Computer Engineering Commons^™

International Space Object Orbit Tracker, Nicole Navarro

Publications and Research

This software engineering project involves development of machine learning algorithms for embedded applications. High speed 32-bit hardware devices such as Raspberry Pi and ARM microcontrollers has become inexpensive and readily available. Machine learning algorithms for applications such as image processing and image recognition are computationally intensive. But with the availability of low cost 32-bit embedded computing devices, it is now feasible to implement then on embedded hardware. This project will explore embedded applications of machine learning algorithms by following a software engineering design and test approach.

Self-Driving Toy Car Using Deep Learning, Fahim Ahmed, Suleyman Turac, Mubtasem Ali

Publications and Research

Our research focuses on building a student affordable platform for scale model self-driving cars. The goal of this project is to explore current developments of Open Source hardware and software to build a low-cost platform consisting of the car chassis/framework, sensors, and software for the autopilot. Our research will allow other students with low budget to enter into the world of Deep Learning, self-driving cars, and autonomous cars racing competitions.

Low-Cost Near Infrared Diffuse Optical Imaging System, Mohammed Z. Shakil, Chen Xu

Publications and Research

Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT) and Optical Spectroscopy using near-infrared (NIR) diffused light has demonstrated great potential for the initial diagnosis of tumors and in the assessment of tumor vasculature response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The NIR technique utilizes intrinsic hemoglobin contrast, which is directly related to tumor angiogenesis development, a key process required for tumor growth and metastasis. The NIR diffuse tomography holds great promise in distinguishing early-stage invasive breast cancers from benign lesions. This technique also provides insight into tumor metabolism and tumor hypoxia, important indicators of tumor response to various forms of therapy. Currently, the high cost of the …

How To Create And Maintain An Effective Information Architecture And Navigation System For Science Gateway Websites, Noreen Y. Whysel, Omni Marketing Interactive

Publications and Research

Whether you have an existing Science Gateway website or are creating your first one, this hands-on tutorial will show you, step by step, how to create and update gateway websites so that their content is easier to find and easier to use.

As a Science Gateway provides its web-based tools and resources, it is essential that these sites utilize specific usability tests and other research methods to ensure positive and productive experiences with the sites. Successful information architecture (IA), intuitive site navigation, and clear user interfaces (UIs) all rely on knowing where various users expect to find needed information.

Since …

An Optimized Encoding Algorithm For Systematic Polar Codes, Xiumin Wang, Zhihong Zhang, Jun Li, Yu Wang, Haiyan Cao, Zhengquan Li, Liang Shan

Publications and Research

Many different encoding algorithms for systematic polar codes (SPC) have been introduced since SPC was proposed in 2011. However, the number of the computing units of exclusive OR (XOR) has not been optimized yet. According to an iterative property of the generator matrix and particular lower triangular structure of the matrix, we propose an optimized encoding algorithm (OEA) of SPC that can reduce the number of XOR computing units compared with existing non-recursive algorithms. We also prove that this property of the generator matrix could extend to different code lengths and rates of the polar codes. Through the matrix segmentation …

Mapping In The Humanities: Gis Lessons For Poets, Historians, And Scientists, Emily W. Fairey

Open Educational Resources

User-friendly Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is the common thread of this collection of presentations, and activities with full lesson plans. The first section of the site contains an overview of cartography, the art of creating maps, and then looks at historical mapping platforms like Hypercities and Donald Rumsey Historical Mapping Project. In the next section Google Earth Desktop Pro is introduced, with lessons and activities on the basics of GE such as pins, paths, and kml files, as well as a more complex activity on "georeferencing" an historic map over Google Earth imagery. The final section deals with ARCGIS Online …

Operating Systems Laboratory, Emt 2390l, Course Outline, Jose Reyes Alamo

Open Educational Resources

Students study the characteristics of operating systems used in IBM systems. They learn how to install the operating systems and set it up to control the computer hardware. They also learn to use the features of the operating systems to manage the computer system.

3d Printed Smart Mobile, Bingfang Chen

Publications and Research

The goal of this research project is to design and build a prototype of a smart mobile robot to participate and compete in IEEE Micro-mouse and similar competitions. The robot has to find its way out of a maze as quickly as possible, by exploring and learning the paths in the maze. 3D printing technology will be used to build a lightweight robot frame so that it can move at a fast speed.

