Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

A Cyber-Physical Flight Simulation Platform For Real-Time Visualization Of Aircraft Dynamics And Sensor-Based Control, Gabriel Martinez, Michael Poinsett

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Understanding aircraft dynamics through traditional simulations can be limiting, as results are often confined to screen-based visualization. This project aims to enhance learning and experimentation by creating a system where aircraft motion can be both simulated and physically observed in real time. The primary objective is to develop a cyber-physical flight simulation platform that links mathematical models with physical hardware. The system is designed to (1) represent aircraft dynamic behavior through real-time motion and (2) provide a foundation for integrating sensors and control strategies for responsive flight behavior. The platform combines aircraft dynamic models with a hardware interface capable of …

Radaround: A Field-Expedient Direction Finder For Contested Iot Sensing & Em Situational Awareness, Owen Maute, Blake Roberts

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This paper presents RadAround, a passive 2-D direction-finding system designed for adversarial IoT sensing in contested environments. Using mechanically steered narrowbeam antennas and field-deployable SCADA software, it generates high-resolution electromagnetic (EM) heatmaps using low-cost COTS or 3D-printed components. The microcontroller-deployable SCADA coordinates antenna positioning and SDR sampling in real time for resilient, on-site operation. Its modular design enables rapid adaptation for applications such as EMC testing in disaster-response deployments, battlefield spectrum monitoring, electronic intrusion detection, and tactical EM situational awareness (EMSA). Experiments show RadAround detecting computing machinery through walls, assessing utilization, and pinpointing EM interference (EMI) leakage sources from Faraday …

Eliminating Range Constraints For Optical Tracking Of Sub-10 Cm Orbital Debris, James Kirk

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

The growing population of orbital debris, including a significant amount of debris ranging from 1 to 10 cm, has substantially increased the risk to satellites. Due to the sheer number and high velocities, debris ranging from 1 to 10 cm still has the ability to cause mission-ending damage while remaining undetectable by ground-based detection facilities. This study utilizes the NASA Standard Satellite Breakup Model (NASA SSBM), combined with MATLAB, to propagate debris clouds over extended durations, enabling the identification of high-detection zones and debris rings. Using the modeled spacecraft environment, a satellite was positioned below the debris ring altitudes. Lowering …

Remora Ads-B In Receiver, Noah Evans, Sara Patel, Nicholas Gatto, Daniel Ingleton

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

The Remora is a compact Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) receiver, designed to enhance situational awareness for pilots operating experimental and homebuilt aircraft. Unlike conventional panel or windscreen-mounted systems, the Remora is installed externally, making it a low-profile solution to the ADS-B In challenge. The device integrates easily with the aircraft’s existing power supply. It transmits data wirelessly to electronic flight bags (EFBs) within the cockpit, using existing iOS and Android software for display and user interaction.   The primary function of the Remora is to provide public-access, real-time traffic awareness and weather forecasting, enabling pilots to make informed mission decisions. …

Stability Through Chaos: Atmospheric Impact And Control Strategies For Laser Communication, Om Acharya, Mykailla Harper, Mark Vanberschot, Aldir Moreira

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Study of Atmospheric Effects and Mitigation Strategies in Free-Space Optical Communication Systems examines the fundamental limitations imposed by atmospheric disturbances on point-to-point laser communication links and evaluates methods to improve link reliability and performance. Free-space optical communication offers high data rates and reduced spectral congestion compared to radiofrequency systems, but its effectiveness is constrained by atmospheric effects including turbulence-induced scintillation, beam wander, absorption, and scattering. These phenomena introduce fluctuations in signal intensity and pointing errors, leading to degraded link stability and increased bit error rates. The work analyzes these atmospheric effects and investigates mitigation strategies that enhance optical link robustness …

Mob-Air: Sensing Package Development For Maritime Search And Rescue Uav, Rachel Jacobsen, Liam Abraham, Ethan Thomas, Madeline Thomson, Nikolaos Triantafilloy

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Man-overboard (MOB) search and rescue (SAR) operations present a persistent maritime challenge, where rapid and reliable detection of a person in the water is critical to mission success. MOB-Air is developing a modular sensing package for an unmanned aerial system (UAS) to enhance SAR missions through autonomous human detection in maritime environments. This capability directly supports Navy maritime operations by improving overboard recovery, reducing search timelines, and enabling persistent aerial monitoring in contested or resource-constrained environments. The system evaluates thermal and visual imaging sensors using a custom horizontal-rail testing frame with a mobile payload. A ROS 2–based software architecture supports …

