UAV Autonomous Localization using Macro-Features Matching with a CAD Model

Research in the field of autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has significantly advanced in recent years, mainly due to their relevance in a large variety of commercial, industrial, and military applications. However, UAV navigation in GPS-denied environments continues to be a challenging problem that has been tackled in recent research through sensor-based approaches. This paper presents a novel offline, portable, real-time in-door UAV localization technique that relies on macro-feature detection and matching. The proposed system leverages the support of machine learning, traditional computer vision techniques, and pre-existing knowledge of the environment. The main contribution of this work is the real-time creation of a macro-feature description vector from the UAV captured images which are simultaneously matched with an offline pre-existing vector from a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model. This results in a quick UAV localization within the CAD model. The effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed system were evaluated through simulations and experimental prototype implementation. Final results reveal the algorithm's low computational burden as well as its ease of deployment in GPS-denied environments

Lunabotic Team Wins NASA Joe Kosmo Excellence Award

A team of University of North Dakota students scored top marks in the recent National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lunabotics competition. Competing against 45 other teams from universities around the world, UND took top honors--the Joe Kosmo Award of Excellence--for scoring the most points in the competition, which took place May 26-28 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The competition’s objective was to design and build a robot capable of collecting and depositing lunar dirt. UND’s team, which consisted of 12 students and two professors form the UND School of Engineering and Mines, constructed a skid steer-type robot for the competition. The Joe Kosmo Award of Excellence--named after famed NASA space suit engineer--combines the scores (points earned) from all competition categories. It includes a school trophy, Kennedy launch invitations, and up to $1,500 travel expenses for each team member and one faculty advisor to attend NASA Desert RATS. The team also placed second in the on-site mining competition earning a$2,500 cash award. The competition also requires the teams to conduct outreach activities for K-12 students to increase the public’s understanding of NASA’s importance and to generate interest in math and science among K-12 students. The UND team excelled in its outreach activities which included presentations, mentoring, and providing learning activities to elementary, middle, and high school students. Some of the venues for these activities were FIRST LEGO League, the ND Science Fair, (both held on UND’s campus) and the 3-Day Space Series at Ben Franklin Elementary School. The team consisted of Mechanical Engineering students Daniel Basom, Andrea Dickason, Michael Gereszek, Benjamin Gunvalson, Jacob Hultberg, and Kaylein Tradup; electrical engineering students Jason Eisenzimmer, Craig Kennedy, Joshua Rogers, and Chul Ho Yang; computer science students Sanchit Goyal and Bharat Kulkarni. Faculty advisors for the team are Dr. Jeremiah Neubert (ME) and Dr. Naima Kaabouch (EE). As a result of their work, Joshua Rogers and Benjamin Gunvalson will be offered NASA fellowships. This UND project was sponsored by NASA, North Dakota Space Consortium, Autodesk, Boise Paper, Bobcat Corporation, Bobcat of Grand Forks, Otter Tail Power Company, Rydell Chevrolet, UND School of Engineering and Mines, Dean’s Office, Department of Electrical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Computer Science, Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost and Student Organization Funding Agency (SOFA)

Robust active stereo calibration

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Impact of Peer Mentoring on Student Learning and Connection To Engineering

Abstract Many students who enter engineering as an academic discipline in their first year of study switch to a different major after the first or second year. The attrition rates range from 30% to 50% depending on the institution. The dropout rate is even higher for underrepresented groups. Research studies show that the significant factors of attrition in engineering programs are quantitative skill level, student study habits, commitment to the program, and connections to peers. This paper describes an approach to address some of these factors. In this approach, we positioned the use of peer mentors as an improved institutional effort to retain students in engineering. Results show that the engineering peer mentoring program was considered helpful in learning calculus by the majority of Calculus I and Calculus II student participants. I Introduction Experts predict that the total number of students graduating with STEM degrees will not be sufficient the next decade to meet the growing needs of the global workforce Several research studies show that the significant factors of attrition in engineering programs are quantitative skill level, student study habits, commitment to the program, involvement in extracurricular activities, and connections to peers Several strategies have been proposed and used to increase retention in engineering programs. One of the most commonly used strategies consists of addressing attrition is related to studyin