Digital Commons Network^™

Leader Election System For An Unmanned Ground Vehicle Swarm, Milan Chhetri, Brendan Beas, Paul Levin

Electrical Engineering

This senior project presents the design and implementation of a leader-election system for a leader-follower unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) swarm using embedded control and wireless communication. The objective of the project is to improve the robustness and mission longevity of a multi-agent robotic system by allowing the swarm to dynamically select the most suitable leader during operation. Each UGV is equipped with an ESP32 microcontroller, DWM1000 Ultra-Wideband (UWB) ranging modules, an MPU-6050 inertial measurement unit (IMU), motor drivers, and supporting power electronics to enable communication, sensing, and autonomous control. A battery monitoring subsystem was developed using the ESP32's built-in Analog-to-Digital …

Maximum Power Point Tracker And Dc/Dc Converter, Isabel Aguas, Madeline Steiner, Haley Blouin, Tristan Asquith, Ellijah Garcia

Electrical Engineering

The product is a solar Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) with an integrated DC-DC converter for efficient power extraction from a solar module. The MPPT optimizes solar energy, sourcing power to a 12V battery which is the source of a DC-DC converter operating as a variable voltage output for various applications, capable of providing voltage greater or less than the voltage supplied by the solar module. The DC-DC converter outputs a manually adjustable DC voltage within the range of 5-50V. Both MPPT and the DC-DC converter are functional for standard solar modules with power ratings ranging from 50-400W, open circuit …

Archimedean Spiral Antenna Array With Klopfenstein And Exponential Tapered Balun Feeds, Leo Joseph Alvelais Iv, Paul Obrecht, Naguib Abdulla, Preston Mavady, Collin Fan

Electrical Engineering

This project presents the design, fabrication, and experimental evaluation of a broadband 3x3 Archimedean spiral antenna array tile for 2.8-3.8 GHz. Each element combines a two-arm spiral on Rogers RO4350B, a printed 50 to 150 Ω tapered balun, and a conductive backplane. Klopfenstein and Exponential feed implementations were modeled in Ansys HFSS, generated and tuned with automated scripting, fabricated, and evaluated with calibrated network and anechoic-chamber measurements. The Klopfenstein-fed hardware met the -10 dB input-reflection criterion across the project band. The exponential array provided a broad matched response but reached approximately -8 dB near 2.95 GHz. Measured center-element patterns retained …

Vision-Based Autonomous Tracking Rover, Alejandro Ahumada, Erick Ayala, Jonathan Chavez

Electrical Engineering

AAC Vision designed and constructed a vision-based autonomous tracking rover capable of exploring an indoor environment, avoiding obstacles, generating a two-dimensional LiDAR map, detecting a standard orange basketball, and approaching the target without manual steering. The rover uses a Raspberry Pi 4, an Intel RealSense D435 RGB-D camera, an RPLIDAR C1, four JGB37-520 Hall-encoder motors, dual H-bridge motor drivers, a 12 V battery, and a custom aluminum chassis measuring approximately 8 in by 12 in and weighing 6.7 lb. The final mission emphasized reliable target discovery rather than travel between predetermined points. The software integrates Python, OpenCV, Ultralytics YOLO, RealSense …

Dc/Dc Converter For A Solar Module, Francine Therese A. Canal, Jesus Cruz, Juan Jose Gonzalez

Electrical Engineering

This project presents the design and implementation of a DC/DC power converter intended for photovoltaic (PV) modules with varying electrical output characteristics. Solar panels experience significant changes in output voltage and power due to variations in sunlight, temperature, and load conditions. To ensure reliable operation across a range of conditions, the proposed converter is capable of both step-up and step-down operation to accommodate solar modules with power ratings from 50 W to 450 W and open-circuit voltages between 10 V and 80 V. The system operates at load currents up to 10 A and provide a user-adjustable output voltage within …

Dc/Dc Converter For A Solar Module, Stella Uribe, Richie Zaragoza, Olivia Grace Tran, Phillip Tyler Rich

