Image Edge Detection Using Ant Colony Optimization

Ant colony optimization (ACO) is a population-based metaheuristic that mimics the foraging behavior of ants to find approximate solutions to difficult optimization problems. It can be used to find good solutions to combinatorial optimization problems that can be transformed into the problem of finding good paths through a weighted construction graph. In this paper, an edge detection technique that is based on ACO is presented. The proposed method establishes a pheromone matrix that represents the edge information at each pixel based on the routes formed by the ants dispatched on the image. The movement of the ants is guided by the local variation in the image’s intensity values. The proposed ACObased edge detection method takes advantage of the improvements introduced in ant colony system, one of the main extensions to the original ant system. Experimental results show the success of the technique in extracting edges from a digital image

Real-time Monitoring of the Semiconductor Wirebond Interconnection Process for Production Yield and Quality Improvement

The electronics industry in the Philippine is the largest contributor to the manufacturing sector within the country. The Philippines is also considered the fastest growing economy in the region where its electronics products are among its top exports. The manufacturing of new electronics devices that comes with the emerging technologies translate to new processes that require new equipment that poses challenges to the industry. Thus, innovative solutions are developed by the engineers to improve and increase the production yield. This study presents the development of a monitoring system that is interfaced to an existing wirebonding machine as a means of improving production yield. The system detects and records the bouncing of the “area under bond” which is identified as a major cause of product rejection. The Arduino-based microcontroller takes the U/SG (Ultrasonic Generator/Gain) signals from the machine. The Raspberry pi monitors the real-time signal provided by the microcontroller and compares the signal from the database module with trained signals. Tests run show that the system can detect the signals and present it in a “.csv” file format. Twenty (20) units of a specific electronic device were tested to identify between good and defective device

Design and Development of Electronic Sensor and Monitoring System of Smart Low-cost Phototherapy Light System for Non-Invasive Monitoring and Treatment of Neonatal Jaundice

This paper showcases our previous and continuously improving development at Ateneo Innovation Center (AIC) and partners in designing and further enhancing the existing Low-cost Phototherapy Light System (LPLS) and Improved Low-cost Phototherapy Light System (ILPLS) to the new Smart Low-cost Phototherapy Light System (Smart LPLS) with non-invasive jaundice monitoring for newborns with Neonatal Jaundice (NNJ). Developing this tool will help determine the intensity of yellowish color in infants and can monitor NNJ in a non-invasive way. The system is envisioned to be integrated with Mobile or Near Cloud as part of Smart Nursing Station together with other hospital equipment for monitoring, collection, and management of medical records and services. Its solar-power features for off-grid and remote deployments were also explored. This contribution is an extension of the Intelligent Sensors and Monitoring System for Low-cost Phototherapy Light for Jaundice Treatment that was presented in the International Symposium on Multimedia and Communication Technology (ISMAC) in 2019

Design of a Remote Real-time Groundwater Level and Water Quality Monitoring System for the Philippine Groundwater Management Plan Project

Recent technological advances allow us to utilize remote monitoring systems or real-time access of data. While the use of remote monitoring systems is not new, there are still numerous applications that can be explored and improved on, one such is groundwater level and quality monitoring. In the Philippines, the extraction of groundwater for both domestic use and industrial use are manually monitored by the government’s concerned agency and is done at least once per year. With this current setup, the real and significant state of the groundwater is not reflected in a way that is most valuable to the government and to the community. This project aims to design and develop a remote real-time groundwater level and quality monitoring system. It is intended to provide quantitative data for policy makers in addressing recurrent water shortages in the Philippines. This paper discusses the designed system composed of three modules: power module, sensors and control, and data visualization. These three modules provide real-time data from far-flung locations while being energy-sustainable. Dry runs of the system in a controlled environment yielded excellent results — average data accuracy of 96.63% for all six (6) groundwater quantity and quality parameters namely: pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, and static water level (SWL), and 90.63% data transmission reliability. Initial deployment of the system on one of the groundwater monitoring well in Metro Manila, Philippines returned a 91.16% data transmission reliability. The system is currently installed in 20 groundwater monitoring sites all-over the Philippines and is scheduled for more installations

Software and Data Visualization Platform for Groundwater Level and Quality Monitoring System

