Miniature Robotic Manipulator for Remote Chemistry Laboratory

The main objective of this project is to create a innovating system that allows high-school students to access and control a robotic manipulator remotely in order to finish an experiment they have started earlier in the class. The aim is to create a system that any student with a device connected to the Internet and login credentials can use. So it needs to be simple enough for easy understanding but also needs to be secure in other to minimize accidents with the experiments. It's also important for the system to be low cost so schools can afford to obtain it and introduce it to daily classes

3d Scanning And The Impact Of The Digital Thread On Manufacturing And Re-Manufacturing Applications

3D laser line scanners are becoming a powerful technology for capturing point cloud datasets and collecting dimensional information for many objects. However, the use of point cloud is limited due to many factors. These include the lack of on deep understanding of the effect of point cloud parameters on scan quality. This knowledge is critical to gaining an understanding of the measurement in point cloud. Currently, there are no adequate measurement procedures for 3D scanners. There is a need for standardized measurement procedures to evaluate 3D scanner accuracy due to uncertainties in 3D scanning, such as surface quality, surface orientation and scan depth [6]. The lack of standardized procedures does not allow the technology to be fully automated and used in manufacturing facilities that would allow 100% in-line inspection. In this dissertation I worked on accomplishing four tasks that will achieve the objective of having a standardized measurement procedure that is critical to develop an automated laser scanning system to avoid variations and have consistent data capable of identifying defects. The four tasks are: (1) linking the robot workspace with the scanner workspace; (2) studying the effect of the scanning speed and the resolution on point cloud quality by conducting an experiment with systematically varied scan parameters on scan quality; (3) studying the overall error of that is associated with the transformation of the point cloud in a remanufacturing facility using additive manufacturing. The parameters that were tested are the effect of view angle, standoff distance, speed, and resolution. Knowing the effect of these parameters is important in order to generate the scan path that provides the best coverage and quality of points collected. There is also a need to know the impact of all the scanning parameters especially the speed and the resolution; (4) modeling a machine learning tool to optimize the parameters of different scanning techniques after collecting the scanning results to select the optimal ones that provide the best scan quality. With the success of this work, the advancement and practice of automated quality monitoring in manufacturing will increase

Technology for large space systems: A bibliography with indexes (supplement 20)

This bibliography lists 694 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System between July, 1988 and December, 1988. Its purpose is to provide helpful information to the researcher or manager engaged in the development of technologies related to large space systems. Subject areas include mission and program definition, design techniques, structural and thermal analysis, structural dynamics and control systems, electronics, advanced materials, assembly concepts, and propulsion

A distributed control system for the St Andrews twin photometric telescope

Many astronomers require large amounts of observational data to solve astrophysical problems and to validate theoretical hypotheses. It is therefore imperative that both the observer and telescope work efficiently, maximising data collection whilst minimising object selection and acquisition time. One method in which this can be achieved is through telescope automation. The advent of cheap integrated process controllers enables the system designer to realise novel control system architectures which were previously prohibitive to all but the largest of sites. This thesis reviews the development of processor based control systems in the astronomical and industrial environment and compares distributed and centralised control system architecture. It describes the design and construction of one such distributed control system for the St Andrews Twin Photometric Telescope

The 1995 Research Reports: NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program

This document is a collection of technical reports on research conducted by the participants in the 1995 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This was the eleventh year that a NASA/ASEE program has been conducted at KSC. The 1995 program was administered by the University of Central Florida in cooperation with KSC. The program was operated under the auspices of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) with sponsorship and funding from the Office of Educational Affairs, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. The KSC Program was one of nine such Aeronautics and Space Research Programs funded by NASA Headquarters in 1995. The NASA/ASEE Program is intended to be a two-year program to allow in-depth research by the University faculty member

Aeronautical engineering: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 247)

This bibliography lists 437 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in December, 1989. Subject coverage includes: design, construction and testing of aircraft and aircraft engines; aircraft components, equipment and systems; ground support systems; and theoretical and applied aspects of aerodynamics and general fluid dynamics