Digital Commons Network^™

Autonomous Pool Skimmer, Kyle Banna, Ben Crichton, Tony Pina, Huy Truong

Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Projects

The work discussed in this paper is based around the designing, manufacturing and testing of an autonomous pool skimmer composed almost exclusively of 3D printed parts. Most pool owners would agree that cleaning their pool is among the most time-consuming activities associated with owning one. Whether it be bugs, leaves, grass, or any other number of debris, there seems to always be particulates floating along the surface, and eventually sinking to the bottom. However, with advancing technology, innovative solutions are being created to make cleaning the debris off the surface of the pool hassle-free. Team 19 was tasked to investigate …

Hands-Free Tree Climbing Machine, Michael Kowalski, Sam Anderson, Matt Chambers, Matt Nelson

Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Projects

Team 18 was assembled and approached by Professor Nassersharif to develop a new product. This product was to carry an average individual up a tree at least 20 feet high, hands free. During discussion of the future of the product, the Tree Climbing team was told this device needed to have many different abilities. These abilities include adjustability to climb different size trees ranging from 12 inches in diameter, to 24 inches in diameter. The development of such a device needed to be researched, designed, and constructed within a budget of $300. To begin the process, a previous design was …

Alternate Flex Tube, Zach Davies, Amanda Jennings, Lucas Dutton, Chris Guidone, Andy Jiang

Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Projects

Neptune-Benson Evoqua Water Technologies is renowned for delivering products, solutions, and services to ensure water quality and consistency for municipalities, industrial water users and recreational facilities. Their Defender® Series X filters are also their top of the line water filter providing more power and efficiency for less space compared to the standard sand filters, while also removing particles as small as 1 micron. These exact filters can be found in Olympic swimming pools, many famous aquariums and water parks across the world.

Instead of using sand as the media for filtration, the Defender® X filter uses Perlite, which has tremendous …

Static Electricity Generator, Trevor Bode, Evan George, Dylan Humphries, Jonathan Calico

Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Projects

KVH industries is a leader in telecommunications devices and has been known for world renowned satellite dishes. The company has set out to resolve every issue from software development to mechanical hardware. Recently, KVH has set upon a new endeavor which is to solve a problem with respect to a given theory discovered by deterioration of electric motors’ bearings used on satellite systems across Earth’s inner orbit. The theory is led to believe that there is a correlation between solar flares and bearing failures. The failures in the bearings are believed to be caused by the solar flares releasing a …

Automated Inspection Machine, Kevin Supino, William Santosuosso, Jordan Barbosa, Sindio Freitas, Evan Poland

Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Projects

Greystone of Lincoln approached URI Students with a problem statement hoping that they could work on a solution for a specific issue. They wanted to work with a team to design and build an Automated Inspection System capable of detecting and removing chips inside of a fuel union. These fuel unions are used for automotive applications, and are supplied to some of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers, so it is imperative that these fuel unions have no defects when they are shipped. The current Quality Control process employed at Greystone involves a worker checking every part that is manufactured by …

3d Printed Waterproof Housing, Carson Maurice, Jordan Mckenna, Graham White

Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Projects

The Department of Mechanical, Industrial, and Systems Engineering at the University of Rhode Island requires every Mechanical engineering undergraduate to complete a capstone design project. Ray3D is a team constructed of three mechanical engineering students and sponsored by Raytheon. The task Ray3D was rewarded to develop is a 3D printed waterproof Housing. 3D printing offers essential benefits when compared to other standard processes. The research, testing and analysis regarding 3D printing is Raytheon’s primary requirement as opposed to a final product deliverable. Ray3D successfully completed material property testing on ABS and PLA filament, structural analysis of the proposed design and …

Bridging The Expertise Of Advocates And Academics To Identify Reproductive Justice Learning Outcomes, Charisse M. Loder, Leah Minadeo, Laura Jimenez, Zakiya Luna, Loretta Ross, Nancy Rosenbloom, Caren M. Stalburg, Lisa H. Harris

Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality: Faculty Publications

Phenomenon: Reproductive justice (RJ) is defined by women of color advocates as the right to have children, not have children and parent children while maintaining reproductive autonomy. In the United States, physicians have been complicit in multiple historical reproductive injustices, involving coercive sterilization of thousands of people of color, low income, and disabilities. Currently, reproductive injustices continue to occur; however, physicians have no formal RJ medical education to address injustices. The objective of this study was to engage leading advocates within the movement using a Delphi method to identify critical components for such a curriculum. Approach: In 2016, we invited …

Ubiquitous Computing Capabilities And User-System Interaction Readiness: An Activity Perspective, Jun Sun

