Computer Engineering Commons^™

Is The Smartphone Smart In Kathmandu?, Seth Bird

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is the extensive study of the smartphone in the developing country of Nepal, specifically the Kathmandu valley. Throughout my research I conducted various interviews with businesses, Tibetan refugees, and Nepali millennials (18yrs-33yrs) with the goal of identifying how the smartphone is used and understood. I chose the Kathmandu valley as my main area of research because the usage of smartphones in rural Nepal is extremely limited, and the valley represents the economic hub where progressive thinking flourishes. As a main objective I sought to understand how, if at all, the smartphone is used differently between Nepal and America. All …

Strategies For Sensor Data Aggregation In Support Of Emergency Response, X. Wang, A. Walden, M. Weigle, S. Olariu

Computer Science Presentations

PDF of a powerpoint presentation from the Military Communications Conference (MILCOM), Baltimore, Maryland, October 7, 2014. Also available on Slideshare.

Distributed Event Detection In Sensor Networks Under Random Spatial Deployment, P. Zhang, G. Peters, I. Nevat, G. Xiao, Hwee-Pink Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We present a novel event detection algorithm in sensor networks for the case where the sensors are randomly deployed in space. In particular we consider a random sensors deployment according to a Homogeneous Finite Binomial Point Process. We first derive the optimal event detection decision rule. We then develop a novel algorithm to evaluate the intractable marginal likelihood based on the Gram-Charlier series expansion. We evaluate our algorithms through extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Simulation results present the detection and false alarm rates for different system parameters such as number of sensors deployed, deployment region size etc.

Camera Viewpoint Invariant Vehicular Traffic Segmentation And Classification, Jeffrey B. Flora

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this intelligent transportation systems work is to develop a computer vision method that is view angle independent for segmenting and classifying vehicular traffic on highway systems. In order to achieve this goal, this work implements an algorithm for vehicle segmentation, feature extraction, and classification using the existing Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) infrastructure on networked traffic cameras. The VDOT traffic video is analyzed for vehicle detection and segmentation using an adaptive Gaussian mixture model algorithm. Speed estimation is performed using a single camera calibration. Size and shape features from morphological properties and texture features from histogram of …

Foss Big Data Storage Solution, Nurdeen Salami

STAR Program Research Presentations

NASA projects require a reliable approach to store large volumes of data. Accordingly, it is crucial to adopt a lightweight, reliable, and scalable database. Current NASA databases bear costly license fees with undesirable speed and flexibility. The purpose of utilizing the AERO Institute as an IT test bed, or “Sandbox,” is to design, build, test, and implement software solutions prior to transfer to NASA projects. Cassandra coupled with the Astyanax API is a viable solution for storing big data. Store a minimum of 2GB of C-FOSS data in multiple file formats (.csv, .log, .xml, and .jpg). Use benchmark tests to …

Reputation Computation In Social Networks And Its Applications, Jooyoung Lee

Dissertations - ALL

This thesis focuses on a quantification of reputation and presents models which compute reputation within networked environments. Reputation manifests past behaviors of users and helps others to predict behaviors of users and therefore reduce risks in future interactions. There are two approaches in computing reputation on networks- namely, the macro-level approach and the micro-level approach. A macro-level assumes that there exists a computing entity outside of a given network who can observe the entire network including degree distributions and relationships among nodes. In a micro-level approach, the entity is one of the nodes in a network and therefore can only …

Gate Monte Carlo Simulations In A Cloud Computing Environment, Blake Austin Rowedder

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The GEANT4-based GATE is a unique and powerful Monte Carlo (MC) platform, which provides a single code library allowing the simulation of specific medical physics applications, e.g. PET, SPECT, CT, radiotherapy, and hadron therapy. However, this rigorous yet flexible platform is used only sparingly in the clinic due to its lengthy calculation time. By accessing the powerful computational resources of a cloud computing environment, GATE's runtime can be significantly reduced to clinically feasible levels without the sizable investment of a local high performance cluster. This study investigated a reliable and efficient execution of GATE MC simulations using a commercial cloud …

