Project goal: To create a neuro-diagnostic research suite to study nerve recovery and repair in animals. The system has two main functions that allow observation of certain characteristics of a repaired nerve and the corresponding muscle it innervates. First, it allows observation of nerve conduction velocity, the speed at which the action potential propagates down the nerve. To calculate conduction velocity, the system stimulates the nerve at two locations along the nerve pathway.Velocity is calculated from the distance between the two points and the time it takes to stimulate the muscle from each location. Frequency and magnitude of can be controlled to observe different muscle excitation characteristics.Second, muscle contraction characteristics can be observed when the nerve is stimulated in different ways. Characteristics include frequency, duration and amplitude of stimulation, and force generated. A force sensor is attached surgically to the subject’s severed tendon at the insertion end of the muscle. When the muscle contracts, the force generated is amplified and transmitted to a computer where it is interpreted. Electrodes connected to an oscilloscope are placed in the subject’s muscle to study electrical stimulation.A surgical stage was designed to hold three different subject sizes in place while testing. The stage consists of a heating pad and sensor that keeps the subject’s temperature within a desired range. Data collected is processed by an Arduino and displayed on a computer via a graphical user interface that allows the user to control the subject’s temperature and stimulation characteristics. The system was not tested on animals, but on models that replicated what would occur during actual use.

Project goal: To design and build a prototype system to disable unmanned aircraft. The Federal Communications Commission has begun regulating unmanned aircraft but they can still cause harm in the wrong hands. The system designed disables communication between the remote controller and the unmanned aircraft and aims to prevent this potential harm. Communication is disabled using a high-powered router that emits the same frequencies as unmanned aircraft that operate at 2.4–5.8 GHz. The frequency is amplified and transmitted by a high-power directional antenna. Amplification ensures that the frequencies overpower the controller’s transmissions and that path loss is reduced throughout the transmission. The design includes a control system with an LCD screen, which is used to direct the transmission toward the unmanned aircraft and for active amplification of waves via mechanical switch. Once the amplifier is activated,the unmanned aircraft is unable to register the controller’s commands, causing it to fall from the sky or return to its user.

Project goal: To design, build and test a lightweight and portable oscilloscope in a price range suitable for both hobbyists and engineers. Oscilloscopes are essential for circuit analysis,but their bulk, expense and reliance on a power outlet often confine their use to the laboratory. The product designed, called the μScope, has two sub-assemblies: the simplified hardware and a graphical user interface to display its voltage readings. A printed circuit board was created to implement the input-phase circuitry for adjusting voltage readings to ranges readable by the analog-to-digital converter. All conversion was then performed via the firmware and sent to the microcontroller using serial peripheral interface protocols. Measurements are read by connecting the μScope to a computer via USB cable and signals are viewed in a graphical user interface, which was designed in LabVIEW because of its high compatibility with other system components.

Project goal: To design, build and test a standoff noninvasive system to detect people hidden in vehicles. The system uses an ultra-wideband radar sensor to detect the minute movements of the human chest caused by breathing or a beating heart. The radar sensor operates at a frequency of 6–10 GHz with a 60-degree with a sixty-degree arc and a maximum sensing distance of 9 meters. The returned signal is processed by an on-sensor advanced reduced instruction set computer machine processor with Doppler signal-processing algorithms. These processed signals are sent to a microcontroller that looks at the base band amplitudes to determine respiratory or heartbeat spikes that would indicate human presence. Once processing is completed, the number of detected presences is shown on a touch screen display. The touchscreen display also allows users to control the system, which is water-resistant, portable, easy to train on and use, and capable of working on cars, pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles.

Project goal: To design an active vibration control system using inertial measurement units to detect motion changes of the camera. Active vibration control is designed to remove the small pixel blurs on the detector of a camera system when imaging an object. When the system is mounted on a vehicle and a camera is imaging an object far away, image blur is more likely because sensitivity increases with distance. Conventional active vibration control systems use passive gyroscopic means to eliminate the imaging errors. The inertial measurement unit sends binary code to a motor-control unit, and a control loop algorithm pushes commands to the three individual motors. A fabricated three-axis gimbal is used to mechanically account for image stabilization. The camera itself allows for some built-in optical image stabilization, and the inertial measurement units facilitate an electronic approach to mitigate vibrational errors in the system. The active vibration control system mounted on an unmanned aircraft will correct for pitch, yaw and roll to allow imaging of an object 300 meters away with a standard digital camera.

