DATE: Thursday, April 26, 2018
PLACE : Raffel’s – 10160 Reading Road (see below for directions)
TIME : 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – Social Time
6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. – Dinner
7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. – Presentation
COST: $10- $15, See information in Reservations

ABOUT THE MEETING:
University of Cincinnati and Miami University Senior Project Presentations
Each year the engineering students at the University of Cincinnati and Miami University complete their senior projects. We are amazed at the talent and creativity of these students as they present their projects to us. These presentations are typically an interesting mix of hardware and software, solving problems, improving efficiencies, and creating new opportunities.

UC Senior Design Projects
Project: RF Spectrum Analyzer
Group members: Marshall Beck, Sadie DiMuzio, Kevin Mosko and Huy Tran
Advisor: Rick Hunter
The scope of the project was to design a spectrum analyzer that could be used in a classroom environment for a reasonable cost. The final technical specifications of this analyzer would allow for analysis on a wide bandwidth and signals with large dynamic range.
The group opted in taking a primarily analog approach to the project, following a typical swept-tuned spectrum analyzer design. One unique feature to this system in comparison to other swept analyzers is the addition of a mixed-signal backend, allowing for an easy to learn UI and providing opportunities for future developments. The system design also allows for easy repair incase the user (student) over-drives the front-end!

Project: Mission Box
Group members: Nguyen Hoang, Matt Stephan, Chirag Shah, Joe Casey
Advisor: Mehdi Nourozi
ABSTRACT
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) received significant attentions in recent years due to the advances in development of cost effective drones as well as improvements in the related software platforms. Drones can be used for various applications including infrastructure inspection, surveying and mapping, agriculture tracking, and traffic monitoring. The University of Cincinnati Infrastructure Institute (UCII) works as a technical liaison for the Ohio/Indiana UAS center to effectively employ UAVs improving Ohio Department of Transportation’s business functions. Carrying out drone missions, video, images and other sensory data is recorded and saved locally to be analyzed and post-processed later. Therefore, there is a need for a device that can effectively record and post process data on-site and share data in real-time among on-site and off-site experts. This senior project addresses these needs by developing a portable computing system called the Mission Box. The second version of the Mission Box that is developed in this project can connect to the drone and collect data in real-time (during the flight), stream video over wireless network for the on-site officials, stream video over virtual reality goggles and also stream data to ODOT video servers (Milestone) where video can be watched and processed remotely.

Project: Intelligent Locker
Group members: Bailey Bunch, Dylan Rolf, Matthew Cahall and Oliver Wagner
Advisor: Carla Purdy
The Intelligent Locker System provides an all in one upgrade to an existing locker system. A custom made lock module is attached to the front of an existing locker and a main control module is used as a server for each locker. A simple and user friendly website is used to guide users through checking in or out of a locker. In addition, administrators are given additional controls to aid in monitoring and control of the system. The Intelligent Locker System aids to upgrade locker systems with modern technology to help with administration, ease of use, and security.

Miami University Presentations:
1. “High Frequency DC/DC Power Supply” (Students: Ben Shaffer and Nick Wolford; Advisor: Mark Scott): Students involved in this project will make an isolated bi-directional DC/DC converter using gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). The target application is SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. The DC/DC converter with transfer energy between two DC buses: 28 V and 120 V. The target power level is 2kW (which is lower than the peak 5kW specified). Students will use simulation tools (PSIM, LTSPICE) to evaluate the steady state and transient behavior of the converter. A printed circuit board will be created using Altium Designer. The PCB layout will be evaluated using Ansys Q3D. An integrated, 2kW, high frequency transformer will also be designed. Simulations of the transformer will be performed using Ansys’s Maxwell. The converter will be controlled using a TMS320F28335 microcontroller from Texas Instruments. Final experimental results will include efficiency and EMI measurements.
2. “Interactive Tetris Game” (Students: Connor Blandford, Oakley Katterheinrich, and Parth Patel; Advisor: Chi-Hao Cheng): The goal of this project is to create an interactive, unique two-player Tetris experience. This project consists of two main parts: block creation via image processing, and player-game interaction via controller. The block creation will be controlled by one of the players, who will create the shapes by making gestures in front of a camera. Another player will move the block by moving his/her arm in front a camera.

One additional UC project will be forthcoming.

MENU SELECTIONS:
Buffet Menu: Herbed Grilled Chicken Breast, Baked Ham with Pineapples, Quinoa w/ Shiitakes & Snow Peas, Sauteed Seasonal Vegetables, Spinach Salad, Fresh Cut Fruit Salad, Dinner Rolls & Butter

LOCATION: Raffel’s is located at 10160 Reading Road, south of Glendale-Milford Road on the east side of Reading. Take I-75 to the Glendale-Milford Rd. Exit, go east on Glendale-Milford Road approximately ¾ of a mile to Reading Rd. and turn right on Reading.

RESERVATIONS: https://ieeecincinnati.org/meetings/. Please click on the appropriate link and complete the reservation. (Note: Meeting list on webpage is slow to load on some browsers)
Reservations close end of day April 24, 2018.

DINNER RESERVATION CANCELLATION POLICY
An email to Reservations@ieeecincinnati.org prior to the close of reservations is required to properly cancel your reservation.
All Reservations must be made by end of day, Tuesday April 24, 2018

WALK-INS (those without reservations): You are welcome to attend this meeting and/or enjoy the dinner even if you did not register in advance. Walk-ins pay a higher $15 dinner fee. Raffel’s determines our cost based on the number of plates used; if you choose to have dinner, please pay the fee if you eat even if you arrive late or didn’t pre-register.

PE CREDITS: Depending on the subject matter, attendance at IEEE Cincinnati Section Meetings now qualifies the attendee for Professional Development Hours towards renewal of Professional Engineers Licenses. Required documentation will be available following the meeting if qualified! The Section Meetings also provide a great opportunity to network with fellow engineers in the area.