Nias Traditional Ceremonies in J. A. Sonjaya’s Novel Manusia Langit

This research contains an analysis of Nias traditional ceremonies in the novel Manusia Langit by J.A. Sonjaya. To reveal the traditional ceremonies of Nias people depicted in the novel Manusia Langit, and see what the views were put to the author of the novel, the author uses the sociological approach of literature. Through a sociological approach of literature, it is seen that people of Nias in the novel have a high trust in ancestors, and the myths in society. The study is analyzed by using descriptive qualitative method. The theory used to analyse the data in this research is that of Sonjaya (2008). The findings show that Nias people can be observed from Banuaha public trust in ancestors and the origins of their ancestors. They also believe in in spirits, and adhere in the traditions and myths prevailing in society, as well as in the implementation of traditional ceremonies.   Keywords: banuaha, excavation, myth, traditional ceremony, ancestor, spiri

In-Situ Measurement of Electrode Wear During EDM Drilling using Vision System

Machine vision system is an image-based technology used to perform automatic inspection and analysis such as process control and robot guidance. The aim for this project is to develop a fully automated electrode wear detection system in EDM by using machine vision system and apply this system in detecting electrode wear in EDM. This project was conducted using DSLR camera as monitoring device. The electrode undergo hole making process with a depth of 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, and 50 mm to observe the electrode condition. The image of the electrode will be remotely captured from the laptop and then will undergo image processing process using Matlab software to calculate and determine the electrode wear. The output of this project will show the images of the electrode wear and its wear value. Findings from the project showed that this system is suitable and applicable in EDM super drill machine to monitor the tool condition

Performance analysis of abrasive waterjet machining process at low pressure

Normally, a commercial waterjet cutting machine can generate water pressure up to 600 MPa. This range of pressure is used to machine a wide variety of materials. Hence, the price of waterjet cutting machine is expensive. Therefore, there is a need to develop a low cost waterjet machine in order to make the technology more accessible for the masses. Due to its low cost, such machines may only be able to generate water pressure at a much reduced rate. The present study attempts to investigate the performance of abrasive water jet machining process at low cutting pressure using self developed low cost waterjet machine. It aims to study the feasibility of machining various materials at low pressure which later can aid in further development of an effective low cost water jet machine. A total of three different materials were machined at a low pressure of 34 MPa. The materials are mild steel, aluminium alloy 6061 and plastics Delrin®. Furthermore, a traverse rate was varied between 1 to 3 mm/min. The study on cutting performance at low pressure for different materials was conducted in terms of depth penetration, kerf taper ratio and surface roughness. It was found that all samples were able to be machined at low cutting pressure with varied qualities. Also, the depth of penetration decreases with an increase in the traverse rate. Meanwhile, the surface roughness and kerf taper ratio increase with an increase in the traverse rate. It can be concluded that a low cost waterjet machine with a much reduced rate of water pressure can be successfully used for machining certain materials with acceptable qualities

Optimization of EDM Injection Flushing Type Control Parameters Using Grey Relational Analysis on AISI 304 Stainless Steel Workpiece

This paper deals with optimization of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) Injection flushing type control parameters on multi-performance optimization characteristics instead of single performance optimization using Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) Method. The experimental control parameters were being optimized according to their various machining characteristics namely material removal rate (MRR), electrode wear ratio (EWR) and surface roughness (SR) using copper as the tool and AISI 304 stainless steel as the workpiece. This parameters optimization was based on Taguchi’s orthogonal array (OA) combined with GRA. A grey relational grade (GRG) calculated based on GRA was used to optimize the EDM process with multiple performance characteristics and Taguchi’s L18 OA was used to plan the experiments. The machining parameters selected are polarity, pulse on duration, discharge current, discharge voltage, machining depth, machining diameter and dielectric liquid pressure. Results shown that machining performance was improved effectively using this approach. The predicted responses at optimum parameter levels are in good agreement with the results of confirmation experiments conducted for verification tests

Active involvement of students in co-curriculum (sports) versus generic skills

The active involvement of students in sports activities is viewed from different levels of achievement beginning with the national representation of the residential colleges, faculties, and universities in prestigious sporting events at international levels. The skills that are developed through extra-curricular activities are generic skills. The involvement of students in co-curricular activities can help to shape their generic skills, thus leading to self-promotion in the workplace. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine the enhancement of generic skills among engineering and technical students of UTHM who are actively involved in co-curricular activities (sports). This study will focus on identifying the factors of involvement, the level of application among students, and the perceptions of the students through their active involvement in extra-curricular activities (sports). A survey was conducted using a quantitative approach. A general questionnaire, which was designed to fulfil the objectives and to answer the research questions for this study, was distributed to 213 engineering and technical student athletes of UTHM who are actively involved in co-curricular activities (sports). It was found that the engineering and technical student athletes of UTHM agreed that their active involvement in extra-curricular activities (sports) was due to interpersonal, intrapersonal and structural factors. The results showed that out of seven generic skills, three constructs of generic skills, namely communication, teamwork and management, demonstrate a high level of application through active involvement in extra-curricular activities (sports). These findings may also help the university to focus on the development of generic skills in engineering and technical students through co-curricular activities (sports) in addition to producing athletes who are able to create a name for the university at national or international level

