Engineering Commons^™

Merry-Go-Round Human Powered Generator, Sarah Lorraine Ashe, Salvador Navarro

Electrical Engineering

How do you bring electricity to families who have limited resources in a developing country? The DC House project, advised by Dr. Taufik, provides a way for kids to have fun, exercise and generate power for their homes – play-park human powered generators. This project intends to create a more efficient and cost effective way for playground equipment to be implemented for power generation. The redesigned and reconstructed merry-go-round human powered generator converts mechanical energy into electrical energy to power the DC house. This was a fully functioning generator that needed a better voltage gain, as well as, a more …

Early Forest Fire Detection System, Princepal Singh Buttar, Arshdeep Singh Gill

Electrical Engineering

This project aims at building a prototype of a land-based early forest fire detection system using a long-wave infrared camera, powered by a 12 V motorcycle battery. It uses a system engineering approach by putting different software and hardware blocks together to come up with a unique automated system that detects fire in the field of view. The fire can be detected, from a distance of 232 feet if the fire is from a small stove or 64 feet if the fire is from a candle about the size of a quarter, within a second and sends a warning email …

Bipolar Pulse Width Modulation Inverter, Xin Chen, Ryan Harada

Electrical Engineering

The project entails the design of an improved PWM inverter circuit for the inverter lab experiment in the introductory power electronic course. The improved PWM inverter uses bipolar switching with a half bridge control circuit. The inverter utilizes two ICL8038 chip to generate both the control and carrier signals. The improved inverter enhances the system's portability, protection and is easy to understand from the prior design. The improved PWM inverter provides AC variable single phase 65 Hz AC output voltage from DC input signal. The finished product will be used specifically in the EE 410 laboratory course.

Human-Powered Swing Generator, Danny Cai, Timothy Lai, Brandon Wong

Electrical Engineering

Many developing countries lack sufficient resources to provide enough electricity for every family to live with a satisfying level of comfort and convenience. Our project proposes a solution that provides families with an alternative access to electricity using a playground swing. This project addresses the design and construction of the Human-Powered Swing Generator, which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy for charging a battery. The charged battery serves as a source of DC energy for potential DC purposes, such as charging a cell phone.

Rapid Battery Exchange (Rbx) Charger Interface, Adam Morris

Electrical Engineering

As fossil fuel prices steadily rise and concerns associated with burning the fuels increase, electric vehicle sales continue to grow. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, EV sales “tripled from about 17,000 in 2011 to about 52,000 in 2012” [1]. In order to meet consumer transportation expectations—molded by fuel-powered vehicles—electric cars must have the ability to “refuel” quickly. Rapidly charging an EV’s traction battery poses one solution but doing so requires large power levels “five times as much as the average office consumes,” [2] making rapid charging less than ideal for the masses. Alternatively, swapping an EV’s depleted battery …

Integration Of Pv & Simulated Dc Sources For The Dc House, Arvind Ramesh, Kevin Gingrich, Scott Chau

Electrical Engineering

The DC House, an ever improving project, uses only pure DC power which most renewable energy sources generate, from solar to wind power. The DC House and this project expect a donation of photovoltaic modules to supply a constant source of DC power. At the moment, the DC House desperately needs power sources because not only does the house have various loads unaccounted for, but the distribution system to determine proper power flow needs a redesign. The project chose to account for these issues by implementing a solar panel onto the DC House and a power distribution module to have …

Rfid Door Lock, Ralph Ting, Mackenzie Keane

Electrical Engineering

The RFID Door Lock is a lock that is simple to install and allows the user to easily lock and unlock doors. It will contain a RFID reader/writer and a magnetic door lock for simple use. All the user will need is an RFID tag to be able to unlock and lock the door. A LED will be used to let the user know when the door is in fact locked. The components included in the module are small and compact. Additionally, the door lock is simple and easy to install. It does not require the consumer to disassemble the …

Low Temperature Battery Monitoring And Control System – Lithium-Ion Low Temperature Case Study, Aaron Lee, Richard Tham, Ken Huynh

Electrical Engineering

This open-ended research project, co-advised by Dr. Prodanov and Dr. Dolan, studies electronic and battery failures at low temperatures (between -70 ºC to 0 ºC). The main battery technology used for this project is Lithium-ion. The research project consists of two systems: the monitoring system and the actuating system. This project accomplishes the first part and assesses the feasibility of measuring the internal impedances of batteries for low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites as a means to monitor battery health. It also monitors the effects caused by low temperature conditions through internal impedance measurements from 0 ºC through -70 °C. It includes designing …

Study Of Grating Layer Location Of A Gan Nano-Grated Led And Comparison Of Triangular And Squared Ito Nano-Grating Of Gan Leds, Ashli Lauren Behill

Electrical Engineering

Reducing energy consumption is one the most critical and necessary actions being continually worked towards by many. According to the U.S. department of Energy, solid-state lighting (SSL) has the potential to reduce the light consumption in the United States by nearly one half and that light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will change the way of lighting in our homes and businesses. Gallium Nitride (GaN) based light emitting diode (LED) technologies are continuing to have a fast growing contribution to various applications in today’s society. GaN LEDS are already replacing the esteemed incandescent light bulb, and are transforming traffic lighting, optical interconnects, backlight …

