Engineering Commons^™

A Polygon Approach For Satellite Coverage Computation Problems, Caleb I. Arbreton

Master's Theses

During celestial body observation mission planning, predicted sensor coverage is a key analysis tool used by designers to inform concept of operations. It enables trade studies by applying a metric to assess how well different sensor, satellite, and constellation configurations can observe a mission's region of interest. The effectiveness of the studied components is then paramount in determining whether they are justified in the system architecture. Coverage computation becomes more difficult as sensor types and regions of interest (RoIs) deviate from simple shapes, and as problem formulations seek higher-fidelity results. These simplifications include: conical camera sensors, RoIs represented as simple, …

Effects Of Atmospheric Drag On Angles-Only Initial Relative Orbit Determination Accuracy In Low Earth Orbit, Sydney Walsh

Master's Theses

Growing congestion in low Earth orbit is increasing the demand for effective space situational awareness, straining ground station capabilities. Space-based relative orbit determination offers an alternative, using line-of-sight angle measurements from a chaser spacecraft to estimate a target spacecraft's orbit. This research focuses on angles-only initial relative orbit determination (IROD), where no prior target state knowledge is assumed. It investigates how IROD solution accuracy is affected by differential atmospheric drag between the chaser and target spacecraft. A nonlinear batch least squares filter is designed to estimate the target's initial state, which is compared against a truth solution. It was found …

Development Of A Computer Vision Based Rendezvous And Docking Test Platform, David T. Forbes

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the work completed in the development and testing of a low-cost modular sensor package capable of rendezvous and docking by providing a vehicle with relative navigational commands. These navigational commands are created using relative localization data gathered and processed onboard the sensor package, with validation, in post-processing, against global localization data. This research aims to reduce the cost of smaller autonomous vehicles by removing the need for custom control units, as its modular nature will allow it to be adapted to many different systems and vehicles. Discussed within this thesis is the rapid prototyping, development, and testing …

Computer Vision Methods For Detecting Counterfeit Usd Bills, Tyler W. Jones

Master's Theses

This thesis addresses the global challenge of counterfeit paper currency by proposing a classical computer vision framework for distinguishing genuine United States Dollar (USD) bills from counterfeit ones using image data. In contrast to existing approaches that rely on a large number of easily reproducible visual features, this work prioritizes the detection of a single, robust security feature: the ultraviolet (UV) reactive security strip embedded in genuine USD bills of denominations $5 and above. By focusing on a feature that is inherently difficult to replicate, the proposed method reduces the likelihood of counterfeit bills being misclassified as genuine.

The system …

Design And Evaluation Of An Assistive Powered Hand Orthosis For Grasp Activities For People Post-Stroke, Sydney Alexander

Master's Theses

After suffering a stroke, many survivors experience physical disability that affects their ability to complete daily tasks using their hands. Physical therapy is often pre scribed to people post-stroke, but is not fully effective at restoring hand function. The goal of this project was to design and fabricate an assistive device for people post-stroke to help with grasp and release. The device was designed to address com mon shortcomings of existing similar devices. State of the art devices in this domain were investigated to determine a set of design improvements. A novel motor-actuated hand orthosis was designed to decrease weight, …

Teaching Multi-Core Architecture: Design And Implementation Of A Cache-Coherent Cpu For Undergraduate Education, Isaac R. Lake

Master's Theses

Modern computing has relied on multicore processors for high performance for nearly two decades, yet undergraduate computer engineering curricula often provide limited exposure to parallel hardware architectures and their design challenges. This thesis presents the design of CPE 433, a course that extends the pipelined and cached OTTER CPU developed in CPE 233 and CPE 333 into a multicore processor capable of running parallel workloads. The thesis documents the architectural changes required to adapt the verified single-core design into a multicore system, including MMIO-based interrupt support, a shared cache hierarchy with cache-coherence mechanisms, and clock-gated modules. It further presents a …

