Systems Engineering and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Commons^™

Investigation Of Bio-Inspired Design Tools In Satellites, Spoorti Nanjamma

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This study investigates the application of Biologically Inspired Design (BID) tools within student-led satellite design teams, with the goal of enhancing early-stage systems engineering practices. As CubeSat missions become increasingly complex and resource-constrained, there is a need for approaches that support innovative yet structured problem-solving. While BID has shown promise in other engineering domains, its practical integration into satellite design, remains limited. To address this gap, three interactive workshops were developed and implemented with a Embry-Riddle Aeronautical university CubeSat team – Project COMET. The first workshop focused on functional decomposition, guiding students to express subsystem behavior in verb–noun form and …

Model-Based Systems Engineering Test Case Development And Traceability For Cubesats, Spoorti Nanjamma, Abigail Butcher

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) using CATIA Magic Systems of Systems Architect (formerly known as CAMEO) is applied to develop a structured and traceable approach to test case modeling for CubeSat missions. The effort focuses on supporting unit-, subsystem-, and system-level testing by explicitly linking system requirements to corresponding test cases within the model, ensuring clear traceability across all verification levels. Each test case is organized within a dedicated package that includes a Block Definition Diagram (BDD) and Internal Block Diagram (IBD) to represent the complete test configuration, capturing all relevant components, subsystem boundaries, and interface connections involved in the test …

Using Sysml Models To Verify System Design And Identify Discrepancies In A Satellite System, Noah Fulton

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This study investigates the use of Systems Modeling Language (SysML) to verify subsystem design consistency and identify integration discrepancies in a multidisciplinary satellite program. Project COMET, an Embry-Riddle effort under the University Nanosatellite Program (UNP), consists of six subsystems but lacks a centralized system model. This leads to inconsistencies between subsystem inputs, outputs, and interface definitions. Typically, SysML models are created early in the system design cycle; However, this study will evaluate how creating system models post preliminary design review (PDR) can assist a project by verifying subsystem integration or by identifying discrepancies between independently developed subsystems. This study will …

Nasa Micro-G Next Adjustable Tool Cart Handle, Lauren Manges, Montgomery Tompkins, Mira Giunta, Lucas Pulliam, Aaron Vera-Rodriguez, Abbigail Dipalma, Justin Campos

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Effectiveness, reliability, and dust resistance are essential for astronaut tools operating on the lunar surface, where vacuum exposure, temperature extremes, and abrasive regolith present severe design challenges. The 2026 NASA Micro-g NExT ATCH Challenge calls for a height-adjustable handle that accommodates the full anthropometric range of suited astronauts while maintaining mechanical durability in dusty conditions. Team Lunarticks presents L.A.T.C.H. (Locking Adjustable Telescoping Cart Handle)—a lightweight, ergonomic, and regolith-resistant device engineered for use during Artemis III surface operations. The handle adjusts between 35–47 inches, enabling astronauts from the 1st to 99th percentile to maneuver the tool cart comfortably and efficiently. A …

Evatoolpad (Eva Passive Attachment Device), Parth Thakar, Olivia Tamer, Amaris Paranjattu, Vaidehi Saini, Sebastian Guerrero, Nicolai Diaz, Abirami Srenivasan

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

The Micro-Nauts, developed under NASA’s Micro-G NExT challenge, strive to positively impact lunar and deep space missions through extravehicular activities (EVA). As Aerospace Engineering students, they have the common passion of addressing real, current space exploration needs and gaining relevant engineering experience. The passive capture tool dock provides the durability, reliability, and ease that are necessary for all EVAs that will take place in NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions. When a human is in a non-traditional environment performing highly important tasks, the last thing they want to do is struggle with a simple component that keeps their tools attached to them. …

Project Nightshade: Carrier-Based Multirole Navy Strike Fighter Aircraft, Matthew Kaplan, Alex Gardner, Adam Wanner, Sara Gonzalez, Joseph Deleo, Canyon Swaffar

