Digital Commons Network^™

Depth Finder Unlimited, Mason Shumway

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The purpose of this project was to design a depth finder that can be used from land.

Electric Go-Kart, Josh Larkin, Ian Colbert, Morgan Durocher

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Benefits of Electric Vehicles

• More Efficient
• Zero CO₂ Emissions
• Less Maintenance
• Cheaper to operate

Fixed Site Srcurity Using Fiducials And Blob Tracking, Noah Mecham, Garrett Ruskauff, Reebal Nimri, Grant Stensland

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The goal of this project was to implement a security system using autonomous robots for any given area using Robotic Operating System (ROS).

The project incorporates the use of fiducials known as April Tags and Blob tracking to patrol an area and search for a predetermined intruder.

The security system was specifically made to work in GPS denied locations, so it is ideal for homes and businesses.

Flex Sensor System, Eric Alsop, Derek Withers, Riley Densley

Electrical and Computer Engineering

In this project we refined and implemented a flex sensor that was recently invented here in Utah. This sensor uses light to measure how much something is bending. This method of sensing has many advantages over current carbon-based sensors including linear output, ability to make two sensors with identical output (nearly impossible with carbon-based sensors), reduced hysteresis, improved accuracy, and reduced power consumption. Perhaps most importantly, these sensors can be made from a wide variety of materials.

Home Automation, Aaron Pettit

Electrical and Computer Engineering

This system monitors several appliances in a person’s home. The framework is setup to be easily expandable for any future modifications. Two systems are currently supported.

• Lighting control
• Washer and Dryer notifications

Most home automation systems typically include lights or door locks. I have not seen many systems that include a washer and dryer controllers. The controller for the washer and dryer use magnets as to attach to any type of washing machine.

Input-Corrective Drawing Pad, Jesse Jensen

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Input-Corrective Drawing Pad is a drawing tablet that takes shaky input data and corrects it. It is designed for those with fine motor skill disabilities. The system takes an input (either writing or drawing) drawn by pressure-sensitive stylus and then outputs a “corrected” version. If in writing mode, text is output to the screen. Otherwise, simple shapes such as lines and curves are output to the screen on a drawing canvas. It accomplishes this goal by first eliminating obvious shakes in the input. Then, the shake-corrected input is fed into a neural network. If classifying text, the learning software …

Inflatable Antenna, Robert Mckay

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Inflatable antennas have been extensively researched for years.

• NASA’s Inflatable Antenna Experiment (1996)
• Cubic’s Ground Antenna Transmit and Receive (GATR) (2008)

The inflatable antenna presented here is unlike many inflatable antennas.

• Omni-directional
• Miniature
• Single-band (2.4 GHz)
• Folds

The design may be useful for consumers.

• Increased Wi-Fi / Bluetooth range on computers
• Efficient design reduces cost

Low-Precision Linear Algebra For Neural Networks, Frost Mitchell

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Neural networks have been widely responsible for recent advances in machine learning, powering technologies such as digital assistants and AR photography. LPLANN (Low-Precision Linear Algebra for Neural Networks) is a cross-platform library written in C++ used for implementing neural networks. The software allows users to set specific levels of precision for calculations. Low-precision calculations use advanced parallelization techniques (SIMD, SWAR) to run neural networks at faster rates than full-precision calculations. This library is lightweight enough to run on embedded systems, but also includes optimizations that would provide drastic speedups on a workstation. LPLANN also serves as a testbed for novel …

Martial Art Force Gage, Feyisa Berisa

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The purpose of this project is to design a force measuring device that interfaces with a Microcontroller. A martial art Force gage is a type of Force sensor that measures the force in the threshold that causes damage to human , which is 100lb to 3000lb.

Motorized Arm Project, Joshua Tracy

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Motorized Arm Project is an application of analog feedback control with five degrees of freedom. The arm detects the position of the user’s and mimics it using analog accelerometers. As an extra challenge, all of the control electronics are analog. That’s right! No microprocessors, and no software! The Motorized Arm Project shows that many robotic and control applications can be done reliably with non-digital devices.

Nylon Artificial Muscle, Usu Department Of Electrical And Computer Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Project Concept

• An artificial muscle made from copper and nylon fishing wire
• Also known as soft robotics muscle actuators
• Soft muscles can aid in better prosthetics design
• Soft muscles also have potential in animatronics engineering

The Climber-Bot, Usu Department Of Electrical And Computer Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

My project idea was to create a quadrupedal wall-climbing robot. This robot, called the Climber-Bot, is remote controlled and sends video footage from its location. The legs of the robot have vacuum powered suction cups attached to them allowing it to climb walls and ceilings. These vacuum powered legs allow for fast, easy inspection and surveillance. The Climber-bot can survey and inspect areas that are small, dangerous, or otherwise difficult to access.

