Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

Develop & Test Radar Assignments For Future Graduate Curriculum, Thomas Ky Hong, Christopher William Hoferer

Electrical Engineering

With Cal Poly’s switch to semesters, many upper-level electives lack enough depth and structured content for the new 15-week format. In addition, while the Electrical Engineering department currently offers approximately five weeks of RADAR-focused laboratory material within EE 424: Intro to Remote Sensing, this limited exposure is insufficient to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of RADAR theory and practical applications. The semester conversion presents a timely opportunity to expand this existing five-week RADAR segment into a full 15-week course that integrates both lecture and laboratory content. To address the current curriculum gap, we have seamlessly extended the RADAR exercises …

Vision-Guided Motion Planning For Autonomous Catch With A Robotic Arm, Kayla Go-Oco, Ashik K. Islam, Raegan Gritzmacher

Electrical Engineering

Modern robotic systems are often evaluated using static and highly controlled tasks, such as pick-and-place demonstrations, which do not fully represent the uncertainty and adaptability required in real-world environments. A major challenge in robotics research is enabling robotic systems to perceive, track, and respond to dynamic objects in real time while maintaining accurate and reliable motion control. This project addresses these challenges by developing an autonomous robotic platform in which an OpenMANIPULATOR-Y robotic arm detects, tracks, and attempts to catch a moving tennis ball using a vision-guided control system. The system integrates YOLO-based object detection with an Intel RealSense D455 …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of Vibration On Signal Reflection In Coaxial Cable Connectors For Vibration Sensing In Aircraft Structures And Systems, Saidanvar Esanjonovich Valiev, Anthony C. Okafor, Jeremiah J. Rittenhouse, Daniel S. Stutts, Jie Huang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper investigates the effects of vibration on signal reflection (S11) in aerospace data transmission line (ADTL) and commercial data transmission line (DTL) connectors for their alternative use as vibration sensors. The impact of vibration on the S11 signal was investigated on five ADTL and four DTL connectors at six vibration frequencies (20 Hz, 40 Hz, 80 Hz, 160 Hz, 320 Hz, and 640 Hz) and four vibration accelerations (0.5G, 1 G, 2 G, and 4G). The experiment was conducted using a split-plot design with a cable type assigned as the main-plot factor, with vibration frequency and acceleration as subplot …

Custom Animatronic Puppet, Jake Schuman, Fredy Herrarte, Madison Reedy, Jackson Reynolds

Mechanical Engineering

This project involved the design, fabrication, and implementation of a custom audio-animatronic puppet modeled after Dr. Brian Davis for the California Polytechnic State University Mechanical Engineering Department. The objective was to create an expressive, lifelike character capable of synchronized speech, head movement, arm gestures, and seated-to-standing motion while demonstrating the integration of mechanical design, controls, manufacturing, and artistic fabrication.

The final system consists of an 18-degree-of-freedom animatronic platform utilizing servo-driven facial and upper-body actuation combined with a pneumatic standing mechanism. A modular aluminum and 3D-printed structural framework was developed using SolidWorks and validated through engineering analysis. Character shells were digitally …

Mass - Modular Acoustic Suppression System, Julia Megargle, Michael A. Milner, Lucas Kaemmererer, Jonathan Corvera, Gabriel Choi, Emmi Cayer

Mechanical Engineering

The Modular Acoustic Suppression System (MASS) is a mass tuned damper that reverberates a membrane atop a cavity to absorb select acoustic frequencies produced by the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) within NASA's Artemis Human Lander. The height of the reverberation chamber is adjusted to mitigate a range of varying tonal frequencies within the human lander.

Autonomous Vision-Based Litter Collection Rover, Dante Michael Benedetti, Benjamin Scott Tavares, Nathan Heil

Electrical Engineering

This report documents the design, implementation, and testing of an autonomous litter-collection rover developed as a Senior Project Design Lab (EE 460/463/464) at California Polytechnic State University. The rover integrates autonomy, computer vision, embedded real-time control, mecanum-wheel omnidirectional mobility, and a two-degree-of-freedom robotic arm to detect, approach, and collect small ground-level litter such as bottles, wrappers, and paper fragments.

