performed. The robustness of each method, with respect to distortion and noise, is also studied.

Lionfish Detection System, Carmelo Furlan, Andrew Boniface

Computer Engineering

Deep neural networks have proven to be an effective method in classification of images. The ability to recognize objects has opened the door for many new systems which use image classification to solve challenging problems where conventional image classification would be inadequate. We trained a large, deep convolutional neural network to identify lionfish from other species that might be found in the same habitats. Google’s Inception framework served as a powerful platform for our fish recognition system. By using transfer learning, we were able to obtain exceptional results for the classification of different species of fish. The convolutional neural network …

Developing, Evaluating, And Demonstrating An Open Source Gateway And Mobile Application For The Smartfarm Decision Support System, Caleb D. Fink

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to design, develop, evaluate, and demonstrate an open source gateway and mobile application for the SmartFarm open source decision support system to improve agricultural stewardship, environmental conservation, and provide farmers with a system that they own. There are very limited options for an open source gateway for collecting data on the farm. The options available are: expensive, require professional maintenance, are not portable between systems, improvements are made only by the manufacturer, limited in customization options, difficult to operate, and data is owned by the company rather than the farmer. The gateway is designed …

Portable High-Definition Audio Spectrum Analyzer, Alex Zahn, Jamie Corr

Electrical Engineering

The Portable High-definition Audio Spectrum Analyzer (PHASA) allows the user to visualize the audio frequency spectrum of an incoming line-level stereo audio signal. Upon pressing the touch screen spectrum graph, the PHASA displays the corresponding frequency and volume levels as well as crosshairs at the touched location. The PHASA features multiple left/right channel display modes— Left channel only, right channel only, both channels simultaneously, and the average between the two channels. The PHASA features multiple resolution display modes (standard-resolution and high-resolution) and multiple dynamics display modes (standard dynamics, averaging, and peak/hold). The PHASA accepts input audio via a 1/4" TRS …

Electric Upgrades - Supercapacitor Electric Bicycle, John Chen, Wilson Fletcher, Spencer Esparza

Electrical Engineering

Supercapacitors provide high current capabilities compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries, allowing for fast charging and discharging of electrical energy. This project seeks to test the benefits of supercapacitors in an electric bicycle unit in order to gain higher regenerative energy. The main components of the bicycle are its regenerative motor, supercapacitor array, and motor controller. Developing the project will provide data on the feasibility of using alternative battery storage and charging.

Towards A Strawberry Harvest Prediction System Using Computer Vision And Pattern Recognition, Andreas M. Apitz

Master's Theses

Farmers require advance notice when a harvest is approaching, so they can allocate resources and hire workers as efficiently as possible. Existing methods are subjective and labor intensive, and require the expertise of a professional forecaster. Cal Poly’s EE department has been collaborating with the Cal Poly Strawberry Center to investigate the potential in using digital imaging processing to predict harvests more reliably. This paper shows the progress of that ongoing project, as well as what aspects could still be improved. Three main blocks comprise this system: data acquisition, which obtains and catalogues images of the strawberry plants; computer vision, …

Real Time And High Fidelity Quadcopter Tracking System, Tyler Mckay Hall

Computer Engineering

This project was conceived as a desired to have an affordable, flexible and physically compact tracking system for high accuracy spatial and orientation tracking. Specifically, this implementation is focused on providing a low cost motion capture system for future research. It is a tool to enable the further creation of systems that would require the use of accurate placement of landing pads, payload acquires and delivery. This system will provide the quadcopter platform a coordinate system that can be used in addition to GPS.

Field research with quadcopter manufacturers, photographers, agriculture and research organizations were contact and interviewed for information …

Computer-Aided Diagnoses (Cad) System: An Artificial Neural Network Approach To Mri Analysis And Diagnosis Of Alzheimer's Disease (Ad), Berizohar Padilla Cerezo

Master's Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic and progressive, irreversible syndrome that deteriorates the cognitive functions. Official death certificates of 2013 reported 84,767 deaths from Alzheimer’s disease, making it the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. The rate of AD is estimated to double by 2050. The neurodegeneration of AD occurs decades before symptoms of dementia are evident. Therefore, having an efficient methodology for the early and proper diagnosis can lead to more effective treatments.

Neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect changes in the brain of living subjects. Moreover, medical imaging techniques are the …

Solid State Drive, Shaun A. Steele

Electrical Engineering

This project documents the design and implementation of a solid state drive (SSD). SSDs are a non-volatile memory storage device that competes with hard disk drives. SSDs rely on flash memory, a type of non-volatile memory that is electrically erased and programmed. The appeal of SSDs lies in the fact that they allow a fast, reliable, and durable memory storage device. The goal of this project is to have a working external SSD built from scratch.

Wireless Window Blinds, Cooper Laone, Niraj Morar, Zachary Malig, Jake Phillips

Electrical Engineering

The Internet of Things asserts that there exists a global need for all objects to connect easily and accessibly. Today, smartphones, tablets, laptops and smart watches makeup just a few of the interconnected devices by the greater population. As a result a growing need for wireless connection between personal devices like phones, and computers to everyday appliances exists. This idea extends directly to households, businesses and buildings, where a growing need for smart home or smart-business appliances has taken root. Many companies like Nest, ADT and Apple make products for automated home security and in home media control. The Wireless …

Data Fusion With 9 Degrees Of Freedom Inertial Measurement Unit To Determine Object’S Orientation, Long Dinh Tran

Electrical Engineering

Data fusion is a technique to integrate different types of data to a single unit to provide a more reliable representation of tracking measurement. Today, data fusion can be found in many applications such as tracking and surveillance system as well as on mobile applications. In this project, 9 Degrees of Freedom (DOF) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) composed of 3-axis Magnetometer, 3-axis Accelerometer, and 3-axis Gyroscope are processed to yield the object’s rotations in 3 dimensions. While the magnetometer (compass) is used to determine the heading angle, accelerometer is used to determine tilt axis, gyroscope can be process to calculate …

Formula Sae Power Distribution Controller, Daniel Baron

Electrical Engineering

The Power Distribution Controller senior project aims to replace the current Power Distribution Module (PDM) on Cal Poly’s Formula SAE internal combustion vehicle with a more advanced, configurable, and reliable system. The Power Distribution Controller is a MOSFET based system that can be controlled through either controller area network or a parallel interface to distribute and control power from the vehicle’s battery to the several electrical devices on the car. The Power Distribution Controller also collects output voltage and current data, and communicates this data to the vehicle’s data logger. This will allow engineers to troubleshoot electrical problems on the …

Water Leak Detection System, Ryan T. Hanson

Electrical Engineering

The water supply shortage has increased in recent years due to overpopulation, climate change and obsolete water facilities, where deteriorated pipes cause most of the water leaks. The problem is not the size of the leak, but the time it takes to detect it. This paper presents the implementation of a system installed in the hydraulic facilities of a residence, to detect water leaks. The system consists of a water sensor installed by a water reservoir of interest, a microprocessor to interpret the data and evaluate whether it is a water leak or not, an SMS alert message, and an …

Workplace Posture Assessment And Biofeedback With Kinect, Matthew Crussell

Master's Theses

With the prevalence of computing, many workers today are confined to desk within an office. By sitting in these positions for long periods of time, workers are prone to develop one of many musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as carpal tunnel syndrome. In order to prevent MSDs in the long term, workers must employ good sitting habits. One promising method to ensure good workplace posture is through camera monitoring. To date, camera systems have been used in determining posture in a clean environment. However, an occluded and cluttered background, which is typical in an office setting, imposes a great challenge for …

Electronic Deer Warning System, David Zhuo, Anlang Lu

Computer Engineering

Deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) are extremely dangerous, often injuring or even killing drivers. Unfortunately, this form of automotive accident is commonplace in the United States. According to the NHTSA, DVCs result in 200 human deaths a year.2

Despite these deadly incidents, there currently are no deployed federal or state systems for preventing DVCs. There are many consumer electronic deer deterrent products, but their long-term effectiveness is questionable.3 In fact, there does not appear to be much research into electronic deer deterrent systems. Aside from constant audio output and electric shock, no other means of electronic deterrent exist. Even if fixed deterrents …

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.