Electro-Mechanical Systems Commons^™

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Gasket Handling And Sorting With Machine Vision Integrated Dual Arm Robot, Devin C. Fowler

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Recently demonstrated robotic assembling technologies for fuel cell stacks used fuel cell components manually pre-arranged in stacks (presenters), all oriented in the same position. Identifying the original orientation of fuel cell components and loading them in stacks for a subsequent automated assembly process is a difficult, repetitive work cycle which if done manually, deceives the advantages offered by automated fabrication technologies of fuel cell components and by robotic assembly processes. We present an innovative robotic technology which enables the integration of automated fabrication processes of fuel cell components with robotic assembly of fuel cell stacks into a fully automated fuel …

Micro-Manipulation Using Learned Model, Matthew A. Lyng, Benjamin V. Johnson, David J. Cappelleri

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Microscale devices can be found in applications ranging from sensors to structural components. The dominance of surface forces at the microscale hinders the assembly processes through nonlinear interactions that are difficult to model for automation, limiting designs of microsystems to primarily monolithic structures. Methods for modeling surface forces must be presented for viable manufacturing of devices consisting of multiple microparts. This paper proposes the implementation of supervised machine learning models to aid in automated micromanipulation tasks for advanced manufacturing applications. The developed models use sets of training data to implicitly model surface interactions and predict end-effector placement and paths that …

Bicycle Power Meter, Andrew Mcguan

Computer Engineering

A power meter is a cycling training tool used to record the power a rider is outputting. This is very useful to athletes who regularly do bike workouts, because the power output is a consistent measure of the rider’s effort level, and is not affected by outside factors such as wind or road gradient. If a cyclist does a workout with the intent to carry a certain speed for a certain amount of time, a strong headwind will slow them down and make them work harder to maintain the same speed, defeating the goal of the workout. When a power …

Answering Food Insecurity: Serving The Community With Food And Knowledge Using Technology, Courtney Simpson

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

The courses of Tech120, CGT110, and ENGT 180/181 and Red Gold at Purdue collaborated to design a robot that would plant and water a garden for a local community charter school. The students centered the project on the users’ needs for fresh food, nutrition education, and early exposure to STEM for children. The school, Anderson Preparatory Academy (APA), is comprised of many children who come from low-income families and are in the free or reduced lunch program. Inspired from “Farm Bot,” a similar system that allows for almost hands-free gardening, the “Boiler Bot” is designed to be scalable so children …

Parallel Computation Using Mems Oscillator-Based Computing System, Xinrui Wang, Ilias Bilionis, Salar Safarkhani

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In recent years, parallel computing systems such as artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been of great interest. In these systems which emulate the behavior of human brains, the processing is carried out simultaneously. However, it is still a challenging engineering problem to design highly efficient hardware for parallel computing systems. We will study the properties of networks of Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) oscillators to explore their capabilities as parallel computing infrastructure. Furthermore, we simulate the time-variant states of MEMS oscillators network under various initial conditions and performance of certain tasks. Recent theoretical results show that networks of MEMS oscillators have some …

Blend It Wine Blending Distribution System, Connor Clarry, Russell Temple, Matt Moren

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Micro-Spi Sediment Profile Imaging Micro-Inspector, Andrew P. Corvin, Caleb T. Davies, Matt R. Ferrari

Mechanical Engineering

This project was proposed by Dr. Brian Paavo through a desire to more easily study the benthic sediment layers of the ocean. To do so, he asked us to build a simple and compact machine for use in sediment profile imagery (SPI). Although devices like this already exist, they are all large scale devices that require a ship with a crane to deploy, which is expensive and time consuming. Instead, he desired a “micro” SPI, which is capable of being deployed from a small vessel that can easily navigate shallow waters. Our interpretation of these requirements was as follows: a …

Remote Cable Gantry, Allen L. Bailey

Electrical Engineering

The Remote Cable Gantry is a robotic system that was initially intended to aid in the art of aerial videography. It was designed to enable novice and expert users alike to capture both video footage and audio from perspectives unachievable by current methods. This system uses a series of cables to control the position of a camera gimbal in a defined 3D space and, as a self-contained unit, is portable and easy to use. The Remote Cable Gantry offers a quiet, intuitive, and safe alternative to existing technology, which has been limiting the market and potential of aerial photography and …

Autonomous Quadrotor Collision Avoidance And Destination Seeking In A Gps-Denied Environment, Thomas C. Kirven

