Project code: PR2004-01 [1] Foody John, Visual Feedback Control of a levitating Ping Pong Ball, BE Project

Report, Dept. of Electronic Eng., NUI Maynooth, 2004.

Title: Modelling and Control of a Levitating Ping Pong Ball System

Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications

Supervisor: Sean McLoone

Prerequisites: An interest in system dynamics, signal processing, programming and

electronics.

Project Description:
With the widespread availability of cheap imaging systems such as web-cams, their
application as measurement sensors in feedback control systems is becoming an
increasingly viable alternative to more expensive dedicated sensors. In a previous
final year project a levitating ping-ball system was developed as a test system to
evaluate the potential advantages and pitfalls of web-cam based visual feedback. The
proposed project is the refinement of this test system, the development of a GUI based
software interface, the development of a Simulink model of the system and the design
and evaluation of several control schemes.

.Expected Procedure:

Gaining an understanding of the existing system and its operation.

Exploring refinements to the system configuration and computer interface.
Developing a Matlab interface to the system to compliment the existing C
based interface.
Development of a GUI front end to the system.
Modelling and Simulation of the complete system in Matlab.
Design and evaluation of a number of different controller designs

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

The project provides an opportunity to gain experience in a number of areas including
electronics, programming, image processing, system identification and control system
design. It is therefore relevant to all three engineering programs.

Some Typical Progress Requirements for:

Pass: Completion of steps 1 and 2 of the above procedure and a reasonable attempt at
the other steps.
Honours: Completion of steps 1 to 4, a reasonable attempt at modelling the system
and the successful design, implementation an evaluation of at least one controller.
High Honours: Completion of all aspects of the project to a high standard including a
design, implementation and evaluation of at least one advanced controller design.

Resources Required:
A PC interfaced to the levitating ping-ball system
Matlab 5.3, Simulink system identification and optimisation toolboxes
Visual C++
References:
 Project code: PR2004-02 Resources Required:
A PC +C compiler that can run the robot soccer simulator and be capable of
Title: Developing adaptive strategies for interacting robots
running the computationally intensive simulations.
Matlab 5.3 or better.
Degree Stream: Computer/Communications/Electronic
References:
Supervisor: Sean McLoone
[1] Federation of International Robot-soccer Association, http://www.fira.net/.
[2] The Robocup soccer simulator, http://sserver.sourceforge.net/
Prerequisites: An interest in artificial intelligence and good programming skills.

Project Description:
Over the last few years there has been a growing interest in replicating in robots and
other agents the cooperative team behaviour demonstrated by insects (e.g. ant colony),
birds (e.g flocking behaviour) and other forms of life including humans (e.g. teams
playing sports). One outlet for this research is robotic soccer [1], where teams of
computer-controlled robots compete against each other in robot football competitions.
To help investigate different strategies robot soccer simulators [2] have been
developed for various classes of robot. The objective of this project is to explore the
issues and challenges relating to developing effective team strategies using one of
these simulators.

.Expected Procedure:

Literature review of the robot soccer and cooperating robot field focusing on
identifying the different simulators that are available and strategies that exist
for programming cooperation.
Identifying an installing a robot soccer simulator that allows programming of
new strategies.
Demonstration of the operation of this simulator by implementation of some
simple simulation tasks.
Investigation of more advanced cooperation strategies.
Investigate how adaptation can be included into the system so that robots learn
or evolve their behaviour over time.

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

The project provides an opportunity to gain experience in some of the issues related
cooperating agents and artificial intelligence and will involve a significant amount of
programming. It is therefore most relevant to students taking the computer
engineering stream, but may also be of interest to the other streams.

Some Typical Progress Requirements for:

Pass: Completion of steps 1 and 2 and 3 above.
Honours: Completion of steps 1 to 4, above and a demonstration of a reasonable
understanding of the issues and challenges in the field of cooperating agents/robots.
High Honours: Completion of all aspects of the project to a high standard to include
novel results and ideas and a good understanding of the issues and challenges in the
field of cooperating agents/robots and learning systems.
 Project code: PR2004-03 Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
Pass: Thorough literature review
A plan for an e-voting system
Title: E-Voting with a Auditable Paper Trail Build a working voting panel and interface with a computer
Honours: As above, design print-out
Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications Build accept/reject mechanism
High Honours: As above with user testing
Supervisor: Dr Ronan Farrell An indepth understanding of the issues people have with trusting machines.
A realistic and knowledgable understanding of the issues outstanding in terms
Prerequisites: Interest in electronics, human-machine interaction, practical system of reliability.
skills, embedded electronics (PIC)
Resources Required:
Project Description: One PC,
In this project we wish to build an interface for an electronic-voting system which has A pic development board, and up to 10 2-digit LEDs
a user-acceptable procedure and an auditable paper trail. We propose to do this with A printer for later stages.
an electronic voting screen (in our case a PC or an LCD), a printer to produce a
machine and human readable card, and an accept/reject mechanism from the user of
the vote recorded on the card. There will be a requirement to use an embedded
controller, an interface with a computer, a printer and some digital control of
machines. Secure, trusted transmission of the results will be considered as part of the
design stage of the project but is not within the scope of the project.

Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Familiarise themselves with the human-machine interface issues with
electronic voting
Learn the mechanisms for single-transferable voting systems.
Construct an interface panel for voting using 10 candidates and up/down
buttons, and LED screens.
Design printer output,
Construct interface with PC for storing vote and printing result.
Construct mechanism for user rejecting/accepting vote (physical movement
into discard/accept bin), inform PC
Test the system thoroughly, using a variety of technical/non-technical
volunteers

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

This project will allow students to explore issues such as the role of machines in
society, machine-computer interactions, embedded systems and overall system
design. The student will need to combine practical prototyping skills with
programming skills to get the overall system to work.
 Project code: PR2004-04
Title: Radio ID Sensors for Location-Sensing in a Museum Environment
Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications
Supervisor: Dr Ronan Farrell
Prerequisites: Interest in electronics, radio systems, human-machine interaction,
practical system skills, embedded electronics (PIC)
Project Description:
In this project we hope to build a small radio ID system where a user can walk around
a museum (or any room) and when the person comes close to an exhibit (possessing a
radio ID), they will know that they are close, and their handheld computer will display
the relevant information. For example, person collects a handheld device, as she
walks to the statue, the handheld beeps that information is available, and that
information can be viewed by the user. As they move around the museum, other
information becomes available. The technical requirements are for a handheld sensor
to be able to detect an ID-tag from approximately 1 meter. This ID tag should be able
to respond to a query and provide an id-code. This will involve integration of a radio-
device and a PIC controller, and a PC.
Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
Pass: Getting a working model using two development kits
Thorough literature review
Honours: As above, with small devices using PICs and RF chips.
Fully evaluate functionality with several devices in same and different areas
High Honours: As above with software interface and full functionality.
Resources Required:
Two RF development Kits
A computer with evaluation software (a laptop for later use will be provided)
Circuit construction space (PCB, breadboard, circuit design).
References:
Zigbee Radio Standard
Chipcon: http://www.chipcon.com/index.cfm?kat_id=2&subkat_id=12&dok_id=115
http://www.hometoys.com/htinews/aug04/articles/chipcon/zigbee.htm

Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Familiarise themselves with radio devices, and specific development kits.
Learn to programme a PIC
Configure a PC and a radio-development kit for sensing
Using a second kit, do a rough proof of concept, fleshing out the problems.
Build a set of small tags, combining battery, PIC, RF device, for location IDs
Build software interface
Test for functionality and interference.

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

This project will allow students to explore issues such as radio communications,
embedded systems and overall system design. The student will need to combine
practical prototyping skills with theoretical and programming skills to get the overall
system to work.
 Project code: PR2004-05 Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
Pass: Satisfactory completion of procedure steps 1, 2 and 3 above.
Title: English Phoneme Perceptual Difference Estimation Honours: As above plus satisfactory completion of procedure step 4.
High Honours: As above plus satisfactory completion of procedure step 5.
Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications
Resources Required:
Supervisor: Dr Lawlor A multimedia PC with Matlab 5.3 or later and the signal processing toolbox.
The TIMIT speech corpus [2].
Prerequisites: Interest in speech processing / speech recognition. Familiarity with
Matlab and the Signal Processing Toolbox. References:
[1] Wells, John and House, Jill, 'The Sounds of the International Phonetic Alphabet',
Project Description: University College London, 1995.
In many spoken languages, including English, the written text does not correspond to [2] The DARPA TIMIT Acoustic-Phonetic continuous speech corpus, US National
its pronunciation so that in order to describe correct pronunciation some kind of Institute for Standards & Technology (NIST), 1990.
symbolic representation is needed. The phonemes of a language are defined as the [3] Bob Lawlor, PhD Thesis: 'Audio Time-Scale and Frequency-Scale Modification',
minimum set of symbols needed to represent the pronunciation of every possible word University College Dublin, 1999.
in the language. In American English (the international standard) there are 45
phonemes [1]. An inherent requirement of any automatic speech recognition (ASR)
system is that it must segment and identify the sequence of phonemes in the input
speech. In natural speech, phonemes run into each other and are strongly influenced
by their neighbouring phonemes. This makes ASR difficult and beyond the scope of
the proposed project. In this project, you are required to develop a C based
extraction utility program which is capable of extracting a requested number of
specified phonemes from the TIMIT speech corpus [2]. The total requested number
may consist of samples from male and/or female speakers, possibly from different
dialects. The utility requires a front end which prompts the user to enter the phoneme
type, count and configuration. The output will be a basic data file, which can possibly
be interrogated by Matlab. Having developed the extraction utility, a number of
distance metrics will be used to estimate both the perceptual difference between
different phonemes and the perceptual similarity of different utterances of the same
phoneme. Time-scale and frequency-scale modification techniques [3] will be used to
try to normalise the phonemes under investigation.

Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to:
1. Compile a review of the phonemic structure of the spoken English language.
2. Familiarise themselves with the content and intended use of the TIMIT speech
corpus.
3. Develop and implement the Phoneme Extraction Utility Program in C.
4. Implement simple distance metric estimation algorithms such as mean squared
distance and perceptually weighted mean squared distance using Matlab.
5. Design and implement in Matlab a standard time-scale / frequency-scale
modification algorithm for phoneme normalisation.

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

Signal processing is a core component of all three streams of the NUIM engineering
program. This project will enable the student to apply their signal processing theory to
a challenging and practical problem. It will also allow the student to become familiar
with modern approaches to automatic speech recognition research.
 Project code: PR2004-06
Title: Speech quality enhancement using the TI TMS320C6000.
Degree Stream: Computer / Communications / Electronic
Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
Pass: Satisfactory completion of procedure steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 above.
Honours: As above plus satisfactory completion of procedure step 5.
High Honours: As above plus satisfactory completion of procedure step 6.

