Engineering Commons^™

The Automated Wheelchair, Jonathan Doksa Kamba Ngoyi

Honors College Theses

Automation refers to the use of technology to execute tasks through programmed instructions and automated control mechanisms to ensure accurate execution. This minimizes human involvement and encompasses various fields, including business process automation. A notable form of automation is assistive technology, which refers to any device or software that enhances individuals' learning, communication, or overall functionality. This can range from advanced tools like computers to simpler aids like walking sticks. Assistive technology aims to promote inclusivity and participation, particularly among individuals with disabilities, the elderly, and those with non-communicable diseases.

The Automated Airport Wheelchair is a culmination of prior projects …

Programmable Vibration Table Retrofit With Eagle Medical, Jonathan Ilagan, Madhav Asok, Max Lewter

Biomedical Engineering

This project aimed to repair and upgrade a vibration table used for package testing for the sponsor, Eagle Medical - a medical packaging and sterilization company based in Paso Robles, California. The current vibration table is not programmable and lacks circuit diagrams, making it difficult to repair. In addition, it is not functional due to internal circuitry issues and power requirements. To address these issues, the team will implement several upgrades to improve the product and allow for better random cyclic vibration testing. A full assessment of the existing vibration table will be conducted to ensure the viability of these …

Design Of A Non-Destructive System For Arctic Permafrost Detection Via High Frequency Electromagnetic Induction, Gray Dominic Thurston

Theses and Dissertations

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors have been utilized in the past by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a method of detecting unexploded ordnance (UXO). Recently, an EMI instrument was constructed that extended the traditional EMI frequency range from 100 kHz to 15 MHz to aid in the detection of nonmetallic ordnance, landmines, and improvised explosive devices. Building on this research, the iFROST mapper project aims to use the same high-frequency (HF) EMI technique to characterize arctic soil and subsurface permafrost deposits. Based on a device used by the US Army for UXO detection, an HF EMI instrument was …

Brain Inspired Organic Electronic Devices And Systems For Adaptive Signal Processing, Memory, And Learning., Subhadeep Koner

Doctoral Dissertations

A new class of electronic device has emerged which bear the potential for low powered brain like adaptive signal processing, memory, and learning. It is a non-linear resistor with memory coined as memristor. A memristor is a two-terminal electrical device which simultaneously changes its resistance (processing information) and store the resistance state pertaining to the applied power (memory). Therefore, it can collocate memory and processing much like our brain synapse which can save time and energy for information processing. Leveraging stored memory, it can thereby help future engineered systems to learn autonomously from past experiences. There has been a growing …

Development Of An Automated Electronic Prototyping System, Cesar Yahir Sanchez Zambrano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Prototyping systems with interconnected components can be a time and resource expensive process. The process consists of three main phases (design, build and analysis) with each having their own associated cost. For the case of electronic circuits, the building phase is the costliest phase among the three, being prone to human errors which causes the circuit to fail. All three phases of the prototyping process are important. However, often a disproportionate amount of time is spent on the build phase due to the difficulty of making and troubleshooting circuits by hand. In this thesis we will discuss a system that …

The Bracelet: An American Sign Language (Asl) Interpreting Wearable Device, Samuel Aba, Ahmadre Darrisaw, Pei Lin, Thomas Leonard

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Checkerbot, Sean P. Whitty

Electrical Engineering

This product is able to play a game of checkers against the customer at three different preset difficulties. It can process the board on its turn, and displays its next turn to its opponent by updating the board state via the LEDs. It consists of a laptop screen display, and a computer chip with the programmed ability to process the checkers board and decide its next move. It provides the customer with an opponent that can be modified in difficulty so it can provide however much of a challenge as the customer desires, as well as allowing for a 2 …

Assessment Of Cable Length Limit For Effective Protection By Z-Source Circuit Breakers In Dc Power Networks, Ruiyun Fu, Sagar Bhatta, Joseph M. Keller, Yucheng Zhang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper introduces groundbreaking research on how to assess the Cable Length Limit (CLL) to ensure effective protection by Z-source Circuit Breakers (ZCBs) in DC power networks. It has been revealed that the line parameters of power cables have a significant impact on the cutoff performance of ZCBs. The question of assessing the CLL has been raised as an unsolved problem. In this paper, a method of CLL assessment is proposed based on physical models and simulation tests. To verify the proposed method, two studies were performed to assess the Cable Length Limits depending on fault levels and power delivery …