Project goals: To test visibly opaque windows by flexible optical ray metrology using an infrared camera with a thermal source, to improve test usability by automating test window positioning, and to quantitatively characterize test subsystem performance. Flexible optical ray metrology measures complex aspheric windows in transmission. The transmitted wavefront error and surface quality of these windows are determined by measuring off-nominal deflections of a known patterned source. Tightly toleranced spatial control of the optic in pitch, yaw and roll was achieved by designing a kinematic optical mount for the free-form optic under test. A software package and graphical user interface were created in LabView to automate spatial positioning of the optic and subsequent image acquisition. Mechanical performance of the motorized optic mount was characterized with a laser tracker, and an infrared modulation transfer function test was designed and implemented to verify optical performance modeled in Zemax. The improved flexible optical ray metrology system overcomes challenges associated with free-form window metrology, and could lead to higher-quality fabrication processes for visibly opaque conformal windows.

Project goal: To develop a system that allows autonomous fiber-optic cable exchanging within a vacuum environment,and to develop fiber-optic pass-through that allows the system to exchange signals through a vacuum wall. Accurate angular positioning of light-collection fibers relative to both source and sample had to be established so that light from the source reflecting off the sample was properly characterized. The team designed an autonomous data-collection system to measure spectral reflectance for recovery of a sample’s bidirectional reflectance distribution function, or BRDF. A fiber-caddying system was designed to allow the programmed arm to selectone of the system’s three data-collection fibers. The fiber was moved to precise locations to facilitate measurements of the sample’s reflection across the fiber’s effective spectral region. The used fiber was remounted and the next fiber selected for use. A custom CF flange (a type of industry-standard vacuum flange) containing fiber-connection points and epoxy-sealed windows was designed, and two ThorLabs CF flanges were purchased to maximize outgoing transmission without compromising the vacuum seal. Tests were performed on the designs for the autonomous BRDF vacuum-measurement system to ensure reliable fiber interchange and maximal spectral reflectance recovery.

Project goal: To evaluate the capability of the IBIS-FB radar in predicting vibrations during blasting. A secondary objective was to develop a centralized data interface system to handle data from seismographs and the IBIS-FB. Data was collected using the IBIS-FB and seismograph concurrently at a local mine. Because the radar transmits uni-directionally and seismographs read tri-directionally, the radar and seismograph were aligned in the radial direction. Analysis was done by creating regression curves plotting peak particle velocity against scaled distance for the radar, the seismograph, and a set of combined radar and seismograph data. The database created was used to build a heat map of the propagation of blast vibrations using seismographs or radars, or both. Blasting parameters were run through empirical models based on the developed regression curves and target digital terrain model to generate peak particle velocity versus scaled distance predictive heat map overlays.

Project goal: To evaluate the performance of a phase change material and develop a set of design options for installation in pre-existing residential homes. The design incorporates the phase change material into a multi-piece interior design concept, allowing flexibility for Salt River Project and its customers. Unlike traditional thermal modeling, special software was used to simulate the phase change material transitioning between solid and liquid states. A small-scale physical model was built to collect and compare data to that from the thermal analysis model. The physical model simulates a life-size residential room and a room within the thermal analysis model. Through specific designs or combinations of pieces, the results have shown the quantity of phase change material required to shift electrical loads to non-peak hours, which will enable Salt River Project and its customers save energy and costs.

Project goal: To obtain experimental data for lift, drag and 3-axis moments of inertia for one quadcopter rotor at various motor speeds, air speeds and angles of attack. The team designed a test apparatus for a single rotor of the quadcopter and tested it in the University of Arizona subsonic wind tunnel. Design requirements included size, vibration frequencies to avoid, cost, and wind tunnel compatibility. Thrust testing conducted inside the wind tunnel determined the position and size of the model. Data was recorded using a load cell and analyzed using a Microsoft Excel model. To understand the vibration that the model would experience at various motor speeds and to ensure the safety of the wind tunnel equipment, accelerometers were mounted on the test model, which was mounted to a sturdy grounded beam. MatLab was used to analyze the data and provide wind tunnel personnel with the information they needed to approve use of the equipment. The sponsor will use data recorded by the wind tunnel balance to optimize autopilot control algorithms for smoother and safer transition events.