Computer Engineering Commons^™

Nonlinear Observer For Visual-Inertial Navigation Using Intermittent Landmark Measurements, Miaomiao Wang

Western Research Forum

The development of reliable orientation, position and linear velocity estimation algorithms for the 3D visual-inertial navigation system (VINS) is instrumental in many applications, such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It is extremely important when the global position system (GPS) is not available in GPS-denied environments. Recently, observers design for VINS using landmark position measurements from Kinect sensors or stereo cameras has been increasingly investigated in the literature.

The aim of this work is to design a nonlinear observer for VINS under the assumption that landmark position measurements are intermittent. In practice, the landmark measurements are …

A Resource Constrained Shortest Paths Approach To Reducing Personal Pollution Exposure, Elling Payne

REU Final Reports

As wildfires surge in frequency and impact in the Pacific Northwest, in tandem with increasingly traffic-choked roads, personal exposure to harmful airborne pollutants is a rising concern. Particularly at risk are school-age children, especially those living in disadvantaged communities near major motorways and industrial centers. Many of these children must walk to school, and the choice of route can effect exposure. Route-planning applications and frameworks utilizing computational shortest paths methods have been proposed which consider personal exposure with reasonable success, but few have focused on pollution exposure, and all have been limited in scalability or geographic scope. This paper addresses …

Large-Scale Data Analysis And Deep Learning Using Distributed Cyberinfrastructures And High Performance Computing, Richard Dodge Platania

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Data in many research fields continues to grow in both size and complexity. For instance, recent technological advances have caused an increased throughput in data in various biological-related endeavors, such as DNA sequencing, molecular simulations, and medical imaging. In addition, the variance in the types of data (textual, signal, image, etc.) adds an additional complexity in analyzing the data. As such, there is a need for uniquely developed applications that cater towards the type of data. Several considerations must be made when attempting to create a tool for a particular dataset. First, we must consider the type of algorithm required …

Influence Spread In Two-Layer Interdependent Networks: Designed Single-Layer Or Random Two-Layer Initial Spreaders?, Hana Khamfroush, Nathaniel Hudson, Samuel Iloo, Mahshid R. Naeini

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Influence spread in multi-layer interdependent networks (M-IDN) has been studied in the last few years; however, prior works mostly focused on the spread that is initiated in a single layer of an M-IDN. In real world scenarios, influence spread can happen concurrently among many or all components making up the topology of an M-IDN. This paper investigates the effectiveness of different influence spread strategies in M-IDNs by providing a comprehensive analysis of the time evolution of influence propagation given different initial spreader strategies. For this study we consider a two-layer interdependent network and a general probabilistic threshold influence spread model …

Sparse General Non-Negative Matrix Factorization Based On Left Semi-Tensor Product, Zigang Chen, Lixiang Li, Haipeng Peng, Yuhong Liu, Haihua Zhu, Yixian Yang

Computer Science and Engineering

The dimension reduction of large scale high-dimensional data is a challenging task, especially the dimension reduction of face data and the accuracy increment of face recognition in the large scale face recognition system, which may cause large storage space and long recognition time. In order to further reduce the recognition time and the storage space in the large scale face recognition systems, on the basis of the general non-negative matrix factorization based on left semi-tensor (GNMFL) without dimension matching constraints proposed in our previous work, we propose a sparse GNMFL/L (SGNMFL/L) to decompose a large number of face data sets …

Authentication And Sql-Injection Prevention Techniques In Web Applications, Cagri Cetin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the top two “most critical web-application security risks” by combining two high-level contributions.

