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  Object size measurement using Reference Object

  Shiva Narayana Abhiram Maddala

  The goal of this project is to demonstrate knowledge of the Internet of Things by implementing it in a student-led project. In our daily lives, real-time object measurement is critical. The process of determining the dimensions of a specific object is known as measuring. Basic measuring tools such as tapes, rulers, and protractors are used. We have a serious problem when these tools are not available. This project will produce a rough prototype of the following concept. We obtain meaningful data from the sensor, detect objects, and obtain measurements with maximum accuracy. In this project's use case, we can get the size of data by using a refernce object.

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  Paperback: An Open-Source, Low-Power Digital Picture Frame

  Ryan Jones

  In an increasingly connected world, it is desirable to have devices that embrace the convenience of the Internet while still holding onto the familiarity of the traditional. Paperback is an open source, low-power digital picture frame built using an ESP32-series microcontroller and a 6-inch, 7-color ePaper display. Leveraging these two technologies gives Paperback several special capabilities. First, it can display 7-color, 0.2-megapixel images using no standby power; only when changing the image is power required. Second, it is nearly indistinguishable from a real photograph at distance—it requires no backlighting and displays smooth, unaliased edges. Finally, it supports wireless connectivity using Bluetooth Low Energy or Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), allowing for easy configuration from any laptop, computer, or Android smartphone. The open-source software supports many image formats and dithering algorithms, giving the user maximum control over how their picture is displayed.

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  Portable Optical Fiber Bio-Sensing Device for the Detection of Biomolecules in Bodily Fluids

  Chaminda Ajith Kumara Ranathunga Ranathunga Mudiyanselage Ihala Gane Gedara

  Bio-sensing plays an important role in the determination of bio-target molecules in medical applications. In this regard, Tapered Optical Fibers Sensor (TOFS) is emerging due to its higher sensitivity, real-time specimen, and practical measuring capabilities. The sensitivity of a typical TOFS is 0.0001 RIU (Refractive Index Units) meaning the device is capable of detecting a 0.0001 change in refractive indices. This allows TOFS to be sensitive in molecular-level interactions. A tapered region or the sensitive area of a TOFS is obtained by stretching single-mode fiber cables to desired dimensions. Typical dimensions of a tapered region are 20-25 mm. A wavelength-swept laser beam is launched at one end of the fiber, passes through the tapered region, and then is collected at the other end. The modes excited at the tapered region have evanescent components in the surrounding medium and are sensitive to the concentration of bimolecular antigen-antibody pairs. This evanescent electromagnetic (EM) field enables the detection of minute changes in the refractive index close to the surface of the fiber. For the detection of biomolecules, an aqueous solution that contains the target biomolecules is introduced where they can be captured by a functionalized fiber (carrying antibodies for the analyte).The developed TOFS system was experimentally tested for practical use and yielded repeatable results with high resolution. It had been tested using various liquids, such as PBS, water, and saliva. The system utilized for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) through IL-8 virus in saliva and the Covid variant HCoV-OC43. Both experiments showed success with resolutions of 10 pg/ml for IL-8 and 50 viruses/ ml for HCoV-OC43 , exceeding practical requirements in real applications.

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  Powering the Future with Sodium Ion Batteries: “A Sustainable and Cost-Effective Energy Storage Solution"

  Subathra Rajendran

  Energy storage is an essential component of the transition to renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, which are intermittent and dependent on weather conditions. Energy storage systems can help balance the supply and demand of energy and provide backup power during peak demand.However, traditional energy storage technologies, such as lithium-ion batteries, face several challenges, including limited availability of raw materials, high cost, and safety concerns. Sodium-ion batteries are emerging as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries, with several potential advantages.One major challenge with lithium-ion batteries is the limited availability of raw materials, such as cobalt and lithium, which are concentrated in a few countries. In contrast, sodium is abundant and widely available, making sodium-ion batteries a more sustainable and scalable option.Another advantage of sodium-ion batteries is their lower cost. Sodium-ion batteries use lower-cost materials than lithium-ion batteries, and the manufacturing process is simpler, which could lead to lower production costs.Sodium-ion batteries have a lower risk of fire or explosion than lithium-ion batteries. This is because sodium-ion batteries use a solid electrolyte instead of a flammable liquid electrolyte, which can reduce the risk of thermal runaway and improve safety.

