Computer Engineering Commons^™

Automatic User Profile Construction For A Personalized News Recommender System Using Twitter, Shiva Theja Reddy Gopidi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modern society has now grown accustomed to reading online or digital news. However, the huge corpus of information available online poses a challenge to users when trying to find relevant articles. A hybrid system “Personalized News Recommender Using Twitter’ has been developed to recommend articles to a user based on the popularity of the articles and also the profile of the user. The hybrid system is a fusion of a collaborative recommender system developed using tweets from the “Twitter” public timeline and a content recommender system based the user’s past interests summarized in their conceptual user profile. In previous work, …

Reducing Multiple Access Interference In Broadband Multi-User Wireless Networks, Ali Nayef Alqatawneh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is devoted to developing multiple access interference (MAI) reduction techniques for multi-carrier multi-user wireless communication networks.

In multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) systems, a full multipath diversity can be achieved by transmitting one symbol over multiple orthogonal subcarriers by means of spreading codes. However, in frequency selective fading channels, orthogonality among users can be destroyed leading to MAI. MAI represents the main obstacle to support large number of users in multi-user wireless systems. Consequently, MAI reduction becomes a main challenge when designing multi-carrier multi-user wireless networks. In this dissertation, first, we study MC-CDMA systems with different existing …

Vocal Classification Of Vocalizations Of A Pair Of Asian Small-Clawed Otters To Determine Stress, Peter M. Scheifele, Michael T. Johnson, Michelle Fry, Benjamin Hamel, Kathryn Laclede

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Asian Small-Clawed Otters (Aonyx cinerea) are a small, protected but threatened species living in freshwater. They are gregarious and live in monogamous pairs for their lifetimes, communicating via scent and acoustic vocalizations. This study utilized a hidden Markov model (HMM) to classify stress versus non-stress calls from a sibling pair under professional care. Vocalizations were expertly annotated by keepers into seven contextual categories. Four of these—aggression, separation anxiety, pain, and prefeeding—were identified as stressful contexts, and three of them—feeding, training, and play—were identified as non-stressful contexts. The vocalizations were segmented, manually categorized into broad vocal type call types, and analyzed …

Establishing The Relative Merits Of Interior And Spoke-Type Permanent-Magnet Machines With Ferrite Or Ndfeb Through Systematic Design Optimization, Peng Zhang, Gennadi Y. Sizov, Dan M. Ionel, Nabeel Demerdash

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, a multiobjective design optimization method combining design-of-experiments techniques and differential-evolution algorithms is presented. The method was implemented and utilized in order to provide practical engineering insights for the optimal design of interior and spoke-type permanent-magnet machines. Two combinations with 12 slots and 8 poles and 12 slots and 10 poles, respectively, have been studied in conjunction with rare-earth neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) and ferrites. As part of the optimization process, a computationally efficient finite-element electromagnetic analysis was employed for estimating the performance of thousands of candidate designs. Three optimization objectives were concurrently considered for minimum total material cost, power …

Improving Engagement Assessment By Model Individualization And Deep Learning, Feng Li

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation studies methods that improve engagement assessment for pilots. The major work addresses two challenging problems involved in the assessment: individual variation among pilots and the lack of labeled data for training assessment models.

Task engagement is usually assessed by analyzing physiological measurements collected from subjects who are performing a task. However, physiological measurements such as Electroencephalography (EEG) vary from subject to subject. An assessment model trained for one subject may not be applicable to other subjects. We proposed a dynamic classifier selection algorithm for model individualization and compared it to other two methods: base line normalization and similarity-based …

Detecting, Modeling, And Predicting User Temporal Intention, Hany M. Salaheldeen

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

The content of social media has grown exponentially in the recent years and its role has evolved from narrating life events to actually shaping them. Unfortunately, content posted and shared in social networks is vulnerable and prone to loss or change, rendering the context associated with it (a tweet, post, status, or others) meaningless. There is an inherent value in maintaining the consistency of such social records as in some cases they take over the task of being the first draft of history as collections of these social posts narrate the pulse of the street during historic events, protest, riots, …

Object Tracking From Multiple Multi-Axis Platforms In Four Dimensions, Theodore A. Teates

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Object handoff in free space requires a sound framework between at least two optical sensors and one object. Previous work developed an algorithm that can determine the ap­ propriate time to initiate handoff of object tracking responsibilities from one optical sensor with an object in view to another optical sensor with the same object in view. In order to maintain persistent tracking of objects in this work, gimbal movements of optical sensors are determined by calculations using the Lagrange method to determine the trackability measures between the moving object and the handoff cone for the appropriate optical sensor. The rotation …

