Engineering Commons^™

Renewables-Integrated Internal Combustion Engine-Based Multi-Generation Options For Uab Buildings, Qing Mu

All ETDs from UAB

Distributed energy, also district or decentralized energy is generated or stored by a variety of small, grid-connected devices referred to as distributed energy resources, or distributed energy resource systems. The Distributed Generation (DG) systems can increase energy system reliability, reduce peak power requirements, and improve energy infrastructure resilience. In this study, a DG system using renewable energy sources and energy storage has been introduced for the whole University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) campus. The energy sources for this DG system are photovoltaic arrays, a natural-gas-powered Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), and wind turbines. The energy storage component used in this …

Optimizing Toc Removal For Dbp Reduction In Drinking Water While Overcoming Source Water Variations, April Nabors

All ETDs from UAB

Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering University of Alabama at Birmingham ABSTRACT This dissertation used a holistic approach to research ways to optimize disinfection by-product (DBP) reduction during each sector of the conventional drinking water treatment process, regardless of the source water type or quality, in an overall effort to meet the USEPA Stage 2 Disinfection/Disinfection By-Products Rule (D/DBPR). DBPs are formed from the reaction between naturally occurring total organic carbon (TOC) in the water and disinfectants used during the treatment process. For this dissertation, effective treatment was measured by the amount of TOC that was removed through the …

The Role Of The Built Environment In Transforming Underserved Neighborhoods Into Smart And Connected Communities, Mary Claire Nabors

All ETDs from UAB

The goal of this report is to create a model for transforming underserved neighborhoods into smart, connected, healthy, and sustainable communities by focusing on the built environment. To do this, there must be a thorough neighborhood analysis of the existing conditions with recommendations for what needs to be done, both short term and long term. The built environment impacts many aspects of a neighborhood and the quality of life for residents. Sidewalks, streets, lighting, landscaping, and accessibility are all components of the built environment and research has continuously shown how the deterioration of the built environment affects the health and …

A Deep Learning Approach For Identifying Key Biomarkers In Medical Imaging Applications, David Odaibo

All ETDs from UAB

Although Deep Leaning has achieved great success in many domains in recent years, research into its applicability and effectiveness in medical applications has been limited for various reasons. Some of these barriers are related to the historic impression that neural networks are black boxes, especially when applied to medical diagnosis and offer no in terpretation into prediction. In this dissertation, I demonstrated that deep learning can be an effective utility in medical diagnosis and biomarker detection. In particular, I have developed deep learning models that can identify biomarkers in brain hemorrhage, brain tumor, pneumonia, diabetic retinopathy and Parkinsons disease, with …

Smart Tennis Ball, Eric Mielke

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Smart Tennis Ball system allows users to track the location of a lost ball. It incorporates ultra-wideband technology and an accurate trilateration algorithm in order to precisely track the location of a tennis or golf ball.

The UWB signals intersect in a triangular fashion and pinpoint the location of the ball using trilateration. The system then calculates the position of the ball and then sends this location to the user’s cell phone. This allows for less frustration for the user who needs to find their lost ball.

3d Mapping With Raspberry Pi, Matt Blake

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) allows a robot to map its environment while also keeping track of the robot’s own location within the map. ORB-SLAM2 is a type of SLAM which only uses a video stream as input, but it does not have automatic support for the common low-cost Raspberry Pi Camera. This project involved creating a version of the ORB-SLAM2 ROS module that can use the Raspberry Pi Camera as its main input source, as well as integrating April Tag fiducial detection into the module to allow for future improvements to the mapping and positioning process.

Aggi-E-Bike, Rees Hatch, Mahmoud Monsour, Garrett Witmer, Oscar Silva, Layan Nimri

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Aggi-E-Bike reinvents the electric drive for an bicycle to achieve higher power density while still being cost-effective. The challenge to push converters to be smaller comes with the trying to remove heat generated by the non-ideal circuit components. The interdisciplinary Aggi-E-Bike team has worked side by side to tackle this challenge. The team will also be representing USU at IEEE's 2019 International Future Energy Challenge (IFEC) final competition in late July in Madison, Wisconsin. The competition requirements and judging criteria have heavily influenced the design decisions made for the project; requirements such as no forced air cooling and a fixed …

Backyard Splash Pad, James Humble, Braydan Allen

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Motivation

• We wanted to obtain experience using OpenCV to do image processing
• Splash Pads at parks are crowded
• With kids it is not always easy to get out the door
• Having a Splash Pad in your backyard allows you to customize it

Features

• Routine that will randomly turn on and off the nozzles
• Phone app that can control the nozzles and light color
• Reaction to objects when they are over a nozzle

Brain Wars: A Mental Game Of Tug Of War, Michael Chesnut, Tony Rawlings

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Brain Wars: A mental game of tug of war.