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  Renewable Natural Gas - Demonstrating the Potential of the World’s Biggest Battery

  Subathra Rajendran

  TITLE: Renewable Natural Gas - Demonstrating the Potential of the World’s Biggest BatteryI. ObjectivesThe proposed effort aims the development of commercial and technological models to demonstrate the feasibility of a closed loop renewable natural gas power production model. This process is also called Power-to-Gas (P2G).II. Method(s)Power-to-Gas represents the conversion of electrical power into a gaseous energy carrier such as methane. The overall proposed approach to P2G involves the conversion of renewable/excess electricity into natural gas using high temperature electrolysis, carbon capture in the form of CO2, and catalytic methanation. The electrolysis generates hydrogen (from water), which combined with the captured CO2 (i.e. from power plants’ flue gases) forms, under a catalytic environment, methane (methanation). In order to assess the feasibility of such an approach, the following steps will be carried out:•Identification of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies for electrolysis/hydrogen production, carbon capture and methane production•Develop several integrated configurations of these technologies that are suitable for large-scale methane production (10 MW) and analyze their cost-benefit•Predict current and future costs associated with the proposed P2G systems III. SignificanceThe current geopolitical dynamics have more than ever highlighted the importance of energy independence. The existing US natural gas infrastructure has a capacity that would satisfy the domestic energy requirement for up to one year. However, it is only used at 30% of its capacity. Several countries, including the US, are racing to implement more renewable energy infrastructures. However, their dependence on natural events (sun exposure, wind intensity) often leads to peak energy productions where excess energy is lost. Thus, the ability to store such energy for later use would be of utmost importance. P2G offers a long-term and alternative solution to other energy storage technologies such as batteries or hydrogen storage. The methane produced from P2G can be stored directly in the existing infrastructure. Hence, an alternative to traditional batteries. Hydrogen storage has very strict requirements in terms of materials and safety, and the existing US natural gas infrastructure is not compatible for hydrogen storage. The proposed work will deliver several technological configurations and their associated costs for a large-scale P2G production. In addition, it will predict how improvements on existing technologies, in terms of costs and efficiencies, might affect P2G implementation costs in the future

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  RFID based attendance system

  Kovidh Kumar Tatikonda

  The RFID attendance system project aims to create an efficient and accurate system for tracking attendance in educational institutions, offices, or any other organization. The system will use RFID technology to identify and record the attendance of individuals, eliminating the need for manual tracking and reducing errors.The system will consist of RFID tags, RFID readers, an Arduino microcontroller, and a database to store and manage attendance data. Each person will be assigned a unique RFID tag that they will carry with them. When the individual enters the premises or the classroom, the RFID reader will detect the tag, and the Arduino microcontroller will record the attendance in the database.The attendance data will be stored in a cloud-based database, which can be accessed by authorized personnel to view real-time attendance reports. The system will also send automated notifications to parents or supervisors in case of absence or tardiness.The project will also include an LCD screen for displaying attendance data, a buzzer for indicating successful attendance, and an LED for displaying system status. The system can be powered by either a battery or an AC adapter.Overall, the RFID attendance system project is a cost-effective and reliable solution for tracking attendance in any organization. It eliminates the need for manual tracking, reduces errors, and provides real-time attendance reports, making it easier for administrators and supervisors to manage attendance effectively.

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  Right-Sizing Solar Systems for Low-Income Housing

  Rishabh Sanjaykumar Shukla, Phillip Clayton

  Tools for estimating the solar systems for a building often err in oversizing out of caution in their results. This is fine for people who can afford the upfront cost and can wait for the eventual payback. But this makes it difficult for people with lower income to afford a solar system for their home, and lower income families are often the ones who could most use a relief from high energy bills.Our goal is to create an analysis tool that estimates the right size of solar system needed to fulfil the energy needs of a building with the lowest payback period and the least amount of energy going back into the grid.Using data for houses in the Dayton area with average, low, and high energy usage, we have analyzed what the payback period, amount of the load is met, and how much power is going back to the grid for various sizes of solar and battery capacities in a system. We then shifted these data sets +/-4 hours to analyze different scenarios of when energy consumption may line up with solar system production.The results of this analysis have given us a good idea of how certain combinations of solar and battery capacity in a system can work in buildings of different amounts of energy consumption. We will be able to build on this research in the future, to look at what solar systems will be needed if all the energy requirements of a building are converted to electricity. We will also record the actual energy usage of low income homes in the Dayton area to compare to this analysis.