Supervisor: Bob Lawlor Resources Required:

A multimedia PC with Matlab 5.3 or later and the signal processing toolbox.
Prerequisites: Interest in Speech processing, Digital Signal Processing. The TIMIT speech corpus [3].
The Texas Instruments TMS320C6000 Starter Kit.
Project Description:
The perceptual quality of reproduced speech is governed largely by bandwidth. References:
Recommended sample rates and the associated quality are as follows: [1] GE301 Signals and Systems Course notes
[2] GE401 Digital Signal Processing Course notes
8000 Hz Telephone quality. [3] The DARPA TIMIT Acoustic-Phonetic continuous speech corpus, US National
11025 Hz Low end radio quality. Good for voice. Institute for Standards & Technology (NIST), 1990.
22050 Hz Radio quality. Good for music and voice. [3] www.ti.com Digital Signal Processing
44100 Hz CD quality. Excellent for all sounds. [4] www.dspguide.com

The objective of this project is to develop a bandwidth extrapolation algorithm which

enhances telephone quality speech to low end radio quality. The short-time Fourier
transform (STFT) will be used to analyze the spectral differences and the use of
schemes such as harmonic extension will be used to extrapolate lost bandwidth. The
algorithm developed will be simulated in Matlab and then implemented in real-time
using the Texas Instruments TMS320C6000 DSP.

Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to:
1. Compile a review of time-frequency speech signal analysis.
2. Implement the STFT in Matlab such that the time-frequency resolution trade-off
can be easily controlled.
3. Design and implement (in Matlab) digital FIR filters to convert radio quality
speech from the TIMIT database [2] into both low-end radio quality and telephone
quality.
4. Examine the spectral differences between utterances at low-end radio quality and
telephone quality.
5. Develop a time-frequency synthesis algorithm to model the above differences
based on the telephone quality input utterance.
6. Implement the above developed algorithm using the TI TMS320C6000 DSP.

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

Signal processing is a core component of all three streams of the NUIM engineering
program. This project will enable the student to apply their signal processing theory to
a challenging and practical problem. It will also allow the student to become familiar
with a DSP microprocessor which is used extensively in a broad range of real-time
embedded systems including mobile phones.
 Project code: PR2004-07 Project code: PR2004-08
Title: A footballing PIC-based Lego Robot Title: A Java Tool for exploring the design of Control Systems

Degree Stream: All Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic

Supervisor: Dr Seamus McLoone Supervisor: Dr Seamus McLoone

Prerequisites: Interest in hardware implementation and embedded systems. Prerequisites: Interest in Control Systems Design and a willingness to learn Java.

Project Description: Project Description:

In this project the student will be required to develop a microcontroller-based (using
the PIC microcontroller) Lego Robot to replace the existing Lego Mindstorm
counterpart. The PIC-based Robot will make use of the existing Lego hardware. Once
built, the student will be required to programme the robot to carry out some simple
tasks ranging from obstacle avoidance to playing football!
Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Implement the necessary hardware to combine the PIC microcontroller with
the Lego hardware
Familiarise themselves with MPLab, the PIC microcontroller and the PIC
Assembly Language
Program the PIC microcontroller
In this project the student will be required to develop a Java Tool that can be used to
explore and analyse the design of control systems.
Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Carry out a literature review of existing applications relevant to this project
Learn the Java programming language
Implement an application (or applet), written in Java, that will allow the
analysis of control systems design
Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth
Having learnt C and C++ as part of the engineering program, this project gives the
student the opportunity to learn a completely new programming language.

