ESE441 and ESE442: EE Senior Design,
2003-2004
Ken Laker, Philip D. Farnum
ESE Home Page > ESE Undergraduate Labs > ESE 442 Home Page > 2004-2005 Abstracts
Control of Omnidirectional Wheeled Robot
Authors: Adam Schuman
Melissa McGowan
Advisor: Gomez
Abstract:
A Mecanum Wheel consists of multiple smaller wheels or rollers attached to a
central hub wheel by brackets or cleats at 45-degree angles to the hub.
Functionality of the wheel is that, when four are attached to a vehicle, such
as in an automobile or a forklift, the vehicle has omnidirectional
capabilities, based on varying the speed of rotation of independent wheel
motors connected to each hub. Using velocity and angular position information of
said vehicle, the rotational speeds of the motors are determined in order to
move in the requested direction.
The purpose of building the Mecanum Wheeled Robot is to create a vehicle, which is omnidirectional based on control by a joystick. Movement of the vehicle depends on communication between two optical mice and four independent wheel motors that are connected via a CANbus protocol. Based on interfacing of the optical mice and the wheel motors, an joystick controls the direction of the vehicle. Communication between the CANbus protocol and the joystick is affiliated using a “main brain” computer onboard the robot.
Authors: Oyebode
Fajobi
Kevin Quach
Imo Udom
Advisor:
Vuchic
Abstract:
Three dimensional (3D) image acquisition systems are becoming more valuable in
today's digital environment. Contemporary 3D acquisition systems allow for the
construction of accurate models of 3D objects. The reduction in price and the
ubiquity of personal computers creates the opportunity for new virtual reality
applications. One growing application for such a system is the modeling of
historical artifacts and excavation sites. Archaeologists spend large amounts
of time documenting and diagramming uncovered artifacts; 3D acquisition systems
can help to insure that more time is spent on the actual excavation and
analysis process of these sites.
For such an application, a 3D modeling system would require medium to high accuracy reconstruction, ease of use, affordability, and operational safety for both the operator and the scanned artifact. With these specifications in mind, we chose to develop a sensor based 3D modeling structured light system. One major advantage of such a system is its low cost. A laser, charge coupled device (CCD) camera, and motor are all commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products, which makes this system cheaper than other systems that implement more advanced tools.
Our system acquires data from a 3D object by panning a laser across an object and simultaneously capturing images using a digital color camera. From the disparity between the laser profile over the object and the laser's expected projection onto the reference plane, depth values will be calculated and then analyzed to create a 3D model.
Hand Motion Short Distance
Communication
Authors: Alex Chang
Tom Malec
Advisor: Lee
Abstract:
The ability to communicate is essential for surviving in today’s world, but for
many people communication must be accomplished through non-verbal means, such
as sign language. The glove system developed will help bridge the barrier
between users of sign language and those using spoken language. It performs
automatic translation and displaying of a specific subset of the sign language,
made by a glove-wearing hand. The translated signs are transmitted wirelessly
to a remote display device to be viewed by the intended audience. The design of
the overall system targets deaf/mute people who will be able to use the
translating glove for a variety of situations in which communication with
people unfamiliar with ASL is required, such as day to conversation or aid in
presentations.
Several types of sensors are incorporated into the glove subsystem and used to
gather information pertaining to the orientation of the hand in 3-D space, as
well as the configuration of the fingers. This information is collected and
processed by a micro-controller, which maps the set of collected data,
representing the sign formed by the user’s hand, to a matching alphabetical
character from a database containing the sensor output values for each
character. When a message has been completed in sign language, it is then sent
wirelessly, using Bluetooth, to a nearby PC for display.
Redundant PAPPA Flight
Computer Watchdog
Authors: Marc Blanco
Shlomo Katz
Advisor: Devlin
Abstract:
Data acquisition for the Primordial Anisotropy Polarization Pathfinder
Array (PAPPA) project balloon flight requires constant communication
between the flight telescope and an onboard computer. However, conditions
at flight altitude cause computers to become unreliable. A redundant
computer control system, consisting of two identical computers connected
to the telescope through a watchdog circuit, aims to deliver continuous
computer control over the telescope.
Specifically, two Linux PC's are used to control and store data from
external devices. Each computer sends and receives data via serial and
parallel port interfaces, and can generate analog output voltages through
a National Instruments card. The computers connect to the telescope
through a watchdog circuit. Each computer sends and receives data as if it
alone is in control of the system, but the watchdog chooses one computer
whose control data is passed on to the telescope.