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  Robotic Additive Manufacturing

  Ajith Kumar Veeraboina

  Additive manufacturing (AM) is a technology that produces a physical part directlyfrom its corresponding digital 3D model design. AM technology has been widely used in manyfields for rapid prototyping. Technological advancements in AM have shifted its purpose tomanufacturing. However, when compared to traditional manufacturing, AM is a slow process.So, the fabrication process speed must be improved by developing new mechanisms and slicingalgorithms and a model can be printed faster without sacrificing the surface quality and itsmechanical properties. Moreover, the 3D part fabrication time is dependent on the CAD model’scomplexity, such as overhanging structures. Most of the commercial 3D printers are based on agantry system, so printing such complex models requires support structures. So, it takes moretime and material to print both the support and the actual part. Therefore, developing multi-directional tool-path algorithms can minimize fabrication time. However, such algorithms canbe implemented only with a higher degree of freedom (DOF) mechanism, like industrial roboticarms. In this report, we have discussed about printing process architecture with a one six DOFmanipulator and testing a novel tool-path planning to improve mechanical properties with smoothsurface quality. Tensile tests are performed as per the ASTM D638-20 standards.

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  Room Temperature for cost management and combating global warming. (Usage analysis)

  Srinivas Pranay Pulipati

  A room temperature sensor using Arduino Uno is a project that can be used in various real-life applications such as home automation, energy management, and industrial control systems. The project involves using an Arduino board and a temperature sensor to monitor the temperature in a room, and the data can be displayed on an LCD or sent to a computer for further analysis. This project can be used to control the heating and cooling systems in a house based on the temperature in each room, trigger alarms or shut down equipment in industrial control systems, and monitor temperature in controlled environments in scientific experiments. This can result in significant energy savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are a major contributor to global warming.Its ability to monitor temperature in real-time and trigger actions based on temperature data make it a useful tool for controlling temperature-sensitive systems and ensuring safe and efficient operation.

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  Screen Printing Liquid Metal Ink for Wearable Technology Applications

  Elizabeth Shafer

  Liquid metal inks are printed onto a variety of substrates to create stretchable, flexible, wearable technology. Methods like blade coating and drop coating have been consistently effective to print liquid metal inks through masks onto flexible, stretchable substrates. These methods require a significant amount of time and manual labor to create each individual print. While effective, there is a need for a more efficient method to make this technology more accessible. We demonstrated that screen printing is an effective and efficient process to print liquid metal ink. It is simple, repeatable, and accessible. Anyone with the resources could learn how to print liquid metal ink. Screen printing also makes it possible to cleanly print smaller features than blade coating or drop coating. Intricate, precise masks can be designed and created.

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  Self-made IoT-powered Smart Blood Oxygen Monitor for Patients with Vital Medical Alerts

  Jinglei Zhan

  In this project, I will be discussing a novel concept of a patient blood oxygen monitoring system called "Self-made IoT-powered Smart Blood Oxygen Monitor for Patients with Vital Medical Alerts." This project caters to individuals whose blood oxygen levels require round-the-clock surveillance, such as COVID-19 patients or those reliant on a ventilator. The system consistently tracks the patient's blood oxygen levels and records them on the ubidots IoT platform. Additionally, it employs ubidots' alert and event features to send crucial medical alerts via voice calls, SMS, email, and Telegram messages to the hospital management and loved ones of the patient.

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  Smart Air Quality Monitor

  Vamshidher Reddy Kowkutla

  Smart air quality monitoring IoT project is a system that monitors the quality of air in a specificenvironment and provides real-time data analysis. The project is designed to provide an effectiveand reliable solution to monitor the air quality of various environments such as indoor spaces,outdoor public places, industrial settings, and other such areas.The system consists of various sensors that are placed in the environment to monitor various airquality parameters such as temperature, humidity, particulate matter, carbon monoxide (CO),nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) as required in the project. These sensorscontinuously collect data and send it to a microcontroller, which then transmits the data to acloud-based platform using wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi or GSM.The cloud-based platform receives the data and performs real-time data analysis, providinginsights into the air quality of the monitored environment. The platform uses different algorithmsto predict the air quality of the environment and identify patterns and trends in the data.The project also includes a web-based user interface if possible that allows users to view the realtimeair quality data and receive alerts when the air quality falls below a certain threshold. Theuser interface also provides historical data analysis, enabling users to view trends and patternsin the air quality over time.The Smart air quality monitoring IoT project has significant applications in various industries suchas healthcare, industrial, environmental monitoring, and smart cities. The system can help inidentifying potential air quality hazards, enabling early detection and timely remediation. It canalso aid in policy-making decisions related to air quality regulations and provide valuable insightsinto the impact of various activities on the environment.