The system uses a two-layer compute architecture: an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano running ROS 2 for perception, SLAM, and path planning, paired with an STM32L4A6ZG microcontroller for real-time motor control and odometry. The robot is built on a multi-level aluminum frame …

Elevate Grill, Brady Alexander

Electrical Engineering

The Elevate Grill Senior Project is a Santa Maria style grill with an electrical lifting/lowering mechanism and temperature sensor feedback. The grill allows for a dynamically controlled cooking surface, able to be automatically set or manually set by the user. The grill’s user interface informs the user about the temperature in different zones on the grill and alerts the user when the target temperature is hit. Additionally, the user can program preset temperature ranges and apply them to the grill’s control system. The system incorporates safe failure modes in the event of a power outage and also allows the user …

Pcb Design For Place Cells Vlsi Chip, Gavin Reaksecker, Alex Krier, Joshua Lin

Electrical Engineering

This project presents the design and implementation of a 2 layer test-bench printed circuit board (PCB) for evaluating the functionality of a custom 40-pin VLSI integrated circuit. The objective is to create a reliable and portable platform capable of supplying configurable bias voltages, generating variable input signals, and monitoring both analog and digital outputs. The board integrates adjustable bias networks using potentiometers, digital and analog buffering stages, and optional battery supply operation. The VLSI device under test is mounted in dual-in-line (DIP) sockets to enable rapid replacement and repeated characterization. Dedicated test points are incorporated throughout the PCB to facilitate …

Solving Linearly Constrained Quadratic Programs Using Field Programmable Analog Arrays, Tyler Wynn, Alonzo Arroyo

Electrical Engineering

This paper presents a field-programmable analog array (FPAA) implementation for solving linearly constrained quadratic programs (LCQPs) directly in the analog domain. The solver is based on a continuous-time primal-dual control architecture with integral action, anti-windup compensation, and a piecewise-linear nonlinearity for enforcing affine inequality constraints. A switched-capacitor implementation using three AN231E04 FPAAs is developed, and coefficient scaling methods are introduced to keep internal and output signals within the voltage limits of the hardware. A global scaling factor is used to reduce internal signal excursions, while solution-space scaling is shown to modify the implemented optimization coefficients and alter the local closed-loop …

Autonomous Rover Solar And Battery Management System: Team B, Karla Jazmin Lira Gonzalez, Paige Ambriz, Kunj Shah, Elhom Delasa Sheykhi

Electrical Engineering

This project focused on the software and printed circuit board (PCB) integration for Poly1Rover’s battery management system (BMS). Poly1Rover is a student organization dedicated to building a low-cost autonomous rover designed to operate on Mars. Since solar availability, temperature, and other conditions on Mars vary, the rover requires a reliable battery management system that accurately monitors battery health and status. This team’s work included the communication and control side of the BMS. The subsystem was designed around the Renesas ISL94202 battery monitor and the MSP430 controller. Battery information was read from the ISL94202 registers through I2C communication, converted from raw …

A Novel Multi−Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning Framework For Fast Frequency Response In Inverter−Based Hybrid Power Plants, Muhammad Ikram, Asma Aziz, Daryoush Habibi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The increasing penetration of inverter−based resources (IBR) in power grids necessitates novel control techniques to deliver advanced ancillary services such as fast frequency response (FFR), crucial for ensuring power system stability. Existing schemes−droop control, virtual synchronous generator (VSG), and hybrid approaches−require full observability, and centralized control, which are unsuitable for utility−scale hybrid power plant (HPP) with a distributed grid−forming inverter (GFMI). In addition, it lacks adaptive control capabilities in response to real−time disturbances according to the IEEE 2800−2022 standard. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a design of a novel multi−agent deep reinforcement learning (MADRL) framework for utility−scale IBR−dominated …

A Performance-Weighted Environmental Assessment Of Ultra-High-Volume Fly Ash Substitution In Portland Cement Concrete, Youngguk Seo, M.A. Karim, Teddy Tzvetkov, Joshua Hardy

Faculty Articles

Fly ash substitution for cement in Portland cement concrete (PCC) has been regarded as a sustainable solution, but its widespread application remains constrained by concerns over mechanical performance and durability of PCC, especially at higher replacement rates. This study evaluates PCC mixes incorporating fly ash Type C (FA-C) or Type F (FA-F) across cement replacement rates from 10% to 90%, tracking fresh-state workability, compressive strength, and surface electrical resistivity at 7, 14, and 28 curing days. A process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) with the TRACI 2.1 method quantified global warming potential (GWP, kg CO₂/m³) under a …

