Engineering Commons^™

Interactive 2d And 3d Graphics Over The World-Wide Web With Actionscript, Hugh Mccabe

The ITB Journal

Many efforts have been made to provide a mechanism for delivering interactive 3D content over the World-Wide Web. The majority of the solutions put forward require the use of a proprietary plug-in on the client browser and none of these required plug-ins have so far become part of the standard browser installation package. The Macromedia Flash player has however achieved near ubiquitous status as the standard plug-in for displaying interactive multimedia and graphics content. Flash does not provide native support for 3D graphics but the recent addition of the Shape Drawing API opens up the possibility of developers using ActionScript …

Voice Enabled Indoor Localisation, Kieran Harkin, Kevin Curran, Eoghan Furey

The ITB Journal

The ability to track objects in real time offers a wide range of beneficial applications that include safety, security and the supply chain. The problem with location based systems is that they can be inconvenient and time-consuming to locate an object. A user has to access a computer and log onto a location system to locate an object. There are several problems with current location determination interfaces. Firstly a user has to log on to a computer; this can be inconvenient and time consuming as the user may have to locate a computer (which may be in another area of …

Mobile Phone Game Localisation, Leonie Troy, Matt Smith, Richard Gallery

The ITB Journal

Often, mobile phone games are developed over a short time span. Because of the additional work and complexity that localisation requires, such games are frequently produced without localisation in mind. In recent years automation and standardisation of localisation has been developed and promoted by the Localisation Industry Standard Association (LISA) and Oasis. Mobile phone game localisation involves various types of language transfer on a small scale, which challenges the localisation process carried out on a game. Our work investigated the workflow for the localisation of a mobile phone game into Spanish and German using a LISA Standard TMX (Term Base …

Development Of An Enhanced Generic Data Mining Life Cycle (Dmlc), Markus Hofmann, Brendan Tierney

The ITB Journal

Data mining projects are complex and have a high failure rate. In order to improve project management and success rates of such projects a life cycle is vital to the overall success of the project. This paper reports on a research project that was concerned with the life cycle development for large scale data mining projects. The paper provides a detailed view of the design and development of a generic data mining life cycle called DMLC. The life cycle aims to support all members of data mining project teams as well as IT managers and academic researchers and may improve …

Is Your Wireless Network Being Hacked?, Paul King, Ivan Smyth, Anthony Keane

The ITB Journal

Wireless networks provide vulnerable gateways for unauthorised entry to networks or even a standalone wireless computer. The independent radio signals that constitute wireless communications have no physical boundary to keep them in check. This allows a third party to easily eavesdrop on communications sessions and by capturing the data packets, they can break the encryption keys and access the data within the network. The public awareness of the insecurity of wireless networks is surprisingly poor despite frequent news media reports of the vulnerabilities of the equipment and the activities of the criminals prepare to exploit it. In this paper we …

Towards Arabic To English Machine Translation, Yasser Salem, Arnold Hensman, Brian Nolan

The ITB Journal

This paper explores how the characteristics of the Arabic language will effect the development of a Machine Translation (MT) tool from Arabic to English. Several distinguishing features of Arabic pertinent to MT will be explored in detail with reference to some potential difficulties that they might present. The paper will conclude with a proposed model incorporating the Role and Reference Grammar (RRG) technique to achieve this end.

Vertical Search Engines, Kevin Curran, Jude Mc Glinchey

The ITB Journal

This paper outlines the growth in popularity of vertical search engines, their origins, the differences between them and well-known broad based search engines such as Google and Yahoo. We also discuss their use in business-to-business, their marketing and advertising costs, what the revenue streams are and who uses them.

Be Aware With A Honeypot, Stephen Meyer, Ivan Smyth, Mark Cummins, Anthony Keane

The ITB Journal

The Internet has already become a hostile environment for computers, especially when they are directly connected with a public IP address. We have experienced this hostile activity where on an average day; the ITB Honeypot recorded over a thousand reconnaissance attacks seeking unauthorised entry onto our private network. Our Honeypot is a basic PC running Windows XP with no services offered and no activity from users that would generate traffic. The Honeypot is running in a passive state on a stub-network where all inbound and outbound traffic is recorded at the bridging computer to the WAN. We report on the …

Using Extended Analogy To Teach Fundamental Computing Concepts, Damian Gordon

The ITB Journal

Using analogies has long been used to help explain complex ideas in teaching. One of the most important ideas that a computing student must understand is the basic architecture of a digital computer. Since the late 1960s the standard teaching approach used to explain computer architecture is the Little Man Computer (LMC) Paradigm. This research seeks to expand upon this standard explanation through the use of a relatively recently developed technique called Extended Analogy. Extended analogy seeks to combine regular analogy with exaggeration or dramatic emphasis. In this case the LMC paradigm is extended by use of Samuel Beckett's play …

