Engineering Technology

Engineering Technology

• ET-1 DSP Smart Guitar System

  Paulina Bejar, Neftali Barreto, Chinedu Onukwuru, Shevin Joseph
  Advisor: Mr. Eric Carr, Dr. Fanaei Mohammad

  If you have ever used standard guitar effects pedals, you know how time-consuming, disorganized, and expensive it can be to set them up. Over 16 million Americans aged 13 to 64 have started learning to play guitar in the last two years, according to a study conducted by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Consider what might happen if these aspiring guitarists were given an effects system that could save them time, effort, and, most crucially, money. With the DSP (Digital Signal Processing) based guitar effects system and associated software, more people may learn to play guitar by reducing the amount of equipment required and substantially lowering the cost, all without sacrificing sound quality. By eliminating large chains of physical effects pedals, our DSP smart guitar integrated system dramatically simplifies the entire process. You may easily unplug a pair of instrument cables using a DSP setup. A diverse array of our stakeholders, such as concert artists, might save a lot of time and money with the DSP smart guitar system. Without the trouble of connecting different standard pedals, music therapists might spend their time more productively. Music therapy may be highly customized, making it appropriate for people of all ages, even very young toddlers. Our DSP-based guitar effect system has a system capable of delivering four of the most popular effects: distortion, overdrive, delay, and reverb. It reduces the need for excess equipment, reduces expenses for guitar players, and reduces the amount of external equipment usually required in the traditional guitar setups.

• ET-2 D.I.Y. Eurorack Physical Modelling Sound Source Module

  Benjamin Cowell, Robert Bruhns, Gianluca Natale
  Advisor: Dr. Finley Shapiro, James Mackenzie

  The A-100 Ecosystem, more commonly referred to as a Eurorack system, is a standardized modular sound synthesizer format first created in the 90s by Dieter Doepfer. Over the years, the power standards and size requirements outlined by the Eurorack format have gained rapid popularity and are now the most widely adopted modular synthesizer format to date. These racks typically consist of sound sources, amplifiers, filters, mixers, sequencers, and utility modules where the signal path is patched together using 1/8” audio cables which control the voltage of various parameters of the modules within a system.

  Many Eurorack synthesizer modules are offered as either open-source projects or DIY kits; however, the current chip shortage has led to problems manufacturing the modules and/or supplying the components necessary to allow the end user to be able to build it themselves. In addition, there are no sound source modules that utilize physical modelling techniques in order to generate sound. This project will outline the component selections, design choices, testing procedures, and manufacturing processes that will lead to the production of a quality Eurorack physical modelling sound source module D.I.Y. kit that is unaffected by the global chip shortage.

• ET-4 Portable Hydrogen-Powered RT-LAMP Medical Test

  Edward Fusco, Bryan O'Toole, Nicholas Wall
  Advisor: Dr. Michael G. Mauk

  RT-LAMP (Reverse Transcription Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification) Testing is a saliva-based medical test method that can be used to detect several types of viruses (SARS-Cov-2/COVID-19, AIDS, chicken pox, and others). This serves as an alternative to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) medical tests, which are the standard for testing a patient for COVID-19 and other viruses in high-income countries. There are also at-home tests, but they have a significantly lower accuracy rate than that of PCR testing. In developing nations where PCR testing is not an option and electrical infrastructure is scarce, it can be difficult to obtain accurate information about the spread of a virus within a given population. To solve this problem, we have designed an enclosure and diagnostic collection method for an experimental COVID-19 detection system based on a test devised at the University of Pennsylvania. The experiment uses Magnesium-Iron (MgFe) powder to generate heat and a wax powder phase change material (PureTemp 68) to regulate temperature and prevent the saliva sample from boiling. Our current portable prototype can harness the hydrogen gas emission from this chemical reaction and generate electricity through a hydrogen fuel cell. This is used to run a microcontroller coded to diagnose the sample, power LEDs to display a test result, and even connect with a smartphone without needing the use of batteries or traditional electrical power. Our system is currently the size of a reusable water bottle but could eventually be reduced to a palm-sized device with further research and development.