Development Of A Reference Design For A Cyber-Physical System, Nicholas Paul Blair

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a reference design to assist in the selection of security practices in power electronics design. A prototype will be developed from this reference design for evaluation. This evaluation will include a brief cost/benefit analysis to gauge the efficacy of implementing each layer of security throughout the power electronics design process. This thesis will also describe the obstacles and effectiveness of integrating a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) into a cyber-hardened grid-connected device. The TPM device is a secured crypto processor that assists in generating, storing, and restricting the use of cryptographic keys. The …

Portable Electrochemical System For Flexible Hybrid Electronics, Anthony Joseph Hanson

Masters Theses

This work focuses on the fabrication and design of a portable electrochemical sensing system for flexible hybrid electronic (FHE) sensors. A three-electrode chemical sensor was fabricated using copper tape on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate, using laser etching process. An electronic circuit was designed to measure the sensor response through electrochemical techniques to detect different concentrations of glucose. The device was calibrated to give the user a concentration value in 5 seconds. The system was also designed to preform tests such as cyclic voltammogram and chronoamperogram for various chemicals. A Bluetooth Low Energy module was used to wirelessly transmit the results …

Embedded System Design Of Robot Control Architectures For Unmanned Agricultural Ground Vehicles, Ryan Humphrey

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Engineering technology has matured to the extent where accompanying methods for unmanned field management is now becoming a technologically achievable and economically viable solution to agricultural tasks that have been traditionally performed by humans or human operated machines. Additionally, the rapidly increasing world population and the daunting burden it places on farmers in regards to the food production and crop yield demands, only makes such advancements in the agriculture industry all the more imperative. Consequently, the sector is beginning to observe a noticeable shift, where there exist a number of scalable infrastructural changes that are in the process of slowly …

Analysis And Tests For A Hybrid Model Created From Classical Taguchi And Goal Post Manufacturing Loss Models, Prajwal Bhandari

Electrical Engineering Theses

We present an analysis of the previously proposed “modified quadratic” loss function. This loss model integrates elements from both Classical Taguchi and Goal Post manufacturing loss models. Specifically, the analyzed hybrid model follows the Taguchi loss quadratic dependence between the upper and lower manufacturing specification limits. On the other hand, outside of these limits, the loss rule is in agreement with the Goal Post Model. Supported by the results of analysis contained herein the Taguchi-Hybrid model does not overestimate the loss as is inherent to the classical Taguchi model. Also, the proposed Taguchi Hybrid model does not ignore deviations from …

Laboratory Manual For Engineering Electronics, Sandip Das, Walter Thain, Sheila Hill

Engineering Open Textbooks

The primary objective of this project was to improve the laboratory manuals and associated ancillary learning resources for the junior-level course, Engineering Electronics (EE3401), which is a required course for students in three different degree programs at Kennesaw State University – Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, and Computer Engineering.

In this project, we have developed and transformed the previous lab manuals, as well as added new learning materials. We have included detailed technical instructions within the lab manuals, revised the contents for improved readability, implemented coherent formatting across all manuals, introduced interactive links as necessary, developed and integrated pre-lab exercises, created …

Improving 3d Printed Prosthetics With Sensors And Motors, Rachel Zarin

Honors Projects

A 3D printed hand and arm prosthetic was created from the idea of adding bionic elements while keeping the cost low. It was designed based on existing models, desired functions, and materials available. A tilt sensor keeps the hand level, two motors move the wrist in two different directions, a limit switch signals the fingers to open and close, and another motor helps open and close the fingers. All sensors and motors were built on a circuit board, programmed using an Arduino, and powered by a battery. Other supporting materials include metal brackets, screws, guitar strings, elastic bands, small clamps, …

Dc To Dc Usb-C Charger, Nikki Gmerek, Kenneth Nguyen, Uriel Serna

Electrical Engineering

The DC House USB-C Charger will convert the 48V input from the DC house, found on the Cal Poly campus, to 3 USB-C outputs: 5V, 12V, and 24 volts. The converter will deliver a total of 185 Watts out across all 3 outputs, with an efficiency greater than 82% at full load. The USB-C ports will be used to connect to compatible phones, laptops or any other device for charging/powering purposes. The goal of this project is to develop the most efficient and safe converter to deliver power to multiple outputs using USB-C, for items as small as a cell …