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  Smart Cane for Blind People

  Manoj Kumar Harinath

  Blind people are liable to get in contact with whatever obstacle which pass before them during walking, subjecting them to risk of injury caused from fall and it could also cause great damage to them. The aim of this project is to develop a smart cane with distance measurement system. The system is made up of an ultrasonic sensor as input and earphone as the output. Ultrasonic sensor is used to measure distance from the obstacle. Data is then sent to National Instrument Arduino UNO microcontroller for processing which later pro-duce voice for alerting the blond person as the output. Also, the system includes the GPS live locating system and guide the path for blind person. In general, the device will alert blind people of the obstacles through the audio output through which they can walk safely without any problem.

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  Smart Dustbin

  Vikranth Inampudi

  This project aims to develop a smart dustbin with a display using Arduino UNO R3. The smart dustbin incorporates a sensor system that detects the presence of waste and automatically opens its lid. Additionally, it includes a display system that shows the current status of the bin and the amount of waste inside it.The device utilizes an Arduino microcontroller to control the operations of the sensor and display system. The sensor system comprises of an ultrasonic sensor that detects the presence of waste and triggers the opening of the lid. The display system uses an LCD display to show the current status of the dustbin and the amount of waste inside it. The device is also equipped with an infrared sensor that detects the approach of a user and triggers the display of a message.This smart dustbin system offers several advantages, including improved waste management, reduced contact with waste, and increased hygiene. The display system helps users to be more aware of the amount of waste inside the dustbin, promoting responsible waste disposal practices. Overall, this project offers a simple and effective solution to the problem of waste management, leveraging modern technology to make the process more efficient and convenient.

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  Smart Traffic Lights Using Photoresistors

  Venkata Sai Datta Akhil Tej Salopantula

  SMART TRAFFIC LIGHTS USING PHOTORESISTOR The aim of this project is to create a smart traffic light system using an Arduino microcontroller and a photoresistor sensor. The system will use the photoresistor to detect the amount of light present and adjust the traffic light timings accordingly. This will allow for more efficient traffic flow during times of low traffic and reduce waiting times for drivers. The system will be composed of three main components: the photoresistor sensor, the Arduino microcontroller, and the traffic lights. The photoresistor sensor will be used to detect the amount of ambient light present and communicate this information to the Arduino. The Arduino will then use this information to adjust the timings of the traffic lights, allowing for more efficient traffic flow. In conclusion, this project aims to create a smart traffic light system that is both efficient and environmentally friendly. By using a photoresistor sensor to detect the amount of ambient light present, the system can adjust traffic light timings to reduce waiting times for drivers and improve traffic flow. This, in turn, can reduce emissions from idling cars and improve air quality in urban areas.

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  Smart Waste Management using Internet of Things

  Neelima Katanguri

  The concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) is crucial in enhancing smart city systems that monitor and manage city processes in real-time. One of the major challenges faced by smart city applications is managing solid waste, which has adverse effects on both human health and the environment. Typically, waste is generated by city residents and disposed of in garbage bins at the source using traditional waste management processes.To address this issue, we propose the use of a "Smart Garbage Bin" that can alert the relevant authorities when the bin is close to being full. This will ensure that the waste is collected on time, thus reducing the risk of overflow and keeping the environment clean. The system will use a strain gauge to detect when the bin is almost full and send a message to the authorized person to collect the waste from the designated location. The authorized person will then send a message to the waste management authorities through a web application or SMS, notifying them for waste collection.The management of waste is a crucial aspect of urban systems, particularly as urbanization continues to grow at a rapid pace. With the increasing trend towards smart urban systems, the need for effective waste management systems is even more pressing. A well-functioning waste management system is crucial to ensure that urban areas remain clean and habitable.This system will not only improve waste management in urban areas but also promote efficient use of resources, reduce costs, and protect the environment. By using technology to improve waste management, we can create more sustainable urban systems and ensure that cities remain clean and habitable for future generations.

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  Smart waste management using IOT Sensors.

  Uma Rani Ganga Devi

  A new technique called smart trash management uses IoT sensors to enhance waste management processes. It makes use of the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT). The fill level, temperature, and other pertinent data are monitored in this system by sensors placed in trash cans, dumpsters, and other waste collection stations. A cloud-based platform receives the sensor data and transmits it for analysis and real-time decision-making. Waste management businesses may improve their collection schedules, lower operational costs, and lessen environmental effect by utilizing this technology. This article provides a summary of the advantages, difficulties, and potential future directions of smart waste management using IoT sensors.

