Computer Engineering Commons^™

Multi-Scale Spatial Cognition Models And Bio-Inspired Robot Navigation, Martin I. Llofriu Alonso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The rodent navigation system has been the focus of study for over a century. Discoveries made lately have provided insight on the inner workings of this system. Since then, computational approaches have been used to test hypothesis, as well as to improve robotics navigation and learning by taking inspiration on the rodent navigation system.

This dissertation focuses on the study of the multi-scale representation of the rat’s current location found in the rat hippocampus. It first introduces a model that uses these different scales in the Morris maze task to show their advantages. The generalization power of larger scales of …

Rf Location Tracking: A Modular Antenna System Implementation, Alan Tao Feng, Razma Mogharrab, Carlos Rivera

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

From the Amazon Prime Air drone delivery service to the usage of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in military operations, recent years have seen the development of autonomous flight technologies becoming one of the major research topics in the drone industry. Tracking the geographic position of drones is a crucial part of any autonomous flight, but the common methods of drone location tracking either have too large of an error margin or require extensive environmental setup. The aforementioned issues are major roadblocks in the advancement of autonomous flight operations. The proposed solution is a new and improved method to track the …

Multiple-Phase Modeling Of Degradation Signal For Condition Monitoring And Remaining Useful Life Prediction, Yuxin Wen, Jianguo Wu, Yuan Yuan

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Remaining useful life prediction plays an important role in ensuring the safety, availability, and efficiency of various engineering systems. In this paper, we propose a flexible Bayesian multiple-phase modeling approach to characterize degradation signals for prognosis. The priors are specified with a novel stochastic process and the multiple-phase model is formulated to a novel state-space model to facilitate online monitoring and prediction. A particle filtering algorithm with stratified sampling and partial Gibbs resample-move strategy is developed for online model updating and residual life prediction. The advantages of the proposed method are demonstrated through extensive numerical studies and real case studies.

Artificial Intelligence Hardware Accelerator, Maor Bernstein, Patrick Miller

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

This paper documents the investigation and implementation of the mathematics behind artificial intelligence using a programmable gate array interfaced through a software API. Machine learning is made possible through training on large amounts of information and is often performed across clusters of CPUs in an attempt to minimize runtime. In an attempt to make this process less resource intensive, we are researching how to optimize the most intensive of operations by offloading them to a field of programmable gate array.

Point Cloud Framework For Rendering 3d Models Using Google Tango, Maxen Chung, Julian Callin

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

This project seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of point cloud meshing for capturing and modeling three dimensional objects on consumer smart phones and tablets. Traditional methods of capturing objects require hundreds of images, are very slow and consume a large amount of cellular data for the average consumer. Software developers need a starting point for capturing and meshing point clouds to create 3D models as hardware manufacturers provide the tools to capture point cloud data. The project uses Googles Tango computer vision library for Android to capture point clouds on devices with depth-sensing hardware. The point clouds are combined and …

Sclork 2.0, Juan Miguel Baluyut, Jowy Curameng

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

For the past 10 years, the Laptop Orchestra is an emerging interdisciplinary field that involves Computer Science, Engineering, and music. In the past 4 years, Santa Clara University has developed it’s own Laptop Orchestra ensemble called SCLork. For this project, we will be making improvements to the Laptop Orchestra by incorporating a mobile phone element for audience participation. In addition, we will be designing an original composition using computer science sound synthesis techniques. Our mobile element is implemented as a mobile-friendly website that will be accessed by audience members. This website will be used in tandem by both audience and …

Track My Hoist, Brett Harrison, Madison Rubia, Paras Zaveri

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Construction sites all over the world rely on hoist lifts for transporting material and workers at the job site. Despite being such an integral part of construction projects, there is currently no tool to track the use of this critical and highly necessary piece of equipment at the construction site. The purpose of this project is to design a systemthat would enable the managers and employees of construction companies to efficiently track and manage the hoist lifts at their sites.