Experimental Design And Comparative Analysis Of Cubesat-Based Reflector Concepts For Future Solar Energy Redirection On Mars, Tatyana Vladislavova Ivanova

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Previous research shows that redirecting sunlight with large orbital mirrors could support warming specific regions of Mars by targeting ice deposits and releasing greenhouse gases. Although the concept has strong theoretical support, deploying and adjusting massive rigid reflectors in orbit remains a major technical challenge. This study aims to investigate the impact of using a swarm of small, adjustable CubeSats equipped with different reflector types on the effectiveness of solar energy redirection for Martian surface heating. Through comparison of multiple designs in controlled conditions, this work addresses whether smaller, flexible systems could offer a practical alternative to traditional large mirrors. …

Design And Implementation Of A Synchronized Data Acquisition System For An Ihlp Cessna 182 Testbed, Celso Ferreira De Moura, Mariano Chavez Rangel

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This work presents the design and implementation of a fully integrated data acquisition system for a full scale Integrated High Lift Propulsion testbed based on a Cessna 182Q, with emphasis on hardware integration, sensor reliability, and time synchronization. A centralized architecture was developed in LabVIEW to acquire, process, and store data from both analog and digital sensors, including air data systems, inertial measurement units, control positions, and propulsion instrumentation. Analog sensors were carefully calibrated to ensure accurate conversion to engineering units, while digital sensors were incorporated into a unified framework to maintain consistency across all measurements. All ADC, GPS, INS, …

Real-Time Fused Sensor System For Early Onboard Detection Of Weather Phenomena, Sanjana Singh

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Weather-related hazards continue to be a major cause of operational interruptions and safety issues in the aviation sector. Atmospheric phenomena, including turbulence, microbursts, convective storms, and rapidly changing boundary-layer conditions, can arise quickly and often occur on spatial scales that are not adequately addressed by regional forecasting systems. These phenomena particularly endanger aircraft flying at low altitudes, such as general aviation planes, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and those during takeoff and landing Although meteorological forecasting systems and ground-based radar networks offer important regional insights, they may fail to detect localized atmospheric variations encountered along specific flight routes. Consequently, pilots and …

Investigating The Spatial Scales Of Ionospheric Irregularities Using Wavelet Analysis, Nash Mcleod

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Investigating the Spatial Scales of Ionospheric Irregularities Using Wavelet Analysis:   Ionospheric radio wave scintillation arises from plasma density irregularities in Earth’s ionosphere. Consequently, rapid fluctuations occur in the phase and amplitude of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals and can impact communication and navigation systems. These irregularities span from a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and evolve dynamically under the influence of magnetosphere-ionosphere (MI) processes. We investigate phase and amplitude scintillation events using Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) to study the spatial evolution of ionospheric irregularities. These irregularities are thought to be formed via different plasma mechanisms such as …

Effect Of Anode Size On The Properties Of Constricted Hollow Anode Pulsed Plasma Source, Nirav Patel, Garret Seckinger

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

With the advent of ion thrusters, burns requiring large velocity changes can be performed with a fraction of the propellant required by traditional chemical rocket engines. However, current ion thrusters produce thrust in the order of millinewtons and thus cannot be viable for launching vehicles or burns requiring velocity changes in a small amount of time. Furthermore, current ion thrusters experience grid and component erosion, where the two grids at the termination of the nozzle slowly erode due to particle impact, and the hot electrodes degrade due to high thermal load. This limits the life of ion engines, which require …

A Feedback Loop Control To Automate Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Based Additive Manufacturing, Arineh Shahbazi

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Currently, nanoparticle annealing based additive manufacturing process requires high temperatures, making them unsuitable for a broad range of applications. By lowering the temperature and developing a process to use Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (CAPP) for annealing, many more doors are opened to a wide range of materials, films, and environments for space, communication, and microelectronics. CAPP-based additive manufacturing technology is continually evolving, making projects like nanoparticle annealing more feasible. In this work, we designed a CAPP jet printer assembly consisting of a 0.25-inch outer diameter glass tube connected to a 3D printing nozzle. The flow of Argon gas in the …

Laser-Based Optical Communications For Spacecraft Information Transfer, Ibrahim Arnous

