Engineering Commons^™

Riley The Cat, Nicholas Zankich

Computer Engineering

There are many toys that exist that are comfort objects. Generally these are toys that are soft such as blankets, stuffed animals, and pillows. Robotic toys also exist such as games, interactive books, and instruments. There exists a crossover market that includes Furbys, Tomagachi pets, and Fur Real Friends. While being very popular, I believe that this crossover isn’t perfect, and that there is a lot of room for improvement. Riley (Figure 1) was created to make something that is both completely a robot and a comfort object.

Vikis: The Can Collecting Robot, Eric Edwards, Leah Humiston, Jason Foulk

Computer Engineering

RoboRodentia is an annual school-wide robotics competition that has been held during Cal Poly’s Open House for the past thirteen years. The competition rules change from year to year as the objective of the competition changes, but an important aspect of the competition is that the robots run completely autonomously. This paper describes the development, design, and implementation of the RoboRodentia robot from Team Vikis. The technical specifications, robot components, individual responsibilities, and results are described in depth within this document.

Android Powered Autonomous Robot, Dennis Cagle, Zachary Negrey

Computer Engineering

The goal of this Senior Project was to create an autonomous robot powered by an Android phone to compete in Roborodentia 2012. In order to accomplish this task, we used the Android Open Accessory Development Kit (Android ADK) to interface an Android phone with a custom Arduino microcontroller (Arduino Mega) designed by Google. The project contained design and implementation of hardware, electronic devices, and software.

Bluebeats, Jake Muir, Aaron Martinez, Mishal Shah, Richard Wissemann

Computer Engineering

Our group’s senior project is called BlueBeats. The BlueBeats product was created in order to provide a wireless audio gateway between Bluetooth enabled devices. Users of BlueBeats can use an Android or computer application to interface with the BlueBeats device. The Android and computer applications allow the user to easily scan for devices, add/remove devices from their personal list, and pair/connect with a selected Bluetooth enabled device. Once the user is connected to the BlueBeats device, he/she has two options. The first option occurs when the user connects the BlueBeats device to a device with speakers (using 3.5mm audio jack …

Datalogger Sequence Execution Engine (Dsqee), Edmund Yingxiang Yee

Computer Engineering

The PolySat Research Group accepts projects from several companies that wish to use a CubeSat for some experiment. One of the projects called Intelligent Payload Experiment, or IPEX, needs software to interact with out system avionics. One of these software will be datalogger, which will be augmented from its original datalogging scheme to support sequentially execution of commands/algorithms that our client, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, or JPL, need. My part of the project explains the software design decisions behind datalogger.

Robot X, Alan Truong, Alex Haag

Computer Engineering

The following report outlines the design decisions behind Robot X for the 2012 Cal Poly Roborodentia competition held annually during Open House. This investigation includes detailed overview of Robot X's sensory system, driving system, conveyor belt system, and can compartment system. In addition, basic hardware and software design are explored.

Check Image Processing: Webp Conversion And Micr Scan Android Application, Trevor Bliss

Computer Engineering

As more users favor smartphones over computers for simple tasks, small businesses are constantly exploring mobile options to present to their customers. This write-up documents an Android application designed for a small company, which allows users to send pictures of checks to the company’s servers for processing. The picture is taken with the devices built-in camera and is converted to Google’s new image format, WebP. The company’s server processes the check and returns the check’s MICR code as a response. This application leverages the Android NDK and JNI to use Google’s open source image conversion libraries as well as socket …

Rapid Battery Exchange For Electric Vehicles, Michael Cocchi, Adam Rizkalla

Computer Engineering

No abstract provided.

Bluemote!, Philip Kaye

Computer Engineering

In today’s society, our mobile phones are an extremely useful device when we are on the go and away from our homes; however, when we return home, our smart phone becomes just a communication tool again. Home automation is inevitable, and it will find its way into every house. The first person to commercialize it to the point where it is as easy to set-up and as affordable as a home router will end up breaking this slow trend. The key to this success is the smart phone; this should end up being the most expensive piece of hardware for …

Kreative Outlets, Travis Crist, Steve Clark, Jason Peressini

Computer Engineering

With the widespread use of smart phones and the advancement of WiFi technologies, people now have the Internet at their fingertips at all times. Home automation and control has the possibility of becoming the next big technology that can utilize the abundant availability of the Internet. This paper documents the findings and results of a project aimed at developing the infrastructure needed for a home automation system that is accessible anywhere. We implemented a system that utilized a web enabled ethernet connection and RF wireless technology to control AC outlets and provide the user with feedback information about the status …

