Assistant Suite

This project was conducted to demonstrate a voice-to-mechanical application from one source to multiple platforms with the use of hardware-to-software technology. The main platforms that are used for implementation is an Amazon Echo Dot, which serves as the voice interceptor to transcribe speech through integrated software hosted within the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud network, and a Raspberry Pi microcontroller, which serves as the device which controlled mechanical movements based on what is transcribed from the Echo. The user can speak a command into the Echo to control the movement of one of two RC cars without any physical engagement. The Echo utilizes Wi-Fi to connect to the AWS cloud network to transcribe the speech, which then goes through a series of channels to communicate with a microcontroller that is connected to its own RC car to cause that selected RC car to move in a specified direction. For example, the user can speak a command that says “Alexa, move car A forward for two seconds,” and this will translate to the selected car to motion forward for a total of two seconds. The project also displays the usefulness of being able to speak to multiple microcontrollers connected to separate devices under a single application; this caters to the convenience of not having to close and open separate applications every time a different connection is needed.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1193/thumbnail.jp

The Political Economy of Increasing Block Tariffs for Water in Developing Countries

Increasing block tariffs (IBTs) have become the tariff structure of choice in developing countries. Multilateral donors, international financial and engineering consultants, and water sector professionals working in developing countries all commonly presume that IBT structures are the most appropriate way to determine water users' monthly bills. Most, if not all recent water tariff studies performed for developing countries propose IBT structures. The objective of this paper is to critically examine the current fashion of using IBTs in cities in developing countries. In the second section of the paper, we review the common arguments made to justify the adoption of IBTs, and present some actual IBTs currently in use in selected cities. In the third section of the paper we discuss the objectives and considerations involved in water tariff design so as to provide a basis for judging the appropriateness of IBTs.Tariff

Report of the Higher Education Study Commission [to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia]

This 1965 Report of the Higher Education Commission, appointed by Governor Albertis S. Harrison, Jr., was created to review higher education in Virginia to be used as a basis for long-range planning by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Commission was led by Senator Lloyd C. Bird and supported by the staff of the State Council for Higher Education. Divided into eleven sections, this 200-page report details information including geographical location of students, library services, and different instructional services.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/vcu_books/1005/thumbnail.jp

SAC Drone History

Learn about the previously classified Strategic Air Command drone reconnaissance program covering targets in China, N. Korea, & N. Vietnam, from the pilot who was in charge. Specially modified C-130s launched the drones that were then recovered in mid-air by helicopters. They went where manned aircraft could not and some wouldn’t make it back! This program contributed to the amazing UAVs of today

Exobiology: The NASA program

The goal of NASA's Exobiology Program is to understand the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe. To do this, the Exobiology Program seeks to provide a critical framework and some key research to allow NASA to bear the combined talents and capabilities of the agency and the scientific community, and the unique opportunities afforded by space exploration. To provide structure and direction to the quest for answers, the Exobiology Program has instituted a comprehensive research program divided into four elements which are being implemented at several of NASA's research centers and in the university community. These program elements correspond to the four major epochs in the evolution of living systems: (1) cosmic evolution of the biogenic compounds; (2) prebiotic evolution; (3) origin and early evolution of life; and (4) evolution of advanced life. The overall research program is designed to trace the pathways leading from the origin of the universe through the major epochs in the story of life