The first high-level contribution introduces and evaluates collaborative authentication, or coauthentication, a single-factor technique in which multiple registered devices work together to authenticate a user. Coauthentication provides security benefits similar to those of multi-factor techniques, such as mitigating theft of any one authentication secret, without some of the inconveniences of multi-factor techniques, such as having to enter passwords or biometrics. Coauthentication provides additional security benefits, including: preventing phishing, replay, and man-in-the-middle attacks; basing authentications on high-entropy secrets that can be generated and updated automatically; …

Trippit: An Optimal Itinerary Generator, Andrew Nguyen, Osama Shoubber

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Travelers often lose interest and joy when traveling in tourist-packed areas around the world. As more restaurants and attractions open up in popular cities, the wait and travel time from one location to another inevitably increases. Each attraction has certain hours throughout the day where visitors surge and the wait times increase. In addition, traffic and travel time is an important factor to consider when looking to optimize ones trip. However, with large amounts of attractions, it is difficult to calculate and consider the most optimal routes and times an individual should use to visit each possible attraction. Travelers ultimately …

Homebook, Stephen Poth, Simon Stauber, Jake Vargas

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Having a reliable address system is something that is often taken for granted, but simply having one comes with immense benefits. People can easily find locations of friends and family, services like taxis know exactly where to pick customers up, and emergency response units can accurately find the scene of emergencies quickly. However, in many developing countries, these are luxuries only afforded by the wealthy and privileged neighborhoods. Locations are given haphazardly through description, often leading to late arrivals. In some cases this can be a dire possibility. Our solution aims to change this by developing a mobile application that …

Deaddropbox: A Time-Locked Safe For Data, Robert Herriott, Peter Paulson, Nathaniel Kragas

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

This project is a proof-of-concept for software which would allow users to securely store sensitive data in such a way that it is difficult or impossible for third parties to compromise the data, even when the user is compelled to assist them. It will operate by storing data across multiple devices in a unreadable form so that it is inaccessible until the data is reunified. The user may specify the circumstances under which different pieces of the data may be accessed, so that it is impossible to access under circumstances of duress.

A Questioning Agent For Literary Discussion, Robbie Culkin, Tim Shur

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Developing a compelling and cohesive thesis for analytical writing can be a daunting task, even for those who have produced many written works, and finding others to engage with in literary discussion can be equally challenging. In this paper, we describe our solution: Questioner, a discussion tool that engages users in conversation about an academic topic of their choosing for the purpose of collecting thoughts on a subject and constructing an argument. This system will ask informed questions that prompt further discussion about the topic and provide a discussion report after the conversation has ended. We found that our system …

Doorbell For The Hearing Impaired, Shannen Edwin, Dominic Magdaluyo

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Doorbell options for hearing impaired individuals is seriously limited. Affordable solutions are not scalable while other solutions are expensive. With this in mind, we designed a scalable and affordable system that will be beneficial to hearing impaired individuals in a small aspect of their life. Our solution takes advantage of affordable IoT devices and software to build a proof of concept. Due to the scope of the project, we only designed a proof of concept, in the hope that a company can design a viable product that will not only benefit hearing impaired individuals but bring a powerful IoT system …

Keyboard Hero, Connor Lucier

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Learning the piano is a complicated process that involves a lifetime of practice. For many new musicians, however, this task is overwhelming and discouraging because of the many skills involved in playing the piano. To solve this problem, I aim to create a computer game compatible with MIDI keyboards that gives novice pianists an alternative to the typical learning process and gives experienced pianists a new and useful practice tool. The game I created is inspired by two popular video games, Guitar Hero and Rock Band, featuring instant accuracy feedback against imported MIDI tracks, high score tracking, and the ability …

The Labyrinth, Derek Nakamura, Marko Trapani, Liam Walker

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

The Labyrinth is a puzzle video game meant to be experienced with a virtual reality headset. It aims to differ from typical puzzle games by being simultaneously fun, immersive, and mentally stimulating. The game consists of three unique level types, with room for further development to create more complex versions of said levels. In this document, we discuss how we developed the game environment to effectively engage the player in enjoyable and engaging problem-solving challenges. The game has been rigidly tested and play-testers were surveyed on their experiences, in order to improve the game.

