Modern technology is providing new functionality for data processing interactions between general purpose processors (GPPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). Systems on a chip (SOCs) open up the bottlenecks when GPPs and FPGAs are implemented into different integrated circuits. Software-defined radio (SDR) boards include RFIC radio frequency integrated circuits that reduce size, weight and power while improving performance.

This project involved prototyping FPGA software to evaluate the capabilities of the Rincon Raptor board. The team examined the types of processing performed in SDRs, developed an architecture to exploit the interfaces supported by the SOC and prototyped and evaluated an RFIC/FPGA/GPP implementation on SOC hardware.

The team developed signal processing functions in VHDL to find the limitations of the Raptor board’s data rate. Equipped with a Xilinx UltraScale SOC, featuring a combination of a traditional general-purpose processor and FPGA, the Raptor board acts as an ideal environment for development. This setup allows for quicker signal processing speed.

Medical catheters are tubes inserted in body cavities, vessels and ducts to drain body fluids. The diaphragm membrane is a critical component of the catheter. It bursts at a certain pressure when a blockage occurs to allow fluids to flow through the opening created. One such use for this membrane design would be in a brain shunt to drain cerebrospinal fluid. Because of the body’s sensitivity to pressure, especially in the brain, the membrane must burst at a specific pressure to ensure no damage is done to the brain. These ultrathin membranes are difficult to produce.

This team developed a method to achieve the same burst pressure in the membrane while ensuring a consistent manufacturing process. The approach focused on creating a diaphragm membrane with an intentional slit geometry to act as a weak point and burst at a given pressure, providing an alternative path for fluid drainage. The students analyzed several slit geometries and corresponding manufacturing capabilities.

The slits in the membrane were produced using a laser ablation device. The membrane was made from biocompatible liquid silicone rubber to minimize adverse affects on surrounding tissue. The team pressure-tested its design, and, with a durometer, measured the hardness of the silicone. To ensure the system was reproducible, the team analyzed capability and performance standards using the PPK process.

Mosquitoes transmit deadly diseases and viruses. Entomology researchers place surveillance traps to capture the insects alive and determine what diseases they are carrying. These traps, which are cumbersome, rely on the production of carbon dioxide to attract mosquitoes.

This design combines two modular subsystems: the mosquito lure and environmental sensors. The lure uses a one-pound propane tank with safety mechanisms to produce carbon dioxide at preprogrammed times. Environmental sensors collect data while the propane is releasing carbon dioxide into the environment.

Combustion components include a solenoid valve and electronic piezo igniter controlled by an Arduino. A tilt switch stops combustion if the tank is knocked over or tampered with. Sensor components include a GPS, thermometer, humidity sensor and atmospheric pressure sensor. The data is collected on a removable SD card controlled by the same Arduino Mega 2450 Board coded in C++.

Bench testing is key to the safety and efficacy of medical devices. Models must be extraordinarily similar to the anatomy of the human body to generate valid data before devices can be tested on humans.

This project demonstrates a more realistic model of thrombus adhesion to blood vessels in the human body. The design encompasses multiple components to represent an adhered thrombus, including various sizes of tubing, grooving patterns on the interior wall of the tubing, and collagen coating on the interior tubular interface.

Specifically, the team used three tubing sizes to represent different functions of blood vessels ranging in diameter from 3 millimeters to 10 millimeters. The interior wall of the tubing was scored and coated with a collagen solution to increase thrombus adhesion. The components designed for bench testing closely modeled actual human blood vessels.

Every year, the University of Arizona Baja Society of Automotive Engineers team designs and builds an off-road vehicle to race against other schools in competition. The car has a mechanical continuously variable transmission (CVT). It has pulleys, which use internal flyweights and springs for actuation, that vary their diameters depending on engine RPM and load coming from the gearbox.

This project presents a more efficient method that controls the pulley diameter electronically.

The team modeled and designed a system consisting of two pulleys, two motors, two linear actuators, hydraulics, three microcontrollers, an RPM sensor, and a housing to protect the electronics. Additionally, the team implemented a controls algorithm based on modeled vehicle dynamics to determine the proper gear ratios for optimal performance. The students integrated and tested the system on the club’s 2021 Baja competition car, finding that it displayed superior durability, tunability and control.

