Engineering Commons^™

Vessel Trajectory Prediction Using Historical Ais Data, Jagir Laxmichand Charla

Dissertations and Theses

Maritime vessel position coordinates are important information for maritime situational planning and organization. A better estimate of future locations of the maritime vessels, from their current locations, can help maritime authorities to make planned decisions, which can be helpful to avoid traffic congestion and longer waiting times. This thesis develops a method for estimating future locations of the vessels using their current and previous locations and other data.

The motivating scenario for this work is that of determining the future locations of the vessels based on their current location and previous locations for accurate modelling of underwater acoustic noise. As …

Clustered Hyperspectral Target Detection, Sean Onufer Stalley

Dissertations and Theses

Aerial target detection is often used to search for relatively small things over large areas of land. Depending on the size and signature of the target, detection can be a very easy or very difficult task. By capturing images with several hundred color channels, hyperspectral sensors provide a new way of looking at this task, both literally and figuratively. Hyperspectral sensors can be used in many aerial target detection tasks such as identifying unhealthy trees in a forest, searching for minerals at a mining site, or finding the sources of chemical leaks at a factory. The high spectral resolution of …

Virtual Head Waves In Ocean Ambient Noise: Theory And Modeling, Jie Li, Peter Gerstoft, Martin Siderius, Jun Fan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Green's function retrieval in media with horizontal boundaries usually only considers the extraction of direct and reflected waves but ignores the virtual head waves, which have been observed experimentally from ocean ambient noise and used to invert for geometric and environmental parameters. This paper derives the extraction of virtual head waves from ocean ambient noise using a vertically spaced sensor pair in a Pekeris waveguide. Ocean ambient noise in the water column is a superposition of direct, reflected, and head waves. The virtual head waves are produced by the cross-correlations between head waves and either reflected waves or other …

Distributed Energy Resource Aggregation Using Customer-Owned Equipment: A Review Of Literature And Standards, Manasseh Obi, Tylor Slay, Robert B. Bass

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Large-scale deployment of renewable energy resources, both utility-scale and distributed, create reliability concerns for electrical power system operators. The weather-dependent, non-dispatchable nature of renewable resources decreases the ability of operators to match supply with demand. Concurrently, distributed energy resources, defined as small-scale loads, generation sources, and storage systems, are becoming ubiquitous within modern electrical systems. This literature review presents the grid services that utilities use to alleviate power systems reliability concerns, particularly those caused by renewable resources, and how aggregations of residential-scale distributed energy resources can be used to provide these services.

By aggregating distributed energy resources en masse to …

A Simplified Accuracy Enhancement To The Saleh Am/Am Modeling And Linearization Of Solid-State Rf Power Amplifiers, Haider Al-Kanan, Fu Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Saleh behavioral model exhibits high prediction accuracy for nonlinearity of traveling-wave tube power amplifiers (TWT-PAs). However, the accuracy of the Saleh model degrades when modeling solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs) technology. In addition, the polynomial expansion of the Saleh model consists of only odd-order terms as analyzed in this work. This paper proposes a novel model accuracy enhancement for the Saleh amplitude-to-amplitude (AM/AM) model when applied to radio frequency (RF) SSPAs. The proposed model enhancement accounts for the second-order intermodulation distortion, which is an important nonlinearity challenge in wideband wireless communications. The proposed static AM/AM model is a three-parameter rational …

Flight Simulator Modeling Using Recurrent Neural Networks, Nickolas Sabatini, Andreas Natsis

Undergraduate Research & Mentoring Program

Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are a form of machine learning used to predict future values. This project uses RNNs tor predict future values for a flight simulator. Coded in Python using the Keras library, the model demonstrates training loss and validation loss, referring to the error when training the model.

From Inductive To Deductive Learning, Mikhail Mayers, Brian Henson

Undergraduate Research & Mentoring Program

Using Machine Vision as a way to give information to Prolog. Using Prolog to solve deductive problems and analogical problems without having to manually enter all facts and information.

Approximate Pattern Matching Using Hierarchical Graph Construction And Sparse Distributed Representation, Aakanksha Mathuria

Dissertations and Theses

With recent developments in deep networks, there have been significant advances in visual object detection and recognition. However, some of these networks are still easily fooled/hacked and have shown "bag of features" kinds of failures. Some of this is due to the fact that even deep networks make only marginal use of the complex structure that exists in real-world images. Primate visual systems appear to capture the structure in images, but how?

