Systems Engineering Commons^™

High-Level Requirements For Conceptual Design Of Bridge Deflection Measurement System Using Model-Based Systems Engineering, Mariana Villalabeitia Arenas

Theses and Dissertations

Bridges are essential in the infrastructure transportation system. Repairs and maintenance are the key activities to keep them safe for use. Over the years, the evolution of technology has been applied to improve the way bridges are designed, built, monitored, inspected, and repaired. Nevertheless, there is still a gap between the research efforts and the application of this knowledge in the practical field of bridge inspections. Model-based Systems Engineering is a formalized methodology in the system design that is centered around the model throughout all the life cycle stages of a system, supporting the requirements, design, analysis, verification, and validation …

Technical Report On: Anchoring Sagittal Plane Templates In A Spatial Quadruped, Timothy M. Greco, D. E. Koditschek

Technical Reports (ESE)

This technical report provides a more thorough treatment of the proofs and derivations in the authors' paper "Anchoring Sagittal Plane Templates in a Spatial Quadruped." The description of the anchoring controller is reproduced here without abridgement, and additional appendices provide a clearer account of the implementation details.

Anchoring Sagittal Plane Templates In A Spatial Quadruped, Timothy M. Greco, Daniel E. Koditschek

Departmental Papers (ESE)

This paper introduces a new controller that stabilizes the motion of a spatial quadruped around sagittal-plane templates. It enables highly dynamic gaits and transitional maneuvers formed from parallel and sequential compositions of such planar templates in settings that require significant out-of-plane reactivity. The controller admits formal guarantees of stability with some modest assumptions. Experimental results validate the reliable execution of those planar template-based maneuvers, even in the face of large lateral, yaw, and roll incurring disturbances. This spatial anchor, fixed in parallel composition with a variety of different parallel and sequential compositions of sagittal plane templates, illustrates the robust portability …

Ads-B Classification Using Multivariate Long Short-Term Memory–Fully Convolutional Networks And Data Reduction Techniques, Sarah Bolton, Richard Dill, Michael R. Grimaila, Douglas Hodson

Faculty Publications

Researchers typically increase training data to improve neural net predictive capabilities, but this method is infeasible when data or compute resources are limited. This paper extends previous research that used long short-term memory–fully convolutional networks to identify aircraft engine types from publicly available automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data. This research designs two experiments that vary the amount of training data samples and input features to determine the impact on the predictive power of the ADS-B classification model. The first experiment varies the number of training data observations from a limited feature set and results in 83.9% accuracy (within 10% of …

Extended Version Of Stability Of A Groucho-Style Bounding Run In The Sagittal Plane, Jeff Duperret, D. E. Koditschek

Technical Reports (ESE)

This paper develops a three degree-of-freedom sagittal-plane hybrid dynamical systems model of a Groucho-style bounding quadrupedal run. Simple within-stance controls using a modular architecture yield a closed form expression for a family of hybrid limit cycles that represent bounding behavior over a range of user-selected fore-aft speeds as a function of the model's kinematic and dynamical parameters. Controls acting on the hybrid transitions are structured so as to achieve a cascade composition of in-place bounding driving the fore-aft degree of freedom, thereby decoupling the linearized dynamics of an approximation to the stride map. Careful selection of the feedback channels used …

Fugacity-Based Lattice Boltzmann Method For Multicomponent Multiphase Systems, Muzammil Soomro, Luis F. Ayala, Cheng Peng, Orlando M. Ayala

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The free-energy model can extend the lattice Boltzmann method to multiphase systems. However, there is a lack of models capable of simulating multicomponent multiphase fluids with partial miscibility. In addition, existing models cannot be generalized to honor thermodynamic information provided by any multicomponent equation of state of choice. In this paper, we introduce a free-energy lattice Boltzmann model where the forcing term is determined by the fugacity of the species, the thermodynamic property that connects species partial pressure to chemical potential calculations. By doing so, we are able to carry out multicomponent multiphase simulations of partially miscible fluids and generalize …

Twisting Spine Or Rigid Torso: Exploring Quadrupedal Morphology Via Trajectory Optimization, J. Diego Caporale, Zeyuan Feng, Shane Rozen-Levy, Aja Mia Carter, Daniel E. Koditschek

Departmental Papers (ESE)

