Stander Symposium Projects

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  A Mathematical Model for Alcoholism Epidemic

  Marina Li Mancuso

  Mathematical models are widely used to study the dynamics of infectious diseases as well as the social networks. This study considers a mathematical model for alcoholism transmission for a closed population. The model is derived from the SIR model for infectious diseases. The study utilizes the Runge-Kutta method as the numerical method to solve a system of differential equations describing the transmission of alcoholism.

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  An Analysis of the Educational Systems in Finland and the United States: A Case Study

  Caroline Ann Goodill

  The millennial trend of globalization has engulfed the field of education, creating an inter- national dialogue of educational ideologies, practices, and policies. International tests have ranked education systems, leading the world’s attention to those who achieve the highest on the tests: Finland. Finland and the United States offer similar practices and programs in terms of special education and teacher education, two dimensions of the educational system that could influence standardized test results. However, these two countries achieve quite differently on international tests. The disparity of test results may lie within the differences of scope and implementation processes for these programs. Research from the Finnish models regarding these programs create guiding vessels that, when ‘Americanized’ to fit the context of the diverse American background, could foster an equitable education system in the United States.

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  A novel Computer Aided Detection for identifying lung nodules on chest radiographs

  Barath Narayanan

  Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It usually exhibits its presence with the formation of pulmonary nodules. Nodules are round or oval-shaped growth present in the lung. Chest radiographs are used by radiologists to detect and treat such nodules but they are quite difficult to detect with human eye and are sometimes misinterpreted with lesions present. Thus, automated analysis of such data is very essential and would be of valuable help in lung cancer screening. A new computer aided detection (CAD) system in chest radiography is proposed in this paper. The algorithmic steps include (i) local contrast enhancement; (ii) automated anatomical segmentation; (iii) detection of nodule candidates; (iv) feature extraction; (v) candidate classification. In this research, we present facets of the proposed algorithm using a publicly available dataset and we explore into new set of features and classifiers. The publicly available database was created by the Standard Digital Image Database Project Team of the Scientific Committee of the Japanese Society of Radiological Technology (JRST). The JRST dataset comprises of 154 chest radiographs containing one radiologist confirmed nodule each. In this research, we compute a rich set of 117 features for each potential candidate. Local contrast enhancement is achieved using a Gaussian low pass filter. Anatomical segmentation is performed using an active shape model. Potential candidate nodules can then be determined by using an adaptive distance- based threshold algorithm limited to delineated lung fields. Later, a set of features are computed for each potential candidate. Based on those tailored features, a classifier/neural network system can be used to identify the candidates as either true positives or false positives. This CAD system would aid in providing a second opinion to radiologists. Algorithm will be trained using Riverain Database and would be tested later in JRST database.

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  A Numerical Solution of a Model of Diabetes

  Malle R. Schilling, Nathan D. Volk

  Many researchers use mathematical models to understand and predict the behavior of biological systems. In this work we consider a mathematical model for diabetes mellitus presented by Hussain and Zadeng to study a metabolic disease for the regulation of glucose in the body by pancreatic insulin. The mathematical models consists of two ordinary differential equations for glucose concentration and insulin concentration. In particular, this study attempts to numerically solve the model using the Runge-Kutta methods of order 2 and 4. We will also perform a qualitative analysis on the behavior of the system

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  A Particle Reflector Accounts for the Electrical Energy Saving

  Jun Jun Huan, Chethan Kanth Jalli, Arjun Krishnappa

  As a ceiling fan consumes 75 Watts and is used day and night, it is not possible to ignore the power consumption of the fan. With a particle reflector, air flow in a room can be seen even after the fan in the room is turned off. A discrete way of turning the fan ON after every other 30 minutes saves the power supply of 75 Watts for 30 minutes periodically. Thus the particle reflector helps in reducing the power consumption of the fan.

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  A Portfolio Weighting Strategy For a Portfolio of 9 Large Cap Healthcare Stocks: The Case for Capture Ratios, 2010 - 2015

  Mitchell V. Schleyer

  The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) indicates that individual stocks are systematically influenced by overall price movements in the market. One way of measuring these systematic movements is through capture ratios. In this study I utilize upside/downside capture ratios to develop portfolio weights for 9 large cap Health Care stocks which make up the largest overall weight in the Health Care Sector XLV. I test the following hypotheses: (1) The upside/downside capture ratio weighted portfolio outperforms the market (S&P 500), (2) the upside/downside capture ratio weighted portfolio outperforms XLV. (3) The performance of the upside/downside capture ratio weighted healthcare portfolio compares favorably to other weighting strategies.

