Digital Commons Network^™

Fast Super-Resolution With Affine Motion Using An Adaptive Wiener Filter And Its Application To Airborne Imaging, Russell C. Hardie, Kenneth J. Barnard, Raúl Ordóñez

Raúl Ordóñez

Fast nonuniform interpolation based super-resolution (SR) has traditionally been limited to applications with translational interframe motion. This is in part because such methods are based on an underlying assumption that the warping and blurring components in the observation model commute. For translational motion this is the case, but it is not true in general. This presents a problem for applications such as airborne imaging where translation may be insufficient. Here we present a new Fourier domain analysis to show that, for many image systems, an affine warping model with limited zoom and shear approximately commutes with the point spread function …

Impact Of Engineering Ambassador Programs On Student Development, Thalia Anagnos, Alicia Lyman-Holt, Claudia Marin-Artieda, Ellen Momsen

Thalia Anagnos

This study highlights the positive impact of participation in an engineering ambassador program on students from two universities: Oregon State University which is a large public university in a college town with a 13% minority student body, and Howard University, a medium sized private university with a relatively small engineering program in an urban setting enrolling a primarily minority population. Although these ambassador programs have a major goal of service to the university and engineering program, they serve an equally important goal of developing the skills and attitudes of the ambassadors themselves. Ambassadors from both universities were surveyed, and though …

An Interactive Exploration Of Gender And Engineering: Unpacking The Experience, Debbie Chachra, Lynn Stein, Alisha Sarang-Sieminski, Caitrin Lynch, Yevgeniya Zastavker

Alisha L. Sarang-Sieminski

The engineering student experience is understood to differ for male and female students; gendered interactions affect the development of academic and professional role confidence, as well as engineering identity. The purpose of this session is twofold. First, we aim to introduce participants to concepts of gender schemas, privilege, and identity using a range of interactive activities, including brainstorming and structured discussion. Second, we intend to share information about and obtain feedback on a Gender Discussion Exploration Kit, which the participants will be encouraged to review, use, and share at their home institutions.

Settling And Bioflocculation Of Two Species Of Algae Used In Wastewater Treatment And Algae Biomass Production, Derek Manheim, Yarrow M. Nelson

Yarrow Nelson

The settling and bioflocculation of two strains of algae were investigated in the laboratory to provide insights to help improve algae settling in large-scale, algae-based wastewater treatment systems with simultaneous algae biofuel production. Energyefficient algae harvesting is a requirement for cost effective production of biofuels from algae, but algae harvesting usually requires energy-intensive methods such as centrifugation, filtration or dissolved air flotation. Bioflocculation using bacteriallyderived exudates is promising, but its use in high-rate algae pond (HRAP) wastewater systems has not yielded consistently reliable settling. To improve our understanding of the complex interactions between mixed cultures of algae and bacteria, the …

Casting A Wider Net, Lynn Stein

Lynn Andrea Stein

This article is a book review of Mung Chiang's book Networked Life: 20 Questions and Answers. In this text intended for both classroom and online learning, Chiang uses questions about our online lives to explore the technology and computer science behind the Internet, wireless, and Web industries.

Reviewing The American University Law Review On Extraterritoriality: A Critical Response To Viki Economides, Note, Tianrui Group Co. V. Itc: The Dubious Status Of Extraterritoriality And The Domestic Industry Requirement Requirement Of Section 337(Link), Jonathan R. K. Stroud

Jonathan R. K. Stroud

Recently, the Federal Circuit upheld the Commission’s decision to exclude goods based on a trade secret violation that largely happened abroad. The American University Law Review critiqued that decision on two grounds: First, that a presumption against extraterritorial application of U.S. law applied; and second, that licensing alone could not establish a domestic industry. The American University Law Review's critique remains incomplete, however, as the Federal Circuit correctly decided the case for at least two reasons. first, the Federal Circuit correctly applied the “extraterritorial presumption” canon of construction; and second, the recent Federal Circuit decision in InterDigital Communications LLC v. …

