Other Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

Harmonicthreads: A Formative Evaluation Of A Fabric-Based Digital Musical Instrument Toward Inclusive Music-Making, Ellie Nguyen, Franceli L. Cibrian

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Background:

Inclusive music-making requires instruments that support varied bodies, abilities, musical backgrounds, and forms of participation. Digital musical instruments provide diverse approaches to sound creation, and fabric-based interfaces offer an alternative interaction modality that may support participation for some users and contexts. Their tactile and deformable properties enable forms of interaction that differ from conventional rigid or screen-based controllers and may offer inclusive possibilities in particular settings.

Objective:

This paper presents HarmonicThreads as a formative interaction-design case of a fabric-based digital musical instrument. The prototype explores how tactile cues, fabric deformation, projected visual feedback, and assisted accompaniment can support low-barrier …

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 …

Design And Parametric Study Of A Mems-Based Reservoir Computer For Reinforcement Learning, Andrew P. Carr

Master's Theses

Single-node reservoir computing (RC) is a hardware-efficient approach to machine learning, leveraging the dynamics of physical systems. In this work, two reinforcement learning algorithms, Q-learning and Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO), are applied to a simulated micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based reservoir computer to solve both discrete and continuous control tasks. MEMS-based reservoirs are low-power, compact, and their natural frequencies (kHz to MHz) pair well with real-time control loops. To explore the relationship between reservoir dynamics and learning performance, a parametric study is conducted on two reservoir hyperparameters, reservoir size and neuron separation, using CartPole-v1 and MountainCar-v0. The RC successfully learns multiple tasks …

Advancing Task-Oriented Dialog Systems: Scalability, Generalization, And Evaluation, Adib Mosharrof

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Task-oriented dialog (TOD) systems enable conversational interfaces for complex tasks like flight booking and restaurant reservations. However, deploying TOD systems at scale faces three critical barriers: scalability, generalization, and evaluation. Scalability is primarily restricted by the human-annotation bottleneck, as current systems depend on vast quantities of manually labeled data for every new domain, making deployment prohibitively expensive. Generalization remains a persistent challenge, as systems optimized for known domains often suffer significant performance degradation when encountering new, unseen ones. Existing evaluation metrics measure response quality and fluency, but fail to measure functional task success. As TOD systems are deployed across diverse …

Parentcoach: Designing An Mhealth Parenting App To Enhance Parental Involvement In Adhd Support, Franceli L. Cibrian, Nancy Herrera, Jesus A. Beltran, Lucas M. Silva, Mikaela Pulse, Kayla Anderson, Cassie Zeiler, Luc Rieffel, Daniel I. Lee, Sabrina E. B. Schuck, Kimberley D. Lakes

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction: Parents play a vital role in supporting self-regulation and managing behaviors in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, many face barriers to accessing consistent, evidence-based support. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies offer a promising way to deliver flexible, low-burden guidance for parents on best practices and strategies to support their children's self-regulation. However, designing them is non-trivial.

Objective: This paper introduces ParentCoach, a mobile application designed to support parents of children with ADHD through brief daily lessons, reflection prompts, and skill-building activities.

Methods: ParentCoach was developed in two phases: (1) secondary analysis of qualitative data from over 30 families …

Design Considerations For Conversational Agents To Assess The Social-Emotional Well-Being Of Young Children In Low-Income South African Communities, Lucretia A. Williams, Elizabeth A. Ankrah, Catherine E. Draper, Caylee J. Cook, Franceli L. Cibrian, Jesus A. Beltran, Kimberley D. Lakes, Gillian R. Hayes

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

A variety of digital technologies have been used to support early childhood development (ECD) programs in low-income South African communities. Even though technology has provided opportunities to increase access to health interventions, the lack of trust and socio-economic constraints under which these tools would need to work pose complex challenges. We examine home visitors’ work processes, experiences, and preferences of a conversational agent to support their work of administering social-emotional well-being assessments to young children ages 0-5. Analysis of the results of focus groups with 51 home visitors indicates the need for designing conversational agents that support ECD in the …

Ai-Powered Accessibility Tracker For Inclusive Public Spaces, Yenny Ma, Kevin Beltran