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  Are We Out of the Woods Yet? Students’ Perceived Values of Outdoor Pre-Orientation Program Experiences Over Time

  Victoria Heithaus

  Often the first welcome to university life for students comes in the form of an orientation program. Pre-orientation camps, like Camp Blue at the University of Dayton, serve to ease the transition through a leadership development lens. The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of the Camp Blue leadership lessons over time, assessing students’ perceived value of their camp experiences. A focus group comprised of six former campers, representing first-year through senior students, highlights some key themes and characteristics from the camp experience that remain relevant post-program. This study informs future practices for camp curriculum and activities, and assists orientation professionals in developing effective pre or extended orientation programs for new students.

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  A Temporal View of Stormwater Chemical Levels in Dayton, OH

  Shante N Eisele

  Stormwater runoff has been a growing area of interest for many years. After the Clean Water Act insured that point source pollution became more regulated, attention has shifted to non-point sources of pollution, such as runoff from impervious surfaces. These surfaces, such as pavement and buildings, collect substances like oil, fertilizer, and salt that build over time. When a rain event occurs, these substances are washed off and enter into Dayton’s stormwater system, and eventually make their way to the city’s rivers via outfalls. Not only do impervious surfaces result in the collection of harmful contaminants, they also result in an abundance of runoff, because the water is not able to soak into the soil, which would also filter out many of these contaminants. It is important to monitor the stormwater entering Dayton’s rivers to be aware of any unusual concentrations and characterize the impact of the MS4 to the rivers. To do this, the Environmental Management division of the City of Dayton Department of Water regularly samples water coming from the 560 outfalls in the city. For this project, the data collected from 2000-2015 was analyzed using the statistical analysis program R. The analyses were based off of the hypothesis that stormwater quality going to each of the area’s rivers would improve through time. This is because there has been added attention given to stormwater protection over time. This long-term data set, covering the last 15 years, is an asset to understanding the health of Dayton’s rivers, and provides insight into our collective impact on stormwater quality.

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  Automated Oil/Gas Leak Detection System

  ALmabrok Essa Essa, Sidike Paheding, Daniel P Prince

  Monitoring oil and gas leaks along pipeline right-of-way (ROW) is an important task for locating damages in pipeline infrastructures and protecting our environments from pollution. It also provides essential information for decision making in the monitoring of pipeline ROW, and taking rapid response to damaging events. Data captured by advanced sensors in manned and unmanned aircrafts provide information about oil/gas leaks. However, analyzing the massive amount of data received from these media requires extensive effort if performed by human analysts. Therefore, we propose a novel technology to detect oil and gas leaks by analyzing aerial infrared (IR) data. It is observed that the presence of oil/gas leaks are more easily detected by analyzing the IR spectrum. It is envisaged that by extracting the oil/gas leak features using advanced computer vision algorithms, the leaks can be detected automatically. The proposed technique can assist human analysts for taking further decision by reducing the search space for locating probable leaks.

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  Automatic Building Detection in Wide Area Imagery

  Daniel P. Prince, ALmabrok Essa Essa, Sidike Paheding

  Unauthorized construction can cause damage to public and private infrastructure, including utilities, public housing, telecommunication equipment, etc. Current construction analysis is performed by human analysts, who can become fatigued after reviewing large amounts of imagery and are expensive to employ. In order to improve efficiency and reduce cost in monitoring this unauthorized construction, there is a need for automating the detection of regions of interest in imagery. In this work, we focus on the automatic detection of buildings. Sources of aerial and satellite imagery can be used as sources of data in order to perform these detections. While standard visible imagery with red, green, and blue channels may be used, additional information can be extracted through the use of infrared data. In this research, we have created a building detection algorithm that utilizes texture, shadow, road, and edge information for use in detecting buildings from visible and infrared imagery in rural, suburban, and urban areas. Several examples of real-world satellite imagery are used in order to evaluate our building detection algorithm.

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  Avoiding the Guillotine: The Need for Balance and Purpose in Determining Fundamental Rights under the Fourteenth Amendment

  Timothy A. Campbell

  This paper argues the need for a balanced approach between traditionalism (including history) and rationalism to determine fundamental rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The issue of how to determine fundamental rights has intrigued the Supreme Court of the United States since 1798. The Supreme Court has desired an “objective” approach to determine what rights are “fundamental.” However, the Supreme Court has had difficulty finding an objective approach. This is because, as E.O. Wilson and Joshua Greene observed, rights are naturally subjective creations of an individual’s values. Thus, any test to determine fundamental rights will be subjective rather than objective. The debate over how to determine fundamental rights is also shaped by the rationalist and traditionalist schools of thought. Rationalists argue that fundamental rights should be determined by objective reasons, rather than history. The latter, on the other hand, argue that history still has value, and is a required component of legal analysis. Both sides of the debate bring out valid points in favor of their claims. However, neither side alone can provide a solution to the debate. As a result, what is needed is a balanced test between rationalism and traditionalism. Specifically, the test examines four factors: specificity of the right, purpose of the right, legal precedent, and history. In order for a proposed right to be fundamental, the sum of the specificity and the purpose must be greater or equal to the sum of legal precedent and history.

