Computer Engineering Commons^™

Coordinated Control And Estimation Of Multiagent Systems With Engineering Applications, Housheng Su, Michael Z.Q. Chen, Qing Hui, Wei Zhang, Fanglai Zhu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Recently, coordinated control and estimation problems have attracted a great deal of attention in different fields especially in biology, physics, computer science, and control engineering. Coordinated control and estimation problems have prominent characteristics of distributed control, local interaction, and self-organization. Research on multiagent coordinated control and estimation problems not only helps better understand the mechanisms of natural collective phenomena but also benefits the applications of cyberphysical systems.

This special issue focuses on theoretical and technological achievements in cooperative multiagent Systems. It contains twenty-six papers, the contents of which are summarized below.

Media Usage Survey: Overall Comparison Of Faculty And Students, Gerd Gidion, Michael Grosch, Luiz Fernando Capretz, Ken Meadows Dr.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Recent developments in the use of technologies in education have provided unique opportunities for teaching and learning. This paper describes the results of a survey conducted at Western University (Canada) in 2013, regarding the use of media by students and instructors. The results of this study support the assumption that the media usage of students and instructors include a mixture of traditional and new media. The main traditional media continue to be important, and some new media have emerged as seemingly on equal footing or even more important than the traditional forms of media. Some new media that have recently …

Design Of A Haptic Interface For Medical Applications Using Magneto-Rheological Fluid Based Actuators, Nima Najmaei

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis reports on the design, construction, and evaluation of a prototype two degrees-of-freedom (DOF) haptic interface, which takes advantage of Magneto-Rheological Fluid (MRF) based clutches for actuation. Haptic information provides important cues in teleoperated systems and enables the user to feel the interaction with a remote or virtual environment during teleoperation. The two main objectives in designing a haptic interface are stability and transparency. Indeed, deficiencies in these factors in haptics-enabled telerobotic systems has the introduction of haptics in medical environments where safety and reliability are prime considerations. An actuator with poor dynamics, high inertia, large size, and heavy …

Design Of Gan-Based Low-Loss Y-Branch Power Splitter, Retno Wigajatri Purnamaningsih, Irma Saraswati, Nji Raden Poespawati, Elhadj Dogheche

Makara Journal of Technology

We present a Y-branch power splitter design with a multimode section using GaN on Sapphire at telecommunication wavelength. The GaN sample optical properties were also investigated, resulting in a refractive index for the GaN layers nTE=2.289±0.001 and nTM=2.324±0.00. Optimization of the structure parameters for this structure was conducted accurately using BPM methods. The results demonstrated the possibility of realizing a GaN-based Y-branch power splitter for various applications.

Continuous Production Of Nanotubes And Carbon Clusters By Use Of The Revolver-Injection-Type Arc Jet Producer, Tetsu Mieno, Naoki Matsumoto, Takahashi Tomie, H. Inoue

Makara Journal of Technology

Efficient and continuous production of fullerenes, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), and carbon nano-particles has been developed by the JxB arc jet method, where the Lorentz force of magnetic field jets out gaseous carbon particles to the JxB direction. In order to realize continuous mass production of these carbon clusters, the revolverinjection- type arc jet producer (RIT-AJP) has been developed. Production of fullerenes, endohedral metallo-fullerenes, SWNTs, metal-encapsulated carbon nano particles has been examined.

Development Of The Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Rail Link Project Using The Value Engineering Method: Creating Value For Money, Mohammed Ali Berawi, Bambang Susantono, Suyono Dikun, Tommy Ilyas, Herawati Zetha Rahman, Abdur Rohim Boy Berawi, Teuku Yuri Zagloel, Perdana Miraj, Jade Sjafrecia Petroceany

Makara Journal of Technology

Soekarno–Hatta Airport is the main gateway for international flights to Greater Jakarta. Its accessibility depends on the inter-city and Sedyatmo toll roads, which causes congestion in peak hours, leading to uncertainty about travel times. The Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Rail Link (SHIARL) is proposed as an alternative mass transportation project, which is expected to provide accessibility and mobility for people and goods to and from the airport. Previously, the project was unattractive to private investors as it was technically and financially unfeasible. Therefore, this research aims to improve the feasibility of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Rail Link (SHIARL) by using a …