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
This project will allow the student to develop both their hardware and software skills, Pass: Implementation of the key features of a typical Java application (or applet), to
building on the basics learned as part of the engineering programme. include some basic concepts relating to the design of control systems.
Honours: As above, with the addition of including more advanced concepts relating
Some Typical Progress Requirements for: to the design of control systems and some simple graphical features.
Pass: Implementation of the basic hardware. High Honours: As above with the addition of including more complicated graphical
Honours: As above with the addition of possibly more advanced hardware and/or concepts relating to the design of control systems.
programming the microprocessor to carry out simple tasks.
High Honours: As above but also demonstrating some profound insight into the area Resources Required:
through improved implementation and/or advanced programming. A PC
Java SDK (software development kit)
Resources Required: NetBeans IDE (for editing, debugging, etc.)
MPLab software and PIC microcontroller
A single Lego Mindstorm set References:
A dedicated PC with MPLab http://java.sun.com + other relevant websites
MicroChip In-circuit Debugger - ICD2. EE401 course notes!
(Plenty of books on Java in library)
References:
The MPLab Manual + relevant websites.
 Project code: PR2004-09
Title: Design, Analysis and Construction of a Theremin
Degree Stream: Electronic
Supervisor: Alan Rogers
Prerequisites: Interest in electronics projects and musical instruments.
Project Description:
The Theremin is a musical instrument based on a beat-frequency oscillator, and was
invented in the 1920s by Leon Theremin, a Russian Engineer. The Theremin is
played by waving your hands near antennae which change inductance, thus changing
frequency and volume output. It is known for its distinct spooky sound. Numerous
designs for Theremins have been proposed and built. In this project, the student will
design a Theremin, simulate it, and construct it using off-the-shelf components. The
student will also carry out an analysis of the circuit in an attempt to characterize the
distinct sound of the Theremin.
Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Familiarise themselves with the literature on Theremins.
Design, Simulate and Construct a working Theremin.
Attempt to analyse the circuit in order to give a theoretical background to the
operation of the Theremin.
Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth
This project will involve research into electronics, feedback, oscillators, antennas, as
well as the construction of a complicated electronic circuit which will then be used as
a demonstration in future years.
Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
Pass: Conducting a thorough literature review on Theremins, and building a
rudimentary Theremin.
Honours: As above with the addition of extensive simulations and a real grasp of the
electronics involved, and the pitfalls enocountered in building the Theremin.
High Honours: As above but with original design, detailed analysis and new insights
into Theremins and their sound.
Resources Required:
Electronics components, specialised antennas and inductors
PCB kit for the circuitboard.
Wooden cabinet to hold working theremin.
Computer with PSPICE for simulations.
References:
[1] www.thereminworld.com
[2] www.theremininfo.com
Project code: PR2004-10
Title: Nonlinear time-series analysis of an MMG signal
Degree Stream: Electronic / Computer / Communications
Supervisor: Alan Rogers
Prerequisites: Interest in nonlinear systems / biomedical engineering
Project Description:
A recent paper in Physics Letter A by Lei et al. described how the nonlinear
characteristics of an EMG (surface electromyogram) signal could be analysed using
techniques based on the theory of nonlinear dynamics. For this project, it is suggested
that a similar analysis could be carried out on MMG (mechanomyagram) data. The
main difference is that EMG signals are based on electric signals within the muscle,
whereas MMG signals are picked up using accelerometers. In the project, we hope to
reproduce the results by Lei for MMG signals
Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Familiarise themselves with the literature on EMG and MMG signals
Become proficient at analysing nonlinear time-series
Attempt to analyse MMG data (available from Dr. Ward) and determine its
nonlinear characteristics.
Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth
This project will involve research into signals and systems, as well as utilising
programming skills and mathematical skills.
Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
Pass: Conducting a thorough literature review on EMG and MMG signals and
performing some rudimentary analysis of the data.
Honours: As above with the addition of extensive analysis of the data, paralleling the
work carried out by Lei.
High Honours: As above but with detailed analysis and new insights into MMG
signals and the nonlinear analysis of them, suitable for conference or journal
publication.
Resources Required:
PC with MATLAB, C.
References:
[1] Min Lei, Zhizhong Wang, and Zhengjin Feng, Detecting nonlinearity of action
surface EMG signal, Physics Letters A, pp 297-303, vol 290, 2001.
 Project code: PR2004-11
Title: Television sound level control

Degree Stream: Electronic, Telecomms

Supervisor: Dr Frank Devitt

Prerequisites: Interest in electronic hardware product design using analogue and dsp
control and filtering techniques.

Project Description:
Audio sound output level from TVs varies between channels, between programmes as well as
between programmes and advertisements. Passive occupants in or adjacent to a room where a
TV is operating often find very uncomfortable and excessive the high sound level from ads
transmitted between programmes manual corrective adjustment is erratic and not well
controlled.

This project seeks to research the issues surrounding the above topic, to select the appropriate
solution approach offering unique competitive features and to design an automatic sound
level corrective device that can be easily connected to the external interfaces available in most
TVs. A prototype such device will be built and tested.

Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to:
Research and measure the nature of the sound variations described above.
Research the variety, function and specification of the various signal interfaces
commonly found on TVs.
Develop and optimise a MATLAB model for the proposed regulation scheme..
Design, build and test a prototype device using laboratory DSP kits.

Relevance to engineering programmes:

This project will develop a students capability of commercial product interfacing
(TV) and new product design. New product specification, design modelling and
realisation will be practised, including recognition and mitigation of obstacles.

Typical progress requirements:

Pass: Understanding of system design; identification and demonstration of major
difficulties in respect of achieving specified performance.
Honours: as above + implementation of satisfactory model; validation of the model
and estimation and verification of achievable performance levels.
High honours: as above + solving identified problems and demonstration of same
through working prototype.

Resources required:
Computer with MATLAB, audio interface equipment and laboratory DSP kit.

References:
[1] www.tvsoundregulator.com
[2] Final Year Project report, Declan Byrne, 2004.
 Project code: PR2004-12 demonstrating some profound insight into the area and perhaps suggesting some other
novel approaches yet unseen in the area.

Title: A Study to investigate the relationship between Perceptual Centres in speech Resources Required:
and Human Auditory Evoked Potentials PC

Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications References:

Supervisor: Dr Ward
Prerequisites: Interest in biomedical engineering, human biology, psychoacoustics,
digital signal processing and human perception
[1] B. Pompino-Marschall, "On the psychoacoustic nature of the P-center
phenomenon", Journal of Phonetics, Vol. 17, pp 175-192, 1989
[2] Sophie Scott, "P-centres in speech, an acoustic analysis", PhD Thesis, University
College London, 1993
[3] http://www.audiospeech.ubc.ca/haplab/aep.htm - last accessed 2/9/04

Project Description:
In this project the student is required to measure the electrical activity of the brain -
termed brain waves. In particular small fluctuations in these signals (termed auditory
evoked potentials) correlated with external speech sound stimuli are to be acquired
using dedicated instrumentation in the Departments of Psychology/Electronic
Engineering. These tiny signals are difficult to measure as they are on the order of
microvolts and digital signal processing will be required to adequately identify them.
The main goal of the experiment is to determine whether there are any correlations
between features in these brain signals and perceived timing patterns in speech.

Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Familiarise themselves with the record Auditory Evoked Potentials from the
human scalp
Learn the Java programming language
Apply advance digital signal processing techniques to maximise signal-to-
noise ratios during the acquisition process.
Perform perceptual listening tests on human subjects.
Perform in-depth analysis of the results of the experiments

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

This projects relies heavily on low signal acquisition techniques (microvolts) in
physiologically noisy environments. Sophisticated biomedical instrumentation must
be used which will require a good understanding and ability with analog electronics.
Further advanced digital signal processing techniques will have to be utilised in order
to obtain adequate SNR. In addition some software will have to be written for
stimulus presentation. A thorough, rigorous and scientific analysis of the results will
also be required.

Some Typical Progress Requirements for:

Pass: Conducting a thorough literature review on the area and demonstrating either
the acquisition of auditory evoked potentials.
Honours: As above but with the addition of successfully devising and executing an
experimental protocol to test the hypothesis described in the project title.
High Honours: As above but also performing a thorough analysis and critique of the
experiment such that the hypothesis can be proved or disproved through
 Project code: PR2004-13
Title: An investigation into Run to Run Control of a Plasma Process
Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications
Supervisor: Dr Sen Doherty
Prerequisites: Interest in modelling and control. Enjoys designing simulations in
Simulink, programming and data analysis in Matlab. An interest in semi-conductor
manufacturing and control of batch processes would also be advantageous.
Background
Plasma etching is a crucial process in semiconductor manufacturing for transferring
circuit patterns to a wafer [1]. In an etching process, rectangular channels are cut
(etched) from a material such as SiO2 (channel widths are now of the order of a
fraction of a micrometer). This is achieved by bombarding the wafer with high energy
electrons which are generated in a plasma chamber. Reactive gases, such as CF4, flow
into the plasma chamber that contains two parallel electrodes across which a RF
voltage is applied which excites the gases into a plasma state. When the wafer, which
sits between the electrodes, is bombarded by this plasma "beam", any SiO2 which is
not protected by a photo-resist material is "etched" away by a combination of
chemical reactions (between etchant gases and wafer) and physical bombardment by
high energy ions. The actual etched pattern (which electrically connects the
transistors) is a copy of the photo-resist pattern.
Despite their widespread use, plasma etching processes remains poorly understood
and they are often poorly controlled [1,2]. The main variable to be controlled is the
etch rate and this is done by manipulating such variables as the gas flow rate and
temperature, the RF power and the chamber pressure. Wafers often have to be
rejected for a variety of reasons, for instance, sometimes the etched channels are not
anisotropic (channels have not got vertical edges). Furthermore, the lack of online
measurements can result in a large volume of such defective materials being
processed in a manufacturing line before they are detected [2]
Project Description:
This project builds on a 2003 project which investigated run to run (R2R) control of a
chemical etch process. The chemical etch process was selected because it was easier
to mathematically model than the plasma etch processes. However, a mathematical
model of a plasma etch process has been now been developed, and will be used in this
project to investigate the implementation of R2R algorithms. R2R control has the
following characteristics [2,3] which make it suitable for the plasma etch process :-
suited to control of batch processes (in plasma etching, a batch is of the order of
25 wafers)
the core principle of R-2-R control is to manipulate the current batch based on
results of previous batches
suited for processes which lack in situ measurements of product quality (e.g. etch
depth)
R-2-R algorithms are designed to combat non-stationary processes as, is common
with plasma etching where a build up of residue and/or instrument fouling/drift
causes an increasing problem over a series of batches
Expected Procedure:
1. Ascertain fundamentals of semiconductor manufacturing, particularly plasma
etching
2. Literature survey on R-2-R control
3. Familiarise themselves with the plasma model. The model is fully coded in
Simulink, but the student will need to adapt/develop it.
4. Design series of controller tests (e.g. batch length, recipe, process disturbance
signals)
5. Implement a baseline controller (e.g. PI)
6. Implement and evaluate EWMA controller
7. Implement and evaluate Predictor-corrector controller
8. Compare and revisit 5,..,7, e.g. investigate different observers, control laws etc.
Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth
This project is suitable for students from all the streams but will be of particular
interest to those keen on modelling, simulation and control system design. The project
will also provide the student with an insight into some of the practices in
semiconductor manufacturing. The project involves simulating the plasma process
model, designing and implementing control systems in Simulink and analysing
batches of data in MatLab.
Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
Pass: Follow the above procedure and implement the controllers (5, 6, 7).
Honours: As above but with a thorough comparison (8) of the techniques and an
investigation of the effects of controller parameters (e.g. type of observer etc.)
High Honours: As above but also demonstrating some contribution to the field not
previously published.
Resources Required:
A reasonably specified computer (e.g. P3, 1GHz, 256MB) with Matlab 6.5,
Simulink, System Identification and Control Toolboxes.
References:
[1] IEEE, ISA, NCSL et al. (1995) Semiconductor industry association technical
roadmap, in Proc. Measurement Science Conf., Anaheim, CA.
[2] Hankinson, M. et al. (1997) Integrating Real-time and Run-to-Run Control of
Etch Depth in Reactive Ion Etching.
[3] Moyne, J. et al. (eds.) (2001) Run-to-Run Control in Semiconductor
Manufacturing. [see NUIM library 621.38152MOY]

