Computer Engineering Commons^™

An End To End V.M.T Framework With Controlled V.M.T Tax Rate Using Optimal Feedback Control Technique, Pratik Verma

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Vehicle Mile Travel (VMT) is a study related to available alternatives for the road

revenue collection system. As per the demand, the existing Gas/Fuel tax based revenue

collection system is not found an appropriate option in the longer run. Due

to existing system constraints like: no eective tax process for vehicles based on alternative

fuel (e.g. electric vehicles), no eective changes in tax due to economical

ination, and more highway expenditure than generated revenue, an alternative revenue

collection mechanism is required. Hence, the objective is to study an alternative

option in detail, which can address the gaps between required revenue …

High-Performance, Scalable Optical Network-On-Chip Architectures, Xianfang Tan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The rapid advance of technology enables a large number of processing cores to be integrated into a single chip which is called a Chip Multiprocessor (CMP) or a Multiprocessor System-on-Chip (MPSoC) design. The on-chip interconnection network, which is the communication infrastructure for these processing cores, plays a central role in a many-core system. With the continuously increasing complexity of many-core systems, traditional metallic wired electronic networks-on-chip (NoC) became a bottleneck because of the unbearable latency in data transmission and extremely high energy consumption on chip. Optical networks-on-chip (ONoC) has been proposed as a promising alternative paradigm for electronic NoC with …

Cad Tool Design For Ncl And Mtncl Asynchronous Circuits, Vijay Mani Pillai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an implementation of a method developed to readily convert Boolean designs into an ultra-low power asynchronous design methodology called MTNCL, which combines multi-threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) with NULL Convention Logic (NCL) systems. MTNCL provides the leakage power advantages of an all high-Vt implementation with a reasonable speed penalty compared to the all low-Vt implementation, and has negligible area overhead. The proposed tool utilizes industry-standard CAD tools. This research also presents an Automated Gate-Level Pipelining with Bit-Wise Completion (AGLPBW) method to maximize throughput of delay-insensitive full-word pipelined NCL circuits. These methods have been integrated into the Mentor Graphics and …

An Efficient Cost Function For The Optimization Of An N-Layered Isotropic Cloaked Cylinder, Jason V. Paul, Peter J. Collins, Ronald A. Coutu Jr.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, we present an efficient cost function for optimizing n-layered isotropic cloaked cylinders. Cost function efficiency is achieved by extracting the expression for the angle independent scatterer contribution of an associated Green's function. Therefore, since this cost function is not a function of angle, accounting for every bistatic angle is not necessary and thus more efficient than other cost functions. With this general and efficient cost function, isotropic cloaked cylinders can be optimized for many layers and material parameters. To demonstrate this, optimized cloaked cylinders made of 10, 20 and 30 equal thickness layers are presented for …

Accuracy Improvement Of Quantitative Analysis By Spatial Confinement In Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, L. B. Guo, Z. Q. Hao, M. Shen, W. Xiong, X. N. He, Z. Q. Xie, M. Gao, X. Y. Li, X. Y. Zeng, Yongfeng Lu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

To improve the accuracy of quantitative analysis in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, the plasma produced by a Nd:YAG laser from steel targets was confined by a cavity. A number of elements with low concentrations, such as vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), and manganese (Mn), in the steel samples were investigated. After the optimization of the cavity dimension and laser fluence, significant enhancement factors of 4.2, 3.1, and 2.87 in the emission intensity of V, Cr, and Mn lines, respectively, were achieved at a laser fluence of 42.9 J/cm2 using a hemispherical cavity (diameter: 5 mm). More importantly, the correlation coefficient of the …

Rnn Language Model With Word Clustering And Class-Based Output Layer, Yongzhe Shi, Wei-Qiang Zhang, Jia Liu, Michael T. Johnson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The recurrent neural network language model (RNNLM) has shown significant promise for statistical language modeling. In this work, a new class-based output layer method is introduced to further improve the RNNLM. In this method, word class information is incorporated into the output layer by utilizing the Brown clustering algorithm to estimate a class-based language model. Experimental results show that the new output layer with word clustering not only improves the convergence obviously but also reduces the perplexity and word error rate in large vocabulary continuous speech recognition.