Evaluation Of Laser Doppler Flowmetry And Transillumination Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging To Measure Blood Flow Change In Ischemia Mouse Hindlimb Models, Simon Park

Master's Theses

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), caused by plaque buildup and narrowing of the arteries, reduces blood flow to the extremities. Promoting collateral arteriogenesis can help redirect blood flow. However, simple growth of collaterals may not be enough to reverse PAD. Instead, the ability for the collaterals to vasodilate and control blood flow is important, meaning assessing collateral function is important for the arteriogenesis assesment. Although microscopy techniques can measure vasodilation, contrast limitations in larger vessels such as collaterals make blood flow measurements difficult. Techniques such as ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can measure blood flow but have limitations with cost …

Polysaber: A Custom Reactive Lightsaber Soundboard, Pedro B. Medeiros

Computer Engineering

The PolySaber project was developed as a custom reactive lightsaber control system built as a fully custom PCB design. The purpose of the project was to create a lower-cost and more customizable alternative to commercially available lightsaber soundboards while simultaneously providing hands-on experience in PCB design, embedded systems development, and hardware integration. Commercial lightsaber soundboards are expensive, proprietary, and difficult for hobbyists to customize. The PolySaber project addresses this by creating a modifiable hardware platform built around the ESP32 microcontroller. The system supports programmable firmware, RGB NeoPixel blade control, motion sensing, reactive swing and clash effects, onboard audio amplification, and …

2–4 Ghz Reconfigurable Rf Filters, Jason Corn, Roman Junes

Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Theses

Wireless communication systems employ radio frequency (RF) filters to isolate desired signals while suppressing interference and noise. Conventional RF filters rely on fixed-frequency architectures that restrict system operation in increasingly dynamic communication environments. This project features the design and optimization of a reconfigurable RF filter prototype using coupled microstrip resonators and electronic tuning components. The filter design demonstrates a tunable range of 2−4 GHz. Future design of reconfigurable microstrip architectures must take steps to maintain signal integrity across active elements. Power loss may be mitigated through the selection of higher quality factor components and less lossy prototyping materials.

Rc-Nf: Robot-Conditioned Normalizing Flow For Real-Time Anomaly Detection In Robotic Manipulation, Shijie Zhou, Bin Zhu, Jiarui Yang, Xiangyu Zhao, Jingjing Chen, Yu-Gang Jiang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Recent advances in Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models have enabled robots to execute increasingly complex tasks. However, VLA models trained through imitation learning struggle to operate reliably in dynamic environments and often fail under Out-of-Distribution (OOD) conditions. To address this issue, we propose Robot-Conditioned Normalizing Flow(RC-NF), a real-time monitoring model for robotic anomaly detection and intervention that ensures the robot's state and the object's motion trajectory align with the task. RC-NF decouples the processing of task-aware robot and object states within the normalizing flow. It requires only positive samples for unsupervised training and calculates accurate robotic anomaly scores during inference through the …

Pso-Style Social Influence In An Ant Colony Algorithm For Continuous-Domain Optimization, Ashraf M. Abdelbar, Donald C. Wunsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

ACOR is a well-established Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm for continuous-domain optimization. In this paper, we propose an extension (which we call ACOR∗) in which several fundamental modifications are made to ACOR's solution construction process, including the incorporation of a social influence mechanism borrowed from Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). Our modifications to the ACOR algorithm are intended to promote search diversity and combat premature convergence. We experimentally evaluate our proposal in the context of training feedforward neural networks for classification using 65 widely used datasets from the University of California Irvine (UCI) repository, as well as the optimization of several …

