Waveform Design for Ground-Penetrating Radar

A ground-penetrating radar is being designed to find subterranean structures. This is difficult to do because of varying mediums. Having more bandwidth can help mitigate this problem. Because the frequency spectrum is so cluttered, one method to do this is to use non-contiguous orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (NC-OFDM) to occupy several free areas of the spectrum. An NC-OFDM waveform was designed and optimized with respect to peak-to-average-power ratio, orthogonality, spectral leakage and autocorrelation sidelobes. Techniques such as the use of a Zadoff-Chu sequence and a gap filling algorithm were implemented to do this. The waveform was tested in simulation to show that while computationally expensive, this may be a viable waveform for ground-penetrating radar

Low-Power HF Communications

This research investigates the transmission and reception of signals over the High Frequency (HF) band. HF communications are useful over long distances, but experience performance problems such as channel fading and low data rates. Our project researches the viability of using left- and right-handed circular polarized signals to increase data rates and link reliability. Two project sites are used for testing and use a cross-dipole antenna setup, and the Ettus Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) software defined radio for transmission and reception. The project will evaluate whether the implemented setup allows for the left- and right-hand polarized signals to be separated at the receiver, which is important for reliable communications, less fading, and increased data rate

The Science of Arms

This project for the Higgins Armory Museum created an instructional DVD detailing the history and techniques of single-handed swords, longswords, rapiers, staff weapons, and daggers. The project team researched modern and historical sources on the weapons, studying their cultural context as well as combat techniques; the team interviewed experts in the field of medieval weapons, and filmed sequences of costumed combat and modern training. The 45-minute DVD will assist teachers and students in the Armory’s historic swordplay classes