Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

2018 Ieee Signal Processing Cup: Forensic Camera Model Identification Challenge, Michael Geiger

Honors Theses

The goal of this Senior Capstone Project was to lead Union College’s first ever Signal Processing Cup Team to compete in IEEE’s 2018 Signal Processing Cup Competition. This year’s competition was a forensic camera model identification challenge and was divided into two separate stages of competition: Open Competition and Final Competition. Participation in the Open Competition was open to any teams of undergraduate students, but the Final Competition was only open to the three finalists from Open Competition and is scheduled to be held at ICASSP 2018 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Teams that make it to the Final Competition will …

Analysis Of The Properties Of Supercapacitors And Possible Applications For The Technology, Vincent Oliveto

Honors Theses

Supercapacitors have a lot of excellent qualities that would make them a great substitute for batteries when it comes to electrical energy storage systems. Supercapacitors can discharge and charge very rapidly, they have a lifespan in the realm of millions of cycles, and they are much more efficient than batteries. Unfortunately, they cannot hold nearly as much charge as batteries. This paper seeks to further investigate the properties of supercapacitor technology and the best way to exploit these properties with the purpose of integrating them into renewable energy systems. There is currently a lot of research occurring around the world …

Development Of A Fully Instrumented, Resonant Tensegrity Strut, Kentaro Barhydt

Honors Theses

A tensegrity is a structure composed of a series of rigid members connected in static equilibrium by tensile elements. A vibrating tensegrity robot is an underactuated system in which a set of its struts are vibrated at certain frequency combinations to achieve various locomotive gaits. Evolutionary robotics research lead by Professor John Rieffel focuses on exploiting the complex dynamics of tensegrity structures to control locomotion in vibrating tensegrity robots by finding desired gaits using genetic algorithms. A current hypothesis of interest is that the optimal locomotive gaits of a vibrating tensegrity exist at its resonant frequencies.

In order to observe …

The Response Of Fuzzy Electronics To Ionizing Radiation, Simar Singh

Honors Theses

Small satellites such as CubeSats operate under environmental constraints that are outside of typical commercial specifications. Such constraints include the ability to operate over an extended temperature range and during exposure to ionizing radiation. Nevertheless, commercial technologies are being implemented in CubeSat spacecraft because of the low-cost, low-power, and space savings requirements often achievable with advanced microelectronics [1]. Due to flexibility and the ability to handle uncertainty, fuzzy logic is viable for satellite control while meeting the strict design requirements of a CubeSat. This work evaluates the response of fuzzy control logic to ionizing radiation and compares the response to …

Music Keyboard Based On Flexible Hybrid Electronics, Anthony Hanson

Honors Theses

With the idea of creating a product using flexible hybrid electronics, the group decided to create a musical keyboard like a synthesizer. This is implemented using a printing technique called screen printing. This allowed the group to make several copies of the same sensors with a consistent thickness, roughness, and size. These keys, made of silver, are used as capacitive proximity sensors. When another conductive material comes within range of the key to change the polled capacitance by 2.7 pF, the note corresponding with that key is outputted.

In the interest of making this project a useful tool for someone …

Solid State Light Conversion, Jumana Turkistani

Honors Theses

Demand for innovative and energy-efficient technology has increased as an environmentally sustainable society has become priority. Technological development of solid-state light plays a part in meeting that demand. Our research has revealed that LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting uses less energy and is a more cost effective and environmentally responsible choice than incandescent and fluorescent lighting. Converting from incandescent and fluorescent dominated lighting to LED lighting may be cumbersome but can result in a classroom milieu that is attractive, cost/energy effective, easy to manipulate as well as facilitative to learning. For this project, a small-scale mockup of the light fixtures …

Aircraft Generator Design And Analysis, David Gross

Honors Theses

Aerospace electrical power demands have been growing due to an increased amount of electrical load onboard aircraft. This increased load has come about as electrical power sources for various aircraft subsystems, such as pumps, compressors and flight controls, replace mechanical power sources. The main source of electrical power for an aircraft is a generator. The nature of emerging power demands on an aircraft causes increased temperatures and complex/dynamic loads; many contemporary generators are not necessarily designed to repeatedly tolerate such phenomena. Due to the need for high amounts of reliable electrical power among current and future aircraft, aerospace generators should …

The Application Of Neurologically-Controlled Robotics To Actuated Feeding Arms, Timothy Dombrowski

Honors Theses

The medical industry is constantly performing research and trying to combat various diseases that afflict humans. Despite advancements in technology, there still remain diseases that have no cure but seem prime candidates for neurologically controlled robots. One such category of diseases consists of various muscular dystrophic diseases. Diseases such as ALS and Parkinson’s have limited options regarding treatment, but by brain controlled interfaces (BCI’s), robotics can help mitigate the impact on a patient’s quality of life. By utilizing a functioning mind, an electroencephalographic (EEG) helmet can be used to control various exoskeletal systems and even prosthesis in order to compensate …

Home Network Protector - Iot Device, Rodrick Rogers, Kranthi Kadaru

Honors Theses

The Internet of Things (IoT) market is projected to grow to more than 80 billion connected devices by the year 2025 [1]. This surge in relevance opens numerous avenues to those with malicious intent to prey on the uninitiated. With the projected growth of IoT devices, this implies a more connected lifestyle for your everyday consumer. As more devices integrate into our daily lives, security of those devices becomes substantially more important. It all starts with the home network. Just as people feel secure from outside dangers from within their home, they should also have the same peace of mind …

Design And Analysis Of An Fmri-Compatible Vibrotactile Skin Stimulator, Jacob Skyler Azbell

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research project is to design a multi-purpose fMRI-compatible vibrotactile skin stimulator that can be used in varying felds of research so that a specifc design does not have to be built for each individual application. Throughout this project, several stimulator designs were produced, but the core idea for each was quite similar. In each design, a wire coil was wound on a exible plastic tape former. One point of each coil is fxed, and the opposite point provides stimulation. Each wire coil was placed in a constant magnetic feld, which provided a weaker version of the …

Walking Gait Measurement And Gait Parameters Extraction, Chenye Li

Honors Theses

A fourth generation walking gait measurement device has been designed to capture and analyze detailed gait and stride metrics which eventually provides a Fall-Risk Assessment score. Specifically, the device has been modified to fit the residential environment and the elderly consumers which is low-cost, user-friendly, and portable. The gait parameters would be obtained by the on-board gait analysis protocol. Through gait parameters people's falling risk can then be calculated so that people can be alerted to take precautionary measures before falling. Overall, the device has been made and demonstrated having better performance than its previous generations. The on-board gait analyzing …