Continuous Modulations Of Femtosecond Laserinduced Periodic Surface Structures And Scanned Line-Widths On Silicon By Polarization Changes, Weina Han, Lan Jiang, Xiaowei Li, Pengjun Liu, Le Xu, Yongfeng Lu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Large-area, uniform laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) are of wide potential industry applications. The continuity and processing precision of LIPSS are mainly determined by the scanning intervals of adjacent scanning lines. Therefore, continuous modulations of LIPSS and scanned line-widths within one laser scanning pass are of great significance. This study proposes that by varying the laser (800 nm, 50 fs, 1 kHz) polarization direction, LIPSS and the scanned line-widths on a silicon (111) surface can be continuously modulated with high precision. It shows that the scanned line-width reaches the maximum when the polarization direction is perpendicular to the scanning direction. …

Robust And Resilient Finite-Time Bounded Control Of Discrete-Time Uncertain Nonlinear Systems, Mohammad N. Elbsat, Edwin E. Yaz

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Finite-time state-feedback stabilization is addressed for a class of discrete-time nonlinear systems with conic-type nonlinearities, bounded feedback control gain perturbations, and additive disturbances. First, conditions for the existence of a robust and resilient linear state-feedback controller for this class of systems are derived. Then, using linear matrix inequality techniques, a solution for the controller gain and the maximum allowable bound on the gain perturbation is obtained. The developed controller is robust for all unknown nonlinearities lying in a known hypersphere with an uncertain center and all admissible disturbances. Moreover, it is resilient against any bounded perturbations that may alter the …

Dual-Carrier High-Gain Low-Noise Superlattice Avalanche Photodiodes, Jun Huang, Koushik Banerjee, Siddhartha Ghosh, Majeed M. Hayat

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, novel avalanche photodiode structures with alternate carrier multiplication nanometer regions, placed next to a wider electron multiplication region, to create dual-carrier feedback systems, are proposed. Gain and excess noise factor of these structures are calculated based on the dead space multiplication theory under uniform electric field. In addition, the equivalent impact ionization ratios are derived and compared. It is observed that the proposed structures can generate much higher gain compared with conventional pure electron multiplication structures under the same electric field without severely degrading the excess noise quality. Excess noise is further optimized with careful adjustment of …

Adaptive Ofdm For Wireless Interconnect In Confined Enclosures, Vit Sipal, Javier Gelabert, Christopher J. Stevens, Ben Allen, David Edwards

Articles

This letter considers and recommends OFDM with adaptive subcarrier modulation as a suitable candidate for wireless UWB communication in computer chassis. A rigorous measurement campaign studies the guaranteed spectral efficiency. It concludes that enhancement of the existing WiMedia OFDM systems with a bandwidth of 528 MHz in order to support adaptive OFDM would enable data-rates above 1 Gbps over short ranges, i.e. the spectral efficiency would be doubled. Moreover, the guaranteed spectral efficiency is shown to increase with bandwidth, i.e. the guaranteed data-rate increases better than linearly with bandwidth.

A Forensic Study Of The Effectiveness Of Selected Anti-Virus Products Against Ssdt Hooking Rootkits, Sami Al-Shaheri, Dale Lindskog, Pavol Zavarsky, Ron Ruhl

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

For Microsoft Windows Operating Systems, both anti-virus products and kernel rootkits often hook the System Service Dispatch Table (SSDT). This research paper investigates the interaction between these two in terms of the SSDT. To investigate these matters, we extracted digital evidence from volatile memory, and studied that evidence using the Volatility framework. Due to the diversity in detection techniques used by the anti-virus products, and the diversity of infection techniques used by rootkits, our investigation produced diverse results, results that helped us to understand several SSDT hooking strategies, and the interaction between the selected anti-virus products and the rootkit samples. …

An Ontology-Based Forensic Analysis Tool, Mohammed Alzaabi, Andy Jones, Thomas A. Martin

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The analysis of forensic investigation results has generally been identified as the most complex phase of a digital forensic investigation. This phase becomes more complicated and time consuming as the storage capacity of digital devices is increasing, while at the same time the prices of those devices are decreasing. Although there are some tools and techniques that assist the investigator in the analysis of digital evidence, they do not adequately address some of the serious challenges, particularly with the time and effort required to conduct such tasks. In this paper, we consider the use of semantic web technologies and in …

Wireless Impact Detection System, Shawno Auwae, Kyle Terriere

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Recently, brain trauma caused by multiple concussions has become a pressing issue for contact sports, mainly American football players. The severity of the impacts in these sports have led to discussion concerning the standard safety equipment used, as well as the rules enforcing a certain style of play. Multiple studies have shown that concussions have damaging long-term effects, including dementia and memory loss. The dominant professional football organization, the National Football League (NFL), employs qualified athletic trainers to diagnose and treat players with concussions, but many incidents still go undetected. This problem is magnified at the youth level, where the …

First Glance: An Introductory Analysis Of Network Forensics Of Tor, Raymond Hansen