The Self-Spotter, Kayden Feichko, Ashton Sicilia

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• The purpose of this project is to eliminate the necessity of having a human spotter, allow assistance to improve results, and increase safety while performing a workout.
• The Self-Spotter is an automated squat rack designed to replicate the basic functionalities of how a human spotter would help you perform a lift at the gym.
• This system is capable of assisting a user with any barbell-based workout.
• The structural design is based off a standard squat rack with modifications to implement a motor-to-chain pulley system to lift the side rails.

The Smart Shower: The Shower That Completes Your Smart Home, Parker Burton, Jeremy Littlewood, Richard Lloyd

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Smart Shower allows users to control their everyday showers at the sound of their voice or the tip of their fingers. By connecting pre-existing showers to sophisticated smart home technology, homeowners can enjoy a showering experience like none other.

Development Of An Suas-Mounted Texel Camera, Trevor Welch

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Currently, there is growth in the demand for scientifically accurate terrain maps of the earth. One method to acquire these maps is fusing digital imagery and LiDAR sensor data to create a Textured Digital Elevation Map (TDEM). Due to current LiDAR capability and availability, obtaining accurate terrain maps can be greater than $100,000.

The Potential Use Of Seagrass Herbivory Patterns As An Indicator Of Herbivore Community Change After Tropical Marine Protected Area Establishment, John M. Carroll, Amber D. Stubler, Christopher M. Finelli, Bradley J. Peterson

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Throughout the Caribbean, fishing pressure has decreased the abundance of many species, including both large predators and larger-bodied herbivores. In an effort to reverse these trends and reduce harvest pressure on vulnerable fish populations, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been established throughout the Caribbean. Yet, the effort to monitor fish communities, is variable, and there are MPAs where no monitoring program exists. It is possible that other metrics may be used to determine whether the impact of MPA establishment. By comparing two seagrass herbivory experiments, one pre- and one post-MPA establishment, we provide evidence that the MPA established in Discovery …

Variability In Microphytobenthos Biomass And Carbon Isotopic Values In Shallow Coastal Waters Of The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Sharil N. Deleon, Jeffrey W. Krause, Ronald Baker

Gulf and Caribbean Research

No abstract provided.

Chromium Distribution In Water And Sediments In The Mobile River And Bay, Alabama, Ryan R. Roseburrough, Xiangli Wang

Gulf and Caribbean Research

No abstract provided.

Platooning Turtlebots, Sebastian Helzer, Terran Gerratt

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Self-driving cars are a rapidly emerging product in today’s market. Compared to ever more distracted drivers, these cars hold the promise of safer and more efficient travel. Platooning on the highway has been proposed as a means to improve efficiency and safety on the road. In everyday life, this means reduced traffic congestion and fewer accidents. In the armed forces, platooning can help convoys avoid IEDs.

Powered, Wearable, Reprogrammable (Pwr) Led Clothing, Blake Johansen

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Many people today want to have an element of creative control over the products they want to use
• Clothing is an industry that people can’t design or customize for themselves
• This project incorporates a series of NeoPixel lights on the front of a piece of clothing that a user can create custom animations for
• To ensure ease of use, a bluetooth app was developed to transmit animations to the vest
• To allow users to customize their clothing animations, a design program was developed that lets users design animations for themselves

Remote Battery Testing System, Jeffrey Snow

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Large storage/backup batteries are used everywhere around us, from fire alarms to our automobiles. However, we often forget they are even there. This leads to failures going unnoticed until the time of need. Then, it’s too late. The Remote Battery Testing System addresses this with the following features:

• Tester installed at location of batteries
• Tests automatically on a schedule
• Results of tests are sent back over network
• Results indicate health of batteries (not just charge)

Design And Prototyping Of A Real-Time Millimeter Wave Imaging System, Zahra Manzoor

Doctoral Dissertations

"The goal of this work is to design, prototype and test an innovative millimeter wave imaging system that operates in the frequency range of 33-35 GHz and is capable of producing rapid images of various diverse scenes. In particular, the imaging system includes two main sections, one is related to the hardware design of the system, and the other focuses on the development of a novel comprehensive image reconstruction algorithm. The hardware design includes custom transmitter and receiver sub-systems, and a sparse switched array which was optimized for 320 mm x 220 mm aperture plane, and also included an improved …