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Project Nightshade: Detail Design for a Carrier-Based Multirole Strike Fighter This project focuses on the structural detail design of the wing box for a carrier-based multirole strike fighter, emphasizing strength, stiffness, and fatigue resistance under maneuver and carrier landing loads. The objective is to develop a structurally efficient configuration capable of supporting critical loading conditions while maintaining realistic weight and structural integrity. Classical aerospace structural analysis methods were used to size primary load-carrying components including spar caps, shear webs, and skin panels. Maneuver and gust load cases were applied to determine internal shear forces and bending moments, enabling calculation of …

M.O.D.U.S. Modular Optical Design Using Specular Film, Mario Gutierrez, Robert Thibodeau, Emma Show, Desiree Robinson, Lingyuan Meng, Sean Martin, Conner Beeson

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

High-quality parabolic mirrors, which are vital components in reflecting telescopes, are typically bulky, costly, and highly fragile. This experiment explores the feasibility of using specular Class B Mylar as an unconventional, lightweight, and cost-effective alternative. This approach could enable new telescope designs by greatly reducing weight and manufacturing expenses, while also opening options for potential adaptability.   This approach involves using Mylar, a flexible, reflective style of plastic. The mylar is formed into a concave mirror by stretching a sheet over a chamber and depressurizing one side to force the sheet into the necessary curved shape. Multiple designs are being created …

Orbital Servicing Calibration And Repair (O.S.C.A.R.), Samantha Rogers, Chloe Arnold, Ava Laudadio

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites operate in an environment that exposes them to cumulative radiation effects, micrometeoroids, and orbital debris, and limited opportunities for post-launch intervention. These factors can degrade satellite performance over time, leading to anomalies that may cause data corruption, mission failure, or require human intervention for repair. While previous on-orbit servicing efforts have demonstrated repair and life-extension capabilities, most have focused on Geosynchronous satellites or controlled test environments, leaving a gap in servicing concepts tailored specifically to LEO satellites.The O.S.C.A.R. (Orbital Servicing, Calibration, and Repair) project investigates the design of a robotic servicing system for inspecting, calibrating, …

Evaluation Of Orbit And Mission Design Parameters Considered In Real Space Missions, Enrique Alejandro Amaya Villegas

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Orbit and mission design constitute a fundamental spacecraft subsystem, as the selected orbital regime and mission profile strongly influence power availability, communications geometry, propulsion requirements, and overall mission performance. This project investigates how key quantitative and qualitative parameters guide orbit and mission design decisions in real space missions, with particular emphasis on orbital altitude and inclination, ground coverage and revisit time, mission lifetime, launch vehicle performance constraints, and propulsion budgets. The primary objective is to develop a structured understanding of how high-level scientific or commercial objectives, together with cost, risk, and operational constraints, are translated into specific orbital architectures and …

Applications Of A Swarm-Behavior Model On Existing Satellite Constellations, Naomi Lee

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

The scope of this work explores biological swarm behavior and its application to low- and medium-sized Earth orbit satellite constellation systems. Existing constellation structures have predetermined orbits, meaning there is little adaptivity in the spacing and interactions between satellites. This allows for formation disruption by atmospheric perturbations in lower Earth orbit trajectories but can be countered with interactive controls that help with structure stability. This adaptive spacing and control can also be applied in MEO constellations in coverage and positioning optimization. In ‘mimicking’ this swarm behavior in starling murmurations, the separation, alignment, and cohesion flocking behavior of satellite groupings will …

Microgravity Operations: Passive Capture Tool Dock Development, Tyler Mastroianni, Alexander Choinski, David Smith, Matthew Perkins, Kelsey Hunsicker, Jeanelle Ferdinand

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

The 2026 NASA Micro-g NExT Challenge 2 requests a device that simplifies the stowage of tools during EVAs. EVAs are crucial during missions, but their effectiveness is hindered because of challenging tool management. Our device, Latch Point, is designed to streamline tool stowage, allowing astronauts to secure tools more efficiently and with less physical strain. This will reduce the duration of EVAs, improving mission productivity. This is important because EVAs are expensive due to the complexity of the suits and the training and preparation required of astronauts before they can undergo these types of missions. This new device would reduce …