Enhanced Security System With Image Feature Identification, Musharrat Chowdhury

Publications and Research

Open source hardware and software will be used to acquire camera images and recognize and identify objects of interest in the image that would be used in new or existing personal security system. The mechanism of this system rotates either automatically or manually to track a face when a human is within view of the camera. The biometric security recognition system is a real world applications with complex effects of illumination and imaging conditions on live images.

Senior Project I Ethics Lecture Component, Edward R. Camp

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

On Using Ai Bots For Voice Controlled Augmented Reality Applications, Juan Estrella

Publications and Research

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to benefit society in the realms of medicine, security, manufacturing, entertainment, marketing, and many others. One of the advances of AI is in the field of Natural Language Processing and Speech Recognition; making computers understand what humans say and mean. On the other hand, the term Augmented Reality (AR) refers to the technologies that superimpose digital content generated by computers over the user’s view of the real world. AR technologies enhance the version of the physical environment with computergenerated sensory input such as sound, video, or graphics overlaid on top of the real-world view. …

Shaping The Future Of Trusted Digital Identity: The Idef Registry With Health Information Use Cases, Noreen Y. Whysel

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Open Source Foundations For Spatial Decision Support Systems, Jochen Albrecht

Publications and Research

Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) were a hot topic in the 1990s, when researchers tried to imbue GIS with additional decision support features. Successful practical developments such as HAZUS or CommunityViz have since been built, based on commercial desktop software and without much heed for theory other than what underlies their process models. Others, like UrbanSim, have been completely overhauled twice but without much external scrutiny. Both the practical and the theoretical foundations of decision support systems have developed considerably over the past 20 years. This article presents an overview of these developments and then looks at what corresponding tools …

Smart Iot Sprinkler System, Galib F. Rahman

Publications and Research

The average family spends more than $1000 in water costs per year. One-way water is commonly wasted in many households is via inefficient sprinkler systems for lawns. Current technology has enabled the development of automatic sprinkler systems, which can be preconfigured to operate at desired times of day and intervals. Although these systems may reduce the amount of water utilized overall, they are not weather forecast aware. In situations when rainfall is upcoming the systems still water the lawn. In this project, we plan to implement a smart sprinkler system that has full awareness of upcoming weather and take account …

Programmable Time-Domain Digital-Coding Metasurface For Non-Linear Harmonic Manipulation And New Wireless Communication Systems, Jie Zhao, Xi Yang, Jun Yan Dai, Qiang Cheng, Xiang Li, Ning Hua Qi, Jun Chen Ke, Guo Dong Bai, Shuo Liu, Shi Jin, Andrea Alù, Tie Jun Cui

Publications and Research

Optical non-linear phenomena are typically observed in natural materials interacting with light at high intensities, and they benefit a diverse range of applications from communication to sensing. However, controlling harmonic conversion with high efficiency and flexibility remains a major issue in modern optical and radio-frequency systems. Here, we introduce a dynamic time-domain digital-coding metasurface that enables efficient manipulation of spectral harmonic distribution. By dynamically modulating the local phase of the surface reflectivity, we achieve accurate control of different harmonics in a highly programmable and dynamic fashion, enabling unusual responses, such as velocity illusion. As a relevant application, we propose and …

Using Augmented Reality To Enhance Learning Experiences About Electrical Circuits, Juan Estrella

Publications and Research

The term Augmented Reality (AR) refers to the technologies that superimpose digital content generated by computers over the user’s view of the real world. AR technologies enhance the version of the physical environment with computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, or graphics overlaid on top of the real-world view. In recent years, AR has moved beyond expensive military applications and has now entered a wide variety of domains. In engineering education, AR technologies can serve as a learning aid as well as a basis for innovation. The technology provides 3-D visualizations that allow to: (i) observe flaws in designs …

A Dexterous, Glove-Based Teleoperable Low-Power Soft Robotic Arm For Delicate Deep-Sea Biological Exploration, Brennan T. Phillips, Kaitlyn P. Becker, Shunichi Kurumaya, Kevin C. Galloway, Griffin Whittredge, Daniel M. Vogt, Clark B. Teeple, Michelle H. Rosen, Vincent A. Pieribone, David F. Gruber, Robert J. Wood