Wavelength-Selective Metamaterial Absorber And Emitter, Zhigang Li

Doctoral Dissertations

"Electromagnetic absorbers and emitters have been attracting interest in lots of fields, which are significantly revitalized because of the novel properties brought by the development of the metamaterials, the artificially designed materials. Metamaterials broadens the approaches to design the electromagnetic absorbers and emitters, making it possible to obtain the perfect absorption or emission at the wavelengths covering a wide range. Metamaterial absorbers and emitters are promising for various applications, including solar thermal-photovoltaics and thermal-photovoltaics for energy harvesting, chemical and biomedical sensors, nanoscale imaging and color printing. This work focuses on three aspects (materials, structures and design methods) to improve the …

Deep Neural Network Learning-Based Classifier Design For Big-Data Analytics, Krishnan Raghavan

Doctoral Dissertations

"In this digital age, big-data sets are commonly found in the field of healthcare, manufacturing and others where sustainable analysis is necessary to create useful information. Big-data sets are often characterized by high-dimensionality and massive sample size. High dimensionality refers to the presence of unwanted dimensions in the data where challenges such as noise, spurious correlation and incidental endogeneity are observed. Massive sample size, on the other hand, introduces the problem of heterogeneity because complex and unstructured data types must analyzed. To mitigate the impact of these challenges while considering the application of classification, a two step analysis approach is …

Fault Imaging Enhancement In Taranaki Basin, New Zealand And Rock Physics And Inversion Based Reservoir Characterization In The Central Gulf Coast Region Of Texas, Tianze Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Fault imaging technique and reservoir characterization based on rock physics analysis and pre-stack inversion has been widely used hydrocarbon exploration. For the fault imaging technique, the ant tracking has been widely used in fault interpretation. However, the reliability of the results is highly dependent on appropriately choosing a signal processing method and volume attributes. In our study area, which lies in the southern Taranaki Basin, we applied Graphic Equalizer as the processing tool and the Chaos attribute before running the ant tracking algorithm. Results show that the procedure provides a better result and can map both the major and minor …

Hands-On Learning In Primary Grades, Bridgette Marie Megears

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the understanding of hands on learning in the setting of primary grades. Play and exploration is a natural form of learning that students have been doing all their lives. With the available different types of play, each one can be applied to the classroom setting as well. As kindergarten was first designed to be based around play, it is essential to get back to that form of teaching and learning so that educators are more confident about meeting the needs of all young learners. Play-based learning provides a space where students can grow cognitively as well …

The Implications Of Childhood Trauma For Education Professionals, Travis William Walls

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students in all areas of the world have experienced trauma that has impacted both their educational and social development; this epidemic has become clear over the last 20 years. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study recognized seven negative exposures that were believed to have a detrimental effect on health and wellbeing later in life. After more research, the list of known traumatic experiences has grown to include other negative impactors like parental divorce, bullying at school, or abuse. In reality, any experience that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope and adapt properly can be considered traumatic. Thankfully, there are now many …

Naomi Kawase’S “Cinema Of Place”, Erin Schoneveld

East Asian Language & Cultures Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Concepts Of Caring: Uncovering Early Concepts Of Care In Practice For First Year Occupational Therapy Students, James Battaglia

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Caring for others is a central ideal of most health care professions. The ability to facilitate caring behaviors in occupational therapy students is essential to developing students who are well prepared to provide both technically and emotionally competent care. This study explored the early concepts of care of Master of Science Occupational Therapy students at the start of their graduate education through use of a questionnaire and follow-up interviews. The three most frequently identified student concepts of care were: (1) caring as it relates to time, (2) caring as a personal quality, and (3) caring through their communication with clients. …

Occupational Therapy Student Conceptions Of Self-Reflection In Level Ii Fieldwork, Susan L. Iliff, Gaylene Tool, Patricia Bowyer, Diane Parham, Tina S. Fletcher, Wyona M. Freysteinson

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Self-reflection is paramount to the development of professionalism and serves as the foundation of adult education and lifelong learning. Pedagogical approaches in health sciences programs that promote self-reflection are growing in popularity. Current literature identifies a gap in what and how students conceive self-reflection and whether self-reflection is creating professionals that meet the challenges of today’s healthcare climate. This qualitative study explores the conceptions of self-reflection for occupational therapy students in Level II Fieldwork. The use of phenomenographic methodology guided the collection of information-rich data through semi-structured interviews. Twenty-one occupational therapy graduates volunteered to participate in the interviews. Verbatim transcripts …