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College of Engineering2005–2006 Student Design Showcase

Featuring projects from: • Chemical Engineering

• Civil Engineering

• Computer Sciences and Software Engineering

• Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Marine and Environmental Systems

Ocean Engineering

• Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Florida Institute of Technology • 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL 32901

2 2005–2006 Senior Design Projects

Table of Contents

Why We Do Student Design Projects? ..................................................................................... 4

Chemical Engineering ............................................................................................................. 6

Industrial Feasibility of a Low Capacity Crude Petroleum Refinery (LCCPR) ......................... 8

Hydrogen Production Using an Algal Reactor .......................................................................... 9

Purification of Hydrogen Gas from Refinery Off-Gases ......................................................... 11

Civil Engineering .................................................................................................................. 12

Your Kidding, a Concrete Canoe Competition? ...................................................................... 13

Steel Bridge Competition ...................................................................................................... 14

Hunter’s Grove Subdivision ................................................................................................... 16

Viera High School Design ..................................................................................................... 18

Design of Pedestrian Bridge Connecting the SUB and Residence Hall Quad on the Florida Tech Main Campus ........................................................................................ 20

Snowbird Haven Subdivision ................................................................................................. 22

Electrical and Computer Engineering ................................................................................... 24

Free Space Optical Link ........................................................................................................ 25

FOPS Emergency Occupancy Counter .................................................................................. 27

Automated Greenhouse ......................................................................................................... 28

BlueKey ................................................................................................................................. 29

Green Light ........................................................................................................................... 31

Intergrated Ideas:Retirement Calculator ............................................................................... 33

Intergrated Ideas:Electrical Support for Modju-Bot .............................................................. 35

Drive-Thru ........................................................................................................................... 37

Crack’d Case ......................................................................................................................... 39

Marine and Environmental Systems ...................................................................................... 41

Ocean Engineering ................................................................................................................ 42

2005–2006 Senior Design Projects 3

ROSS—Remotely Operated Surf-Zone Surveyor .................................................................... 43

PHISH—Perfected High-Speed Internal-Combustion Solar Hybrid ...................................... 45

Hy-Prop Jet Boat ................................................................................................................... 47

Autonomous Mobile Buoy ..................................................................................................... 49

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering ................................................................................ 51

FSAE Formula Car ................................................................................................................ 52

SAE Mini Baja ...................................................................................................................... 54

Modju-Bot – Extensible Robotic Platform ............................................................................. 56

Aerial Unmanned Reconnaissance and Operations Research Aircraft (AURORA) .................. 58

Shock Tube ........................................................................................................................... 62

Spin Stabilized Surveyor ....................................................................................................... 64

MATCH—Model Aircraft Turbojet Combusting Hydrogen ..................................................... 66

EMMA – Electro-Magnetic Mobile Artillery ......................................................................... 68

Computer Sciences and Software Engineering ..................................................................... 70

Virtual Florida Institute of Technology .................................................................................. 71

Faculty Activity Management System ..................................................................................... 73

Design of Software that Creates and Executes Petri Nets ...................................................... 75

Network Visualization Tool Kit .............................................................................................. 77

OnePlus Monitor .................................................................................................................. 78

The MAGNA Project ............................................................................................................. 80

Image Map Editor ................................................................................................................. 83

Adaptive Web Personalization Research ................................................................................ 84

Stereo Vision Library ............................................................................................................ 86

Program Assessment .............................................................................................................. 88


Why We Do Student Design Projects?

At Florida Institute of Technology, all chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, marine and environmental systems, and mechanical and aerospace engineering students are required to complete a senior project.

Student Design is intended to enhance the student’s repertoire of professional problem-solving and engineering design skills in the context of realistic engineering situations.

The Senior Design experience is the culmination of four years of engineering learning. The students work in teams to formulate the problem, propose an engineering solution or a design in the presence of technical and socioeconomic constraints, and make sound professional judgments among alternative solutions.

The experience is not just for the senior year. Underclassman gain project experience from the student organization projects, like the ASCE concrete canoe or the Rocket Club. They also are invited to work on the senior project teams.

Engineering is much more than taking theory and applying it to the real world. It’s about translating those efforts into solutions to the grand challenges facing the world. Students learn to solve issues such as project management, organizational learning and development, team communication, budget and financial matters, and safety by doing.


Engineering teaches you how to think. It is a systematic approach to problems and how to structure solutions that helps in other areas.

Most engineering students are individualists. Sharing data and ideas is often thought of as cheating. Senior Design projects round out the student and prepare them for working in industry. Senior Designs give students the opportunity to:

• Participate in team goal-setting• Develop a plan to attain goals• Develop leadership by leading their own teams• Understand team interdependencies• Develop a winning attitude• Develop an awareness of customer needs and communication

Engineers turn ideas into reality. There is no better way to teach that than hands-on design. Student projects makes engineering education “FUN.” If you want hands-on experience and the chance to do what others only think about, you will find it at Florida Tech.

Why We Do Student Design Projects?


Chemical Engineering.

Chemical engineers turn ideas discovered in laboratories into practical devices and processes that can be manufactured on a large scale. Chemical engineers apply a combination of biology, biochemistry and/or chemistry with math to solve problems in a variety of areas using the equipment needed to bring these ideas to life. Chemical engineers have helped do this by performing research and development or by design and operation of processes that:

• Manufacture pharmaceuticals, making them cheaper and safe for people to use• Work with medical doctors and biomedical engineers in projects such as the design and development of

artificial organs and other medical devices • Refine oil into petrol, keeping petrol prices low and improving petrol quality so it doesn’t pollute the air• Generate electricity in the most efficient fashion to preserve our natural resources and protect the

environment• Create renewable fuels and energy sources to replace coal, petrol and gas (such as the hydrogen fuel cell)• Produce safe drinking water from rivers, groundwater or the sea for city, rural and remote aboriginal

communities• Help the chemical industry comply with EPA regulations for the protection of the environment, like safely

treating toxic hazardous industrial wastes so their disposal does not harm the environment • Create composite materials, such as ceramic tiles protecting space shuttles at re-entry• Develop artificial intelligence systems to control processes such as the operation of chemical plants or the

space shuttle launch • Carry out processes such as plasma etching of silicon wafers used in the manufacturing of computer

microchips • Help the wine industry make premium wines for export more consistently and at lower cost• Improve mining techniques so they minimize environmental damage and cost less

Chemical engineers have the opportunity to enjoy a diverse career, and there are a range of different jobs from which to choose. You can work in a laboratory, in an office, in the outdoors or on an industrial plant, or combination of all of these in the one job. Some industries and careers that chemical engineers are involved in include:

• Biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries• Winemaking• Food production (e.g. beer, milk, cheese)• Petrochemicals (e.g. gold, rare earths, oil refining, natural gas, plastics)• Industrial chemicals (e.g. detergents and soaps, chlorine, explosives)• Mining and minerals processing (e.g. iron ore, steel manufacture, aluminum)

Chemical Engineering


• Environmental engineering (i.e. air pollution control, water and wastewater treatment, waste disposal, resource management)

• Semiconductors and microelectronics (many chemical engineers work in these areas)• Nanotechnology (an emerging scientific area utilizing very small particles for diverse applications)• Management consulting (i.e. engineering business and financial management)




Industrial Feasibility of a Low Capacity Crude Petroleum Refinery (LCCPR)

Project Team: Khalid Al-Mehairi, Joseph M. Daniel, Alejandro Osorio

Project Description: Though a great deal is known about crude oil petroleum refining, this project seeks to discover the economic feasibility of using a low capacity crude petroleum refinery (LCCPR). Recent calculations indicate that, in this ever-changing economic and political climate, it has now become more profitable to build small petroleum plants that just refine crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel and sell the rest of the crude off to the large refiners to produce the rest of the spectra of petroleum products.



Hydrogen Production Using an Algal Reactor

Project Team: Ahmed Al-Hammadi, Connor Cook, Lisa Stapleton

Project Description: The purpose of this design is to explore hydrogen production processes that use micro algae: HISTAR and Bioreactor. The goal is to develop a cost-competitive system for algal hydrogen photo production that is:

1.) Renewable (uses H2O as the substrate and light as the source of energy)2.) Stable and self-containing3.) Efficient 4.) Clean

Equipment for the HISTAR algal reactor includes: 1.) A tank for nutrient/water mixture 2.) Turbidostats to continuously culture the algae 3.) CFSTRs to increase the amount of biomass produced 4.) Either a PSA unit or cell membrane to purify the H25.) Controllers needed are transducers, transmitters and valves for flow, pressure and temperature as well as

separate monitors for the turbidostats and CFSTRs.

Equipment for the algal bioreactor includes:1.) Algae production bioreactor for production of algal biomass2.) Algal settling tank3.) A fermentation tank for dark production of H2 (~1/3)4.) Photo bioreactor for completion of H2 production5.) Either a PSA unit or cell membrane to purify the H2

The H2 production rate is estimated to be 10ml/hr/mg dry wt for an algal mass density of 1g/l for a photo bioreactor of dimensions 20m x 4cm having two sets of eight tubes. The estimated liquid volume per tube is 230L. Controllers needed are transducers, transmitters and valves for flow, pressure and temperature as well as a pH monitor to control CO2 flow.

