Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- Creators: Baumann, Alicia
Description
This thesis is a proposition for an addition to an engineering project that involves creating a heads up display for a scuba diving mask which displays important safety information. The premise of this thesis includes three different features: distress, distance, and direction. The distress feature is to alert a diver that their “buddy diver” is having an emergency and is requiring attention. Distance and direction are intended to be included on the heads up display, informing the diver of the relative location of their “buddy diver” in case they have lost sight of them. A set of requirements was created to find the most practical solutions. From these requirements and extensive research, three potential methods of underwater communication were found; electromagnetic waves in the radio frequency range, optical waves, and acoustic waves. Of these three methods, acoustic waves were found to be most feasible for the scope of this project. Using modems and transducers, an acoustic signal is able to be sent from one diver to another in order to detect relative location as well as send a message of distress. Ultimately, two possible concepts were designed, with one deemed as most advantageous. This concept engages the use of four transponders that have the ability to transmit and receive high frequencies, minimizes blind spots, and is small enough to not cause discomfort or be obstructive to the divers experience. Due to the nature of this application, the team is able to propose a path of development for a compact communication system between scuba divers.
ContributorsNossaman, Grace (Co-author) / Hocken, Chase (Co-author) / Padilla, Bryan (Co-author) / Richmond, Christ D. (Thesis director) / Baumann, Alicia (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This thesis is a proposition for an addition to an engineering project that involves creating a heads up display for a scuba diving mask which displays important safety information. The premise of this thesis includes three different features: distress, distance, and direction. The distress feature is to alert a diver that their “buddy diver” is having an emergency and is requiring attention. Distance and direction are intended to be included on the heads up display, informing the diver of the relative location of their “buddy diver” in case they have lost sight of them. A set of requirements was created to find the most practical solutions. From these requirements and extensive research, three different methods of underwater communication were found, but only one, acoustics, was feasible for the scope of this project. Using modems and transducers, an acoustic signal is able to be sent from one diver to another in order to detect relative location as well as send a message of distress. Ultimately, two possible concepts were designed, with one deemed as most advantageous. This concept engages the use of four transponders that have the ability to transmit and receive high frequencies, minimizes blind spots, and is small enough to not cause discomfort or be obstructive to the divers experience.
ContributorsHocken, Chase (Co-author) / Nossaman, Grace (Co-author) / Padilla, Bryan (Co-author) / Richmond, Christ D (Thesis director) / Baumann, Alicia (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This thesis is a proposition for an addition to an engineering project that involves creating a heads up display for a scuba diving mask which displays important safety information. The premise of this thesis includes three different features: distress, distance, and direction. The distress feature is to alert a diver that their “buddy diver” is having an emergency and is requiring attention. Distance and direction are intended to be included on the heads up display, informing the diver of the relative location of their “buddy diver” in case they have lost sight of them. A set of requirements was created to find the most practical solutions. From these requirements and extensive research, three potential methods of underwater communication were found; electromagnetic waves in the radio frequency range, optical waves, and acoustic waves. Of these three methods, acoustic waves were found to be most feasible for the scope of this project. Using modems and transducers, an acoustic signal is able to be sent from one diver to another in order to detect relative location as well as send a message of distress. Ultimately, two possible concepts were designed, with one deemed as most advantageous. This concept engages the use of four transponders that have the ability to transmit and receive high frequencies, minimizes blind spots, and is small enough to not cause discomfort or be obstructive to the divers experience. Due to the nature of this application, the team is able to propose a path of development for a compact communication system between scuba divers.
ContributorsPadilla, Bryan (Co-author) / Nossaman, Grace (Co-author) / Hocken, Chase (Co-author) / Richmond, Christ D. (Thesis director) / Baumann, Alicia (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The use of conventional weather radar in vulcanology leads to two problems: the radars often use wavelengths which are too long to detect the fine ash particles, and they cannot be field–adjusted to fit the wide variety of eruptions. Thus, to better study these geologic processes, a new radar must be developed that is easily reconfigurable to allow for flexibility and can operate at sufficiently short wavelengths.
This thesis investigates how to design a radar using a field–programmable gate array board to generate the radar signal, and process the returned signal to determine the distance and concentration of objects (in this case, ash). The purpose of using such a board lies in its reconfigurability—a design can (relatively easily) be adjusted, recompiled, and reuploaded to the hardware with none of the cost or time overhead required of a standard weather radar.
The design operates on the principle of frequency–modulated continuous–waves, in which the output signal frequency changes as a function of time. The difference in transmit and echo frequencies determines the distance of an object, while the magnitude of a particular difference frequency corresponds to concentration. Thus, by viewing a spectrum of frequency differences, one is able to see both the concentration and distances of ash from the radar.
The transmit signal data was created in MATLAB®, while the radar was designed with MATLAB® Simulink® using hardware IP blocks and implemented on the ROACH2 signal processing hardware, which utilizes a Xilinx® Virtex®–6 chip. The output is read from a computer linked to the hardware through Ethernet, using a Python™ script. Testing revealed minor flaws due to the usage of lower–grade components in the prototype. However, the functionality of the proposed radar design was proven, making this approach to radar a promising path for modern vulcanology.
This thesis investigates how to design a radar using a field–programmable gate array board to generate the radar signal, and process the returned signal to determine the distance and concentration of objects (in this case, ash). The purpose of using such a board lies in its reconfigurability—a design can (relatively easily) be adjusted, recompiled, and reuploaded to the hardware with none of the cost or time overhead required of a standard weather radar.