Characterization And Decoding Of Speech Representations From The Electrocorticogram, Shreya Chakrabarti

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Millions of people worldwide suffer from various neuromuscular disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), brainstem stroke, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, and others, which adversely affect the neural control of muscles or the muscles themselves. The patients who are the most severely affected lose all voluntary muscle control and are completely locked-in," i.e., they are unable to communicate with the outside world in any manner. In the direction of developing neuro-rehabilitation techniques for these patients, several studies have used brain signals related to mental imagery and attention in order to control an external device, a technology known as a brain-computer …

Collecting Multiple Data Points In A Thunderstorm Environment, Matthew Nelson

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

Collecting multiple data points in adverse conditions such as a thunderstorm presents a number of challenges in collecting and relaying data. Wireless sensor mesh networks is a proven method for extracting and relaying data in radio environments that may either be roving, in adverse conditions or both. This paper explores using wireless sensor mesh networks to collect atmospheric data that is present in a thunderstorm system to enable researchers to learn more from these systems. A wireless sensor mesh network is ideal since it is well suited for both moving and sensor nodes that are in adverse RF conditions. A …

Generation Of Strategies For Environmental Deception In Two-Player Normal-Form Games, Howard E. Poston

Theses and Dissertations

Methods of performing and defending against deceptive actions are a popular field of study in game theory; however, the focus is mostly on action deception in turn-based games. This work focuses on developing strategies for performing environmental deception in two-player, strategic-form games. Environmental deception is defined as deception where one player has the ability to change the other's perception of the state of the game through modification of their perception of the game's payoff matrix, similar to the use of camouflage. The main contributions of this research are an expansion of the definition of the stability of a Nash equilibrium …

Direct Structure Estimation For 3d Reconstruction, Nianjuan Jiang, Wen-Yan Lin, Minh N. Do, Jiangbo Lu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Most conventional structure-from-motion (SFM) techniques require camera pose estimation before computing any scene structure. In this work we show that when combined with single/multiple homography estimation, the general Euclidean rigidity constraint provides a simple formulation for scene structure recovery without explicit camera pose computation. This direct structure estimation (DSE) opens a new way to design a SFM system that reverses the order of structure and motion estimation. We show that this alternative approach works well for recovering scene structure and camera poses from sideway motion given planar or general man-made scenes.

Ikure Health Worker Tracker, Daniel Mendoza, Astha Singh, Mason Maeshiro

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

For our Senior Design Project, we worked with a company in India called iKure. This company is a social benefits entrepreneurship that strives to provide affordable healthcare to citizens in rural India. In order to run their operations more efficiently, iKure asked us to create an application to track the location of their health workers as they travel throughout the rural communities. We worked closely with one of the employees at iKure, meeting biweekly through conference calls, in order to keep up to date on the companys developments. After careful consideration and additional feedback from iKure, we came up with …

Beacon Pack, Aidan Barbari, James Mack, James Terry

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

STEM technologies have the ability to spread information to those corners of the world where Internet access has yet to reach. However, there are very few technologies that can bring this necessity to developing countries, most of which do not have the capital to pursue these technologies. In this paper, we discuss Beacon Pack, a solar powered database in a travelers pack that can bring information acquired from the Internet to these individuals in developing countries with low-level cellular phones or "feature phones." Our product tackles this issue of providing this info, specifically news articles, to developing countries through an …

Image Processing For The Extraction Of Nutritional Information From Food Labels, Nate Matsunaga, Rick Sullivan

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Current techniques for tracking nutritional data require undesirable amounts of either time or man-power. People must choose between tediously recording and updating dietary information or depending on unreliable crowd-sourced or costly maintained databases. Our project looks to overcome these pitfalls by providing a programming interface for image analysis that will read and report the information present on a nutrition label directly. Our solution involves a C++ library that combines image pre-processing, optical character recognition, and post-processing techniques to pull the relevant information from an image of a nutrition label. We apply an understanding of a nutrition label's content and data …

Ikamvayouth, Weihan Li, Ann Parden

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

IkamvaYouth is a non-profit organization in South Africa that would benefit from a streamlined system that expedites registration and optimizes communication for volunteers and learners. IkamvaYouth currently has multiple mediums for registering users, which is hard to track and manage. Our solution is to make a product for volunteers and learners. The learners will be able to identify the nearest branch. The volunteers will be able to identify the nearest branch and register for a position at that branch. The primary considerations for an application in South Africa is that it is practical and usable. The solution provide is based …