Electrical Engineering

This project focuses on the design and validation of a general-purpose DC/DC power converter intended for use with photovoltaic (PV) solar modules operating under variable environmental and loading conditions. Solar panels exhibit significant variation in output voltage, current, and available power due to changes in irradiance, temperature, and operating point, making direct connection to downstream loads impractical. The proposed system addresses this challenge by providing a single, user-adjustable regulated DC output capable of both stepping up and stepping down the solar module voltage. The converter is designed to interface with solar modules rated between 50 W and 400 W, with …

Remote Controlled Pushcart, William B. Rakoz, Logan M. Beard, Jesus B. Galindo, Jacob Anderson

Electrical Engineering

This senior project developed a low-cost remote controlled golf push cart by retrofitting a conventional cart with independently driven hoverboard wheels, an ESP32 controller, BLE communication, a 36 V battery, an MPU-6050 IMU, an LD-19 LiDAR, and custom PETG components. The final scope emphasized reliable remote operation, differential steering, controlled acceleration, heading stabilization, emergency stopping, and obstacle-aware speed limiting. A separate neural-network controller was trained in simulation as a future autonomy pathway; autonomous target following was not integrated into the final cart. Verification recorded a maximum speed of 4.3 mph, operation on a 15-degree incline, a 0.75 s emergency-stop response, …

Stationary Bike Power/Efficiency Monitor, Paula J. Diaz, Pilar M. Cook, Danielle Rhind

Electrical Engineering

This project developed a real-time power and efficiency monitoring system for a SportsArt ECO-POWR stationary exercise bicycle. The goal was to measure rider mechanical power and electrical power delivered to the utility grid simultaneously, allowing the overall bike-to-grid efficiency to be calculated and displayed in real time. Rider power was measured using Garmin Rally ANT+ power pedals, while grid power was measured using a Yokogawa WT310E power analyzer. A Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ synchronized both data sources, calculated efficiency, displayed live performance metrics through a graphical user interface, and logged measurement data to CSV files for later analysis. The …

Autonomous Terrain-Mapping Robot For Search And Rescue, Soumil Joshi, Seann Calub

Electrical Engineering

This report documents the design, modular testing, and challenges faced while developing an autonomous terrain-mapping robot intended to navigate to a destination waypoint and deliver a small payload for search-and-rescue applications. The system combines a LiDAR sensor, an IMU sensor, and a Raspberry Pi 3B as the onboard processor, and an ESP32 microcontroller interfacing with motor drivers over a four-wheel chassis. A companion mobile application was developed to enable remote control and monitoring of the robot over a WiFi hotspot connection. A lithium-ion battery pack supplies power to all onboard components, with power budgets verified against component datasheets. Testing progresses …

Sunshine Pump: A Trailer-Mounted Solar Powered Water Pump System, Dylan Quan Dinh, Duncan Campbell

Electrical Engineering

The Sunshine Pump is a trailer-mounted, off-grid solar powered water pumping system that delivers approximately 1,000 gallons of water per day from a well of approximately 250 feet total dynamic head to an above-ground storage tank on a rural ranch in Los Osos, California. The system captures solar energy with a 1,500 watt photovoltaic array consisting of four 375 watt panels wired in series, regulates that energy through a maximum power point tracking stage integrated into an all-in-one inverter/charger, stores it in a 4,800 watt-hour LiFePO4 battery, and converts it to 230 volt AC power to drive a 0.75 horsepower …

Muddying The Waters: Feminist Pedagogy In Uncertain Times, Ivy Mingyase Fofie, Janine Armstrong, Natonya Listach

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Chronicling Oral History In The Classroom: Preserving Campus Memories And Fostering Connectivity, Madison A. Krall, Kate Sierra

Feminist Pedagogy

In our ever-changing world, projects involving undergraduates, faculty, and staff serve a dual purpose. This oral history assignment aids students in developing the real-world skills of project management, interpersonal communication, interviewing, and digital literacy. We outline how student-created oral histories reflect the underpinnings of feminist pedagogy and contribute to campus connectivity as students learn how people from different intersectional backgrounds can collaborate to benefit their university communities. Using communication research methods and new-age technology, students capture memories of long-standing campus representatives and develop video products for their university archives that bridge past university life, today’s classroom skills, and tomorrow’s potential.

