Computer Engineering Commons^™

Removing Physical Presence Requirements For A Remote And Automated World - Api Controlled Patch Panel For Conformance Testing, Hunter George Wells

Honors Theses and Capstones

Quality assurance test engineers at the UNH-InterOperability Lab must run tests that require driving and monitoring a selection of DC signals. While the number of signals is numerous, there are limited ports on the test equipment, and only a few signals need patching for any given test. The selection of signals may vary between the 209 different tests and must be re-routed frequently. Currently, testers must leave their desk to manually modify the test setup in another room. This posed a considerable issue at the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic when physical access was not possible. In order to enable …

Automated Bottling Station - Packaging System, Lauren Nicole Zinzilieta

Honors College Theses

This report focuses on the packaging system used at the end of the FESTO bottling station that is located in EP 2355. The system will be made up of an x-y 300 mm x 300 mm gantry system, an Arduino, two micro-stepping stepper drivers, and two 152.4 mm (6 in) single acting cylinders with a 3D printed bracket attached to both. The gantry system will be located at the end of the conveyor belt and will be programmed to pick up three bottles at a time and then will move a specified number of steps in both the x and …

Open-Source Tig-Based Metal 3d-Printing, Shane Oberloier

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Metal 3-D printing has been relegated to high-cost proprietary high-resolution systems and low-resolution low-cost metal inert gas (MIG) systems. In order to provide a path to high-resolution, low-cost, metal 3-D printing, this manuscript proposes a new open source metal 3-D printer design based around a low-cost tungsten inert gas (TIG) welder coupled to a commercial open source self replicating rapid prototyper. Optimal printing parameters for the machine are acquired using a novel computational intelligence software. TIG has many advantages over MIG, such as having a low heat input, clean beads, and the potential for both high-resolution prints as well as …

Integration Of Robotic And Electro-Pneumatic Systems Using Advanced Control And Communication Schemes, Chinmay Kondekar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Modern industrial automation systems are designed by interconnecting various subsystems which work together to perform a process. The thesis project aims to integrate fragmented subsystems into a flexible and reconfigurable system through advanced communication protocols and perform a process to demonstrate the effectiveness of interconnected systems.

The system consists of three six-axis robots, one electro-pneumatic robot, and two conveyors connected using EthernetIP communication and hardwired connections. The interconnected system works together to perform machining of a workpiece using advanced control methods of CAD to robot path generation, central control through a PLC, and process control through HMI.

Standardized programming blocks …

Tram System Automation For Environmental Spectroscopy And Vegetation Monitoring, Enrique Anguiano Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Spectroscopy is the science of studying the interactions of matter and electromagnetic radiation (EMR). In particular, field spectroscopy takes place in a natural environment with a natural source of EMR. The paper presents progress towards the development and automation of a tram cart system. The new system in development collects high resolution, hyperspectral images and data from a spectrometer. Alternatives for a sensor cover mechanism to provide cover for the sensors mounted while the system is not operating are discussed, analyzing and comparing the benefits and disadvantages. An implementation for a charging station in an environment isolated from the electric …

Event And Time-Triggered Control Module Layers For Individual Robot Control Architectures Of Unmanned Agricultural Ground Vehicles, Tyler Troyer

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations and Theses

Automation in the agriculture sector has increased to an extent where the accompanying methods for unmanned field management are becoming more economically viable. This manifests in the industry’s recent presentation of conceptual cab-less machines that perform all field operations under the high-level task control of a single remote operator. A dramatic change in the overall workflow for field tasks that historically assumed the presence of a human in the immediate vicinity of the work is predicted. This shift in the entire approach to farm machinery work provides producers increased control and productivity over high-level tasks and less distraction from operating …

Automated Module For Characterization Of Reference Standards Of Capacitance By Impedance-Matrix Method, Satish Singh, Thomas John

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

An automated module has been developed, implemented, and validated for the characterization of four-terminal-pair capacitance standards using an impedance-matrix method. These air-dielectric capacitance standards are being used as reference or transfer standards of capacitance at high frequency across national metrology institutes worldwide. In the reported work, an automated characterization module performs the acquisition of reference capacitance and residual capacitive parameters from an ultraprecision capacitance bridge. It also acquires single-port reactances of the capacitance standard from an impedance analyzer at frequencies ranging from 40 MHz to 100 MHz. The acquired capacitive and reactance parameters are stored structurally in arrays from where …

Iec 61850-Based Parallel Bus Transfer Scheme For Industrial Substations, Cagil Ozansoy

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Bus transfer schemes have long been utilized in the power system industry as a means of supplying system loads with a consistent and reliable source of power. They assist in the switch to alternative sources of power supply in the case of maintenance or failures. The design of such schemes has undergone significant transformation from discrete electromechanical relays to microprocessor-based relays with sophisticated communication capabilities. IEC 61850 is a substation automation standard for the communication between devices in a substation. IEC 61850 makes it possible to integrate intelligent electronic devices on an Ethernet-based peer-to-peer communication network, eliminating the traditional hardwiring …

Forest Sign Maker, Victor Espinosa Iii, Kevin Ly, Lisa Yip

Mechanical Engineering

Executive Summary:

The Inyo National Forest is arguably one of the most beautiful locations in California, containing natural masterpieces such as Mount Whitney and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Despite its magnificence, the Inyo National Forest can be a treacherous region. The Friends of the Inyo take pride in being able to facilitate the viewing experience for all outdoorsmen by maintaining the mountain trails, which includes providing adequate trail signage.

Unfortunately, there is a fundamental issue with the recent state of trail signage in the Inyo National Forest: the rate at which signs are being vandalized or naturally destroyed is …

Ethernet-Based Automation Network Systems Mobile Laboratory: A Case Study In Nonlinear Control Of Water Tank System, Levent Ucun, Onur Akbati, Gali̇p Cansever

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

This paper studies an automation network configuration for the concept of a mobile laboratory establishment. The study also covers the design and implementation of a nonlinear controller for the water tank system as a case study. The design and establishment of the mobile laboratory is involved in CoNeT (Cooperative Network Training), a European Union-funded project that aims to design mobile laboratories for different uses in industrial network systems to be used for both application-oriented research and training. In addition to automation network communication and nonlinear controller design, this study also includes Modbus communication analysis and Ethernet traffic monitoring in an …

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 …

Automated Foosball Table, Jim R. Stefani, Alex J. Herpy, Brett Gordon Jaeger, Kevin S. Haydon, Derek Alan Hamel

Mechanical Engineering

This project is the second iteration of an automated foosball table for Yaskawa America as a trade show display. The table is meant to provide an interactive experience which highlights the speed and precision of the Yaskawa hardware. The first iteration of the project was mainly focused on creating the physical hardware for the system and to begin the basic programming for the system. This phase of the project was focused on finalizing the physical hardware of the system, implementing the vision system and to continue the basic programing of the system AI. A third team will be assigned to …

Design And Realization Of A Welding Oscillator, Muci̇z Özcan

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Welding is one of the most popular methods to combine metal pieces in manufacturing processes. Arc welding, among all welding techniques, is the most commonly used in manufacturing due to its cost and flexibility. During the manufacturing process, arc welding is either performed by an operator or by automatic tools such as welding oscillators. Using automatic tools has advantages over manual use, as the process will be faster, cheaper, and have less welding flaws. In this paper, a homemade welding oscillator and the method to manufacture it are presented. The presented welding oscillator can be manufactured for a very low …

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 …