ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER

SENIOR DESIGNPROJECTS

Department of

Engineering

Picture Source: Medium.com

from the Department Chair

F O R E W O R D

On behalf of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineeringin the Opus College of Engineering, I would like to showcase ourstudents' capstone senior-design course sequence for the academicyear of 2018-19. These senior design projects are incrediblyimportant because, in my opinion, both education and research canbenefit greatly from close partnerships with industry - and viceversa. As you glance through the projects in the following pages and readthrough the testimonials by students, you will see evidence oftechnical depth and breadth in both our electrical engineering andcomputer engineering programs. Additionally, you will findexamples of practical knowledge. This is incredible. The subjectmatter of the projects also shows our students' commitment topositively impacting industry and society at-large. Finally, I would like to thank our faculty for their hard work planning,designing and implementing a world-class senior-design course. Iam also grateful to our students for their creative work. This workaims to advance engineering and serve the broader community.

Dr. Majeed HayatProfessor and Department Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Sincerely,

A B O U TThe Senior Design Projects

All senior year electrical and computer engineeringstudents are required to complete this two-semestermultidisciplinary course. The course requires students towork on a design project in a team of three to five students.While working on the design project, the students learn andpractice current project management methodologies,including written reports, oral presentations and thedevelopment of a working prototype. Several of these projects are sponsored by our industrypartners, giving students an opportunity to peek into thereal world, and gain experience and insights into variouspractices and technologies employed by industry. As a special note, we'd like to thank Dr. Chandana Tamma,who has skillfully and excellently coordinated theDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering seniordesign projects.

L I S T O F

S P O N S O R S

Dr. Cris AbabeiDr. Henry Medeiros

Ms. Teri Sippel SchmidtMilwaukee Tool

Rockwell AutomationWE Energies

2018-19

P R O J E C T SOptimization of MHT Algorithm

Faculty Advisor:Dr. Henry Medeiros, Marquette University

Project Team:Isaac BremsethMitchell ShreinerAdam ShakalNathan Simon

T hough the field of computer vision isgrowing, with new breakthroughs everyday, object tracking is a largely unsolvedproblem. One solution which sticks out isthe implementation of multiple hypothesistracking. Multiple hypothesis tracking isdesigned to follow multiple objects througha field of view over a specific period of time. The purpose of this project is to start withan open-source implementation of themultiple hypothesis tracking algorithm andcreate a modified, usable implementationwhich could be run in our faculty advisers lab. His lab conducts sponsored researchin the field of multiple object tracking. The biggest risk going into the project wasnot knowing whether the provided open

source implementation could actually betransformed into the desired end product. Our first step was to make the open-sourceimplementation functional. This processtook nearly all of the first semester, as aresult of several issues with retrievingsource code documentation. However, therunning implementation served as ourprototype. During the second semester, weevaluated our prototype against the needsof our adviser's lab, then determined whatchanges needed to be made. We alsodiscerned whether or not it would bepossible to implement these changes. Inorder to verify the validity and effectivenessof the project, we ran data-sets designed fortesting applications of multiple objecttracking.

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Electric Utility Augmented Reality Investigation

Project Team:Cameron BaltruschJenelle LeeGabriel ThaljiAlex VonderhaarAndrew Koetting

C onducting work orders and inspections on electricutility substations is time intensive and expensive.In fact, utility companies often spend hundreds ofthousands of dollars and exorbitant amounts oftime each year just to meet federal requirements.The goal of this project is to investigate theadvantages of augmented reality in electric utilityworkers, in hopes of improving the electric utilityinspection process. We analyzed differentavenues of implementing augmented reality, andfinally settled on nursing homes and assistedliving environments. We then conducted an entirestudy of the process, discussing the final design,and its implications. The final design focused on the inspectionprocess that an electric utility worker might haveto go through. As substations contain hundreds 

of components which can be inspected, wechose to focus on three specific areas: batterybank, transformers, and circuit breakers. Inaddition to inspecting the equipment, weimplemented a safety design feature whichallows the utility worker to see the infraredsignature of an image in front of him, anddisplay this image, so that the user could see itthroughout the inspection. The final design met all customer needs andtarget specifications: weight, amount of timerequired to learn the technology, set-up time,streamlined inspection process and mobility.This design is just the beginning of augmentedreality in electric utilities, a feature which opensthe door for safer, more effective services forthe public.