The Original Beat: An Electronic Music Production System And Its Design, Eli Yale, Christian Quintero, Matt Kordonsky

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

The barrier to entry in electronic music production is high. It requires expensive, complicated software, extensive knowledge of music theory and experience with sound generation. Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) are the main tools used to piece together digital sounds and produce a complete song. While these DAWs are great for music professionals, they have a steep learning curve for beginners and they must run native on a user’s computer. For a novice to begin creating music takes much more time, eort, and money than it should. We believe anyone who is interested in creating electronic music deserves a simple way …

Justrun - Social Gps Running Game, Riley Bergin, Maggie Cai, Simran Judge, Grace Ling

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

With advances in technology allowing people to live more sedentary lives, more and more people are struggling to live a healthy active lifestyle. In the efforts to combat unhealthy styles of living, we wish to introduce a mobile app that takes advantage of motivational game mechanics to motivate players will make go on runs regularly.

N.O.V.I.: Note Organizer For The Visually Impaired, Axel Perez, Cesar Tesen

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Visually impaired students face extra challenges when it comes to the basic necessity of note-taking. Current assistive technology is fragmented in function. These students often need to combine solutions such as voice recording lectures, hiring someone to transcribe notes to braille, hiring a reader, etc. The amount of time and money they need for these solutions proves to be a great disadvantage, and we wish to provide an easier solution that will give these students a more independent and productive learning experience.

Our solution is an application that can offer intuitive, convenient, and comprehensive access to notes for the visually …

Galápago!, Jeffrey Nguyen, Sally Park, Manuel Sanchez

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

The Galápagos Islands are the tourism hub in Ecuador. The islands greatly benefit economically from the tourism industry, but tourism also affects the conservation of the islands and the local businesses. Locals are suffering due to the impact of tourism. Tourists from around the world go to the archipelago seeking the beauty of the islands. People come on cruise ships to ports, but many aren’t aware of the local businesses and etiquette on the islands, preferring to stay on the ship or near the ports. GalápaGo! is the solution for locals and tourists on the Galapagos Islands. The goal of …

Secure And Efficient Bft Consensus For Blockchains, Mohammad Mussadiq Jalalzai

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Blockchains are simple data structures, containing transactions organized into blocks, in which each block points to a previous block using its hash. Thus, by following the chain, we can follow the history of transactions. Blocks are added to the chain through a consensus mechanism. Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus protocols that were designed before blockchains were introduced are usually considered appropriate for use in small scale networks of size 10-20 replicas. Blockchains have changed this trend as the blockchain networks usually require a larger number of replicas and classic BFT protocols cannot provide acceptable performance in large networks. One of …

Synergy: An Energy Monitoring And Visualization System, Sarah Johnson, Pearce Ropion

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

The key to becoming a more sustainable society is first learning to take responsibility for the role we play in energy consumption. Real-time energy usage gives energy consumers a sense of responsibility over what they can do to accomplish a much larger goal for the planet, and practically speaking, what they can do to lower the cost to their wallets. Synergy is an energy monitoring and visualization system that enables users to gather information about the energy consumption in a building – small or large – and display that data for the user in real-time. The gathered energy usage data …

Lactic Acid Threshold Stimulator, Justin Brackett, Karen Carreon, Fernando Guerra, Malyna Sanchez

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

As a person works out, the threshold of lactic acid will build causing anywhere from discomfort to pain. Reducing the discomfort caused by lactic acid could greatly improve an individual’s performance while working out. Reducing this discomfort may be done through Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS), which is the procedure of contracting muscles through sending electrical signals. Our team’s goal is to create LATS, a wearable and mobile application that alleviates discomfort and aids muscle recovery during the intense parts of a workout. The system consists of a heart rate monitor to measure lactic acid levels, a garment that is worn …

Top Level Mesh, Matt Jasaitis, Tristen Islam

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

This paper will cover our report on the Top Level Mesh. We have built a web-based system for mesh network management. This system allows network utilities to be used from a web-based interface to monitor and manage the transfer of data. The system runs primarily on Raspberry Pis using Raspbian Linux. Users can access the system through web browsers to both configure the system and interact with the data on the network. We discuss our motivation for the project, design decisions made, technologies used and more throughout this report. We conclude with some lessons learned and future work to be …

Galápaguide, Neel Sampemane, Stephen Pacwa, Mason Bruce, Paul Ahrens

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

In collaboration with the the Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador, the Association of Guides on the Galápagos, and Santa Clara University’s Frugal Innovation Hub, we developed a mobile application and administrative website connected through a REST API to a backend database as tools to assist naturalist guides on the Galápagos archipelago in conservation efforts. The goal of this system is to enable the naturalist guides and administrators to report issues with greater efficiency and view the data in a more useful way. This report outlines our design for this project and the reasoning behind our design decisions.