Efficient tracking and management of the lifts would result in savings of cost, time, and energy for the construction companies. …

Fiber-Optic Sensor For Strain-Insensitive Temperature Measurements, Ming Han

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

An in-line fiber-optic temperature sensor is disclosed. In an implementation, the in-line fiber-optic temperature sensor includes an optically transmissive fiber, a reflector, a microstructured fiber defining a channel therein for receiving a fluid, and a Fabry-Perot cavity in fluid communication with the micro structured fiber. The micro structured fiber can be retained between the optically transmissive fiber and the reflector. The Fabry-Perot cavity defined by a material and configured to receive a gas having an index of refraction that changes in a known way with temperature and pressure changes in fluid communication with the channel of the micro structured fiber. …

Beta: Bioprinting Engineering Technology For Academia, Max Abrams, Jeffrey Barone, Cynthia Le, Jacob Ososke, Franz Plum, Emily Takimoto, Josie Warren

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Higher STEM education is a field of growing potential, but too many middle school and high school students are not testing proficiently in STEM subjects. The BETA team worked to improve biology classroom engagement through the development of technologies for high school biology experiments. The BETA project team expanded functionality of an existing product line to allow for better student and teacher user experience and the execution of more interesting experiments. The BETA project’s first goal was to create a modular incubating Box for the high school classroom. This Box, called the BETA Box was designed with a variety of …

Autonomous Speed Control For Kia Optima, Andrew J. Combs, Kyle Fugatt, Kevin Mcfall

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

The standard method for speed control is the cruise control system built into most modern vehicles. These systems employ a PID controller which actuates the accelerator thus, in turn, maintains the desired vehicle speed. The main drawback of such a system is that typically the cruise control will only engage above 25 mph. The goal of this paper is to describe a system which we used to control vehicle speed from a stop to any desired speed using an Arduino microcontroller and a CAN BUS shield, from where autonomous features can be built upon. With this system, we were able …

Powerplaylist: A Collaborative Web Application That Aims To Give Everyone A Voice, Sara Cassella, Alexander Polatnick, Kristen Ronhovde

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

PowerPlaylist is a client-server based online collaborative playlist that allows guests of a party to have private access to the hosts playlist. Guests can access the queue of songs, request songs, or up-vote or down-vote songs already requested by other guests. Before PowerPlaylist, there was no musical platform that allowed guests at an event to express his or her opinions on what music should be played without distracting the host or DJ. This web application platform solves that problem while requiring little authentication, and not requiring any software downloads in order to be used. PowerPlaylist aims to give every guest …

Virtual Reality Rhythm Game, Joshua Yi, Jordan Lai

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Virtual reality headsets such as the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift bring robust virtual reality technology in the hands of consumers. However, virtual reality technology is still a very new and unexplored domain with a dearth of compelling software that takes advantage of what virtual reality has to offer. Current rhythm games on the virtual reality platform lack a sense of immersion for the player. These games also require players to remain stationary during gameplay. Our solution is a game where players have to hit musical notes that appear in a trail around them. The trail will move in different …

Design And Implementation Of A Direct/Indirect Hybrid Trust Model For Secure Authentication In A Mobile Ad Hoc Network, Immanuel Amirtharaj, Eric Bonilla, Parker Newton

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

We investigated the problem of cryptographic key authentication in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). Using the theory of digital trust, we propose an authentication scheme for MANETs that includes a hybrid trust model between the direct and indirect approaches. Our hybrid trust model supplies trust data to a decentralized web of trust in order to authenticate nodes in a MANET. We ran some simulations of our authentication scheme to verify its security and investigate potential trust threshold values. Also, we designed and implemented a proof-of-concept iOS application that implements our authentication scheme. Some future work includes investing several implications …

Ehras: Electronic Healthcare Record Management For Ad Hoc Settlements, Jack Kingsman, Evan Paul, Max Werner

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Providing reliable and accurate healthcare to refugees in an ad hoc setting can be challenging for a variety of reasons, and most settlements currently utilize little to no record keeping for patients. EHRaS, our mobile-first electronic healthcare record management system, can provide an inexpensive electronic healthcare record (EHR) solution that is flexible in last-mile applications where infrastructure and technical support is at a minimum. By utilizing NFC technology, novel caching practices, and an extensible interface, our system not only securely identifies patients and authorizes staff to access sensitive medical data, but generally provides a competitive, low-overhead alternative to other open …

Pro-Resume: The Infographic Resume Builder, Ivy Wu, Kyra Wayne, Sanika Lakka, Tanisha Rai

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Scoring an interview is a challenge for any job seeker these days, thus having a unique and well-organized resume is crucial to grab a recruiter’s attention. Online resume builders such as ResumeNow and VisualizeMe have been created to help users build resumes; however, their templates are lacking in quantity, customizability, and in some instances, even legibility. Thus, our team set out to create an infographic online resume builder, a web application that allows its users to build, organize, and beautify their resumes to aid them in their job search. Our system allows for easy integration with their LinkedIn profiles so …