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  BMI Associations Between Mother and Offspring From Birth to Age 18: The Fels Longitudinal Study

  Stacie S. Swanton

  Introduction: It is reported that two of three American adults are classified as overweight or obese; and one in three of their offspring will become overweight or obese (Sun et al., 2012). Because parental obesity is a risk factor for childhood obesity, children can also be pre-exposed to risk factors for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery and cardiovascular diseases. It has been well established that body composition is affected by many variables such as age, sex, race, in addition to the familial environment affects such as diet and exercise habits (Baumgartner et al., 1994). Previous research has shown a stronger maternal than paternal influence on BMI during infancy and early childhood (Magarey et al., 2013). The purpose of this research was to investigate the BMI associations between mother and offspring from birth to age 18 years. Methods: Participants were selected from the Fels Longitudinal Study, in which information regarding the study has been previously published in great detail (Roche et al., 1992). The current study sample includes 6,263 mother/child pairings (n=3,215 mother/son, n= 3,048 mother/daughter). Inclusion criteria required that mothers be a mean age of 35 ± 5 years, the children be aged from 0-18 years, and have height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) data present. BMI correlations between mothers and offspring were analyzed by Spearman correlations and standardized beta coefficients. Results: BMI correlations for the mother/son relationship became statistically significant (p≤ 0.05) around the boys age 5-6 years and continued through puberty and into early adulthood at age 18 years. The mother/daughter relationship became significant at age 1.5 years for girls and also continued through adolescence, puberty and early adulthood at age 18 years. Conclusions: The mother/daughter relationship was more strongly correlated than the mother/son relationship, and also became statistically significant at an earlier age than boys.

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  Can Airplane Recycling Take off?

  Mariana E. Aboujaoude, Tyler D. Knoblauch, Christian Alexander Lohmeier, Zhuochen Shi

  As of 2015, the worldwide air transportation industry is expected to contain an estimated 10,000 aircraft ready for retirement. In order to offset the introduction of waste from aircraft disposal into landfills, as well as to cope with the depletion of natural resources, the recycling of airplanes is becoming more prevalent. Aircraft Recycling is a process of highly variable economic revenues. Often, the difference between having a loss and a profit is with the resale of aircraft parts, namely the engines. Recycling companies often have to charge the owner of an aircraft for the recycling process in order to make up for their labor costs, and at the same time, not all that could be recycled is actually recycled in practice. This study introduces the current processes associated with aircraft recycling and disposal. This study identifies current estimated costs and revenues behind the recycling and disposal of an aircraft and formulates a baseline. This study then introduces suggested improvements in specific waste streams (metals, parts, hazardous materials, insulation and aircraft lining, textiles, etc.) and the economics associated with these improvements. A cost-benefit analysis will determine economic feasibility of suggested improvements.

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  Can the Color Red Improve Men’s Perceived Mate Value?: Examining the Interactive Effects of Facial Masculinity and Color on Female Evaluation of Potential Mates

  Alejandro Trujillo

  We manipulated facial masculinity (masculine-morph/feminine-morph) and color (red/white) through two independent studies—one in-lab at the University of Dayton and one online using Amazon’s MTurk—to examine its effect on social status and attractiveness for men when rated by women. We specifically aimed to see if the color red could serve a compensatory effect for feminine-faced men, who were least likely to be found attractive by women at peak fertility. When paired with red, women rated the masculine and feminine faces higher in social status. Through this increase in social status, the color red was also able to indirectly increase the physical attractiveness of the men. Additionally, the sensitivity to the color red was predicted by conception risk, such that women closer to peak fertility were most attentive of the color red.