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | Senior Design Projects |  6

Sponsor:

Faculty Advisor:Dr. Chandana Tamma, Marquette University

Dave Nestler, WE Energies

P R O J E C T S2

01

8-

19

Hybridized Soil-Moisture/Weather API Informed Intelligent Irrigation System

I n modern landscaping environments,landscapers must implement irrigationcontrollers in several different situations.These can range from single zone controlsystems to many zone control systems. Thesystems could require different kinds of hosingdepending on which area needs watering. Withall these factors at play, landscapers wouldbenefit from a modular, easy to set-up systemwhich meets the needs of plant-life on theproperty. We endeavored to meet this need by designingan intelligent embedded irrigation system. Firstfor our design, we prioritized ease-of-use. Thismeant creating an easy setup process via asmartphone app. The system does not startunless someone has used the application, aswe've set up a microcontroller to receiveconfiguration before it launches into itsroutines. The system also contains modularzoning, which means that though several

areas and soil types exist within a property, onlyone irrigation controller is required to monitorand manipulate them. Our product dispenseswater at a required rate through solenoid valveswhile keeping power consumption low for theclient. Further, the controller uses weather APIdata and soil moisture readings to inform itswatering decisions throughout the day. To test this product, we looked closely at thesoftware routines and made sure there were nobugs in the control flow. This code wasreviewed by team members, then underwentunit tests to confirm functionality. Other testsincluded fluid flow testing, power consumptiontesting, soil moisture testing and other smalltests. Our goal is to improve the lives of landscapersand their clients, ensure our product functionsat the industry standard and ultimately, is easy-to-use.

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Project Team:Max MarischenTharun ParackalMichael FioriniNicholas Mussoline

Faculty Advisor:Dr. Chandana Tamma, Marquette University

P R O J E C T S2

01

8-

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SD Card Stress Testing Fixture

R ockwell Automation sells several individualSD cards. Moreover, these SD cards are soldas an official accessory to ProgrammableLogic Controllers (PLCs), Human MachineInterfaces (HMIs), and several otherRockwell Automation products. To ensurequality, Rockwell Automation tests these SDcards rigorously. However, the actualhardware platform used to test the SD cardsis old and unreliable. To specify the problems with the platform: itis prone to crashes, difficult to configure, anddoes not accomplish the testing at anoptimal rate. In order to solve the hardwarestability issues, we developed a newhardware attached on top ("HAT") . The HATtechnology works alongside a Raspberry Pi,

taking the place of outdated logicboards. Ourgoal is to create more reliable and streamlinedtechnology than the current system. To our delight, the new system performedmuch more effectively than the current onedoes. For example, there were no hardwarefailures while reading and writing to the SDcards. Additionally, the startup and test routinetimes were drastically reduced as a result ofthe more streamlined software and updatedhardware. Finally, extracting data from the SQLdatabase and inserting it into Microsoft Excel ismuch easier. We think this is a viable solutionfor Rockwell Automation, for it provides themwith reliable and fast SD card verification.

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | Senior Design Projects |  8

Project Team:Quinten GerhartzConnor HelsTimothy BobeckDaniel Zurawski

Sponsor:

Faculty Advisor:Dr. Richard Povinelli, Marquette University

Marco Naeve, Rockwell Automation

P R O J E C T S2

01

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Automotive Data Logger

from the vehicle CAN bus, such as enginetemperature, engine speed, and vehicle speed.Further, analog-to-digital converters, locatedon the microcontroller, logged battery voltage.The voltage regulators provided regulated 5Volts and 3.3 Volts to the circuitry. The voltagewas necessary for logging and reading data.Finally, an enclosure housed the internalcircuitry of the device. With these components,data from a car can be communicated throughthe vehicle’s CAN bus and recorded duringstartup, while it is idle and when the vehicle isoff. Our automotive data logger was verified bysimulations and in-vehicle testing. It is capableof logging data by the millisecond duringignition, by the second while idling, and onceevery minute when the vehicle is turned off.Overall, it was a successful implementation.