Northrop Grumman uses flythrough covers to cloak the shapes of launch vehicles and protect their frontends from environmental conditions. However, these covers are not reusable.

This team tested and modeled a reusable frontend cover and cable and spool retraction system, whereby the cover can be removed without recontacting the vehicle.

The cover has a clamshell-like opening and is made of a soft, durable, inflatable material. It protects the vehicle from high temperatures, wind, precipitation and humidity and can be used two or three times within a year. The easily assembled, operated and transported retraction system can be adapted to different launch sites and vehicle heights.

Being able to ensure correct volumes of staining fluid for specimens allows for more reliable testing. Roche Tissue Diagnostics wishes to test and analyze the viability of using strain gauges to estimate volumes of mostly liquid specimens on slides as they are stained in the BenchMark ULTRA staining system.

Because strain gauges typically estimate mass, or weight, this system must use a known density to reverse-calculate the weight.

In addition to the viability study, the team designed a device to fit within the BenchMark ULTRA for RICK v4.0 testing. Specifications included withstanding temperature and humidity fluctuations as well as the system vibrations during the staining without impeding the process or making it more difficult for technicians. The outcome was a system that employs a microcontroller, load cell with a four-strain gauge system running through a signal amplifier, and various methods of power regulation.

Motion blur when forward moving aircraft take images of ground objects has been remedied with expensive camera gimbals, which use motors and intelligent sensors to support and stabilize a camera. This project aims to translate the focal plane of the camera to create line of sight stabilization that corrects for forward motion blur, thereby eliminating the need for a gimbal.

The team’s Low Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) Forward Motion Blur Correction for Airborne Imaging device (FMBC) translates the focal plane of the camera at a rate that compensates for the relative speed of the ground object so stationary objects do not appear blurry on the detector of the camera.

A monochrome camera, imaging lens and motorized linear translation stage make up the FMBC system. The camera is attached to the stage to allow back and forth movement to correct for motion blur when in flight. The SWaP design interfaces with LabVIEW and Vision software to test the quality of the corrected images. However, because the FMBC device could not be tested in a flight environment, the team used a ground vehicle to simulate forward motion.

This project required redesign of NASA’s previously developed Thermally Coupled Temperature Swing Adsorption and Compression (TS-TSAC) systems, providing an air revitalization alternative to assist in the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration objectives.

For the Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation, or M2M X-Hab, challenge, the model uses new geometry to continue the exploration of combining carbon dioxide removal and compression into one system. The system consists of two half-cycles whereby packed beds of regenerable bulk sorbents and heat cycles simultaneously adsorb and compress carbon dioxide.

The team designed the adsorption and compression beds in a cylindrical shape to maximize air flow. A desiccant helps lower humidity levels and the sorbent Zeolite 13X to capture carbon dioxide. Sensors monitor both, and a custom heater in the adsorption bed regenerates the sorbent. The experimental system is expected to scale up to 4 kg of carbon dioxide removal per day. The team produced multiple design alternatives.

Commercial aircraft have a transponder to transmit position, altitude and velocity to other aircraft that helps pilots determine potential risk of aircraft collisions along their flight paths. In high-density areas, the traffic display becomes cluttered with information, making it difficult to use.

This project presents new software to predict aircraft trajectories. It displays only the most relevant information to assist pilots during flight, increasing situational awareness and reducing the risk of collisions.

The team expanded an existing machine learning algorithm to accurately predict aircraft trajectories and implemented several techniques to declutter pilot traffic displays. The software design, developed using Python, continuously creates projected paths for all available aircraft up to three minutes into the future and updates the traffic display every five seconds. The design compares future flight paths to determine whether any aircraft will be in the traffic advisory area minutes before a warning is announced. Mean squared error calculations determine the accuracy of predicted values against their true values, and the display reverts to unfiltered data when accuracy is below 96%. The user can toggle between multiple display options within seconds. The students’ Decluttered Aircraft Traffic Display System is expected to show predicted collision risks before the traffic collision avoidance system calls out warnings.