Real Time Analysis Of Eye Gaze Data, Nathan Ng, Andrew Wei

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Eye Tracking is an up and coming form of technology that allows the analysis of human interaction and attention patterns. This can be extremely useful in multiple aspects such as the automotive industry, the medical field, gaming industries, and schools and universities. But what hasn't been done yet is the real time analysis of that data. In this document, we propose to bridge the gap between raw data gathered from the Tobii Pro X3-120 Eye Tracker and the real time analysis of that data. Doing so will unlock untapped potential in the form of dynamic applications and real time experiment …

Intelligent Coordination And Automation For Smart Home Accessories, Alexander Choulos, Tian Zhang

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Smarthome accessories are rapidly becoming more popular. Although many companies are making devices to take advantage of this market, most of the created smart devices are actually unintelligent. Currently, these smart home devices require meticulous, tedious configuration to get any sort of enhanced usability over their analog counterparts. We propose building a general model using machine learning and data science to automatically learn a user's smart accessory usage to predict their configuration. We have identified the requirements, collected data, recognized the risks, implemented the system, and have met the goals we set out to accomplish.

Real-Time Classification Of Biomedical Signals, Parkinson’S Analytical Model, Abolfazl Saghafi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The reach of technological innovation continues to grow, changing all industries as it evolves. In healthcare, technology is increasingly playing a role in almost all processes, from patient registration to data monitoring, from lab tests to self-care tools. The increase in the amount and diversity of generated clinical data requires development of new technologies and procedures capable of integrating and analyzing the BIG generated information as well as providing support in their interpretation.

To that extent, this dissertation focuses on the analysis and processing of biomedical signals, specifically brain and heart signals, using advanced machine learning techniques. That is, the …

On The Relative Positioning Of Mobile Devices Through Bluetooth Analysis, Karsten Andersen, Matt Gibson

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Currently, there is no way to accurately track a mobile devices position in a given space without the use of GPS or WiFi. This means that people who are interested in understanding where they currently are in relationship to other people or landmarks and do not have access to these technologies are not able to get accurate location information. In many cases, GPS and WiFi fail to provide the accuracy required to provide useful information as well.

Our solution is a software layer that utilizes existing bluetooth hardware to create a highly accurate relative positioning system. The software layer utilizes …

Shot Clock, Kory Bartlett, Farzad Fred Feyzi

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

The sports sector has experienced major growth over the past couple of decades and is anticipated to grow even faster in the foreseeable future, especially as media technology continues to advance and access to sports games continues to increase. As the audience of sports enthusiast and observers expands, more people may miss the most recent and interesting sporting events from the previous night. Many websites have attempted to serve these groups, but they have become cluttered with articles or short-clips that hold little to no significance to the sporting outcome. These websites have begun to get away from the simple …

Conversation Station, Davis Allen, Robert Bayer

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

We built a mobile application that improves speed and personalization in conversations for people struggling with verbal communication. Many people diagnosed with autism, Down syndrome, and other disorders face daily challenges involving communication due to speech impediments. Existing solutions allow users to communicate via speech cards or typing on a keyboard. However, these solutions make tradeoffs between personalization and speed, compromising what it takes to have fluid, natural) and rewarding conversations. Our solution speeds up personalized communication by applying Machine Learning principles, Artificial Intelligence, and Natural Language Processing. Our project will predict how a user will respond based on natural …

Taking Afrobarometer Data Everywhere, Christen Nguyen, Sean Thomas, Adrienne Tina

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

According to statistics gathered by research group Afrobarometer, many countries in Africa lack infrastructure and basic necessities. In fact, Afrobarometer knows the specific rates of need and availability sampled across thirty-six countries but more prosperous African countries do not know these numbers. These more developed countries are in a position to help their less fortunate neighbors if only made aware of the social and economic climate in the respective areas. Our partnership with Afrobarometer will allow us to advertise these statistics through the use of a mobile application. The data will be displayed in a way that is easy for …

Scu Cube, Matt Condino, Andrew Drape, Evan Eberhardt, Cooper Mcdonnell, Brayton Mcknight, Isaac Mcquillen, James Olwell, Laura Tschudy