Rapid urbanization and increasing population come with the increased extraction and use of groundwater resources. To track the effect of these activities on groundwater level and quantity; a system for real-time monitoring is devised. In this paper; we present a software system design that enables a locally-developed groundwater level and water quality monitoring hardware setup to gather water quality parameter data; send it to a cloud server; and present organized data for better visualization. The hardware setup consists of an Arduino microcontroller. Upon deployment; the hardware setup is linked to an Android application that connects to the web-based platform

Development and Implementation of an IoT Platform

Interconnection and management of distributed digital devices can be expensive, time consuming, involved, and difficult. The proposed solution is a well-designed IoT platform that can significantly reduce the cost, time, effort, and complexity associated with such tasks. This paper presents the development and implementation of a reconfigurable, customizable, cost-effective, modular, and lightweight IoT platform. Using HTTP requests or SMS messages, devices can easily send data to this IoT platform with minimal configuration. The IoT platform features user management, node registration and setup, data visualization, and data extraction via web UI. The platform can also be deployed on local networks. The IoT platform has also been load tested with simultaneous HTTP requests from 75 virtual machines with results giving less than 1% data loss

Design of an Interface Test Adapter for Sequential Testing of Transient Voltage Suppressor Diodes to Reduce Test Cycle Time

The advancement in semiconductor circuit design, particularly its miniaturization has increased the circuit sensitivity to electrical stresses. To protect the circuits, transient voltage suppressor (TVS) diodes are used. This device must be tested with the use of high-power tester that is capable to surge high inrush power. In a test manufacturing company that employs manual testing of TVS diodes, the cycle time increases which results to a decrease in the number of unit per hour (UPH). In this study the, the Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) methodology is used to develop an interface test adapter (ITA) that is interconnected between a manual test machine and the unit under test (UUT). The ITA consists of an electromechanical relay (EMR) for switching, a linear actuator for mechanical shifting, and an Arduino-based microcontroller. The ITA is used to automate the testing of eight bidirectional TVS diodes device in a single unit of vertical array package to reduce the test cycle time. This also minimizes human intervention that avoids human handling error and lowers the chances of possible injuries that might happen during the process. Results show that there is sufficient improvement in the test cycle time

Airborne Particulate Matter Monitoring Using UAVs for Smart Cities and Urban Areas

In smart cities and urban areas, localized weather monitoring will be a readily available feature. Checking the air quality in small area urban motifs, specifically schools and universities situated near a national primary road and mid to high-rise condominiums with increasing sources of pollutants, e.g. particulate matter (PM), becomes a need for risk assessment. An aerial sensor system, consisting of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a sensor payload, is designed and implemented. Measurements for PM concentration are taken at various elevations, and during heavy and light traffic conditions. Results show trends relating PM concentration with elevation and traffic conditions

Predictive Monitoring of Wirebond Ultrasonic Signal on Electrical Test Result Using Machine Learning

This study presents the development of a cost-effective predictive monitoring system interfaced to an existing wirebonding machine to determine its corresponding electrical test result. The system was tested on one production lot with the data gathered subjected to a machine learning process to predict if the gathered signal will be rejected and will become a possible failure at later electrical testing. Three classification algorithms: Logistic Regression, Decision Tree, and Support Vector Machine were used to evaluate which prediction algorithm provides the expected electrical results. The study shows that 98% to 99 % accuracy was achieved in order to predict whether the lot will produce high production yield or not. Its embedded design approach lend itself well to real-time operation. More importantly this study would provide a way for legacy manufacturing equipment to be upgraded and thus be integrated into other system that are designed for “Industry 4. 0” implementation

A Feasibility Study and Design of Biogas Plant via Improvement of Waste Management and Treatment in Ateneo de Manila University

This paper reports the results of feasibility studies on energy production by utilizing the waste produced by Ateneo de Manila University. This approach is environment friendly to reduce CO2 emissions as well as an interesting support to the use local resources as well as reduce landfill disposal. Biogas, as renewable energy form, can properly substitute conventional sources of energy (fossil fuels, oil, etc.) which are causing ecological problems in the fast increasing of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. The biogas consists essentially of methane (CH4, 50 ÷ 75% by volume), carbon dioxide (CO2, 25 ÷ 45%) and water vapor (H2O, 2 ÷ 7%), as well as other gases in smaller concentrations, including hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The heating value of the biogas is a function of its content in CH4. On average the Net Heating Value can be considered equal to 20,000 ÷ 24,000 kJ/Nm3. The organic component of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) can be treated anaerobically to produce methane