Carburetor Automator, Taylor Zinke, Xuecong Fan

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The goal of this project is to improve the air-to-fuel ratio (AFR) delivered in carbureted engines. The AFR affects the power, gas consumption, emissions, and lifetime of an engine. Carburetors use two adjustable flaps and a fixed-diameter, narrow tube to deliver air and fuel to the engine.

Cnc Pancake Printer, Johnathan Powell

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The objective of this project is to allow anyone to quickly, easily, and reliably create pancake art, with a variety of applications, from entertainment to advertising.

Any image can be used, and while the process is simple and easy to run, the printer and algorithms are also easy to expand, modify, and upgrade.

Cycling Hud, Justin Allred

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Problem: Cyclists are constantly looking for data to track performance during their ride. These performance metrics are generally displayed on a bike computer mounted on the handlebars. The cyclist must take his or her eyes off the road to view the data.

Hypothesis: If this data could be displayed in front of the cyclist’s eyes, the safety of the ride could be increased, and data viewing would become more convenient to the cyclist. A solution to this problem is a heads-up-display (HUD) which can provide the cyclist information right in front of his or her eyes.

Objective: Create a HUD …

Depth Finder Unlimited, Mason Shumway

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The purpose of this project was to design a depth finder that can be used from land.

Electric Go-Kart, Josh Larkin, Ian Colbert, Morgan Durocher

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Benefits of Electric Vehicles

• More Efficient
• Zero CO₂ Emissions
• Less Maintenance
• Cheaper to operate

Fixed Site Srcurity Using Fiducials And Blob Tracking, Noah Mecham, Garrett Ruskauff, Reebal Nimri, Grant Stensland

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The goal of this project was to implement a security system using autonomous robots for any given area using Robotic Operating System (ROS).

The project incorporates the use of fiducials known as April Tags and Blob tracking to patrol an area and search for a predetermined intruder.

The security system was specifically made to work in GPS denied locations, so it is ideal for homes and businesses.

Flex Sensor System, Eric Alsop, Derek Withers, Riley Densley

Electrical and Computer Engineering

In this project we refined and implemented a flex sensor that was recently invented here in Utah. This sensor uses light to measure how much something is bending. This method of sensing has many advantages over current carbon-based sensors including linear output, ability to make two sensors with identical output (nearly impossible with carbon-based sensors), reduced hysteresis, improved accuracy, and reduced power consumption. Perhaps most importantly, these sensors can be made from a wide variety of materials.

Home Automation, Aaron Pettit

Electrical and Computer Engineering

This system monitors several appliances in a person’s home. The framework is setup to be easily expandable for any future modifications. Two systems are currently supported.

• Lighting control
• Washer and Dryer notifications

Most home automation systems typically include lights or door locks. I have not seen many systems that include a washer and dryer controllers. The controller for the washer and dryer use magnets as to attach to any type of washing machine.

Input-Corrective Drawing Pad, Jesse Jensen

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Input-Corrective Drawing Pad is a drawing tablet that takes shaky input data and corrects it. It is designed for those with fine motor skill disabilities. The system takes an input (either writing or drawing) drawn by pressure-sensitive stylus and then outputs a “corrected” version. If in writing mode, text is output to the screen. Otherwise, simple shapes such as lines and curves are output to the screen on a drawing canvas. It accomplishes this goal by first eliminating obvious shakes in the input. Then, the shake-corrected input is fed into a neural network. If classifying text, the learning software …

Inflatable Antenna, Robert Mckay

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Inflatable antennas have been extensively researched for years.

• NASA’s Inflatable Antenna Experiment (1996)
• Cubic’s Ground Antenna Transmit and Receive (GATR) (2008)

The inflatable antenna presented here is unlike many inflatable antennas.

• Omni-directional
• Miniature
• Single-band (2.4 GHz)
• Folds

The design may be useful for consumers.