Robodog Frontal Facial Recognition
Authors: Jing Hu
“Champ” Kitwiwattanachai
Jessica Pannequin
Advisor: Lee
Abstract:
Facial Recognition has drawn a significant amount of attention in the research
area in the past few years. There is an increasing interest in the
implementation of facial recognition systems because of the emerging demands of
more efficient security systems. The ability to take into account differences
in lighting conditions, facial orientation and background objects is crucial for
the implementation of a successful system. Many different approaches of the
problem have been developed over the past two decades. So far, each proposed
method has different comparative advantages and disadvantages.
With the chosen approach of this project, the face region is first extracted from the original picture using skin color analysis. The facial features are then extracted from the face region. By doing so, the background noise can be eliminated, thus increasing the recognition accuracy and decreasing the computation volume of the system.
The facial features are then fed into an error back propagation neural network to overcome image distortion due to lighting condition, facial expression and orientation of the face. During the training process, different representations of the face are inputted into the network. After the computation, recognition errors are minimized. Therefore, by intensive training of the network, robust recognition performance can be achieved.
Finally, in order to enhance the role of human-robot interaction for which recognition is a crucial capability, the Sony’s Aibo Dog is used as the interface to the system. The full implementation of the system allows the Robodog to identify each individual trained by the neural network.
Automated Video Tracking for
Multiple UAVs
Authors: Sam Starr
Emir Tumen
Advisor: Pappas
Abstract:
The project aims to provide a tracking system for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs), which are used for research and security purposes and require real time
control. Giving the camera the ability to follow an object, and limiting the
margin of error in the visual tracking output, the project aims to satisfy the
need of an automated surveillance for UAVs at the University of Pennsylvania.
In the chosen approach, the GPS information from the UAV is collected and
stored in the ground base station PC. The GPS data is then fed to the Pan-Tilt
unit’s control PC, which processes this information and converts it to pan and
tilt values by using a geometrically based algorithm. Finally, two servomotors
which accept these pan and tilt values adjust to point the camera in the UAV’s
direction. The current implementation of the system is well suited to any
visual output device such as monitors, televisions or webcams for network
sharing, and for real-time visual tracking of any GPS transmitting object in a
360° field.
Solar Car Battery Management
System
Authors: Michael Ashley
Zhenming Zhang
Advisor: Zemel
Abstract:
Solar racing has increased in popularity over the past few years due to the greater
frequency of solar competitions. Most competitions are designed to be fun and
promote awareness of alternative energy and new technologies. The North
American Solar Challenge is one such solar race that is specifically aimed at
college level competition.
Penn Solar Racing (PSR) has limited funds and must carefully analyze how money is spent on components of the car. The goal of PSR is to minimize the cost of batteries and solar cells while improving upon the last solar car in order to be competitive.
In order to be competitive, Penn Solar Racing has created specific requirements for the 2005 Penn Solar Racing car, Keystone. Penn Solar Racing desires a battery stack which is capable of delivering 50 A continuously, has over four kWh of energy and has a stack voltage of 48 V. PSR also desires a one kilowatt array that costs under $10 / Watt. In order to race, the solar car must be compliant with North American Solar Challenge regulations (NASC). Each solar car must have a battery system protected from overvoltage, undervoltage, overcurrent and overtemperature conditions. NASC regulations allow solar cars up to 25 Kg of Lithium chemistry batteries and an array size up to nine square meters.
A battery pack and solar array will be constructed for PSR which meets their requirements. The battery pack will be made of 104 batteries from Electrovaya wired in a 13S8P configuration allowing for a 48 V nominal stack voltage. The battery pack will be capable of 50 A continuous current draw. The batteries will be protected by a system which monitors the battery voltage, current and temperature. The system will disconnect the battery pack from a relay if the pack experiences voltages, currents or temperatures outside of the desired limits. If time permits, an array will be wired, attached and coated to the Penn Solar Racing body for the 2005 car, Keystone, otherwise instructions will be written up for the procedure to be completed before the 2005 North American Solar Race in July 2005.
