Engineering Commons^™

Extending Depth Of Field Via Multifocus Fusion, Harishwaran Hariharan

Doctoral Dissertations

In digital imaging systems, due to the nature of the optics involved, the depth of field is constricted in the field of view. Parts of the scene are in focus while others are defocused. Here, a framework of versatile data-driven application independent methods to extend the depth of field in digital imaging systems is presented. The principal contributions in this effort are the use of focal connectivity, the direct use of curvelets and features extracted by Empirical Mode Decomposition, namely Intrinsic Mode Images, for multifocus fusion. The input images are decomposed into focally connected components, peripheral and medial coefficients and …

Robust Multichannel Functional-Data-Analysis Methods For Data Recovery In Complex Systems, Jian Sun

Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, Condition Monitoring (CM), which can be performed via several sensor channels, has been recognized as an effective paradigm for failure prevention of operational equipment or processes. However, the complexity caused by asynchronous data collection with different and/or time-varying sampling/transmission rates has long been a hindrance in the effective use of multichannel data in constructing empirical models. The problem becomes more challenging when sensor readings are incomplete. Traditional sensor data recovery techniques are often prohibited in asynchronous CM environments, not to mention sparse datasets. The proposed Functional Principal Component Analysis (FPCA) methodologies, e.g., nonparametric FPC model and semi-parametric …

Analysis Of Contrast Enhancement Methods For Infrared Images, Sprinkle Christian

Master's Theses

Contrast enhancement techniques are used widely to improve the visual quality of images. The difference in luminance reflected from two adjacent surfaces creates contrast between the surfaces in the image. The greater the contrast, the easier it is to recognize and differentiate objects in an image. Thus object contrast is an important factor in the perception of the visual quality of an image and in its usefulness for object recognition and image analysis applications.

The focus of this thesis is on studying how well different contrast enhancement techniques developed for visible spectrum photographic images work on infrared images; to determine …

Sensing And Transmission Strategies In Wireless Cognitive Radio Systems, Babak Abbasi Bastami

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The main challenge in any cognitive radio system is to maximize secondary users throughput while limiting interference imposed on licensed users. In this regard, finding the optimal sensing and transmission timing strategies and accurate sensing techniques are of great importance in a cognitive radio network.

In this thesis, we study a sensing-transmission scheme for secondary user in a cognitive radio system where the secondary user senses every primary channel independently and transmits a signal for a fixed duration if it finds the channel empty and stays idle for another fixed duration if it senses the channel busy. We obtain optimal …

Optimized Hyperspectral Imagery Anomaly Detection Through Robust Parameter Design, Francis M. Mindrup

Theses and Dissertations

Anomaly detection algorithms for hyperspectral imagery (HSI) are an important first step in the analysis chain which can reduce the overall amount of data to be processed. The actual amount of data reduced depends greatly on the accuracy of the anomaly detection algorithm implemented. Most, if not all, anomaly detection algorithms require a user to identify some initial parameters. These parameters (or controls) affect overall algorithm performance. Regardless of the anomaly detector being utilized, algorithm performance is often negatively impacted by uncontrollable noise factors which introduce additional variance into the process. In the case of HSI, the noise variables are …

Hyperspectral-Based Adaptive Matched Filter Detector Error As A Function Of Atmospheric Profile Estimation, Allan W. Yarbrough

Theses and Dissertations

Hyperspectral imagery is collected as radiance data. This data is a function of multiple variables: the radiation profile of the light source, the reflectance of the target, and the absorption and scattering profile of the medium through which the radiation travels as it reflects off the target and reaches the imager. Accurate target detection requires that the collected image matches as closely as possible the known "true" target in the classification database. Therefore, the effect of the radiation source and the atmosphere must be removed before detection is attempted. While the spectrum of solar light is relatively stable, the effect …

Vibration-Based Health Monitoring Of Multiple-Stage Gear Train And Differential Planetary Transmission Involving Teeth Damage And Backlash Nonlinearity, Andrew Patrick Sommer

Master's Theses

The objective of this thesis is to develop vibration-based fault detection strategies for on-line condition monitoring of gear transmission systems. The study divides the thesis into three sections. First of all, the local stresses created by a root fatigue crack on a pinion spur gear are analyzed using a quasi-static finite element model and non-linear contact mechanics simulation. Backlash between gear teeth which is essential to provide better lubrication on tooth surfaces and to eliminate interference is included as a defect and a necessary part of transmission design. The second section is dedicated to fixed axis power trains. Torsional vibration …

Collaborative Solutions To Visual Sensor Networks, Mahmut Karakaya

Doctoral Dissertations

Visual sensor networks (VSNs) merge computer vision, image processing and wireless sensor network disciplines to solve problems in multi-camera applications in large surveillance areas. Although potentially powerful, VSNs also present unique challenges that could hinder their practical deployment because of the unique camera features including the extremely higher data rate, the directional sensing characteristics, and the existence of visual occlusions.