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  Capture Ratio Analysis and The Materials Sector XLB: A Performance Review for 2010-2015

  Nicholas C. Jacobs

  The materials sector performance has had a challenging time over the last few years. A slow down in China and Europe certainly have been contributing factors in XLB's weak performance. In this study, I evaluate a portfolio weighting model based on capture ratios. The covariance in price peformance between large-cap stocks in the materials sector and the market (S&P 500). In this study I use a concentrated portfolio of the 10 biggest cap-weighted stocks in XLB and weight their position in the portfolio by upside/downside capture ratios. I then test the following hypotheses; 1.)The 10 materials stocks portfolio weighted by upside/downside capture ratios outperforms the market (S&P 500) 2.) The upside/downside capture ratio weighted concentrated portfolio of materials stocks outperforms XLB and 3.) The concentrated portfolio of materials stocks, performance wise, compares favorably to other weighting strategies.

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  Characterizing the Interaction of Mytilus edulis Foot Protein-5 with HY80 Steel

  Brooke N Bennett

  Mytilus edulis foot protein-5 (Mefp-5) is an adhesive protein found in the adhesive plaque of the byssal thread of the common blue mussel, Mytilus edulis (L). While to date there have been eight proteins isolated from the byssal structure, this protein contains the greatest amount (27 mol %) of a unique amino acid, L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-Dopa), which is a posttranslational modification of the amino acid L-tyrosine. This protein has been shown to confer significant corrosion inhibition to a high strength, low alloy steel (HY80) when adsorbed onto the metal surface and the steel subsequently exposed to accelerated corrosion environments. To characterize how Mefp-5 interacts with the HY80 steel and thus provide corrosion inhibition, a variety of analytical techniques were implemented. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) on HY80 steel with three different treatments of Mefp-5 dissolved in deionized water, 0.05 M potassium phosphate buffer with a pH of 5.5, and the same buffer containing mushroom tyrosinase to facilitate the oxidation of the L-Dopa and subsequent intramolecular cross-linking. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Nanoscale infrared spectroscopy (Nano-IR) were performed on both a HY80 steel coupon and a glass slide containing Mefp-5 dissolved in deionized water. The results indicate that the amino acid L-Dopa in the Mefp-5 protein is intimately involved in the adsorption of the protein onto the two substrates tested. The SEM-EDS data indicate that the Mefp-5 adheres mostly through auto-oxidation and cross-linking, but when dissolved in buffer or buffer with enzyme, the protein interacts with the HY80 surface via a mixture of enzyme and metal mediated cross-linking and complexation, respectively. FT-IR and Nano-IR data for Mefp-5 adsorbed onto HY80 and glass steel exhibits similar results suggesting that the Mefp-5 adsorbed on the HY80 involves metal ion complexation by L-Dopa at the protein-metal interface.

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  Creating a Safe and Effective Learning Environment

  Hannah K Carnevale, Logan C Cooper, Kayla B Needham, Madison E Rinderle

  This EDT 110H project will explore how policies as well as student and teacher behavior can have an impact on the school environment. Topics will include: the effects bullying, if a dress code can help prevent violence, how praising students could reduce class disruption, and the effectiveness of and possible alternatives to zero tolerance policies.

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  Creating Value through Sustainable Manufacturing

  Ryan S. Schuessler, Zack Valigosky

  To support movement toward a more sustainable worldview, increasing manufacturing efficiency or productivity to improve business profitability and return to shareholders alone is no longer sufficient. Today, leading manufacturers employ business practices that generate sustainable value—that is, creating economic, environmental, and societal value for all stakeholders. Progressive company culture, environmental and energy management systems, carbon neutrality, and becoming landfill free are all valuable outcomes of sustainable manufacturing. This poster outlines the the value of these outcomes as well as methods to achieve sustainable manufacturing.

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  Cross-Cultural Engagement: Is it happening?

  Johanna B. Lantz

  This study examines the cross-cultural engagement between international and domestic undergraduate engineering students at a private, Midwestern university. It uncovers the situations in which international and domestic students are engaging and explores the components which help or hinder the cross-cultural interaction between these students. This study informs higher education professionals endeavoring to provide undergraduate engineering students a greater ability to function in a global world. Data was collected through the use of one-on-one interviews with current international and domestic undergraduate engineering students. The study revealed that while international and domestic engineering students are engaging, the frequency remains low and there continues to be barriers to this engagement which should be addressed.

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  Cultural Continuity from 1845 to the 2008 Presidential Election

  Gurjot Kaur

  This paper intends to examine the durability of culture in elections with a civil rights component by conducting a multiple regression analysis. The difference in the Democratic vote between 2008 and 2004 is regressed on a number of demographic and socioeconomic variables, as well as a cultural variable. The model attempts to demonstrate the persistence of culture in New York counties over a span of more than 150 years. County level cross-sectional data was used, obtained from the 2010 Census, the 1845 New York Census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the New York State Board of Elections. The model was constructed using ordinary least squares regression, and the AICc was used to find the model most likely to align with the true model by dropping variables without explanatory power. At an alpha level of 0.10, it was determined that the percentage of the county’s population born in New England in 1845 did have a statistically significant impact on the difference in the Democratic vote, supporting the hypothesis that culture is durable and persistent over time.