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This course-based, in-progress project explores optical communications as a spacecraft subsystem and examines how light-based systems can be used to transmit information in space. As modern missions demand faster and more efficient data transfer, optical communications have emerged as an important area of interest alongside traditional communication methods. The purpose of this project is to study the role of optical communication in spacecraft design, with attention to its principles, advantages, limitations, and broader relevance to future missions. Using a comparative and research-based approach, the project investigates how these systems function, what engineering challenges they introduce, and why they are becoming …

Visualizing The Invisible: Simulating Electromagnetic Field In 3d Space With Matlab, Aashman Gupta, Eliane Dean, Riley Esperanca, Hailey Grabinski, Jacob Summerhays, Ameya Sute

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Electromagnetic field behaviours in free space are defined by Maxwell’s Equations, which couple the temporal and spatial variations of electric and magnetic fields through partial derivatives. These derivatives quantify the rate of change of each field’s vector component with respect to position and time in a 3D lattice, forming the basis for numerical field analysis. This research will develop a mathematical and computational framework using multivariable calculus to model, simulate, and visualize electromagnetic wave propagation in free space using MATLAB. Gradient, divergence, and curl operations are implemented to compute local field variations and energy transfer. The resulting data are used …

The Use Of Machine Learning Models For Predicting The Dielectric Strength Of Gases, Matthew Mileski, Paul W. Groth, Timothy S. Wolfe, Adib J. Samin

Faculty Publications

Technological advancements in high voltage systems have pushed sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) to its operational limits. Furthermore, this gas has other drawbacks including a high liquefaction temperature and a high global warming potential. Therefore, there has been an urgent need to find alternative gases with high dielectric strength (DS). In this work, density functional theory (DFT) is used to calculate molecular descriptors that are fed into an artificial neural network (ANN) and a random forest (RF). These machine learning (ML) models are then used to predict the DS for hundreds of molecules. A finite element model (FEM) is also used to …

Modeling And Simulation Of Solar Battery Charge Controller Using Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization Mppt Algorithm, Mustafa Sacid Endiz, Göksel Gökkus

Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation with Applications

Implementing an effective Maximum Power Point Tracking method is crucial for optimizing solar energy harvesting against environmental fluctuations like solar radiation and temperature. This paper introduces a novel approach for modeling and simulating a solar battery charge controller, using a modified Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm. The power stage of the system is based on a SEPIC converter, which is employed to manage the power conversion and improve the energy transfer to the battery. The developed circuit model is evaluated under various radiation levels at a constant temperature, as well as under different temperature levels at a constant radiation. Simulations are …

Linear Relationships Of Gibbs Free Energy For Rare Earth Element Oxide, Hydroxide, Chloride, Fluoride, Carbonate, Ferrite, And Zirconate Minerals And Crystalline Solids, Ruiguang Pan, Alexander P. Gysi, Artaches A. Migdisov, Nicole C. Hurtig, Chen Zhu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Rare Earth Elements (REE) are classified as critical minerals and materials essential for the transition from fossil fuels to renewable and clean energy. Accurate thermodynamic properties of REE minerals and other crystalline solids are crucial for geochemical modeling of REE speciation, solubility, and transport in ore deposits and for extraction, chemical processing, and recycling. However, the standard Gibbs free energy of formation (∆Gof,REEX) for these solids vary by 10s kJ mol−1 across different sources from literature. We applied the Sverjensky linear free energy relationship (LFER) to evaluate internal consistency for isostructural REE solid groups and predicted ∆Gof values for solid …

Modeling Formation Of Turbulent Sporadic-E Clouds Using Realistic Wind Data, Aaron M. Schinder, Kenneth S. Obenberger, Jorge L. Chau, Juan M. Urco, Matthias Clahsen, Benjamin F. Akers, Daniel J. Emmons

Faculty Publications

A high resolution two-dimensional multi-fluid model of sporadic-E layers was developed and driven with physically realistic mesosphere, lower thermosphere (MLT) winds measured over Albuquerque, New Mexico. The realistic E-region winds are produced by the HYdrodynamic Point-wise Environment Reconstructor (HYPER) model that ingests meteor derived wind observations from a Spread-spectrum Interferometric Multistatic meteor radar Observing Network (SIMONe) system combined with the Navier-Stokes equations to provide high resolution three-dimensional wind fields over time. Sporadic-E dynamics are simulated using both realistic winds from HYPER as well as idealized hyperbolic tangent windshears to compare and contrast. Overall, the model shows greater inhomogeneity and irregularity …