Information Systems Faculty Publications

Based on mobile computing technologies, ubiquitous systems enable people to access information anywhere and anytime. In addition to the capability of interactivity concerning inquiry processing based on user input through interfaces, ubiquitous systems may offer contextualization and personalization dealing with information filtering based on task contexts and user preferences, which help relieve user effort on the move. This study investigates how different combinations of these major ubiquitous computing capabilities affect user behavior. Using the unifying framework of Activity Theory, it conceptualizes user-system interaction as a tool-mediated activity, the different aspects of which are facilitated by interactivity, contextualization, and personalization. It …

Revisiting The Epistemic Terrains Of Gender, Sex, And Empowerment Through Four Sites Of Engagement In India: Introducing A Conversation, Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, Richa Nagar, Amanda Gilbertson, Ahonaa Roy, Annie Mccarthy

Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality: Faculty Publications

Knowledges that claim to end oppression and marginaliza- tion frequently end up feeding the same hierarchies that produce those oppressions. In the academy and in the development industry, it is not uncommon for ‘local’ or ‘subaltern’ knowledges to be positioned as ‘raw data’ to be utilised by the formally certified intellectual or expert, and even presented sometimes as obstacles to development goals that may have been imported from elsewhere . This introduction serves as an opening to a ‘conversation’ among five scholars who have different yet overlapping engage- ments with the complex terrain of knowledge-making on sex and gender, based …

Religious-Political Papacy And Islamic Power In Daniel 11, Roy E. Gane

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Prospective Teachers' Interpretations Of Mathematical Reasoning, Hyejin Park, Marta T. Magiera

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

Calls for teaching school mathematics with a focus on mathematical reasoning (MR) are included in curricular documents across the world, but little is known how prospective teachers (PSTs) understand MR. In this paper, we report on a study in which we engaged 24 PSTs preparing to teach grades 1-8 in analyzing a series of student-generated arguments for evidence of student reasoning with a focus on student-provided justifications. We examined PSTs’ interpretations of MR prior to and after instruction. Our results showed that PSTs interpreted MR broadly in terms of student thinking, validating thinking, problem-solving, connecting ideas, or sense-making. Some PSTs …

Design Of Subsurface Phased Array Antennas For Digital Agriculture Application, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

With the advancement in subsurface communications technology, an overarching solution to a underground phased array antenna design for digital agriculture requires interdisciplinary research involving topics ranging from insights on the constitutive parameters of the soil medium and impact of soil moisture on the array factor to antenna measurements and subsurface communication system design. In this paper, based on the analysis of underground radio wave propagation in subsurface radio channel, a phased array antenna design is presented that uses water content information and beam steering mechanisms to improve efficiency and communication range of wireless underground communications. It is shown the subsurface …

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Community Development: Introduction And Overview, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

The two-third of the city-dwelling world population by 2050 poses numerous global challenges in the infrastructure and natural resource management domains (e.g., water and food scarcity, increasing global temperatures, and energy issues). The IoT with integrated sensing and communication capabilities has the strong potential for the robust, sustainable, and informed resource management in the urban and rural communities. In this chapter, the vital concepts of sustainable community development are discussed. The IoT and sustainability interactions are explained with emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and communication technologies. Moreover, IoT opportunities and challenges are discussed in the context of sustainable community …

Internet Of Things In Agricultural Innovation And Security, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

The agricultural Internet of Things (Ag-IoT) paradigm has tremendous potential in transparent integration of underground soil sensing, farm machinery, and sensor-guided irrigation systems with the complex social network of growers, agronomists, crop consultants, and advisors. The aim of the IoT in agricultural innovation and security chapter is to present agricultural IoT research and paradigm to promote sustainable production of safe, healthy, and profitable crop and animal agricultural products. This chapter covers the IoT platform to test optimized management strategies, engage farmer and industry groups, and investigate new and traditional technology drivers that will enhance resilience of the farmers to the …

Internet Of Things For Environmental Sustainability And Climate Change, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

Our world is vulnerable to climate change risks such as glacier retreat, rising temperatures, more variable and intense weather events (e.g., floods, droughts, and frosts), deteriorating mountain ecosystems, soil degradation, and increasing water scarcity. However, there are big gaps in our understanding of changes in regional climate and how these changes will impact human and natural systems, making it difficult to anticipate, plan, and adapt to the coming changes. The IoT paradigm in this area can enhance our understanding of regional climate by using technology solutions, while providing the dynamic climate elements based on integrated environmental sensing and communications that …

Internet Of Things For Water Sustainability, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

