Electrical and Computer Engineering
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Automated Video Tracking and Inspection
Cracked insulators, frayed wires, and damaged wire spacers are a few of the problems that plague power transmission systems. This investigation concerns automated video tracking and automated inspection of the transmission lines and transmission towers. Tracking and inspection will be implemented by a helicopter-based imaging platform with gimbaled wide field of view and narrow field of view cameras. The study includes image processing analysis and parametric trade studies leading to real-time implementation at video rates. The image processing algorithms will include preprocessing such as image enhancement (removal of noise and undesirable detail), image restoration (removal of image blur), and image segmentation (grouping of homogeneous regions). For component tracking, novel techniques will be used to locate potential targets and track the target locations through an image sequence. The tracking results will be used to stabilize the video and remove image jitter. Finally, automated methods for inspecting the power transmission components will be applied to detect faults.
Sponsor: SVS, Incorporated
PI: Scott T. Acton
RAs: Wei Chen and Timothy Jackson
Development of a Large Ring Laser for Geodetic and Other Applications--with the University of Canterbury, New Zealand
After the OSU-designed ring laser prototype produced the first data on the earthÕs rotation in October 1991 and a variety of papers were presented and published of its record performance, the device, a 3/4 m x 1 m rectangular laser system, was installed in a 30 m underground cave on Banks Peninsula on the New Zealand South Island. There it was further developed by the University of Canterbury who had constructed the device and made it into a sensor of unprecedented precision for detection of rotation, reaching a few hundred parts per billion resolution for detecting rotation. As an example of its sensitivity, it detected the January 18 Los Angeles earthquake as a rotation sensor over a distance of 11,000 km. In early 1993, a cooperative agreement was reached with a third partner, Technical University Munchen-Fundamentalstation Wettzell, Germany, with the goal to develop a large 4 m x 4 m "Grossring" for geodetical purposes. A smaller model, a 1 m x 1 m ring, is now being constructed with a funded 0.5 million Deutsche Mark ($300,000) for hardware on the basis of the successful prototype. With the now ending NSF support, a guide manual for construction was written in New Zealand during July and August 1994. Of the numerous papers authored on the subject in the last eight years of this project, the undersigned has authored or co-authored about 35 papers (as of August 1994). The major project, the 4 m x 4 m ring, is expected to be funded by the German government in 1997 with a cost on the order of 30 million Deutsche Mark ($18 million); it is expected to produce data by the turn of the millennium.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PIs: Hans R. Bilger
Geoff E. Stedman and M. Schneider (University of Canterbury, New Zealand)
Optional Forward Contracts: Security Applications and Theoretical Extensions
Researchers are investigating the application of optional forward contracts for electric power. These contracts allow purchasers of electric power to select the level of service reliability most appropriate for their needs while not paying for reliability that they do not need. These contracts play a similar role for producers of electric energy. These contracts also provide information about supply and demand, which allows the utility to more efficiently operate the power system and which might be useful in system planning. We are also looking into extending the original theoretical results to more realistic models markets of consumer and producer behavior.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PI: Thomas Gedra
RAs: Parnjit Damrongkulkamjorn, Seshasayanan Mudumbi, and Aravind Raghunathan
Limits and Applications of THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy and THz Coherent Transients
This study focuses on applying the unique optoelectronic THz beam system we have developed to THz time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) and THz coherent transients. We plan to precisely compare THz-TDS with the alternative technique of Fourier transform spectroscopy and to demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally the superiority of THz-TDS in the frequency range from 0.1 to 6 THz. Transmission measurements requiring extreme dynamic range will be performed on samples such as semiconductors and normal and superconducting metal films. Previously difficult measurements on hot samples, flames, and plasmas are planned. The sensitivity of the technique to small absorptions will be extended by orders of magnitude using an interferometric approach. We plan the precise measurement of coherent THz transients from molecular vapors and the direct observation of THz propagation effects through dense vapors. These unique type experiments will be pursued with the goals of testing the ideas of coherent pulse propagation, measuring molecular constants, and determinating the time duration and dependence of molecular collisions.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PI: Dan Grischkowsky
THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy of Select, Optically-Dense Materials
We have developed and demonstrated some of the fastest optoelectronic circuitry in the world. Using this circuitry, which is driven by ultrafast repetitive laser pulses, we have developed a complete optoelectronic THz beam system that can generate and detect 200 fsec pulses of freely propagating THz radiation with a time resolution of 65 fsec and a signal-to-noise ratio of more than 3000. This performance cannot be matched by any other system.