Modified Design Of Pin-On-Ring Tribometer For Hip Joint Prostheses Measurement; Case Study On Salat Activity, Muhammad Khafidh, Jamari Jamari, Sulardjaka Sulardjaka, Mohamad Tauviqirrahman, Emile Van Der Heide

Makara Journal of Technology

Total hip replacement (THR) is one of the most successful orthopedic surgical procedures for replacing a broken hip joint. In THR, wear may occur at the articulating surface of the acetabular cup and the femoral head. In Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, most of the inhabitants do salat (praying) every day. THR users are banned from doing salat for fear it will damage the hip joint prostheses. The previous wear calculation methods on the hip joint prostheses use the gravimetric, coordinate measuring machine (CMM), profiler, and geometric method. The disadvantages of the previous methods …

Analysis Of Vibration Generated By The Rubbing Of Flat Surfaces, Zahrul Fuadi

Makara Journal of Technology

Among the phenomena that occur as a result of contact between two surfaces is friction sound, in which surface roughness is of great importance. In this study, the parameter of contact stiffness is used to explain the frequency characteristic of vibration generated by the rubbing of flat surfaces under a small load. A 3-disk configuration rubbing method was used, which provides a unique characteristic of the system's frequency response function containing specific information about the rubbing vibrations. It is shown that the peak frequency of the rubbing vibration can be explained by using a two-degrees-of-freedom model incorporating the parameter of …

Endoscopic Application Of A Compact Compound-Eye Camera, Keiichiro Kagawa, Shoji Kawahito

Makara Journal of Technology

A multi-functional compound-eye endoscope enabling multi-spectral imaging and variable field-of-view is presented, which is based on a compact compound-eye camera called TOMBO (thin observation module by bound optics). Narrow-band filters attached to some lenses provide snap-shot multi-band images. Fixed and movable mirrors are introduced to control the field of view, which realizes several observation modes such as three-dimensional shape measurement, wide field-of-view, and close-up observation.

Lateral Load Resistance Of Laminated Veneer Lumber Sengonwooden Joints With Wooden Dowels, Niken Palaeowati, Ali Awaludin, Suprapto Siswosukarto

Makara Journal of Technology

Analytical models for wooden-doweled joints need to be developed. The objective of this research is to determine whether the strength of wooden-doweled joints can be well predicted by equations developed for steel-doweled joints. In this experiment, various connection parameters, such as dowel diameter, species of the wooden dowel, and angle of joints, are studied. The joint specimens are loaded in a quasi-static state with four replications each. A5% offset diameter method is used to determine the lateral load resistance of the tested joints, while the predictions are evaluated by equations given in Indonesian National Standard (SNI) 7973-2013 and the European …

Ultra-Wideband Notched Characteristic Fed By Coplanar Waveguide, Rastanto Hadinegoro, Yuli Kurnia Ningsih, Indra Surjati

Makara Journal of Technology

In this paper, a novel Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) notch patch antenna with co-planar waveguide (CPW) fed is presented. This antenna only used one layer and the patch antenna is constructed on the first layer and back to back with CPW fed and bottom part is ground plane. The width notch is used to achieve the UWB characteristic. The results shown that the impedance bandwidth is 1130 MHz (1.662–2.792 GHz) or about 50.7% for VSWR <2.