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

This research project will develop and evaluate a smartphone-based, AI-powered system to crowdsource and analyze accessibility features and barriers in public spaces. Using computer vision and geospatial mapping, the system will identify and categorize issues such as uneven sidewalks, missing or inadequate curb ramps, damaged tactile paving, obstructive overhangs, and the absence of visual or auditory wayfinding cues. The overarching goal is to generate a dynamic, real-time accessibility map that empowers individuals with diverse mobility, sensory, and cognitive needs to navigate public spaces more safely and confidently. The project will integrate technologies and methods from applied machine learning, mobile computer …

Harmonicthreads – An Interface That Supports Accessibility In Musical Interaction, Ellie Nguyen, Miyuki Weldon, Franceli L. Cibrian

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Traditional musical instruments often can create boundaries due to their cost, training, mobility, and cognitive requirements, making musical expression inaccessible. To address this challenge, we developed HarmonicThreads, a novel pervasive computing interface consisting of a responsive, flexible fabric. HarmonicThreads provides a tactile and auditory experience, allowing users to easily create and control sounds. Using embedded sensors and real-time processing, HarmonicThreads interprets the user's natural movements and interactions to create adaptable musical outputs. This enables context-aware musical interaction, demonstrating the potential of pervasive interfaces in reducing barriers and making musical expression more accessible.

Feasibility And Acceptability Of The Mazi Umntanakho Digital Tool In South African Settings: A Qualitative Evaluation, Catherine E. Draper, Caylee J. Cook, Elizabeth A. Ankrah, Jesus A. Beltran, Franceli L. Cibrian, Kimberley D. Lakes, Hanna Mofid, Lucretia Williams, Gillian R. Hayes

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

To address the need for interventions targeting social emotional development and mental health of young children in South Africa, the Mazi Umntanakho (‘know your child’) digital tool was co-designed, and piloted with caregivers and 3–5-year-old children involved in home visiting programmes promoting early childhood development. The aim of this study was to qualitatively evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of this tool in four urban and four rural low-income communities, from the perspective of home visitors and caregivers. Focus groups were conducted with home visitors (n = 117) and caregivers (n = 72). Issues relating to the feasibility of …

Solar Energy Prediction Using Advanced Hybrid Machine Learning Models, Jelawi A. Alqhtani

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Accurate short-term forecasting of solar power generation is critical for the reliable and cost-effective operation of renewable-based microgrids, where sudden weather-induced variability can compromise grid stability, battery scheduling, and energy trading decisions. Traditional physical and statistical models struggle to capture the complex non-linear relationships and localized weather effects, while individual deep learning architectures often exhibit systematic biases such as chronic under-prediction of peak generation. This thesis proposes a novel Cross-Feedback Ensemble framework that combines the complementary strengths of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), and one-dimensional Convolutional Neural Network (1D-CNN) models through an iterative cross-feedback mechanism and a …

Exploring Smart Thermostat, Don P. Dang

2024 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

This study examines the security, privacy, and compatibility challenges associated with smart thermostats in smart home systems. Smart thermostats, as part of the growing Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, face vulnerabilities such as unauthorized access, data breaches, and inconsistent security protocols. Using a mixed-methods approach, this research evaluates encryption techniques, communication protocols (Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi Fi), and user behaviors that impact system security and efficiency. Key findings indicate that 35% of users are concerned about hacking risks, while 25% express data privacy concerns. Many users lack awareness of security measures, such as firmware updates and password management, which increases vulnerabilities. …

Three-Dimensional Environmentally Sustainable Neuromorphic Computing System Based On Natural Organic Memristor, Mohammed Rafeeq Khan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

A three-dimensional neuromorphic (3D) computing architecture based on environmentally sustainable natural organic honey memristors is proposed in this thesis. A set of comprehensive and experimental results indicate that the proposed systems exhibit remarkable inference accuracy, consistently surpassing the 90% threshold, even with different challenges such as device variations and nonlinearity. This study also considers four different conductance drift situations, the effects of analog-to-digital converter (ADC) quantization, and multiple algorithms, such as VGG8 and DenseNet-40. The deliverable of this thesis will test the stability of the proposed systems and explore their potential applications and scalability in real-world situations.