Continuous Hand-Tool Leveling Device, Shaun Villa Koide

Electrical Engineering

To produce clean and precise cuts, hand-tools (e.g. knives and saws) must maintain a consistent angle of orientation during the entire cutting process. The Continuous Hand-Tool Leveling Device mounts on the desired hand-tool and the user inputs the desired angle of the cutting plane. The device utilizes a microcontroller unit (MCU) and accelerometer to implement real-time angle measurement. When using a hand-tool, the device uses an LED that indicates that the hand-tool’s angle deviates from the user-set desired angle, which prevents any potential mistakes from occurring due to user error. The device easily mounts on many common cutting tools. Additionally, …

Clear Circuit Contact Lens, Paul Hecker Ii, Phillip Azar, Alexander Do, Benny Ng, Errol Leon

Electrical Engineering

The clear active contact lens project aims to address safety and hazard awareness with an unexplored field of eye wear technology. With advancements in nanotechnology and the advent of circuits on contact lens, this project is one of the first research and development into this new field, following University of Washington and Google. The team focuses on the safety and biocompatibility of the contact lens for a comfortable ease of use. The designs push the limits of thin film printed technology with its pursuit of fine designs of 250μm antennas. The project streamlines the manufacturing process for a combination substrate …

Fpga Based Bitcoin Mining, Philip Dotemoto

Electrical Engineering

This project attempts to implement an open source FPGA based Bitcoin miner on an Altera DE2-115 development board. Bitcoin is an experimental peer-to-peer digital currency based on public key cryptography. The advantages of Bitcoins are that they can be transferred between any two people anywhere in the world, and they do not have the same fees and lack of control associated with traditional methods of currency transfers. The first part of this project focuses on detailing how the Bitcoin network and open source miner work. The second part of the project attempts to improve the performance of the open source …

Looped: Ios Application, Barbara Alejandra Wong, Lia Zadoyan

Computer Engineering

Looped is a crowd-sourced music-making iOS application. It is designed to bring friends together through creating melodies by looping mp3 samples. A user will choose a sound from the Looped sound database, loop that sound however he or she chooses, and then post it to their friends. The next user can then pick another sound, and loop that sound on top of the previously posted loop, creating an overlay of sound samples. The sound database is comprised of mp3’s provided by the creators of Patatap. Patatap is a simple online interface for playing sounds with your computer keyboard.

Implementing A Robust Data Storage Software System For Cp9, Stuart Andrew Weickgenant

Computer Engineering

This project focuses on the continuation of the CP9 CubeSat project, specifically the software which will be running on the satellite when it goes into space. This project mostly goes into designing a robust system which stores the data collected from the sensors on board CP9, whose purpose is to collect vibrations data from its launch vehicle during its ascent into space, into an easy to analyze system once the data is downlinked to PolySat’s ground station after launch. One other thing this system does is to prevent CP9 from collecting unnecessary data after launch. Testing was done on this …

Gesture Recognition Using Microsoft’S Kinect V2, Andrew Weinfield

Computer Engineering

No abstract provided.

“State Machines”: A High-Throughput Distributed Game Framework, Brandon Howell Ivy

Computer Engineering

Online multiplayer games allow competition with other opponents using the internet. Their development is difficult as it involves many complex areas of computer science - optimization, security, big data, and thread safety. Many multiplayer game frameworks have been published, but very few are generic.

In this project, we focus on the framework design of a web service which allows users to easily create multiplayer games, and artificial intelligence bots to compete in them. It handles turn-based multiplayer communication, and allows the games and bots to ignore the concepts of multiplayer systems. Multiple game instances can run simultaneously, where each game’s …

Geovisualization: Integration And Visualization Of Multiple Datasets Using Mapbox, Cecilia Cadenas

Computer Engineering

he use of geovisualizations to analyze multiple datasets can ease the research and investigation to find correlations between these datasets. However, making these visualizations with multiple datasets can be challenging due to the lack of standardization within file formats and the software needed to render the visualizations.

This project investigates the making of these visualizations, maps in this case, using an open source platforms like Mapbox. Using Python scripts for the data parsing, CartoCSS for the designing of the maps, JavaScript to make the maps interactive, and HTML to combine all the layers together a set of maps were created. …

Spirit: A Home Automation System, Andrew Choi

Computer Engineering

Spirit is a multi device home automation system. Designed and implemented for California Polytechnic State University’s Senior Project program, this project was worked on during the duration of two school quarters from January 7, 2014 to June 13, 2014. The system consists of monitor/controllers designed to carry out everyday tasks in the average American household and an accompanying mobile application designed to receive information and control the devices. The monitor/controllers, or “Spirits”, are primarily developed using Arduino development tools and Arduino microcontroller boards. The spirits include a thermostat, named Tempus, an electrical outlet, Electrus, and a wall light switch, Luxos.