Modern legged robot morphologies assign most of their actuated degrees of freedom (DoF’s) to the limbs and designs continue to converge to twelve DoF quadrupeds with three actuators per leg and a rigid torso often modeled as a Single Rigid Body (SRB). This is in contrast to the animal kingdom, which provides tantalizing hints that core actuation of a jointed torso confers substantial benefit for efficient agility. Unfortunately, the limited specific power of available actuators continues to hamper roboticists’ efforts to capitalize on this bio-inspiration. This paper presents the initial steps in a comparative study of the costs and benefits …

Like You Search, Gipson Bachman

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

As consumers continue to make their purchases solely online without visiting brick-and-mortar stores, they increasingly look for ways to “touch, feel and try on” products without actually doing so. We believe social media influencers provide a way to do this, with the influencers themselves acting as “stand-ins” for consumers in their place. Finding influencers that look like you in 2022 sounds like it would be easy, but it isn’t. Until now.

LIKE YOU aims to answer this gap in the market by creating a proprietary search engine that, through answering a few questions, recommends a list of influencers that can …

Development Of Directed Randomization For Discussing A Minimal Security Architecture, Henrique Oyama, Dominic Messina, Keshav Kasturi Rangan, Akkarakaran Francis Leonard, Kip Nieman, Helen Durand, Katie Tyrrell, Katrina Hinzman, Michael Williamson

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

Strategies for mitigating the impacts of cyberattacks on control systems using a control-oriented perspective have become of greater interest in recent years. Our group has contributed to this trend by developing several methods for detecting cyberattacks on process sensors, actuators, or both sensors and actuators simultaneously using an advanced optimization-based control strategy known as Lyapunov-based economic model predictive control (LEMPC). However, each technique comes with benefits and limitations, both with respect to one another and with respect to traditional information technology and computer science-type approaches to cybersecurity. An important question to ask, therefore, is what the goal should be of …

Investigating Applications Of Deep Learning For Diagnosis Of Post Traumatic Elbow Disease, Hugh James

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Traumatic events such as dislocation, breaks, and arthritis of musculoskeletal joints can cause the development of post-traumatic joint contracture (PTJC). Clinically, noninvasive techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans are used to analyze the disease. Such procedures require a patient to sit sedentary for long periods of time and can be expensive as well. Additionally, years of practice and experience are required for clinicians to accurately recognize the diseased anterior capsule region and make an accurate diagnosis. Manual tracing of the anterior capsule is done to help with diagnosis but is subjective and timely. As a result, there is …

Practical Requirements Elicitation In Modern Product Development: A Multi-Case Study In Discontinuous Innovation, Michael King

Theses and Dissertations

Practical modern product development, specifically rapid, lean efforts to create new disrupting or specialized products, face constraints that require modified requirements elicitation (RE) techniques. Requirements elicitation conventions have not been updated to address the challenges of these approaches, and industry practitioners lack the tools to select the most efficient techniques. This study examines the RE approaches performed by three resource-limited teams conducting discontinuous new product development through a multi-case study to identify gaps between the literature and practice, with suggestions to fill them. Our findings suggest modern RE practices and challenges closely reflect those found by studies on RE in …

Context-Aware Collaborative Neuro-Symbolic Inference In Internet Of Battlefield Things, Tarek Abdelzaher, Nathaniel D. Bastian, Susmit Jha, Lance Kaplan, Mani Srivastava, Venugopal Veeravalli

ACI Journal Articles

IoBTs must feature collaborative, context-aware, multi-modal fusion for real-time, robust decision-making in adversarial environments. The integration of machine learning (ML) models into IoBTs has been successful at solving these problems at a small scale (e.g., AiTR), but state-of-the-art ML models grow exponentially with increasing temporal and spatial scale of modeled phenomena, and can thus become brittle, untrustworthy, and vulnerable when interpreting large-scale tactical edge data. To address this challenge, we need to develop principles and methodologies for uncertainty-quantified neuro-symbolic ML, where learning and inference exploit symbolic knowledge and reasoning, in addition to, multi-modal and multi-vantage sensor data. The approach features …

Report On The Icra’22 Workshop On Lethal Autonomous Weapons, Daniel E. Koditschek, Lisa J. Miracchi, Jesse Hamilton

Technical Reports (ESE)

No abstract provided.