Virtual Control: A Comparison Of Methods For Hand-Tracking Implementation, Nathan Roberts

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis examines the design philosophy of modern virtual reality applications that utilize hand-tracking as a primary form of user input. The analysis presented hopes to provide ideas for future implementations of this technology so that more immersive experiences are developed. This analysis starts with the discussion of a modern example of successful hand-tracking implementation, then comparing that implementation to a recent senior design project. This comparison is primarily based on each experience’s ability to create interactivity and immediacy. Interactivity is the degree to which the user can quickly and reliably make changes to their virtual environment, while immediacy is …

M3t-Lm: A Multi-Modal Multi-Task Learning Model For Jointly Predicting Patient Length Of Stay And Mortality, Junde Chen, Qing Li, Feng Liu, Yuxin Wen

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Ensuring accurate predictions of inpatient length of stay (LoS) and mortality rates is essential for enhancing hospital service efficiency, particularly in light of the constraints posed by limited healthcare resources. Integrative analysis of heterogeneous clinic record data from different sources can hold great promise for improving the prognosis and diagnosis level of LoS and mortality. Currently, most existing studies solely focus on single data modality or tend to single-task learning, i.e., training LoS and mortality tasks separately. This limits the utilization of available multi-modal data and prevents the sharing of feature representations that could capture correlations between different tasks, ultimately …

Toward Intuitive 3d Interactions In Virtual Reality: A Deep Learning- Based Dual-Hand Gesture Recognition Approach, Trudi Di Qi, Franceli L. Cibrian, Meghna Raswan, Tyler Kay, Hector M. Camarillo-Abad, Yuxin Wen

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Dual-hand gesture recognition is crucial for intuitive 3D interactions in virtual reality (VR), allowing the user to interact with virtual objects naturally through gestures using both handheld controllers. While deep learning and sensor-based technology have proven effective in recognizing single-hand gestures for 3D interactions, research on dual-hand gesture recognition for VR interactions is still underexplored. In this work, we introduce CWT-CNN-TCN, a novel deep learning model that combines a 2D Convolution Neural Network (CNN) with Continuous Wavelet Transformation (CWT) and a Temporal Convolution Network (TCN). This model can simultaneously extract features from the time-frequency domain and capture long-term dependencies using …

A Study Of Random Partitions Vs. Patient-Based Partitions In Breast Cancer Tumor Detection Using Convolutional Neural Networks, Joshua N. Ramos

Master's Theses

Breast cancer is one of the deadliest cancers for women. In the US, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer within their lifetimes. Detection and diagnosis play an important role in saving lives. To this end, many classifiers with varying structures have been designed to classify breast cancer histopathological images. However, randomly partitioning data, like many previous works have done, can lead to artificially inflated accuracies and classifiers that do not generalize. Data leakage occurs when researchers assume that every image in a dataset is independent of each other, which is often not the case for medical …

The Sensory Accommodation Framework For Technology: Bridging Sensory Processing To Social Cognition, Louanne Boyd

Engineering Faculty Books and Book Chapters

This book provides a thorough introduction to the many facets of designing technologies for autism, with a particular focus on optimizing visual attention frameworks. This book is designed to provide a detailed overview of several aspects of technology for autism. Each Chapter illustrates different parts of the Sensory Accommodation Framework and provides examples of relevant available technologies. The books first discusses a variety of skills that make up human development as well as a history of autism as a diagnosis and the birth of the neurodiversity movement. It goes on to detail individual types of therapy and how they interact …

Machine Learning Based Intrusion Detection Framework For Can Bus Vulnerabilities In Modern Vehicles, Obinna C. Agbo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Controller Area Network (CAN) bus is a crucial communication backbone in modern vehicles, connecting various Electronic Control Units (ECUs). However, inherent design weaknesses such as the lack of encryption and authentication make CAN networks vulnerable to cyber-attacks, including spoofing, Denial of Service (DoS), and fuzzing attacks. This thesis thoroughly evaluates these vulnerabilities and the limitations of existing security frameworks like Message Authentication Codes (MACs) and encryption, advocating for the adoption of Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) as a more practical solution for CAN bus security. The proposed IDS leverages advanced machine learning techniques to accurately detect intrusions, even under complex …

Towards A Virtual Reality Visualization Of Hand-Object Interactions To Support Remote Physical Therapy, Trudi Di Qi, Louanne Boyd, Scott Fitzpatrick, Meghna Raswan, Franceli L. Cibrian