Cplop - Cal Poly's Library Of Pyroprints, Kevin Webb

Computer Engineering

California Polytechnic Library of Pyroprints, CPLOP, is a web driven data-base application that stores data from the biology’s departments E. coli Pyrosequencing project. Some of this data was stored in Excel datasheets, while data from the pyrosequencing machines was stored as just a list of random .xml files. There was no useful way to organize and store the massive amounts of data from multiple file sources in one location, nor to perform the complicated searches and comparisons that the project requires. CPLOP’s primary goal is to store such data in three organized tables that relate to one another. It was …

Myrrrrr's Dice Game Android Application, Craig Leitterman

Computer Engineering

Smartphones are one the newest and fastest growing hardware platforms in recent years. The number of users playing and downloading games on the Android and iPhone application markets are growing rapidly. A majority of users including myself have been known to play common retro games such as solitaire as well as newer flash games like Angry Birds. These titles are usually “pick up and play” and provide quick entertainment while you’re waiting for the bus or in between a work break. Given the huge popularity of these applications I decided to create a dice game that I used to play …

Woody: Roborodentia 2011 Robot, Felix Chung, Canh Sy, Hanson Yu

Computer Engineering

Woody is a fully autonomous robot built and designed for the 2011 Cal Poly Roborodentia competition. Woody’s goal is to score the most points in the competition by navigating the competition field, efficiently collecting ping pong balls from the racks, and shooting the balls into the goal accurately. There was no specific budget set for the project, but costs were kept low by using tools from the Computer Engineering Capstone Lab, inexpensive materials such as wood, and reusable parts from robots from previous Roborodentia competitions.

Cal Poly Wow: Week Of Welcome’S Leader Android Application, Eric Cerney

Computer Engineering

The Week of Welcome Android application aims to improve the efficiency and ease at which Orientation Leaders function during the week long program designed to aid in new student
assimilation to the San Luis Obispo campus and community. It focuses on four utilities combined in
one easy location that Leaders use on a regular basis. They are maps, the online guidebook, budget keeper, and contact list. These four utilities are commonly used by Leaders in their day to day
guidance of new students, making one single application with each tool very desirable to the WOW Program.

Currently there are no …

San Luis Obispo Transit Tracker System Back-End Server, Daryl Alan A. Dimalanta

Computer Engineering

This document gives the rationale, design process, technical implementation, testing procedures, and testing results of a back-end server used for the San Luis Obispo (SLO) Transit Tracker System. The SLO Transit Tracker System (SLOTTS) includes client software installed on mobile devices and a back-end server. The purpose of this system is to encourage SLO residents to utilize the transit system by having the client software present current bus location, navigation instructions, and bus schedule in a simple, fast, and easy to use mobile application.

Due to the limited central processing unit (CPU) and limited power supplied by the battery, route …

Markerless Affine Region Tracking And Augmentation Using Mser And Sift, Gregory (Greg) Eddington Ii

Computer Engineering

Due to the advancements in mobile computing hardware and the inclusion of cameras in many computing platforms, augmented reality systems have become widely available. This paper presents a real-time implementation of a novel markerless augmented reality algorithm which is able to track two-dimensional affine regions without a priori information of the environment or computing a world model. The implementation consists of the MAR library; a modular software library which performs the region detection, identification, and tracking; and the Lighthouse application; a program which uses the MAR library to allow the user to augment scenes viewed from a camera. The algorithm …

Characterization Of A Dual Acoustic Receiver System For Measuring Range And Bearing To Acoustic Tags, Victoria Campana, Justin Knight

Computer Engineering

Experiements were performed to determine the effectiveness of the Lotek RT-A Hydrophone system and if it could provide the data necessary for a particle filter to determine the location of a shark. Over the period of a few months, we tested off the Cal Poly Pier at set GPS coordinates to characterize how accurately the Lotek System can determine range and orientation. Ranges from 0-500 meters were tested with the Lotek system being in a stationary position and Lotek receiver tag being put at specified GPS coordinates. The two hydrophone rigging was then rotated a full 360 degrees to gauge …

Mr. Robot: A Roborodentia Contestant, Stephen Berry, Jamie Nease

Computer Engineering

Roborodentia is an annual robotics competition held during Open House at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Each year, students construct autonomous robots which compete head-to-head to score the most points. This report will give an overview of the competition and the details of our robot.

Edapts Web Application Redesign With Route Editor And Dynamic Frontend, John O'Connor, Aaron Berk

Computer Engineering

The EDAPTS (Efficient Deployment of Advanced Public Transportation Systems) system is designed to facilitate the public transportation system, making it even easier for San Luis Obispo residents and guests to use. We have upgraded the web component of the system adding a tool that makes it simple for non-programmers to add, edit, and delete routes. Furthermore, we have modified the front end web code to read from a central MySQL database containing all the route information created using the new, user-friendly tool.