Autotab - Automatic Guitar Tablature Generation, Shaun Boley, Anthony Cisneros, Eric Kauzlarich

Computer Engineering

Our project consists of two different parts:

The first part contains an analysis of various pitch estimation algorithms. A number of different open-source pitch estimation libraries were tested using guitar recordings in order to gauge how accurately and consistently they outputted the correct frequencies. The results showed that the algorithms did not perform up to expectations, especially when testing with guitars with wound strings and within certain frequency ranges.

The second part details the creation of a tablature generator. It reads in a note sequence as an input, then generates tablature in the form of ASCII text. A modified greedy …

Ultraviolet Led Biofouling Mitigation, Andrew Lam

Computer Engineering

The goal is to determine if low-cost UV LEDs can mitigate marine biofouling on small glass or acrylic camera lenses. A microprocessor-controlled experimental setup to control the illumination of low-cost UV LEDs of various wavelength and packaging was fashioned. The system consists of a programmed microcontroller, a manufactured LED breakout interface, and a submergible UV LED array enclosed in a borosilicate glass tube. A preliminary qualitative assessment of four different UV LEDs was conducted during a three-week deployment of the experimental setup in the raw seawater system at the Cal Poly Center for Costal and Marine Sciences in Avila Beach, …

Growing Grounds Inventory Senior Project Application, Javier Balandran

Computer Engineering

No abstract provided.

Adaptive Kayak Seating: The Tide Rider 360, Irvin Camacho, Grant Petersen, Audrey Riddle, Andrea Voigt

Mechanical Engineering

The Adaptive Paddling Program at California Polytechnic State University has sponsored the construction of an adaptive kayak seat, the Tide Rider 360, to provide paddlers with disabilities sufficient trunk support while out on the water. In particular, this design focused on providing the least restrictive environment for all users while still providing sufficient lateral, neck, back, and hip support. This seat is intended for use in the quarterly Adaptive Paddling Program to allow people with disabilities to experience the joys of kayaking in the most comfortable and supportive environment possible.

The following report details the background research, design development, manufacturing, …

Feel Of The Ocean: Final Report, Ian E. Hoffman, Kevin T. Dunlea, Ryan A. Palo

Mechanical Engineering

The overall goal of this project is to create a system that will enhance the audience’s sense that they are actually in the ocean, surrounded by whales, as they attend the Music Department’s 2014 Spring RSVP show. We have designed something that, through the interaction of light and moving fabric, will augment the performance.

Team Joseph: Adaptive Aquatic Device, Paul Sands, Lilly Hoff, Andrea Voigt

Mechanical Engineering

The scope of this project included designing and fabricating an adaptive aquatic device for Joseph, a 20 year old student in the Special Education Program at San Luis Obispo High School with a subset of cerebral palsy known as spastic quadriplegia. The project was presented at the beginning of the Fall 2013 quarter to the mechanical engineering students at Cal Poly with the aspiration that a team of engineers would construct a device that would allow Joseph, his friends and family to compete in their first triathlon on July 27, 2014. The project was humbly accepted by mechanical engineering students …

Adapted Pool Cue, Cole Clark, Daniel Patterson, Michelle Cheung, Dylan Sauer

Mechanical Engineering

Our primary goal was to develop an adaptive device to allow a user with limited upper body mobility to more effectively play a game of pool. Within this goal it was important to design around the concept of a least restrictive environment, in order to provide the user with as close to a standard pool playing experience as possible. The device was designed to specifically meet the needs of John Lee, an Assistive Technology Specialist at Cal Poly's Disability Resource Center. Mr. Lee has muscular dystrophy, which limits his upper and lower body mobility and currently requires his use of …

Geared Wheelchair, Shawn Jafari, Kyle Sitton, Mitch Wickline

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Blds Articulated Mounting Feet, Mitchell D. Conn, Chris Mazzucco

Mechanical Engineering

This final report summarizes all of the efforts of the Senior Project aimed at creating Articulating Mounting Feet for the BLDS. The project focuses on improving the design of the mounting feet for the current Boundary Layer Data System at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Dr. Russ Westphal, the project’s sponsor, wishes that our team focus primarily on a reliable and lightweight mount design for a curved wing, with only transverse curvature. Dr. Westphal is currently researching the boundary layer effects on airplane wings at Cal Poly, and the ability to mount to a multitude of surface contours would increase …

Science Of Water Table, Tim Haigh, Kris Francis, Nick Schlemmer

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Peek Wear Test System, Michael Brown, Mason Chellemi, Allian Roman

Mechanical Engineering

The wear characteristics of PEEK carbon fiber composites are not well understood in comparison to high strength materials in common use such as steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber epoxy. This lack of understanding limits the applications in which the superior strength to weight ratio and stiffness of PEEK carbon fiber composites may be utilized with confidence to situations in which there are no significant bearing surface interactions between nearby components. The objective of this project was to design, build, and test a machine that is capable of evaluating the behavior of PEEK carbon fiber composites in a long term, high …

Redesign And Evaluation Of The Irrigation System For The Cal Poly Radio Hill Avocado Grove, Rob Hillebrecht

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.