Developing Regional Building Inventories: Lessons From The Field, Thalia Anagnos, Mary Comerio, Christine Goulet, Peter J. May, Marjorie Greene, David L. Mccormick, David Bonowitz

Thalia Anagnos

Between 2008 and 2011 members of the Concrete Coalition completed numerous building inventories of California cities to assemble a database of California pre-1980 concrete buildings. Inventory collectors used a variety of data sources ranging from county assessors files to Sanborn maps and satellite images. Sidewalk surveys were used to corroborate data collected from multiple sources, and a regression model was developed to extrapolate data to cities where detailed inventory collection was not possible. Lessons drawn from inventories of three cities – Alameda, Los Angeles, and San Francisco – indicate that no single approach can be recommended, but instead the approach …

Editorial: Social Implications Of Technology- “Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo”, Katina Michael

Professor Katina Michael

Late last year, IEEE SSIT was invited to put together a paper for the centennial edition of Proceedings of the IEEE that was published in May 2012. The paper titled, “Social Implications of Technology: The Past, the Present, and the Future,” brought together five members of SSIT with varying backgrounds, and two intense months of collaboration and exchange of ideas. I personally felt privileged to be working with Karl D. Stephan, Emily Anesta, Laura Jacobs and M.G. Michael on this project.

Thermoelectric Module-Variable Conductance Heat Pipe Assemblies For Reduced Power Temperature Control, Corey Melnick, Marc Hodes, Gennady Ziskind, Martin Cleary, Vincent Manno

Vincent P. Manno

Thermoelectric modules (TEMs) are used to precisely maintain the setpoint temperature of photonic components generating variable heat loads under varying ambient conditions. The non-component side of TEMs is mounted onto conventional heat sinks (CHSs). At any combination of setpoint temperature, heat load and ambient temperature, there is a unique thermal resistance between the non-component side of a TEM and the ambient corresponding to minimal TEM power consumption. Indeed, a zero thermal resistance heat sink minimizes power consumption when a TEM operates in refrigeration mode, but when it operates in heating mode a relatively high thermal resistance one is optimal. This …

Optimized Thermoelectric Module-Heat Sink Assemblies For Precision Temperature Control, Rui Zhang, David Brooks, Marc Hodes, Vincent Manno

Vincent P. Manno

Robustprecision temperature control of photonics components is achieved by mountingthem on thermoelectric modules (TEMs) which are in turn mountedon heat sinks. However, the power consumption of TEMs ishigh because high currents are driven through Bi2Te3-based semiconducting materialswith high electrical resistivity and finite thermal conductivity. This problemis exacerbated when the ambient temperature surrounding a TEM variesin the usual configuration where the air-cooled heat sink aTEM is mounted to is of specified thermal resistance. Indeed,heat sinks of negligible and relatively high thermal resistances minimizeTEM power consumption for sufficiently high and low ambient temperatures,respectively. Optimized TEM-heat sink assemblies reduce the severity of thisproblem. …

Film Thickness Constraints For Manufacturable Strained Silicon Cmos, J. Fiorenza, G. Braithwaite, C. Leitz, M. Currie, J. Yap, F. Singaporewala, V. Yang, T. Langdo, J. Carlin, Mark Somerville, A. Lochtefeld, H. Badawi, M. Bulsara

Mark Somerville

This paper studies the effect of the strained silicon thickness on the characteristics of strained silicon MOSFETs on SiGe virtual substrates. NMOSFETs were fabricated on strained silicon substrates with various strained silicon thicknesses, both above and below the strained silicon critical thickness. The low field electron mobility and subthreshold characteristics of the devices were measured. Low field electron mobility is increased by about 1.8 times on all wafers and is not significantly degraded on any of the samples, even for a strained silicon thickness far greater than the critical thickness. From the subthreshold characteristics, however, it is shown that the …