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  Culture and Popularity: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Dystopian Texts

  Joseph A Spieles

  The past two decades have seen a surge of dystopian novels aimed at teenaged and young adult audiences. Many of the novels have been so well received that they were rapidly adapted into films. I am investigating the cultural obsession with dystopian stories and their popularity in young adult audiences through a critical analysis of The Hunger Games trilogy, novels and films, with references to additional contemporary dystopian novels and films. My work draws from the psychology of popularity as well as studies of popular culture aimed at predicting and explicating film and novel success. I also aim to explicate the differences between dystopia as a literary genre and other forms of society demonstrated in literature that show civil unrest. I am analyzing the novels, films, and social movements behind these contemporary texts to account for their popularity in young adult culture.

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  Culture as Context: Effects of Cultural Polarization on Chinese International Student Adjustment

  Geordan L. Burress

  Due to the fact that Chinese international students are such a significant population within American universities across the country, it is worth investigating how this population typically adjusts to living in the United States and what stresses or issues are unique to them. However, it is also important to investigate whether or not Chinese international students experience positive transformations within themselves as a result of the adjustment challenges that they are faced with. This qualitative inquiry examines these vital questions surrounding Chinese international student adjustment, in order to contribute to a more holistic understanding of the complex experiences of Chinese international students.

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  Cyberbullying on UD Campus

  Kaitlin Marie Bell, Samantha M Cook, Tyler E Jasensky, Hannah Catherine Lindesmith

  An alarming statistic from the US Department of Health and Human Services states that 52% of students have been a victim of cyberbullying. More than half of students are experiencing the physical and mental threats that follow them constantly in the cyber world. Our world today is filled with the use of internet in a majority of tasks, whether in an office building or in a classroom full of students. With so many people using social media and the internet comes consequences. The idea of cyberbullying is that the internet provides an anonymity that allows a vicious comment to be said without placing the blame on a direct person. In addition, the internet is filled with fake accounts that interact with a person on a daily basis. In contrast to traditional bullying at school, cyberbullying has created an environment where a photo or statement can be shared continuously. At the University of Dayton, students have social media on their phones or computers constantly. Some of the more popular social media sites used are Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, YikYak, and Instagram. An article conducted by Flyer News expressed the concern that YikYak posed because of the ability to post racist or awful comments about others without your identity being exposed. With the increased use of social media here on UD’s campus, there is a heightened chance that cyberbullying will or already has presented itself as a serious issue. Sixty-eight percent of teens report cyberbullying as a serious issue and 81% think it is much easier to bully someone via social media/online rather than in person (dosomething.org, 2016). In conclusion, whether or not we see it often here on our campus, cyberbullying is an issue and it is up to us students to be educated on it and attempt to stop it.

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  Data Evaluation and Control of Pollutants in the Air

  Hassaan Fahim

  This project is about the data evaluation of the pollutants in the open atmosphere such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, etc. The main aim of this project is to evaluate the data for the pollutants mentioned above as well as to generate different curves with the help of data obtained for past couple of decades and to develop some curve-fit equations to predict the approximate emission values of the pollutants for upcoming future years. As environmental pollution is one of the biggest challenges we are facing now-a-days in the current technology-based world,this work also shows the different allowable exposure limits of the pollutants as per regulations provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Also, this work presents the air quality index specifications with its (U.S.EPA) different zones, providing the ways to protect our health from the long term exposure of the pollutants which can cause various diseases and disorder for living organisms, especially, human beings.

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  Depth Perception for Obstacle Avoidance using Robust Artificial Intelligence-based Defense Electro Robot (RAIDER)

  Brandon M Hampshire

  All robotic navigation requires an awareness of surrounding environment to avoid potential collisions. To help aid the navigation of the Robust Artificial Intelligence-based Defense Electro Robot (RAIDER), we employ the use of a three-dimensional depth sensor (Xbox Kinect) to detect obstacles present in the path of the robot. The depth map created from the Kinect sensor provides necessary information to the obstacle locations. Navigation commands are then computed based on these locations to allow the robot to slow when approaching the obstacles and turn away from the obstacles. Communication is established with the robot using a wireless local area network and processing of Kinect is done on an off-board computer. This allows navigation processing requirements to be communicated to the robot remotely for communication and interaction with other robots and sensors.