The cost for each method of hydrogen production from algae has not yet been calculated to determine if either is a competitive source of hydrogen production.



Figure 1: HISTAR Algal Reactor Process

Figure 2: Algal Bioreactor Process


Hydrogen Production Using an Algal Reactor



Purification of Hydrogen Gas from Refinery Off-Gases

Project Team: Nathan Miller, Tanyka Sham Ku, Yunus Mwinyimvua

Project Description: For near-future expected hydrogen fuel cell applications, an impurity concentration less than 10 ppm (parts per million) is desired to prevent catalyst deactivation. The proposed design uses steam reformation of methane to produce hydrogen, then purifies the hydrogen stream via pressure swing adsorption. The desired purity is then achieved by further purifying the impure H2 stream using a palladium membrane. The target purity of the hydrogen stream is 99.9999% or “Six Nines” purity.


Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering

Civil engineers are involved in the design, construction and maintenance of bridges, tunnels, roads, railways, highways, dams, pipelines and major buildings that assist our way of life. Civil engineers are usually found in one of the following groups:

• Construction Engineer—Construction engineers design and repair the framework for all types of buildings, towers and amusement park rides. They may also be involved with projects such as developing innovative new offshore oil rigs in locations that were previously considered unstable.

• Environmental Engineer—Environmental engineers are concerned with local and worldwide environmental issues like the effects of acid rain, global warming, ozone depletion and wildlife preservation.

• Geotechnical Engineer—Geotechnical engineers try to solve problems involving the ground and groundwater and design structures in and below ground.

• Structural Engineer—Structural engineers are concerned with designing a structure that encloses or spans over a certain area.

• Transportation Engineer—Design and repair roadways, railways and bridges.• Water Resource Engineer—Water resource engineers are concerned with the structural and nonstructural

solutions to water control, utilization and management.

Top 10 Reasons to Pick Florida Tech’s Civil Engineering Department1. Access: Constant access to all faculty members and the department head.2. Design Classes Taught by Practicing Engineers: All of our professors are registered professional engineers, i.e.,

professors who teach design have performed design work.3. Emphasis on Communication Skills: Our curriculum requires additional communication courses. Good

communication skills are the top quality sought by prospective employers.4. Familiarity: All faculty members and the department head recognize each student by his/her first name.5. Hands-On Learning and Learning Outside the Classroom: There are five civil engineering laboratory courses in the

curriculum, in addition to the labs in physics and chemistry. More than one third of the entire civil engineering student body goes to regional and national student competitions.

6. Outstanding Faculty Support: The department head and other faculty members go out of their way to help students find suitable internship positions and career opportunities.

7. Preparation for the Real World: From the start, we emphasize learning communication skills, participating in internships and taking steps to become a professional engineer (such as taking and passing the Fundamentals of Engineering exam).

8. Small Class Sizes: Most upper level classes have fewer than 15 students and often fewer than 10 students.9. Strong Industry Contacts: We have 20 companies on the Civil Engineering Advisory Board and nearly 25 on the

Construction Industry Advisory Board. 10. Great Results: Nearly 75 percent of our graduates received a job offer or admission into graduate school before

graduation. More than 80 percent complete an internship prior to graduation.


Civil Engineering

Your Kidding, a Concrete Canoe Competition?

By Paul J. Cosentino, Ph.D., P.E. Professor Department of Civil Engineering,Florida Institute of Technology

Whenever the topic of a Concrete Canoe is mentioned, people sure get a funny look on their faces. I have been involved with this student competition for nearly two decades, and I promise it is for real. You ask how can concrete float? Well many materials heavier than water float when properly designed to displace their weight. There are steel ships everywhere; in fact during World War II, concrete boats were built for battle. So the basic idea of making concrete into the shape of a canoe is not really unheard of. However, these canoes float full of water or when swamped, so that they would not sink during the highly competitive series of races.

This competition was developed to allow college engineering students to work with one of the most common construction materials in the world while having fun. Each year they are asked to construct a canoe that meets very stringent specifications developed by a committee of experts from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). They must write a report describing the design, construction and costs associated with the project, then they are asked to do a 5-minute presentation about the work. After these two tasks are completed the group must display their product to the judges, swamp it to prove it floats and compete in a series of five races. The races are exciting with the students gaining paddling experience from various sources. Here at the Florida Institute of Technology, we were very fortunate to meet a world-renowned paddler by the name of Dennis Beek. Mr. Beek has been heavily involved in flat-water racing for more than 20 years. He was invited to the United States Olympic Qualifying races in the 1980s and helps competitive canoe and kayak paddlers worldwide.

With Beek’s help, the passion of our engineering students and support from our alumni and friends we have produced five teams that have qualified for the National Concrete Canoe Competitions, including one National Champion (1997) along with third, fourth and sixth place finishers in 2000, 1998 and 1999. Each year our students work countless hours perfecting the canoe. The finishes of the most competitive hulls looks like a tabletop and our last two canoes had a polished glass finish in a blue and aqua concrete.

In addition to the national recognition, one of our personal highlights was a congratulatory letter from the CEO of the Olin Foundation, Mr. Larry Milas. As this foundation was preparing to present our school with their largest gift ever, $50,000,000, Mr. Milas sent a letter that stated, “Their kind of success was the reason we chose to support Florida Tech with our $50 million commitment. Being a “giant killer” like Florida Tech is, breeds competition and is healthy for higher education.”


Civil Engineering

Steel Bridge Competition

Project Team: Richard Pruss

Project Description: The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) sponsor the AISC/ASCE National Steel Bridge competition. Civil engineering students from more than 200 universities compete at a regional level, and the top two or three teams are then invited to participate at the national competition.

The purpose of the competition is to design, fabricate and assemble a 1:10 scale model of a bridge to meet certain specifications set forth in the rules. Each year the rules are modified so that a new bridge design is necessary to complete the design task. Students are challenged both mentally and physically. The students must develop a structurally efficient design based on weight, ease of construction, strength and aesthetics. Also, the students must physically be able to assemble the bridge as quickly as possible. Through the entire process of design, fabrication and assembly, students learn to use the engineering knowledge they gained in the classroom for a practical purpose, which adds to their educational experience. The assembled bridges are tested under both vertical and horizontal loading conditions. Points are awarded for speed of construction, aesthetics and performance under the various loadings.

Concrete Canoe


Civil Engineering

Steel Bridge Competition


Civil Engineering

Hunter’s Grove Subdivision

Project Team: Hector Fung, Kenneth Rau, Erica Buffington, Andrew Petersen

Project Description: The client, Hunters Grove LLP, has contracted KAEH Student Engineers to develop a site plan and a central building design (hurricane structure) for a subject property located in Palm Bay, Fla. The subdivision will be named after the client, Hunters Grove Subdivision.

Tasks Required: • Roadway dimensioning• Utility placement• Pavement design• Prediction modeling• Striping and signage• Curbing and sidewalk• Water distribution system• Wastewater collection system• Lift station design• Hardy-cross analysis• Structural design• Foundation design


Expected Outcome: Once the project is finished, it should include a subdivision layout with a central building design and details on potable water distribution, a lift station, sewer lines and transportation design. Based on our levels of education, all sections will be designed to code and will be checked by professional engineers.

Project Drawing:

Civil Engineering

Hunter’s Grove Subdivision


Civil Engineering

Viera High School Design

Project Team: Michael Cooper, Scot Gutterson, Adam Cymbaluk, Erin Scott

Project Description: Design all civil site infrastructure for a new high school for the City of Viera to include site layout, utilities, hydrology, transportation and landscaping

Tasks Required: • Determine potential waste production and potable water consumption• Find existing sources to connect future gravity sewer and water main• Map the locations and determine the capacities of nearby lift stations• Place sewer pipe and water main efficiently within the site plan• Basin delineation, area tabs and flow paths• Times of concentration per TR-55 Method• Curve numbers per SCS Method• Design hyetographs per SCS Method• Rainfall abstractions per SCS Method• Design hydrographs per SBUH Method• Detect and address clearance conflicts• Provide all agencies with proposed plans and permits• Parking will provide for staff and students according to code requirements• Standard road course for driver’s education will be constructed on site • Roadway traffic will allow for safe movement of all bus transportation

Expected Outcome: Complete civil design drawings for proposed Viera High School


Project Drawings/Sketch:

Viera High School Design


Design of Pedestrian Bridge Connecting the SUB and Residence Hall Quad on the Florida Tech Main Campus

Project Team: Katie Basom, Jenna Landis, Joe Logan, Richard Pruss

Project Description: The purpose of this project is to design a new bridge to replace the existing timber bridge connecting the SUB Plaza and the Residence Hall Quad. The existing timber bridge is in poor condition—many of the wooden members are loose; nails are protruding outward; and many pieces of wood are rotting. The design team will present two alternate project designs for the bridge, one a steel truss bridge and the other a beam-column bridge with an adjacent sitting area. Following a topographic and geotechnical analysis of the existing bridge area, the two bridge designs will be developed and tested using STAAD Pro, complimented with hand calculations. A cost estimate will be made for each bridge and the final product will be presented as a capital project submittal to the president of Florida Tech for his review.