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The Tor network is a low-latency overlay network for TCP flows that is designed to provide privacy and anonymity to its users. It is currently in use by many as a means to avoid censorship of both information to be shared and information to be retrieved. This paper details the architecture of the Tor network as a platform for evaluating the current state of forensic analysis of the Tor network. Specific attempts to block access to the Tor network are examined to identify (a) the processes utilized to identify Tor nodes, and (b) the resulting exposure of potentially inculpatory evidence. …

A Thematic Review Of User Compliance With Information Security Policies Literature, David Sikolia

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The adoption of computer and internet technology has greatly improved the way businesses operate. However the risk to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of organizational data and systems has greatly increased too. Information security is an ever present concern for all organizations. Financial estimates of the impact of security breaches to information and technology resources range from hundreds of billions to over one trillion dollars each year worldwide (D'Arcy et al., 2011b). Organizations have therefore developed a combination of technical, administrative, and physical controls to reduce this risk (D'Arcy et al., 2011a). Administrative measures include the development of information security …

Journey Into Windows 8 Recovery Artifacts, W. K. Johnson

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

One of the most difficult processes of digital forensics is to understand how new technology interacts with current technology and how digital forensic analysts can utilize current Digital Forensics technologies and processes to recover and find information hidden. Microsoft has released their new operating system Windows 8, with this new release Microsoft has added some features to the operating system that will present some interesting complications to digital forensics. Since the initial release of the Windows 8 Release Candidates there have been some research released that focus primarily on the new user created artifacts and a few artifacts that have …

An Image Forensic Scheme With Robust And Fragile Watermarking For Business Documents, Sai Ho Kwok

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This paper proposes an image forensic scheme with both robust and fragile watermarking techniques for business documents. Through a dual watermarking approach, the proposed scheme can achieve image forensics objectives of (a) identification of source; (b) authentication of documents; and (c) locating the tempered areas of documents due to attacks. An example is presented to prove the concepts of the proposed scheme.

Keywords: Image Forensics, Fragile and Robust Watermarking, Business Document.

Significance Of Semantic Reconciliation In Digital Forensics, Nickson M. Karie, H. S. Venter

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Digital forensics (DF) is a growing field that is gaining popularity among many computer professionals, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders who must always cooperate in this profession. Unfortunately, this has created an environment replete with semantic disparities within the domain that needs to be resolved and/or eliminated. For the purpose of this study, semantic disparity refers to disagreements about the meaning, interpretation, descriptions and the intended use of the same or related data and terminologies. If semantic disparity is not detected and resolved, it may lead to misunderstandings. Even worse, since the people involved may not be from the …

System-Generated Digital Forensic Evidence In Graphic Design Applications, Enos Mabuto, Hein Venter

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Graphic design applications are often used for the editing and design of digital art. The same applications can be used for creating counterfeit documents such as identity documents (IDs), driver’s licences, passports, etc. However, the use of any graphic design application leaves behind traces of digital information that can be used during a digital forensic investigation. Current digital forensic tools examine a system to find digital evidence, but they do not examine a system specifically for the creating of counterfeit documents created through the use of graphic design applications. The paper in hand reviews the system-generated digital forensic evidence gathered …

Money Laundering Detection Framework To Link The Disparate And Evolving Schemes, Murad Mehmet, Duminda Wijesekera, Miguel F. Buchholtz

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Money launderers hide traces of their transactions with the involvement of entities that participate in sophisticated schemes. Money laundering detection requires unraveling concealed connections among multiple but seemingly unrelated human money laundering networks, ties among actors of those schemes, and amounts of funds transferred among those entities. The link among small networks, either financial or social, is the primary factor that facilitates money laundering. Hence, the analysis of relations among money laundering networks is required to present the full structure of complex schemes. We propose a framework that uses sequence matching, case-based analysis, social network analysis, and complex event processing …

Identifying Peer-To-Peer Traffic On Shared Wireless Networks, Simon Piel, Ej Jung

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Tracing contraband downloads leads investigators to an IP address, and in turn Internet Service Providers (ISP) can provide a physical location using this IP address. However, most homes and offices share this IP address among many computers using wireless networks. In other words, there needs to be another investigation to find out which computer was responsible for contraband downloads. To make matters worse, these shared wireless networks often have vulnerabilities in access control such as using WEP or using weak passwords. In such cases, any computer in range, not necessarily at the given physical address, could be responsible. We use …

On Resolving The Cloud Forensics Conundrum, John Bagby

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The “cloud” is idiom for an ill-defined set of online services. The cloud simultaneously offers IT savings and promises advances in functionality (e.g., ubiquity). However, the cloud also imposes poorly understood burdens on security and it may provoke injustice. Thus, the cloud presents a durable and seemingly irreconcilable conundrum for the digital forensics communit(ies). First, cloud proponents make efficiency promises for cloud services (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS). These translate well into the digital forensics domain. Indeed, the cloud may enable crowd sourcing of investigatory data vastly lowering costs of dispute resolution. For example, cloud-based litigation war rooms may reduce electronic discovery …

Cybercrime And Punishment: An Analysis Of The Deontological And Utilitarian Functions Of Punishment In The Information Age, Karim Jetha

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This conceptual piece analyzes the role of criminal punishment and the nature of cyber crime to investigate whether the current punishment schemes are appropriate given the deontological and utilitarian goals of punishment: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. The research has implications for policymaking in cybercriminal law.