An Extension Of The Channel-Assignment Problem: L(2, 1)-Labelings Of Generalized Petersen Graphs, Sarah Adams, Jonathan Cass, Denise Troxell

Sarah Spence Adams

The channel-assignment problem involves assigning frequencies represented by nonnegative integers to radio transmitters such that transmitters in close proximity receive frequencies that are sufficiently far apart to avoid interference. In one of its variations, the problem is commonly quantified as follows: transmitters separated bythe smallest unit distance must be assigned frequencies that are at least two apart and transmitters separated by twice the smallest unit distance must be assigned frequencies that are at least one apart. Naturally, thischannel-assignment problem can be modeled with vertex labelings of graphs. An L(2, 1)-labeling of a graph G is a function f from the …

Quaternion Orthogonal Designs From Complex Companion Designs, Sarah Adams, Jennifer Seberry, Nathaniel Karst, Jonathan Pollack, Tadeusz Wysocki

Sarah Spence Adams

The success of applying generalized complex orthogonal designs as space–time block codes recently motivated the definition of quaternion orthogonal designs as potential building blocks for space–time-polarization block codes. This paper offers techniques for constructing quaternion orthogonal designs via combinations of specially chosen complex orthogonal designs. One technique is used to build quaternion orthogonal designs on complex variables for any even number of columns. A second related technique is applied to maximum rate complex orthogonal designs to generate an infinite family of quaternion orthogonal designs on complex variables such that the resulting designs have no zero entries. This second technique is …

The Final Case Of The Decoding Delay Problem For Maximum Rate Complex Orthogonal Designs, Sarah Adams, Nathaniel Karst, Mathav Murugan

Sarah Spence Adams

Complex orthogonal space-time block codes (COSTBCs) based on generalized complex orthogonal designs (CODs) have been successfully implemented in wireless systems with multiple transmit antennas and single or multiple receive antennas. It has been shown that for a maximum rate COD with 2m-1 or 2m columns, a lower bound on decoding delay is (m-1 2m) and this delay is achievable when the number of columns is congruent to 0, 1 , or 3 modulo 4. In this paper, the final case is addressed, and it is shown that when the number of columns is congruent to 2 modulo 4, the lower …

Rapid Inversion: Running Animals And Robots Swing Like A Pendulum Under Ledges, Jean-Michel Mongeau, Brian Mcrae, Ardian Jusufi, Paul Birkmeyer, Aaron M. Hoover, Ronald Fearing, Robert J. Full

Aaron M. Hoover

Escaping from predators often demands that animals rapidly negotiate complex environments. The smallest animals attain relatively fast speeds with high frequency leg cycling, wing flapping or body undulations, but absolute speeds are slow compared to larger animals. Instead, small animals benefit from the advantages of enhanced maneuverability in part due to scaling. Here, we report a novel behavior in small, legged runners that may facilitate their escape by disappearance from predators. We video recorded cockroaches and geckos rapidly running up an incline toward a ledge, digitized their motion and created a simple model to generalize the behavior. Both species ran …

Trajectory Generation In High-Speed, High-Precision Micromilling Using Subdivision Surfaces, Athulan Vijayaraghavan, Angela Sodemann, Aaron Hoover, J. Mayor, David Dornfeld

Aaron M. Hoover

Motion control in high-speed micromilling processes requires fast, accurate following of a specified curvilinear path. The accuracy with which the path can be followed is determined by the speed at which individual trajectories can be generated and sent to the control system. The time required to generate the trajectory is dependent on the representations used for the curvilinear trajectory path. In this study, we introduce the use of subdivision curves as a method for generating high-speed micromilling trajectories. Subdivision curves are discretized curves which are specified as a series of recursive refinements of a coarse mesh. By applying these recursive …

Synthesis Of Static And Dynamic Multiple-Input Translinear Element Networks, Bradley Minch

Bradley Minch

In this paper, we discuss the process of synthesizing static and dynamic multiple-input translinear element (MITE) networks systematically from high-level descriptions given in the time domain, in terms of static polynomial constraints and algebraic differential equations. We provide several examples, illustrating the process for both static and dynamic system constraints. Although our examples will all involve MITE networks, the early steps of the synthesis process are equally applicable to the synthesis of static and dynamic translinear-loop circuits.

