Engineering Commons^™

Some Usability Issues And Research Priorities In Spoken Dialog Applications, Nigel Ward, Anais G. Rivera, Karen Ward, David G. Novick

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

As a priority-setting exercise, we examined interactions between users and a simple spoken dialog system in comparison to interactions with a human operator. Based on analysis of the observed usability differences and their root causes we propose seven priority issues for spoken dialog systems research.

Computing Best-Possible Bounds For The Distribution Of A Sum Of Several Variables Is Np-Hard, Vladik Kreinovich, Scott Ferson

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many real-life situations, we know the probability distribution of two random variables x1 and x2, but we have no information about the correlation between x1 and x2; what are the possible probability distributions for the sum x1+x2? This question was originally raised by A. N. Kolmogorov. Algorithms exist that provide best-possible bounds for the distribution of x1+x2; these algorithms have been implemented as a part of the efficient software for handling probabilistic uncertainty. A natural question is: what if we have several (n>2) variables with known distribution, we have no information about their correlation, and we are interested …

Why Product Of Probabilities (Masses) For Independent Events? A Remark, Vladik Kreinovich, Scott Ferson

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

For independent events A and B, the probability P(A&B) is equal to the product of the corresponding probabilities: P(A&B)=P(A)*P(B). It is well known that the product f(a,b)=a*b has the following property: once P(A1)+...+P(An)=1 and P(B1)+...+P(Bm)=1, the probabilities P(Ai&Bj)=f(P(Ai),P(Bj)) also add to 1: f(P(A1),P(B1))+...+f(P(An),P(Bm))=1. We prove that the product is the only function that satisfies this property, i.e., that if, vice versa, this property holds for some function f(a,b), then this function f is the product. This result provided an additional explanation of why for independent events, we multiply probabilities (or, in the Dempster-Shafer case, masses).

In this paper, we strengthen …

Scene-Based Nonuniformity Correction Technique For Focal-Plane Arrays Using Readout Architecture, Balaji Narayanan, Russell C. Hardie, Robert A. Muse

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Spatial fixed pattern noise is a common and major problem in modern infrared imagers due to the nonuniform response of the photodiodes in the focal plane array of the imaging system. In addition, the nonuniform response of the readout and the digitization electronics, involved in multiplexing the signals from the photodiodes, causes further nonuniformity. In this paper, we describe a novel scene based nonuniformity correction algorithm that treats the aggregate nonuniformity in separate stages. Firstly, the nonuniformity from the readout amplifiers is corrected using knowledge of the readout architecture of the imaging system. In the second stage, the nonuniformity resulting …

Environmental-Based Characterization Of Soc-Based Instrumentation Systems For Stratified Testing, N. J. Park, Koshy M. George, Nohpill Park, Minsu Choi, Yong-Bin Kim, Fabrizio Lombardi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes a novel environmental-based method for evaluating the good yield rate (GYR) of systems-on-chip (SoC) during fabrication. Testing and yield evaluation at high confidence are two of the most critical issues for the success of SoC as a viable technology. The proposed method relies on different features of fabrication, which are quantified by the so-called Fabrication environmental parameters (EPs). EPs can be highly correlated to the yield, so they are analyzed using statistical methods to improve its accuracy and ultimately direct the test process to an efficient execution. The novel contributions of the proposed method are: 1) to …

A Matter Of Priorities: Effects Of Increased Opportunities For Extracurricular And Non-Traditional Learning Experiences On Student Time Management And Attitudes, David Spurlock, Daniel J. Bailey, Susan L. Murray, Andrew S. Ricke

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many schools are emphasizing non-traditional and extracurricular learning experiences for undergraduate engineering students. These include activities such as incorporating servicelearning projects into the classroom, involving students in design competitions (e.g., solar car, formula car races), and promoting involvement in traditional campus organizations. Often this emphasis is in response to changes in ABET requirements, desires of future employers, and needs to improve student retention. What are the effects of emphasizing these sorts of activities on student attitudes and time management decisions? We examine the influences on students' priorities for allocating their time and their perceptions of the relative importance of available …

Evaluation Of A Two Dimensional Analysis Method As A Screening And Evaluation Tool For Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury, Scott G. Mclean, K. Walker, K. R. Ford, G. D. Myer, T. E. Hewett, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Increased knee valgus predicts the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, particularly in women. Reducing injury rates thus relies on detecting and continually evaluating people with relatively large valgus motions.

Objectives: To examine the potential of a two dimensional (2D) video analysis method for screening for excessive valgus.