The Mechanical And Tribology Properties Of Sputtered Titanium Aluminum Nitride Coating On The Tungsten Carbide Insert Tool In The Dry Turning Of Tool Steel, Esmar Budi, Mohd. Razali Bin Muhamad, Md. Nizam Bin Abdul Rahman

Makara Journal of Technology

The effect of the sputtering parameters on the mechanical tribology properties of Titanium Aluminum Nitride coating on the tungsten cabide insert tool in the dry turning of tool steel has been investigated. The coating was deposited using a Direct Current magnetron sputtering system with various substrate biases (-79 to -221 V) and nitrogen flow rates (30 to 72 sccm). The dry turning test was carried out on a Computer Numeric Code machine using an optimum cutting parameter setting. The results show that the lowest flank wear (~0.4 mm) was achieved using a Titanium Aluminum Nitride-coated tool that was deposited at …

Media Usage In Post-Secondary Education And Implications For Teaching And Learning, Gerd Gidion, Luiz Fernando Capretz, Ken Mead Dr., Michael Grosch Dr.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

The Web 2.0 has permeated academic life. The use of online information services in post-secondary education has led to dramatic changes in faculty teaching methods as well as in the learning and study behavior of students. At the same time, traditional information media, such as textbooks and printed handouts, still form the basic pillars of teaching and learning. This paper reports the results of a survey about media usage in teaching and learning conducted with Western University students and instructors, highlighting trends in the usage of new and traditional media in higher education by instructors and students. In addition, the …

Security Issues In Data Warehouse, Saiqa Aleem, Luiz Fernando Capretz, Faheem Ahmed Dr.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Data Warehouse (DWH) provides storage for huge amounts of historical data from heterogeneous operational sources in the form of multidimensional views, thus supplying sensitive and useful information which help decision-makers to improve the organization’s business processes. A data warehouse environment must ensure that data collected and stored in one big repository are not vulnerable. A review of security approaches specifically for data warehouse environment and issues concerning each type of security approach have been provided in this paper.

Simulation, And Overload And Stability Analysis Of Continuous Time Sigma Delta Modulator, Kyung Kang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The ever increasing demand for faster and more powerful digital applications requires high speed, high resolution ADCs. Currently, sigma delta modulators ADCs are extensively used in broadband telecommunication systems because they are an effective solution for high data-rate wireless communication systems that require low power consumption, high speed, high resolution, and large signal bandwidths.

Because mixed-signal integrated circuits such as Continuous Time sigma delta modulators contain both analog and digital circuits, mixed signal circuits are not as simple to model and simulate as all discrete or all analog systems. In this dissertation, the delta transform is used to simulate CT …

Split-Step Approach To Electromagnetic Propagation Through Atmospheric Turbulence Using The Modified Von Karman Spectrum And Planar Apertures, Monish Ranjan Chatterjee, Fathi H.A. Mohamed

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The impact of atmospheric phase turbulence on Gaussian beam propagation along propagation paths of varying lengths is examined using multiple random phase screens. The work is motivated by research involving generation and encryption of acousto-optic chaos, and the interest in examining propagation of such chaotic waves through atmospheric turbulence. A phase screen technique is used to simulate perturbations to the refractive index of the medium through the propagation path. A power spectral density based on the modified von Karman spectrum model for turbulence is used to describe the random phase behavior of the medium.

In recent work, results for the …

Improved Performance Of Analog And Digital Acousto-Optic Modulation With Feedback Under Profiled Beam Propagation For Secure Communication Using Chaos, Fares S. Almehmadi, Monish Ranjan Chatterjee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Using intensity feedback, the closed-loop behavior of an acousto-optic hybrid device under profiled beam propagation has been recently shown to exhibit wider chaotic bands potentially leading to an increase in both the dynamic range and sensitivity to key parameters that characterize the encryption. In this work, a detailed examination is carried out vis-à-vis the robustness of the encryption/decryption process relative to parameter mismatch for both analog and pulse code modulation signals, and bit error rate (BER) curves are used to examine the impact of additive white noise.