Single Fluorogens And Orientation-Localization Microscopy For Quantifying Chemical And Biomolecular Dynamics At The Nanoscale, Yiyang Chen, Yuanxin Qiu, Matthew D. Lew

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

Many chemical systems look uniform only because ensemble measurements average over their most interesting molecules. Electron-transfer rates vary across electrode surfaces; lipid membranes contain nanodomains with distinct packing and fluidity; peptide aggregates exhibit local polymorphism; and biomolecular condensates contain transient networks of interactions that are blurred in ensemble images. A central challenge in chemical imaging is not simply to see smaller structures, but to measure chemical variables such as polarity, redox potential, and molecular confinement at the single-molecule level. In this Account, we describe how fluorogens, molecules whose brightness, blinking, spectral shifts, orientation, rotational mobility, and motion are directly shaped …

Ensemble Learning Framework For Predicting Close Proximity Tire–Pavement Noise On Expressways, Woo Young Cho, Jin Hwan Kim, Guk Gon Song, Kyungnam Kim, Youngguk Seo

Faculty Articles

Traffic noise is a critical public health concern affecting millions of highway users and adjacent residents worldwide. In response, many transportation agencies have adopted functional surface materials to reduce noise at the source on pavement, but assessing their effectiveness remains expensive and logistically challenging. Close Proximity (CPX) testing quantifies tire-pavement noise but requires specialized equipment costing $50,000-$126,000 and is limited to existing pavement, preventing proactive noise assessment during pavement design. This study develops machine learning models to predict CPX noise levels from readily available pavement characteristics, eliminating the need for costly tests during design and planning phases. To train and …

From Homogeneous To Heterogeneous Adaptive Bounded-Confidence Opinion Dynamics On Networks, Sally Hafez, Fatma R. Farag, Amira S. N. Tawadros

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Adaptive bounded-confidence models (ABCMs) elucidate the coevolution of agent states and network structure via local interactions and rewiring mechanisms. Traditional formulations assume uniform interaction parameters, leading to distinct regime shifts encompassing fragmentation, polarization, and consensus. A symmetric heterogeneous extension of the adaptive bounded-confidence model is introduced, in which interaction parameters vary according to whether agents belong to the same or different groups. The model retains the original update and rewiring protocols but integrates within-group and between-group confidence bounds alongside tolerance thresholds. Initially, the classic homogeneous model is replicated to establish a reference point. Subsequently, the heterogeneous extension is assessed under …

Evaluation Of General Voronoi Diagram Decomposition For Harmonic Fields In Navigation Of Dynamic Environments, Franco Abullarade

Master's Theses

Harmonic potential fields provide provably minimum-free navigation, but any change to the workspace geometry invalidates the field and forces a costly global recomputation, typically restricting them to static environments. This thesis extends the harmonic map framework of Vlantis et al., which maps the free workspace onto a unit disk and uses an atlas of per-region transformations, to dynamic indoor settings. First, we replace their manually annotated room partition with an automatic decomposition based on the Generalized Voronoi Diagram, allowing the atlas to be built from an arbitrary occupancy grid in an automated way. Second, we introduce a localized repair procedure …

Automated Battery Management Systems For Electric Vehicles, Woonki Na, Yuanyuan Xie

Mineta Transportation Institute

Electric vehicle (EV) safety, efficiency, and lifetime are strongly influenced by how well battery cells are managed, and as EV adoption accelerates, improving battery performance has become critical to vehicle reliability, cost, and public trust. This report conducts a field study on the core technologies and challenges in Battery Management Systems (BMS), focusing on the classification of BMS circuit topologies (design/structures) and systematically reviewing different topologies of active cell balancing circuits (systems that move energy from stronger battery cells to weaker ones). The study provides a detailed analysis of the working principles, advantages, and disadvantages of various active balancing circuit …

Policy And Regulation In Virtual Power Plants Development, Hemlal Bhattarai, Aziz, Stefan Lachowicz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Electricity systems are changing due to the rapid deployment of distributed energy resources (DER), which also presents significant regulatory obstacles to their coordinated integration into energy markets and power grids. However, the majority of current material in publications concentrate on operational optimization and technical architectures, with little systematic synthesis of the legal and policy frameworks governing the deployment of VPP on a broad scale. To provide grid services, improve flexibility and support decarbonization objectives, virtual power plants (VPP) have become a crucial aggregation method. To close this gap, this research critically looks at the institutional roles, market structures, global policy …