The Pain Of Women And Femmes: A Multi-Session Class Activity On Generative Ai-Technology And Gender Norms, Bethany L. Johnson, Margaret M. Quinlan

Feminist Pedagogy

This unit helps students examine the societal implications of reproductive pain, focusing on healthcare settings and in post–Roe America. Through active listening, media analysis, and interactive research with ChatGPT, students examine how generative AI responds in a neutral tone; however, with additional data and correction, large language models (LLMs) produce more expansive and inclusive responses. Class activities include group discussions, research, and simulations. By using transcripts from the podcast “The Retrievals” and analyzing recent media, students evaluate how LLMs adjust their answers to identical questions, thereby calling into question their design, functionality, and benefits. The unit employs feminist pedagogy to …

Academic Senate - Agenda, 06/02/2026, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Agendas

No abstract provided.

As-1016-26 Resolution On Student Perceptions Of Learning Experience, Ad Hoc Committee On Student Perception Of Teaching Effectiveness

Academic Senate Resolutions

Resolves that Cal Poly Academic Senate endorses the Ad Hoc Committee’s report “Student Perceptions of Learning Experience: Rationale and Broad Principles of Design”; and be it further that the Academic Senate establish a standing committee with broad representation charged with oversight of all student feedback instruments and initiatives—summative, formative, and college or department-originated—including future revisions to the instrument; and further resolves that the Academic Senate forward the companion document “Formative Learning Feedback: A Companion to the Student Perceptions of Learning Experience Report”, prepared by a sub-committee of this Ad Hoc Committee, to the Academic Senate Instruction Committee and to the …

Breadquest: Enhancing Roguelike Accessibility Through Procedural Generation And Thematic Design, Hahns Pena

Computer Science and Software Engineering

BreadQuest is a top-down roguelike dungeon crawler with a whimsical dessert theme that aims to make the genre more accessible while preserving strategic depth and replayability. Players explore procedurally generated dungeons, fight pastry-themed enemies, and collect bakery-inspired items that support a flavor-elemental combat system, with each run offering unique layouts, encounters, and rewards. Built in Unity with a modular, data-driven architecture, the game uses procedural generation techniques like Binary Space Partitioning, Voronoi diagrams, and Perlin noise to create varied and replayable levels. The project emphasizes approachable gameplay, cultural dessert inspiration, and replayability, with success evaluated through playtesting and player feedback.

Active Galaxies In A New Light: The Broad Line Region In The Near-Infrared, Sky O'Donnell

Physics

At the center of most massive galaxies, there is a supermassive black hole with a mass millions to billions of times that of the Sun. In some of these galaxies, so-called Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs), the supermassive black hole is converting the gas that falls toward it into radiation energy, creating large amounts of luminosity. AGNs are composed of the central supermassive black hole, its accretion disk, and a region just outside, composed of fast-moving ionized gas clouds called the Broad Line Region (BLR). Using spectra obtained with NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility, we use a technique known as reverberation mapping …

Test Bench Pcb Design For A Vlsi Grid Cell Chip, Nicholas Bruk, Jason Alexandar

Electrical Engineering

This report presents the design, implementation, and validation of a custom printed circuit board (PCB) test bench for a VLSI grid cell emulation chip. The final board provides two independently adjustable 5V supplies using LM317 linear regulators, eleven potentiometer-controlled bias voltages, high-impedance buffering of analog outputs via an MCP6022 dual operational amplifier, and buffering of digital outputs using a 74HC244 buffer IC. The design includes a 40-pin DIP socket for the VLSI chip, extensive test-point headers for probing, and a 9V battery input for portable operation. Five fully functional boards were fabricated using ExpressPCB and assembled with through-hole components. An …