Keywords: cybercrime, criminal law, punishment, retribution, deterrence, information economics

The Development Of Computer Forensic Legal System In China, Yonghao Mai, K. P. Chow, Rongsheng Xu, Gang Zhou, Fei Xu, Jun Zhang

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The computer forensic discipline was established around 2000 in China, which was further developed along with Chinese judicial appraisal system in 2005. The new criminal and civil procedure laws of the People’s Republic of China was enacted on 1 Jan 2013. The new laws specified electronic data is legal evidence and has great impact on the current practice on handling electronic evidence. This paper introduces the electronic data and electronic evidence examination procedure in mainland China, the general concept of computer forensic legal system, the management of computer judicial experts, the management of computer judicial expertise institutions.

Keywords: China legal …

Pier Portal Project Ii, Andy Lam, Brian Markwart

Computer Engineering

The goal of this project is to design and build a remotely controllable camera system that will be deployed at the Cal Poly Pier located in Avila Beach. The system is composed of a camera and all of its lighting and movement controlling hardware enclosed into a waterproof acrylic tube, allowing it to be lowered underwater. The camera will stream its video feed onto a website where any user will be able to watch a live video stream from the pod. In addition, users with the correct privileges will be able to remotely control of the camera system via the …

Design Of An Energy Efficient Virtual End Node Client Using Openadr2.0a And Smap, Kevin Navero

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Demand Response (DR) describes the set of actions taken to impose a reduction in electrical loads to stabilize the power grid and decrease costs. It is used when power grid emergencies or extremely high demand and congestion, threaten the electricity supply-demand balance. Automated Demand Response (ADR) describes a web-based control system that triggers DR events automatically by signaling other pre-programmed control systems. This project intends to use the OpenADR2.0 specifications provided by the OpenADR Alliance to construct an open source Virtual End Node (VEN) client to retrieve DR signals. The Simple Measurement and Actuation Profile (sMAP) software is also used …

The Visual Representation Of Sound For The Hearing Impaired, Jonathan Brophy

Electrical Engineering

There are many difficulties that arise when one is faced with a hearing disability. New applications of advancing technology have the potential to enable designs capable of assisting the hearing impaired with the ability to see sound. This project seeks to provide a user with a visual representation of loud noises detected using small directional microphones. The microphones determine the location of the sound above a set decibel level and a microprocessor determines the approximate location of the sound source and displays a vertical colored bar on a video image in the direction of the noise using virtual reality glasses. …

Obd2 Pid Reader, Andrew Fong

Computer Engineering

The most current standard on automobiles for monitoring data is OBD-II. Using On board diagnostic Parameter ID (OBD PID) codes hobbyists and mechanics have the ability to monitor, chart, and obtain data on cars by communicating to the ECU. The OBD-II connector is often located under the driver’s side inside of the car. The hardware will consist of a generic Bluetooth OBD2 connector and a laptop running windows. The software will be an program exe created by visual basic. The software created in visual basic will allow the user to examine PID codes in order to record and discover new …

Applied Hw/Sw Co-Design: Using The Kendall Tau Algorithm For Adaptive Pacing, Kenneth W. Chee

Master's Theses

Microcontrollers, the brains of embedded systems, have found their way into every aspect of our lives including medical devices such as pacemakers. Pacemakers provide life supporting functions to people therefore it is critical for these devices to meet their timing constraints. This thesis examines the use of hardware co-processing to accelerate the calculation time associated with the critical tasks of a pacemaker. In particular, we use an FPGA to accelerate a microcontroller’s calculation time of the Kendall Tau Rank Correlation Coefficient algorithm. The Kendall Tau Rank Correlation Coefficient is a statistical measure that determines the pacemaker’s voltage level for heart …

Practical Irrigation Scheduling Program, Dominic Sween

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the design, construction, and evaluation of an irrigation scheduling program that aids users in alfalfa irrigation management, with the potential for application with other crops. The program uses a very accurate irrigation prediction model that forecasts what the estimated irrigation need of each week will be, as well as the number of irrigations needed to satisfy the requirement. The model was found to predict the sum of the actual required weekly irrigation amount within less than 1% of the true value. The program was based off the single crop coefficient approach that was outlined previously by …