Publications and Research

Modern marine biologists seeking to study or interact with deep-sea organisms are confronted with few options beyond industrial robotic arms, claws, and suction samplers. This limits biological interactions to a subset of “rugged” and mostly immotile fauna. As the deep sea is one of the most biologically diverse and least studied ecosystems on the planet, there is much room for innovation in facilitating delicate interactions with a multitude of organisms. The biodiversity and physiology of shallow marine systems, such as coral reefs, are common study targets due to the easier nature of access; SCUBA diving allows for in situ delicate …

A Hands-On Robotics Concentration Curricula In Engineering Technology Programs, Andy S. Zhang, Angran Xiao, Yu Wang, Farrukh Zia, Muhammad Ummy

Publications and Research

This paper discusses the creation of a robotic concentration with four courses to meet the industry demands for qualified graduates in product design and services. Advances in computer technology and electronics have created a new field called mechatronics. Nowadays almost all high tech products are mechatronics in nature. Products such as automotive subsystems (such as anti-lock braking systems and automatic steering systems), medical devices, environmental monitoring systems, service and surgical robots are all mechatronic products. The robotic concentration focus on one of the most popular and visible area of mechatronics: robotics. The creation of the four courses: Embedded Systems Fundamentals, …

An Application Of Game Theory In Distributed Collaborative Decision Making, Angran Xiao

Publications and Research

In a distributed product realization environment, new paradigms and accompanying software systems are necessary to support the collaborative work of geographically dispersed engineering teams from different disciplines who have different knowledge, experience, tools and resources. To verify the concept of collaboration by separation, we propose a generic information communication medium to enable knowledge representation and exchange between engineering teams, a digital interface. Across digital interfaces, each engineering team maintains its own perspective towards the product realization problem, and each controls a subset of design variables and seeks to maximize its own payoff function subject to individual constraints. Hence, we postulate …

Tolerance Sensitivity Analysis And Robust Optimal Design Method Of A Surface-Mounted Permanent Magnet Motor By Using A Hybrid Response Surface Method Considering Manufacturing Tolerances, Cha-Seung Jun, Byung-Il Kwon, Ohbong Kwon

Publications and Research

This paper presents a robust optimal design method using a hybrid response surface method (H-RSM) which directly finds an optimal point satisfying a target Z-value or a probability of failure. Through three steps, this paper achieves the goal that is to increase the open-circuit airgap flux (OCAF) in a surface-mounted permanent magnet motor and decrease its variation caused by variations of the airgap lengths including an additional one between permanent magnets and rotor back yoke. First, the OCAF equation is derived from the magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) considering the additional airgap. Then, the equation is validated by comparing its results …

Solar And Rain Catching Canopy. Urban Oasis, Afolabi Ibitoye, Langston Clark, Elena Zimareva, Evan Banks, Alexander Aptekar

Publications and Research

The Urban Oasis is designed to work within existing “pocket parks” in New York City as a combined rainwater collector, personal electronics charging station and resting designation for New Yorkers. Intended to not only lessen the demand on the city power grid by using renewable energy to charge devices, the urban oasis is also intended to mitigate grey water overfill in New York’s combined sewer system and, in general, serve as a model for responsible environmental stewardship in urban areas.

The important technical aspects of the canopy specifically analyzed were:

a) how much rainwater could the canopy be expected to …

Using Augmented Reality In Engineering Education, Juan Estrella

Publications and Research

Augmented Reality is an interactive mixture between the real world and computerized images that capture the audience’s attention. Devices that support augmented reality improve the image of the real-world surroundings with simulated physical input such as sound, video, or graphics overlaid on top of the real-world view. In recent years, augmented reality has improved beyond expensive military applications and has now entered a wide variety of domains. In engineering education, AR technologies can serve as a learning aid as well as a basis for innovation. The technology provides 3-D visualizations that allow to: (i) observe flaws in designs before the …

Correlated Network Of Networks Enhances Robustness Against Catastrophic Failures, Byungjoon Min, Muhua Zheng

Publications and Research

Networks in nature rarely function in isolation but instead interact with one another with a form of a network of networks (NoN). A network of networks with interdependency between distinct networks contains instability of abrupt collapse related to the global rule of activation. As a remedy of the collapse instability, here we investigate a model of correlated NoN. We find that the collapse instability can be removed when hubs provide the majority of interconnections and interconnections are convergent between hubs. Thus, our study identifies a stable structure of correlated NoN against catastrophic failures. Our result further suggests a plausible way …

Week 4 Lab: Counterlist, Michelle Shu, David Soon, Nyc Tech-In-Residence Corps

Open Educational Resources

Syllabus and materials for the course "CSC 59940: Front-End Web Application Development" delivered at the City College of New York in Spring 2018 by Michelle Shu and David Moon as part of the Tech-in-Residence Corps program.