Tasks Required: • Topography maps and analysis• Geotechnical analysis• Foundation design• Truss bridge design• Beam-column bridge design• Preliminary and final cost estimation

Expected Outcome: Following the completion of this project, the design team would like to see Florida Tech consider including one of the designs submitted in the future expansion/improvement plan for the campus. It would be an excellent demonstration of student work on campus.

Civil Engineering


Figure 1: Profile View of Proposed Steel Truss Bridge Design

Figure 2: Plan View of Proposed Beam-Column Bridge Design


Design of Pedestrian Bridge Connecting the SUB and Residence Hall Quad on the Florida Tech Main Campus


Civil Engineering

Snowbird Haven Subdivision

Project Team: Jocelyn Boose, Maryelen Samitas

Project Description: The client, Mr. John Smith, approached Boose and Samitas Engineers (BS Engineers, Inc.) concerning the potential development of a ±9.475-acre subdivision within the City of Melbourne, Brevard County, Fla. The current zoning and future land use for the subject parcel was researched and identified as R2 (Residential). The land would ideally be developed for a subdivision of 50 duplex homes. The subdivision would be known as Snowbird Haven and should be completed within one phase. The site is located in Melbourne, Fla. on Dairy Road south of 192. The site is bound to the west by Dairy Road and by other property on all other sides. Land use within the surrounding area is primarily single-family housing.

Tasks Required: • Due diligence• Environmental assessment provided through sub-consultant• Geotechnical report provided through sub-consultant• Boundary and topographic surveys provided through sub-consultant• Preliminary site plan/preliminary plat• Final engineering design• Paving and grading design• Storm water drainage and retention design• Sanitary sewer system design• Potable water system design

Expected Outcome: BS Engineers, Inc. plans to provide our client with St. Johns River Water Management District Permit, FDEP Permits for utilities and pollution prevention, and set of final design construction drawings approved for building by the City of Melbourne by Summer 2006.


Figure 1: This is the February 2005 aerial view of the site of the proposed development.

Civil Engineering

Snowbird Haven Subdivision


Electrical and Computer Engineering

Electrical engineers apply basic concepts of physics to solve problems related to the development, design and operation of electrical hardware and software.

Electrical engineers:• Design large electric generator systems (e.g. connections with dams or power plants)• Devise and build new consumer electronics (e.g. state-of-the-art cellular phones or palm pilots)• Develop new computer processors• Plan, troubleshoot and upgrade electronics equipment used in everything from medical instruments to

space vehicles• Work in robotics (e.g. artificial intelligence)• Create fully automated manufacturing systems• Deal with lighting, lasers and radar devices• Participate in the sale of electrical and electronic equipment

Computer engineers are involved in the design, implementation and testing of modern computer processors (such as the Pentium and PowerPC) and the software that runs on these. Computer engineers are also involved in the design and use of artificial intelligence and digital design in engineering.

Computer engineers:• Research, design and test computers, communication systems and related equipment• Develop and integrate computer and telecommunications systems for engineering or industrial

companies• Develop better automotive subsystems (e.g. traction/climate control, antilock braking system)• Supervise drafters, technicians and technologists in the trade




Free Space Optical Link

Project Team: Vivek George, Nirmit Gang, Abdullah Algamdi, Matieb Alenize

Project Description: The purpose of this project is to create a wire-free link between two computers and transfer data back and forth. For this we are using two lasers, each connected to one computer, for the optical transmission signal. Free space optical (FSO) doesn’t need any license, can be deployed vary quickly and easily, and is much cheaper than laying a new fiber over short distances. In order for the digital signal to be transmitted and received, there must be clear line of site between each wireless optics unit. In other words, there should be no obstructions such as trees or buildings between the transceiver units.

Expected Outcome: Upon the completion of this project, we would like to establish a LAN-to-LAN connection between the two computers. Also, transfer large data files over the established network and reach speeds up to 1.5 Mpbs.


Figure 2: Circuit Design of the Laser Transceiver Used

Figure 1: General Idea of the Proposed Link

Project Schematics:


Free Space Optical Link



FOPS Emergency Occupancy Counter

Project Team: Mike Succio, Lori Shields, Chien Nan Ou, Jeffrey Laub, Nikolay Grigorov, Devin Hopkins, Gayrajan Kohli

Project Description: The purpose of the Emergency Occupancy Counter is to be able to detect when a person has entered or left a building. This will be useful in case of an emergency, knowing exactly how many people are in a building at a given time. Our goal is to make this system accurate and sensitive enough to detect people of all weights, including small children.

The system will consist of a power supply that will feed the source circuits, the detector circuits, the microcontroller and the LCD display. There will be two sets of source and detector circuits in all. The light source will travel through the optical fiber to the mat. Inside the mat, there will be a microbend sensor that will deform the fiber when pressure is applied to the mat. When the fiber is deformed, there will be less light reaching the detector circuit. The detector circuit will then feed a signal to the microcontroller. The software in the microcontroller will be able to tell what direction a person is going by which mat is pressed first therefore keeping track of how many people have entered or exited the building. This number will then be displayed on a Hitachi LCD display.

First we are going to check to see if one of the mats was pressed. Once we find which mat was pressed, we then check to see if the other mat was pressed. If so, the microcontroller will either decrement or increment the counter. This is when the software will send the number in the counter to be displayed on the LCD. If the second mat was never pressed, then the software will go back to the beginning of the program.

Having such a system will aid is search and rescue efforts. By placing this system in every doorway in a building as well as elevators, stairwells and other emergency exits, a count can be obtained as to how many people are in what rooms in the building. This all can be monitored in a central location and can be sent to emergency personnel when an emergency occurs.



Automated Greenhouse

Project Description:AMG, the Automated Greenhouse, project consists of an enclosed system which enables a user to grow plants that are difficult to grow in the climate they live in. It uses a microcontroller and sensors to constantly monitor watering, humidity, nutrients, soil moisture, light and most importantly temperature. It minimizes human interaction thus making it a self-sustaining system and reducing human error. The objective is to make a system that’s portable, cost effective and durable that can be implemented in a larger scale.



BlueKey

Mission Statement:In an ever maturing technology market, new technologies are being developed everyday to be more intelligent and adaptable. Using technologies such as sophisticated integrated circuits and wireless communications, futuristic technology such as recognition systems are now available present day. The BlueKey project looks to build on this concept and produce a recognition system that cannot only authenticate a user but react accordingly.

Project Goals:• Develop a Bluetooth based product to create a versatile RFID system• Use a secure embedded system to ensure identity protection• Support the system with a robust software suite

Product Concept:The BlueKey team is working on creating a small handheld device that acts as a wireless personal identifier. The general idea is to create a device (BlueKey module) that can trigger an automated system when in close proximity to a base system. By utilizing Bluetooth technology, the BlueKey module can be both small and work in a small localized area. Bluetooth technology also presents the possibility that the BlueKey module could be utilized in conjunction with a variety of devices. The BlueKey module will also be software driven allowing the device to have many possible practical applications. As proof of concept, the BlueKey module will be utilized to trigger a computer to automatically launch user-selected applications specified within a profile stored on the computer.



BlueKey



Green Light

Project Team: James Cannon, Mike Waldorf, Joseph Buscetta

Project Description:This system will provide a portable, inexpensive traffic signal for temporary or emergency use. The device would be small in size and relatively inexpensive allowing for rapid deployment at low cost to the user. This system is designed to be configured with minimum training (low learning curve). The device provides its own energy (battery) and should have a relatively long useful life. The device will consist of a battery box, telescoping mast and light housing. The light module itself will use LED-based light sources to provide illumination. The system will be driven by a microcontroller with software program and toggle switches for selecting light patterns. For weatherproofing, the battery box will be sealed as well as use internal wiring.

Key Notes:• Able to handle a basic 4-way intersection• Operate for a minimum of 24 hours on a single charge• Easily set up by an individual with minimal or no training• Simple components that are not sensitive to moderate physical impacts• Modular design allows for the easy replacement of broken components• Easy to swap batteries and lights



Green Light



Intergrated Ideas:Retirement Calculator

Project Team: Jonathan Bredemeyer, Bryan Jenks, Joseph Pearce

Calculator Project Description: Click, click, click … retire. Ok, so in reality the calculator comes in two forms, neither of which makes a clicking sound. The retirement calculator is a project to build software and eventually a hardware version of a retirement calculator based on a client’s specifications. This calculator will assist a person of any age in determining how much they need to save to retire, how much they can spend once retired and other vital information related to retirement. The calculator comes in three forms, Windows Desktop, PocketPC and hardware format.

Tasks Required: • Calculating software• GUI for Windows• GUI for PocketPC• PCB• Case and keypad• Embedded software

Expected Outcome: At the time of the senior design fair, the retirement calculator will be available in two forms, Windows Desktop and PocketPC format, for visitors to interact with. A few months after graduation, the calculator will be fully ported to a handheld version.




Intergrated Ideas:Retirement Calculator


Intergrated Ideas:Electrical Support for Modju-Bot

Project Team: Bryan Jenks, Jason Schuler

Modju-Bot Project Description: Integrated Ideas is a student founded engineering firm that handles custom software and hardware contracts. As an official sponsor of the Modju-Bot project, Integrated Ideas is handling the development of the control system from motor controllers to the embedded operating system.