• ET-5 Project Condor

  Rick Temple, Abdullah Iqbal, Chris Meyers, Nikolay Kozitskiy
  Advisor: Dr. Yalcin Ertekin, Dr. Irena Ciobanescu

  Currently, there are no easily accessible and affordable fixed-wing aircraft. The majority of affordable consumer/ business level drones on the market are quadcopters. Quadcopters are inefficient and do not have the ability to fly long distances without paying an astronomical price tag. The team worked to develop, manufacture and generate a detailed report on the building process. With the finalized report, anyone with access to a 3-D printer and a budget of $200 can build a drone. The body of the aircraft is completely printable utilizing pla-lite filament and the electronic components can all be purchased from Amazon. The aircraft is modular allowing for a myriad of uses from small deliveries to fire prevention. The aircraft is also designed to ensure that it will break at specific points to ensure damage is mitigated. This will also allow users to quickly replace specific parts as opposed to the entire aircraft in case of crashes. The overall purpose of our project is to create a step-by-step manual that will enable anyone to create their own customizable 3-d printed aircraft.

• ET-6 Biomass to Methane Power Generation

  Joseph Maltinsky, Tristan Neugebauer, Kaushil Patel, David Popiak
  Advisor: Dr. Mohammad Fanaei

  Everyday worldwide, food waste of some kind is being sent to rot in landfills. The current market solutions for anaerobic digestion do not provide a seamless, efficient experience for the user, and do not produce methane of a quality for use in power generation. For this project, our main goals were to build a smart anaerobic digester that would be able to decrease fermentation times while increasing biogas production. The methane that it produces will be filtered in order to be burned safely, and the user will be able to monitor the status of the digester remotely. After considering several design alternatives and embarking on a lengthy design and building process, we have begun the testing stage of our project. The completed build is located in a safe outdoor location, where the production of methane will be monitored and recorded by an array of sensors connected to an Arduino. Based on our research, we expect the rate of methane production to be exceptionally high for a digester of its size, and for the methane to be filtered to a higher quality than the market competition.

• ET-7 Digital Camera Motion Control System

  Mareo Headley, Edward Jankins, Kenil Patel, Robby Onwundinjo, Tianna Williams
  Advisor: Dr. Irina Ciobanescu Husanu, Mr. Nicholas Jushychyshyn

  Digital camera motion control is becoming more ubiquitous as visual-effects heavy productions and creative digital media have become more popular. There is a current market need to fill the gap between expensive, high precision state-of-the-art control systems and hobby-level camera motion control systems in an accessible price range. Consequently, the team drafted several prospective designs and performed detailed theoretical calculations based on specifications from Drexel’s Westphal College of Media and Design, which informed a final design. This motion control system prototype is a 2-meter-long by 3-meter-high motion control rig with two-axis stepper motor speed and distance control. The system allows for horizontal motion with a 2-rail setup using a DanaDolly and mounted stepper motor. The vertical tower is mounted on the DanaDolly and the camera is supported by a custom 3D printed mount with an additional 2 motors to control pan and tilt. This system will provide repeatable programmable motion with movement precision accurate enough to capture overlaying pictures that match within 0.5 pixels. The prototype will be tested by shooting a film and assessing its performance. This digital camera motion control system will benefit Westphal by providing an automated camera rig capable of smooth, repeatable motion for use in films.

• ET-8 Pulse Oximeter Sensor for Application with Pre-term Infants

  Malena Farber, Bartosz Jaskulski, Julia Knipe
  Advisor: Dr. Michael Mauk, Eric Carr, Dr. Marcus Davey, Matthew Slipenchuck, James Tarmin​, Stephen Krufka

  This project consists of a reflectance-based pulse oximeter for preterm infants. Most pulse oximeters are only accurate in the range of 70-100% which is fine for healthy adults. However, fetal blood typically ranges in oxygenation from 40-75% thus requiring a unique device. This project entailed designing a prototype that accurately measured oxygen saturation of the blood over a range of 30-100% saturation for application within the extracorporeal circuit of a system. The pulse oximeter was housed on both sides of an oxygenator with transparent plastic windows. An 11-channel spectral sensor with a broad light spectrum measurement and built-in white LED was selected. The outputs of the sensors are corrected for ambient light, converted to assorted color spaces, and then converted to oxygen saturation using a trained linear model on a microcontroller. The microcontroller then communicates with a single-board computer which logs the data and provides a visual representation on an LCD screen monitor. The developed GUI also provides a calibration mechanism. Empirical data was collected to train this linear model to convert from the color spaces to oxygen saturation. The corrected data from the sensors, the color space data, and the oxygen saturation were all data logged on the single-board computer with time stamps for both arterial and venous oxygen saturation. Verification testing was conducted with animal blood, in which the oxygen saturation levels were increased and decreased over a set amount of time.