The simulations with profiled input beams are shown to produce a stronger encryption …

Direct Torque Control Of An Lnduction Machine Using Multi-Layer Perceptron Network, Adithya Chandrashekharan

Masters Theses

In conventional direct torque control (DTC) scheme of induction motor (lM), Proportional Integral Controller (PI) is used as the speed controller. PI controller is more suitable in steady state condition and for linear system but both DTC and IM are mostly nonlinear. Multi-Layer perceptron neural network. (MLPNN) controller is more suitable and performs better than PI controller. The switching table of the conventional DTC is replaced by the MLPNN controller. The MLPNN inputs are, the magnitude of the stator flux, torque and the Voltage sectors. Levenberg-Marquardt back propagation technique has been used to train the MLPNN. The output of the …

Wirelessly Controlled Smart Outlet, Andrew Godsil, Ariel Dubinsky

Electrical Engineering

Popularity of home automation devices has increased greatly in recent years due to higher affordability and simplicity through smartphone and tablet connectivity. For the purpose of this experiment, we have developed the Smart Outlet: a stand-alone communication unit, used to connect home outlets to the internet. The Smart Outlet controls lighting and simple appliances throughout the home, remotely, using wireless commands from the web. A Google Calendar interface directly controls the outlets’ function by scheduling them with dedicated calendar events. The calendar’s interface can even be accessed from multiple different platforms (i.e. phones, computers, tablets) for the convenience of all …

A Device To Record Naturally Daily Wrist Motion, Surya Sharma

All Theses

We introduce a new device to record and store wrist motion activity data. The motivation to create this device was the fact that this data can be used to detect periods of eating or the number of bites consumed. There is no similar device available in the market. This device uses new components that have been recently introduced to the market, and newer techniques that can be used for low quantity production. The production cost for this device was $52, similar to other fitness trackers on the market. The device was capable of recording wrist motion activity for 24 hours …

Homogenous Ensemble Phonotactic Language Recognition Based On Svm Supervector Reconstruction, Wei-Wei Liu, Wei-Qiang Zhang, Michael T. Johnson, Jia Liu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Currently, acoustic spoken language recognition (SLR) and phonotactic SLR systems are widely used language recognition systems. To achieve better performance, researchers combine multiple subsystems with the results often much better than a single SLR system. Phonotactic SLR subsystems may vary in the acoustic features vectors or include multiple language-specific phone recognizers and different acoustic models. These methods achieve good performance but usually compute at high computational cost. In this paper, a new diversification for phonotactic language recognition systems is proposed using vector space models by support vector machine (SVM) supervector reconstruction (SSR). In this architecture, the subsystems share the same …

Technology Mapping, Design For Testability, And Circuit Optimizations For Null Convention Logic Based Architectures, Farhad Alibeygi Parsan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Delay-insensitive asynchronous circuits have been the target of a renewed research effort because of the advantages they offer over traditional synchronous circuits. Minimal timing analysis, inherent robustness against power-supply, temperature, and process variations, reduced energy consumption, less noise and EMI emission, and easy design reuse are some of the benefits of these circuits. NULL Convention Logic (NCL) is one of the mainstream asynchronous logic design paradigms that has been shown to be a promising method for designing delay-insensitive asynchronous circuits.

This dissertation investigates new areas in NCL design and test and is made of three sections. The first section discusses …

Optimizing Performance And Scalability On Hybrid Mpsocs, Hongyuan Ding

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hardware accelerators are capable of achieving significant performance improvement. But design- ing hardware accelerators lacks the flexibility and the productivity. Combining hardware accelerators with multiprocessor system-on-chip (MPSoC) is an alternative way to balance the flexibility, the productivity, and the performance. However, without appropriate programming model it is still a challenge to achieve parallelism on a hybrid (MPSoC) with with both general-purpose processors and dedicated accelerators. Besides, increasing computation demands with limited power budget require more energy-efficient design without performance degradation in embedded systems and mobile computing platforms. Reconfigurable computing with emerging storage technologies is an alternative to enable the optimization …

Design And Implementation Of An Instruction Set Architecture And An Instruction Execution Unit For The Rez9 Coprocessor System, Daniel Spencer Anderson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While the use of RNS has provided groundbreaking theory and progress in this field, the applications still lack viable testing platforms to test and verify the theory. This Thesis outlines the processing of developing an instruction set architecture (ISA) and an instruction execution unit (IEU) to help make the first residue based general processor a viable testing platform to address the mentioned problems.

