Small scale implementation of a robotic urban search and rescue network

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2012With the advancement of robotics technologies, it is now possible to use robots for high risk jobs that have historically been accomplished by humans. One such example is the use of robots for Urban Search and Rescue (USR): finding chemical spills, fires, or human survivors in disaster areas. With the ability to include inexpensive wireless transceivers, it is possible to network numerous robots as part of a swarm that can explore an area much more expeditiously than a single robot can. With the inclusion of wireless capabilities comes the necessity to create a protocol for the communication between robots. Also necessary is the creation of an exploration protocol that allows the network of robots to explore such a building or search area in as little time as possible yet as accurately as possible. This thesis covers the development of such a network of robots, starting with the hardware/software co-design, the individual robots' control mechanisms, and their mapping and communications protocols

A synergistic wearable health monitoring system using cellular network technology

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017This thesis presents a synergistic approach to healthcare applications by integrating a wearable health monitoring system into a smart home system. By exploiting synergy within each system and between these two systems, this thesis shows that the efficiency of the health care can be increased while providing the added advantage of utmost user-friendly environment. Initially, a wearable health monitoring prototype system was developed for vital sign data collection and processing. The developed system used biosensor integration to distinguish amongst multiple physical activities and to compare the variations in physiological conditions according to physical activity of the user. Afterward, system learning techniques were established for accomplishing the scalability of the health monitoring system. The resulting system is able to monitor different users without the need for explicitly changing the thresholds for the individual user. The health monitoring was further improved through integration with the smart home system to exploit synergy between various physiological sensors and to reduce false alarms generated by the system. A cellular communication interface was developed for transmitting the collected data to a remote caregiver and also to store the time-stamped data on the online web server. A web interface was developed to allow monitoring user's health and activity data, along with their surrounding environment

Design and Development of a Self-contained and Non-Invasive Integrated System for Electricity Monitoring Applications

Growing interest in improving the energy consumption efficiency in residential and commercial buildings has led to the emergence of intelligent energy management systems. This growing technology allows the transformation of the outdated electric distribution network within buildings to a smart and intelligent system. A major challenge in the development of such infrastructure is the need for low cost, integrated, self-contained, and non-invasive wireless sensor nodes. While an electric meter provides the utility company with information regarding the total energy consumption, no information is provided to the consumers regarding the energy consumed by individual appliances. Such visibility can provide consumers with the ability to better control and manage their energy usage leading to a reduced overall energy consumption. This work explores the design and development of a self-contained and non-invasive integrated system intended for real-time electricity monitoring within residential and commercial buildings. The proposed system includes an Energy Harvester, an electric current sensor, a Micro-controller Unit, and a wireless communication device. The proposed system is self-powered and non-invasive, which offers a promising solution in providing real time information regarding the energy distribution within buildings. The design featured in this work provides an innovative approach in the development of a customized interface circuitry that is designed to collect and regulate the energy from the Energy Harvester. The entire sensor node will operate under a power budget in the range of microwatts collected by the Energy Harvester. A Wireless MCU is programmed to acquire, process, and transmit the data from the sensor to the central hub via Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity. The real-time data transmitted to the central hub provides detailed information regarding the energy consumed by individual appliances within the building