In the research presented here, we are studying approaches for robust pattern matching using static, 2D Blocks World images based on graphical representations of the various components of …

Analog Statistical Design For Manufacturability, Yu-Shan Wang

Dissertations and Theses

The manufacturing yield, overkill, and defect level limit the feasibility of analog circuits in SoCs. The conventional method of handling process and environmental variation is to assign a design margin such that the design meets specifications at several processes and environmental corners. However, checking only extreme corners limits performance in comparison to the more rigorous statistical approach of the computing manufacturing and quality figure of merit. The statistical approach requires transistor-level simulation of hundreds or even thousands of samples, not just a few corners, and thus is very time consuming.

This research offers a method for reducing the time required …

Theoretical And Experimental Validation Of A Cubesat's L-Band Communication System, Evangelos Mastrogiannis

Dissertations and Theses

An L-band uplink communication system was designed and validated in the lab for a CubeSat satellite operating in low Earth orbit (LEO). This paper investigates communication link analysis, discusses the design strategy for an inexpensive CubeSat receiver operating in L-band with a moderate power Earth station transmitter, and validates the link budget with prototype hardware using an anechoic chamber.

A receiver's required carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) establishes the basis for a link budget. The requirement for a digital communication link is set by the bit-error-rate (BER) requirement of a chosen communication protocol which is inversely related to the energy per bit …

Dynamic Through-Silicon Via Clustering In 3d Ic Floorplanning For Early Performance Optimization, Sucheta Mohapatra

Dissertations and Theses

Through-silicon via (TSV)-based three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs) are expected to be the breakthrough technology for keeping up with the scaling trends of Moore's law, while also offering the unique opportunity for functional diversification through heterogenous integration. TSVs are vertical metal interconnects enabling communication across stacked and thinned dies. The dramatic reduction in global wirelength and chip footprint in 3DICs, directly improves delay, device density, bandwidth and routing congestion. Even with the current maturation of TSV process, the roadmap for industry adoption of 3DICs remains largely uncertain due to lack of standardized 3D tools capable of handling the sheer complexity …

Image Object Extraction Based On Semantic Segmentation And Label Loss, Xiaoru Wang, Peirong Xu, Zhihong Yu, Fu Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Object extraction refers to the operation of obtaining an object area from an image based on a small amount of mark information given by users, which is a key step in image processing. In order to obtain a complete object profile, current methods usually require a large number of manual annotations, especially for objects with irregular contours. Since traditional algorithms rely on low-level pixel features without semantic information, and are based on obvious mathematical assumptions (ie, strong inductive bias), it is difficult to completely identify objects. At present, in order to improve the integrity of object extraction, semantic segmentation-based methods …

A Unified Spectrum Formulation For Ofdm, Fbmc, And F-Ofdm, Xianzhen Yang, Siyuan Yan, Xiao Li, Fu Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has been standardized for 5G, filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC) and filtered orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (F-OFDM) remain competitive as candidates for future generations of wireless technologies beyond 5G, due to their reduced spectrum leakage and thus enhanced spectrum efficiency. In this article, we developed a unified spectrum expression for OFDM, FBMC, and F-OFDM, which provides comparative insights into those techniques. A representative sideband quantification is included at the end of this article.

Memristive Architectures And Algorithms For Approximate Graph-Based Inference, Mohammad M.A. Taha

Dissertations and Theses

The goal of this thesis is to design fast, low-power, robust graph-based inference systems. Our approach to this is by using (1) in-memory computing, (2) approximate computing principles, and (3) memristive devices.

This work is motivated by the fact that conventional von Neumann architectures are not efficient for inference applications, mainly due to the data transfer bottleneck. Adding cache memories and using GPUs is a remedy, however, does not eliminate this bottleneck. In-memory computing is an alternative approach that performs all computations inside the memory, thus eliminating the data transfer bottleneck.

The memristor, which is a passive two-terminal device, is …

Evaluating R&D Projects In Regulated Utilities: The Case Of Power Transmission Utilities, Edwin Garces

Dissertations and Theses

R&D project selection is essential for many organizations; however, it is a complex decision since it is affected by many factors. These factors vary among organizations because of their different objectives and conditions. There are limited budgets for the investments, and the current R&D project selection methods are focused on financial analysis or complex mathematical probabilistic calculations. Therefore, the main motivation of this research is to create a method to help improve the ex-ante selection of R&D projects in regulated organizations. More importantly, the case application is the electric transmission utilities sector, which plays one of the most critical roles …

Design Of A 7-Mhz Portable Direct Conversion Transceiver With Digitally Controlled Keying, Abram Morphew

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis outlines the design of a portable direct conversion transceiver system for the 7-MHz (or 40m) band. This band is popular due to its propagation characteristics which allow for world-wide communication with very low power. The transceiver utilizes a crystal-stabilized local oscillator optimized for frequency agility, low power consumption, and an optimal drive level of +7 dBm. A low power 8-bit microcontroller acts as an interface for either a straight key providing manual Morse code operation or digital logic control from a personal computer. It also acts as a side tone oscillator providing audio feedback to the operator during …