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

This thesis presents a real-time autonomous guidance and control method for a quadrotor in a GPS-denied environment. The quadrotor autonomously seeks a destination while it avoids obstacles whose shape and position are initially unknown. We implement the obstacle avoidance and destination seeking methods using off-the-shelf sensors, including a vision-sensing camera. The vision-sensing camera detects the positions of points on the surface of obstacles. We use this obstacle position data and a potential-field method to generate velocity commands. We present a backstepping controller that uses the velocity commands to generate the quadrotor's control inputs. In indoor experiments, we demonstrate that the …

Investigation Of The Use Of 3-D Printer Platform As Building Block For Rapid Design Of Research And Manufacturing Tool, Handy Chandra

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis attempts to show how an open source 3-D printer platform, the self replicating rapid prototype (RepRap), could be used to accelerate the development of research and manufacturing tools. Two projects are shown as examples, both utilizing components of the 3-D printer platform.

The first project is to develop an instrument capable of performing automated large-area four-point probe measurements. A modified RepRap 3-D Printer with a four-point probe in place of the 3-D printer head is utilized as a precision positioning platform. The printer together with custom designed measurement circuit and software performs automated measurement on multiple points on …

Cal Poly Supermileage Electronic Fuel Injection, Alexander Pink

Electrical Engineering

Cal Poly Supermileage is a student-run engineering club that builds prototype gasoline vehicles optimized maximum fuel-efficiency. To power their vehicles, the Supermileage team makes use of single-cylinder, 4-stroke, electronically fuel-injected (EFI) gasoline engines. This report details the development, iterative design & test cycles, and integration of an EFI system for the Supermileage club. This project develops an EFI system that interfaces to the most common types of sensors found in the low-power Supermileage-range of engines, including throttle-position sensors, manifold absolute pressure sensors, gear-tooth hall-effect sensors, variable-reluctance position sensors, engine coolant temperature sensors, intake air temperature sensors, and exhaust oxygen sensors. …

Forest Sign Maker, Victor Espinosa Iii, Kevin Ly, Lisa Yip

Mechanical Engineering

Executive Summary:

The Inyo National Forest is arguably one of the most beautiful locations in California, containing natural masterpieces such as Mount Whitney and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Despite its magnificence, the Inyo National Forest can be a treacherous region. The Friends of the Inyo take pride in being able to facilitate the viewing experience for all outdoorsmen by maintaining the mountain trails, which includes providing adequate trail signage.

Unfortunately, there is a fundamental issue with the recent state of trail signage in the Inyo National Forest: the rate at which signs are being vandalized or naturally destroyed is …

Pier2pier: Final Report, Kevin Nelson, Anthony Miller, Paul Maalouf, Chahan Shah

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Telepresence: Design, Implementation And Study Of An Hmd-Controlled Avatar With A Mechatronic Approach, Darren Michael Chan

Master's Theses

Telepresence describes technologies that allow users to remotely experience the sensation of being present at an event without being physically present. An avatar exists to represent the user whilst in a remote location and is tasked to collect stimuli from its immediate surroundings to be delivered to the user for consumption. With the advent of recent developments in Virtual Reality technology, viz., head-mounted displays (HMDs), new possibilities have been enabled in the field of Telepresence. The main focus of this thesis is to develop a solution for visual Telepresence, where an HMD is used to control the direction of a …

Wingtip Dynamics Simulator, Eugene Fox, Nick Rodriguez, Steven Rieber

Mechanical Engineering

Raytheon is a defense contracting company with an electronic warfare division that is developing a radio frequency signal triangulation system. Part of the focus in improving this technology is the need for accurate and real time locational knowledge of the signal receivers, which are located at the tips of aircraft wings. Due to turbulence during flight, the fluttering motion of the wings alter the distance and angle relationships of the two receivers and add noise to the received signal data, which negatively affect the triangulation estimates. To mitigate this error caused by the wing flutter, Raytheon is developing a software …

Automated Foosball Table, Jim R. Stefani, Alex J. Herpy, Brett Gordon Jaeger, Kevin S. Haydon, Derek Alan Hamel

Mechanical Engineering

This project is the second iteration of an automated foosball table for Yaskawa America as a trade show display. The table is meant to provide an interactive experience which highlights the speed and precision of the Yaskawa hardware. The first iteration of the project was mainly focused on creating the physical hardware for the system and to begin the basic programming for the system. This phase of the project was focused on finalizing the physical hardware of the system, implementing the vision system and to continue the basic programing of the system AI. A third team will be assigned to …