Flippit: A Local Marketplace Mobile Application, Kyle Alwyn, Taylor Roden

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Every year, university students spend hundreds, if not thousands on textbooks. However, students cannot effectively sell off or return the used books. Current solutions do exist, but they are slow, difficult to use, and do not give a reasonable refunded amount. To solve the problem, we implemented a hybrid mobile application, built to be available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Throughout the development process, several competitors emerged in the local bookselling market, therefore, our team pivoted and went more broad, allowing users to buy and sell anything, rather than restricting the platform to only books. …

Low-Cost Electrocardiogram Device For Preventative Healthcare In Rural Populations Of Developing Countries, J.P. Ertola, Michael Whalen

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

We have created a prototype electrocardiogram (ECG) device to screen rural populations of developing countries for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Our device is affordable and easy to use so it can be accessible to as many people as possible. We leverage widespread SMS infrastructures to remotely report cardiovascular health to doctors; thus not requiring the doctor to be on-site to interpret test results. Our device can be used to screen people for cardiovascular warning signs. Therefore, it is not meant to be a diagnostic tool.

Pilot-1: Autonomous Fixed-Wing Aircraft Control System, Chris Millsap, Nathan Garvey, Faisal Hayat

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

In the past decade, the personal ownership of unmanned aerial vehicles has exploded in the US and around the world. The rapidly declining size and cost of integrated circuits, sensors and embedded micro-controllers has lead to a flourishing community of hobbyists designing flight controllers with levels of sophistication approaching those for government and military applications. The typical flight assisted controllers integrate data from the user's control system and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) in order to keep the craft level and on course. Deriving mostly from the radio controlled (RC) hobby industry, the flight control technologies for both rotary and …

Rsl Autonomous Rover, Cris Madrigal, Jiachi Zhang, Nicholas Peacock, Brogan O'Hara

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Autonomous vehicles are useful for a variety of applications such as military, urban, and agricultural environments. This paper discusses adding an autonomous navigation system to an all-terrain vehicle by implementing controllers that interface with its current system, installing sensors on the vehicle for obstacle detection, and developing effective safety mechanisms to prevent injury to others. The result is a vehicle capable of waypoint navigation and obstacle avoidance. Testing the vehicle showed that the LIDAR and the autonomous navigation system were integrated seamlessly, and that the sensor output signals were successfully translated into vehicle commands the existing system uses. This system …

Using Virtual Reality For Anxiety Therapy, Bryce Mariano, Paul Thurston

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Phobias, defined as a persistent and often irrational fear of an object or situation, are a very common type of anxiety disorder that can make it extremely difficult if not impossible for sufferers to interact with the world in a normal and healthy fashion. Traditionally therapists have used a concept known as systematic desensitization to help patients gain control of the emotional and physical reaction to their phobia. Systematic desensitization is employed using a type of treatment known as exposure therapy in which the patients are gradually made to think about and eventually face whatever triggers their anxiety until they …

Omnisplit: A Mobile Food Ordering Platform For Restaurant Staff And Patrons, Andres De Artola, Jordan Buschman, Ashley Sehatti

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

The takeout industry has benefited greatly from smartphone technology, but the dine- in experience has lagged behind. There are several major issues with the current dining experience, including how to split the check and how to address the issue of poor customer feedback. Some mobile and desktop apps have tired to address individual issues of the restaurant dining process, but there is no single platform that attempts to fix the experience as a whole. We begin by outlining the idea behind OmniSplit, a small to medium business solution that seeks to address many of these issues simultaneously. OmniSplit combines online …

Energy Management Tool Suite, Julian Bliss

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

ELEN 288 / COEN 282, Energy Management Systems, is a graduate course o ered at Santa Clara University concerning di erent methods and procedures energy companies utilize. Many algorithms taught in this class for predicting and measuring energy usage are dependent on the weather. For example, to predict energy usage for an upcoming day, if the day is predicted to have a max temperature of eighty degrees and a minimum temperature of fty- ve degrees, students can look in historical databases of weather for days that have similar weather, and infer that the energy usage might be similar as well. …

Sankara Eye Records: Eye-Health Tracker For Children In India, Francis-Joseph Cuenca, Amy Truong

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Sankara Eye Records is a web application created for Sankara Eye, an Indian-based outreach or- ganization that provides eye care services for underserved communities. Our goal is to make the process of creating and editing screening site records and schoolchildren eye health records quick and efficient. This will enable Sankara Eye to track childrens eye health over their school years. Our system will include a web application to be used by trained Sankara Eye personnel at screening sites and a backend database to store all their data.