Hamster: Hybrid-Actuated Mobile Spherical Terrain Exploration Rover, Winnie Gao

Master's Theses

The expansion of space exploration to increasingly challenging planetary environments requires mobility systems capable of extreme traversal capabilities and operational reliability. This thesis presents the design, development, and testing of a low-cost Hybrid-Actuated Mobile Spherical Terrain Exploration Rover (HAMSTER) intended for use on a planetary surface exploration mission. HAMSTER uses a pendulum-based actuation method for steering and an actuated internal shaft to propel the vehicle forward. The internal structure includes a two-tiered central case composed of the navigation control module, accelerometer, motor controller, primary DC motor, battery, voltage regulators, Raspberry Pi, pendulum servo motor, and drive shafts. Additive manufacturing through …

Space Quacker Advanced Development (Squad): Lora Modulation On A Leo Cubesat Mission For Evaluation Of 916 Mhz Uplink, Samantha Brunton

Master's Theses

The LoRa Modulation format was developed by SEMTECH in 2018 and has revolutionized terrestrial Internet of Things (IoT) networks. LoRa (Long Range) has been successfully demonstrated as a long-range, low-data-rate communication modulation format and packet protocol for low-power terrestrial applications. LoRa offers low power consumption, low cost, robust signal sensitivity, and long communication range. Recently, interest has grown in using LoRa communication in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite systems, especially for global IoT connectivity. Previous studies have investigated the theoretical feasibility and simulated the performance of LoRa satellite communication. Companies such as Lacuna Space have demonstrated the practical potential of …

Implementation Of A Line-Scan Camera Triangulation Sensor For A Ball Balancer, Jackson R. Mclaughlin

Master's Theses

Ball Balancer or Ball on Plate systems are used for education and research in control theory. These consist of a plate which can be actively tilted, with a ball rolling on the surface. Students are challenged to model the dynamics of the system and implement a control loop which is capable of stabilizing the ball by actuating the plate.  The mechatronics group at Cal Poly is developing hardware for one of these ball-balancer systems, for future use in the Mechanical Engineering curriculum.

The position of the ball relative to the plate must be measured in order to control and stabilize …

Evaluating The Cost-Benefit Tradeoffs Of Simt Control Mechanisms In Resource-Constrained Gpus, Nikolas Tambornini

Master's Theses

This thesis conducts a hardware-level analysis of the cost–benefit tradeoffs associated with increasingly complex SIMT control mechanisms in a resource-constrained GPU core. Four design implementations are evaluated: a Base Tiny GPU without warp scheduling capability; a Warp Scheduler using round-robin warp selection; a Branch Divergence implementation incorporating a dedicated divergence stack and post-dominator reconvergence mechanism; and a Dynamic Warp Allocation implementation that replaces the static warp structure with a runtime warp manager, regrouping threads by current program counter to recover SIMD lane utilization during active divergence. Each design is evaluated using two complementary measurements: functional simulation implemented using the CocoTB …

Synthesis And Characterization Of A Graphene Oxide-Zif-8 Composite For Enhanced Post-Combustion Carbon Capture, Sydney Cooper

Master's Theses

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from fossil fuel combustion are a major contributor to climate change and its associated environmental impacts. The current standard technology for post-combustion carbon capture, aqueous amine scrubbing, is effective but requires significant regeneration energy and has high operational costs. As a result, solid sorbents have been investigated as lower-energy alternatives. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a promising class of porous nanomaterials due to their high surface area, tunable pore structures, and adjustable surface chemistry. Among them, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) has high thermal and chemical stability, hydrophobicity, and favorable adsorption properties. However, conventional synthesis methods often rely …

Boundary Influence In Truncated Groundwater Models: Reconstructing A Local-Scale Modflow Model From A Consultant-Developed Regional Model In The Monterey Subbasin, Bruce K. Liscomb

Master's Theses

Regional groundwater models built by consultants contain valuable calibrated frameworks but are often too large and complex for repeated local-scale analysis. Rather than rebuilding an entirely new smaller model, this study truncates the existing consultant-built regional model of the Monterey Subbasin, preserving the original grid structure and parameter framework while reducing the active domain to a manageable size for planning-level use. A key finding is that boundary-condition representation exerted a dominant influence on simulated groundwater behavior within the truncated domain, highlighting that truncation is a structural decision that meaningfully affects how the model responds. Model performance was evaluated two ways. …