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  Soil Moisture Monitoring System

  Sai Harika Kunaparaju

  In this Project, We will measure the amount of moisture in the soil by using Circuit playground express and indicators to show if plants needs watering. If the soil moisture is more, the value will increases and if the soil is dry the value will decreases. so from this IOT project, we can get to know when to water the plants without making the plants dry. We need a nail and an alligator clip cable to implement this project. For the Code portion of this build, we will connect Circuit Playground Express to a USB cable connected to a computer and MakeCode to read the soil sensor.

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  Spinner Game

  Haritha Pinninti

  In this project, we will create a fun spinner game using Adafruit Circuit Playground Express device and blocks of MakeCode editor. The game can be made or developed by pressing a button on the Circuit Playground to make animated lights and sounds that help us choose between the options on the spinner chart. I chose this project because it is great for beginners or anyone who wants to get explored with working of Circuit Playground Express. There are so many different custom options within MakeCode like we can select LOOPS block to start the loop, LIGHTS block to set the brightness, MUSIC block to set the volume and INPUT block to set an input trigger as well.

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  State Feedback Control for Variable Stiffness Series Elastic Actuator (vSEA) joint-based 2-DoF Manipulator

  Pavanth Chennareddy Pavanth Kumar Reddy

  Over the past decades, industrial robot manipulators have expanded throughout the automation industry with a high degree of accuracy and reliability. For the safety of human beings, robots are confined to specific places with cages around them. There is a need for human-robot collaborations for many tasks which cannot be done with industrial robots. To address this issue, a new type of actuator joint has been developed, vSEA, which can servo control its joint stiffness and provide a measure of the instantaneous joint torque. These capabilities can play a crucial role in an intelligent robotic control design that can scale down the risks involved in human-robot collaboration. These soft joints have a higher bandwidth of compliance to better mitigate the effects of a collision. This device has been tested with PID. For better accuracy and repeatability, we are proposing a state feedback linearizing control for the system.

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  Structural Health Monitoring using Structured Lights and Infrared Thermography

  Sreelakshmi Sreeharan

  Structural health monitoring (SHM) is a nondestructive data-driven process used to assess the conditions of structural systems using methods like acoustic emission, ultrasonic, thermal imaging etc. In recent years with advancement in computer vision, research into vision-based inspection methods using three dimensional (3D) optical imaging and point cloud data is a field of active research. Structured light technique is an active method in 3D optical imaging where patterns are projected on to the scene and the camera captures the distorted pattern caused by the scene. The method uses the pattern distortion information to recover the 3D geometry. Therefore, instead of relying on the scene optical properties, the structured light method uses a projector to project known structured patterns onto the scene and the correspondence is established using the captured projected pattern information. Infrared thermography ((IRT) technique is another widely used technique for contactless temperature measurement and stress analysis of materials based on thermo elastic effects. Furthermore, IRT can be used to estimate fatigue limit and fatigue life curve of structural materials. For both visible and thermal imaging pixels are the data acquisition points used for surface profiling. However, thermal cameras have lower resolutions in comparison to visible light due to larger sensor elements. To overcome the limitations of IRT and to better investigate temperature dependent structural deformations we propose the use of projective transformations to map thermal information on to 3D reconstructed surfaces using structural light technique.

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  Sugar Choline-Chloride-Based Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents: Effects of Water Content

  Elaina Ismert

  Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) are green solvents with a melting point far below both constituent pure molecules due to hydrogen bonding. These solvents have the potential to be applied to the industrial processing of food products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other extraction processes. In the present study, the characteristics of natural deep eutectic solvents composed of hydrogen bond acceptor choline chloride (ChCl: 2-hydroxyethyl-trimethylammonium chloride), and a hydrogen bond donor saccharide are cataloged. The specific saccharides studied include disaccharides sucrose and lactose, and the monosaccharides glucose and fructose. Four NADES were prepared with varying molar ratios of 1:1, 2:1, and 4:1 ChCl: saccharide solid mixtures, heated at 80°C and mixed under magnetic stirring at 500 RPM from 2 hours to 48 hours depending on the solvent. This work also analyzed the effects of water content on the selected ChCl: saccharides NADES preparation and physical properties. It has been shown that the addition of water decreases hydrogen bonding interactions, reduces viscosity, and increases conductivity. In this work, the four as-prepared ChCl: saccharides were evaluated at varying mass percentages of water, 0, 10, 20, and 30 wt.%. Physical properties were analyzed, including pH, which tended to be neutral, conductivity, and refractive index, which was about 1.5 nD for the ChCl: saccharide NADES prepared at different conditions. The as-prepared NADES conductivity and surface tension were also measured at room temperature, about 20°C. These results showed a dependence on the saccharide type and water content. The stability and flowability of the NADES were analyzed over time through visual inspection, and the rheology will be studied. From the different saccharides studied, this study concludes the ChCl: Fructose natural deep eutectic solvents showed the most promise for environmental-related applications in terms of stability, and ease of formation, with a relatively acidic pH. On the contrary, ChCl: lactose NADES were challenging to prepare and resulted in non-stable solvents.