Multiplexed Fabry-Pérot High-Temperature Sensing Based On Dispersive Microwave-Photonic Frequency-Time Domain Analysis, Ruimin Jie, Chen Zhu, Bohong Zhang, Koustav Dey, Jie Huang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a multiplexed high-temperature Fabry-Pérot (FP) fiber sensing system interrogated by dispersive microwave-photonic frequency-time domain analysis (DM-FTDA). In the proposed architecture, incoherent broadband probing light is modulated by radio-frequency (RF) signals and then reflected by a parallel network of hollow-core photonic crystal fiber FP (HCPCF-FP) sensors. A chirped fiber Bragg grating provides strong dispersion to map the composite FP spectral response into a well-defined microwave transfer function. Unlike conventional optical Fourier-domain multiplexing that requires deliberate cavity-length allocation, the proposed approach achieves multiplexing via delay-dominated discrimination. Distinct delay fibers are assigned to each sensor branch, and an …

Foundation For A Digital Beamforming System Using Software Defined Radio, Daniel Cruz Guerrero, Shiron Bendrihem, Benjamin Tucker

Electrical Engineering

This report demonstrates a basis for the foundation of a software-defined radio (SDR)-based digital beam forming system. Specifically, a discussion of time, frequency, and phase synchronization is had in the absence of costly hardware like an OctoClock. Furthermore, this report digs deep into the design process and device characterization of a 4-way Wilkinson Power Divider, which is a necessary hardware component for phase calibration. SDR synchronization and calibration are critical in any digital beamforming system.

Design And Characterization Of A Pulsed Electric Field Chamber For Microalgae Lysis, Connor Strutin

Electrical Engineering

Microalgae are a promising renewable source of biofuel due to their high lipid content and rapid growth rates; however, algae cells must be electroporated (lysed) to release these lipids. The system developed in this project applies short (40 μs–10 ms), high-intensity (up to 33 kV/cm) pulsed electric fields (PEF) across cell membranes to enable electroporation.

Our lab-scale PEF chamber generates uniform, high-intensity electric fields using parallel-plate electrodes with sub-millimeter spacing. The system is designed to efficiently lyse microalgae cells for lipid extraction and biofuel production.

Maximum Power Point Tracking For Photovoltaic Cells, Rodrigo Menchaca-Ramirez, Jesus Martinez, Steven Rodriguez

Electrical Engineering

Unlike an ideal DC Power Supply, a solar panel does not operate with linear I-V Characteristics. The voltage and current characteristics of a solar panel change based on irradiance, temperature, weather conditions, and load demand. Because of these factors, solar panels do not always operate at their Maximum Power Point, which can lead to significant power losses. Maximum Power Point Tracking is used to adjust the panel operating point so that more usable power can be delivered to the load.This project developed a Maximum Power Point Tracking system using an STM32 Nucleo-L4A6ZG microcontroller and an LT8705A DC-DC converter stage. The …

Practical Multimodal Wearable Sensing For Functional Upper Extremity Primitive Classification With Application To Stroke Rehabilitation, Nicholas Weiss

Master's Theses

Stroke often causes long-term weakness and impaired motor control in the upper extremity (UE), making everyday tasks such as reaching, grasping, and moving objects more difficult. Restoring functional arm use is therefore a central goal of post-stroke rehabilitation. Measuring affected arm use continuously and objectively is important because isolated clinical assessments may not fully capture how the affected arm is used during therapy or daily life. Wearable sensors offer a promising approach for monitoring, but raw sensor signals are difficult to interpret directly. Functional movement primitives address this issue by describing UE behavior as smaller, task-agnostic movement units.

This thesis …

Test Bench Pcb Design For A Vlsi Grid Cell Chip, Nicholas Bruk, Jason Alexandar

Electrical Engineering

This report presents the design, implementation, and validation of a custom printed circuit board (PCB) test bench for a VLSI grid cell emulation chip. The final board provides two independently adjustable 5V supplies using LM317 linear regulators, eleven potentiometer-controlled bias voltages, high-impedance buffering of analog outputs via an MCP6022 dual operational amplifier, and buffering of digital outputs using a 74HC244 buffer IC. The design includes a 40-pin DIP socket for the VLSI chip, extensive test-point headers for probing, and a 9V battery input for portable operation. Five fully functional boards were fabricated using ExpressPCB and assembled with through-hole components. An …

Design And Parametric Testing Of A Transimpedance Amplifier For Low-Power Biomedical Applications, Stanlon Tan, William Chung, Brandon Wu