A Swimming Open-Water Navigation Assistive Headset And Receiver, Zakk B. Rhodes

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Open water swimming is a common activity dating back to ancient times. One challenge with open water swimming is navigation because while maintaining proper swimming technique suggests the head be in the water, it is difficult to see where one is going. Thus swimmers must bring their head out of the water periodically to sight landmarks. This work describes a solution to this problem by a design for a GPS device to assist swimmers with navigation. The swimmer can plan their own route, send it to the device, and then be guided by the device. They then will not have …

Fully Analog Laser Driver With Robust Active Feedback Control, John Petrilli

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this project was to go through a real life engineering development cycle, document and justify the design choices, and use background experience in electronic design and control systems to implement the best design possible. The laser driver implemented in this project is designed for the general use of a large variety of diodes in continuous wave mode, much like off the shelf laser drivers. The design goals included improving upon off the shelf laser drivers by decreasing steady state error, setting time, response time, and overshoot. Many different feedback control systems were evaluated, and a modified PID …

Cubesat Active Thermal Management In Support Of Cooled Electro-Optical Instrumentation For Advanced Atmospheric Observing Missions, Lucas Anderson, Charles Swenson, Ryan Davidson, Arthur J. Mastropietro, Elham Maghsoudi, S. Luong, Stefano Cappucci, I. Mckinley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The need for advanced cooled electro-optical instrumentation in remote observations of the atmosphere is well known and demonstrated by SABER on the TIMED mission. The relatively new use of small satellites in remote earth observing missions as, well as the challenges, are epitomized by the upcoming NOAA EON-IR 12U CubeSat missions. These advanced CubeSat missions, which hope to accomplish scientific objectives on the same scale as larger more traditional satellites, require advanced miniaturized cryocoolers and active methods for thermal management and power control. The active CryoCubeSat project (ACCS) is a demonstration of such a technology. Utilizing Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) …

Belt-Driven Open Source Circuit Mill Using Low-Cost 3-D Printer Components, Shane W. Oberloier, Joshua M. Pearce

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications

Barriers to inventing electronic devices involve challenges of iterating electronic designs due to long lead times for professional circuit board milling or high costs of commercial milling machines. To overcome these barriers, this study provides open source (OS) designs for a low-cost circuit milling machine. First, design modifications for mechanical and electrical subsystems of the OS Distributed 3-D (D3D) Robotics prototyping system are provided. Next, Copper Carve, an OS custom graphical user interface, is developed to enable circuit board milling by implementing backlash and substrate distortion compensation. The performance of the OS D3D circuit mill is then quantified and validated …

Passive Balancing Battery Management System For Cal Poly Racing's Formula Sae Electric Vehicle, Alvin Joseph Ha

Electrical Engineering

This senior project aims to replace the current battery management system (BMS) on Cal Poly’s Formula SAE electric vehicle with a more versatile, advanced, and reliable system. A BMS manages a rechargeable battery by ensuring the battery device operator’s safety, protecting battery cell integrity, prolonging battery lifetime, maintaining functional design requirements, and sending optimal usage information to the application controller. Passive balancing maximizes a battery pack’s capacity by dissipating excess energy through heat to regulate cell state of charge.

Reliability Evaluation And Improvement Based On Operational Failure Rate Of Power Electronics In Islanded Microgrid, Wen Zhong

Theses and Dissertations

With power electronics being widely applied in microgrids, they become a key part in micro-grid and the reliability assessment considering power electronic devices have become a hot research topic, and much work has been done to evaluate the reliability of power electronics in microgrids. However, the impact of operational failure of power electronics on the overall microgrid reliability has not been studied yet.

This thesis has three objectives. The first objective of this thesis is to construct a systematic operational failure rate model of power electronic systems. The power generated from renewable generation units, such as PV arrays or wind …

A Folded Cascode Operational Amplifier With Wide-Swing Current Mirrors And High Icmr, Designed With A 1.2-Micron Silicon-Carbide Process, Austin Gattis

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis describes in detail the process of designing, simulating, and creating the layout for a modified folded cascode op-amp, fabricated with silicon carbide MOSFETS. The modifications consist of using a wide-swing current mirror to help deal with output voltage issues stemming from high threshold voltages in the silicon carbide process, as well as using a modification that allows for an increased input common mode range. The folded cascode op-amp uses silicon carbide transistors, as it is intended to be used for high temperature applications, ideally in the 25 C - 300 C range. It is designed to have 25 …

Electroplating On 3d Printed Conductive Track, Kishore Kumar Kadari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are substantial advances in Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. The simplest and advantageous technique of AM in terms of cost and scaling of the substrate is Fused Deposition Modeling(FDM). Currently, integration of electronics to a 3D printed structure is done manually after fabrication of the structure. To print electronic circuits directly on a 3D printed structure, copper electroplating process has been studied in this work.

