Engineering Commons^™

3d Signal Strength Mapping Of 2.4ghz Wifi Networks, Brett D. Glidden

Electrical Engineering

Many commercial businesses operate out of multi-story office buildings. These companies often use many Wi-Fi access points to set up their own wireless network. IT personnel determine proper Wi-Fi access point placement using Wi-Fi strength maps. Conventional Wi-Fi strength maps only provide a two-dimensional view representing the wireless access point's effective range. The signal quality and strength measurements do not include changing vertical elevation. Efficient network layout in a multi-story building requires a system calculating signal quality metrics in three dimensions.

This project involves designing and prototyping a system to achieve 2.4GHz Wi-Fi signal quality measurements in a three-dimensional reference …

Dc-Dc 4-Switch Buck-Boost Converter For Energy Harvesting From Elliptical Machines, Alexander C. Samietz, Gustavo Guzman

Electrical Engineering

The senior project report documents the process of replacing the network of resistors inside an elliptical machine with a DC-DC buck-boost converter. The buck-boost DC-DC converter accepts a wide input range of 5-60 Volts, with an output of 36 Volts for the most efficient use of the already available microinverter. The microinverter reclaims the lost energy and safely distributes it back to the electrical grid. The addition of this project reduces heat emissions from wasted energy and shrinks the carbon footprint of its users.

High-Bandwidth Iop Sensing Backscatter Transceiver, Mark Manuel

Electrical Engineering

This document describes the design and build of a mobile phone attachment that communicates with an ASIC embedded smart contact lens. The portable device enables patients and clinicians to conveniently and instantaneously measure intraocular pressure (IOP). The device replaces bulky and expensive benchtop RF synthesizer and signal analyzer machines required for communication to the smart contact lens into a portable and convenient device. The transceiver transmits VHF ISM band radio and can capture reflected backscatter On-Off-Keying modulated message signals at bandwidths from DC to 130MHz.

Digital Guitar Effects Pedal, Ian Charles Lang

Electrical Engineering

The Digital Guitar Effects Pedal assists guitarists in creating music by implementing several useful functions. The pedal takes an analog input signal from an electric guitar, performs digital operations on it, and outputs a modified analog signal to an external guitar amplifier. Pedal functions include: an easy-to-use instrument tuner, a looper which records and plays back music segments, a tap tempo mode allowing easy synchronization with other instruments, and various guitar effects (distortion, echo, and vibrato, among other examples). The pedal user interface displays the current selected function, and allows easy switching between effects.

Versatile Usb Powered Turntable, Kyle P. Mccarry

Electrical Engineering

People enjoy vinyl music’s warm sound, user participation, and nostalgic feel, but the large physical size and seemingly immobile system requirements prevent vinyl turntables branching into digital music dominated realms. USB ports power many important everyday devices. A USB powered turntable increases record player adaptability, versatility, and portability thus expanding usable turntable scenarios. The manual turntable plays seven to twelve-inch vinyl at 33 1/3 or 45 rpm. It includes a stylus, magnetic phono cartridge, tonearm, 45-rpm adapter, motor, audio output, and several setting switches and knob for easy use.

Smart Espresso Machine, Hasham Ali, Justin L'Heureux, Hayden Yeung, Pei Hang Zhang

Electrical Engineering

With the recent “Internet of Things” trend, more and more home devices are connected to the Internet. Smart light bulbs, smart thermostats, smart door locks; just to name a few. These smart appliances enable users to view their status and control their settings remotely with just a few clicks on the smartphone. Moreover, the arrival of intelligent personal voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa revolutionized how users interact with these smart appliances. Nowadays, users are able to control these devices by just speaking.

If controlling smart devices is so easy, why not have your morning cup of joe be that …

Collision Avoidance Smartphone, Matt Columbres, Aaron Parisi, Joey Schnecker, Luis Wong

Electrical Engineering

There are many instances in day-to-day life where people cannot or would rather not pay full attention to their surroundings. Walking while preoccupied with a smartphone or walking while blind are excellent examples where technology could be used to make the task of avoiding 2collisions reactive, instead of proactive. A device which monitors a user’s surroundings and notifies the user when a potential collision is detected (and, additionally, notifying them as to where the obstacle is with respect to them) could be used to make walking distracted less of a hazard for the user and those around the user and …

Iridium Adc, Bill Blakely

Electrical Engineering

Today's modern digital audio systems are pushing performance boundaries. Most high quality audio digital to analog converters are capable of 24 bit, 96 kHz conversion. Professional audio interfaces frequently use 24 or 32 bit 192 kHz sample rates. These systems are able to achieve dynamic ranges greater than 100 dB, and distortion on the magnitude of single parts per million. This project proposes a high resolution analog digital converter (ADC) to measure and characterize these types of devices.

The proposed system will be capable of 24 bit conversion and an extended frequency range compared to the typical 20 Hz to …

Electric Upgrades - Supercapacitor Electric Bicycle, John Chen, Wilson Fletcher, Spencer Esparza

Electrical Engineering

Supercapacitors provide high current capabilities compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries, allowing for fast charging and discharging of electrical energy. This project seeks to test the benefits of supercapacitors in an electric bicycle unit in order to gain higher regenerative energy. The main components of the bicycle are its regenerative motor, supercapacitor array, and motor controller. Developing the project will provide data on the feasibility of using alternative battery storage and charging.

Induction Coil Power Generator, Steven Chi Li

Electrical Engineering

Over the years, society has evolved technologically to the point where we become dependent on technology. Today, nearly everybody have smartphone devices. This leads to the popularity of portable chargers since portable devices do not have a constant source of power. Even most portable chargers share the same problem as portable devices, which they both share a finite amount of battery power before needing to recharge at a power outlet. Ultimately, they are just temporary solutions to the problem of the lack of power. However, society assumes the abundance of electric power sources where they view them as an infinite …

Standalone Wireless Humming Music Synthesizer (Humsynth), Anna Shabrova, Chad Carlson

Electrical Engineering

The HumSynth is a voice controlled music synthesizer. Unlike the commonly found voice modulators on the market, this product uses a vocal input in place of the traditional keyboard interface. This allows the instrument to serve as an intuitive learning tool for those not proficient in music theory. By using their voice, the consumer is able to get a feel for different scales and keys additionally bypassing the physical learning curve of learning a traditional instrument. By the date of submission this project performs basic functions in recreating the pitch input but does not meet the full specs. The enclosure …

Electronic Drum Machine (E.D.M), Nyssa Marie Backes

Electrical Engineering

Many people argue that a drummer plays the most important role in a band of any genre. During live performances, the other band members rely on the drummer to keep the song moving forward at a proper steady pace. Even in recorded music, drums help listeners sing and dance along with their favorite songs. Thus, achieving success as a band, both in terms of recordings and live shows, absolutely requires a drummer. So, if a band does not have a drummer, and cannot afford the hefty cost of hiring a session drummer, a touring drummer, or both, how can they …