Fall 2011 Critical Design Reports

Electrical Engineering Projects

EMERGENCY VEHICLE ALERT SYSTEM

Jenni Boles | Leah Fairhead | Scott Gump | Brandon Kopinski
Advisors: Dr. Ernest Kim and Prof. Ralph Wickwire
Sponsors: Henry Eisenson and Jim Ross

Overview
The proof of concept which will be created for this project will work as a final EVAS module would, but will not be enclosed in a plastic encasement. The circuit design uses a microphone and a phototransistor as inputs. The light or sound from an emergency vehicle, which is inputted, will pass through a filter before entering the Arduino Uno to be processed. The frequency will be analyzed and if either the light or sound is characteristic of an emergency vehicle, the processor will allow the unit to flash the collection of LEDs and acoustically warn the public of an emergency vehicle by use of a buzzer.

JAVA HARDWARE

 

Julie Birch | Cristina Leon Heredia | Colby Trudeau
Advisors: Dr. Ernest Kim and Prof. Ralph Wickwire
Sponsor: JavaCores, Inc.

Overview
A new platform will be developed with components that are typically found in modern smartphones. The XC-110 on the device will be implemented on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and will be controlled by a Freescale i.MX28 host processor. The new device will have 1GB of flash memory and 1GB of SDRAM, significantly more than the 64MB of each found in the previous platform. The new demonstration platform will also include a high-resolution display to demonstrate the device’s superior graphics performance.

ELECTRI-COOL MAGNETIC SLOT RACING

Fatima AlSaqabi | Roseann Galaz | Aaron Paxton
Advisors: Dr. Kim and Dr. Wickwire
Sponsor: Henry Eisenson

Overview
The system is comprised of several subsystems. When energized, the board provides magnetic fields that are to interact with the car. That’s because the car contains permanent magnets that generate magnetic fields themselves. This interaction between the car and the track is what generates the motion of the car. A microcontroller controls the energy grid that energizes the track and the hand controller determines how fast the car will travel around the track.

CURL ENVIRONMENTAL LAB

Robert Driggers | Marlowe Quart | Martin de la Herran
Advisors: Dr. Kim and Prof. Wickwire
Sponsors: Siemens, Boris Pavlakovic

Overview
Management Level Network
This is where the System is programed and designed. This is the main user interface and additionally where trends can be built from various tests.
Automation Level Network
This is where the field panel is located. The field panel is the brains of the system and includes all the digital and analog inputs and outputs.
Field Level Network
This level is where the devices communicate between each other as well and send information to the Automation Level.

BIO VSS: BIOMEDICAL VISION SENSOR SYSTEM

 

 

 

Anthony McConnell-Collins | Allen Cadreau | Matthew Jauregui
Advisors: Dr. Kim and Dr. Wickwire
Sponsor: KAB Laboratories

Overview
The system consists of three primary subsystems: Biometric and environmental sensors (EKG, core temperature, external temperature and gas sensors); Microprocessor to retrieve, process and relay data; Mobile Device Application to receive data, display it, package with location metadata and send it to a central server.

Industrial & Systems Engineering

Improving Drive-Thru Throughput at Quick Service Restaurants –Quick Service Restaurants derive much of their revenue from drive-thru operations, but little work has been done to analyze the layout of drive-thrus. The factors that have the greatest impact on customer wait times will be identified, and guidelines that can be used to design efficient layouts for the drive-thru operations will be developed.

L & T Machine Shop Process Improvement – L & T Precision has identified inefficient operations in their machining department as an obstacle to their growth. This project identifies recommendations to reduce setup times, and improve flow through the facility to reduce costs and improve productivity.

USD e-Waste Facility Improvement – The operations in the e-waste recycling facility are inefficient and do not generate the maximum revenue to the University. This project will develop improved procedures and a facility layout that will allow the center to process more donation and increase revenue.

 

Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering Combined Projects

WIND TUNNEL

Cameron Clark |Clark Fleming |Kramer Delaurentis |Phil Mengden |
Phil Mengden |Colleen Sevier | Mac Sparks
Advisors: Dr. Malicky and Dr. McGarry
Sponsors: USD Department of Engineering, General Atomics

Overview
Our instrumentation will make the existing wind tunnel capable of supporting several laboratory experiments involving fluid dynamics and heat transfer. The experiments will be heat transfer from a heated fin, lift and drag of an air foil and automobile spoiler, and boundary layer visualization utilizing smoke with the previous two experiments.

TENNIS BALL DESIGN

Juliette Coupez |Christian Fetters |Jayme Ross Eva
Advisors: Dr. Malicky and Dr. McGarry
Sponsor: USD Engineering Department

Overview
Three designs are computed with different seams patterns: current tennis ball,
concentric circles seam pattern ball and a pentagonal seam pattern ball. For each
design, forces in every direction are calculated varying the spin rate and the velocity
of the ball.

T-SHIRT FOLDING MACHINE

Will Benninger | Marya Bliznyuk | Chasen Bombola | Liz Kimbrell
Will Partridge | Kyle Young
Advisors: Dr. McGarry and Dr. Malicky
Sponsor: Associated Students

Overview
The automatic t-shirt folder will employ folding flaps, gravity and a hook system with telescoping rods which orient the t-shirt on the folding platform. Multiple t-shirts are placed on hooks and are hung from the tag. The hook is then driven by way of a CNC stepper motor across a platform that is the width of the final fold, and by dragging the t-shirt across the table it will take out the wrinkles so that it is ready for the folds on the next step. The sides of the shirt are now hanging off the folding platform and at this point two flaps, one on either side, flip the sides of the shirt into itself. The side folds are now completed. At this point the bottom of the shirt, which is already sitting on a flap imbedded in the platform, flips over into itself. This is the final fold and the shirt is in its desired folded geometry. The t-shirt is then dragged across the table and slides down the 45 degree angle platform into the neatly folded pile of t-shirts.

KINETIC FOUNTAIN

William Lehman | Gabriel Mendiola | Michael Spies |Patrick Walton
Advisors: Dr. Malicky and Dr. McGarry
Sponsor: USD Engineering Department

Overview
The visualizer fountain is meant to recreate the visual output of an equalizer with multiple fountain outputs. All jets of the fountain will receive flow from one large pump and then be controlled by a ball valve coupled to a CNC stepper motor. An Arduino board will filter the musical input and then send the given outputs to each stepper motor controller. Ultimately, each fountain will represent a bandwidth of the frequency that corresponds to a bar on a computers visual equalizer.

ENERGY RELAY COMPETITION

Jessica Buckley | Richard Estrada | Andrew Gregorka |Ignacio Martin De Briones
Advisors: Dr. Malicky and Dr. McGarry
Sponsor: USD Engineering Department

Overview
According to our current plan, the four devices will be as follows. The first device will be an electric motor car with RC parts and battery that has an on/off switch, turning off upon contact of the next device. The second device will be a mousetrap car, using the torsion spring inherent in a mousetrap with an arm extension to drive the rear wheel axle through use of a string. The third device will be a flywheel car that will be continuously powered by a friction gear motor until released. The fourth device will be a chemical reaction rocket, mixing the reactants upon contact and expelling products to produce thrust through the finish line.