Designing Gates And Architectures For Superconducting Quantum Systems, Sahar Daraeizadeh

Dissertations and Theses

Large-scale quantum computers can solve certain problems that are not tractable by currently available classical computational resources. The building blocks of quantum computers are qubits. Among many different physical realizations for qubits, superconducting qubits are one of the promising candidates to realize gate model quantum computers. In this dissertation, we present new multi-qubit gates for nearest-neighbor superconducting quantum systems. In the absence of a physical hardware, we simulate the dynamics of the quantum system and use the simulated environment as a framework for test, design, and optimization of quantum gates and architectures. We explore three different simulation-based gate design methodologies: …

Work-In-Progress: Implementing Sophomore Cornerstone Courses In Electrical And Computer Engineering, Branimir Pejcinovic, Melinda Holtzman, Phillip Wong

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many engineering programs have significant project-based courses in the freshman and senior years. The project component in our freshman year-long sequence evolves from minimally structured projects, like designing and building Rube-Goldberg contraptions, to more complex microcontroller-based projects where formal tools for teamwork and project management are introduced. However, we do not yet enforce strict adherence to procedures and processes in the freshman year. This is unlike the senior capstone, where the expectation is that students will not only be familiar with these methods but will use them effectively throughout their projects. This presents an obvious problem: what happens in the …

Dim: Adaptively Combining User Interests Mined At Different Stages Based On Deformable Interest Model, Xiaoru Wang, Yueli Li, Zhihong Yu, Fu Li, Heng Zhang, Yali Cai, Lixian Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

User interest mining is widely used in the fields of personalized search and personalized recommendation. Traditional methods ignore the formation of user interest which is a process that evolves over time. This leads to the inability to accurately describe the distribution of user interest. In this paper, we propose the interest tracking model (ITM). To add the timing, ITM uses Dirichlet distribution and multinomial distribution to describe the evolutional process of interest topics and frequent patterns, which well adapts to the evolution of user interest hidden in short texts between different time slices. In addition, it is well known that …

Spectrum Modeling Of Out-Of-Band Intermodulation For Dual-Band Rf Amplifiers In Ofdm Modulation, Xianzhen Yang, Siyuan Yan, Xiao Li, Qiang Wu, Fu Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Dual-band RF amplifiers play increasingly important roles in next-generation mobile communication systems including 5G, and the out-of-band intermodulation products are often not negligible since they generate interference to adjacent channels. In this article, following our previous modeling of cross-modulation for amplified dual-band signals, an analytical expression of out-of-band intermodulation for dual-band orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing signals is derived using the third-order intercept points IP₃. The experimental measurement results validate the proposed analytical expression.

Aggregated Water Heater System (Awhs) Optimization For Ancillary Services, Manasseh Obi

Dissertations and Theses

In this dissertation, I present a two-stage optimization routine that schedules an Aggregated Water Heater System (AWHS) to concurrently provide three utility ancillary services, namely, frequency regulation, frequency response, and peak demand mitigation.

Water heaters can be controlled to manage their energy take, the amount of energy a water heater can absorb upon command. The AWHS is a model aggregation of thousands of water heaters, the energy take and power characteristics of which are based on U.S Census household data and usage behavior patterns. The aggregate energy take available in the AWHS may be dispatched en masse for participation in …

Absorptive Reflectionless Filters, Guy Barry Lemire

Dissertations and Theses

For many applications requiring some sort of signal filtering or signal conditioning, the filter requirements are usually approached with a single purpose in mind, which is to maximize both passband signal amplitude and stop band signal attenuation to the load with little to no thought given to what happens to the stop band signal energy. Many conventional filters have very poor impedance matching in the stopband resulting in reflected energy or large return loss (S₁₁). This reflected energy can then cause interactions with adjoining system components which do not in general respond well to spurious reflected energy and …

Power Efficiency Enhancement And Linearization Techniques For Power Amplifiers In Wireless Communications, Haider Al-Kanan

Dissertations and Theses

Wireless communication systems require Power Amplifiers (PAs) for signal transmissions. The trade-off between power efficiency and nonlinear distortion in PAs degrades the communication performance. Thus, power efficiency and nonlinearity are two main concerns of operating PAs in communication systems. Nonlinear behavioral models are typically used to quantify and mitigate the distortion effects of PAs on communication systems. This dissertation presents an estimation approach for modeling and linearizing the PA Amplitude-to-Amplitude (AM/AM) nonlinearity using the design specifications of PAs, such as gain, the third-order intercept point, and 1dB compression point. Furthermore, an enhanced approach for modeling solid-state power amplifiers is developed …