The Effects Of Carbon-Fiber Plates And Peba-Based Midsole Foam In Running Shoes On Lower-Limb Joint Kinetics And Kinematics In Recreational Female Runners, Jordan M. Allen

Master's Theses

The recent increase in long-distance running participation and the rapid advancement in footwear technology have created a need for research on injury prevention in this growing population of recreational runners. When “super shoes” were first introduced to the running scene, they caught the attention of runners worldwide with the rapid improvement in marathon performance [1]. Today, every major running brand offers its own version of a super shoe, each incorporating a carbon-fiber plate and PEBA-based midsole foam. While previous studies have shown the performance benefits of these shoes, a gap remains in the literature regarding how they impact knee, hip, …

Simulation Of Powder Spreading For Metal Additive Manufacturing, Florence Duff

Master's Theses

The powder recoating process for Laser Powder Bed Fusion requires iterative experimentation to develop the correct process parameters that will result in high quality parts. There currently lacks good spread quality metrics and models for optimizing spread quality. A machine that simulates the powder spreading process was built to streamline the process of selecting process parameters for specific types of powders without having to operate the full laser system. The parameters investigated were the layer thickness and spreading speed. The response variables were metrics developed to assess spread quality: the percentage of the build plate covered by powder and the …

Evaluating Design Choices For Gpu-Accelerated Finite-Difference Time-Domain Simulation On Resource-Constrained Devices, Joel Manesh

Master's Theses

The Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method is a numerical technique for solving partial differential equations. It was first developed to solve Maxwell’s equations for electromagnetic wave propagation and has since been extended to model other physical phenomena governed by wave propagation. Because the FDTD method is data-parallel, it is well-suited for GPU acceleration; modern FDTD-based simulations run offline on large GPU clusters. There is, however, very little research on running FDTD on resource-constrained embedded GPUs, which are increasingly popular for real-time applications.

This thesis explores a CUDA-based FDTD solver for the 3D wave equation on the Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano. This …

Reinforced Concrete Design Fundamentals, Belen Stephanie Martinez Espinoza, Estevan Jacob Perez

Architectural Engineering

Hispanic workers make up a large and growing portion of the construction workforce in the United States; particularly in California, the percentage of construction workers who are Hispanic is estimated to be about 55% as of 2021 (Elkins). Many of these workers are Spanish-speaking, yet there is still a gap between technical engineering design and what is understood and applied in the field. One major reason for this gap is the lack of clear bilingual resources. To bridge the gap, a 48-page bilingual booklet titled Reinforced Concrete Design Fundamentals (Fundamentos del Diseño de Concreto Reforzado in Spanish) was created. This …

Design And Construction Of Caed Support Shop Steel Fence On Existing Cmu Wall, Jared Gustavo Martinez, Agustin Dominguez Jimenez

Architectural Engineering

This project involved the design, testing, fabrication, and construction of a new steel fence system for the CAED support shop at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The fence was designed to attach to an existing CMU wall and serve as a future attachment point for a removable shade canopy system. Experimental testing was performed on multiple turnbuckles to establish a conservative design load for the structural design of the fence posts, baseplates, welds, and anchorage connections. In addition to meeting structural requirements, the project incorporated architectural elements inspired by the original fence and surrounding CAED shop environment. The …

Tanzania Mbesese Initiative 2026, June Ezzell, Sam Liebman, Noah Beyer, Kate Hamilton, Luke Vollert, Kylee Borgen, Cody Balazs, Meg Mclaughlin

Architectural Engineering

The Tanzania Mbesese Initiative 2026 Senior Project supports a multi-year design-build effort to establish the Same Polytechnic College in Same, Tanzania. This community faces high poverty levels and limited access to higher education, necessitating sustainable infrastructure to support tertiary education. To prepare for the upcoming July phase of construction, an eight-student Architectural Engineering team designed three practical and resilient structures: a Shade Structure, a Water Collection Structure, and a Reusable Scaffolding system. The final design applied structural analysis, modeling, and hand-tool fabrication practice to balance material efficiency with long-term structural durability. The deliverables provide comprehensive construction documentation, complete material takeoffs, …