Based on the optoelectronic THz beam system, we have pioneered the development and use of THz time-domain spectroscopy (TDS). With this technique, two freely propagating electromagnetic THz pulseshapes are measured--the input pulse and the propagated pulse, which has changed shape due to its passage through the sample under study. Consequently, via Fourier analyses of the input and propagated pulses, the frequency dependent absorption and dispersion of the sample can be obtained. In this study, we plan THz-TDS measurements of three optically dense materialsÑconcrete, sand, and Oklahoma clay. The index of refraction and absorption of the samples will be obtained from 0.05 to 2.5 THz. We also plan to measure the effect on these properties of varying amounts of water content in the sand and clay samples.
Sponsor: U.S. Air Force
PI: Dan Grischkowsky
Modular Control Systems Laboratory
This project concerns the development of a new interdisciplinary control systems laboratory in the Schools of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at OSU. This laboratory will consist of five test benches networked to five workstations supporting real-time computer aided software engineering (CASE) tools. Each test bench will have an experimental control system and an embedded processor. There are several features of the proposed lab that make it unique. It is interdisciplinary, bringing together a significant amount of experience in control and real-time systems from two different departments. The equipment in the lab will be state-of-the-art, including real-time kernels, computer aided design tools, and networking. An industrial advisory board will assist the principal investigators in insuring that the lab maintains high standards in this area. We want the laboratory experience to be consistent with the latest industrial practice. There will be a wide variety of challenging and visually interesting systems to be controlled. Five such systems will be in the lab during any one semester, but new systems will be rotated through the lab from one semester to the next. All of the systems to be controlled will be designed and built by student teams from the undergraduate capstone design course. There will be an ongoing relationship between this lab and the capstone design course, as new systems will be created each semester for the foreseeable future. A test of this concept was conducted last semester when a successful system was created by a capstone design team. The main idea is to get students excited about the design of control systems by giving them interesting and challenging problems to solve with the latest equipment.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PIs: Martin T. Hagan and Carl D. Latino
Gary E. Young and Eduardo A. Misawa (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)
Engineering Energy Laboratory
In addition to involvement in energy research, the Engineering Energy Laboratory organized and conducted the annual Frontiers of Power Conference and the Energy Information Dissemination Program for the sponsoring utilities. Specific research areas under investigation are modeling and analysis of renewable energy sources and systems, utility impacts of distributed generation, and development of knowledge-based tools for the design of Integrated Renewable Energy Systems (IRES).
Sponsors: Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, and The Empire District Electric Company, Joplin, Missouri
PI: Rama Ramakumar
RA: Imad Abouzahr
Frame Relay Access Design Tool
A design tool for routing access lines to WilTel's Wilpak Frame Relay Service was developed. This tool assists WilTel engineers in optimally routing access lines to the nearest Frame Relay switch and in forecasting growth and equipment needs for the Frame Relay network.
Sponsor: WilTel (now LDDS Worldcom)
PI: George Scheets
RAs: Mark Allen and Su Mingwu
MBE Speech Coding Algorithm Enhancement
The goal of this project is the development of a new speech coding algorithm for high quality speech communication at 2400 bits per second (bps). This effort is a result of the many advances in low bit rate speech coding that have emerged since the establishment of the current 2400 bps Federal Standard speech coder (FS-1015). The new algorithm, referred to as Enhanced MultiBand Excitation (EMBE), will provide robustness to channel errors and acoustic environments while maintaining intelligibility and naturalness of the speech signal. It will be appropriate for a variety of applications where low bit rate digital speech communication is desired. This voice coder is one of approximately eight being developed simultaneously by a variety of research groups in the U.S. and elsewhere as candidates for a new Federal Standard low bit rate speech coder.
Sponsors: Department of Defense and Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
PI: Keith Teague
RAs: Walter Andrews and Buddy Walls
Radar Scatter From Ocean Surface
Ship and land radar usually illuminate the ocean surface at very small grazing angles. The reflection from the surface introduces clutter in the signal that makes detection of targets very difficult. Numerical modeling of the scattering is being used to identify the surface features responsible for the clutter-rejection signal processing algorithms.
Sponsor: Office of Naval Research
PI: James West
RAs: Mike Sturm and Brent O'Leary
Special Signal Processing for Day/Night Linear Array Imager
This research is concerned with image compression and multi-media personal identity verification. The first topic investigates the use of wavelets in image compression and their resolution capabilities. Two wavelets, one based on Daubechies' work and the other based on Thue-Morse sequence, are being used in this part of the project. In addition, the spline and cardinal spline wavelets are under investigation. The second topic addresses the problem of verifying an individual's claimed identity using multiple forms of evidence. Both non-biometric evidence, such as facial features and speech, are considered. The two important areas of priority are face verification and speaker identification algorithms. Concepts of data fusion are used for combining and appropriately weighing the available evidence.
Sponsor: Sandia National Laboratories
PI: Rao Yarlagadda
RAs: Charlotte R. Fore, Roberto Mendoza, and Alan Higgins
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