The water is a finite resource. The issue of sustainable withdrawal of freshwater is a vital concern being faced by the community. There is a strong connection between the energy, food, and water which is referred to as water-food-energy nexus. The agriculture industry and municipalities are struggling to meet the demand of water supply. This situation is particularly exacerbated in the developing countries. The projected increase in world population requires more fresh water resources. New technologies are being developed to reduce water usage in the field of agriculture (e.g., sensor guided autonomous irrigation management systems). Agricultural water withdrawal is also …

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Forestry, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

Forests and grasslands play an important role in water and air purification, prevention of the soil erosion, and in provision of habitat to wildlife. Internet of Things has a tremendous potential to play a vital role in the forest ecosystem management and stability. The conservation of species and habitats, timber production, prevention of forest soil degradation, forest fire prediction, mitigation, and control can be attained through forest management using Internet of Things. The use and adoption of IoT in forest ecosystem management is challenging due to many factors. Vast geographical areas and limited resources in terms of budget and equipment …

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Human Health, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

The sustainable health IoT has the strong potential to bring tremendous improvements in human health and well-being through sensing, and monitoring of health impacts across the whole spectrum of climate change. The sustainable health IoT enables development of a systems approach in the area of human health and ecosystem. It allows integration of broader health sub-areas in a bigger archetype for improving sustainability in health in the realm of social, economic, and environmental sectors. This integration provides a powerful health IoT framework for sustainable health and community goals in the wake of changing climate. In this chapter, a detailed description …

Internet Of Things In Sustainable Energy Systems, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

Our planet has abundant renewable and conventional energy resources but technological capability and capacity gaps coupled with water-energy needs limit the benefits of these resources to citizens. Through IoT technology solutions and state-of-the-art IoT sensing and communications approaches, the sustainable energy-related research and innovation can bring a revolution in this area. Moreover, by the leveraging current infrastructure, including renewable energy technologies, microgrids, and power-to-gas (P2G) hydrogen systems, the Internet of Things in sustainable energy systems can address challenges in energy security to the community, with a minimal trade-off to environment and culture. In this chapter, the IoT in sustainable energy …

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Mining, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

The sustainable mining Internet of Things deals with the applications of IoT technology to the coupled needs of sustainable recovery of metals and a healthy environment for a thriving planet. In this chapter, the IoT architecture and technology is presented to support development of a digital mining platform emphasizing the exploration of rock–fluid–environment interactions to develop extraction methods with maximum economic benefit, while maintaining and preserving both water quantity and quality, soil, and, ultimately, human health. New perspectives are provided for IoT applications in developing new mineral resources, improved management of tailings, monitoring and mitigating contamination from mining. Moreover, tools …

Internet Of Things In Water Management And Treatment, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

The goal of the water security IoT chapter is to present a comprehensive and integrated IoT based approach to environmental quality and monitoring by generating new knowledge and innovative approaches that focus on sustainable resource management. Mainly, this chapter focuses on IoT applications in wastewater and stormwater, and the human and environmental consequences of water contaminants and their treatment. The IoT applications using sensors for sewer and stormwater monitoring across networked landscapes, water quality assessment, treatment, and sustainable management are introduced. The studies of rate limitations in biophysical and geochemical processes that support the ecosystem services related to water quality …

Internet Of Things For Sustainability: Perspectives In Privacy, Cybersecurity, And Future Trends, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

In the sustainability IoT, the cybersecurity risks to things, sensors, and monitoring systems are distinct from the conventional networking systems in many aspects. The interaction of sustainability IoT with the physical world phenomena (e.g., weather, climate, water, and oceans) is mostly not found in the modern information technology systems. Accordingly, actuation, the ability of these devices to make changes in real world based on sensing and monitoring, requires special consideration in terms of privacy and security. Moreover, the energy efficiency, safety, power, performance requirements of these device distinguish them from conventional computers systems. In this chapter, the cybersecurity approaches towards …

Cosmic: Us-Based Conversion Master's Degree In Computing, Gary S. Krenz, Thomas Kaczmarek

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

COSMIC is an NSF S-STEM graduate curriculum initiative/conversion program that strives to provide an accelerated pathway to a Master of Science (MS) degree for individuals who do not have an undergraduate degree in computing, but who wish to cross over into the computing field. The structure of our conversion program, the context that motivated it, and insights from conversion students' instructors are presented. Program successes with students from under-represented populations and the limitations that are also experienced are discussed. Our conversion program is based on a highly focused summer bridge course, combined with a customized curriculum pathway that enables people …

A New Flexible Bathtub-Shaped Modification Of The Weibull Model: Properties And Applications, Qinghu Liao, Zubair Ahmad, Eisa Mahmoudi, Gholamhossein Hamedani