Beyond Course-Based Engineering Ethics Instruction Commentary On “Topics And Cases For Online Education In Engineering”, Debbie Chachra

Debbie Chachra

Discusses how online forums and materials could be used to enhance face-to-face courses in engineering and science ethics.

Lumbar Vertebral Density And Mechanical Properties In Aged Ovariectomized Rats Treated With Estrogen And Norethindrone Or Norgestimate, Carla Vanin, Neil Maclusky, Debbie Chachra, Mehran Kasra, Marc Grynpas, Robert Casper

Debbie Chachra

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the effects of estrogen alone or combined with two different progestins, norethindrone or norgestimate, on bone density and compressive mechanical properties in an aged rat model.

STUDY DESIGN: Twenty 11-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were sham operated (intact control) and 80 wee overiectomized. Three groups of 20 ovariectomized rats were implanted with Silastic silicon rubber (Dow Corning, Midland, Mich.) capsules containing 5% estradiol (wt/wt) in cholesterol. All rats in the intact control (group 1) and the ovariectomized (group 2) and the first of the overiectomized plus estrogen (group 3) groups were injected subcutaneously daily …

The Effect Of Different Hormone Replacement Therapy Regimens On The Mechanical Properties Of Rat Vertebrae, Debbie Chachra, M. Kasra, Carla Vanin, N. Maclusky, R. Casper, Marc Grynpas

Debbie Chachra

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of estrogen replacement, in concert with three different progestin regimens, on the mechanical properties of rat lumbar vertebrae. Ninety-two Sprague-Dawley rats (11 months old) were divided into six groups for treatment. The first group was an intact control, the second group (OVX) was ovariectomized only, and the third group (estrogen-only) was ovariectomized and received continuous estrogen through a 17-estradiol implant. The remaining groups were ovariectomized and received estrogen and progestin (norethindrone, NET) therapy; 3 g of NET was injected daily (estrogen plus continuous NET), or 6 g of NET was …

The Effect Of Fluoride Treatment On Bone Mineral In Rabbits, Debbie Chachra, C. Turner, A. Dunipace, Marc Grynpas

Debbie Chachra

Fluoride therapy has been used clinically for many years, but its use remains controversial and many basic questions remain unanswered. Accordingly, this study returns to an animal model to study the effects of high doses of fluoride on bone mineral in rabbits. Twelve rabbits, aged 3½ months at the start of the study, received drinking water fluoridated at 100 ppm while their 12 control counterparts drank distilled water. All rabbits were sacrificed after 6 months. Fluoride was readily incorporated into femoral cortical bone (7473 ± 966 ppm F versus 1228 ± 57 ppm in controls; P < 0.00005). Fluoride therapy led …

A Parameterized Stereo Vision Core For Fpgas, Mark Chang, Stephen Longfield

Mark L. Chang

We present a parameterized stereo vision core suitable for a wide range of FPGA targets and stereo vision applications. By enabling easy tuning of algorithm parameters, our system allows for rapid exploration of the design space and simpler implementation of high-performance stereo vision systems. This implementation utilizes the census transform algorithm to calculate depth information from a pair of images delivered from a simulated stereo camera pair. This work advances our previous work through implementation improvements, a stereo camera pair simulation framework, and a scalable stereo vision core.

Precis: A Usercentric Word-Length Optimization Tool, Mark Chang, Scott Hauck

Mark L. Chang

Translating an algorithm designed for a general-purpose processor into an algorithm optimized for custom logic requires extensive knowledge of the algorithm and the target hardware. Precis lets designers analyze the precision requirements of algorithms specified in Matlab. The design time tool combines simulation, user input, and program analysis to help designers focus their manual precision optimization efforts.