Tasks Required: • Motor speed controller design• Protocol for motor control • Assembly of embedded computer system• Design of power management system• Programming of robot control system

Expected Outcome:The Modju-Bot control system is designed to drive any combination of high-power motors and sensors the robot may need. The on-board computer will provide plenty of processing power to stream video over the robot’s wireless connection. The robot will feature a multi-layer control model that will facilitate very simple programming for high-level operations.



Figure 2: Robot Software Breakdown

Figure 1: Motor Control PCB Design


Project Drawings:

Intergrated Ideas:Electrical Support for Modju-Bot



Drive-Thru

Project Team: Gondji Bello, Mohammed Al-bukhdaim, Frederic Carpentier

Project Description:The drive-thru project concentrates on a barcode reading system to verify that the correct items have been picked or that the ID tag corresponds to the person. It’s an easy and fast identifying system which will require the subject to wear a wrist band with their school’s ID barcode. The scanner will be wireless and will transmit the information to a PocketPC or a terminal. The database will then be analyzed by our interfacing and look up the query through a program. Our identification system can be applied in various applications such as a football game, office check-in, drive-thru supermarket, etc.


Serialio Scanner which we will interface with PocketPC


Drive-Thru


Crack’d Case

Project Team: Bryan Stoddart

Project Description:The Crack’d Case team’s project is developing a software system to assist law enforcement investigators with their casework. This software package has two main parts analysis and case management.

The analysis portion of this product will allow investigators to do some of their own analysis. This could help decrease the time needed to solve a case, since the investigators will not need to wait for an analyst for many of the most commonly used reports; it will also free up analysts for other tasks.

The case management portion allows investigators to monitor the progress of their cases by tracking numerous aspects of the case. These aspects include the status of assigned tasks, budgeting and expenses, witness availability, evidence movement tracking and other things.




Crack’d Case


Marine and Environmental Systems

Marine and environmental systems covers a broad spectrum of disciplines. It offers an opportunity to participate in nationally ranked programs and do work in research, marine vessels and facilities; lake, river and ocean ecosystems; and the earth’s atmosphere.

Ocean Engineering Ocean engineering specializes in the application of engineering principles to address the special problems of working in the ocean and on the ocean floor.

• Construct and design ports, harbors and marine facilities • Construct structures to prevent coastal erosion and pollution transportation• Design ships, boats and underwater marine vehicles• Offshore exploration and surveying

Oceanography Oceanography is the study of the ocean environment in the areas of biology, geology, physics and meteorology.

• Investigate environmental problems in coastal and ocean areas• Use remote sensing to understand ocean currents• Model the effects of waves, currents and tides on coastal structures

Marine Environmental Studies This specializes in the study of marine resources and their control and preservation.

• Perform studies on the effects of man on streams, estuaries and other water bodies• Provide environmental planning to protect marine resources• Study and preserve wetlands and coastal waters

Meteorology Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere and its phenomena, especially weather and weather forecasting.

• Provide weather forecasting for rocket launches• Research the prevention, investigation and prediction of natural disasters• Weather broadcasters for radio and television

Environmental Science Environmental science specializes in the study of methods of control and preservation of environmental resources and the enhancement of the quality of life.

• Study natural systems and the impact of man on them• Study the greenhouse effect and acid rain• Determine the impact of atmospheric and radiation pollution



Ocean Engineering

Ocean engineering is a multidisciplinary field of technology applied to the ocean environment. It is a combination of the classical engineering disciplines such as civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, with naval architecture and applied ocean sciences.

Where Will You Use Ocean Engineering?Opportunities exist for ocean engineers in the private, educational, corporate and governmental sectors. Some career areas to consider are:

• Offshore Oil Recovery• Marine Metals and Corrosion• Environmental Protection• Global Climate Monitoring• Renewable Energy• Underwater Vehicles• Remote Sensing• Marine Transportation• Naval Architecture and Defense

Why Ocean Engineering at Florida Tech?We don’t just create engineers here; we prepare our students for real-world problems by providing real-world, interdisciplinary understanding and experience. The ocean engineering curriculum places emphasis on the solution of engineering problems through the application of advanced knowledge that spans various disciplines.

Our program is based in five areas of concentration: • Coastal Engineering• Hydrographic Engineering• Marine Vehicles (Naval Architecture)• Marine Materials and Corrosion• Underwater Technology

The ocean engineering faculty works closely with the faculties of oceanography and environmental science within the department, and with other programs throughout the university. This enables ocean engineering students to undertake interdisciplinary research in the environmental and oceanographic areas, and also in fundamental aspects of ocean engineering.




ROSS—Remotely Operated Surf-Zone Surveyor

Project Team: Adam Outlaw, Jenna Vogt, Walker Dawson

Project Description:The Remotely Operated Surf-Zone Surveyor (ROSS) will revolutionize the way beach profiles are performed. The conventional method of using stadia rods and surveying equipment to perform beach profiles is very time consuming and inaccurate. ROSS will not only allow for multiple profiles in one day, it will also produce surface elevation data instead of the conventional two-dimensional cross section. The vessel consists of the Laipac UV40 DGPS receiver, a Motorguide 44lb thrust trolling motor and a Hitec Laser 4 RC transmitter and receiver. There are limitations however, involving ROSS.

Constraints of ROSS mainly involve limitations of the vessel’s stability and the instrumentation. The size and stability of the vessel limit the size of the waves in which ROSS can be deployed. The accuracy of the sonar can also be compromised by the amount of air bubbles present in the water.

Although the initial project scope was not completed, the vessel is now remotely operated with GPS positioning capabilities. Testing of both the maneuverability of the vessel and the DGPS unit were completed. The functionality of these two components was confirmed.

ROSS is now ready to be equipped with more instrumentation to fulfill its initial purpose. Some needed modification would allow ROSS to meet the needs of the original project scope. Modifications to the hull, the sonar and the configuration of the instrumentation would make ROSS a much more efficient piece of research equipment.


Figure 1: Preparation of ROSS for Deployment

Figure 2: ROSS CAD Drawing

ROSS—Remotely Operated Surf-Zone Surveyor



PHISH—Perfected High-Speed Internal-Combustion Solar Hybrid

Project Team: Adam Lucey, Mark Stroik, Zak Chester, Enrique Acuna

Project Description: Team PHISH, an acronym for Perfected High-Speed Internal-Combustion Solar Hybrid, was created to determine if a hybrid propulsion system was feasible in the marine industry. The proposed task was to create a boat that has multiple power sources. PHISH utilizes a combination of electric-solar and gasoline engines. This combination was chosen due to its simplicity, following a similar trend in the automotive industry. Several other hybrid systems are also available such as hydrogen-electric propulsion.

The completed project was successful and the objectives were achieved. The boat reached a top speed of 5 knots. All systems worked properly; however, the top sprocket was misaligned and caused the chain to vibrate off at high speed.

Future recommendations and changes should include the trial of a serpentine belt system and tensioner, which should eliminate the vibration. Further testing should be done to determine if it is feasible to draw a current from the electric motor to charge the battery instead of the solar panel, since when the gas motor is engaged, the electric motor is still spinning. It may be possible to use the electric motor as a generator as well.



PHISH—Perfected High-Speed Internal-Combustion Solar Hybrid

Hull Design

Initial Drawing



Hy-Prop Jet Boat

Project Team: Michael Card, Chris Cawood, Steve Martyr, John Whitehead

Project Description: The Hy-Prop boat is a dual fuel source, hybrid electric, water jet propelled watercraft. It is designed to investigate the future feasibility of alternate fuel integration and hybrid technology on a water-based platform. The team, using an existing 1/8th scale hull, designed and outfitted it with all the necessary components to create a self-contained watercraft. Through testing and observation, the craft exceeded previously set expectations and proved its commercial viability as a hybrid vehicle if scaled to a full-size application. Currently, the boat is calibrated to run on propane and will accept hydrogen as a fuel source.

The most frequent engineering hurdle involved with making a hydrogen-powered craft revolves around the storage of the hydrogen itself. The problem of hydrogen storage could be solved in two ways. One was to use a metal hydride storage unit, such as the PAssively-Cooled Electrically heated (PACE) unit. This uses lithium hydride powder and heat to store the hydrogen gas at up to 200 times volume. This hydrogen could be extracted by careful heating of the unit, allowing for variable production at low pressures. Two of these units were designed and built by us using the department of chemical engineering materials. All parts for the PACE units were constructed from stainless steel. The individual pieces were brazed together using a silver solder compound. This provided structurally stable joining for the parts and ensured that the hydrogen did not leak out of the welds and that the individual components would not melt.



Hy-Prop Jet Boat


Rudder Controls



Autonomous Mobile Buoy

Project Team: Zachary Pfeiffer, Michelle Rees, Safia Tappan, Derek Tepley

Project Description:The goal of this proposal is the development and testing of an autonomous mobile buoy (AMB) prototype to monitor coastal and lagoon areas, and collect data on ecosystems, processes and changes. The end product of the project will be a fully automated, autonomous cost efficient modular system on which various water-based measurement instruments can be mounted, for example: turbidity, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, radioactivity, hydrocarbons, chlorophyll, algae and phytoplankton sensors, in addition to an array of meteorological instruments.

