Engineering Commons^™

Wifi Sensing At The Edge Towards Scalable On-Device Wireless Sensing Systems, Steven M. Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

WiFi sensing offers a powerful method for tracking physical activities using the radio-frequency signals already found throughout our homes and offices. This novel sensing modality offers continuous and non-intrusive activity tracking since sensing can be performed (i) without requiring wearable sensors, (ii) outside the line-of-sight, and even (iii) through the wall. Furthermore, WiFi has become a ubiquitous technology in our computers, our smartphones, and even in low-cost Internet of Things devices. In this work, we consider how the ubiquity of these low-cost WiFi devices offer an unparalleled opportunity for improving the scalability of wireless sensing systems. Thus far, WiFi sensing …

Real-Time Motion Controller For Human-Robot Teams Utilizing Artificial Potential Fields, Gabriella Graziani

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a real-time robotic motion control system for human-robot teams. The framework utilizes artificial potential fields (APFs) to guide robotic agents towards a “goal” agent while navigating around “obstacle” agents; these goals and obstacles are also dynamic agents with their own set of tasks. This system is also developed for a live-programming environment, where a controlling agent updates the tasks of all agents within the system at any time during the system’s runtime. This motion controller was created and tested for a human-robot choreographic team. After the controller was fully integrated on a Trossen Robotic LoCobot Wx200 robotic …

Synthesis And Application Of Redox-Active Covalent Organic Frameworks In Rechargeable Batteries, Mohammad K. Shehab

Theses and Dissertations

Synthesis and Application of Redox-Active Covalent Organic Frameworks in Rechargeable Batteries

Mohammad K. Shehab

Department of Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23284, United States

Abstract

In recent years, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been considered the dominant energy storage devices for portable electronics and electric vehicles due to their high energy density, low self-discharge rate, and long cycle life. In LIBs, the traditional positive electrodes employed are mainly derived from metal-containing inorganic compounds composed of cobalt, iron, nickel, or manganese (LiCoO₂, LiMn₂O₄, and LiFePO₄) coupled with graphite as the negative electrode. Despite …

Improving The Flexibility And Robustness Of Machine Tending Mobile Robots, Richard Ethan Hollingsworth

Theses and Dissertations

While traditional manufacturing production cells consist of a fixed base robot repetitively performing tasks, the Industry 5.0 flexible manufacturing cell (FMC) aims to bring Autonomous Industrial Mobile Manipulators (AIMMs) to the factory floor. Composed of a wheeled base and a robot arm, these collaborative robots (cobots) operate alongside people while autonomously performing tasks at different workstations. AIMMs have been tested in real production systems, but the development of the control algorithms necessary for automating a robot that is a combination of two cobots remains an open challenge before the large scale adoption of this technology occurs in industry. Currently popular …