Honors Projects for Electrical Engineering
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ItemSolar Panel Cleaning Robot(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-09-26)The Solar Panel Cleanerbot is an electrical engineering junior and senior design project. The objective is to build a robot that can clean the solar panels on the roof of Holmes Hall in order to maintain optimal efficiency. While it will first be designed for use on the Holmes Hall panels, we want to create a robot that can be modified easily to fit different photovoltaic arrays so that it can be used on both commercial and residential arrays. With little to no technology currently available to clean solar panels efficiently, this project could have a tremendous impact on solar panel life and clean energy efficiency.
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ItemElectric Power Interconnection of Five Islands of Hawaii(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15)A high voltage direct current submarine interconnection of the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, and Oahu appears to be a possible solution to Hawaii's growing need for more electrical power. Such an interconnection will distribute the power output of at least two large power plants to be built, one on Oahu and one on Hawaii. These two plants may be either nuclearly powered or geothermally powered, permitting large plant output to cover the state's entire load. An interconnection of this nature may prove to be economically feasible, as shown by previous submarine interconnections in other parts of the world. However, due to the extreme depth encountered in the Alenuihaha Channel between the islands of Maui and Hawaii, this interconnection will be far more difficult than any previous interconnection, and will require a specially designed cable.
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ItemOptimization of Search Programs in a Given Population(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15)This report discusses optimal methods of search for physical disabilities in a given population. The study was motivated by a practical problem connected with school-health programs. Although it is primarily directed to solution of this specific problem, the mathematical model developed and the method of solution can be extended to more general problems. Consider a program for detection (for effective treatment) of physical disorders (such as hearing disabilities) in school-age children. Evidently, this involves a repetitive search within the student body for individuals inflicted with the physical disabilities of concern. This repetitive search is called a Search Program. As a search program consists of many constituents, the optimization of such involves the finding of a proper mix of these constituents such that the search program is optimal in some sense.
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ItemA Software Buffer-Control Unit for the Aloha System(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15)This paper describes an interactive use of the HP 2114B minicomputer as an Input/Output and storage device to replace the ALOHA SYSTEM Buffer-control unit. The proposed system will consist of the Hewlett Packard 2114B minicomputer, the program and two or more interface boards. The introduction offers a general view of THE ALOHA SYSTEM as a whole and lists the advantages of the proposed system. We will also discuss the ALOHA Buffer and the HP 2114B computer.
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ItemA Design for a Computer Terminal(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15)The purpose for this study is to redesign and build a cheap computer terminal--between $300 and $600 each--to be connected to the HP 2114 computer presently in use in Holmes hall. The original idea for the terminal was conceived of by Professor Vincent Nicholson. There is one original terminal which belongs to the Hewlett Packard company and by their permission is available here through Professor Nicholson. The essential features of this terminal remain the same as the one I have redesigned. The changes made will be evident in the following pages. Although the new model was to have been built, I have not yet received all the parts needed. As a result, this report is in some ways a building guide.
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ItemMusical Note Recognition Using the Intel 8080 Computer(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15)An electronic device is to be designed and constructed that will analyze a musical note. A musical instrument, such as a guitar, will be played into the device. Immediately, the computer will output on the teletype the note being played and an indication of the frequency of the tone. The output will also indicate whether the note being played is either too sharp or flat. This unit will be differentiated from other electronic or mechanical tone analyzing techniques by the utilization of a computer to do the actual tone analysis.
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ItemAn Interactive Algebraic Extension of the APL Programming Language(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15)Symbolic manipulation, as opposed to numerical computation, is a logical extension to many of the scientific programming languages today. A simple extension to the mathematically oriented programming language APL is described, with a pilot program to implement some basic algebraic features in APL.
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ItemVisual Sensing In Autonomous Robots(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15)This paper defines a visual sensing system that can be used in autonomous robots. Autonomous robots require better decision-making skills to expand their abilities. As the tasks become more complex, choosing the appropriate decision becomes more difficult and requires the analysis of more environmental factors. An improved sensory system allows autonomous robots to obtain the additional environmental information they need to make the appropriate decision in a complex environment. To demonstrate the visual system, a digital camera is connected to a personal digital assistant (PDA), which handles the image processing and decision-making. This system finds the shortest path through a maze by taking a birds-eye picture of the maze. Visual sensing depends on image processing to convert raw image data into useful information regarding the environment. Thresholding is used to find the walls of the maze in the image. From these walls, a graph is constructed representing the squares in the maze and the paths between squares. Dijkstra's Algorithm is applied to the graph to find the shortest path.
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ItemA Comparative Investigation of Computer Methods for Smoothing and Curve Fitting(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15)Seven subroutines for smoothing and curve fitting in FORTRAN and PL/1 were tested and compared for accuracy, speed, and robustness. The smoothing methods were local linear and cubic polynomial fits, and triple exponential smoothing. The curve-fitting methods were approximation by cubic splines, orthogonal polynomials, and rational functions. The data for smoothing and fitting were values of analytic functions with known rounding and random errors. Accuracy of a subroutine was based on the reduction of the original errors. From the comparisons of the results applications of each subroutine were presented in terms of the most suitable types of curves for accurate smoothing and curve fitting.
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ItemA Study of an Electrodynamic Mechanical Impedance Device(University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15)Although mammography when combined with palpation (the manual exploration of the breast for cancerous lumps) has been found to be extremely effective in detecting breast cancer in an early, still curable stage, the uncertainties involved in its safety make it necessary for other methods of cancer detection to be developed, to serve as intermediate steps, which can then justify the ordering of a mammographic series. One such device which could possibly aid in – but is not limited to - breast cancer detection, is the electrodynamic mechanical impedance shaker in which the mechanical impedance characteristic of the tissue involved is determined and compared to a standard characteristic. It will thus be the concern of this paper to discuss topics as related to this transducer system and its inherent characteristics. The need for such an intermediate device becomes evident when examining the breast cancer situation more closely. In 1974, a surge of publicity about breast cancer brought crowds of women to mammography clinics across the nation, but by mid-1976, this trend was to change drastically as newspapers, magazines, and other news media reported findings that a single mammographic examination with doses of one rad or less could be expected to increase a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer by one percent.1 It was further reported that for a majority of women this one rad maximum, one percent increase does not apply, for in actual fact, one rad is seldom the case, since x-ray equipment varies, as does the amount of radiation necessary to get a good picture in different circumstances.2 Almost immediately, there was a 70% drop in such examinations, as women, even those with palpable breast lumps cancelled their appointments.3