Inversion Of Head Waves In Ocean Acoustic Ambient Noise, Jie Li, Peter Gerstoft, Martin Siderius, Jun Fan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The virtual head wave is produced through cross-correlation processing of signals containing the real, acoustic head wave. The virtual head wave has the same phase speed as the head wave, but the travel time is offset, thus the term virtual. The virtual head wave, like the real head wave, propagates in a direction corresponding to the seabed critical angle. The virtual head wave travel time varies with array depth and water column depth. However, in a refracting environment, the travel time is also dependent on the depth-dependent sound speed profile. Previously, the virtual head wave was shown as observable from …

Improved Estimation For Saleh Model And Predistortion Of Power Amplifiers Using 1-Db Compression Point, Haider Al Kanan, Xianzhen Yang, Fu Li

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper proposes an improved estimation approach for modelling RF power amplifiers (PAs) using the Saleh behavioural model. The proposed approach is appropriate for solid-state PA technologies. The 1-dB compression point of the PA is included in the estimation approach to improve the estimation of the Saleh coefficients. Thus, expressions are derived to describe the relationship between the parameters of the Saleh model and the manufacturing specifications of PAs: gain (G), third-order intercept point (IP₃) and 1-dB compression point (P_1dB). This method is a simple estimation of a memoryless amplitude-to-amplitude (AM/AM) nonlinearity to benefit RF designers …

Classifying Seabed Parameters From Normal Incidence Reflections: Model Comparison And Inversion Technique, Megan Frantz

Dissertations and Theses

As of the year 2019, only about five percent of the seafloor has been topologically mapped and classified for type (e.g., sand, silt, gravel). To rapidly survey the seabed from surface ships or underwater vehicles, acoustic remote sensing methods are needed. In this thesis, acoustic measurements and inverse modeling is investigated as a way to classify seabed type based on estimating parameters such as density, sound speed, and interface roughness. The method uses normal incident acoustic measurements that can be made using either a single beam echo sounder or the normal incident beams from a side scan sonar. The inverse …

A Polarity-Based Approach For Optimization Of Multivalued Quantum Multiplexers With Arbitrary Single-Qubit Target Gates, Kevin Jin, Tahsin Soffat, Justin Morgan, Marek Perkowski

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Previous work has provided methods for decomposing unitary matrices to series of quantum multiplexers, but the multiplexer circuits created in this way may be highly non-minimal. This paper presents a new approach for optimizing quantum multiplexers with arbitrary single-qubit quantum target functions and ternary controls. For multivalued quantum multiplexers, we define standard forms and two types of new forms: Fixed Polarity Quantum Forms (FPQFs) and Kronecker Quantum Forms (KQFs). Drawing inspiration from the usage of butterfly diagrams, we devise a method to exhaustively construct new forms. In contrast to previous butterfly-based methods, which are used with classical Boolean functions, these …

Optimal Boundary Detection Using Autonomous Mobile Sensors, Phillip Justin Kearns

Dissertations and Theses

A fundamental challenge to modern science and engineering is the ability to rapidly and accurately determine the spatial extent of environmental phenomena. In monitoring the spread of hazardous pollution, for example, all points with pollutant concentration above or below a fixed threshold can be considered as two classes in a binary classification problem. In this instance, the goal is to accurately estimate the decision boundary as quickly as possible. To generate models and predictions, scientists must choose their sampling locations from a vast array of possibilities. This thesis develops a policy for determining the optimal sample locations for a fixed …

Connecting Offshore Floating Wind To The Western Electricity Grid: Transmission Options Decision Modeling, Bill Henry

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

The purpose of this project is to obtain stakeholder views on a range of aspects relating to a proactive planning process to build transmission facilities in coordination with development of floating offshore wind (OSW) in southern Oregon and northern California. In the event that a transmission planning process to examine the potential need to assess and build transmission facilities to connect these wind resource areas is launched at a future date, the results of this study will assist planners by obtaining initial stakeholder views on the breadth of choices that should be considered, and more importantly, provide key insights on …

An Extended Approach For Generating Unitary Matrices For Quantum Circuits, Zhiqiang Li, Wei Zhang, Gaoman Zhang, Juan Dai, Jiajia Hu, Marek Perkowski, Xiaoyu Song

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we do research on generating unitary matrices for quantum circuits automatically. We consider that quantum circuits are divided into six types, and the unitary operator expressions for each type are offered. Based on this, we propose an algorithm for computing the circuit unitary matrices in detail. Then, for quantum logic circuits composed of quantum logic gates, a faster method to compute unitary matrices of quantum circuits with truth table is introduced as a supplement. Finally, we apply the proposed algorithm to different reversible benchmark circuits based on NCT library (including NOT gate, Controlled-NOT gate, Toffoli gate) and …