The Design Of A Mobile, Animatronic Bald Eagle, Eric Burns

Phi Kappa Phi Research Symposium (Archived)

Modern animatronics are used as a tool to help engage audiences in realistic and entertaining experiences. Many animatronic figures are dynamic in movement, but static in mobility. The research presented covers the beginnings of mobile animatronic research. An animatronic bald eagle, Opportunity, was designed for that purpose. Animations for Opportunity are generated by integration of Arduino, Pololu Mini Maestro, and Hitec Servo Motors. Arduino receives signals from flex sensors which cause voltage variations when “flexed”. The 1:1 scale, animatronic eagle can be perched on the arm of an “actor” who simulates an eagle’s caretaker. The flex sensors are located within …

Towards A Sustainable Modular Robot System For Planetary Exploration, S. G. M. Hossain

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis investigates multiple perspectives of developing an unmanned robotic system suited for planetary terrains. In this case, the unmanned system consists of unit-modular robots. This type of robot has potential to be developed and maintained as a sustainable multi-robot system while located far from direct human intervention. Some characteristics that make this possible are: the cooperation, communication and connectivity among the robot modules, flexibility of individual robot modules, capability of self-healing in the case of a failed module and the ability to generate multiple gaits by means of reconfiguration. To demonstrate the effects of high flexibility of an individual …

Neuromodulation Based Control Of Autonomous Robots On A Cloud Computing Platform, Cameron Muhammad

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, the advancement of neurobiologically plausible models and computer networking has resulted in new ways of implementing control systems on robotic platforms. The work presents a control approach based on vertebrate neuromodulation and its implementation on autonomous robots in the open-source, open-access environment of robot operating system (ROS). A spiking neural network (SNN) is used to model the neuromodulatory function for generating context based behavioral responses of the robots to sensory input signals. The neural network incorporates three types of neurons- cholinergic and noradrenergic (ACh/NE) neurons for attention focusing and action selection, dopaminergic (DA) neurons for rewards- and …

Automated Foosball Table Year 1: Final Project Report, Juan David Gutierrez-Franco, John Inlow, Jesse Graham, Larry Huang

Mechanical Engineering

This project is a first iteration of an automated foosball table designed and created using servomotors provided by Yaskawa to create an interactive tradeshow display where guests can play against the algorithms developed in the PLC (programmable logic controller) controlling the servomotors. There will be a second iteration of the project done by a different team directly following this one. The motion components were selected with the intent to be able to surpass the reaction times and speeds of expert human players. There are a total of eight servomotors, four controlling linear actuators for translation of rods, and four controlling …

Polygrasp: Reach; Myoelectric Prosthetic Hand Iteration, Devon Patrick Augustus, Mighells Blaed Deuel, Ian Noel Fraser, Nicholas Philip Moesser

Mechanical Engineering

Amputations are a common occurrence in soldiers returning home who have suffered the effects of IED and munitions explosions. For upper limb amputees, trans-radial amputations are the most common. Traditional hook devices do not offer an adequate level of normalcy for users, prompting the use of myoelectric devices. While current myoelectric devices do offer a more natural experience, they come with a host of other problems that makes their adoption by service personnel not desirable or not permitted by the VA. PolyGrasp Reach seeks to reduce weight and cost and improve performance. This addresses several of the issues with devices …

Robotic Turret, Daniel Romero, Matthew (Matt) Martelle, Scott Mullens, Rachel Diamant

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Power-Scavenging Mems Robots, Daniel J. Denninghoff

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis includes the design, modeling, and testing of novel, power-scavenging, biologically inspired MEMS microrobots. Over one hundred 500-μm and 990-μm microrobots with two, four, and eight wings were designed, fabricated, characterized. These microrobots constitute the smallest documented attempt at powered flight. Each microrobot wing is comprised of downward-deflecting, laser-powered thermal actuators made of gold and polysilicon; the microrobots were fabricated in PolyMUMPs® (Polysilicon Multi-User MEMS Processes). Characterization results of the microrobots illustrate how wing-tip deflection can be maximized by optimizing the gold-topolysilicon ratio as well as the dimensions of the actuator-wings. From these results, an optimum actuator-wing configuration was …

Some Facts And Prospects For The Establishment Of Television Broadcasts In Mainland Tanzania, H. R. Mgombelo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Abstract