Virtual Reality Physics Scenarios, Patric Zhang, Thomas King

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Many students taking physics early on in their education find that it may be difficult to associate the theory they learn in class with how physics works in real world scenarios. Through various experiments in class, students are able to see examples of physics phenomena, but those experiments are limited by equipment, and do not offer precise data. To combat this, we are creating a virtual reality application for students to use to help learn physics. This report details the requirements the system will meet, as well as the use cases and subsequent activity diagrams for all users. We have …

Scheduling And Prefetching In Hadoop With Block Access Pattern Awareness And Global Memory Sharing With Load Balancing Scheme, Sai Suman

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although several scheduling and prefetching algorithms have been proposed to improve data locality in Hadoop, there has not been much research to increase cluster performance by targeting the issue of data locality while considering the 1) cluster memory, 2) data access patterns and 3) real-time scheduling issues together.

Firstly, considering the data access patterns is crucial because the computation might access some portion of the data in the cluster only once while the rest could be accessed multiple times. Blindly retaining data in memory might eventually lead to inefficient memory utilization.

Secondly, several studies found that the cluster memory goes …

The Trust-Based Interactive Partially Observable Markov Decision Process, Richard S. Seymour

Theses and Dissertations

Cooperative agent and robot systems are designed so that each is working toward the same common good. The problem is that the software systems are extremely complex and can be subverted by an adversary to either break the system or potentially worse, create sneaky agents who are willing to cooperate when the stakes are low and take selfish, greedy actions when the rewards rise. This research focuses on the ability of a group of agents to reason about the trustworthiness of each other and make decisions about whether to cooperate. A trust-based interactive partially observable Markov decision process (TI-POMDP) is …

H.E.A.R.T., Jacob Day, Yutong Li, Samuel Rietz, Brendan Watamura

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Healthy parenting and family resilience in early childhood has been shown to be an important factor in building emotional resilience for the children: it illustrates that when parents have higher emotional resilience, their children tend to have higher emotional resilience as well. However, the tools that available in the market right now only teach people what emotional resilience rather than how to practice it in daily life.

This report describes our project to create a virtual reality tool that can not only teach the importance of emotional resilience, but also help the parents develop personal resilience. The system is based …

Bronco Books: Textbook E-Commerce Platform, Vineet Joshi, Terry Shih, David Taylor

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

College students purchase textbooks for the classes they take every quarter, but current solutions for selling back those textbooks are insufficient, requiring that the student pay to utilize the selling platforms or that the student build rapport within a given community. Our project, Bronco Books, offers a solution by being a native mobile application open to only SCU students. Bronco Books will be free to access and will act as an e-commerce platform where students go to sell their textbooks. We were motivated to create Bronco Books primarily because we wanted to help alleviate the financial burden that comes with …

Mindmusic: Brain-Controlled Musical Improvisation, Rachel Goldstein, Andy Vainauskas

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

MindMusic explores a new form of creative expression through brain controlled musical improvisation. Using EEG technology and a musical improviser system, Impro-Visor (Keller, 2018), MindMusic engages users in musical improvisation sessions controlled with their brainwaves. Brain-controlled musical improvisation offers a unique blend of mindfulness meditation, EEG biofeedback, and real-time music generation, and stands to assist with stress reduction and widen access to musical creativity.

Solemate: A Music App For Runners, Arshi Jujara, Samantha Lee, Samantha Song

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Solemate is a mobile application designed to enhance the running experience through music. Our feed-forward algorithm sets the runner’s pace by playing music that varies in tempo. By encouraging the user to match their steps to the beat, our application cultivates a run that feels natural and inspires intrinsic motivation, especially for the beginner runner.

The Perils And Promises Of Artificial General Intelligence, Brian S. Haney

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.