Digital Visitor Evaluations at the NHA

The goal of this project was to create technology-assisted surveys for the Nantucket Historical Association (NHA). After researching industry best practices and consulting with NHA staff, the student team used web-based software to create a 2014 NHA Programs Survey and Museum Survey. The team conducted public testing to gauge impressions of the digital technology, and analyzed response data from the implemented surveys. With the instruments developed, the NHA will be able to collect more in-depth visitor feedback that will help the NHA improve its administrative decision-making and adjust its practices to better meet its patrons’ needs. It is our hope that the NHA continues to use and create digital surveys to further enhance visitor experiences

Real Time Pedestrian Detection Using an Infrared Camera with a FPGA

This project focuses on using Infrared technology in partnership with various filtering algorithms to implement a pedestrian detection system on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Currently pedestrians are the most vulnerable users of the road. Every day there are millions of vehicles on the road and conditions such as inclement weather, poor lighting, traffic and other road hazards restrict the visibility of drivers which increases the risk to pedestrians. In addition, human error is known to be one of the leading causes of accidents. With the use of a pedestrian detection system which utilizes infrared technology, we are able to remove some of the hazards and provide an additional sense of awareness to the driver to reduce the occurrence of accidents and save lives