In this dissertation, we first present a collaborative approach for target localization in VSNs. Traditionally; the problem is solved by localizing targets at the intersections of the back-projected 2D cones of each target. However, the existence of visual occlusions among …

Turbo Bayesian Compressed Sensing, Depeng Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

Compressed sensing (CS) theory specifies a new signal acquisition approach, potentially allowing the acquisition of signals at a much lower data rate than the Nyquist sampling rate. In CS, the signal is not directly acquired but reconstructed from a few measurements. One of the key problems in CS is how to recover the original signal from measurements in the presence of noise. This dissertation addresses signal reconstruction problems in CS. First, a feedback structure and signal recovery algorithm, orthogonal pruning pursuit (OPP), is proposed to exploit the prior knowledge to reconstruct the signal in the noise-free situation. To handle the …

Constant Conduction Angle Experimental Generation For Rf Power Amplifiers, Michael Spahn

Electrical Engineering

As the demand for more devices to become wireless increases, there is a need for linear, efficient monolithic power amplifiers to deal with the variations in modulation of signals. With partial support from Cal Poly C3RP Grant #52268, this paper explains the implementation of and analyzes a circuit that actively biases a bipolar transistor to operate as a Class C amplifier. The Class C amplifier can maintain constant conduction angle over a range of output powers by using a Class B amplifier to force a scaled DC current vs. input magnitude curve on to a Class C amplifier. The knee …

Face Detection And Lip Localization, Benafsh Nadir Husain

Master's Theses

Integration of audio and video signals for automatic speech recognition has become an important field of study. The Audio-Visual Speech Recognition (AVSR) system is known to have accuracy higher than audio-only or visual-only system. The research focused on the visual front end and has been centered around lip segmentation. Experiments performed for lip feature extraction were mainly done in constrained environment with controlled background noise. In this thesis we focus our attention to a database collected in the environment of a moving car which hampered the quality of the imagery.

We first introduce the concept of illumination compensation, where we …

Reconfigurable Sampling For Enhanced Energy Efficiency In Power-Constrained Wireless Systems, Timothy Kurp

Master's Theses

Advancement in microelectronics and wireless communications has nurtured the development of low power and low cost wireless systems such as sensor networks. Each node is typically driven by a battery, which has a limited energy capacity that directly constrains node, and network lifetime. This presents a bottleneck for the widespread exploitation of wireless sensing technology. Therefore, improving the energy efficiency of wireless sensing devices is of critical importance and has attracted the attention of the research community.

In this work, a data-driven method has been proposed and systematically investigated. Specifically, this technique reconfigures, in real time, the rate of data …

Characterizing Cyclostationary Features Of Digital Modulated Signals With Empirical Measurements Using Spectral Correlation Function, Mujun Song

Theses and Dissertations

Signal detection is widely used in many applications. Some examples include Cognitive Radio (CR) and military intelligence. CRs use signal detection to sense spectral occupancy. Without guaranteed signal detection, a CR cannot reliably perform its role. Similarly, signal detection is the first step for garnering an opponent's information. Wireless signal detection can be performed using many different techniques. Some of the most popular include matched filters, energy detectors (which use measurements such as the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the signal), and Cyclostationary Feature Detectors (CFD). Among these techniques, CFD can be viewed as a compromise technique, in that it …

Project 308: Augmented Reality Mario Kart, Joseph Abad, David Allender, Joryl Calizo, Ryan Gaspar, Gavin Lee

Computer Engineering

Mario Kart is a popular go-kart racing game developed by Nintendo. The premise of the game is simple: drive a go-kart along a racetrack and reach the finish line before the other players. What makes this game unique, however, is the inclusion of weapons, traps, and other projectiles that a player can use to gain an advantage in the race. We have taken on the challenge of not only recreating this amazing game, but using the art of Augmented Reality to fully immerse the player in the full experience. Rather than play the game on a television screen with a …

Laser Cursor, Michael Liman

Electrical Engineering

A user controls a cursor on a computer screen using a laser pointer. A camera picks up the laser pointer’s position and sends the data to the computer to move the cursor in the correct position.