Methods: Ten female and 10 male National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball players had three dimensional (3D) knee valgus and two dimensional (2D) frontal plane knee angle quantified during side step, side jump, and shuttle run tasks. 3D valgus was quantified from external marker coordinates using standard techniques, and 2D data …

Coordination Of Ufls And Ufgc By Application Of D-Smes, Li Zhang, Yilu Liu, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, the authors studied the coordination of under frequency load shedding (UFLS) and under frequency governor control (UFGC) by applying the distributed superconducting magnetic energy storage (D-SMES) devices. The active power of D-SMES device is controlled to eliminate the initial rapid frequency drop and allow time for the full action of UFGC to take over. The reactive power of D-SMES is controlled to stabilise the local bus voltage. The research results show that D-SMES devices can damp the quick dropping of system frequency and hold it waiting for the full activation of system spinning reserve. D-SMES can help …

Observations At The Tidal Plume Front Of A High-Volume River Outflow, Philip M. Orton, David A. Jay

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present shipboard observations of very strong convergence, vertical velocities and mixing, and near-bed impacts associated with the leading-edge front of the tidally-pulsed Columbia River plume. With upwelling-favorable winds and riverflow of 4900 m³s⁻¹, the plume propagates as a buoyant gravity current with a rotary, bore-like vertical frontal circulation and downwelling as strong as 0.35 m s⁻¹. In waters as deep as 65 m, near-bed currents intensify to as much as 1.0 m s⁻¹ after frontal passage, and are often associated with elevated acoustic backscatter. Mixing is locally strong, with an eddy diffusivity …

Mercury Experience And Capabilities, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Brochure about the Energy & Environmental Research Center’s (EERC’s) mercury research capabilities. Describes the EERC facilities and mercury testing technology. [This item is an outdated or superseded version and retained for historical purposes only. It may no longer reflect current information, policies, or practices.]

Acuta Enews June 2005, Vol. 34, No. 6

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

From the President................................. Tamara J. Closs, Georgetown University

BICSI to Offer CECs for 52 Conference Sessions

Tech Talk: lP Telephony Changes Dynamics of Security................. Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

911 for VolP

Board Report........................ Carmine Piscopo, Providence College

FYI: Useful lnformation from the Campus.......................... Student Monitor

ACUTA Member Sites to See

DC Update................................ Whitney Johnson, Retired, No. Michigan Univ.

Web Tip: Membership Logos Available..................... Aaron Fuehrer, ACUTA Computer Services Mgr.

Welcome New Members

ACUTA Online Press Room

Chromatographic Purification Of Mabs With Non-Affinity Supports, Anuradha Subramanian

Papers in Biotechnology

The introduction of new protein-based therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), MAb-based vaccines, growth factors and plasma proteins implies the need to study, characterize, and purify. The separation step is likely to be a bottleneck and cost-effective technology will be needed to rectify it. The currently prevalent matrices for chromatographic separation of immunoglobulins (Igs) are based on Protein A or its recombinant versions (Protein G). They display excellent selectivity and specificity, but are expensive. A Protein A matrix costs $8,000 to 12,000 per L-resin. The typical production column volume is 100 L. The million-dollar matrix is far more expensive than …

Disordered Speech Assessment Using Automatic Methods Based On Quantitative Measures, Lingyun Gu, John G. Harris, Rahul Shrivastav, Christine Sapienza

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Speech quality assessment methods are necessary for evaluating and documenting treatment outcomes of patients suffering from degraded speech due to Parkinson's disease, stroke, or other disease processes. Subjective methods of speech quality assessment are more accurate and more robust than objective methods but are time-consuming and costly. We propose a novel objective measure of speech quality assessment that builds on traditional speech processing techniques such as dynamic time warping (DTW) and the Itakura-Saito (IS) distortion measure. Initial results show that our objective measure correlates well with the more expensive subjective methods. © 2005 Hindawi Publishing Corporation.

Liquid Saturation And Gas-Liquid Distribution In Multiphase Monolithic Reactors, Tobias Bauer, Shaibal Roy, Ruediger Lange, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Monolith Bed is One of the Promising Catalytic Reactors for a Number of Chemical Gas-Liquid-Solid Processes. in the Present Work, Liquid Saturations for Five Different Monoliths Have Been Investigated Experimentally in a Cold-Flow Unit with a Reactor Diameter of 5.0 Cm. the Influences of Gas and Liquid Flow Rates and of the Direction of Two-Phase Flow on Liquid Saturation Were Examined. the Results Indicate that the Direction of Flow Has No Significant Influence on Liquid Saturation for Proper Gas-Liquid Distribution. the Experimental Results Are in Good Agreement with Predictions of the Drift Flux Model using the Distribution Parameter Proposed …

Special Issue: Engineering Applications Of Representations Of Function, Part 2, Robert B. Stone, Amaresh Chakrabarti

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Three-Dimensional Radiative Transfer In An Isotropically Scattering, Plane-Parallel Medium: Generalized X- And Y-Functions, D. W. Mueller, A. L. Crosbie