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Improving object manipulation skills through hand-object interaction exercises is crucial for rehabilitation. Despite limited healthcare resources, physical therapists propose remote exercise routines followed up by remote monitoring. However, remote motor skills assessment remains challenging due to the lack of effective motion visualizations. Therefore, exploring innovative ways of visualization is crucial, and virtual reality (VR) has shown the potential to address this limitation. However, it is unclear how VR visualization can represent understandable hand-object interactions. To address this gap, in this paper, we present VRMoVi, a VR visualization system that incorporates multiple levels of 3D visualization layers to depict movements. In …

Modeling And Compensating Of Noise In Time-Of-Flight Sensors, Bryan Rodriguez

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Three-dimensional (3D) sensors provide the ability to perform contactless measurements of objects and distances that are within their field of view. Unlike traditional two-dimensional (2D) cameras, which only provide RGB data about objects within a scene, 3D sensors are able to directly provide depth information for objects within a scene. Of these 3D sensing technologies, Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors are becoming more compact which allows them to be more easily integrated with other devices and to find use in more applications. ToF sensors also provide several benefits over other 3D sensing technologies that increase the types of applications where ToF sensors …

Region-Specified Inverse Design Of Absorption And Scattering In Nanoparticles By Using Machine Learning, Alex Vallone, Nooshin M. Estakhri, Nasim Mohammadi Estrakhri

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Machine learning provides a promising platform for both forward modeling and the inverse design of photonic structures. Relying on a data-driven approach, machine learning is especially appealing for situations when it is not feasible to derive an analytical solution for a complex problem. There has been a great amount of recent interest in constructing machine learning models suitable for different electromagnetic problems. In this work, we adapt a region-specified design approach for the inverse design of multilayered nanoparticles. Given the high computational cost of dataset generation for electromagnetic problems, we specifically investigate the case of a small training dataset, enhanced …

Para Cima Y Pa’ Abajo: Building Bridges Between Hci Research In Latin America And In The Global North, Pedro Reynolds-Cuéllar, Marisol Wong-Villacres, Karla A. Badillo-Urquiola, Mayra Donaji Barrera-Machuca, Franceli L. Cibrian, Marianela Ciolfi Felice, Carolina Fuentes, Laura Sanely Gaytán-Lugo, Vivian Genaro Motti, Monica Perusquía-Hernández, Oscar A. Lemus

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

The Human-computer Interaction (HCI) community has the opportunity to foster the integration of research practices across the Global South and North to begin overcoming colonial relationships. In this paper, we focus on the case of Latin America (LATAM), where initiatives to increase the representation of HCI practitioners lack a consolidated understanding of the practices they employ, the factors that influence them, and the challenges that practitioners face. To address this knowledge gap, we employ a mixed-methods approach, comprising a survey (66 respondents) and in-depth interviews (19 interviewees). Our analyses characterize a set of research perspectives on how HCI is practiced …

Chatgpt As Metamorphosis Designer For The Future Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai): A Conceptual Investigation, Amarjit Kumar Singh (Library Assistant), Dr. Pankaj Mathur (Deputy Librarian)

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to explore ChatGPT’s potential as an innovative designer tool for the future development of artificial intelligence. Specifically, this conceptual investigation aims to analyze ChatGPT’s capabilities as a tool for designing and developing near about human intelligent systems for futuristic used and developed in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Also with the helps of this paper, researchers are analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of ChatGPT as a tool, and identify possible areas for improvement in its development and implementation. This investigation focused on the various features and functions of ChatGPT that …

Low-Power Redundant-Transition-Free Tspc Dual-Edge-Triggering Flip-Flop Using Single-Transistor-Clocked Buffer, Zisong Wang, Peiyi Zhao, Tom Springer, Congyi Zhu, Jaccob Mau, Andrew Wells, Yinshui Xia, Lingli Wang

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

In the modern graphics processing unit (GPU)/artificial intelligence (AI) era, flip-flop (FF) has become one of the most power-hungry blocks in processors. To address this issue, a novel single-phase-clock dual-edge-triggering (DET) FF using a single-transistor-clocked (STC) buffer (STCB) is proposed. The STCB uses a single-clocked transistor in the data sampling path, which completely removes clock redundant transitions (RTs) and internal RTs that exist in other DET designs. Verified by post-layout simulations in 22 nm fully depleted silicon on insulator (FD-SOI) CMOS, when operating at 10% switching activity, the proposed STC-DET outperforms prior state-of-the-art low-power DET in power consumption by 14% …