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  Synthesis and characterization of CuZn2InSe4 and CuZn2GaSe4 nanocrystals

  Fajer A. Almanea (Presenting author); other authors: Sohini Sengupta, Venkateswar Rao, Soubantika Palchoudhury (faculty advisor)

  A particular class of materials, multinary chalcogenide semiconductor nanocrystals, allow for tunable band gap and optical properties through composition, structure, and morphology flexibility. Among them, the copper-based compounds are attractive- in terms of sustainability since they frequently contain elements that are found in abundance on the earth’s crust and are promising to have made significant advancements for various device applications including photovoltaics and. CuZn2InSe4 and CuZn2GaSe4 nanocrystals have been synthesized using a novel hot injection approach to engineer these materials at the nanoscale. We added various cations, zinc, copper, group III elements like gallium or indium, oleylamine as the ligand, and diphenyl diselenide as our selenium source to form the multinary composition. A modified hot injection method was used where we injected the chalcogen at 150 °C and then heated the reaction to get the final product. The stoichiometry and group III cations were tuned in this multinary chalcogenide nanocrystal composition to achieve the desired bandgap of the materials in the visible range for application in thin film solar cells.

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  Synthesis of novel nanoparticle embedded biohybrid hydrogels for self-healing bandages

  Venkateswar Rao (presenting author); other authors: Sohini Sengupta, Fajer A. Almanea, Soubantika Palchoudhury (faculty advisor)

  Hydrogels offer a unique material platform for realizing new therapeutic wound healingsubstances such as bandages. They are hydrophilic and consist of three dimensional polymericnetwork that can retain water within their pores while maintaining the structural integrity. A newpolyhydroxymethacrylate (pHEMA) hydrogel modified with various therapeutic metal oxidenanoparticles is reported in this project. The nanoparticles including polymer coated iron oxideand zinc oxides are synthesized via a modified polyol approach. A detailed materialcharacterization of the biohybrid pHEMA hydrogels is conducted via a combination of x-raydiffraction, dynamic light scattering, and scanning electron microscopy to investigate thestructure-property relation of the hydrogels for application in wound dressing.

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  Task Allocation and Dead-Lock-Free Trajectory Planning for Collaborative Multi-Robot System

  Mohammad Zainullah Khan

  With advances in technology, robots have become an integral part of industries across the board. They are being employed in all sorts of applications from simple pick and place operations to the more complex operations involving AI with computer vision. In the manufacturing sector, robots are mostly used to perform tasks in isolation. There lies a big opportunity for efficiency improvement by having robots collaborate on tasks. This brings along with it challenges of obstacle avoidance, task allocation, and deadlocks. These challenges are easier to tackle for non-varying tasks such as a multi-robot system (MRS) used for spray painting a specific part. But when the same MRS has to be used for a number of tasks such as spray-painting a wide variety of parts, each with its own requirements, the challenges become harder to solve. The goal of this research is to advance task allocation and trajectory planning for multiple robot agents working collaboratively to perform manufacturing tasks. These industrial robots can vary from simple gantry robots to industrial robot arms mounted on mobile bases. Their applications will involve low-volume, high-mix manufacturing tasks such as spray painting, pressure washing, 3D printing, media blasting, and sanding. Apart from dealing with the generation of an offline collision-free path, manufacturing constraints must be considered as well. These involve achieving a constant speed of end-effector throughout a trajectory to avoid any undesirable effects. This research focuses on developing a technique for several robots with 3 or more revolute and/or prismatic joints with partially shared workspaces that enables them to allocate and perform manufacturing tasks in a time-effective and computationally efficient manner.