Design And Implementation Of A Honeycomb Damping System For The 2026 Eeri Seismic Design Competition, Vera Nguyen, Lauryn Wojcik

Architectural Engineering

The authors of this report were a part of the 2026 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) chapter at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. In July 2026, they will travel to Portland, Oregon with 12 students to compete in the Undergraduate Seismic Design Competition hosted by EERI. The competition required teams to develop a comprehensive structural design proposal that included computer-based modeling and analysis, construction of three physical models, and the preparation of both a technical poster and oral presentation for a proposed high-rise building located in Portland, Oregon. Cal Poly’s “Illahee Tower” was designed with an emphasis on …

Concrete And Masonry Code (Beams), Michael Alexander Simas Rocha

Architectural Engineering

This report only covers the beam design of the code that was written. The end goal of this project is to write code for concrete and masonry following what was taught in the lecture classes. This project is acting as a foundation for the end goal of a program that can compete with SAP2000, ETABS, RISA, and others. One final goal is to have the print out have the look and feel of having been done by hand. While coding; several factors were recorded including time spent coding, debugging, and then to do three problems by hand vs how long …

Evaluation Of Laser Doppler Flowmetry And Transillumination Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging To Measure Blood Flow Change In Ischemia Mouse Hindlimb Models, Simon Park

Master's Theses

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), caused by plaque buildup and narrowing of the arteries, reduces blood flow to the extremities. Promoting collateral arteriogenesis can help redirect blood flow. However, simple growth of collaterals may not be enough to reverse PAD. Instead, the ability for the collaterals to vasodilate and control blood flow is important, meaning assessing collateral function is important for the arteriogenesis assesment. Although microscopy techniques can measure vasodilation, contrast limitations in larger vessels such as collaterals make blood flow measurements difficult. Techniques such as ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can measure blood flow but have limitations with cost …

Early Dementia Tracking Utilizing Virtual Reality, Gabriel Deguzman, Manuel Hernandez, Ryan Iglesias, Jose Ornelas

General Engineering

This project aims to create a simulation in virtual reality that replicates an activity that older adults are familiar with and presents an objective for the user to complete. The simulation will monitor the user’s cognitive functions based on their performance. The functionality of the designed program includes, but is not limited to: continuous tracking of cognitive behavior, skipped steps, and completion times. The program will take in relevant data and provide results on the monitored tasks and give the user a conclusion for further action. The application of this simulation will not be used as a medical device or …

Polysaber: A Custom Reactive Lightsaber Soundboard, Pedro B. Medeiros

Computer Engineering

The PolySaber project was developed as a custom reactive lightsaber control system built as a fully custom PCB design. The purpose of the project was to create a lower-cost and more customizable alternative to commercially available lightsaber soundboards while simultaneously providing hands-on experience in PCB design, embedded systems development, and hardware integration. Commercial lightsaber soundboards are expensive, proprietary, and difficult for hobbyists to customize. The PolySaber project addresses this by creating a modifiable hardware platform built around the ESP32 microcontroller. The system supports programmable firmware, RGB NeoPixel blade control, motion sensing, reactive swing and clash effects, onboard audio amplification, and …

Wind Power Turbine Pitching, Sierra Bindseil, Olivia Hoffsis, Izik Hingeley, Tucker Donahue

Mechanical Engineering

It is crucial that wind turbines are able to control the angle of their blades relative to the wind for optimal performance, efficiency, and safety [1]. This project will design a pitching mechanism for the Cal Poly Wind Power turbine that will compete in the Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC). Currently, for full scale wind turbines, the industry standard design includes the pitch of each blade being controlled by its own individual motor [2]. Because of the smaller scale of Cal Poly Wind Power’s turbine, along with power usage constraints, three separate motors are not a practical approach. Cal Poly Wind …

Cal Poly Fluid Powered Vehicle Challenge 2025/2026, Ethan Malachi Nejame Zeiset, Christian Anthony Cuamani, Daniel Chacon-Bizarro, Marcus Minera, Bradley Hansell