Design And Parametric Testing Of A Transimpedance Amplifier For Low-Power Biomedical Applications, Stanlon Tan, William Chung, Brandon Wu

Electrical Engineering

This project developed and evaluated an optical sensing system for detecting changes associated with glucose concentration. The system combined a laser-diode, cuvette sample holder, photodiode, resistive-feedback transimpedance amplifier, high-resolution analog-to-digital converter, and microcontroller. Parametric testing evaluated the effects of input current and feedback resistance on transimpedance gain, output range, and linearity. Firmware was developed to configure the ADC, average repeated conversions, monitor measurement variation, convert raw digital counts into voltage using a source-meter calibration equation, and compare sample measurements with a water reference. A cuvette enclosure maintained alignment between the laser-diode, sample, and photodiode while reducing external optical interference. Testing …

Performance Evaluation Of Roadside Unit-Assisted Wireless Communication For Connected Vehicles, Keyrollos A. Hanna, Ethan M. Nguyen

Electrical Engineering

This project presents the design and implementation of a wireless communication network intended to improve situational awareness between vehicles and reduce the likelihood of multivehicle collisions. Two TurtleBot3 Burger platforms equipped with Raspberry Pi computers were used to simulate vehicles operating within a shared environment. Communication latency and packet loss were evaluated under multiple operating conditions, including direct vehicle-to-vehicle communication and communication assisted by a roadside unit (RSU). The results were analyzed to determine whether the proposed system could transmit warning messages with sufficient speed and reliability for collision prevention applications. The project demonstrates the feasibility of low-cost vehicle communication …

Simulation Of Silicon Neurons With Memristive Synapses For Ai Accelerators, Marcus Ivey, Kelvin Shi

Electrical Engineering

This project seeks to design and simulate a neuromorphic spiking neural network (SNN) that implements the logical AND and logical OR operation through the interaction of a Leaky Integrate-and-Fire (LIF) output neuron and memristive synapses modeled using the Biolek formulation. Two pulsed inputs are transmitted through memristive devices whose conductance serves as the synaptic weights. A supervised Hebbian training strategy, implemented in MATLAB, is employed to adjust the synaptic conductance according to the Hebbian delta rule. The proposed framework demonstrates how elementary logical computation may arise from biologically motivated learning processes embedded in hardware-realistic neuromorphic circuits. The study provides a …

Wildlife Tracking Via Uav&Rf, Nam Ah Nguyen

Electrical Engineering

Animal tracking collars transmit very-high-frequency (VHF) beacon signals so researchers can locate tagged wildlife in terrain where direct visual tracking is difficult. This project develops a radio-frequency (RF) wildlife tracking prototype in which a UAV carries a receiving antenna and receiver over the search area to detect the collar signal and send measurements to a ground station. A transmitter test device was built to emulate a tracking collar. An STM32 microcontroller reads keypad input, controls a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), tunes a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) to the selected VHF frequency, and sends the RF signal through an amplifier and antenna. The …

Ugv-Based Vertebrate Pest Deterrence In Vineyards: Vision-Guided Row Patrol And Navigation, Candace Qualls, Karina Wilson, Ben Badhorn

Electrical Engineering

An increase in agricultural demands and the need to sustainably protect crops has created a need for autonomous navigation through a vineyard with a verified pest detection and deterrence system. Developing this solution revealed several challenges. First, the robot must reliably navigate through structured, repetitive vineyard rows. Second, pests must be detected accurately under changing environmental conditions. Lastly, the system must respond with a chosen deterrent within an appropriate time window, all while minimizing false triggers. To address these challenges, this project uses a Husky A200 unmanned ground vehicle equipped with a 2D LiDAR sensor, an Intel RealSense RGB camera, …

Uav Trio Formations For Aerial Pest Deterrence With Vision-Based Bird Monitoring, Benjamin Andrew Ly, Chris Kwon, Christian Joseph Macaranas

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Portable Food Pasteurization Using Pulsed Electric Fields (Pef), Thomas E. Mcmillan Iii

Electrical Engineering

Foodborne illnesses remain a significant public health concern, motivating continued development of alternative food pasteurization technologies. Pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment is a non-thermal pasteurization method that inactivates microorganisms through electroporation while minimizing thermal degradation of food products. The long-term objective of this project was development of a portable PEF food pasteurization system.