Lab Manual Design With Engineering Learning Style And Flipped Learning Model In Computer Engineering Technology Education, Yu Wang, Sunghoon Jang

Publications and Research

We have designed a lab manual based on Felder-Silverman learning style model (FSLSM) and the flipped classroom model for engineering education. This lab manual is developed for early junior year course of “Microcomputer Systems Technology” and emphasizes student-centered active learning experiences with more practical exercises and open-ended questions. Instead of taking traditional assembly language to study computer architecture, we are looking for a different approach to teach students to learn the assembly language by embedding an inline assembly language module into a C program. Our lab guide consists of online videos and practical exercises on various platforms including Microsoft Windows …

Selfie-Takers Prefer Left Cheeks: Converging Evidence From The (Extended) Selfiecity Database, Lev Manovich, Vera Ferrari, Nicola Bruno

Publications and Research

According to previous reports, selfie takers in widely different cultural contexts prefer poses showing the left cheek more than the right cheek. This posing bias may be interpreted as evidence for a right-hemispheric specialization for the expression of facial emotions. However, earlier studies analyzed selfie poses as categorized by human raters, which raises methodological issues in relation to the distinction between frontal and three-quarter poses. Here, we provide converging evidence by analyzing the (extended) selfiecity database which includes automatic assessments of head rotation and of emotional expression. We confirm a culture- and sex-independent left-cheek bias and report stronger expression of …

Improving Disciplinary Literacy In An Electronics Course, Ohbong Kwon, Juanita C. But, Sunghoon Jang

Publications and Research

Electronics (EMT1255) is a required course for the Associate Degree in Applied Science (AAS) in Electromechanical Engineering Technology (EMT) at New York City College of Technology. EMT1255 introduces semiconductor devices and their applications in electronic-circuits. Students are expected to understand the structures and principles of semiconductor devices and the configuration and principles of basic electronic circuits. They also learn to analyze and design electronic circuits. In the lab setting, they acquire troubleshooting knowledge and hands-on technical skills. In this reading intensive course, students need to read the lab manual and a textbook of over 700 pages. Therefore, reading and understanding …

Promoting Information Resources To Students: Using Wordpress To Maintain Library Data Sets, Derek Stadler

Publications and Research

Although it began as a blog tool, WordPress has grown into a complete content management system with thousands of interactive themes available. Since it uses the MySQL database management system, the open-source software suits the needs of library websites by aggregating a college library’s complete database inventory. Rather than update several HTML pages within a site when new vendors are added or a URL is changed, information from vendors can be maintained in a database table and then displayed to students, highlighting available resources and information. The presentation highlights the use of some simple WordPress plugins to manage many aggregators …

A Simple And Cost-Effective Epon-Based Next Generation Mobile Backhaul Ran Architecture, Ajaz Sana, Syed R. Zaidi, Shahab Hussain, Mohammad Nizamuddin

Publications and Research

This study proposes a novel, simple and cost-effective PON-based next generation mobile backhaul RAN architecture that enables redistribution of some of the intelligence currently centralized in the Mobile Packet Core (MPC) platform out into the access nodes of the RAN. Specifically, this work proposes a fully distributed ring-based EPON architecture that enables the support of a converged PON-4G/5G mobile WiMAX/LTE access networking transport infrastructure to seamlessly backhaul both mobile and wireline multimedia traffic and services.

Development Of A Wireless Environmental Data Acquisition Prototype Adopting Agile Practices: An Experience Report, Paul Celicourt, Richard Sam, Michael Piasecki

Publications and Research

The traditional software development model commonly named “waterfall” is unable to cope with the increasing functionality and complexity of modern embedded systems. In addition, it is unable to support the ability for businesses to quickly respond to new market opportunities due to changing requirements. As a response, the software development community developed the Agile Methodologies (e.g., extreme Programming, Scrum) which were also adopted by the Embedded System community. However, failures and bad experiences in applying Agile Methodologies to the development of embedded systems have not been reported in the literature. Therefore, this paper contributes a detailed account of our first-time …