Interplanetary Trajectory Optimization With Reinforcement Learning, Shiloh Cuffe

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This project investigates the application of reinforcement learning (RL) to optimize low-thrust interplanetary trajectory design, focusing on the Earth-Venus transfer leg of the BepiColombo mission. Traditional trajectory optimization methods, such as patched conics and genetic algorithms, often require simplifying assumptions or complex optimization schemes. This work formulates the trajectory design problem as an optimal control problem (OCP) within a Markov Decision Process (MDP) framework, enabling an RL agent to learn efficient transfer strategies under realistic spacecraft constraints. The objective is to develop an autonomous guidance approach capable of replicating or improving upon established mission designs. The spacecraft is modeled as …

Feasibility Of High-Throughput Onboard Ai For Mars Rovers Under Solar Constraints, Aashman Gupta

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This project evaluates the feasibility of sustained onboard AI autonomy for a solar-powered Mars rover by directly linking solar energy availability to achievable compute performance. While Mars solar irradiance and edge computing performance have been studied independently, no unified framework currently couples surface power generation to autonomy throughput in an experimentally validated manner. The project will begin with a simulation of solar power generation for a 1 m² rover-mounted array across a Martian sol, accounting for seasonal variation, dust opacity, and array configuration (fixed versus sun-tracking). The resulting power profile will then be coupled to representative compute platforms running autonomy …

Experimental Design And Comparative Analysis Of Cubesat-Based Reflector Concepts For Future Solar Energy Redirection On Mars, Tatyana Vladislavova Ivanova

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Previous research shows that redirecting sunlight with large orbital mirrors could support warming specific regions of Mars by targeting ice deposits and releasing greenhouse gases. Although the concept has strong theoretical support, deploying and adjusting massive rigid reflectors in orbit remains a major technical challenge. This study aims to investigate the impact of using a swarm of small, adjustable CubeSats equipped with different reflector types on the effectiveness of solar energy redirection for Martian surface heating. Through comparison of multiple designs in controlled conditions, this work addresses whether smaller, flexible systems could offer a practical alternative to traditional large mirrors. …

An Energy-Aware Meta-Learning Framework For Real-Time Lunar Rover Localization Via Adaptive Algorithm Selection, Jose Demedeiros, Garrett Seyler

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This work proposes an energy-aware meta-learning framework that selects the single most suitable localization algorithm for a lunar rover, per scene, using only monocular imagery and orbital maps. The goal is to achieve sub-meter accuracy while minimizing onboard compute and energy consumption. We assemble a suite of seven lunar-relevant algorithms spanning relative and absolute localization, including monocular ORB-SLAM3, LuVo homography-based visual odometry, Censible cross-view matching with orbital imagery, crater-based methods (LunarNav and ShadowNav), monocular horizon navigation with a DEM, and DROID-SLAM. Relative methods provide incremental motion updates, while absolute methods deliver global pose fixes; an Extended Kalman Filter fuses these …

Design And Implementation Of A Synchronized Data Acquisition System For An Ihlp Cessna 182 Testbed, Celso Ferreira De Moura, Mariano Chavez Rangel

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This work presents the design and implementation of a fully integrated data acquisition system for a full scale Integrated High Lift Propulsion testbed based on a Cessna 182Q, with emphasis on hardware integration, sensor reliability, and time synchronization. A centralized architecture was developed in LabVIEW to acquire, process, and store data from both analog and digital sensors, including air data systems, inertial measurement units, control positions, and propulsion instrumentation. Analog sensors were carefully calibrated to ensure accurate conversion to engineering units, while digital sensors were incorporated into a unified framework to maintain consistency across all measurements. All ADC, GPS, INS, …

Accelerating Search And Rescue Response: A Simulation Study On The Dynamic Efficiency Of Flocking-Enabled Drone Swarms, Sophia Beckwith, Carys Del Prete

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This project explores how imitations observed in animal group behavior, specifically flocking in birds, can be applied to the functionality of autonomous drone systems to aid in search and rescue efforts. The goal is to demonstrate how incorporating code based on the Boids, Vicsck and predictive control linear algebraic mathematical models for drone flight controls and the collective behaviors of flocks will increase the efficiency of drone maneuvers, allowing them to reorganize and fill gaps when one is removed. A MATLAB-based simulation was developed to model the behaviors using research conducted on the symmetric and synchronized behaviors observed from flocks …

Interplay Between Physical Design Choices And Emergent Cyber System Consensus: A Case Study With An Underwater Swarm, Ava Neubert