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

Many studies have suggested the modifications and generalizations of the Weibull distribution to model the nonmonotone hazards. In this paper, we combine the logarithms of two cumulative hazard rate functions and propose a new modified form of the Weibull distribution. The newly proposed distribution may be called a new flexible extended Weibull distribution. Corresponding hazard rate function of the proposed distribution shows flexible (monotone and nonmonotone) shapes. Three different characterizations along with some mathematical properties are provided. We also consider the maximum likelihood estimation procedure to estimate the model parameters. For the illustrative purposes, two real applications from reliability engineering …

A New Generalized-Upper Record Values-G Family Of Lifetime Distributions, Omid Kharizmi, Ali Saadatinik, Gholamhossein Hamedani

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

A new family of lifetime distributions is introduced via distribution of the upper record values, the well-known concept in survival analysis and reliability engineering. Some important properties of the proposed model including quantile function, hazard function, order statistics are obtained in a general setting. A special case of this new family is proposed by considering the exponential and Weibull distribution as the parent distributions. In addition estimating unknown parameters of specialized distribution is examined from the perspective of the traditional statistics. A simulation study is presented to investigate the bias and mean square error of the maximum likelihood estimators. Moreover, …

Marshall-Olkin Power Lomax Distribution: Properties And Estimation Based On Complete And Censored Samples, Muhammad Ahsan Ul Haq, Gholamhossein Hamedani, M. Elgarhy, Pedro Luiz Ramos

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

We study a new distribution called the Marshall-Olkin Power Lomax distribution. A comprehensive account of its mathematical properties including explicit expressions for the ordinary moments, moment generating function, order statistics, Renyi entropy, and probability weighted moments are derived. The model parameters are estimated by the method of maximum likelihood. Monte Carlo simulation study is carried out to estimate the parameters and the performance of the estimates is judged via the average biases and mean squared error values. The usefulness of the proposed model is illustrated via real-life data set.

Cubic Rank Transmuted Modified Burr Iii Distribution: Development, Properties, Characterizations And Applications, Fiaz Ahmad Bhatti, Gholamhossein Hamedani, Seyed Morteza Najibi, Munir Ahmad

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

We propose a lifetime distribution with flexible hazard rate called cubic rank transmuted modified Burr III (CRTMBIII) distribution. We develop the proposed distribution on the basis of the cubic ranking transmutation map. The density function of CRTMBIII is symmetrical, right-skewed, left-skewed, exponential, arc, J and bimodal shaped. The flexible hazard rate of the proposed model can accommodate almost all types of shapes such as unimodal, bimodal, arc, increasing, decreasing, decreasing-increasing-decreasing, inverted bathtub and modified bathtub. To show the importance of proposed model, we present mathematical properties such as moments, incomplete moments, inequality measures, residual life function and stress strength reliability …

Odd Generalized N-H Generated Family Of Distributions With Application To Exponential Model, Zubair Ahmad, M. Elgarhy, Gholamhossein Hamedani, Nadeem Shafique Butt

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

A new family of distributions called the odd generalized N-H is introduced and studied. Four new special models are presented. Some mathematical properties of the odd generalized N-H family are studied. Explicit expressions for the moments, probability weighted, quantile function, mean deviation, order statistics and Rényi entropy are investigated. Characterizations based on the truncated moments, hazard function and conditional expectations are presented for the generated family. Parameter estimates of the family are obtained based on maximum likelihood procedure. Two real data sets are employed to show the usefulness of the new family.

English Language Learner Teachers’ Perceptions Of Digital Games On Student Learning, Khalifa Alshaya

Theses and Dissertations

This body of work contains three articles that examine the intersectionality between English Language Learner (ELL) teachers and digital games. The purpose of the study is to qualitatively explore the perception of ELL teachers’ use of digital games as educational tools and whether they realize the potential to promote language learning for ELLs. This study aims to understand the lived experiences of ELL teachers to identify their viewpoint of language learning through gaming. The work focuses particularly on the teacher in an effort to contribute empirical work that supports the need for a more holistic approach to digital games in …

Removal Of Blocking Artifacts From Jpeg-Compressed Images Using Neural Network, Md Nurul Amin

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to develop a neural network that will produce considerable improvement in the quality of JPEG compressed images, irrespective of compression level present in the images. In order to develop a computationally efficient algorithm for reducing blocky and Gibbs oscillation artifacts from JPEG compressed images, we integrated artificial intelligence to remove blocky and Gibbs oscillation artifacts. In this approach, alpha blend filter [7] was used to post process JPEG compressed images to reduce noise and artifacts without losing image details. Here alpha blending was controlled by a limit factor that considers the amount of compression …