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Traditional forms of communication such as landlines and cell phones are unreliable during disaster scenarios. It is difficult to coordinate relief efforts in the aftermath of a disaster due to the unavailability of reliable communication methods. The SCUCube is a 3U CubeSat designed to aid disaster relief communications. The satellite has an amateur radio primary payload that can send and receive standardized data packets with compatible radios, and also has an experimental attitude control system secondary payload. The semi-passive attitude control system uses a gravity gradient boom and a reaction wheel to stabilize the orientation of the satellite. In addition, …

Auto Generation Of Xliff Translation Documents From Proprietary File Formats, Kieran O'Connor, Geraldine Gray

The ITB Journal

The handling of proprietary documents by localisation vendors is time consuming and error prone, and represents a significant challenge to localisation projects. Vendors with many customers, each with its own set of document formats, must potentially support a document format set numbering in the hundreds or thousands. This paper describes an approach to automating the extraction of translatable text from a variety of file formats. The solution is based on XLIFF, language parsers, and XML transformations.

Developing Real-Time Multimedia Conferencing Services Using Java And Sip, Gavin Byrne, Declan Barber

The ITB Journal

This paper examines Java's suitability in creating real-time multimedia communications-based applications in Next Generation Networks (NGNs). We investigate some of the current enabling technologies provided by the Java plaiform which are concerned with the rapid development of realtime communications-based products and services. In particular, we look at creating a multiparty conferencing and collaboration service using the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and the JAIN Framework and present an approach which models multiparty conferencing applications by separating signaling and media transfer functionality. We map our model through the design stage to an implementation in Java. This paper is based on real experiences …

Web Enabled Embedded Devices, Anthony Keane, Brian Myler

The ITB Journal

The trend in manufacturing of computerised control systems has been to miniaturise the components while increasing the functionality of the systems. This has led to the development of small inexpensive hand-held computer devices coupled with the availability of a user friendly application development language, Java and public cost-effect communication networks has given the developer a programmable web-enabled embedded device. This paper investigates the steps involved in programming the Tiny InterNet Interface platform and analyses the limitations imposed by miniaturisation on this device.

Soft, Vertical Handover Of Streamed Multimedia In A 4g Network, Ger Cunningham, Philip Perry, Liam Murphy

The ITB Journal

In this paper the soft, vertical handover of streamed multimedia in a 4G network is considered. We propose a soft handover solution in which the mobile client controls the handover. This solution requires no modifications to existing wireless networks. The second stream required for the soft handover is duplicated just above the transport layer, rather than requiring the server to play out a second stream that needs to be synchronised with the existing stream. Such a scheme is outlined, and the results are presented that show how the scheme functioned in an emulated environment.

Modelling A Mechatronic System Using "Matlab/Simulink" And "Dyanst", Paul Dillon

The ITB Journal

This paper presents the process of modelling a mechatronic system using two modelling methods. One the well known Matlab/Simulation package the other, Dynast, uses a novel energy based approach. The system modelled is a single axis positioning system driven via an armature controlled DC motor. The model consists of the main items in the system; pulse width modulated amplifier, DC motor, pulley and belt drive, and ball screw thread. Effects of inertia of parts and also frictional effects are also accoU;nted for in the models. The problems of combing different disciplines within each method are shown. Simulation results are presented …

Developing A Distributed Java-Based Speech Recognition Engine, Tony Ayers, Brian Nolan

The ITB Journal

The development of speech recognition engines has traditionally been the territory of low-level development languages such as C. Until recently Java may not have been considered a candidate language for the development of such a speech engine, due to its security restrictions which limited its sound processing features. The release of the Java Sound API as part of the Java Media Framework and the subsequent integration of the Sound API into the standard Java development kit provides the necessary sound processing tools to Java to perform speech recognition. This paper documents our development of a speech recognition engine using the …

Simplest Polynomial For Which Naive (Straightforward) Interval Computations Cannot Be Exact, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich, Songsak Sriboonchitta

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

One of the main problem of interval computations is computing the range of a given function over given intervals. It is known that naive interval computations always provide an enclosure for the desired range. Sometimes -- e.g., for single use expressions -- naive interval computations compute the exact range. Sometimes, we do not get the exact range when we apply naive interval computations to the original expression, but we get the exact range if we apply naive interval computations to an equivalent reformulation of the original expression. For some other functions -- including some polynomials -- we do not get …