The project objectives include the development of an automated buoy with advanced control algorithms that will allow the vehicle to perform autonomous pre-programmed surveys and sampling. The AMB will provide a platform for continued research at Florida Tech’s Underwater Technology Laboratory where autonomous devices are being developed that can reside and navigate in estuaries and oceans, explore, collect data and search for specific biological, chemical or physical attributes observed in the ocean environment.

Possible uses of the system encompass a wide variety of underwater and surface monitoring. These include, but are in no way limited to, biological and chemical surveys, harmful algal blooms (HAB), environmental assessments, wastewater management, documenting the distribution of harmful invading species, weather hazards or long-term investigations in geomorphology, flora and fauna.


Autonomous Mobile Buoy


Buoy

Hull Design


Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering


Mechanical and aerospace engineers can work in a variety of industries including: automotive, biomedical, ventilation, manufacturing, commercial aircraft, telecommunications rockets, the space shuttle and the next generation of space craft going to Mars.

Mechanical Engineers Mechanical engineers maintain and improve all kinds of mechanical devices used for satisfying the needs of society.

This diverse field can be divided into a variety of job functions including:

• Designing and building machines that improve operating efficiency • Using computer models to design and test a product before production• Solving transportation problems by creating better and more efficient engines and drive trains• Developing biomedical products that will withstand stress and yet be compatible with the human body • Planning heat utilization techniques for boilers, air conditioners and refrigeration units • Overseeing operations of large systems, such as a power plant, as well as supervising the people who

work there • Using a technical background to determine the need for a new or modified product, product availability,

market size, cost structure, profitability, specifications and distribution channels

Aerospace EngineersAerospace engineers are involved in the design, manufacture, control and operation of high-speed transportation vehicles, such as air/spacecraft, missiles, lunar vehicles and space stations.

As an aerospace engineer, you might be:

• Using computers to design and model a new kind of jet engine or calculate the lift of a new wing design• Developing new navigation or guidance systems for commercial or military aircraft, missiles and

spacecraft• Designing blades for advanced windmills used to harness the wind’s power and generate electricity• Investigating airplane crashes—recovery and examination of debris, interpretation of “black box”

information and determination of cause• Building and testing materials, machines or structures to be used on the International Space Station or

lunar colony• Developing spacecraft or exploring space as an astronaut • Designing and sending rockets into space • Helping to save our environment by developing cleaner energy and transportation systems• Evaluating range requirements for Air Force air-to-air weapons systems



FSAE Formula Car/Mechanical

Project Description:The Formula SAE design project requires student teams to conceive, design, fabricate and compete with small formula-style racing cars. A very stringent set of rules is given for the design and competition in order to challenge the knowledge, creativity, imagination and skills of the participants. Each team has one year to complete the project, after which the car is taken to the Annual Competition for judging and competition against cars from about 140 other national and international schools. The goal of such design projects is to provide young engineers with working experience to successfully undertake future engineering design projects.As stated in the Formula SAE rulebook, the car must have “very high performance in terms of its acceleration, braking and handling qualities.” The car is to be a prototype for a vehicle that would be sold to nonprofessional weekend autocross racers and must be easy to maintain, reliable and be relatively low in cost (under $25,000). Each car is compared and judged to determine the best overall vehicle.

Team Members:Burt MorseManoj SrivastavaChirag DudhatJustin VersluisRob LutherGeorge McNulty Jeff FrenchEli BaumgardnerNick PaduanoKam Fai TamJuan ValdezJoseph FarleyChien Chang HuangFu Sheng Hung Ramiro RodriguezChih Ti ShihJuan Jimenez

Frame and Engine


FSAE Formula Car/Electrical

Project Team: Joseph Farley Team Leader/Report Compiler Chien Cheng Circuitry Fu-sheng Hung Circuitry Shih Chih-ti Web site Designer/Programming Frank Racioppi System Engineer Ramiro Rodriguez Circuitry Juan Jimenez Circuitry Kenneth Cottle Circuitry

Project Description:This project is an integration project in which a fuel management kit (MegaSquirt) is assembled and mounted onto a motorcycle engine. This project is being built to provide the necessary engine control for the FSAE Formula Car. The fuel management system is made up of two main components. The first component of the project is the fuel injection system, where data is taken from sensors in the engine compartment and used to calculate the required amount of fuel to send to the cylinders. The second component is the ignitions section, which uses information about the rpm and load of the engine to fire the engine sparks appropriately.

Credit: www.Megasquirt.info

Figure 1: Block Diagram of

Hardware Setup



SAE Mini Baja

Project Team: Mike Wisnom, Addam Hogan, Jillian Maynard, Erika Howard, Aaron Durfee, Olusatosin Kolade, Chris Deighan

Project Description: Mini Baja is comprised of three regional competitions that expose students to real-world engineering design processes. The students are to design and build an off-road vehicle that can withstand rugged outdoor terrain. The object of the competition is to provide SAE student members with a challenging project that involves the planning and manufacturing tasks found when introducing a new product to the consumer industrial market. Teams compete against one another to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm. Students must function as a team to design, build, test, promote and race a vehicle within the limits of the rules, but also to generate financial support for their project and manage their educational priorities.

Our main goal for the competition is to create the top performing Mini Baja at the competition. We plan to achieve this by creating a simple yet unique design that is competitive on an all-terrain environment. Secondly, we hope to gain a better understanding of the engineering design process and increase skill sets specifically in the field of mechanical engineering. Also, it is our goal to represent our sponsors in a professional and respectable manner.

The cars are judged on a series of static and dynamic categories including: safety inspection, cost presentation, design presentation, speed/acceleration, power, suspension/maneuverability, and most importantly durability.



Figure 1: Conceptual Design for Mini Baja


SAE Mini Baja



Modju-Bot – Extensible Robotic Platform

Project Team: Christine St. Germain, Jason Schuler, Duc Pham, Caleb Slavens, Jamie Toon, Dave Wickers, Oliver Zimmerman, AJ Nick

Project Description: Team Modju-Bot currently includes dedicated ME (Mechanical Engineering) and ECE (Electrical and Computer Engineering) students. Many of these students already have experience with robots having competed in the FIRST Robotics competition in high school and also constructing a robot as a freshman class project. This team has a very diverse background, comprised of students from all over the country as well as international students. The goal of this team is to create a robot that is versatile and easily adaptable. Everyone on the team is involved in all aspects of the process, from design and fabrication to fund-raising and documentation. This real-world experience will give these students the chance to be prepared when they are faced with design challenges in the future.

The design objective for Modju-Bot is to create a robot that can accomplish various tasks through specialized components. These components will be designed as interchangeable modules. This design would allow the robot to be easily customized if a certain industry or person were to purchase it for a specified use, or set of specified uses. The main body of the robot is meant to be versatile enough so that only the attachments would have to be changed to accomplish different tasks.

To meet the team’s design objectives, the design will need to include the following:

• Modular Design• Climb Stairs• Removable Storage• Impact Resistant• Folding/Telescoping Arm• Load Sensors• Remote (Wireless) Control• Universal Attachment Interface• Water Resistant• Illumination/Running Mode• Tight Turning Radius• Battery Status• Motor Current Monitoring

• Position Feedback• Rotation Detection• Self-Righting• Handle Rough or Changing Terrain• Enclosed System/Heat Resistant• Runs on Top or Bottom• Power Saving/Using• Separate Controller Power• E-Stop (Manual/Wireless)• Program/Debug Tethered E-Stop• GPS Tracking

Web site: www.modjubot.com


Modju-Bot – Extensible Robotic Platform




Aerial Unmanned Reconnaissance and Operations Research Aircraft (AURORA)/Mechanical

Team Members: Justin Oliviera (Team Leader), Tania Gay, Julie Wikete, Kyle Flynn, Adam Linsenbardt, Dustin Clauser, Sadiq Bashir, Louis Nucci, Megan Kramer, Todd Rausch, Amit Patel, Art Rozenbaum, Omari Sarjeant, Chris Jojola

Project Description:The AURORA Team will design and build the first completely successful UAV at Florida Tech. The primary objective of the team is to design, build, and fly a completely autonomous aircraft in the 4th annual AUVSI Student UAV competition held in St. Inigoes, Maryland. Florida Tech will compete against other undergraduate student teams from other universities around the country. The aircraft must navigate a predetermined course, search and recognize targets, and return to “base” where the images of the targets can be processed autonomously. The team has designed and built the airframe of the aircraft completely on its own instead of using an off-the-shelf airframe. In addition, the plane must be capable of flying autonomously from takeoff to landing. In order to create an effective design for the aircraft and its systems, the AURORA Team is divided into 5 sub-teams: Structures, Propulsion, Aerodynamics, Stability and Control, and Electronics. The mechanical and aerospace teams are:

• The Structures Team is responsible for designing the airframe of the aircraft based on the aerodynamic design of the plane. They are also responsible for all mounting points for the subsystems of the plane.

• The Propulsion Team is responsible for designing the plane’s power plant. We have decided to use a nitro-fueled engine with a ducted fan unit to power the plane. The size of the engine and ducted fan required, the amount of fuel, and the fuel system are currently under design research and development.

• The Aerodynamics Team will design the aerodynamic surfaces of the aircraft. The wing, fuselage, and tail sections are all in the design process so that computer analysis and construction can begin.