A Survey Of Procedural Techniques For City Generation, George Kelly, Hugh Mccabe

The ITB Journal

The computer game industry requires a skilled workforce and this combined with the complexity of modern games, means that production costs are extremely high. One of the most time consuming aspects is the creation of game geometry, the virtual world which the players inhabit. Procedural techniques have been used within computer graphics to create natural textures, simulate special effects and generate complex natural models including trees and waterfalls. It is these procedural techniques that we intend to harness to generate geometry and textures suitable for a game situated in an urban environment. Procedural techniques can provide many benefits for computer …

Rapid-Prototyping Emulation System For Embedded System Hardware Verification, Using A Systemc Control System Environment And Reconfigurable Multimedia Hardware Development Platform, Dave Carroll, Richard Gallery

The ITB Journal

This paper describes research into the suitability of using SystemC for rapid prototyping of embedded systems. SystemC[1][2][3] communication interface protocols [4][5] are interfaced with a reconfigurable hardware system platform to provide a real-time emulation environment, allowing SystemC simulations to be directly translated into real-time solutions. The consequent Rapid Prototyping Emulation System Platform1, suitable for the implementation of consumer level multimedia systems, is described, including the system architecture, SystemC Controller model, the FPGA configured MicroBlaze CPU system and additional logic devices implemented on the Multimedia development board used for the hardware in the PESP, illustrated in the context of a typical …

Soc Test: Trends And Recent Standards, Michael Higgins, Ciaran Macnamee

The ITB Journal

The well-known approaching test cost crisis, where semiconductor test costs begin to approach or exceed manufacturing costs has led test engineers to apply new solutions to the problem of testing System-On-Chip (SoC) designs containing multiple IP (Intellectual Property) cores. While it is not yet possible to apply generic test architectures to an IP core within a SoC, the emergence of a number of similar approaches, and the release of new industry standards, such as IEEE 1500 and IEEE 1450.6, may begin to change this situation. This paper looks at these standards and at some techniques currently used by SoC test …

Review Of Assistive Devices For Electric Powered Wheelchairs Navigation, K. Arshak, D. Buckley, K. Kaneswaran

The ITB Journal

The decreasing costs of microprocessor systems and increasing range of “Smart Sensors” have led to a boom in Assistive Device Technology. The annual rate of expenditure for mobility related devices has reached $1 billion dollars in the United States alone. The industries current focus is to develop a wider range of Independent Mobility Controllers to allow, even the most severely disabled person, the ability to control an Electric Powered Wheelchair (EPW). Advances in Autonomous Robot Design have led to corresponding improvements in EPW technology. This paper outlines user interfaces and input device technologies used at present to navigate an EPW.

Integration And Communication Of Process Support Tools In An Online Virtual Learning Environment, L. Raeside, B. Busschots, Shen Fei, J. G. Keating

The ITB Journal

The Education through Virtual Experience (EVE) research group based at the National University of Ireland Maynooth have successfully developed an online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for Astronomy as part of the Virtual Telescopes in Education (VTIE) project. The VTIE VLE has been developed to provide online software support for the engagement of schoolchildren and their teachers in a scientific process. The development of an online VLE to support a scientific process has brought about complex interactions from the user perspective. This has lead to complex integration and communication challenges from the software implementation perspective. This paper contains a high level …

Analysis Of Response Of Flexible Pavements Using Finite Element Method, R.M. Mulungye, P.M.O Owende, K. Mellon

The ITB Journal

The characteristic response of flexible pavements under traffic load depict a delayed lateral strain relaxation (Viscoelasticity), a phenomenon that may be more accurately and expeditiously analysed using finite element (FE) viscoelastic response models. In this study a flexible pavement was modelled using ANSYS/ED finite element software suite. The pavement model was subjected to cyclic loading that simulated three levels of truck loads on 10R20 tyres at four tyre inflation pressures (viz. 350,490,630 and 770 kPa). The modelled results were in good agreement with the measured in-situ full-scale test data. Therefore, for known pavement material characteristics and tyre-pavement contact regime, finite …

A Novel Micro Cold Atmospheric Plasma Device For Glioblastoma Both In Vitro And In Vivo., Zhitong Chen, Hayk Simonyan, Xiaoqian Cheng, Eda Gjika, Li Lin, Jerome Canady, Jonathan H Sherman, Colin Young, Michael Keidar

Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty Publications

: Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) treatment is a rapidly expanding and emerging technology for cancer treatment. Direct CAP jet irradiation is limited to the skin and it can also be invoked as a supplement therapy during surgery as it only causes cell death in the upper three to five cell layers. However, the current cannulas from which the plasma emanates are too large for intracranial applications. To enhance efficiency and expand the applicability of the CAP method for brain tumors and reduce the gas flow rate and size of the plasma jet, a novel micro-sized CAP device (µCAP) was developed …

Security Measures Against A Rogue Network-On-Chip, Rajesh Jayashankarashridevi, Dean Michael Ancajas, Koushik Chakraborty, Sanghamitra Roy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Network-on-chip facilitates glueless interconnection of various on-chip components in the forthcoming system-on-chips. As in the case of any new technology, security is a major concern in network-on-chip (NoC) design too. In this work, we explore a covert threat model for multiprocessor system-on-chips (MPSoCs) stemming from the use of malicious third-party network-on-chips (NoCs). We illustrate that a rogue NoC (rNoC) can selectively disrupt the perceived availability of on-chip resources, thereby causing large performance bottlenecks for the applications running on the MPSoC platform. Further, to counter the threat posed by rNoC, we propose a runtime latency auditor that enables an MPSoC integrator …

Residential Performance Code Methodology For Crediting Dehumidification And Smart Vent Applications Final Report, Florida Solar Energy Center, Robin Vieira

FSEC Energy Research Center®

As energy efficiency reduces the hours where air conditioning is called for, and as codes require outdoor air to be brought into homes, humidity levels in homes may rise to the point where dehumidification is required. However, there are currently no standards in Florida's Energy Conservation Code for dehumidification. Thus, a mechanical contractor that invests in an expense such as variable speed heat pumps or heat pipe technology in order to dehumidify and save energy receives little benefit relative to another home that installs an inefficient dehumidifier. A reference home dehumidification strategy needs to be established.Another strategy to reduce interior …

Stereoscopic 3-D Presentation For Air Traffic Control Digital Radar Displays, Jason G. Russi, Brent T. Langhals, Michael E. Miller, Eric L. Heft

AFIT Patents

An apparatus and method of presenting air traffic data to an air traffic controller are provided. Air traffic data including a two dimensional spatial location and altitude for a plurality of aircraft is received. A disparity value is determined based on the altitude for each aircraft of the plurality of aircraft. Left and right eye images are generated of the plurality of aircraft where at least one of the left and right eye images is based on the determined disparity value. The left and right eye images are simultaneously displayed to the air traffic controller on a display. The simultaneously …

Sensor System, Implantable Sensor And Method For Remote Sensing Of A Stimulus In Vivo, Eric H. Ledet, Rebecca A. Wachs, Keegan Paul Cole, David Fiorella

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A sensor system for sensing a stimulus in vivo includes an implantable sensor. The sensor comprises a passive resonator circuit having a resonant frequency and including at least a pair of generally parallel spirally wound unconnected conductive coils sandwiching a layer of solid dielectric material that manifest a change in property affecting the resonant frequency in response to application of the stimulus to the layer. A resonant frequency of the sensor is modulated by altering the spacing or gap between the coils or altering the overlapping area of the coils. The sensor is energized through application of radio frequency energy …

Estimating Human Intent For Physical Human-Robot Co-Manipulation, Eric Townsend, Erich Mielke, David Wingate, Marc D. Killpack

Faculty Publications

Human teams can be exceptionally efficient at adapting and collaborating during manipulation tasks using shared mental models. However, the same shared mental models that can be used by humans to perform robust low-level force and motion control during collaborative manipulation tasks are non-existent for robots. For robots to perform collaborative tasks with people naturally and efficiently, understanding and predicting human intent is necessary. However, humans are difficult to predict and model. We have completed an exploratory study recording motion and force for 20 human dyads moving an object in tandem in order to better understand how they move and how …

College Of Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

College of Engineering & Computing: News & Publications (2010-2023)

• MechE and MSAE students honored for research at SAE World Congress

Potential Of Rainwater Harvesting In Meeting The Domestic Outdoor Demand: A Study In Dry And Wet Regions Of The United States, Kazi Ali Tamaddun, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Feasibility of meeting the outdoor water demand with rainwater harvesting (RWH) was evaluated for the states of Arizona and Florida as representatives of dry and wet regions, respectively, using a system dynamic model. The potential of RWH was found to be highly sensitive to the demand of water, desert landscaping potential, and the percentage of households with RWH systems. The percentage of demand met through RWH and the storage potential of a 50-gallon rainwater barrel was found to be significant even for arid regions. The model can be used to compare among various influencing parameters of RWH systems.

