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: Electrical Engineering Program
Description
The recent emergence of DNA-based diagnostics increases the demand for rapid DNA sequencing technologies. One method to achieve this is to pass DNA through a nanopore, recording the trans-membrane current with a low-noise current amplifier. The project outlined in this report aims to demonstrate a design of a custom amplifier that offers a wider bandwidth than current designs while maintaining a low signal to noise ratio. The novel amplifier has been designed such that a multi-stage RF signal chain is integrated with an existing amplifier circuit to achieve DNA translocation. Both the existing amplifier circuit and the RF signal chain have produced outputs showing that the two amplifiers are functional and both low frequency signals and high frequency signals can be amplified with this comprehensive circuit design.
ContributorsDharan, Abhishek (Co-author) / Becker, Jared (Co-author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis director) / Yu, Hongyu (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Head's up displays (HUD) are now emerging into the technological market that is used in various functionalities, but most of all, they are expensive. An alternative method to find cheaper ways to develop a head's up display is researched and implemented. The HUD is equipped with a processor and projector. Both of these hardware components encompasses most part of the HUD along with some manipulation of the material that the image is projected on. In this study, the software and the optics of the HUD will be explored and lastly, taking into full consideration on the future work that can be done to make improvements on the HUD.
ContributorsKim, Lilian SA (Author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis director) / Zhang, Yong-Hang (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This is a lectures series on photovoltaics. As the need for electrical energy rises, mankind has struggled to meet its need in a reliable lasting way. Throughout this struggle, solar energy has come to the foreground as a complete solution. However, it has many drawbacks and needs a lot of development. In addition, the general public is unaware of how solar energy works, how it is made, and how it stands economically. This series of lectures answering those three questions.
ContributorsLeBeau, Edward Sanroma (Author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis director) / Bowden, Stuart (Committee member) / Dauksher, Bill (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Remotely controlled flying vehicles such as UAVs are becoming more common due to decreases in material costs and increases in performance of components. Radio control link options, however, have not improved at the same rate as airframes, motors, flight controllers, etc [HobbyKing]. Most UAVs require a radio link, often at 2.4 GHz, for flight control, and a second link at 915 MHz for telemetry data transmission [HobbyKing]. Occasionally there is also a video link at either 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz. Having multiple transmitters increase power usage from the limited battery reserve that the UAV carries. It also increases weight and space used on the airframe. In addition, the 2.4 GHz band is often congested [ISM Congestion] and does not provide as great a range for a given transmission power as lower frequencies do [Wu]. Attempting to reduce space and weight, power consumption, and simplify design, while increasing control and telemetry range requires the design, testing, and implementation of a radio link that handles both real-time flight control and telemetry with the same transceiver. Only the flight control and telemetry will be addressed in this project. Merging and/or improving the video link will not be tackled at this time in order to simplify project goals to fit inside time constraints. The new radio link system will be verified for functionality then power and range test data will be gathered to determine how effective it is.
ContributorsPortillo-Wightman, Gabrielle Raquel (Author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
This document introduces the need for the Rest Egg system and defines an accessible method of smartphone integration. Excessive noise can prevent recovering patients and special needs persons from resting correctly. The Rest Egg was designed for these people- people who are in critical need of quality rest but are often unable to eliminate stressors themselves. This system ensures their environment is calm by alerting caretakers' smartphones if noise reaches abrasive levels. Smartphones were the preferred device due to the wide spread of such devices in today's market. After making open sourcing a goal, something ubiquitous and affordable \u2014 yet usable and dependable \u2014 was necessary for the alert system. These requirements lead to the election an online alert service: Pushover, a trademark and product of Superblock, LLC.
ContributorsJennings, Tyler Blake (Author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis director) / Kozicki, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This paper analyzes existing literature regarding how excessive aggravating stimuli in a hospital environment can reduce the quality and quantity of sleep. The sick and injured are most sensitive to aggravating stimuli and the most vulnerable to poor sleep conditions. For individuals with anxiety, stress, hypersensitivity, or conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as additional stress during rest periods could seriously harm development and overall well-being. While solutions have been proposed and tested, there is no one solution to the problem. One possible solution is to design a device that monitors a patient's room and alerts a nurse or parent of aggravating stimuli so that it can be removed.
ContributorsKhan, Zarah Noor (Author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis director) / Adams, James B. (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The apparent phenomenon of the human eye retaining images for fractions of a second after the light source has gone is known as Persistence of Vision. While its causes are not fully understood, it can be taken advantage of in order to create illusions which trick the mind into perceiving something which, in actuality, is very different from what the mind portrays. It has motivated many creative engineering technologies in the past and is the core for how we perceive motion in movies and animations. This project applies the persistence of vision concept to a lesser explored medium; the wheel of a moving bicycle. The motion of the wheel, along with intelligent control of discrete LEDs, create vibrant illusions of solid lines and shapes. These shapes make up the image to be displayed on the bike wheel. The rotation of the bike wheel can be compensated for in order to produce a standing image (or images) of the user's choosing. This thesis details how the mechanism for conducting the individual LEDs was created in order to produce a device which is capable of delivering colorful, standing images of the user's choosing.