Figure 2: Wing Design


Aerial Unmanned Reconnaissance and Operations Research Aircraft (AURORA)/Mechanical

• The Stability and Control Team is responsible for making sure the aircraft remains stable during steady level flight and maneuvers. They will design the control surfaces to meet the desired maneuverability requirements.

Figure 1: Intended Fuselage


Aerial Unmanned Reconnaissance and Operations Research Aircraft (AURORA)/Electrical

Team Members: Mark Campbell, Chris Cease, Robyn Evans, Rakesh Gupta, David Kincaid, Tim Pelletier, Saranya Raghavan, Lori Schwartz (Team Leader)

Project Description: AURORA, Aerial Unmanned Reconnaissance Operations and Research Aircraft, is a Senior Design Project at the Florida Institute of Technology, College of Engineering, in Melbourne, Florida. The AURORA Team’s members represent a multi-disciplinary group of dedicated students ready to utilize the lessons taught in the classroom to design an unmanned aerial vehicle. The team will apply theory, think creatively, and develop practical skills such as teamwork, professionalism, and leadership as part of the Senior Design Program experience. The overall goal of the AURORA Team is to compete in the Seafarer’s Competition held in St. Inigoes, Maryland.

The current drive in the field of reconnaissance has been toward unmanned, remote controlled aircraft with great functionality and that can provide effective reconnaissance for military applications without risking the lives of our nation’s pilots. Operators are able to pilot the aircraft remotely from thousands of miles away. However, a more effective method involves autonomous aircraft, that is, aircraft that can navigate a predetermined course, recognize their surroundings, and perform a specific task without any input from an operator. These autonomous vehicles improve the safety and lessen the cost of such reconnaissance operations.

• The Electronics Team (ECE) is responsible for developing the electronic systems to control the plane and to perform the aircraft’s mission. The payload will consist of an autonomous control unit, imaging and data storage equipment; ground-to-air communications equipment will be kept at a minimum. Ideally, air-to-ground communications and data transmission will also be possible. The completion of the Electronics Team’s tasks is paramount to the success of this project.



Figure 2: Aircraft Model

Figure 1: Electronics System Block Diagram

Aerial Unmanned Reconnaissance and Operations Research Aircraft (AURORA)/Electrical




Shock Tube

Project Team: Joe Atkinson, Kyle Craig, Damian Harasiuk, Lasida Klinsuko, Crisen McKenzie

Project Description: A shock tube is essentially a steel tube separated into four basic components, each performing a different function in order to generate a high pressure, high temperature flow. These components are:

• A driver section, which is filled with a high pressure gas mixture (He & Ar)• A driven section, which is filled with the test gas (usually air)• A diaphragm section, which is used to trigger the test• A test section, which is used to gather data

A shock tube works by pressurizing the driver section with a mixture of helium and argon, and evacuating the driven section of air to about 0.1 atmospheres. These specific gasses are used so that the testing time (usually 3 to 30 milliseconds) can be maximized. Diaphragms, which have been designed to burst at a specific pressure, maintain the pressure in each section until the desired driver pressure is reached.

Once the driver reaches the desired pressure, the diaphragms burst and a shock wave is created. This shock wave travels down the tube heating up and pressurizing the remaining air in the driven section to very high pressures and temperatures. When the shock wave reaches the end of the driven section, it reflects off a secondary diaphragm and travels back through the driven section, further heating up and pressurizing the air. This high enthalpy (high temperature, high pressure) air is what is used for testing. The test gas behind the reflected shock wave then bursts a secondary diaphragm and enters a test section.

A supersonic/hypersonic test section works by passing this high enthalpy air through several processes in order to generate the desired testing conditions. The first process that the air goes through is a process of laminarization (flow straightening). This means that the air flows through a device called a flow straightener, which takes out any turbulence in the airflow. This laminar air then goes through a process of acceleration to supersonic speed.

The air flows through a device called a CD nozzle. This device squashes the flow and forces it to speed up to the speed of sound. The flow is then further accelerated by allowing it to expand against the walls of the device. The amount of expansion that the flow is allowed to undergo determines the Mach number (ratio of the air’s speed to the speed of sound) that the air reaches. This air is then sent through an area of constant cross section, where testing can take place.


Figure 2: Typical Supersonic Test Section

Figure 1: Schematic of System

Shock Tube



Spin Stabilized Surveyor

Project Team: Mishaal Ashemimry, Jacquelyne Frederick, Ruth Galaviz

Project Description: S3 is experimenting with spin stability using model rockets. The team will be using a model Aerotech Cheetah rocket to study spin stability in two ways: using a vane skirt attached to the end-closure of the motor and a spinning launch pad. A Cheetah rocket has already been purchased and received by the team and a vane skirt has been attached to the motor. The spinning launch pad is still under construction and looks promising.

In order to measure the spin, a photocell will be mounted on the rocket and connected to a digital power recorder (DPR) that will measure the volts every time the photocell is hit by the sun’s rays. The solar cell will be recording some voltage due to the heat; however, when exposed to direct sun light, the voltage will be at a peak. It is these peaks on the graphs that will be analyzed from the receiver to determine a complete revolution. In order to test the vane skirt on the motor, the photocell receiver must first be designed. S3 is still in the process of creating a prototype for the photocell receiver.

Web site: www.fit.edu/projects/S3/index.htm



Figure 2: Spin Stabilizing Launch

Platform Rails

Figure 1: Overall Rocket

Spin Stabilized Surveyor



MATCH—Model Aircraft Turbojet Combusting Hydrogen

Team Leaders: Adam Kearney, Kelly Currin Team Members: John Abraham, Angel Andujar, Joey Booker, John Farley, Melanie Hochmuth, Daniel Hoekstra, Daniel Hoogkirk, Brenton Kollinger, Erika Miranti, Joseph Pilon, Robert Runia, Toshi Umeta

Project Description:Due to the need for environmentally friendly and efficient transportation, the MATCH (Model Aircraft Turbojet Combusting Hydrogen) senior design team at Florida Institute of Technology is creating the first hydrogen powered model jet aircraft. This project will be instrumental in terminating a dependence on fossil fuels, not only in the aerospace industry, but also in all aspects of transportation. The MATCH project is gaining support due to its relevance in today’s society.

The MATCH project is centered on three primary goals:1. Modify a model turbojet engine to operate solely on gaseous hydrogen 2. Design a radio-controlled aircraft to be powered by the aforementioned engine3. Construct the aircraft and integrate the converted engine into the aircraft

The most important criterion for determining the success of the project is to complete the conversion of the model turbojet engine. The design of the aircraft, capable of housing the converted engine and power system, is complete and construction began and culminated in the spring 2006 semester. Although not explicitly stated as a project goal, flight testing of the aircraft is scheduled for April 2006 in anticipation of a successful flight.

The MATCH design team is working in conjunction with the National Center for Hydrogen Research (NCHR) at Florida Institute of Technology. The center was recently founded and funded through a grant from NASA. To date, the center has worked on projects in safe storage, leak detection, fuel cells and internal combustion using hydrogen. One of the many products NCHR has completed is a small boat powered by an engine converted to operate on hydrogen.

The completion of the MATCH project will enhance the profile of, and encourage further research in, the use of hydrogen as a viable fuel as well as expand our knowledge in turbo machinery, hydrogen combustion and aircraft design and construction, while helping us to create more reliable and efficient transportation.



MATCH—Model Aircraft Turbojet Combusting Hydrogen



EMMA – Electro-Magnetic Mobile Artillery

Project Team: Meriba Hoglund (Team Leader), Andrea Douglas, Kurt Quasney, Talen Young, Kyle Rappe, Clayton D’Souza, Vic Ludick

Project Description: The goal of the Electro-Magnetic Mobile Artillery senior design team is to continue the work of Dr. Nunn, develop military research and expand the scope of Florida Tech’s magnetics research. We plan to do this by building a coil gun to launch a projectile with a muzzle velocity of 150 ft/s (45 m/s). A coil gun works by creating a current through the coils to which the ferromagnetic projectile is attracted. Due to this attraction, the projectile is then launched through the barrel towards the target.



Figure 1: Projectile Analysis

Figure 2: Trigger Circuit

EMMA – Electro-Magnetic Mobile Artillery



Computer Science

Computer Sciences and Software Engineering

Computer science is the study of the structure of typical computer systems, techniques and theories supporting software development and specialized areas such as computer graphics, artificial intelligence, networks and information management.

The types of projects one might be involved in are:• Face recognition from range data• Develop computer vision systems• Coordinate swarms of computer-based agents• Create intelligent user-friendly interfaces• Implement systems that exhibit autonomous intelligence or behavior of their own (e.g. work in robotics)• Design algorithms for controlling the behavior of robots• Design and implement agents for protecting private data (e.g. encryption)

Some traditional job titles include:• Computer Programmer• Systems/Network/Database Administrator• Computer Architect and Designer • Software Engineer (see below)

The aspect of computer science that is steadily gaining popularity is software engineering. Software engineers create and maintain software applications by applying technologies and practices from computer science, project management, engineering, application domains and other fields.