Ultra-Short Baseline Acoustic Positioning System, Timothy Joel Soppet

Computer Engineering

This paper explains the design, implementation, and testing of an ultra short baseline (USBL) acoustic positioning system for the Amador Valley High School (AVHS) Robotics Club’s Barracuda Mark-X AUV. The system will be used to locate an underwater transducer beacon representing the final waypoint in an obstacle course designed for the AUVSI/ONR RoboSub international collegiate competition.

Streaming Client And Server Model, Austin Alan Diec

Computer Engineering

A few years ago, several Cal Poly undergraduates started the Autonomous Robot Platform (ARP). Interest in a revision of the ARP requires a new layer of communication. This paper describes the design and partial implementation of the communication layer to be used with the revised ARP. The communication layer would allow the autonomous robot platform to connect with a client over the wireless local area network (WLAN) for instructions and commands. It is important to note that currently, the assumed revision of the ARP is nonexistent, so many of the design decisions are based solely on the assumptions of ARP …

Cp7 And Datalogger Design And Implementation, Hoang (Mike) Tran

Computer Engineering

No abstract provided.

Auto Fall Detector, Nhut Thanh Ho

Computer Engineering

This device is named Cardea, the goddess of health in roman Mythology. The Cardea will be attached to the waist of the individual’s body to detect any falls, and will send out alarm signals to people in the surrounding area. The end goal of this project is to provide a helpful and friendly device for the elderly and their families. It is easy to maintain and dependable for long term use.

Detection Of Breathing And Infant Sleep Apnea, Brian Berg

Computer Engineering

Sleep apnea is a condition where people pause while breathing in their sleep; this can be of great concern for infants and premature babies. Current monitoring systems either require physical attachment to a user or may be unreliable. This project is meant to develop a device that can accurately detect breathing through sound and issue appropriate warnings upon its cessation. The device produced is meant to be a standalone device and thus was developed as an embedded systems project on a Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGA.

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 …

Reactive Routing In Hidra Networks, Scott Michael Marshall

Computer Engineering

In recent years, the Internet has grown so large that the future scalability of the Internet has become a major concern. The two primary scalability concerns are the size of the forwarding table and the ability for BGP to converge while distributing hundreds of thousands of routes.

HIDRA is a new Internet routing architecture that is backwards-compatible with existing routing technologies and protocols that focuses on feasibility-of-implementation. HIDRA remedies the first Internet scalability concern by proposing a means to reduce the number of entries in the default-free zone (DFZ) forwarding table.

This project extends HIDRA by designing a complete reactive …

Electric Guitar Amplifier With Digital Effects, Shawn Garrett

Computer Engineering

During the course of this project, the research and development of an electric guitar amplifier was undertaken. This amplifier is divided into three distinct sections. The power distribution circuitry provides the proper voltages to safely operate all necessary components. The DSP and digital effects stage provides processing and allows the user to add digital effects to the original guitar sound. The amplification stage increases the power of the input signal to drive a loudspeaker. Due to several setbacks throughout the course of this project, the overall amplifier was not completed. All three of the sections were developed to working functionality, …

Utilization Of Automated Gcc Optimization For Dual-Width Instruction Sets On The Arm Architecture, Shane Watson

Computer Engineering

One of the most important considerations in embedded systems is code size. This consideration is obviously imposed by external factors such as cost and physical space, but what it boils down to is that we want our devices to be as powerful as they can within a (typically limited) specific form factor. This limits the amount of space we have for memory and as such we should always be considering the code size of our application and making sure it’s as efficient as possible. We also then need to consider other factors such as performance and power consumption. This is …

Development Of A Cubesat Payload To Model Particle Dampening In Space: Design And Implementation Of Software For Cp7, Daniel Walker

Computer Engineering

The California Polytechnic State University CubeSat student research & development group, PolySat, is currently in a mature development stage of a single unit CubeSat designated CP7. The CP7 mission implements a scientific payload designed to characterize particle dampers in microgravity conditions. When subjected to vibration, the momentum exchanges and frictional forces of the particles create a damping effect that can be optimized to suit a number of applications over a broad frequency and amplitude range. In space based applications, particle dampers would serve as a robust and simple device to eliminate jitter in optical assemblies and other sensitive instrumentation. This …

Snmp Integration Into The Cygnet Scada System, Paul Fake

Computer Engineering

The SNMP Remote Device is a CygNet-integrated software device that can communicate (read-only) with any managed network hardware. It has the ability to retrieve any managed object, requiring only a host name or IP, a community name (password), and the object identifier (OID). This Remote Device is fully-integrated into the CygNet SCADA system. Users can create the device in the DDS service, create a Point for each managed object, map the Points to UDCs, store data into the Points, and schedule the retrieval of data.