Author: Mike Benolt
Mike Swavola
Advisor: Insup Lee
Abstract:
Since 2002, much research has been done across the country in the area of
micro-electric mechanical systems as a potential solution to the pandemic
problem of inefficient energy consumption. The team has built upon the
feasibility research done at Berkeley and MIT to design and develop an
intelligent environment control scheme with the hope of significantly reducing energy
consumption in conference rooms.
The objective of the project is to integrate three stand-alone components into
one adaptive environment control system. The components are location detection,
environment sensing, and output control.
The team is attacking the problem by designing independent location and
environment sensing systems and connecting them. Each sensing system is
isolated to a group of “motes” dedicated to that application. The data
collected is compiled and passed synchronously through a resilient
“shortest-hop” data transmission scheme. The required outputs are then computed
and sent via the shortest-route to the mote environment outputs. Error is
controlled by redundancy checks between mote sensors, and is measured by
comparing sensor readings within each group to lighting output.
The final result is an integrated system which uses Passive Infrared sensors to
accurately detect room entrance and exit, basic light sensors distributed
across the network to provide accurate environment monitoring, and a low-error,
low-power transmission and output system that adjusts room lighting
Authors: Nii Ayite Ayite
Zereyacob Girma
Aung Naing
Advisors: Engheta, Daniilidis
Abstract:
Television has been an excellent medium for entertainment and information ever
since the invention of the electron scanning tube in 1923 by Vladimir Kosma
Zworykin, who is considered the father of the modern television. Unfortunately,
people sharing a television are forced to watch one channel at a time or use a
different television if they want to watch different programs. As a result,
there are often arguments about which channel to watch. There is currently no
system that allows viewers in the same room to view different channels without
the use of multiple televisions. Present day systems such as picture-in-picture
(PIP) are largely ineffective as they only use a small fraction of the screen
area for the secondary channel, and there is no way of hearing the audio from
that channel.
The goal of this project was to design a system that solves these problems. The DoubleVision Television (DVTV) system comprises of a NTSC processing unit that allows two groups of viewers to simultaneously watch different channels on the same television. Two groups of viewers can use shutter glasses with built-in polarization properties to differentiate and watch two different channels. The two sound signals from the two different channels are separated and transmitted to the appropriate user via a wireless headphone system.
A mixer box [DVTV Box] was built to interlace two separate channels that can
be displayed on any standard CRT TV. First, two analog NTSC signals of the viewers’
choice are extracted from the multi-channel frequency band coming from the
cable provider or any video source such as VCR or DVD. The sound signals are
simultaneously separated and sent to the RF transmitter which transmits the two
separate sounds to two separate headphones. Then, the two video signals are
synchronized using a time base correction unit. These two separate synchronized
NTSC channels are interlaced by a video multiplexer circuit. The timing signal
is extracted and used to control this video multiplexer.
The output of the multiplexer becomes a single field-sequential NTSC signal
with the odd and even fields representing channel A and channel B respectively.
The same timing signal is used to control the shutter glasses, which turn ON and
OFF at the right time to give two viewers two completely different
channels.
Authors: Navik Agrawal
Greg Kupermsn
Bashar Saleh
Advisor: Farnum, Deliwala
Abstract:
GPS is becoming one of modern life’s essentials as it has found its way into
many applications and modern processes. Using a relatively cheap GPS receiver,
we set our goal to design a GPS Guided Autonomous Vehicle. The question remains
how a GPS guided vehicle would traverse a path given the inherited inaccuracy
of GPS.
The project used a TXT-1 RC car as the study vehicle. Using the GPS receiver
and a Java application, we have implemented a navigation system that is able to
adapt itself into many various future applications needing Autonomous
Navigation.
Engineering a Better Golf
Swing
Authors: Seth Charlip-Blumlein
Shehzad Khan
Advisor: Van der Spiegel
Abstract:
Quantifying and measuring certain aspects of a golf swing is a helpful tool for
any golfer. Currently, the only way to achieve this is by traveling to an
indoor, controlled environment rigged with complex sensors and having a system
contained within measure the swing. Not only are these facilities relatively
sparse, but they are prohibitively expensive to the average golfer.
The solution to these problems is a series of sensors and the necessary interfacing circuitry, integrated onto a golf club. The system is designed to measure the velocity of the swing, the angle the ball is launched at and the region of the clubface where impact occurs. Accuracy, unobtrusiveness and portability are the key factors for this system and they drove the approach to the project.