Hard-Real-Time Computing Performance In A Cloud Environment, Alvin Cornelius Murphy

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) is rapidly working with DoD Services to move from multi-year (e.g., 7-10) traditional acquisition programs to a commercial industrybased approach for software development. While commercial technologies and approaches provide an opportunity for rapid fielding of mission capabilities to pace threats, the suitability of commercial technologies to meet hard-real-time requirements within a surface combat system is unclear. This research establishes technical data to validate the effectiveness and suitability of current commercial technologies to meet the hard-real-time demands of a DoD combat management system. (Moreland Jr., 2013) conducted similar research; however, microservices, containers, and container …

Multiple Heat Exchanger Cooling System For Automotive Applications – Design, Mathematical Modeling, And Experimental Observations, Zaker Syed

All Dissertations

The design of the automotive cooling systems has slowly evolved from engine-driven mechanical to computer-controlled electro-mechanical components. With the addition of computer-controlled variable speed actuators, cooling system architectures have been updated to maximize performance and efficiency. By switching from one large radiator to multiple smaller radiators with individual flow control valves, the heat rejection requirements may be precisely adjusted. The combination of computer regulated thermal management system should reduce power consumption while satisfying temperature control objectives. This research focuses on developing and analyzing a multi-radiator system architecture for implementation in ground transportation applications. The premise is to use a single …

A Systems Theory-Based Framework For Environmental Scanning In Complex System Governance, Dale E. Baugh

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a Systems Theory-based framework for Environmental Scanning (ES) in Complex System Governance (CSG) using an inductive research design. Complexity and uncertainty are normal for external environments in which today’s systems (organizations) exist. These environmental characteristics provide impetus for researchers to focus on organizational planning for disruptive external forces that could threaten system stability and future system existence. The ES function supports the requisite governance metasystemic functions to be enabled, executed, and evolved sufficiently well to promote continuous system viability. In this research the functioning of ES was examined from a diverse literature-based …

Using Reinforcement Learning To Improve Network Reliability Through Optimal Resource Allocation, Henley Wells

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Networks provide a variety of critical services to society (e.g. power grid, telecommunication, water, transportation) but are prone to disruption. With this motivation, we study a sequential decision problem in which an initial network is improved over time (e.g., by adding or increasing the reliability of edges) and rewards are gained over time as a function of the network’s all-terminal reliability. The actions during each time period are limited due to availability of resources such as time, money, or labor. To solve this problem, we utilized a Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approach implemented within OpenAI-Gym using Stable Baselines. A Proximal …

Using Strategic Options Development And Analysis (Soda) To Understand The Simulation Accessibility Problem, Andrew J. Collins, Ying Thaviphoke, Antuela A. Tako

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Simulation modelling is applied to a wide range of problems, including defense and healthcare. However, there is a concern within the simulation community that there is a limited use and implementation of simulation studies in practice. This suggests that despite its benefits, simulation may not be reaching its potential in making a real-world impact. The main reason for this could be that simulation tools are not widely accessible in industry. In this paper, we investigate the issues that affect simulation modelling accessibility through a workshop with simulation practitioners. We use Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA), a problem-structuring approach that …

Kinegami: Algorithmic Design Of Compliant Kinematic Chains From Tubular Origami, Wei-Hsi Chen, Woohyeok Yang, Lucien Peach, Daniel E. Koditschek, Cynthia R. Sung

Departmental Papers (ESE)

Origami processes can generate both rigid and compliant structures from the same homogeneous sheet material. In this article, we advance the origami robotics literature by showing that it is possible to construct an arbitrary rigid kinematic chain with prescribed joint compliance from a single tubular sheet. Our “Kinegami” algorithm converts a Denavit–Hartenberg specification into a single-sheet crease pattern for an equivalent serial robot mechanism by composing origami modules from a catalogue. The algorithm arises from the key observation that tubular origami linkage design reduces to a Dubins path planning problem. The automatically generated structural connections and movable joints that realize …

Study Of Stochastic Market Clearing Problems In Power Systems With High Renewable Integration, Saumya Sakitha Sashrika Ariyarathne

Operations Research and Engineering Management Theses and Dissertations

Integrating large-scale renewable energy resources into the power grid poses several operational and economic problems due to their inherently stochastic nature. The lack of predictability of renewable outputs deteriorates the power grid’s reliability. The power system operators have recognized this need to account for uncertainty in making operational decisions and forming electricity pricing. In this regard, this dissertation studies three aspects that aid large-scale renewable integration into power systems. 1. We develop a nonparametric change point-based statistical model to generate scenarios that accurately capture the renewable generation stochastic processes; 2. We design new pricing mechanisms derived from alternative stochastic programming …