Performance Analysis Of Mobile Ad-Hoc Routing Protocols By Varying Mobility, Speed And Network Load, Nilotpal Sarmah

Department of Computer Electronics and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

One of the most promising network that has emerged from the technology world is the mobile ad-hoc network or MANET. It is a type of multi-hop network. Wireless by nature, MANETs do not have a specific network infrastructure. It is a collection of wireless mobile devices that communicate with each other without the help of any third party backbone like a base-station or a router. It can be hard to imagine how every node in this type of network communicate with one another without having a router. In MANETs, nodes change locations with time, configure themselves and get the information …

A Framework For Web Object Self-Preservation, Charles L. Cartledge

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

We propose and develop a framework based on emergent behavior principles for the long-term preservation of digital data using the web infrastructure. We present the development of the framework called unsupervised small-world (USW) which is at the nexus of emergent behavior, graph theory, and digital preservation. The USW algorithm creates graph based structures on the Web used for preservation of web objects (WOs). Emergent behavior activities, based on Craig Reynolds’ “boids” concept, are used to preserve WOs without the need for a central archiving authority. Graph theory is extended by developing an algorithm that incrementally creates small-world graphs. Graph theory …

Influences Of Influential Users: An Empirical Study Of Music Social Network, Jing Ren, Zhiyong Cheng, Jialie Shen, Feida Zhu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Influential user can play a crucial role in online social networks. This paper documents an empirical study aiming at exploring the effects of influential users in the context of music social network. To achieve this goal, music diffusion graph is developed to model how information propagates over network. We also propose a heuristic method to measure users' influences. Using the real data from Last. fm, our empirical test demonstrates key effects of influential users and reveals limitations of existing influence identification/characterization schemes.

Scalable System Design For Covert Mimo Communications, Jason R. Pennington

Theses and Dissertations

In modern communication systems, bandwidth is a limited commodity. Bandwidth efficient systems are needed to meet the demands of the ever-increasing amount of data that users share. Of particular interest is the U.S. Military, where high-resolution pictures and video are used and shared. In these environments, covert communications are necessary while still providing high data rates. The promise of multi-antenna systems providing higher data rates has been shown on a small scale, but limitations in hardware prevent large systems from being implemented.

Gesture Recognition Using Microsoft’S Kinect V2, Andrew Weinfield

Computer Engineering

No abstract provided.

“State Machines”: A High-Throughput Distributed Game Framework, Brandon Howell Ivy

Computer Engineering

Online multiplayer games allow competition with other opponents using the internet. Their development is difficult as it involves many complex areas of computer science - optimization, security, big data, and thread safety. Many multiplayer game frameworks have been published, but very few are generic.

In this project, we focus on the framework design of a web service which allows users to easily create multiplayer games, and artificial intelligence bots to compete in them. It handles turn-based multiplayer communication, and allows the games and bots to ignore the concepts of multiplayer systems. Multiple game instances can run simultaneously, where each game’s …

Sew-Ing A Simple Endorsement Web To Incentivize Trustworthy Participatory Sensing, T. Luo, S. Kanhere, Hwee-Pink Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Two crucial issues to the success of participatory sensing are (a) how to incentivize the large crowd of mobile users to participate and (b) how to ensure the sensing data to be trustworthy. While they are traditionally being studied separately in the literature, this paper proposes a Simple Endorsement Web (SEW) to address both issues in a synergistic manner. The key idea is (a) introducing a social concept called nepotism into participatory sensing, by linking mobile users into a social “web of participants” with endorsement relations, and (b) overlaying this network with investment-like economic implications. The social and economic layers …

High-Speed Mobile Networks For Modern Farming And Agricultural Systems, Santos Najar

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

High-Speed Mobile Networks for Modern Farming and Agricultural Systems

J.Santos Najar-Ramirez

High-speed mobile networks are necessary for agriculture to inventory individual plant health, maximize yield and minimize the resources applied. More specifically, real-time information on individual plant status is critical to decisions regarding the management of resources reserved and expended. This necessity can be met by the availability of environmental sensors (such as humidity, temperature, and pH) whose data is kept on storage servers connected to static and mobile local area networks. These static and mobile local area networks are connected to cellular, core and satellite networks. For …

Data Transfer Using Light, Ryan Thomas Suarez

Computer Engineering

A proof of concerpt for data transmission using light as a medium. Data is transferred by strobing and LED faster than the human eye can detect in an attempt to come up with a more secure alternate to in-building wifi.