Low-Cost Stereo Vision On An Fpga, Chris A. Murphy, Daniel Lindquist, Ann Marie Rynning, Thomas Cecil, Sarah Leavitt, Mark L. Chang

Mark L. Chang

We present a low-cost stereo vision implementation suitable for use in autonomous vehicle applications and designed with agricultural applications in mind. This implementation utilizes the Census transform algorithm to calculate depth maps from a stereo pair of automotive-grade CMOS cameras. The final prototype utilizes commodity hardware, including a Xilinx Spartan-3 FPGA, to process 320times240 pixel images at greater than 150 frames per second and deliver them via a USB 2.0 interface.

Automated Least-Significant Bit Datapath Optimization For Fpgas, Mark L. Chang, Scott Hauck

Mark L. Chang

In this paper, we present a method for FPGA datapath precision optimization subject to user-defined area and error constraints. This work builds upon our previous research which presented a methodology for optimizing the dynamic range- the most significant bit position. In this work, we present an automated optimization technique for the least-significant bit position of circuit datapaths. We present results describing the effectiveness of our methods on typical signal and image processing kernels.

Interactionless Calendar-Based Training For 802.11 Localization, Mark Chang, Andrew J. Barry, Noah L. Tye

Mark L. Chang

This paper presents our work in solving one of the weakest links in 802.11-based indoor-localization: the training of ground-truth received signal strength data. While crowdsourcing this information has been demonstrated to be a viable alternative to the time consuming and accuracy-limited process of manual training, one of the chief drawbacks is the rate at which a system can be trained. We demonstrate an approach that utilizes users' calendar and appointment information to perform interactionless training of an 802.11-based indoor localization system. Our system automatically determines if a user attended a calendar event, resulting in accuracy comparable to our previously published …

Analysis Of Segmentation Algorithms For Pavement Distress Images, Allen Downey, Haris N. Koutsopoulos, Ibrahim El Sanhouri

Allen B. Downey

Collection and analysis of pavement distress data is an important component of any pavement‐management system. Various systems are currently under development that automate this process. They consist of appropriate hardware for the acquisition of pavement distress images and, in some cases, software for the analysis of the collected data. An important step in the automatic interpretation of images is segmentation, the process of extracting the objects of interest (distresses) from the background. We examine algorithms for segmenting pavement images and evaluate their effectiveness in separating the distresses from the background. The methods examined include the Otsu method, Kittler's method, a …

Primitive-Based Classification Of Pavement Cracking Images, Allen Downey

Allen B. Downey

Collection and analysis of pavement distress data are receiving attention for their potential to improve the quality of information on pavement condition. We present an approach for the automated classificaton of asphalt pavement distresses recorded on video or photographic film. Based on a model that describes the statistical properties of pavement images, we develop algorithms for image enhancement, segmentation, and distress classification. Image enhancement is based on subtraction of an “average” background: segmentation assigns one of four possible values to pixels based on their likelihood of belonging to the object. The classification approach proceeds in two steps: in the first …

Creating Musical Variation, Diana Dabby

Diana Dabby

Inspiration for composition may come from natural sounds, chance, and methods based on chaos theory.

Student-Directed, Project-Based Learning In An Integrated Course Block, Jonathan Stolk, Rob Martello, Steven Krumholz

Jonathan Stolk

Imagine a course block in which students discuss the cultural implications of 17th century iron working in North America in one hour, and design experiments to examine connections between composition and strength in modern steel padlocks immediately afterward. In the Paul Revere:Tough as Nails course block, students don’t just study materials science and history of technology topics … they experience them. Through a series of readings, discussions, and self designed projects, students explore materials science concepts alongside the social, cultural, and environmental factors that shaped technological and scientific history. Although some formal in class activities are planned, many class sessions …