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V ehicles have many different electrical andcomputer systems which monitor vehicleoperation and transmit on-board diagnostic("OBD") data. Currently, many diagnostic tools which log vehicle data exist on the market.However, several of them do not store datalong-term, and some overwrite previousdiagnostic information. These solutions do nothelp customers who want access to previouslylogged information. The purpose of this project is to provide anautomotive data logger which logs vehicleenergy demands (i.e. voltage, enginetemperature, engine speed (RPM), vehiclecurrent draw, and vehicle speed). Theautomotive data logger utilizes amicrocontroller, an SD card, a control areanetwork ("CAN"), voltage regulators, and anenclosure. The microcontroller analyzed data

Project Team:Eric CiliskeChelsea ConardMadison HertelJake RozewiczScott Stewart

Sponsor:

Faculty Advisor:Dr. Susan Schneider, Marquette University

Milwaukee Tool

P R O J E C T S2

01

8-

19

Synoptic Radiology Reporting

A fter performing a procedure, a radiologistoften finds significant information that mustbe stored and used later on. In order tosimplify the process of retrieving information,it is important that any findings from aprocedure or other service are organized anddetailed. Currently, radiologists record findingsusing a speech-to-text program whichtranscribes dictations directly into a document.While this method is incredibly quick, it is notorganized.  The purpose of this project is to createorganized, consistent reports for medicalcenters, effectively filling the market gap. Ourproduct connects to a medical data serverusing the FHIR, ("Fast HealthcareInteroperability Resource") standard. It alsoconnects to the Electronic Medical Recordsystem at any given healthcare center usingSMART, an an open source healthcaretechnology platform which keeps recordssecure. To begin use, the radiologist selects apatient and a reporting

template, then creates a report. The patient’sinformation is pulled directly from the recordsinto the report. Afterwards, the radiologist isprompted to fill out a template containingrelevant information. Once the report is filledout and completed, it is converted into a PDFand stored in the server as a diagnostic report.For reference, a diagnostic report is a resourcecreated for FHIR servers which displays theresults of a medical procedure or study. After analyzing the product, we concluded thatthe completed PDF report was significantlymore organized than the paragraphs producedby a speech-to-text system. It took around thesame time to complete as current competitorson the market. However, the process is moreefficient because it automatically providespatient information and uploads completedreports to the server. We recognize thatadditional professional trials are requiredbefore full commercial adaptation isconsidered. 10

Project Team:Jared FunkBlake MillerNatalie Olson

Faculty Advisor:Ms. Teri Sippel Schmidt,Marquette University

P R O J E C T S2

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Software Application for the American College of Radiology

T he objective of this project is to develop asoftware application for the AmericanCollege of Radiology which makes medicalimaging data-sets easily and globallyaccessible to artificial intelligence (AI)researchers. For this project, two main usecases were considered which highlight thefirst two functions of the computerprogramming storage system: (“Create” and“Read”). The project was implementedusing an ASP.NET MVC web application linkedto a MongoDB database in order to managethe cases. It includes the following primarycomponents in fulfillment of those use cases. Regarding user registration, three levels ofauthorization have been utilized: guest,signed-in user and administrator. This allowsone to track data-set provenance easily andenables users to view their data simply.

The search page enables users to performqueries based on search parameters. Wederived these parameters from the data-setsummaries provided in the abstract. Queryresults are returned to the web browser andprovide the individual with summaries ofmatching data-sets and a URL link by whichto access them. The "abstract form" pageprovides a plethora of fields for the user tofill in information about their data-set. Oncesubmitted, the abstract is stored in thedatabase and is queued for administratorreview. Following administrator approval of theabstract, the data is processed by theapplication. Data from the DICOM headersare then parsed and used to generate a newcollection in the database, which specifiesthe user as its “owner.”

