Computer Engineering Commons^™

Modeling, Simulation And Control Of Microrobots For The Microfactory., Zhong Yang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Future assembly technologies will involve higher levels of automation in order to satisfy increased microscale or nanoscale precision requirements. Traditionally, assembly using a top-down robotic approach has been well-studied and applied to the microelectronics and MEMS industries, but less so in nanotechnology. With the boom of nanotechnology since the 1990s, newly designed products with new materials, coatings, and nanoparticles are gradually entering everyone’s lives, while the industry has grown into a billion-dollar volume worldwide. Traditionally, nanotechnology products are assembled using bottom-up methods, such as self-assembly, rather than top-down robotic assembly. This is due to considerations of volume handling of large …

Modeling And Simulation Methodologies For Spinal Cord Stimulation., Saliya Kumara Kirigeeganage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The use of neural prostheses to improve health of paraplegics has been a prime interest of neuroscientists over the last few decades. Scientists have performed experiments with spinal cord stimulation (SCS) to enable voluntary motor function of paralyzed patients. However, the experimentation on the human spinal cord is not a trivial task. Therefore, modeling and simulation techniques play a significant role in understanding the underlying concepts and mechanics of the spinal cord stimulation. In this work, simulation and modeling techniques related to spinal cord stimulation were investigated. The initial work was intended to visualize the electric field distribution patterns in …

Integrated Environment And Proximity Sensing For Uav Applications, Shawn S. Brackett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or “drone” applications expand, new methods for sensing, navigating and avoiding obstacles need to be developed. The project applies an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) to a simulated quadcopter vehicle though Matlab in order to estimate not only the vehicle state but the world state around the vehicle. The EKF integrates multiple sensor readings from range sensors, IMU sensors, and radiation sensors and combines this information to optimize state estimates. The result is an estimated world map to be used in vehicle navigation and obstacle avoidance.

The simulation handles the physics behind the vehicle flight. As …

System Identification Of A Circulation Control Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Mohammed Agha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The advancement in automation and sensory systems in recent years has led to an increase the demand of UAV missions. Due to this increase in demand, the research community has gained interest in investigating UAV performance enhancing systems. Circulation Control (CC), which is an active control flow method used to enhance UAV lift, is a performance enhancing system currently studied. In prior research, experimental studies have shown that Circulation Control wings (CCW) implemented on class-I UAVs can reduce take-off distance by 54%. Wind tunnel tests reveal that CC improves aircraft payload capabilities through lift enhancement. Increasing aircraft payload capabilities causes …

A Water Distribution And Treatment Simulation For Testing Cyber Security Enhancements For Water Sector Scada Systems., Justin Robert Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are used by many critical infrastructures including electric power production and distribution, water and waste water treatment, rail transportation, and gas and oil distribution. Originally isolated proprietary systems, SCADA systems are increasingly connected to enterprise networks and the Internet and today use commercial hardware and software. As a result SCADA systems now face serious cyber-security threats. The need for testing and evaluation of developed cyber-security solutions presents a challenge since evaluation on actual systems is usually not possible and building complete physical testbeds is costly. This thesis presents the design and development of …

Digital Controller Implementation For Disturbance Rejection In The Optical Coupling Of A Mobile Experimental Laser Tracking Systems, Matthew Rhodes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Laser tracking systems are an important aspect of the NASA space program, in particular for conducting research in relation to satellites and space port launch vehicles. Often, launches are conducted at remote sites which require all of the test equipment, including the laser tracking systems, to be portable. Portable systems are more susceptible to environmental disturbances which affect the overall tracking resolution, and consequently, the resolution of any other experimental data being collected at any given time. This research characterizes the optical coupling between two systems in a Mobile Experimental Laser Tracking system and evaluates several control solutions to minimize …