• Increased Wi-Fi / Bluetooth range on computers
• Efficient design reduces cost

Low-Precision Linear Algebra For Neural Networks, Frost Mitchell

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Neural networks have been widely responsible for recent advances in machine learning, powering technologies such as digital assistants and AR photography. LPLANN (Low-Precision Linear Algebra for Neural Networks) is a cross-platform library written in C++ used for implementing neural networks. The software allows users to set specific levels of precision for calculations. Low-precision calculations use advanced parallelization techniques (SIMD, SWAR) to run neural networks at faster rates than full-precision calculations. This library is lightweight enough to run on embedded systems, but also includes optimizations that would provide drastic speedups on a workstation. LPLANN also serves as a testbed for novel …

Martial Art Force Gage, Feyisa Berisa

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The purpose of this project is to design a force measuring device that interfaces with a Microcontroller. A martial art Force gage is a type of Force sensor that measures the force in the threshold that causes damage to human , which is 100lb to 3000lb.

Motorized Arm Project, Joshua Tracy

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Motorized Arm Project is an application of analog feedback control with five degrees of freedom. The arm detects the position of the user’s and mimics it using analog accelerometers. As an extra challenge, all of the control electronics are analog. That’s right! No microprocessors, and no software! The Motorized Arm Project shows that many robotic and control applications can be done reliably with non-digital devices.

Nylon Artificial Muscle, Usu Department Of Electrical And Computer Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Project Concept

• An artificial muscle made from copper and nylon fishing wire
• Also known as soft robotics muscle actuators
• Soft muscles can aid in better prosthetics design
• Soft muscles also have potential in animatronics engineering

The Climber-Bot, Usu Department Of Electrical And Computer Engineering

Electrical and Computer Engineering

My project idea was to create a quadrupedal wall-climbing robot. This robot, called the Climber-Bot, is remote controlled and sends video footage from its location. The legs of the robot have vacuum powered suction cups attached to them allowing it to climb walls and ceilings. These vacuum powered legs allow for fast, easy inspection and surveillance. The Climber-bot can survey and inspect areas that are small, dangerous, or otherwise difficult to access.

The Self-Spotter, Kayden Feichko, Ashton Sicilia

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• The purpose of this project is to eliminate the necessity of having a human spotter, allow assistance to improve results, and increase safety while performing a workout.
• The Self-Spotter is an automated squat rack designed to replicate the basic functionalities of how a human spotter would help you perform a lift at the gym.
• This system is capable of assisting a user with any barbell-based workout.
• The structural design is based off a standard squat rack with modifications to implement a motor-to-chain pulley system to lift the side rails.

The Smart Shower: The Shower That Completes Your Smart Home, Parker Burton, Jeremy Littlewood, Richard Lloyd

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The Smart Shower allows users to control their everyday showers at the sound of their voice or the tip of their fingers. By connecting pre-existing showers to sophisticated smart home technology, homeowners can enjoy a showering experience like none other.

Development Of An Suas-Mounted Texel Camera, Trevor Welch

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Currently, there is growth in the demand for scientifically accurate terrain maps of the earth. One method to acquire these maps is fusing digital imagery and LiDAR sensor data to create a Textured Digital Elevation Map (TDEM). Due to current LiDAR capability and availability, obtaining accurate terrain maps can be greater than $100,000.

Platooning Turtlebots, Sebastian Helzer, Terran Gerratt

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Self-driving cars are a rapidly emerging product in today’s market. Compared to ever more distracted drivers, these cars hold the promise of safer and more efficient travel. Platooning on the highway has been proposed as a means to improve efficiency and safety on the road. In everyday life, this means reduced traffic congestion and fewer accidents. In the armed forces, platooning can help convoys avoid IEDs.

Powered, Wearable, Reprogrammable (Pwr) Led Clothing, Blake Johansen

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Many people today want to have an element of creative control over the products they want to use
• Clothing is an industry that people can’t design or customize for themselves
• This project incorporates a series of NeoPixel lights on the front of a piece of clothing that a user can create custom animations for
• To ensure ease of use, a bluetooth app was developed to transmit animations to the vest
• To allow users to customize their clothing animations, a design program was developed that lets users design animations for themselves

Remote Battery Testing System, Jeffrey Snow

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Large storage/backup batteries are used everywhere around us, from fire alarms to our automobiles. However, we often forget they are even there. This leads to failures going unnoticed until the time of need. Then, it’s too late. The Remote Battery Testing System addresses this with the following features:

• Tester installed at location of batteries
• Tests automatically on a schedule
• Results of tests are sent back over network
• Results indicate health of batteries (not just charge)