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Project Team:Kyle ChangAlex DumsPeter Moras

Sponsor:

Faculty Advisor:Ms. Teri Sippel Schmidt, MarquetteUniversity

Ms. Teri Sippel Schmidt

P R O J E C T S2

01

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Vibrating Alert Bracelet

E lderly residents in retirement homes andassisted-living facilities are at risk of missingfire evacuation notices or any otheremergencies. This condition is exacerbatedwhen resident have hearing impairments. Thecurrent market provides alert systems whichhelp elderly residents in the case of anemergency. However, many of them rely onloud, repetitive auditory tones, meaning that anew alert paradigm is necessary for thehearing-impaired. The Vibrating Alert Bracelet("VAB") was proposed as an alternativesolution to conventional alarm systems. The goal of the VAB is to create an Internet-of-Things (IoT) wearable bracelet which canbe worn by residents of assisted livingfacilities. Its intended capability includesalerting users of emergencies via haptic 

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | Senior Design Projects |  12

Project Team:Alex FoyerTom JanikPatrick HaraJason ReichardJon D’SouzaKelsey Conley

Faculty Advisor:Dr. Cris Ababei, Marquette University

forces and a bright LED visual signal, sent overWiFi connection. To alert a resident, a clientmust communicate with a Raspberry Pi back-end server. The Raspberry Pi functions as amiddleman between the bracelet and Androidapp. The system handles the administrationand deployment of the VABs, relayingemergency signals. Finally, the Android appcreates a way for the administrator tointerface with the server as they monitorusers and send alerts. Design verification tests prove that theVAB fulfills base design goals. These include:functioning as an IoT-enabled wearabledevice, sending tactile and visual alerts to theuser of the VAB, and sending emergencysignals via Android app and WiFi connection.

P R O J E C T S2

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MU-MatriX: Electronic Display

E lectronic displays are used in manyapplications, ranging from billboards toscoreboards in a sports arena. This projectdescribes the creation of a 320 by 256 pixelLED display system. The system has a 9 bitcolor resolution, fully integrated logic andpower, as well as an Android App userinterface. In order to create this, a custom logic PCB wasdeveloped, hosting a 32-bit, 252MHzmicrocontroller, 8 serial Flash memory chips,and a complex image caching system. Inaddition to the logic board, a power PCB wasdeveloped to safely power the LED panels.This power PCB has a quad-phase 1MHz buckconverter, which can supply 5V at up to 45Amps. The buck converter features manyprotection and ruggedization features toensure the LED panels are protected againstelectrical faults. The project requiredextensive microcontroller firmware to bedeveloped, so that the microcontroller could

draw images on the LED panels, control theflow of image data, and interact with users. The main user interface is an Android appwhich allows users to select up to eightimages to display in a slide-show. The usercan select the cycle time between images.The Android app also allows the user to dimthe screen, and turn it on and off. The final project yields a 320 x 256 pixel LEDdisplay, the two custom circuit boards, aconsumer-off-the-shelf power supply, and acustom fabricated aluminum frame. It candisplay any set of eight images through theandroid app, and has a color density of 9 bitsof color. The final product is about 2.5 feetby 2 feet in size. Both circuit boards and theCOTS power supply are attached to the backof the 20 LED panels, so the project is self-contained. A user can connect to its built-in WiFi network via an Android phone.

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Project Team:Kevin EttaLogan WedelDrew MaatmanTuoxuan RenCaroline Gilger

Faculty Advisor:Dr. Cris Ababei, Marquette University

P R O J E C T S2

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Senior design was the perfect mix of a four-year engineering curriculumand key project management skills. The opportunity to witness the first-hand importance of proper documentation, of experimental verificationand validation was incredible, and made it clear why we are taught theEngineering Design Process. The senior design process mimicked thestandards expected in industry and helped prepare us for what we maysee in our engineering careers. Ultimately, senior design encouraged us toaccept challenges. It put our problem-solving abilities to the test."

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Frankly, I was skeptical of how this class would affect my engineeringdevelopment. However, it proved to be one of the more meaningful classes Ihave taken in college. No other class teaches you about finances, patents,hardware/software design techniques, or even gantt charts. My group'sproject was sponsored by Rockwell Automation. For the project, wedeveloped a faster, cheaper, smaller, more reliable, and more efficient wayto evaluate SD cards. I am happy to say that this project was successfulacross the board. The true accomplishment, however, was the skills welearned about hardware/software design, as well as team management!"

Timothy Bobeck

Jenelle Sanders

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | Senior Design Projects | 

from students

T E S T I M O N I A L S

The senior design course was perhaps the most valuable experience in myentire college career. The two-semester project allowed for an in-depthassessment of customer needs and a more informed and pointed designstructure than any other class project I worked on. This was by far themost applicable any coursework was to the demands and expectations ofengineering work in industry, and along with my internship and co-opexperiences, this project gave me a great insight into the direction Iwanted to take my engineering career post-graduation."