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Understanding how physical constraints influence collective behavior is critical for designing cyber-physical multi-agent systems in communication-limited environments. This project investigates how agent mobility and communication constraints affect opinion dynamics in a three-dimensional underwater swarm. An agent-based model was developed in AnyLogic, where agents follow realistic motion dynamics and exchange information at discrete communication intervals to reflect underwater limitations. Agent opinions are modeled using a BOIDS-inspired consensus mechanism in RGB space, allowing visualization of convergence behavior. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of communication range, agent speed, turn rate, and swarm size. Results show that communication range has …

A Tangible Modeling Language For Systems Engineering, Maissane Aik

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

With the continuous growth of technology and system complexity, systems engineering plays a crucial role in ensuring performance, adaptability, and clarity across interconnected processes. Yet, as modeling tools become increasingly abstract and dependent on digital infrastructures, they have drifted away from the tangible, intuitive ways humans naturally think, communicate, and design. Current modeling approaches often require engineers to navigate numerous diagrams and layers of abstraction. To address the gap, this research will focus on creating a novel systems engineering language that reintroduces tangibility into system modeling. The proposed language will represent system elements as modular blocks that capture structure, behavior, …

The Role Of Optical And Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellites In Military Intelligence, Khalifa Alnaqbi

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that while optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites are the two most powerful remote sensing tools in military intelligence, neither is sufficient on its own. This research aims to articulate their distinct operational roles and argue that their synergistic integration, together with other intelligence assets such as unmanned aerial vehicles, signals intelligence, and human intelligence, is essential for achieving comprehensive situational awareness in modern warfare. To establish this, the paper will first analyze the role of optical satellites in target identification and Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites in persistent detection and monitoring, detailing …

Wind Tunnel Instrumentation And Testing, Nicholas Marek, Abraham Mezera, Laura Jin, Hayden Smith, Curtis Cook

Student Scholar Symposium

The Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering was contacted by an automotive engineering firm seeking to use the college’s wind tunnel for gathering data on the aerodynamic performance of a proprietary prototype automotive door. Specifically, the client requested the quantification of the drag coefficient of the model at extreme wind speeds. The drag coefficient, a dimensionless number that quantifies the resistance of a specific geometric shape to airflow, will be a valuable datapoint for the client’s design iteration. Due to the sensitive nature of their work, the client has wished to remain anonymous. RBJCOE professors tasked a senior design team …

Improvement Of The Fatigue Behaviour Of Additive Manufatured Scalmalloy By Using Surface Improvement Processes, Francisco José Boby Alcaide, Irene Eras, José Manuel De Los Santos, Alejandro Munoz Castro, Antonio Perinan Butrón, Jorge Sogorb

15th International Conference on Shot Peening

The use of light metals such as Aluminum alloys has experienced a remarkable increase for the additive manufacturing (AM) industry, especially in aerospace.

AM Scalmalloy®. (an Al-Mg-Sc alloy) shows outstanding behavior with much higher mechanical performance with respect to other alloys for powder bed fusion laser-based (PBF-LB) process like AlSi10Mg or AlSi7Mg. Recent studies have mainly focused on static loading, with minor attention to cyclic loading despite its vital importance in many applications.

In this work, the fatigue performance of PBF-LB Scalmalloy was investigated considering the effects of surface treatments to identify the set of optimal post-processes. Shot peening with …

Going Airborne: Kent State's Pioneering Leap Into Integrated Advanced Air Mobility, Jason T. Lorenzon

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This proposal centers on the development of a Concept of Operations in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). Kent State University's College of Aeronautics and Engineering is poised to pioneer the integration of drones and electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) systems, bridging the gap between its campus and airport by transporting students and faculty the 3NM distance from campus to the airport and back by a UAV. Beyond a standard research initiative, this proposal signifies a groundbreaking effort to reshape the landscape of educational aeronautics and Advanced Air Mobility and Urban Air Mobility. Our overarching goal is to transcend conventional boundaries …

Kwad - Ksu All Weather Autonomous Drone, Nick Farinacci, Sebastian Gomez, Stewart Baker, Ed Sheridan

