Cyber-Attack Drone Payload Development and Geolocation via Directional Antennae

The increasing capabilities of commercial drones have led to blossoming drone usage in private sector industries ranging from agriculture to mining to cinema. Commercial drones have made amazing improvements in flight time, flight distance, and payload weight. These same features also offer a unique and unprecedented commodity for wireless hackers -- the ability to gain ‘physical’ proximity to a target without personally having to be anywhere near it. This capability is called Remote Physical Proximity (RPP). By their nature, wireless devices are largely susceptible to sniffing and injection attacks, but only if the attacker can interact with the device via physical proximity. A properly outfitted drone can increase the attack surface with RPP (adding a range of over 7 km using off-the-shelf drones), allowing full interactivity with wireless targets while the attacker can remain distant and hidden. Combined with the novel approach of using a directional antenna, these drones could also provide the means to collect targeted geolocation information of wireless devices from long distances passively, which is of significant value from an offensive cyberwarfare standpoint. This research develops skypie, a software and hardware framework designed for performing remote, directional drone-based collections. The prototype is inexpensive, lightweight, and totally independent of drone architecture, meaning it can be strapped to most medium to large commercial drones. The prototype effectively simulates the type of device that could be built by a motivated threat actor, and the development process evaluates strengths and shortcoming posed by these devices. This research also experimentally evaluates the ability of a drone-based attack system to track its targets by passively sniffing Wi-Fi signals from distances of 300 and 600 meters using a directional antenna. Additionally, it identifies collection techniques and processing algorithms for minimizing geolocation errors. Results show geolocation via 802.11 emissions (Wi-Fi) using a portable directional antenna is possible, but difficult to achieve the accuracy that GPS delivers (errors less than 5 m with 95% confidence). This research shows that geolocation predictions of a target cell phone acting as a Wi-Fi access point in a field from 300 m away is accurate within 70.1 m from 300 m away and within 76 meters from 600 m away. Three of the four main tests exceed the hypothesized geolocation error of 15% of the sensor-to-target distance, with tests 300 m away averaging 25.5% and tests 600 m away averaging at 34%. Improvements in bearing prediction are needed to reduce error to more tolerable quantities, and this thesis discusses several recommendations to do so. This research ultimately assists in developing operational drone-borne cyber-attack and reconnaissance capabilities, identifying limitations, and enlightening the public of countermeasures to mitigate the privacy threats posed by the inevitable rise of the cyber-attack drone

The Effects of Dry Needling in the Management of Sub-acromial Impingement Syndrome: A Case Report

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectivness of dry needling to an active trigger point in the anterior deltoid musculature in conjunction with physical therapy. This case study presents a 77-year-old male with traumatic pull into flexion injury. In addition to being given RTC and postural musculature strengthening exercises, PROM, joint mobilization, and soft tissue mobilization, dry needling was performed at week 2 and week 4 of treatment. From this case study, we can conclude that TrP-DN to an active TrPin the anterior deltoid can yield statistically significant improvements in ROM, strength, pain, and functional abilities when combined with physical therapy intervention. In addition, it is important to note that the most significant improvements were subjectively reported in the sessions immediately following each DN intervention.https://soar.usa.edu/flmifall2019/1001/thumbnail.jp

Development, Modeling, Simulation, and Testing of a Novel Propane-Fueled Brayton-Gluhareff Cycle Acoustically-Pressurized Ramjet Engine

In the 1950s, Eugene Gluhareff built the first working “pressure jet” engine, a variation on the classical ramjet engine with a pressurized inlet system relying on sonic tuning which allowed operation at subsonic speeds. The engine was an unqualified success. Unfortunately, after decades of sales and research, Gluhareff passed away leaving behind no significant published studies of the engine or detailed analysis of its operation. The design was at serious risk of being lost to history. This dissertation is intended to address that risk by studying a novel subscale modification of Gluhareff’s original design operating on the same principles. Included is a background of related engine and how the pressure jet is distinct. The preliminary sizing of a pressure jet using closed-form expressions is then discussed followed by a review of propane oxidation modeling, how it integrates into the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver, and the modeling of the pressure jet engine cycle with CFD. The simulation was matched to experimental data recorded on a purpose-built test stand recording chamber pressure, exhaust speed (via a Pitot/static system), temperatures, and thrust force. The engine CFD simulation produced a wide range of qualitative results that matched the experimental data well and suggested strong recirculation flows through the engine confirming suspicions about how the engine operates. Engine operating frequency between CFD and experiment also showed good agreement and appeared to be driven by the “Kadenacy Effect.” The research effort lastly opens the door for further study of the engine cycle, the use of pressurized intakes to produce static thrust in a ramjet engine, the Gluhareff pressure jet’s original geometry, and a wide array of potential applications. A roadmap of further study and applications is detailed including a modeling and testing of larger engines