Comparing Importance Of Knowledge And Professional Skill Areas For Engineering Programming Utilizing A Two Group Delphi Survey, John F. Hutton

Theses and Dissertations

All engineering careers require some level of programming proficiency. However, beginning programming classes are challenging for many students. Difficulties have been well-documented and contribute to high drop-out rates which prevent students from pursuing engineering. While many approaches have been tried to improve the performance of students and reduce the dropout rate, continued work is needed. This research seeks to re-examine what items are critical for programming education and how those might inform what is taught in introductory programming classes (CS1). Following trends coming from accreditation and academic boards on the importance of professional skills, we desire to rank knowledge and …

Classifying Toe Walking Gait Patterns Among Children Diagnosed With Idiopathic Toe Walking Using Wearable Sensors And Machine Learning Algorithms, Rahul Soangra, Yuxin Wen, Hualin Yang, Marybeth Grant-Beuttler

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Idiopathic toe walking (ITW) is a gait abnormality in which children’s toes touch at initial contact and demonstrate limited or no heel contact throughout the gait cycle. Toe walking results in poor balance, increased risk of falling, and developmental delays among children. Identifying toe walking steps during walking can facilitate targeted intervention among children diagnosed with ITW. With recent advances in wearable sensing, communication technologies, and machine learning, new avenues of managing toe walking behavior among children are feasible. In this study, we investigate the capabilities of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms in identifying initial foot contact (heel strike versus toe …

Smartphone Control Of Rc Cars, Weston R. Fitzgerald

Electrical Engineering

The smartphone-controlled RC (remote-controlled) car is an inexpensive remote-controlled car designed to be fast and portable. Instead of manufacturing, packaging, and shipping a separate controller, the remote control is implemented in a phone application, which saves time and money in both the design process and the manufacturing process. Utilizing the user’s smartphone is more cost-effective since mobile devices are a common recurrence, and packaging fewer devices results in overall better portability of the product.

This smartphone-controlled car is speedy and intuitive to learn for typical smartphone users. The user can change the car’s speed and direction wirelessly using their phone; …

Project Metamorphosis: Designing A Dynamic Framework For Converting Musical Compositions Into Paintings, Rao Hamza Ali, Grace Fong, Erik Linstead

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

The authors present an automated, rule-based system for converting piano compositions into paintings. Using a color-note association scale presented by Edward Maryon in 1919, which correlates 12-tone scale with 12 hues of the color circle, the authors present a simple approach for extracting colors associated with each note played in a piano composition. The authors also describe the color extraction and art generation process in detail, as well as the process for creating “moving art,” which imitates the progression of a musical piece in real time. They share and discuss artworks generated for four well-known piano compositions.

Cognality Vr: Exploring A Mobile Vr App With Multiple Stakeholders To Reduce Meltdowns In Autistic Children, Louanne E. Boyd, Espen Garner, Ian Kim, Gianna Valencia

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Many autistic children can have difficulty communicating, understanding others, and interacting with new and unfamiliar environments. At times they may suffer from a meltdown. The major contributing factor to meltdowns is sensory overwhelm. Technological solutions have shown promise in improving the quality of life for autistic children-however little exists to manage meltdowns. In this work with stakeholders, we design and deploy a low cost, mobile VR application to provide relief during sensory discomfort. Through the analysis of surveys from 88 stakeholders from a variety of groups (i.e., autistic adults, children with autism, parents of autistic individuals, and medical practitioners), we …

Manipulating Image Luminance To Improve Eye Gaze And Verbal Behavior In Autistic Children, Louanne Boyd, Vincent Berardi, Deanna Hughes, Franceli L. Cibrian, Jazette Johnson, Viseth Sean, Eliza Delpizzo-Cheng, Brandon Mackin, Ayra Tusneem, Riya Mody, Sara Jones, Karen Lotich

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Autism has been characterized by a tendency to attend to the local visual details over surveying an image to understand the gist–a phenomenon called local interference. This sensory processing trait has been found to negatively impact social communication. Although much work has been conducted to understand these traits, little to no work has been conducted to intervene to provide support for local interference. Additionally, recent understanding of autism now introduces the core role of sensory processing and its impact on social communication. However, no interventions to the end of our knowledge have been explored to leverage this relationship. This work …