Thermal Rating And Prediction Of Roadway-Embedded Power Electronics For Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer, Forrest D. Nichols

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Electric vehicles can be charged while driving through wireless charging coils buried in the road surface. To avoid running expensive cables from roadside equipment to each charging pad, the electronics that control the power transfer can also be buried in the road. However, burying these circuit boards removes the ability to cool them with fans or flowing air, so the heat generated during operation must escape naturally into the surrounding road material. If the boards get too hot, components fail—a problem that has already been observed in prototype systems.

Predicting how hot each component on a circuit board will get …

Modeling Power Distribution Architectures And Maintaining Constant Power With Misalignment In Dynamic Wireless Charging Systems For Electric Vehicles, Mayank Chawla

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

With increasing demand for wireless power transfer systems from phone charging and medical devices, in-motion wireless charging of electric vehicles offers a unique advantage of charging the vehicle while in motion on an electrified roadway. Compared to the stationary or wired charging, electric vehicle users can significantly save time and cost with a reduction in the battery size. However, with large-scale infrastructure required for a wireless charging roadway and the driver’s ability to align with the electrified roadway, come significant challenges for the practical implementation of in-motion wireless charging systems.This dissertation aims to solve some of the problems associated with …

Modulating Linear Frequency Modulated Pulses To Send Communications Data In A Bistatic Sar Scenario, Jarren T. Worthen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is the technology that enables the creation of images using radar waves, allowing images to be formed regardless of weather. In bistatic SAR a radar platform uses a radar pulse from a separate platform to form an image. It is important that these radar systems are able to communicate with each other. Rather than wasting energy and space flying with a separate communication system, the radar systems could use the already existing SAR system to send data between each other while still forming SAR images. The work of this thesis is to show how very simple …

Hardware-In-The-Loop Evaluation Of Sensor-Source Selection For Prosthetic Locomotion Intent Recognition, Victoria Asencio-Clemens

Master's Theses

Active lower-limb prostheses use intent-recognition systems to identify a user’s locomotion mode and select an appropriate control strategy, but sensor configurations that perform well offline may be unsuitable for resource-constrained embedded hardware. Existing sensor-selection methods generally prioritize classification accuracy without directly accounting for processing latency, memory usage, or other hardware-dependent requirements. To address this limitation, this thesis develops a hardware-in-the-loop source-selection framework for embedded classification of level walking, ramp ascent, ramp descent, stair ascent, and stair descent using multimodal biomechanical data from transtibial amputee participants. Subject-specific linear support vector machine classifiers were evaluated using trial-held-out validation, and candidate configurations from …

Machine Learning For Predictive Energy And Emissions Modeling Of Vehicles And Power Grids In The United States, S M Tanvir Faysal Alam Chowdhoury

Dissertations

The environmental benefits of electric vehicle (EV) adoption depend on more than replacing internal combustion engine vehicles with electric powertrains. EV adoption reshapes electricity demand, interacts with regional generation mixes, and influences travel behavior and congestion, creating a coupled transportation-energy system in which vehicle and power-plant emissions must be evaluated together. This dissertation develops machine-learning frameworks for predicting energy consumption and emissions from vehicles and power grids under rising EV adoption. The first component forecasts grid emissions from EV charging. Using simulation data from NREL's Cambium database, a Prophet-based time-series framework predicts carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane emission rates …

Development Of Dynamic Proof-Mass Configurations For Broadband Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, Nico E. Galarza

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and develop dynamic proof-mass configurations for broadband piezoelectric energy harvesting. Conventional piezoelectric energy harvesters are typically limited by narrow operating bandwidths, restricting their performance under variable-frequency excitation. This research presents the design, fabrication, and experimental evaluation of multiple proof-mass concepts intended to increase the usable frequency range of cantilever-based piezoelectric energy harvesters. Several dynamic mass configurations were developed using additive manufacturing techniques and integrated with commercially available piezoelectric cantilevers. Experimental testing was conducted under controlled vibration conditions to characterize voltage response, resonant behavior, and bandwidth performance. The results demonstrate that dynamic proof-masses …