Rem Sleep Alarm, Shaun Kelsey, Brendon Soltis

Electrical Engineering

This paper explores the REM Sleep Alarm project that deals with the sleep cycle of the average human, and how it affects our ability to function when waking up in the morning.

The purpose of this project is to build a device that has the ability to wake a person up when they will feel the most rested. From research done, it appears that most people feel the most rested when woken up during the REM stage of their sleep cycle. Our goal is to have the device detect when the user is in this stage of sleep, determine how …

Digital Modulations Using The Universal Software Radio Peripheral, Daniel Keith Artis

Electrical Engineering

Software defined radios (SDRs) are versatile systems that integrate hardware and software to create a reprogrammable wireless system. Due to the versatility and hardware requirements of a SDR, they are typically expensive and not always affordable for educational institutions. GNU Radio is a free software package that allows users to do signal processing on any computer using python and C++. Using the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) board in conjunction with a standard personal computer (PC), a RF daughterboard, and the GNU Radio software, we can create a software defined radio that can transmit, receive, and process signals. Because the …

Audio-Triggered El Wire Sequencer, Benjamin (Ben) Paik

Electrical Engineering

“Development of an Audio-Triggered EL Wire Sequencer” California Polytechnic State University 2011, Ben Paik and John Oliver, Ph.D. (advisor)

The purpose of this project is to investigate and develop a method for switching electroluminescent wire (EL wire) such that it can be activated by some audio source. EL wire is essentially a coaxial capacitor that luminesces when an alternating electric field excites the insulating phosphor layer in the wire (a 100Vp, 1kHz AC source is sufficient for this). The system involves the EL wire, a six channel sequencer to switch the EL wire, an method for processing the audio signal, …

Smooth Ternary Signaling For Deep-Submicron(Dsm) Buses, Robert Endicott Hanson, Ryan Ian Fullerton

Electrical Engineering

This project demonstrates the error mitigating effects of using a three-level “smooth ternary” signal on a Deep-Submicron(DSM) bus with large inter-wire capacitance. An RC circuit used to simulate and exaggerate (for easier testing) the charging and discharging of the DSM bus. An encoder stage translates binary input data into a three-level signal before sending it to the bus. A decoder stage then translates the three-level signal back to binary that is ideally identical to the original signal. Our results show that the three-level signal has much cleaner transitions than a traditional binary signal. A few glitches that appeared when decoding …

Development Of A Cubesat Instrument For Microgravity Particle Damper Performance Analysis, John Trevor Abel

Master's Theses

Spacecraft pointing accuracy and structural longevity requirements often necessitate auxiliary vibration dissipation mechanisms. However, temperature sensitivity and material degradation limit the effectiveness of traditional damping techniques in space. Robust particle damping technology offers a potential solution, driving the need for microgravity characterization. A 1U cubesat satellite presents a low cost, low risk platform for the acquisition of data needed for this evaluation, but severely restricts available mass, volume, power and bandwidth resources. This paper details the development of an instrument subject to these constraints that is capable of capturing high resolution frequency response measurements of highly nonlinear particle damper dynamics.

Investigation Of Vertical Handoff Techniques In Integrated Wlan/Cellular Networks And Performance Analysis Of Horizon Handoff In Wimax Networks, Elaheh Arabmakki

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Science by Elaheh Arabmakki May 9, 2011.

Low Power Rtty And Psk31 Decoder For Ham Radio Applications, Benjamin Bales

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Solving The Vehicle Re-Identification Problem By Using Neural Networks, Tanweer Rashid

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Vehicle re-identification is the process by which vehicle attributes measured at one point on a road network are compared to vehicle attributes measured at another point in an effort to match vehicles without using any unique identifiers such as license plate numbers. A match is made if the two measurements are estimated to belong to the same vehicle. Vehicle attributes can be sensor readings such as loop induction signatures, or they can also be actual vehicle characteristics such as length, weight, number of axles, etc. This research makes use of vehicle length, travel time, axle spacing and axle weights for …

Blind Deconvolution Method Of Image Deblurring Using Convergence Of Variance, Quentin D. Macmanus