Electrical Engineering

This project developed and evaluated an optical sensing system for detecting changes associated with glucose concentration. The system combined a laser-diode, cuvette sample holder, photodiode, resistive-feedback transimpedance amplifier, high-resolution analog-to-digital converter, and microcontroller. Parametric testing evaluated the effects of input current and feedback resistance on transimpedance gain, output range, and linearity. Firmware was developed to configure the ADC, average repeated conversions, monitor measurement variation, convert raw digital counts into voltage using a source-meter calibration equation, and compare sample measurements with a water reference. A cuvette enclosure maintained alignment between the laser-diode, sample, and photodiode while reducing external optical interference. Testing …

Performance Evaluation Of Roadside Unit-Assisted Wireless Communication For Connected Vehicles, Keyrollos A. Hanna, Ethan M. Nguyen

Electrical Engineering

This project presents the design and implementation of a wireless communication network intended to improve situational awareness between vehicles and reduce the likelihood of multivehicle collisions. Two TurtleBot3 Burger platforms equipped with Raspberry Pi computers were used to simulate vehicles operating within a shared environment. Communication latency and packet loss were evaluated under multiple operating conditions, including direct vehicle-to-vehicle communication and communication assisted by a roadside unit (RSU). The results were analyzed to determine whether the proposed system could transmit warning messages with sufficient speed and reliability for collision prevention applications. The project demonstrates the feasibility of low-cost vehicle communication …

Simulation Of Silicon Neurons With Memristive Synapses For Ai Accelerators, Marcus Ivey, Kelvin Shi

Electrical Engineering

This project seeks to design and simulate a neuromorphic spiking neural network (SNN) that implements the logical AND and logical OR operation through the interaction of a Leaky Integrate-and-Fire (LIF) output neuron and memristive synapses modeled using the Biolek formulation. Two pulsed inputs are transmitted through memristive devices whose conductance serves as the synaptic weights. A supervised Hebbian training strategy, implemented in MATLAB, is employed to adjust the synaptic conductance according to the Hebbian delta rule. The proposed framework demonstrates how elementary logical computation may arise from biologically motivated learning processes embedded in hardware-realistic neuromorphic circuits. The study provides a …

Wildlife Tracking Via Uav&Rf, Nam Ah Nguyen

Electrical Engineering

Animal tracking collars transmit very-high-frequency (VHF) beacon signals so researchers can locate tagged wildlife in terrain where direct visual tracking is difficult. This project develops a radio-frequency (RF) wildlife tracking prototype in which a UAV carries a receiving antenna and receiver over the search area to detect the collar signal and send measurements to a ground station. A transmitter test device was built to emulate a tracking collar. An STM32 microcontroller reads keypad input, controls a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), tunes a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) to the selected VHF frequency, and sends the RF signal through an amplifier and antenna. The …

Uav Trio Formations For Aerial Pest Deterrence With Vision-Based Bird Monitoring, Benjamin Andrew Ly, Chris Kwon, Christian Joseph Macaranas

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Portable Food Pasteurization Using Pulsed Electric Fields (Pef), Thomas E. Mcmillan Iii

Electrical Engineering

Foodborne illnesses remain a significant public health concern, motivating continued development of alternative food pasteurization technologies. Pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment is a non-thermal pasteurization method that inactivates microorganisms through electroporation while minimizing thermal degradation of food products. The long-term objective of this project was development of a portable PEF food pasteurization system.

An iterative design approach was used to investigate generation of the high-voltage pulses required for PEF treatment. Multiple pulse forming network topologies were evaluated through simulation, leading to selection of a solid-state Marx generator architecture. A low-voltage five-stage prototype was designed, constructed, and tested to validate the …

Pv Performance Evaluation Study At Cal Poly Solar Farm, Eva Paola D. Calderon

Electrical Engineering

This photovoltaic (PV) system performance evaluation study aims to assess the performance of Cal Poly’s Gold Tree Solar Farm, which produces 4.5MW of solar energy. The evaluation concerns itself with the reliability of the PV system that can be affected by weather conditions, component malfunctions, and degradation of the PV modules. Under the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems (IEA-PVPS) Task 13 objectives of reliability and maintenance, this study is necessary to contribute towards improvements in analysis and mitigation strategies for long term usage. Existing operational monitoring data from 2018 to 2025 is the focus timespan, providing real world data …