High-resolution images are greatly sought after in many commercial and military optical systems because they can store large amounts of information, but detector costs increase significantly with pixel count.This project uses the super resolution technique of compressed sensing to improve the resolution of an imaging system limited by too few pixels. Compressed sensing encodes compressed information into low-resolution measurements allowing the reconstruction of high-resolution images from many low-resolution images. The super resolution imager designed uses compressed sensing to decrease the number of samples needed to perfectly reconstruct an image. With a few low-resolution images modulated by a subpixel code, a linear system is generated and solved for that predicts a high-resolution image using small amounts of measurement data. The prototype imager uses two encoding methods –binary mask-actuator encoding and a digital micro-mirror device, and two reconstruction methods –an exact L1 minimization reconstruction and an alternative, inexact machine-learning-based reconstruction. The prototype imager built achieves a fourfold increase in spatial resolution in both X and Y directions, providing a total high spatial resolution gain of 16 times.

When watering plants, greenhouse owners must consider a range of environmental and biological variables. Greenhouse plant watering is challenging, inconsistent and labor intensive, and growers need to evaluate which systems best suit their greenhouse operation, such as hose with spray attachments versus overhead sprinklers versus single-volume automated systems.The team’s automated system uses sensors to measure parameters such as soil moisture and plant maturation to analyze crop health and determine how much water to dispense. Three Pixy2 cameras analyze crop appearance and detect bar codes that uniquely identify plants. An actuated sensor probe inserted into the plant substrate records soil moisture data as percent saturation, and a coin load cell measures the weight of each plant.The team designed graphical user interfaces that reflect the data acquired from the various sensors, and which allow manual control of all motors and valves if necessary. Combining these subsystems creates an accurate automated system capable of watering three plants at a time without generating any solid or liquid waste outside of normal maintenance.

J David Art creates sculptures by re-purposing spring units from common household mattresses and transforming them into custom pieces of art. Sculptures are made using “logs” formed by rolling the steel mattress spring units into a cylindrical shape. Hand-rolling the logs is time-consuming and physically strenuous and limits the number of pieces of art that can be produced.In a design based upon industrial rolling machines, the device incorporates rollers that compress the mattress springs before wrapping the flattened spring unit around a spindle to form a cylinder. The device operator anneals the spring unit with a torch, which causes it to retain its cylindrical shape when it is removed from the device. The mattress rolling device reduces the-time required to produce a “log” and protects the operator from injury and fatigue.

Mounted gemstones are not measured accurately because the depth of the stones is obscured by the metal mount of the jewelry. This leads to major disputes about the size and worth of gemstones. The team developed a mounted gemstone weight calculation device, based on the technology found in the Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool created by the American Gem Society, to measure mounted gemstones quickly and accurately. Angular spectrum evaluation technology uses multicolored light to illuminate the stone, which produces a unique pattern specific to its internal angles. This pattern is compared to a software-generated matrix of stones using image-processing software in Matlab. Image analysis makes it possible to find the internal angles of the gemstone using only a photo of the color-illuminated top surface. The gemstone’s weight is then calculated from its density and surface measurements. Efficient structural design and advanced software make the mounted gemstone weight calculation device significantly faster, easier to use, and more accurate than the current method for mounted gemstone measurement.

Project goal: To design and build a steel bridge with a span of 18 feet able to sustain a load of 2,500 pounds at varying locations along its span. The bridge designed is the team’s entry in the 2018 National Student Steel Bridge Competition organized by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Institute of Steel Construction. To simulate construction at a smaller scale,the bridge is broken up into members that fit within a box measuring 36 inches by 6 inches by 4 inches. Members are fabricated and assembled over a river on a mock construction site. Structural analysis software is used to model the bridge iteratively before selecting a final design for construction. The strength of the connections was calculated and subsequently verified through strain testing of sample specimens. The bridge, and bridges designed by the other 18 universities in the Pacific Southwest region involved in the competition, is judged according to criteria that include self-weight, stiffness, structural efficiency and construction economy.

Project goal: To minimize hazards, increase sampling location accuracy, and decrease cross-contamination when sampling irrigation canal water for microbial analysis. Identifying pathogen vectors in commercial food production and supply chains is critical to maintaining food safety. The designed system is an arm,with an adjustable reach to accommodate different canal widths, mounted on a base that can be positioned over the sampling location, which is scanned by a depth-detection sensor using a dual-beam transducer sonar. Arm and base are fabricated from ASTM A513 Grade B square tubular steel, with a tensile strength of 58 kilopounds per square inch and a flexile strength of 46 kilopounds per square inch. Samples are collected using a 1-liter Nalgene container with a custom closure cap that is 3-D printed in high-density plastic. A bicycle brake was repurposed to build the remote operation assembly, which opens and closes the submerged sample collector.

Project goal: To create a web-based mapping system that meets the needs of agricultural map-making. Creating, saving and sharing data relevant to agricultural ranches in Arizona’s Yuma County involves multiple software applications and a lot of manual data capture. The data is imported into drafting software to create a map that shows boundaries, layout and information relevant to the agricultural ranch. These maps are then printed.The Django web framework was used to develop a system incorporating all the current cartographic functions in a single web application that is executable in Windows 10 and on Samsung Android 5.0 and later tablets. Maps are created on a tablet using automated GPS, eliminating the need for multiple software applications in the field. Maps are saved in a MySQL database for registered users to see via the developed website.

Project goal: To design a process for converting guayule waste from biorubber production into bio-fuel in the form of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The guayule plant, which is used to make biorubber, doesn’t need much water to grow, which makes biorubber an increasingly popular alternative to petrochemical rubber. Much of the waste from biorubber extraction, called “bagasse,” is discarded or reprocessed into low-profit secondary products. This design involves extracting, upgrading and refining hydrocarbons from the bagasse into bio-fuels. Hydrocarbons are extracted by fast pyrolysis, which creates char (for fertilizer) and a bio-oil that is rich in hydrocarbons and unwanted oxygen. The oxygen is removed by hydrodeoxygenation using hydrogen gas, and distillation separates the upgraded oil by carbon-chain length to produce output streams of pure gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Steam reforming the waste products yields hydrogen gas that can be recycled into the hydrodeoxygenation process.

Project goal: To design a receiving terminal for large cargo ships carrying liquefied natural gas, or LNG, and a plant to vaporize it back to a gaseous state for distribution via pipeline. Natural gas has to be liquefied cryogenically for transoceanic transportation by large cargo vessels. It then has to be vaporized so it can be transported in distribution pipelines.Design optimization and regulatory factors were considered in the design of the LNG receiving terminal. Aspen Plus was used to model and optimize the thermodynamics of the process, which includes cryogenic factors. This allowed the team to determine the economic feasibility of the plant and to decide which vaporization process would be ideal for a plant of this nature. A plant was designed that can accommodate 12 LNG carriers and deliver 1.2 trillion MMBtus per day of vaporized natural gas.

Project goal: To design an economically feasible process to produce dimethyl ether for transportation fuel. When dimethyl ether burns it produces virtually zero particulates and it has been suggested as a possible fuel for slightly modified diesel engines. The process designed feeds methanol through a catalytic reactor to create dimethyl ether, with water as a byproduct. A side-reaction from the catalyst produces methyl formate. Recycling the water produced by the reaction for various on-site uses will help save money and reduce the environmental impact of the process. Methyl formate has various industrial uses,as a blowing agent for foams or as an agricultural pesticide, for example. The economical production of dimethyl ether as a transportation fuel could have significant environmental benefits.