Security Analysis Of Phasor Measurement Units In Smart Grid Communication Infrastructures, Mehrnaz Sharifian

Department of Computer Electronics and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs), or synchrophasors, are rapidly being deployed in the smart grid with the goal of measuring phasor quantities concurrently from wide area distribution substations. By utilizing GPS receivers, PMUs can take a wide area snapshot of power systems. Thus, the possibility of blackouts in the smart grid, the next generation power grid, will be reduced. As the main enabler of Wide Area Measurement Systems (WAMS), PMUs transmit measured values to Phasor Data Concentrators (PDCs) by the synchrophasor standard IEEE C37.118. IEC 61850 and IEC 62351 are the communication protocols for the substation automation system and the security …

Wireless Network Intrusion Detection System, Calvin Jia Liang

Computer Engineering

The Wireless Network Intrusion Detection System is a network-based intrusion detection system (IDS) that listens on a wireless network. The IDS device is a self-contained single-board-computer capable of monitoring the user’s wireless network, detecting suspicious network traffic, and reporting to the user via email. The device has two network interfaces: the wireless interface is used to monitor network traffic, and the wired interface is used to configure the system and to send out detection alerts. The system requires minimal setup, configuration, and maintenance. It is a relatively inexpensive device that tries to improve user’s situational-awareness of one’s wireless network.

An Innovative Approach Towards Applying Chaum Mixing To Sms, Matthew Patrick Rothmeyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently there are few user-friendly applications for anonymous communication across multiple platforms, leaving data that is often both personal and private vulnerable to malicious activity. Mobile devices such as smartphones are prime candidates for such an application as they are pervasive and have standardized communication protocols. Through the application of mixing techniques, these devices can provide anonymity for groups of individuals numbering 30 to 40 members. In this work, a Chaum mix inspired, smartphone based network that uses the Short Message Service (SMS) is described first in theory and then in implementation. This system leverages both techniques used by current …

Wsnfs: A Distributed Data Sharing System For In-Network Processing, Joshua C. Kiepert

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have emerged as versatile platforms for a wide range of scientific data acquisition applications. Wireless sensor network systems are used in many applications including: surveillance, environmental monitoring, target tracking, wildlife tracking, personal health monitoring, machinery monitoring, and many others. Current research efforts in WSN system designs are moving toward approaches that enable direct in-network processing of acquired sensor data to avoid the high energy costs associated with the bulk transmission of data to outside systems for processing. Implementation of collaborative in-network processing algorithms is a non-trivial issue for WSN system development. Design complexity for in-network processing …

Humanity Hyper-Externalized, Josh Gloe

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

First Step Mental Health App, Joshua Martin, James Faraday, Mackenzie Lopez

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The goal of this project is to create a tool that provides students at Minnesota State University, Mankato with mental health information through a freely available smartphone application (App). Our approach uses a software engineering design process that focuses on who our customers are, what resources are available, and how we can best connect the two to improve student lives. We identified the stakeholders involved and worked with campus mental health professionals to help shape our App. While there is a broad range of mental health topics, we have focused on materials related to depression. The first process gives the …

Transparent Spectrum Co-Access In Cognitive Radio Networks, Jonathan Daniel Backens