An iterative design approach was used to investigate generation of the high-voltage pulses required for PEF treatment. Multiple pulse forming network topologies were evaluated through simulation, leading to selection of a solid-state Marx generator architecture. A low-voltage five-stage prototype was designed, constructed, and tested to validate the …

Pv Performance Evaluation Study At Cal Poly Solar Farm, Eva Paola D. Calderon

Electrical Engineering

This photovoltaic (PV) system performance evaluation study aims to assess the performance of Cal Poly’s Gold Tree Solar Farm, which produces 4.5MW of solar energy. The evaluation concerns itself with the reliability of the PV system that can be affected by weather conditions, component malfunctions, and degradation of the PV modules. Under the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems (IEA-PVPS) Task 13 objectives of reliability and maintenance, this study is necessary to contribute towards improvements in analysis and mitigation strategies for long term usage. Existing operational monitoring data from 2018 to 2025 is the focus timespan, providing real world data …

Wireless Communication In Autonomous Vehicles, Kaylie Bao, Nicholas Andrews, Mark Negus

Electrical Engineering

This project focuses on developing and testing a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system using Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) based on the IEEE 802.11p standard. The system uses the NXP i.MX 8XLite V2X Evaluation Kit, which includes the SAF5400 modem for wireless communication in the 5.9 GHz band.

The main goal of this project was to establish reliable communication between two V2X evaluation boards and to verify that custom, user-defined data could be transmitted between them. Through iterative testing, we were able to successfully send and receive custom 802.11 frames using the provided command-line tools and achieve consistent communication between nodes. …

Lora Radio Propagation & Antenna Design For Freight Trains, Cesar Chavez, Marlon Jennson Hernandez

Electrical Engineering

Freight-train environments present significant challenges for wireless communication due to large metallic structures, varying cargo types, and changing antenna orientations that can degrade radio-frequency propagation. This project evaluated the performance of LoRa-based communication links intended for End-of-Train (EOT) and Head-of-Train (HOT) systems operating at 915 MHz. Field testing was conducted to characterize antenna performance using metrics including received signal strength indicator (RSSI), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and communication range. Experimental results showed that antenna polarization and directivity significantly affect communication performance in freight-train environments. Directional antennas provided improved signal strength when properly aligned but experienced performance degradation as antenna orientation changed. …

Cal Poly Mars Rover Battery Management System, Lawrence Nichols, Caleb Michael King, Thomas Anh Khoa To, Angel Soto

Electrical Engineering

The exploration of space has consistently been one of the most expensive endeavors humanities has undertaken in its journey to expand ever further. The PolyRover project aims to not only cheapen that expense through student-based research but also provide a better bang for buck as more unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) can be utilized on planets in concert. In order to do so, the rovers need a robust, yet compact battery management system that can fit within the wheel well. Our system will consist of six commercially-available 18650 batteries in series, organized in a hexagonal fashion around the motor. The BMS …

A Workflow For Automating Geospatial And Data Visualizations For Post-Earthquake Building Damage Data, Alejandra Bravo

Architectural Engineering: Graduate Reports

After major seismic events, reconnaissance efforts of various types are made to gather data. Coarse data can be collected with satellite imagery, mid-scale data can be recorded by capturing thousands of images, and granular data is typically documented manually by humans. Post-earthquake reconnaissance teams can be deployed by universities, research organizations, professional associations, and private firms. Academics, engineers, and students with varying degrees of expertise are tasked with collecting building metadata and damage data, typically in a short period of time. This data can be of various types including numerical (i.e. number of stories, height, etc.), categorical (i.e. damage level, …