Software engineers might perform some or all of the following tasks:• Analyze the requirements for the application of computer technology for process or machine control,

robotics, telecommunications, environmental monitoring, remote sensing, medical, engineering, scientific and industrial applications

• Engineer entertainment applications (e.g. computer games)• Design and develop or coordinate the development, testing and implementation of computer languages

and computer software packages • Test software and Web page security• Develop software application• Supervise the work of programmers, technologists, technicians and other engineering and scientific

personnel


Computer Science

Virtual Florida Institute of Technology

Project Team: Thomas Bedran, Team Leader; Scott Pio, Modeler; PJ Pittle, Programmer

Faculty Adviser: Dr. William Shoaff

Mission Statement: The Virtual Florida Institute of Technology Project will deliver a realistic and interactive three dimensional computer rendering of the Florida Tech campus.

Project Description:VFIT will pioneer a new area of marketing by creating a fully interactive informational tool. The user will be able to fully interact and explore the entirety of the Florida Tech campus from dorms to classrooms. VFIT will compliment live tours regularly offered by Admissions for perspective students so perspective students can come prepared to tours already knowing which aspects of campus they want to see. Perspective students will also be able to use VFIT to gain additional knowledge about campus facilities they learned about after taking a live tour. Furthermore, VFIT will be able to provide more information than a regular tour by allowing students to interact with the campus; viewing the complete inventory of sporting equipment available in Clemente, viewing menus for dining services, and where to go in the library to pick up an interlibrary loan.

Dorm selection will be more relevant as perspective students will be able to tour rooms from each of the resident halls and know the location of each hall relative to campus. Students will come to campus with a working layout of where classes are held and where specific services are offered. If they have questions about where a building is located, VFIT can provide them with directions.

The VFIT team will create a custom modeler, taking input from a 3D Studio Max file and embedding custom interactivity. Modeled objects will be capable of interacting with the User Interface by displaying text highlighting use or services offered, playing an auditory narration or launching a video clip. The User Interface will have a listening interface designed to receive requests from modeled objects and then render content.

The models are inputted into the VFIT engine which runs the interactivity experience. The engine will be responsible for rendering the world and providing mechanisms for the user to move through out. At the core is the irrlicht (http://irrlicht.sourceforge.net), a freely distributed open source 3D rendering engine, which will provide basic 3D functionality. However, interactivity functionality will be the responsibility of the VFIT team and will be built into the front end of the engine.


Virtual Florida Institute of Technology

Computer Science


Computer Science

Faculty Activity Management System

Project Team: Ben Hanzl, Justin Kelley

Adviser: Dr. William Shoaff

Project Description:The purpose of this project is to create a faculty activity tracking solution. Per the vice president for academic affairs, each faculty member must turn in, as a minimum work assignment, 15 academic credits or the equivalent per semester. Currently the formula for calculating this workload is manual, time consuming and prone to oversight. By leveraging the power of the Web, we are creating a dynamic, interactive Web site that provides input screens to the department head allowing them to enter course and evaluation formula (based on established criteria) information. After the general information has been entered, the faculty members would then login and enter details concerning their activities. The department head and each member of the faculty can then run reports and view real-time workload information. A sound judgment of performance can then be made regarding their workload versus the expectations of their responsibilities.

Tasks Required: • Analyze faculty activity documentation• Identify data elements• Design database schema• Incorporate business rules into query objects• Layout Web server architecture• Build the Web interface• Test and debug Web interface• Document the final solution

Expected Outcome: The expected outcome for this project is having faculty activity reporting at the fingertips of the department head. As a result, time will be consolidated and the head will have more available time for planning department strategy and doing things more valuable from a time management perspective. This project will demonstrate teamwork, application of Software Development Life Cycle techniques and software development skills that leverage HTML, PHP, mySQL and UNIX/Apache.


Faculty Activity Management System

Computer Science

Figure 2: Screenshot of Courses Entered into the Faculty Activity Management Syste

Figure 1: Various Activities Surrounding Faculty Members


Computer Science

Design of Software that Creates and Executes Petri Nets

Project Team: Todd Hoover, Steven Decker, Steven Nguyen, Aseem Parikh

Project Description: The purpose to this project is to design a software package that will allow users have hands-on experience in creating and executing a Petri Net. This allows users to be able to dynamically visualize how Petri Nets can be used to solve complex problems in both operating systems and network systems. The software will also allow the user to view a reachability tree that shows all the paths that the Petri Net can take from a given marking. The project will be finished and submitted to Dr. Bond for use in his operating systems class.

Tasks Required:• Implement GUI• Implement Core• Create System Requirements• Create a Workable Reachability Tree for Petri Nets

Expected Outcome: Following the completion of this project, Dr. Bond will be able to use this software to help aid him in teaching Petri Nets in his operating systems class. It will give the students the opportunity to see the Petri Nets being created and in action instead of seeing it done by hand.


Figure 2: Dining

Philosopher’s Problem

Figure 1: Petri Net Model with Reachability Tree

Design of Software that Creates and Executes Petri Nets

Computer Science


Computer Science

Network Visualization Tool Kit

Project Team: Michael Tremarche, Curtis Pettit, Tommy Walsh, George Francis, James Lucas, Juliana Veloso, Josh Ohana, Alberto Duenas

Project Adviser: Monte Hancock, Essex Corp.

Problem: In recent years, computer networks have increased greatly in both size and complexity. With these increases, there has also been a substantial increase in both the number and complexity of malicious attacks. Many large organizations that find themselves victims of malicious network attacks feel the need to monitor their network traffic, in an attempt to determine the source of these attacks and to try to stop them from happening. However, it can be difficult to spot patterns in network traffic by looking at the packet information alone, and there are currently no simple, efficient tools to monitor and classify network traffic.

Project Description: The Network Visualization Tool Kit (NVTK) is an N-dimensional visualizer that we’ve created for use by an entry-level analyst for monitoring network traffic. The visualizer allows the user to view an n-dimensional object, such as a network packet, as part of a 3-dimensional graph. When represented in the fashion, commonalities in specific types of network traffic, such as specific types of malicious attacks, cause all of the packets from the attack to appear within a small space on the graph. This would allow an analyst viewing the graph to recognize that the packets are all of a similar type, and that they should be examined closer. The 3-dimensional graph produced by the NVTK requires the use of red/blue 3-D glasses to achieve a true sense of depth in the graph. The NVTK also provides conversion functionality from the graph file format to a spreadsheet format and vice versa, so the user can create graphs using data from the visualizer and use the visualizer to view spreadsheet data if desired.


Computer Science

OnePlus Monitor

Project Team: Melissa Heater, Peter Nied, Mark Oldytowski

Project Adviser: Dr. Philip Bernhard

Project Description: The purpose of this project is to design an easy to use, yet robust utility that will monitor the up-ness of multiple servers and services. The utility will record performance and history of the servers and services and will notify system administrators when problems occur. The problems with current competitor’s products are cost, limited interfaces and difficult setup and use. We aimed to solve these problems by making the installation of OnePlus Monitor as simple as possible while still providing the necessary functionality that the user would expect through two separate but similar interfaces. This design will appeal to large businesses with multiple servers, small businesses that rely on web servers and individuals with online-based businesses. As to provide cross-platform support (Windows/Unix/Linux) and to provide compatibility with slightly older systems, we created the Core Service and Administrator Toolbox in Java 1.4.2, as it has been available for sometime and is found on most computer systems made in the last few years.

Project Breakdown: • Core Service • Performs monitoring and logging operations• Serves data to the Administrator Toolbox and Remote Viewer• Holds setup information about logged servers• Able to run on server or directly on client machine• Administrator Toolbox• Graphical User Interface run on client machine• Allows changes to be made to Core Service• Provides a view of the server(s) and service(s) status(es)• Provides a view of the performance logs• Remote Viewer• Web-based viewer that can be accessed anywhere• Allows remote viewing without ability to make changes• Provides a view of the server(s) and service(s) status(es)• Provides a view of the performance logs


Figure 1: Application Breakdown

Figure 2: Administrator Toolbox

Expected Outcome: After completing this project, members of our team will be showing it to our employers for possible implementation in an actual work environment. This will supply us with practical test data as well as potential customers if we decide to sell the product. We feel that this product would also be a good additional layer of notification for Florida Tech to add to its network system to help decrease downtime of its servers.

Project Web site: http://oneplus.tnsc.net/about

Computer Science

OnePlus Monitor


Computer Science

The MAGNA Project

Project Team: Jacek Leowski, Sam Oswald, Derek Pryor

Project Adviser: Dr. William Allen

Project Description:

Concept—A Web server is a computer or group of computers that provides services over the Internet, such as retrieving Web pages or providing versatile storage space. They are also the targets of millions of attacks per year, both because of their importance as the backbone for the Internet and for sensitive information that many of them hold (such as usernames, passwords, credit card information, etc). TrendMicro is reporting losses from security exploits of as much as $55 billion in 2003, up from $33 billion in 2002 and $12.5 billion in 2001. While the style and stealth of these attacks is widespread and variant, what we can expect is that these attacks are growing in magnitude and current security systems are faltering and slow to react to change.

Servers employ many different methods to protect their data and maintain their ability to fill clients’ requests. As part of their internal structure, they use permissions and user groups, which are methods of locking down the file system to ensure that each user can only see the information that they are allowed to see. However, these methods can be subverted, and do nothing to protect the server’s other key point, maintaining its ability to serve users.