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The licensed wireless spectrum is currently under-utilized by as much as 85%. Cognitive radio networks have been proposed to employ dynamic spectrum access to share this under-utilized spectrum between licensed primary user transmissions and unlicensed secondary user transmissions. Current secondary user opportunistic spectrum access methods, however, remain limited in their ability to provide enough incentive to convince primary users to share the licensed spectrum, and they rely on primary user absence to guarantee secondary user performance. These challenges are addressed by developing a Dynamic Spectrum Co-Access Architecture (DSCA) that allows secondary user transmissions to co-access transparently and concurrently with primary …

Web Archive Services Framework For Tighter Integration Between The Past And Present Web, Ahmed Alsum

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Web archives have contained the cultural history of the web for many years, but they still have a limited capability for access. Most of the web archiving research has focused on crawling and preservation activities, with little focus on the delivery methods. The current access methods are tightly coupled with web archive infrastructure, hard to replicate or integrate with other web archives, and do not cover all the users' needs. In this dissertation, we focus on the access methods for archived web data to enable users, third-party developers, researchers, and others to gain knowledge from the web archives. We build …

A Lightweight And Robust Interference Mitigation Scheme For Wireless Body Sensor Networks In Realistic Environments, S. Liang, Y. Ge, S. Jiang, Hwee-Pink Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In dense deployments of Wireless Body Sensor Networks (WBSNs), inter-user interference significantly degrades network performance when multiple WBSN users stay in a small area such as hospitals. Due to the high dynamics of the environments, it is usually hard to schedule the transmissions of multiple WBSNs without a central controller. In this paper, we propose a robust and lightweight interference mitigation scheme for realistic WBSN systems through adaptive channel hopping. A WBSN testbed is set up to investigate the impact of inter-user interference on various performance metrics when different severity levels of interference are present. Based on the measurement results, …

Qos-Aware Data Transmission And Wireless Energy Transfer: Performance Modeling And Optimization, D. Niyato, P. Wang, W. L. Yeow, Hwee-Pink Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With wireless energy transfer, a mobile node can operate perpetually without having a wired connection to charge its battery. In this paper, we present a quality of service (QoS) aware data transmission and wireless energy transfer for the mobile node. The node can request for wireless energy transfer or transmit a packet when the node is in a coverage area of an access point. The node supports service differentiation for different type of traffic (i.e., low and high priority data). To meet the QoS requirement of each traffic type, we present the performance modeling and optimization framework. The objective is …

Conception, Design And Construction Of A Remote Wifi Vehicle Using Arduino, Clayton Broman

Physics

The scope of this senior project was to make a wireless vehicle controlled via Internet Protocol. This vehicle operates remotely and without direct line of sight. Commands are sent from a program running on a laptop and transmitted using a wireless router. Visual data is retrieved from a network camera, mounted on the vehicle, in real-time, to see where you are going.

Mobile Device Vulnerabilities & Securities, Luke Rondeau

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

An investigation on current mobile vulnerabilities and research into security. Also, a proof of concept to show the ease of injecting an Android phone with a virus.

A Federated Architecture For Heuristics Packet Filtering In Cloud Networks, Ibrahim M. Waziri Jr

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The rapid expansion in networking has provided tremendous opportunities to access an unparalleled amount of information. Everyone connects to a network to gain access and to share this information. However when someone connects to a public network, his private network and information becomes vulnerable to hackers and all kinds of security threats. Today, all networks needs to be secured, and one of the best security policies is firewall implementation.

Firewalls can be hardware or cloud based. Hardware based firewalls offer the advantage of faster response time, whereas cloud based firewalls are more flexible. In reality the best form of firewall …

Service And Communication Management In Cooperative Vehicular Networks, Olivia Brickley

Theses

The concept of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) presents new R&D challenges for the transportation and ICT sectors and is currently receiving considerable interest from the research community. The primary objective of ITS is the creation of advanced road traffic systems for improved traffic safety, efficiency, and travelling comfort. Basic vehicle and roadside infrastructure collaboration allows for an increase in efficiency and safety and acts as the foundation for an extensive service set to achieve these ITS goals. Applications such as journey planning, automatic tolling and emergency warnings, among others, are envisaged in a system which can potentially reform modern transportation. …