Authors: Michael Pao
Lawrence Zhou
Michael Smeets
Advisors: Deliwala, Farnum
Abstract:
Modern mass transit systems are an essential part of any urban environment.
However, a large segment of the population avoids using mass transit systems
due to the perceived inconvenience, particularly regarding arrival times.
While modern rail and subway systems integrate solutions providing estimated arrival time to users, the unpredictable nature and complexity of bus systems remains a problem. Traffic conditions, weather disruptions and other emergencies can significantly influence the accuracy of static bus schedules. The Projected Arrival Time (PAT) system is a possible solution.
The PAT system uses the global positioning system (GPS) to provide accurate, real-time arrival estimates to users of a bus system. PennBus West was used for purposes of evaluating the project. Each bus carries an onboard GPS unit which transmits data to a central server running the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) with Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) technology. On the backend, positioning and velocity data are combined to predict arrival times, which users can call via a webpage.
The PAT system is robust enough that it will adjust to variations in weather and traffic patterns. However, conditions do arise which severely hamper the ability of buses to run on schedule, such as emergency weather conditions and breakdowns. Failure of the PAT system under these extreme circumstances can be communicated to the user so that he or she may alter travel plans accordingly. Despite its limitations, the system is reliable to the point where it can be deployed commercially as a trustworthy convenience.
RFID Management System for
Domestic Applications
Authors: Izukanne Emeagwali
Saloni Mira Rai
Mary Obasi (CSE)
Advisor: Lee
Abstract:
The last decade has seen the expansion of computer usage from scientific and
business applications to common applications such as scheduling and appointment
management uses. RFID technology is also quickly becoming a standard for
corporations to trying to track and manage their inventories.
Despite this growth, computers are still not being used to manage everyday physical objects such as CDs, books and clothes in non-industrial settings. This project seeks to create a system that will focus on the management of everyday objects in non-industrial settings and that will seamlessly augment the capabilities of physical objects to allow them to have significant computational functionality.
In the domestic setting clothing will be managed according to the users’ clothes and color preference, rating, calendar system and according to the weather. The frequently arising questions of “What do I have and when is it appropriate to use it?” will be answered. The placement of RFID tags on clothing allows them to be identified by specific properties which can help to manage and match each item better.
Within the retail side the user will be able to expand his or her shopping view within a short period of time. The store’s database will be able to suggest clothing items from the entire store for the user according to what the user has already picked up and placed within his or her shopping cart.
Authors: Anil Makhijani
Jeevan Puthiamadathil
Advisors: Lee
Abstract:
Noise cancellation systems have been implemented to counter the effects of
echoes in communications systems. These systems use algorithms that have been
implemented using digital signal processors to track how a noise signal is
changed by the frequency response of the communication system it travels in
and then use that information to cancel that noise. These systems have been
used for vocal communication systems, but the idea can be expanded to the use
of music.
In a recording studio, a singer usually stands in a sound booth and sings with
headphones playing the instrumental that the vocals are accompanying. This is
a non-ideal situation as the singer cannot hear her own voice along with the
instrumentals. The goal of this project is to allow for the recording of a
voice with instrumentals in the background and to isolate just the singer’s
voice.
This noise cancellation system will take a known instrumental signal, output
it over a loudspeaker, while sending it to a digital signal processor (DSP)
that will convolve it with the estimated frequency response of the room. A
microphone will pick up the singer’s voice, along with the instrumental signal
in the background that has traveled throughout the room and will send it to
the DSP. The DSP will subtract the known instrumental signal convolved with
the estimation of the room’s frequency response from the recorded microphone
signal. The anticipated result of the system is the singer’s voice plus the
background instrumental attenuated by 20 dB.
Authors: Jennifer Sin
Michael Wong
Linda Lamptey
Advisor: Zemel
Abstract:
The downward trend of physical activity in children is of great concern to
public health because it is directly linked to the growing epidemics of obesity
and osteoporosis. Research has shown that the intensity of weight-bearing
activities is the most crucial factor in developing bone mass and strength,
thus the Pediatric Step Monitor is a tool that measures the magnitude and
duration of forces exerted on the soles of children’s feet. The device
will aid current bone health studies in detecting trends, evaluating programs,
and quantifying the correlation between load-bearing activity and bone
development.