ContributorsSaltwick, Ian Mark (Author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis director) / Kozicki, Michael (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
While SPICE circuit simulation software gives researchers and industry accurate information regarding the behavior and characteristics of circuits, the auditory effect of SPICE circuit simulation on audio circuits is not well documented. This project takes a thoroughly analyzed and popular audio effect circuit called the Ibanez Tubescreamer and simulates its distortion effect on a .wav file in order to hear the effect of SPICE simulation. Specifically, the TS-808 schematic is drawn in the SPICE program LTSPICE and simulated using generated sinusoids and recorded .wav files. Specific components are imported using .MODEL and .SUBCKT to accurately represent the diodes, bipolar transistors, op amps, and other components in order to hear how each component affects the response. Various transient responses are extracted as .wav files and assembled as figures in order to characterize the result of the circuit on the input. Once the actual circuit is built and debugged, all of the same transient analysis is applied and then compared to the SPICE simulation figures gathered in the digital simulation. These results are then compared along with a subjective hearing test of the digital simulation and analog circuit in order to test the validity of the SPICE simulations. The digital simulations reveal that the distortion follows the signature characteristics of Ibanez Tubescreamer which shows that SPICE simulation will give insight into the real effects of audio circuits modeled in SPICE programs. Diodes--such as Silicon, Germanium, Zener, Red LEDs and Blue LEDs--can dramatically change the waveforms and sound of the inputs within the circuit where as the Op-amps--such as the JRC4558, TL072, and NE5532--have little to no effect on the waveforms and subjective effects on the output .wav files. After building the circuit and hearing the difference between the analog circuit and digital simulation, the differences between the two are apparent but very similar in nature--proving that the SPICE simulation can give meaningful insight into the sound of the actual analog circuit. Some of the differences can be explained by the variance of equipment and environment used in recording and playback. Since this project did not use high fidelity audio recording equipment and consistency in the equipment used for playback, it is uncertain if the simulation and actual circuit could be classified as completely accurate. Any further work on the project would be recording and playing back in a constant environment and looking into a wider range of specific components instead of looking into one permutation.
ContributorsMacias, Cole Thomas (Author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis director) / Yu, Shimeng (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
The increasing presence and affordability of sensors provides the opportunity to make novel and creative designs for underserved markets like the legally blind. Here we explore how mathematical methods and device coordination can be utilized to improve the functionality of inexpensive proximity sensing electronics in order to create designs that are versatile, durable, low cost, and simple. Devices utilizing various acoustic and electromagnetic wave frequencies like ultrasonic rangefinders, radars, Lidar rangefinders, webcams, and infrared rangefinders and the concepts of Sensor Fusion, Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave radar, and Phased Arrays were explored. The effects of various factors on the propagation of different wave signals was also investigated. The devices selected to be incorporated into designs were the HB100 DRO Radar Doppler Sensor (as an FMCW radar), HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor, and Maxbotix Ultrasonic Rangefinder \u2014 EZ3. Three designs were ultimately developed and dubbed the "Rad-Son Fusion", the "Tri-Beam Scanner", and the "Dual-Receiver Ranger". The "Rad-Son Fusion" employs the Sensor Fusion of an FMCW radar and Ultrasonic sensor through a weighted average of the distance reading from the two sensors. The "Tri-Beam Scanner" utilizes a beam-forming Digital Phased Array of ultrasonic sensors to scan its surroundings. The "Dual-Receiver Ranger" uses the convolved result from to two modified HC-SR04 sensors to determine the time of flight and ultimately an object's distance. After conducting hardware experiments to determine the feasibility of each design, the "Dual-Receiver Ranger" was prototyped and tested to demonstrate the potential of the concept. The designs were later compared based on proposed requirements and possible improvements and challenges associated with the designs are discussed.
ContributorsFeinglass, Joshua Forster (Author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis director) / Reisslein, Martin (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This creative project is a part of the work being done as a Senior Design Project in which an autonomous solar charge controller is being developed. The goal of this project is to design and build a prototype of an autonomous solar charge controller that can work independently of the power grid. This solar charge controller is being built for a community in Monument Valley, Arizona who live off grid. The controller is designed to step down power supplied by an array of solar panels to charge a 48V battery and supply power to an inverter. The charge controller can implement MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) to charge the battery and power the inverter, it also is capable of disconnecting from the battery when the battery is fully charged and reconnecting when it detects that the battery has discharged. The charge controller can also switch from supplying power to the inverter from the panel to supplying power from the battery at low sun or night. These capabilities are not found in solar charge controllers that are on the market. This project aims to achieve all these capabilities and provide a solution for the problems being faced by the current solar charge controller
ContributorsSingh, Khushi (Author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis director) / Kitchen, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2021-12