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The topic of this work is the generalized X- and Y-functions of multidimensional radiative transfer. the physical problem considered is spatially varying, collimated radiation incident on the upper boundary of an isotropically scattering, plane-parallel medium. an integral transform is used to reduce the three-dimensional transport equation to a one-dimensional form, and a modified Ambarzumian's method is used to derive coupled, integro-differential equations for the source functions at the boundaries of the medium. the resulting equations are said to be in double-integral form because the integration is over both angular variables. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the computational characteristics of …

Failure Investigation Of The Steel Strut Of Paseo Suspension Bridge, Genda Chen, Chris Courtright, Lokeswarappa R. Dharani, B. Xu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A vertical strut of the 1232-foot long, self-anchored Paseo Suspension Bridge fractured when the temperature hit at a record low of 9°F below zero. During inspection the following day, it was found that its lower pin was frozen and did not allow for free movement of the superstructure. The objective of this study is to pinpoint one of the four reasons for this incidence or their combination: overstressing, thermal contraction, fatigue, and reduction in fracture toughness at low temperatures. To achieve this objective, material property and fatigue testing was performed on samples of strut material while the bridge and strut …

Experimental Investigation Into The Aerodynamic Ground Effect Of A Tailless Chevron-Shaped Ucav, Brett L. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

This experimental study adequately identified the ground effect region of an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV). The AFIT 3' x 3' low-speed wind tunnel and a ground plane were used to simulate the forces and moments on a UCAV model in ground effect. The chevron planform used in this study was originally tested for stability and control and the following extends the already existing database to include ground effects. The ground plane was a flat plate mounted with cylindrical legs. To expand the capabilities of the AFIT 3' x 3' low-speed wind tunnel, hot-wire measurements and flow visualization revealed an …

A Jbi Information Object Engineering Environment Utilizing Metadata Fragments For Refining Searches On Semantically-Related Object Types, Felicia N. Harlow

Theses and Dissertations

The Joint Battlespace Infosphere (JBI) architecture defines the Information Object (IO) as its basic unit of data. This research proposes an IO engineering methodology that will introduce componentized IO type development. This enhancement will improve the ability of JBI users to create and store IO type schemas, and query and subscribe to information objects, which may be semantically related by their inclusion of common metadata elements. Several parallel efforts are being explored to enable efficient storage and retrieval of IOs. Utilizing relational database access methods, applying a component-based IO type development concept, and exploiting XML inclusion mechanisms, this research improves …

Parametric Study Of The Towline Shape Of An Aircraft Decoy, Tyler L. Richardson

Theses and Dissertations

Some of today's aircraft use decoys as a defense against enemy weapons. The decoy is towed behind the aircraft with the intention of attracting the weapon propagator by deception, trying to mislead the weapon into detecting it instead of the aircraft. An aircraft deploys a decoy via a towline extending out behind and below the aircraft. However, during some maneuvers, the towline moves up into the jet exhaust plume of the aircraft. The high temperatures of the exhaust can cause damage to the towline cable, ranging from disrupting data flow between the decoy and aircraft to severing the towline altogether. …

Design And Ground-Testing Of An Inflatable-Rigidizable Structure Experiment In Preparation For Space Flight, Chad R. Moeller

Theses and Dissertations

As the demand for larger space structures increases, complications arise including physical dimensions, weight, and launch costs. These constraints have forced the space industry to look for smaller, more lightweight, and cost-effective solutions. Future antennas, solar sails, sun shields, and other structures have the potential to be exponentially larger than their launch envelopes. Current research in this area is focused on the use of inflatable, rigidizable structures to reduce payload size and mass, ultimately reducing launch costs. These structures can be used as booms, trusses, wings, or can be configured to almost any simple shape. More complex shapes can be …

Improved Multinuclide Imaging Of Special Nuclear Material Using A High Purity Germanium Double Sided Strip Detector, Fred D. Rothenbush Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to improve the ability to image Special Nuclear Material (SNM) using a High Purity Germanium Double Sided Strip Detector (HPGeDSSD) for use in the field of nuclear nonproliferation. When used for gamma spectrometry, HPGe detectors can efficiently distinguish various isotopes because of their good energy resolution. The detector used for this research is a liquid nitrogen cooled germanium detector with five charge collection strips on each face. The strips are orthogonal to each other, creating a five by five array of data collection pixels. When the 25 mm by 25 mm detector array is …