Consider a 32-bit ripple adder. The delay on this device will be 32N where N is the delay for each adder to complete its operation. The delay of this process is due to the need to propagate …

A Collaborative Access Control Model For Shared Items In Online Social Networks, Hanaa Al Shareef

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The recent emergence of online social networks (OSNs) has changed the communication behaviors of thousand of millions of users. OSNs have become significant platforms for connecting users, sharing information, and a valuable source of private and sensitive data about individuals. While OSNs insert constantly new social features to increase the interaction between users, they, unfortunately, offer primitive access control mechanisms that place the burden of privacy policy configuration solely on the holder who has shared data in her/his profile regardless of other associated users, who may have different privacy preferences. Therefore, current OSN privacy mechanisms violate the privacy of all …

Detection Of Variable Retention Time In Dram, Neraj Kumar

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis investigates a test method to detect the presence of Variable Retention Time (VRT) bits in manufactured DRAM. The VRT bits retention time is modeled as a 2-state random telegraph process that includes miscorrelation between test and use. The VRT defect is particularly sensitive to test and use conditions. A new test method is proposed to screen the VRT bits by simulating the use conditions during manufacturing test. Evaluation of the proposed test method required a bit-level VRT model to be parameterized as a function of temperature and voltage conditions. The complete 2-state VRT bit model combines models for …

Stable And Metastable Nanowires Displaying Locally Controllable Properties, Eli A. Sutter, Peter Werner Sutter

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

(57) ABSTRACT Vapor-liquid-solid growth of nanowires is tailored to achieve complex one-dimensional material geometries using phase diagrams determined for nanoscale materials. Segmented one-dimensional nanowires having constant composition dis play locally variable electronic band structures that are deter mined by the diameter of the nanowires. The unique electrical and optical properties of the segmented nanowires are exploited to form electronic and optoelectronic devices. Using gold-germanium as a model system, in situ transmis sion electron microscopy establishes, for nanometer-sized Au Ge alloy drops at the tips of Ge nanowires (NWs), the parts of the phase diagram that determine their temperature dependent equilibrium …

Asymptotic Analysis Of Random Wireless Networks: Broadcasting, Secrecy, And Hybrid Networks, Cagatay Capar

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis work is concerned with communication in large random wireless ad hoc networks. We mathematically model the wireless network as a collection of randomly located nodes, and explore how its performance scales as the network size increases. In particular, we study three important properties: broadcasting ability, rate of information exchange, and secret communication capability. In addition, we study connectivity properties of large random graphs in a more general context, where the graph does not necessarily represent a wireless communication network. Broadcasting, i.e., delivering a message from a single node to the entire network in a wireless ad hoc network …

Ubot-7: The Design Of A Compliant Dexterous Mobile Manipulator, Jonathan Cummings

Masters Theses

This thesis presents the design of uBot-7, the latest version of a dexterous mobile manipulator. This platform has been iteratively developed to realize a high performance-to-cost dexterous whole body manipulator with respect to mobile manipulation. The semi-anthropomorphic design of the uBot is a demonstrated and functional research platform for developing advanced autonomous perception, manipulation, and mobility tasks. The goal of this work is to improve the uBot’s ability to sense and interact with its environment in order to increase the platforms capability to operate dexterously, through the incorporation of joint torque feedback, and safely, through the implementation of passive and …

Low Cost Infrared And Near Infrared Sensors For Uavs, Samuel T. Aden, James P. Bialas, Zachary Champion, Eugene Levin, Jessica L. Mccarty

Michigan Tech Research Institute Publications

Thermal remote sensing has a wide range of applications, though the extent of its use is inhibited by cost. Robotic and computer components are now widely available to consumers on a scale that makes thermal data a readily accessible resource. In this project, thermal imagery collected via a lightweight remote sensing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was used to create a surface temperature map for the purpose of providing wildland firefighting crews with a cost-effective and time-saving resource. The UAV system proved to be flexible, allowing for customized sensor packages to be designed that could include visible or infrared cameras, GPS, …