The design operates on the principle of frequency–modulated continuous–waves, in which the output signal frequency changes as a function of time. The difference in transmit and echo frequencies determines the distance of an object, while the magnitude of a particular difference frequency corresponds to concentration. Thus, by viewing a spectrum of frequency differences, one is able to see both the concentration and distances of ash from the radar.
The transmit signal data was created in MATLAB®, while the radar was designed with MATLAB® Simulink® using hardware IP blocks and implemented on the ROACH2 signal processing hardware, which utilizes a Xilinx® Virtex®–6 chip. The output is read from a computer linked to the hardware through Ethernet, using a Python™ script. Testing revealed minor flaws due to the usage of lower–grade components in the prototype. However, the functionality of the proposed radar design was proven, making this approach to radar a promising path for modern vulcanology.
ContributorsLee, Byeong Mok (Co-author) / Xi, Andrew Jinchi (Co-author) / Groppi, Christopher (Thesis director) / Mauskopf, Philip (Committee member) / Baumann, Alicia (Committee member) / Cochran, Douglas (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The use of conventional weather radar in vulcanology leads to two problems: the radars often use wavelengths which are too long to detect the fine ash particles, and they cannot be field–adjusted to fit the wide variety of eruptions. Thus, to better study these geologic processes, a new radar must be developed that is easily reconfigurable to allow for flexibility and can operate at sufficiently short wavelengths.
This thesis investigates how to design a radar using a field–programmable gate array board to generate the radar signal, and process the returned signal to determine the distance and concentration of objects (in this case, ash). The purpose of using such a board lies in its reconfigurability—a design can (relatively easily) be adjusted, recompiled, and reuploaded to the hardware with none of the cost or time overhead required of a standard weather radar.
The design operates on the principle of frequency–modulated continuous–waves, in which the output signal frequency changes as a function of time. The difference in transmit and echo frequencies determines the distance of an object, while the magnitude of a particular difference frequency corresponds to concentration. Thus, by viewing a spectrum of frequency differences, one is able to see both the concentration and distances of ash from the radar.
The transmit signal data was created in MATLAB®, while the radar was designed with MATLAB® Simulink® using hardware IP blocks and implemented on the ROACH2 signal processing hardware, which utilizes a Xilinx® Virtex®–6 chip. The output is read from a computer linked to the hardware through Ethernet, using a Python™ script. Testing revealed minor flaws due to the usage of lower–grade components in the prototype. However, the functionality of the proposed radar design was proven, making this approach to radar a promising path for modern vulcanology.
This thesis investigates how to design a radar using a field–programmable gate array board to generate the radar signal, and process the returned signal to determine the distance and concentration of objects (in this case, ash). The purpose of using such a board lies in its reconfigurability—a design can (relatively easily) be adjusted, recompiled, and reuploaded to the hardware with none of the cost or time overhead required of a standard weather radar.
The design operates on the principle of frequency–modulated continuous–waves, in which the output signal frequency changes as a function of time. The difference in transmit and echo frequencies determines the distance of an object, while the magnitude of a particular difference frequency corresponds to concentration. Thus, by viewing a spectrum of frequency differences, one is able to see both the concentration and distances of ash from the radar.
The transmit signal data was created in MATLAB®, while the radar was designed with MATLAB® Simulink® using hardware IP blocks and implemented on the ROACH2 signal processing hardware, which utilizes a Xilinx® Virtex®–6 chip. The output is read from a computer linked to the hardware through Ethernet, using a Python™ script. Testing revealed minor flaws due to the usage of lower–grade components in the prototype. However, the functionality of the proposed radar design was proven, making this approach to radar a promising path for modern vulcanology.
ContributorsXi, Andrew Jinchi (Co-author) / Lee, Matthew Byeongmok (Co-author) / Groppi, Christopher (Thesis director) / Mauskopf, Philip (Committee member) / Cochran, Douglas (Committee member) / Baumann, Alicia (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
In June of 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum for its citizens to decide whether to remain a part of the European Union or take their leave. The vote was close but ultimately the U.K. decided to leave, triggering the two-year process of negotiations that would shape the U.K.’s departure (Brexit). The question of what will become of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is heavy with implications for the national identity of people living on either side of the border, and this makes it one of the more pressing concerns in Brexit discourse. This research analyzes how national identity is used as a rhetorical tactic in media to influence and persuade readers to vote in accordance with the author’s political goals. It does so by evaluating how borders shape national identity and analyzing newspaper articles from the two highest circulating Northern Irish daily newspapers (The Irish News and the Belfast Telegraph) during the week leading up to the June 23rd, 2016 referendum. In analyzing news articles relating to the Irish border issue of Brexit from The Irish News and the Belfast Telegraph during the time frame of June 16th-23rd, 2016, four analytical categories of how identity-related rhetoric was used were discovered: fear, self-interest, Irish Nationalism, and a negative association of the past. Further, it was hypothesized and confirmed the political leanings of the papers influenced which type of rhetorical tactic was used. In the broad realm of Brexit and media related discussion, this research could help strengthen understanding of how traditional media uses national identity to persuade readers to and influence voting behavior in the midst of such a divisive referendum.
Key Words: Brexit, Irish border, national identity, rhetoric, newspapers
Key Words: Brexit, Irish border, national identity, rhetoric, newspapers
ContributorsCaldwell, Tara (Author) / O'Flaherty, Katherine (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05