Comparing F-16 Maintenance Scheduling Philosophies, Konstantinos Iakovidis

Theses and Dissertations

In the F-16 fighter community it is believed that the flying schedule can make or break a wing's maintenance effort. Nevertheless, there is no published scientific support behind many commonly used maintenance scheduling philosophies. The problem is that a generally accepted overall scheduling philosophy to improve the long term health of the fleet does not exist. The purpose of this research is tri-fold: to identify the most important scheduling philosophies, to identify the most meaningful metrics that capture the long term health of the fleet and maintenance effectiveness, and to compare the various philosophies using the performance measures to help …

Categorizing High Energy Laser Effects For The Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manual, James A. Markham

Theses and Dissertations

With the high risk and cost in fielding High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon systems, the development process must include computer simulation models of weapon system performance from the engineering level up to predicting the military worth of employing specific systems in a combat scenario. This research effort focuses on defining how to measure lethality for HEL weapons in an Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) scenario. In order to create an effective measure for direct comparison between the emerging laser weapon system and existing conventionally delivered weapons, lase time in seconds is presented as a measure comparable to rounds required to cause …

Extending Classical Test To Quantum, Jacob D. Biamonte, Minki Jeong, Jae-Seung Lee, Marek Perkowski

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We first introduce a method called quantum path verification, where we search for a break in a quantum network. After explaining these capabilities, we address gate internal faults. We present new fault models to represent crosstalk and unwanted nearest neighbor entanglement. When witnessed, these errors are probabilistic, but there is a set of tests that has the highest probability of detecting a fault. We introduce a method of probabilistic set covering to identify this set of tests. A large part of our work consisted of writing a software package that allows us to compare various fault models and test strategies.

Segmentation Of Thermal Images For Non-Destructive Applications, Solange Yohali

Masters Theses

Infrared Thermogarphy (IR) is used in this project to detect subsurface conditions in concrete specimen for nondestructive testing and evaluations. This thesis goal is to bridge the gap between Infrared Testing and image analysis by developing an algorithm based on the region growing approach to segment the images and identify the voids without human interference or prior knowledge of the conditions. The segmentation algorithm starts with seed points as the hottest pixels in the image, and then regions are grown based on a neighborhood comparison criterion. The algorithm was tested on images collected from concrete specimen containing various man-made defects …

Single-Collector Experiments And Modeling Of Acoustically Aided Mesh Filtration, Michael T. Grossner, Donald L. Feke, Joanne M. Belovich

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

A model for the motion of particles driven by acoustic and hydrodynamic effects in the vicinity of a cylindrical collector has been previously reported. This trajectory model was developed to describe the essential physics that underlies an ultrasonically aided particle-filtration process in which a porous mesh is used to capture particles two orders of magnitude smaller than the pore size. To validate this trajectory model, experiments were performed to elucidate the detailed motion of particles in the neighborhood of a single cylindrical collector. Images of 54-μm-diameter polystyrene particles in aqueous suspension responding to acoustic and hydrodynamic forces were …

Transport Analysis And Model For The Performance Of An Ultrasonically Enhanced Filtration Process, Michael T. Grossner, Joanne M. Belovich, Donald L. Feke

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents an analysis of a filtration technique that uses ultrasound to aid the collection of small particles (tens of microns in diameter) from suspension. In this method, particles are retained within a porous mesh that is subjected to a resonant ultrasonic field, even though the pore size of the mesh is two orders of magnitude greater than the particle diameter. The role of acoustic forces in driving the retention phenomena has previously been studied on a micro-scale, which included modeling and experimental verification of particle motion and trapping near a single element of the mesh. Here, we build …

Assessing The Quality Of Voip Transmission Affected By Playout Buffer Scheme, Miroslaw Narbutt, Mark Davis

Conference papers

Delay, echo, encoding scheme, and packet loss all influence perceived quality of conversational speech transmitted over packet networks. Therefore, the choice of a buffer algorithm cannot be solely based on statistical loss/delay trade-off metrics. Also subjective “listening tests” or the newer ITU-T PESQ method, which don’t consider the effect of mouth-to-ear delay are inappropriate. We proposed a method for assessing VoIP call quality by extending the ITU-T E-model concept. This method provides a direct link to perceived conversational speech quality by estimating user satisfaction from the combined effect of information loss, delay and echo.

Pavement/Sub-Grade Condition Assessment I-65 Approximate Milepost 97.5 To 102.5 (Transition From Asphalt To Concrete) To (Ky 313 Overpass), Brad Rister, Clark Graves

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report summarizes the condition assessment of the pavement structure on I-65 between 97.5 to 102.5. Three types of equipment were used to evaluate the present condition of the pavement: falling weight deflectormeter, ground penetrating radar, and coring machine, Results indicated that durability of the existing concrete surface appears to be the most detrimental problem encountered in this survey. Load-transfer across transverse joint appear to be in acceptable ranges. Limited areas were identified to have less than four inches of D.G.A. beneath the concrete pavement. These areas have also been experiencing the most differential settlement. In addition several areas are …