To electroplate on the 3D printed insulating substrate, various materials were studied to make substrate conductive. By using conductive Polylactic Acid (PLA) filaments, a compatible substrate for electroplating was printed. Electroplating was proved to be …

Wireless Audio Bridge, Daniel L. Hodges

Electrical Engineering

Bluetooth, a wireless technology standard used to exchange data using radio transmissions, has made a significant impact on the audio technology industry, specifically the way people listen to music. This technology enables a wireless listening experience, eliminating the need for wires or cables between audio devices as previously required. Audio can transmit from a cellphone or laptop (an output device) to a pair of headphones or speakers (an input device) without any physical connection. Compared to alternative wireless listening solutions (i.e. FM transmitter, radio broadcast), Bluetooth offers greater reliability, audio fidelity, portability, and ease of use. To obtain this functionality, …

Dc House Energy Management System, Zachary L. Eldredge, Zoe M. Hay

Electrical Engineering

In this work, a previously completed proof of concept for an Energy Management System (EMS) for the DC House project has been revised and re-implemented. The implemented design changes will improve the performance and reproducibility of the system. This new design of the EMS replaces the two-separate buck and boost DC-DC converters with a single bidirectional DC-DC converter to reduce components and improve efficiency. Analysis of the bidirectional DC-DC converter shows high efficiency especially at larger load currents. The code of the previous work was updated for smoother operation as well as to accommodate an LCD capable of displaying more …

Investigating Student Learning Of Analog Electronics, Kevin L. Van De Bogart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Instruction in analog electronics is an integral component of many physics and engineering programs, and is typically covered in courses beyond the first year. While extensive research has been conducted on student understanding of introductory electric circuits, to date there has been relatively little research on student learning of analog electronics in either physics or engineering courses. Given the significant overlap in content of courses offered in both disciplines, this study seeks to strengthen the research base on the learning and teaching of electric circuits and analog electronics via a single, coherent investigation spanning both physics and engineering courses.

This …

The Evolution Dynamics And Trends Of The Content Of Chinese Exports From 1995-2011, Megan Kerbs

Honors Theses

There is no question that China’s role in the international economy has grown over time, as it seems to be claiming more and more of center stage in the global arena. Back in the early 1990’s, the phenomenon of globalization enabled China to expand its reach, inserting itself into intricate production hierarchies that began to define the global marketplace. China experienced a massive export boom in 2000, and since, has evolved to become a highly sophisticated, high-tech country that now plays an integral role within not only the East Asian region, but also the rest of the world. This thesis …

Conversion Of Digital Circuits Labs, Caleb N. Taber

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The engineering technology department at ETSU currently lacks a modern method to teach digital circuits. The aim of this thesis is to convert our current digital circuits labs to equivalent labs suited to run on the Basys 3. The Basys has several advantages over the aging NI Elvis boards (and now just breadboards) currently in use. The first advantage is that the Basys gives students a taste of FPGA programming without being overwhelmingly; like the systems currently in place for the digital signal processing class. The Basys is also a more modern system; our current integrated circuit and breadboard system …

Design And Development Of A Wearable Wireless Health Monitoring System: A Smart Watch Approach, Keerthi Paranikumar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to Statistics, every year, about 610,000 people die because of heart disease in United States of America. (i.e. 1 in every 4 deaths.*) Heart disease is common for both men and women. Annually, about 370,000 people die because of coronary heart disease, which is the most common type of heart disease [1]. About 735,000 Americans have heart attack every year. In this, 210,000 people gets heart attack who already has heart problems and 525,000 people get heart attack for the first time [2]. Not many people know that they have heart problems. Around 47% of the people in United …

Project Labyrinth: Exploration Of Modulating Guitar Signals, Joseph Andrews, Andrew Patterson

Senior Theses

The overall objective of this project is to create a guitar pre-amplifier in the casing of an effects pedal. The pedal must be able to modulate amplitude and pitch. More specifically, the design for this pedal will include floating frequency filtering, phase shifting, and amplitude modulation.