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Senior design was a fantastic opportunity to utilize the skills that youdeveloped while at Marquette. The wide variety of projects afford you thechance to select a project that you will be passionate about, while getting asample of the processes and technologies which are currently used in thevarious industries. It was a great experience and one that will help prepareyou for your future career."

Alex Luczak

Jimmy Drenovsky

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | Senior Design Projects | 

from students

T E S T I M O N I A L S

16Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | Senior Design Projects | 

Hayat, Majeed, Ph.D.Professor and ChairDynamical models for interdependentcyber-physical systems, signal andimage processing, statisticalcommunication theory, avalanchephotodiodes Ababei, Cris, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorNetwork-on-chip based multicoreprocessors and datacenters, embeddedsystems, FGPAs, distribution networksand smart buildings Coutu, Jr., Ron, Ph.D.V. Clayton Lafferty Endowed Chair andProfessorMicroelectromechanical systems(MEMS), advanced microsystems,device fabrication , chemical sensors Demerdash, Nabeel, Ph.D.ProfessorElectric machine and drives,computational electromagnetics, powerelectronics, power systems

EL-Refaie, Ayman, Ph.D.Werner Endowed Chair and ProfessorElectrical machine and drives, powerelectronics, power systems, renewableenergy, aerospace applications, oil andgas applications Josse, Fabien, Ph.D.Professor and Director of GraduateStudiesSolid state and acoustic wave sensors, Lee, Chung Hoon, Ph.D.Associate ProfessorMicro/nano scale device fabrication,ultrasonic/bio MEMs, microfluidics,thermal analysis of biochemicalmolecules, molecular electronics Medeiros, Henry, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorComputer vision, robotic vision, visionfor embedded devices, multi-sensor/camera networks, objectdetection and recognition

F A C U L T Y

17Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | Senior Design Projects | 

Povinelli, Richard, J., Ph.D.Associate ProfessorMachine learning, signal processing,dynamical systems and chaos Richie, James, Ph.D.Associate Professor and AssociateDepartment ChairElectromagnetic scattering and inversescattering, antennas and wavepropagation Schneider, Susan, Ph.D.Associate Professor and Director ofUndergraduate StudiesNon-linear systems, sensor systems,educational methods: novel pedagogy andassessment Tamma, Chandana, Ph.D.Adjunct Assistant ProfessorPervasive computing, embedded systems,impedance tomography Weise, Nathan, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorPower electronics, power and energyconversion, electric drives, vehicularpower systems, high voltage direct currentconverters

Yaz, Edwin, Ph.D.ProfessorStochastic, non-linear, anduncertain systems, signalprocessing, networked controlsystems, gender issues in STEMeducation Ye, Dong Hye., Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorMachine learning, imageprocessing, biomedical imageanalysis, computed topography,microscopic imaging, automatictarget recognition

F A C U L T Y

18Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | Senior Design Projects | 

C O L L E G E O F E N G I N E E R I N G

OUR MISSION

ACCREDITATION

THE UNIVERSITY

Since 1908, the Marquette University OpusCollege of Engineering has been uniquelyblending professional engineeringpreparation with a liberal arts education toprovide the world with well balanced leadersin their profession.

The mission of the College is to excelin four critical areas:• To prepare all students forsuccessful careers based ona strong moral and ethicalfoundation• To advance the state-of-the-artin engineering• To serve our professional and technicalcommunities• To contribute to our global society

All undergraduate programs offered by theMarquette University Opus College ofEngineering are accredited by theEngineering Accreditation Commission ofABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050,Baltimore, MD 21202-4012,410-347-7700.

Founded in 1881 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,Marquette University has been educatingpeople of faith to be leaders in theirprofessional lives, their communities andin society. Since the first graduating class of fivemen were awarded bachelor of artsdegrees in the 1880s, Marquette hasgrown into a modern coed campus ofmore than 11,000students who learn and grow throughnationally admired undergraduate,graduate and professional programs.

O P U S

Opus College of EngineeringElectrical and Computer EngineeringHaggerty Hall1515 W. Wisconsin Ave, Rm 289Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233 https://www.marquette.edu/electrical-computer-engineering

Date of publication: October2019

Designed by: Glenda Owor