Paper Moon

Paper Moon focused on work that, in one way or another, served as a substitute for the real thing. The emphasis of this exchange was not on artifice but rather on a sincere effort to imitate an ideal, the desire for which may be motivated by limited circumstances, need, adoration, and longing, rather than greed or irony. The show examined how these substitutes were intended to function, the nature of their appeal, and what role authenticity and our ability to “make believe” played in the proffered illusion. The idea for this exhibition began with a documentary about teenage magicians and evolved into a project in which the sleight of hand and trickery behind the illusion is made evident, but the willingness to be entertained remains. The title, Paper Moon, was borrowed from a Depression-era song, “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” written by Harold Arlen and made popular by versions released by Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole during the later years of World War II. It referred to a paper maché world of theater sets, homemade high school dance props, and parade floats—inexpensive backdrops that provide a bit of temporary glamour or romance. Exhibition Dates: August 30 - December 6, 2012 Location: Don Russell Clayton Gallery and The Art Gallery, Sturgis Library Image: Adam Parker Smith. This Side of Paradise (I Lost All My Money in the Great Depression and All I Got Was This Room) (detail), 2012. Mixed media wall treatment. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Adam Parker Smith.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/zuckermanmuseum_exhibitionpublications/1001/thumbnail.jp

Noise Exposure Effects in Extended High Frequencies

Hearing loss is a one of the most common chronic conditions. Although it is most common to be diagnosed with hearing loss later in life due to aging, there are multiple causes of hearing loss across the lifespan. One of the main types of hearing loss is noise-induced hearing loss. Some individuals may complain of decreased hearing or word understanding in background noise but when tested, they appear to have normal hearing sensitivity in the standard audiometric frequencies (250 – 8000 Hz). This may be due to decreased hearing sensitivity in extended high frequencies, above 8000 Hz. There is growing evidence that decreased extended high frequency thresholds may be a precursor to noise-induced hearing loss. This study aimed to analyze how noise exposure affects young adult’s extended high frequency thresholds and word identification in noise as well as traditional audiological testing (pure tones, speech recognition, word discrimination in quiet, etc). Young adults (18-25 years old) were recruited through ETSU affiliated social media, ETSU faculty, and word of mouth. An online noise survey was conducted to calculate each participant’s noise exposure. An otoscopic examination was completed on each study participant. Tympanometry was performed to ensure normal middle ear immittance. If an individual did not have normal middle ear immittance they were dismissed from the study. A 12-frequency diagnostic Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAEs) was performed to check integrity of the individual’s outer hair cells. Speech Recognition testing was completed to determine the lowest level the individual could repeat back 50% of the words correctly. Word Recognition testing was completed to determine the percentage of words the individual could hear and correctly identify at suprathreshold level. Words-in-Noise testing was completed to determine how an individual could hear and correctly identify speech when in the presence of noise. Puretone air conduction was completed at the standard audiometric frequencies: 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 6000, and 8000 Hz. If an individual had abnormal hearing sensitivity in these frequencies, they were dismissed from the study. Finally, extended high frequency testing was completed at 10,000, 12,500, 14,000, and 16,000 Hz. Data collection is still in progress and will close on March 7th, 2022. It is expected that noise exposure will be negatively correlated to extended high frequency thresholds and word understanding in noise (i.e., participants with more noise exposure will have poorer extended high frequency thresholds and poorer word understanding in noise)

The effectiveness of television video tape instant playback in learning the pitch and run shot in golf

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using television video tape instant playback in learning the pitch and run shot in golf. The effectiveness of four different teaching methods was compared. Prior to the study itself, a pitch and run shot test was constructed to be used in assessing a golfers' ability in executing a pitch and run shot

Pulse combustion: The quantification of characteristic times

Measurements of the total ignition delay time in a pulse combustor have been made for several chemical kinetic ignition delay times and several fluid dynamic mixing times. These measured total ignition delay times are compared with calculated values of the characteristic time for mixing and with calculated values for the homogeneous ignition delay time. A chemical kinetic model was used to calculate the homogeneous chemical kinetic ignition delay time for conditions typical of an operating pulse combustor. Similarly, a fluid dynamic mixing model was used to estimate characteristic times for a transient jet of cold reactants to mix with an ambient environment of hot products to an ignition temperature. These calculated time scales compared well with measured values in both trend and magnitude. It has also been shown that a simple sum of the characteristic mixing times and chemical kinetics times provides a good first-order approximation to the total ignition delay time.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28736/1/0000563.pd

Proclamation by Kentucky Governor Thomas E. Bramlette and Others

The broadside features information regarding the Kentucky elections and allegiance to the U.S. during the American Civil War. It is printed on cream paper and with black ink. It has some tears at its edges and water damage at its top and bottom.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-ephemera/1021/thumbnail.jp

Proclamation by Kentucky Governor Thomas E. Bramlette and Others

The broadside features information regarding the Kentucky elections and allegiance to the U.S. during the American Civil War. It is printed on cream paper and with black ink. It has some tears at its edges and water damage at its top and bottom.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/1094/thumbnail.jp