Theses and Dissertations

Images are used for both aerial and space imagery applications, including target detection and tracking. The current problem concerning objects in geosynchronous orbit is that they are dim and hard to resolve because of their distance. This work will further the combined effort of AFIT and AFRL to provide enhanced space situational awareness (SSA) and space surveillance. SSA is critical in a time when many countries possess the technology to put satellites into orbit. Enhanced imaging technology improves the Air Force's ability to see if foreign satellites or other space hardware are operating in the vicinity of our own assets …

Simultaneous Range/Velocity Detection With An Ultra-Wideband Random Noise Radar Through Fully Digital Cross-Correlation In The Time Domain, James R. Lievsay

Theses and Dissertations

This research effort examines the theory, application, and results of applying two-dimensional cross-correlation in the time domain to ultra-wideband (UWB) random noise waveforms for simultaneous range and velocity estimation. When applying common Doppler processing techniques to random noise waveforms for the purpose of velocity estimation, the velocity resolution degrades as the signal bandwidth or the target speed increase. To mitigate the degradation, the Doppler approximation is not utilized, and instead, wideband signal processing theory is applied in the time domain. The results show that by accurately interpolating each sample in the digitized reference signal, a target's velocity and range can …

Signals Of Opportunity Navigation Using Wi-Fi Signals, Wilfred E. Noel

Theses and Dissertations

Since GPS is generally limited to areas with clear sky view, additional methods of navigation are currently being explored. This thesis explores navigation using Signals of Opportunity(SoOP). The signals chosen for evaluation in this thesis are the common Internet IEEE 802.11a/g signals, or Wi-Fi. This thesis presents SoOP navigation based on cross-correlations of received data from multiple Wi-Fi stations. It shows the effectiveness of the methods using collected Wi-Fi signals in a real-world environment. By using simple statistical representations of collected data in large groups, or windows, cross-correlation calculations can produce timing offsets between simulated stations. The timing offsets, or …

A Simple Non-Destructive Method For Characterizing Non-Dispersive, Low-Loss Dielectrics, Thomas S. Olney

Theses and Dissertations

It is shown how permittivity can be extracted via time domain reflection data from a perfect electric conductor (PEC) backed planar sample of a low-loss, non-dispersive dielectric using two rectangular Ku-band waveguide aperture probes with attached PEC flange plates of the same geometry but different dimensions. Of critical importance is being able to identify the reflection from the edge of the flange plate in the parallel plate region created by the plate and the PEC backing of the sample. A signal processing method that takes advantage of physical insight into the geometry and superposition is developed for identifying this edge …

Direction Finding With Mutually Orthogonal Antennas, David F. Chick

Theses and Dissertations

Estimating the direction-of-arrival of incident electromagnetic plane waves (a.k.a. direction finding or DF) has typically been accomplished in the past using arrays of spatially separated antennas. The spatial separation produces a delay in each antenna's measured voltage due to the finite propagation time as the wave strikes each antenna in succession. In this thesis, we approach the problem differently by using three antennas that have been oriented in orthogonal directions but are co-located at the origin of a coordinate system. Being co-located, this mutually orthogonal arrangement of antennas cannot detect the propagation phase delay and must rely solely on the …

Characterization Of Noise Technology Radar Signal Detectability Using A Non-Cooperative Receiver, Daniel V. Atienza

Theses and Dissertations

As Noise Technology Radar (NTR) systems emerge, there is a need for non-cooperative, non-matched filter detection and exploitation. This work is based on that need and AFIT's Noise Network (NoNET) radar system. These signals are associated with Low Probability of Detection/ Intercept (LPD/LPI) signals. Quadrature Mirror Filter Banks (QMFB) has been effectively used for non-cooperatively detecting structured LPD/LPI signals and extracting various waveform characteristics. However, the QMFB process performance with unstructured NTR signals was challenging and motivated a need for a transformed QMFB. This transform was based on AFIT research by Gronholz and Mims (G-M), who used a multi-channel receiver …

Bistatic 3d Electromagnetic Scattering From A Right-Angle Dihedral At Arbitrary Orientation And Position, Andreas Z. Tempelis

Theses and Dissertations

A method is created to extend a bistatic 3D electromagnetic scattering solution for a dihedral at a given orientation and position to the case of arbitrary orientation and position. Results produced using this method are compared to shooting and bouncing rays (SBR) and method of moments (MoM) predictions, as well as measured data for applicable cases. The model in this thesis shows excellent agreement in magnitude and phase with SBR predictions. It also shows good agreement in magnitude with MoM predictions. Small phase differences between model and MoM data occur due to differences in the underlying scattering solution and the …