Symposium of Student Scholars

"KWAD" or "KSU all-Weather Autonomous Drone" project was sponsored by Ultool, LLC to the KSU Research and Service Foundation to create a lightweight drone capable of capturing HD video during all-weather operations. The conditions of all-weather operation include rainfall of one inch per hour and wind speeds of up to twenty miles per hour. In addition, a global minimum structural safety factor of two is required to ensure the system's integrity in extreme weather conditions. Potential mission profiles include autonomous aerial delivery, topological mapping in high moisture areas, security surveillance, search and rescue operations, emergency transportation of medical supplies, and …

Crazyflie 2.1 Quadcopter Nonlinear System Identification, Nhat V. Nguyen, Hope Storro, John Plimpton

2023 Symposium

Quadcopters (quad) are used widely in many industries with crucial applications such as infrastructure inspection or package delivery. The Crazyflie 2.1 quad from Bitcraze provides an excellent platform for research and development. In this project, our goal is to perform system identification on the Crazyflie to propose a complete model. A gray box method is explored, which includes leveraging the parameters that are already known, to develop a set of equations. Through theory, simulations, and measurements, a complete quadcopter model is developed.

Propose Of Architecture Design For Early Warning System With Space And Terrestrial Infrastructure, Akihiko Nishino

CESUN Conference

The purpose of this research is to design an architecture of early warning system with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and terrestrial infrastructure for improving a coverage of disaster information dissemination. In the proposed architecture, segments and information flow are identified in order to introduce an early warning system to target areas where there are no such kinds of public alert distribution. It can be adapted worldwide by combining GNSS satellite and terrestrial infrastructure. At the beginning of disaster, information will be sent from the agency via GNSS to terrestrial infrastructure, widely used such as a siren and a public …

Arizona Hyperloop: The Fifth Mode Of Transportation, Eleanor Pahl, Matthieu Rada

Discovery Day - Prescott

Arizona Hyperloop is a coalition between Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Arizona State University students competing in Elon Musk’s annual SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition. Hyperloop is the proposed “Fifth Mode of Transportation” - coined “a cross between a Concorde, a rail gun, and an air hockey table.” A hyperloop pod levitates and travels at nearly the speed of sound inside a vacuum tube, which eliminates air resistance. Musk hosts the annual competition to university students to encourage the evolution of urban transportation. The goal is to design, build, and race the fastest prototype pod at SpaceX’s mile-long test track in Hawthorne, …

Sae Aero West Heavy Lift Competition Team - Eaglenautics, Anthony Pirone, Evan Stuart, Jessica Millard, Nathaniel Scott

Discovery Day - Prescott

ERAU’s SAE Aero Design West Competition team encourages students of all majors who have an interest in the design of heavy-lift cargo and passenger aircraft to design, build, and fly a large RC aircraft to meet a new set of regulations each competition year. Since the team, Eaglenautics, was founded in 2017 it has successfully been to competition once in April 2019 in California. The team’s aircraft flew 4 out of 5 flight rounds, passed all technical inspections, and is now on display in ERAU’s Aero-Fab in the AXFAB. The 2020 competition requirements are unique in that the cargo’s weight-to-volume …

Student Learning And Retention Using A Flight Training Device: A Case Study, Adeel Khalid

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Student learning and retention as a function of the mode of teaching is analyzed in this study. Different groups of students receive information about aircraft flight operations either via lecture, through directed study, a combination of the two or through a pre-recorded flight demonstration video. Their level of learning is assessed by evaluating how well they fly an aircraft and perform a predefined mission using a flight simulator. Scores of different groups are compared qualitatively and quantitatively and students are surveyed after the flight. It is hypothesized that students that learn through watching a demonstration video and have the ability …

Lasers For Communication And Coordination Control Of Spacecraft Swarms, Himangshu Kalita, Leonard Dean Vance, Vishnu Reddy, Jekan Thanga

Space Traffic Management Conference

Swarms of small spacecraft offer whole new capabilities in Earth observation, global positioning and communications compared to a large monolithic spacecraft. These small spacecraft can provide bigger apertures that increase gain in communication antennas, increase area coverage or effective resolution of distributed cameras and enable persistent observation of ground or space targets. However, there remain important challenges in operating large number of spacecrafts at once. Current methods would require a large number of ground operators monitor and actively control these spacecraft which poses challenges in terms of coordination and control which prevents the technology from scaled up in cost-effective manner. …