To monitor activity by users and the connections they make to the server, an Intrusion Detection System, or IDS, is used. This is a complicated application set that can be described as a virtual security guard that monitors all of the doors into the server and keeps an eye on what users do while they are there. IDSs are typically adaptive, what we call passive IDSs, and monitor traffic to eventually learn patterns of movement that are malicious. There are also IDSs that take an active approach, and are hard-coded with various different patterns to notice and a retaliation to initiate once a pattern is found.

Just like a real security guard, this is a very difficult job. How do you know if someone is acting suspiciously or if they just don’t know what they are doing? What if an attacker does something before you can catch them? How do you find and undo the damage? What can you do if someone is attacking you? Is there any way to stop them? And as difficult as that sounds, now imagine that you are the security guard for a corporation like Amazon.com, with almost 50 million user accounts, not to mention the multitude of programs and unregistered visitors that access the servers. This is a lot of potential traffic to monitor.

Oftentimes, the ability of IDSs depends much upon the attacks we already know about or have identified. It is difficult to determine what suspicious behavior is until we can repeatedly identify it and tell how dangerous it is. This takes time and much risk, especially since the The Project Overview


observation process requires a live environment with real users connecting to use the server. Why a live environment? Well, how else can an IDS observe what customers on a Web site will do, especially what, say, 10 million customers on a Web site will do. Naturally, in the case of passive IDSs, this also introduces the problem of guaranteeing that the normal traffic an IDS is observing is actually normal. What if the IDS is observing large amounts of attack traffic, but because it doesn’t yet realize they are attacks, it simply decides the attacks appear to be common user actions and allows them to continue (and more dangerously, perhaps classifies the normal traffic as malicious).

The MAGNA project is an active approach to improving the quality of IDSs and therefore the security of Web servers. Using a repository of attacks, MAGNA delivers a known group of attacks to a test server and its IDS in a closed environment, so that server developers and network administrators can monitor the effectiveness of the IDS in repelling the attacks and the server’s ability to recover. The tester can choose any number and combination of attacks, as well as patterns for how and when the attacks are run, and MAGNA will realistically deliver the attacks while logging relevant information (such as response messages from the server).

In this way, the MAGNA project serves a dual purpose. First, as said earlier, to actively test a server’s security. Second, it serves as a collection of attacks that shows how attacks work, how different attacks are related and allow developers a greater opportunity to see how attacks may evolve so that they can prepare for them.

Components of the MAGNA Project There are three components of the MAGNA project, a repository to document attacks, an editor to view and manipulate attacks and an attack generator to launch attacks.

The Attack Generator The Attack Generator is the core of the MAGNA project, as it is the component that makes the other two necessary. The purpose of the attack generator is to deliver any number of attacks in any variation of patterns to a server to examine the effectiveness of the server’s intrusion detection system and the ability of the server to either withstand or recover from the attacks. It is, in short, a testing tool for evaluating server security.

The Attack Generator is composed of python scripts, making it lightweight, fast and most importantly, entirely portable. It is command-line based so that it can be run from anywhere. For example, a system administrator could deliver the attacks from multiple different computers by launching the Attack Generators and controlling them remotely from a master computer.

The job of the Attack Generator is to parse a file describing an attack and create a state table of motions through the attack. A list of needed packets is read, and the Attack Generator assembles the packet headers and payloads into memory. The generator then walks through the states of the attack and delivers packets to the server as needed.

Computer Science

The MAGNA Project


AES: The Attack Editing System The AES is a java-based GUI that allows a user to create, view and edit attacks. It is tab-based, allowing a user to view and edit multiple attacks, or look at one attack to help write another. The AES also allows a user to examine the components of an attack to help understand how to further improve a security system, by truly understanding where and what an attack is targeting.

The Attack Repository The attack repository is a MySQL database that stores information about the attacks. The information stored includes the motions of the attack (the states), the family and relational data about the attack, and discovery/release dates. Each attack is also assigned an identification number that allows us to quickly sort and analyze the attacks.

Database Schema

MAGNA States Example

Computer Science

The MAGNA Project


Computer Science

Image Map Editor

Project Team: Matthew Moisan, Noble Hurst

Project Advisers: Sharon Ainsley, Dr. William Shoaff

Project Description: The purpose of this project is to create a tool that will function as a GUI to ease the process of creating image maps in HTML. It will allow for an interactive method of creating the hyperlinked regions as well as associating those points with a table in a database that will store information for each region. The product of the editor is a PHP/HTML interactive image map, which will show information from a database table.

The project is made up of two major parts, the editor and the database. There are a few classes that were created to facilitate the communication of the database and editor as well as allowing many of the features that we have been able to implement into this project. This project utilizes knowledge in database communication, security, Web development, GUI design and an understanding of project management.

This project was initially created to provide an interface to create an easily updatable map of the campus. With the features we have added and the opportunity to easily add more functionality has made our project something that can be used in situations other than the school’s map, including but not limited to charting stars and describing parts of the body.


Computer Science

Adaptive Web Personalization Research

Project Team: Chris Tanner

Project Adviser: Dr. Philip Chan

Abstract:Our research will allow for more accurate and effective navigation of the World Wide Web. Specifically, most current search engines generalize all users as being the same. Thus, if a computer scientist searches for “windows” and a carpenter searches for “windows,” they will receive the same page results. However, the computer scientist was seeking information on the operating system and the carpenter wanted to buy glass panels through which to look. So it would be useful if the search engine knew this and could appropriately cater to the users.

We attempt to solve these issues by developing novel, nonintrusive techniques for a more adaptive and personalized Web. Personalized techniques cater to specific users, rather than generalizing all Web users as being the same. Adaptive methods learn from the users’ potentially changing behavior/interests. Nonintrusive techniques implicitly learn and do not require users to explicitly indicate their interests. Our created system uses these techniques and ranks Web pages in respect to how interesting they are to a given user. Thus, the research allows for a multitude of applications: developing a search engine, pre-caching pages that the user will likely visit, suggesting other pages/products the user might be interested in, etc.

Tasks:• Read past research papers by Dr. Chan and Dr. Hyoung-rae Kim• Fully implement past software• Create new, novel ideas that have sound motivation and reasoning• Test ideas to see if better results are obtained• Write results in hopes of being published

Basic Overview of the System:We learn a user’s interests from a user’s bookmarked Web pages. Having built a structure that represents what the user is interested in, we can evaluate and rank new Web pages to predict how interesting it will be to the user.


Current Experiment and Results:To quantitatively measure how well our system performs, we conducted an experiment with 11 users surfing the Internet for a few hours. Users rated Web pages in respect to how interesting they found them. Our system ranked these pages in hopes of correctly predicting what the user would find interesting. We create diagrams to illustrate how precise our predictions are, along with how many interesting pages we were able to recall. The following diagrams show that we outperformed Google, as our algorithms yielded results with higher precision and recall values.

(Note: “ws” represents our Weighted Scoring algorithm, and “uws” represents our Unweighted Scoring algorithm. Lines having values closer to the upper-right hand corner of the graph represent better results.)

Computer Science

Adaptive Web Personalization Research


Computer Science

Stereo Vision Library

Project Team: Ahmed Charles, Clayton Gilmore

Project Description: The purpose for this project is to develop C++ libraries for virtual reality modeling. The idea is that an end user with a VR display, a Web cam and these libraries would be able to model 3D geometric objects and view them through the VR display, with the view generated based on where the user is looking.

What we propose is a two-part project. The first part is to take an existing ray-tracer program developed for a Computer Graphics Algorithms project and make it run faster as well as produce stereo pairs. The second part is to write a program that tracks head movement using input from a Web cam. It is envisioned that the first part will be completed for Software Development Projects one in the fall semester, and part two for Software Development Projects 2 in the spring semester. When both parts are completed, these will be packaged together as libraries.

Tasks Required: • Expand Raytracer to Produce Stereo Pairs• Expand Number of 3D Objects Supported• Improve Efficiency of Raytracer• Design and Program the Web Cam Interface• Design and Program Head Tracking Algorithm• Couple the Raytracer and the Head Tracker Together

Expected Outcome: Following the completion of this project, the design team would like to release the software libraries under an open source license. It would be an excellent tool for learning about computer vision.


Figure 1: Stereo Pairs

Computer Science

Stereo Vision Library


Computer Science

Program Assessment

Project Team: Kyle Wheeler

Project Adviser: Dr. William Shoaff

Project Description: The purpose of this project is to develop a software system that will assess students, courses and programs in a variety of course and program objectives. The system will be composed of a database, the core code and a user GUI. The database will store programs, objectives, students, courses and their respective scores. The core code will allow users with given privileges the ability to view and/or update the database. Finally, the GUI will provide students and faculty with an easy to use tool for viewing and updating data.

Tasks Required: • Database• Database Access Based on Privileges• Front End Client (GUI)• Tracks to GUI Link

Expected Outcome: The expected outcome of this project is a useable system which the faculty can use to assess students, courses and programs. It is expected to provide a means for Florida Tech to demonstrate its abilities as well as provide professors and students with a general idea of each student’s strong and weak points.

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