Target detection in forward scattering radar

This paper analyses electromagnetic signal scattered from the target crossing the Forward Scattering Radar (FSR) system baseline. The aim of the analysis was to extract the Doppler signal of a target under the influence of high ground clutter and noise interference. The extraction was used for the automatic target detection (ATD) in the FSR system. Two extraction methods, namely Hilbert Transform and Wavelet Technique, were analyzed. The detection using the Hilbert Transform is only applicable for some conditions; however, the detection using the Wavelet Technique is more robust to any clutter and noise level. From 55 sets of signal, only 4% of false alarm was detected or occurred when the Wavelet Technique was applied as a detection scheme. Two sets of field experimentation were carried out and the target's signal under the influence of high clutter had successfully been detected using the proposed method

Adaptive data collection algorithm for wireless sensor networks

Periodical Data collection from unreachable remote terrain and then transmit information to a base station is one of the targeted application of sensor networks. The energy restriction of battery powered sensor nodes is a big challenge for this network as it is difficult or in some cases not feasible to change the power supply of motes. Therefore, in order to keep the networks operating for long time, efficient utilization of energy is considered with highest priority. In this paper we propose TA-PDC-MAC protocol - a traffic adaptive periodic data collection MAC which is designed in a TDMA fashion. This design is efficient in the ways that it assigns the time slots for nodes’ activity due to their sampling rates in a collision avoidance manner. This ensures minimal consumption of network energy and makes a longer network lifetime, as well as it provides small end-to-end delay and packet loss ratio. Simulation results show that our protocol demonstrates up to 35% better performance than that of most recent protocol that proposed for this kind of application, in respect of energy consumption. Comparative analysis and simulation show that TA-PDC-MAC considerably gives a good compromise between energy efficiency and latency and packet loss rate

Energy efficiency in MAC 802.15.4 for wireless sensor networks

Recent technological advances in sensors, low power integrated circuits, and wireless communications have enabled the design of low-cost, lightweight, and intelligent physiological sensor nodes. The IEEE 802.15.4 is a new wireless personal area network designed for wireless monitoring and control applications. The fast progress of research on energy efficiency in wireless sensor networks, and the need to compare with the solutions adopted in the standards motivates the need for this work. In the analysis presented, the star network configuration of 802.15.4 standard at 868 MHz is considered for a Zigbee network. In this paper, we analyze the active duration of the superframe and entered the sleep mode status inside this period. It happens when sensors do not have any data to send. The nonpersistent CSMA uses the adaptive backoff exponent. This method helps the network to be reliable under traffic changes due to save the energy consumption. The introduction of sleep state has shown incredible reduction of the power consumption in all network load changes

Improvement in detection with forward scattering radar

Forward scattering radar (FSR) has advantages over traditional monostatic radar such as an enhanced radar cross section. Enhancement of the radar cross section can increase the detection range of the FSR system. This feature has renewed interest in FSR. The latest development of the FSR system for ground application does not consider a rough environment and there is no advanced signal processing technique for the detection procedure, which have delayed the deployment of FSR. Therefore, this paper analyzes a signal processing technique that extracts the Doppler signal scattered from a moving target under the influence of ground clutter, receiver noise and surrounding noise. The scattered Doppler signal is processed for target detection. Two methods, namely the use of the Hilbert transform and wavelet technique, are evaluated. Results show that target detection using a Hilbert transform is applicable only for certain conditions but target detection employing the wavelet technique is more robust against clutter and noise. An inclusive comparison of various wavelet threshold selection rules for different types of wavelet filters and levels of decomposition is conducted to study the effect on target detection with FSR. Two sets of field experiments were carried out to validate the proposed method, and target signals under the influence of large clutter were successfully detected using the proposed method with a confidence level exceeding 75%

A bistatic linear frequency modulated radar for on-the-ground object detection

The use of radar systems for detecting on-the-ground objects is a subject of interest for some applications. Among them, foreign object detection systems are important issues in airport aviation safety. Due to the characteristics of the object, a ground-based bistatic radar configuration is introduced in this article. The transmitter sends broadband linear frequency modulated chirp pulses. The reflected pulses are collected simultaneously by at least two ground-based receivers installed in different positions. Accurate range processing is conducted to detect small objects, such as N-type connectors in distances of several meters. A prototype system consisting of one transmitter and two receivers is developed. The system is then launched over land similar in appearance to a runway, and its ability to make an accurate image of the area where the object is placed in different positions is confirmed. Modifications that need to cover a bigger area are also discussed. The system resolution is analyzed and shows that in the case of several existing transmitter-receiver pairs, the best resolution can be achieved by the closer pairs