Wakabi: On-Demand Ride Service For Rural Uganda, Michael Brew, Bryant Larsen

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

In Uganda, the majority of the population lives in rural villages that rely on last-mile distribution for goods such as vaccines, fresh water, trade goods, and other forms of humanitarian relief. Last-mile distribution refers to the last mile (or few miles) that goods must be transported in order to reach their final destination from a main delivery hub. Coordination is one of the primary issues that exist when trying to solve the last-mile problem. In this paper we present our solution to this problem: an SMSbased, on-demand ride-sharing service designed to empower the people of rural Uganda by helping organize …

Wej Collaborative Playlists, Jason Dougherty, Nicholas Fong, Alexander Hurst, Malia Lum

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

WeJ (pronounced we-jay) is a mobile web application that provides users with the ability to collaboratively create music playlists and listen to them with each other in real time. Users will be able to search for songs to be added to the playlist, select songs from pre-made libraries, and up and down vote songs to determine what will be played next. Our goal is to bring people together through the power of music.

Groupright : Collaborative Group Management System, Kenneth Bigler, Scott Sarsfield, Zachary Wilson

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

GroupRight is a comprehensive group decision-making platform for simplifying the organization of event scheduling, task management, and mass communication. Consisting of a website, iOS application and an Android application, GroupRight provides convenient tools for groups of all sizes to improve productivity. Users can quickly create and manage dynamic groups so that each member of the group can contribute to the overall system. Likewise, updates from individuals using GroupRights core tools are provided to the entire group to increase each members situational awareness.

Uavino, Matthew Belesiu, Aaron Chung, Kirby Linvill, Nathan Carlson, Phillip Coyle, Megan Peekema

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

UAVino is a drone solution that uses aerial imagery to determine the overall plant health and water content of vineyards. In general, the system focuses on automating crop inspection by taking aerial imagery of a vineyard, conducting post-processing, and outputting an easily interpreted map of the vineyard's overall health. The project's key innovation is an auto-docking system that allows the drone to automatically return to its launch point and recharge in order to extend mission duration. Long term, UAVino is envisioned as a multi-year, interdisciplinary project involving both the Santa Clara University Robotics Systems Laboratory and local wineries in order …

Aquasift: Point-Of-Use Microfluidic Detection System, Daniel Beyers, Jasper Tan, Brandon Young

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

AquaSift is a portable, affordable, point-of-use system that performs microfluidic detection of contaminants in drinking water. It comprises four main components: a three-electrode sensor, a potentiostat circuit device, an Android application, and an online database. It utilizes three-electrode voltammetry by applying a voltage stimulus across the electrodes and reading the induced current on the water sample. Testing has shown that our system is able to detect arsenic in solution samples. The Android application serves as the user interface to the system, and the online database allows the mapping of test results on an easy-to-use website.

Dynamic Life Management Assistant (Dylma), Arturo Aguilar, Ruben Luva, David Mora-Barajas, Sunny Patel, Alejandro Rodriguez

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Individuals currently face difficulty allocating time to achieve an ideal level of productivity. It is often demanding to manage tasks and responsibilities along with their specific priority level and deadlines. Likewise, managing health and wellness priorities while under the stress of a busy schedule can be just as challenging. The productivity tools of today offer a fragmented mobile experience that relies on a multitude of applications to achieve simple goals. A viable solution is a life-management system for Google Glass that integrates a user's schedule in order to aid productivity and time management. This system manages a series of everyday …

Predicting Cross-Gaming Propensity Using E-Chaid Analysis, Eunju Suh, Matt Alhaery

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Cross-selling different types of games could provide an opportunity for casino operators to generate additional time and money spent on gaming from existing patrons. One way to identify the patrons who are likely to cross-play is mining individual players’ gaming data using predictive analytics. Hence, this study aims to predict casino patrons’ propensity to play both slots and table games, also known as cross-gaming, by applying a data-mining algorithm to patrons’ gaming data. The Exhaustive Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector (E-CHAID) method was employed to predict cross-gaming propensity. The E-CHAID models based on the gaming-related behavioral data produced actionable model accuracy …