The Pediatric Step Monitor consists of a piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride
sensor, a signal conditioning circuit, and a microcontroller for data storage
and transmission. At the end of the day, the data will be transferred via a
serial link to a simple graphical user interface, displaying values of interest
such as force magnitude and energy expenditure.
Authors: Phillip Chan
Mike Chakardjian
Tom Leonard
Advisor: Farnum
Abstract:
The PIN diode has been in use since the 1960’s and research into its properties
has been thorough. One application of the PIN diode is to use it as a
solid state transmit-receive (TR) switch which allows either the transmitter or
the receiver to communicate with the antenna while protecting the device not in
use. PIN diodes placed in these types of switches, are required to handle
power on the order of 1 kW at radio frequencies (RF).
The problem that a designer of solid state switches faces is testing the diodes and the switch circuit with stresses of high power. Test equipment that provides power of 1 kW is expensive to purchase or rent. One method to limit the need of a high power RF transmitter is to create resonant circuits that can provide either the high voltage or high current that would be seen from a high power source.
High voltage can be achieved through series resonating circuits while high current can be produced with parallel resonating circuits. The circuits will be designed to resonate at several frequencies ranging between 10 MHz and 900 MHz. The PIN diode can be stressed with these tuned circuits and a designer would have the ability to find faults in the solid state TR switch being designed without having a high power transmitter. The resonating circuits will provide solid state TR switch designers with a low power and low cost method of testing switches containing PIN diodes.
Ad-Hoc Network for Handheld
Devices
Author: Hamad Abdulaal, Mohammad Haq
Advisor: Kassam
Abstract:
The Sensor Application System for PDAs allows users to take advantage of the
802.11 ad hoc mode to transfer files with neighboring users. The advantage of
an ad hoc network is that there is no need for an access point. Instead users
can connect to each other anywhere, even those locations where internet
infrastructure isn’t already setup. For this project there are essentially
three components: the physical communication system, the network programming,
and the PDA application. The application is created for the Pocket PC 2002
Operating System. It detects other users of the Sensor application in a 100 m
range and loads records of their shared files in a SQL server database. The
user then has the ability to choose and download any of these shared files from
any other user connected to the Ad-hoc Network.
Author: Sukhesh Miryala
Pallav Gupta
Advisor: Chance
Abstract:
The need for an accurate measuring device to measure the temperature of the
brain during surgery is necessary for use during cardiopulmonary bypass
surgery. The goal of this project is to design and construct a new non-invasive
device to measure brain temperature based on Dr. Chance’s research of Near
Infrared Spectroscopy. The absorbance of light at particular wavelengths
in the brain is a function of temperature. This device measures the absorbance
of infrared light at different temperature, and processes the data through an
algorithm the authors developed to relate absorbance with temperature, and
consequently measures brain temperature.
Authors: Navajeet Chatterji
Sunava Dutta
Advisor: Van der Spiegel
Abstract:
Names are not unique. When a name is spoken, written or entered into a
system it is subject to considerable variations due to Cultural/ Linguistic/
Ethnic boundaries. A majority of the time the source of data is perfect, but
due to discrepancies caused by phonetic pronunciations, cultural
transliteration variations and sequence variations the user is unable to
correctly spell the query resulting to a negative result.
VASE, or Voice Activated Search Engine is a name based search engine powered
by speech recognition technology. VASE enables the user to search for names
with high accuracy based on phonetic pronunciation, either by voice or text
input. VASE has been designed to be user independent, language independent
and platform independent.
Instrument for Pressure
Ulcer Detection
Authors: Jialing Wang
Ashish Chauhan
Kashif Merchant
Advisors: Santiago
Abstract:
With the high level of advancement and sophisticated technologies in the
medical
world, some very common conditions and diseases have remain neglected even
today. The I-PUD is a low cost, reliable device that should relieve the
economic burden of pressure ulcer care in the US, estimated to be $3-6 billion
per year. The I-PUD is a mobile sensory device capable of detecting Stage-I
pressure ulcers (bed sores) in human beings of all skin colors while providing
quantitative data. The I-PUD detects pressure ulcers using three sensors and
displays data on a LabView GUI on a portable computer. This device will provide
medical researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation the means of acquiring and documenting data
corresponding to pressure ulcer diagnosis. This project of fabricating the
I-PUD
provides the undergraduate engineering students with hands-on experience in the
real world research environment
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), Last updated Apr 8, 2005