Mechanical Engineering

In this Final Design Report, the Cal Poly Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge Contending Team competed in Sun Hydraulics’ 2026 Fluid Powered Vehicle Challenge. The objective of the competition is to expose college students to the fluid power sector, the “hidden giant” of the engineering industry. Specifically, student teams are tasked with the development of a human-powered, fluid-driven vehicle for use in various competitive settings. The team prioritized the optimization of an existing prototype for simplicity, ease of maintenance, and reliability during the competition. The existing prototype exhibited issues related to the main frame’s deflection under load, a lack of gear …

Off-Grid Cabin Hydroelectric Generator, Keller Feltman, Lance Savatgy, River Perino, Jesse Valencia

Mechanical Engineering

This project developed a portable hydroelectric generator intended to provide low-power electricity generation for an off-grid cabin in Alpine County, California. The system was designed to utilize naturally occurring creek flow to generate electrical power while remaining portable, durable, and environmentally conscious.

The final system consists of an axial-flow turbine, belt-driven generator subsystem, waterproof electronics enclosure, aluminum support frame, and integrated wildlife protection screening. Engineering analysis was performed to estimate hydraulic power availability, turbine performance, drivetrain requirements, and component lifespan. These analyses guided the selection and development of the final design.

Throughout prototype testing, several design modifications were required. Initial …

Multi-Ton Bin Transport Device, Cole Kramer, Ruth Stirrup, Fabian Ruiz, Daniel Ramirez

Mechanical Engineering

This project sought to solve a problem at the Water Resource Recovery Facility in San Luis Obispo with the transportation of multi-ton bins on-site. Their current solutions prove ineffective, as they damage their equipment and the concrete pad, as well as pose major safety risks to the operators moving these bins. The Facility requires the bin transport design to be low-cost, effective, and without risk of damage to the bins or surroundings, while maintaining the integrity of the bins. This project presents a conceptual design that is similar to a scissor lift, integrated into a trailer which will connect to …

Elastic Actuator For Robotic Leg, Bruce Berg, Allan Pham, Madeline Slater, Sofie Zalatimo

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly Legged Robots Group (CPLRG) is developing a 12 degree of freedom robot with the goal of eventually performing highly dynamic movements such as jumps and flips. During such movements, large impact forces will be experienced by the leg, potentially resulting in damage to physical components such as the motors. The scope of this project is to integrate elastic elements into the quadruped legs to reduce shock loads on the motors and improve the efficiency of the legs through energy storage. The key stakeholders for this project are Professor Charlie Refvem and Dr. Simon Xing. Other stakeholders include …

Computational Modeling To Evaluate Bipolar Flexible Electrode Designs For Use In Sciatic Nerve Stimulation, Krystyna S. Allman

Master's Theses

Peripheral nerve stimulation is clinically used to manage pain, rehabilitate motor function, and promote nerve regeneration. The sciatic nerve is often studied for stimulation due to its accessibility and clinical relevance. A conventional nerve cuff electrode is the least invasive method for nerve stimulation, but the mismatch of mechanical properties of the electrode with the nerve tissue can cause damage to the nerve and the electrode itself. This study investigated a novel bipolar, gold nanowire-based cuff electrode design and its ability to selectively activate fibers in the rat sciatic nerve at varying interelectrode spacings. In COMSOL, A finite element model …

Skip The Grid: Bringing Photovoltaic Energy To The Navajo And Hopi Nations, Emily Edmondson

Construction Management

Skip the Grid is an interdisciplinary service-learning initiative that provides off-grid solar energy systems to households within the Navajo and Hopi Nations that lack access to electricity. In March 2026, students from five academic disciplines at California Polytechnic State University partnered with industry professionals and community organizations to complete the fifth annual installation trip. The project's purpose was to improve quality of life by providing reliable access to lighting, refrigeration, and small-scale electrical power in underserved communities where traditional grid expansion is extremely costly. Preparation for the project included fundraising, procurement, technical training, and coordination among multiple stakeholders. Participants were …