Study Of Potential Integrated Management Of Water Resources In Las Vegas Valley, Haroon Stephen, Yoohwan Kim, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Water resource management under short term system perturbations such as storms and longer-term systemic changes caused by climate change such as droughts is a challenge when multiple agencies are involved. To address this challenge this research focuses on water management under changing climate conditions and population growth through understanding the agency water jurisdictions, management strategies, and modes of operation in Las Vegas Valley. A framework for integrated management through sharing data and models is presented that combines drinking water supply, flood control, and waste water treatment. This framework can be adopted to improve coordination among different water management agencies.

Investigation Into The Local Nature Of Change Of Frequency In Electrical Power Systems, Damien Doheny

Student Journal of Energy Research

Over the coming years it is expected that considerably more wind power will be connected to the Irish power system. This will result in a power system that at times of high wind power penetration will operate with very low inertia, making the system susceptible to large rate of change of frequency (RoCoF) events due to disturbances. These high RoCoF events could result in the cascade tripping of generators connected to the grid resulting in complete shutdown of the system. This paper investigates the differences between local RoCoFs seen at individual buses and system wide RoCoFs seen across the entire …

Ray Tracing Technique For The Optimal Design Of An Air Heater Concentrating Collector, Fernando Guerreiro

Student Journal of Energy Research

There is a wide range of micro and macro renewable and sustainable energy methods available for reducing the inefficient use of fossil fuels, minimising carbon emissions and maximising energy use in a clean and environment-friendly process. Solar energy plays an important role due to its abundance and ubiquity. Solar air heaters convert solar energy into hot air to be used for heating and drying of various products. The objective of this paper is to define and optimise the geometry of an inverted absorber compound parabolic concentrating (IACPC) collector for air heating. This optimisation was developed based on an optical analysis …

Short Term Demand Forecasting For The Integrated Electricity Market, Katie Kavanagh

Student Journal of Energy Research

This paper presents a means for the short term load forecasting (STLF) of electricity. The forthcoming Integrated-Single Electricity Market (I-SEM) diverges from the current market structure (the Single Electricity Market or SEM), with significant impacts on Irish supply companies, creating a need for these companies to be able to accurately forecast their customers’ load in the Day Ahead. Using a Double Seasonal Exponential Smoothing variation of the Holt-Winters method that factors in an error correction, data from the Irish market was trained and used to forecast a supply company’s demand resulting in an average daily MAPE (Mean Absolute Percentage Error) …

Thin Film Transistor Modeling: Frequency Dispersion, Michael Shur

Semiconductor Technology for Ultra-Large Scale Integrated Circuits and Thin Film Transistors VI (ULSIC vs TFT 6)

Using new materials (including organic materials), scaling down to shorter device sizes, using printed TFT technology, and operating Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) at higher frequencies all bring upfront the issues of frequency dispersion of the TFT current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics. This dispersion depends on the interplay of the contact phenomena and electron transport in the device channel. The standard way to account for the frequency dispersion is using the Elmore model (see Fig. 1 a) [1,2], which introduces the RC delays to reflect the propagation time of the carriers along the channel. However, this model is not sufficient for the …

Operating Temperature Of A Solar Thermal Stirling Engine, Spencer Beck

Senior Theses

This paper explores the relationship between the operating temperature and electricity production of a simple heat engine. A Stirling engine was designed and constructed which runs on solar thermal energy collected by a Fresnel lens. The surface area of the solar collector was varied. This manipulated the operating temperature of the Stirling engine in order to measure power output. The mechanical energy from the engine was converted to electricity using a DC motor running in reverse, acting like a generator, in conjunction with an Arduino for data collection. Although adjustments must be made in order to improve the efficiency of …

Thin Film Thermal Deposition At Various Pressures, James Kela Yee Keen Grace

Senior Theses

This research was to verify the hypothesis that resistivity of metal's thin film deposited in a low-pressure environment is the same as its solid material. Thermal Evaporation is a thin film deposition technique in which metal inside a vacuum is evaporated, then deposited onto a surface. Higher quality metal films are deposited when the vacuum pressure is lower. At higher pressures, more air molecules are trapped within the layers of metal, thus increasing scattering sites and increasing the resistance. However, reaching a lower pressure requires more time and effort. In this research, films were deposited at various pressures and resistivities …