Project code: PR2004-14
Title: Integrating an Artificial Neural Network with a crude Analytic Model
Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications
Supervisor: Dr Sen Doherty
Prerequisites: Interest in modelling and control. Enjoys designing simulations in
Simulink, programming and data analysis in Matlab.
Background
It is often said that up to 80% of the effort in control system design is dedicated to modeling.
Once a good system model is available, there are a range of well established techniques which
can be used to design a controller. There are two distinct classes of parametric models -
theoretical (or analytic) models and experimental (or empirical) models. Usually, a control
engineer would prefer an analytic model because it has two qualities lacking from an
empirical model
1. it can give an insight into the science of the system (i.e. how the output(s), input(s)
and state(s) are related to each other) since it is derived from physical relationships,
such as the conservation laws (e.g. of mass, momentum, charge and energy),
phenomenological laws, state equations and boundary conditions [1].
2. even a nonlinear analytic model can safely be used over a wide operating range where
as a nonlinear empirical model should never be used for extrapolation.
However, the drawback with analytic models, which is commonly encountered for many
chemical processes, is that they can be very expensive to develop. The system's dynamics can
be complex and include a degree of uncertainty which render them most difficult for
theoretical modeling [2]. Even if the cost of developing a theoretical model can be met, it can
often be inaccurate. Additionally, chemical processes are usually time variant and adapting
the parameters of a theoretical model to such changes is not trivial. For these reasons and
because there is usually an abundance of process I/O data for most chemical processes,
experimental models are often a more realistic option.
In the realm of experimental models, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have been recently
been widely used and they include the following advantages :-
ANNs have the ability to approximate continuous non-linear mappings between multi-
dimensional spaces to an arbitrary degree of accuracy
ANNs have a tolerance to noisy data
Project Description:
It is not always as simple as having a choice between the "expensive" analytic model or the "cheap but
potentially unreliable" empirical model. Sometimes, there is a crude empirical model available a
model which captures some of the features of the system but which neglects other making it, by itself,
not adequate for control system design. One possibility in these situations is to combine or integrate the
crude analytic model with an empirical model [3] and this will be investigated in this project.
The basis of this project of this project will be :-
1. A theoretical model of a CSTR (Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor) pH process will be used to
generate data. This will further referred to as the "real" process. The CSTR pH process is chosen
because it is a classic modeling problem, incorporating a severe nonlinearity.
2. A 2nd theoretical "crude" model of a CSTR pH process will be developed. This crude model will
contain deliberate model errors, e.g. a simple error might be to assign a CSTR volume of 50% of
its true value or error could also be introduced by superimposing random noise on to the measured
pH there are many possibilities for introducing increasingly severe modeling errors to make the
crude model deviate from the real process.
3. The ANN model will be trained to predict the difference between the real data and the crude model
(i.e. the crude model residuals). The Radial Basis Function (RBF) ANN will be used because it has
some advantages, such as fast training, over many of the common alternatives.
4. Once trained, the ANN model output can simply be added to the crude model to provide the
overall "Integrated Model" output, but there are also more sophisticated possibilities (e.g. some
filtering could improve the integrated model accuracy).
Expected Procedure:
1 Conduct literature survey on pH CSTR process, ANNs and integrating analytic and empirical
models
2 Model pH CSTR process in Simulink to provide source of "real" data
3 Generate real data, analyse and confirm understanding of the pH CSTR process dynamics
4 Detune pH CSTR model, as described above, to provide crude model
5 Generate residuals (real minus crude) and train ANN model. This involves several steps such as :
familiarisation with the RBF ANN and its implementation in the MatLab neural network
toolbox
selecting and implementing an appropriate process excitation signal
choosing a data sample time
selecting the network structure/topology
specifying the type of basis function and their associated parameters (e.g. centres)
pre-processing the data scaling, time shifting etc.
testing, or recalling, the ANN model
validation on alternative data etc.
6 Increase severity of model mismatch in 4, and repeat 5. Take it to the limit and categories model
validity vs. mismatch.
7 Investigate other options (e.g. filtering) and other modes integrating crude model and ANN
Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth
This project is suitable for students from all the streams but will be of particular interest to
those keen on modelling, simulation and control system design. The project will cultivate data
analysis/visualisation/modelling/programming skills leaning heavily on mathematics and
statistics.
Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
Pass: Complete procedure (1,..,4) and make some progress on 5
Honours: As above but with a thorough investigation of 5 and some investigation of 6 and
perhaps 7
High Honours: As above but more on 6 and 7 and leading towards a contribution to the field
not previously published.
Resources Required:
A reasonably specified computer (e.g. P3, 1GHz, 256MB) with Matlab 6.5, Simulink,
System Identification, Neural Network and Control Toolboxes.
References:
[1] WELLSTEAD, P.E. (1979) Introduction to physical system modeling. Academic Press.
[2] WILLIS, M.J., DI MASSIMO, C., MONTAGUE, G.A., THAM, M.T. and MORRIS,
A.J. (1991) Artificial neural networks in process engineering. IEE Proc.-D, vol. 138,
no. 3, pp. 256-266.
[3] HONG-T., BHAT, P.A., McAVOY, T.J. (1992) Integrating Neural Networks with First
principles Models for Dynamic Modelling. SYCORD+, Maryland, USA.
.
 Project code: PR2004-15 Alert of home owner upon detection of a security incident via text messaging,
and
Making the video stream available via a web interface so that home owner can
Title: Motion detection algorithm development for security applications view scene remotely.
Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications Resources Required:
Supervisor: John Ringwood PC
Video camera and framegrabber card
Prerequisites: Interest in machine vision and video processing. The project will Software, incl. C compiler and image/video processing library
investigate a number of image processing algorithms, which are represented in matrix
form, so good mathematical ability, particular in linear algebra, is needed. References:
[1] Duignan, Nigel. Low Cost Domestic Surveillance System, BE Project Report,
Project Description: Dept. of Electronic Eng., NUI Maynooth, 2004.
With ever increasing levels of burglary, the need for economical and effective
solutions for home security has never been greater. The objective is to build a PC-
based home security system, ideally to cost less than 1k. One of the main
features of the system is that the video which is recorded must gave security
relevance, so that:
o Hard disk space is used economically, and
o Users can review only security relevant information quickly
The main issue here is to decide when to record i.e. when a security-related event has
occurred, involving (for example) discrimination between benign movement (e.g.
trees, domestic animals, etc) and a potential security threat (e.g. presence of people on
house grounds).

Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Thoroughly familiarise his/herself with a related project from 2003/2004,
which developed the hardware and software environment for the project, along
with some video processing software.
Perform a comprehensive literature search of available methods of video
classification
Implement a number of classification schemes in software and examine the
performance of each method, in terms of both performance and speed.
Conclude on the best method to use
Package the completed system, including a suitable user interface.

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

Problem involves a mix of electronic hardware and software, including some work at
the interface between the two.

Some Typical Progress Requirements for:

Pass: Full familiarisation with previous work and complete implementation of one
classification algorithm.
Honours: A study of all appropriate classification methods, with a considered
comparison and choice of final algorithm
High Honours: As above, but with good final packaging of the system, development
of a business plan to market the system and possible development of additional
features, such as:
 Project code: PR2004-16 References (available on Science Direct):
[1] Comfort on bicycles and the validity of a commercial bicycle fitting system
Applied Ergonomics, Volume 29, Issue 3, June 1998, Pages 201-211
Title: Analysis of speed wobble in bicycle dynamics Henri H. C. M. Christiaans and Angus Bremner
Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic [2] Understanding wheel dynamics Cognitive Psychology, Volume 22, Issue 3, July
1990, Pages 342-373, Dennis R. Proffitt, Mary K. Kaiser and Susan M. Whelan
Supervisor: John Ringwood
References (available on IEEE Explore):
Prerequisites: Interest in dynamical systems and computer simulation. Must have [1] Using bicycles to teach system dynamics, Klein, R.E.; Control Systems
reasonable mathematical ability. Magazine, IEEE , Volume: 9 , Issue: 3 , April 1989, Pages:4 9.

Project Description: [2] System dynamics and control of bicycles at high speeds,
Speed wobble is a problem that pervades both bicycles and motorbikes. At certain Suryanarayanan, S.; Tomizuka, M.; Weaver, M.;American Control Conference,
speeds, typically upwards of 40k/hour, the front wheel can go into sustained 2002. Proceedings of the 2002 , Volume: 2 , 8-10 May 2002, Pages:845 - 850
oscillation (possibly growing !) purely as a result of the bicycle dynamics. This vol.2
project aims to discover the factors that are responsible for speed wobble and to look
at how these factors could be altered by rider intervention e.g. application of specific
braking protocol or rider position. The project will involve significant background
research and development of a mathematical model and simulation.

Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Perform a thorough search of the literature to discover the current state-of-the-
art on bicycle dynamics and speed wobble,
Develop a mathematical model for a bicycle which can take into account
frame geometry and materials, wheel characteristics, effects of braking and
rider position,
Based on the mathematical bicycle model, develop a computer simulation,
Analyze the model to investigate riding protocols (e.g. braking protocol and
rider position) that can help to avoid speed wobble, and
Conclude on the best strategy to avoid speed wobble

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

This project will involve applying mathematical, computational and dynamic analysis
techniques to a real dynamical system.

Some Typical Progress Requirements for:

Pass: Thorough review of the literature and selection of an appropriate model from
the literature with computer simulation.
Honours: As above, but with model development to include all the characteristics
affecting speed wobble. Implementation of an accurate computer simulation.
High Honours: As above, plus a thorough analysis of the means by which speed
wobble originates and means of mitigating it, suitable for publication in an
international conference.

Resources Required:
PC with Matlab, Simulink and toolboxes (control, signal processing)..
 Project code: PR2004-17 Honours: As above with the addition of implementing the algorithm in [3], a
detailed study of where the performance of the algorithms suffer, implementation of a
simple audio click track in MATLAB, and perhaps some suggestions of how the p-
Title: Vocal Rhythm Detection using P-Centres in Speech and Hip Hop centre algorithms could be improved.

Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications High Honours: As above but with the incorporation of perceptual pre-processing
(e.g. loudness scaling) or some other novel technique to improve the performance of
Supervisor: Mr. Rudi Villing an existing algorithm.

Prerequisites: Interest in music, digital signal processing, speech processing, speech Resources Required:
synthesis, MATLAB A computer with sound card
MATLAB (incl. signal processing toolbox)
Project Description:
All sounds seem to have an inherent perceptual centre (p-centre) that corresponds to References:
the moment at which we perceive the sound to occur. This is true whether it is the
beat of a drum, the bowing of a violin or a spoken syllable. [1] R. Villing, T. Ward, and J. Timoney, "P-Centre Extraction from Speech: the
need for a more reliable measure," presented at Irish Signals and Systems
There is very strong evidence to suggest that it is the sequence of p-centres (rather Conference, Limerick, 2003.
than the sound onsets) that we perceive as a rhythm in both speech and music. In hip [2] S. M. Marcus, "Acoustic determinants of Perceptual-center (P-Center)
hop music the strong vocal rhythms take even greater precedence over melody and location," Perception and Psychophysics, vol. 30, pp. 247-256, 1981.
give us a chance to study highly rhythmic speech. [3] B. Pompino-Marschall, "On the psychoacoustic nature of the P-center
phenomenon," Journal of Phonetics, vol. 17, pp. 175-192, 1989.
In this project continuous speech and hip hop samples will be used to evaluate the p- [4] J. Vos and R. Rasch, "The perceptual onset of musical tones," Perception and
centre detection performance of a number of p-centre algorithms. Some of these Psychophysics, vol. 29, pp. 323-335, 1981.
algorithms are already implemented (e.g. [1]) while more may be implemented as part
of the project, e.g. [2-4].

Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Familiarise themselves with the area of p-centre detection by conducting a
literature review in the area.
Implement p-centre algorithms in MATLAB where necessary
Run each algorithm on a standard set of sound samples to detect p-centre
locations
Compare the results and identify the major detection differences between
algorithms and (optionally) select the best algorithm by subjective listening
to click tracks generated from the detected p-centres.

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

This project will allow a student to study DSP problems in the area of speech
processing through a scientific literature review of existing tools and techniques. The
work involves algorithm design and implementation in MATLAB and evaluation of
results. The work is suitable for students from all three streams.

Some Typical Progress Requirements for:

Pass: Conducting a thorough literature review on the area, demonstrating an
understanding of the problem being solved, implementing the algorithm in [2] or [4]
and completing an evaluation of all implemented algorithms.
 Project code: PR2004-18 Resources Required:
A computer with sound card
Title: Syllable segmentation in Speech MATLAB (incl. signal processing toolbox)
Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications References:
Supervisor: Mr. Rudi Villing [1] R. Villing, J. Timoney, T. Ward, and J. Costello, "Automatic Blind Syllable
Segmentation for Continuous Speech," presented at Irish Signals and Systems
Prerequisites: Interest in digital signal processing, speech processing, MATLAB Conference 2004, Belfast, 2004.
[2] P. Mermelstein, "Automatic segmentation of speech into syllabic units,"
Project Description: Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, vol. 58, pp. 880-883, 1975.
All speech can be decomposed into syllables which are generally accepted as the
smallest pronounceable units of speech. Most people can easily split a sentence into
syllables yet computer systems still have some difficulty with this. There are many
proposed algorithms for segmenting speech into syllables, e.g.[1], [2]. Importantly, a
syllable segmentation algorithm is an excellent pre-processor for natural continuous
speech recognition, but only if it is accurate and robust.

In this project, the performance of the algorithm in [1] will be compared with
competing algorithms and accuracy/robustness enhancements made where necessary.

Expected Procedure:
The student will be expected to :
Familiarise themselves with syllable segmentation algorithms by conducting a
literature review in the area.
Select one or more competing algorithms and implement in MATLAB if no
implementation already available
Evaluate algorithms against well known TIMIT database of speech
Investigate enhancements to algorithm in [1]

Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth

This project will allow a student to study DSP problems in the area of speech
processing through a scientific literature review of existing tools and techniques. The
work involves algorithm design, its realisation in MATLAB and evaluation against a
standard speech database. Depending on scope of work, publication of findings in a
speech processing journal is possible. The work is suitable for students from all three
streams.

Some Typical Progress Requirements for:

Pass: Conducting a thorough literature review on the area, demonstrating an
understanding of the problem being solved, and completing a detailed evaluation of
the algorithm in [1] against TIMIT speech database.

Honours: As above with the addition of implementing at least one competing

algorithm, a comparison of the algorithms in [1], [2] and implemented competitors,
and perhaps some suggestions of how they could be improved.

High Honours: As above but also demonstrating some profound insight through the
implementation of a novel approach or enhancement as yet unseen in this area.
 Project code: PR2004-19 Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth
This project exposes the student to the idea that the problem of transmitting data
Title: The Channel Quality Meter reliably is not affected by the same factors in different environments. It asks the
student to decide based on evidence which factors are important and which not/less
Degree Stream: Electronic / Communications important. The project involves taking real measurements and correlating the quality
measures with some actual transmission quality, which helps then to validate or
Supervisor: David Naughton challenge assumptions made. This involves both understanding theory and putting
this theory into practice. This project may be suitable for either the Communications
Prerequisites: Interest in communication systems, and computer simulation or Electronics stream.

Project Description:
The ability to transmit data quickly reliably over a communication link depends on a Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
number of factors. One of these factors is the quality of the channel over which the
data is transmitted. The characterization of channels based on general typing is an Pass: A competant literature review and understanding of the issues which affect
useful system since different channel type have different difficulties, e.g. in an office channel reliabilty/capacity/bandwidth and a simple demonstrative simulation of a
versus on a ship. It is also extremely useful to know in advance the performance channel illustrating the effects
which can be expected of a well-designed system for comparison with a proposed
system. Honours: Successful identification of salient measurements which may be used to
The aim of this project is to both design and build a device which gives feedback as to characterize channel quality, based on simulation of sample channels or real channel
the quality of a communication channel not just instantaneously but also whether such measurements
a channel quality is prone to change over time. The instrument should be as general as
possible in its applicability. High Honours: The creation of a complete system which successfully takes a set of
channel measurements and returns a meaningful measure of channel quality,
Expected Procedure: including a novel insight/interpretation on the results
The student will be expected to :
Conduct a thorough literature review of communication systems and the
particular problems associated with the various classes of channel Resources Required:
Select a subset of possible measurements to be made on a single class of Access to electronic instruments and components (e.g. oscilloscope,
channel (ideally wireless) which would characterize the performance of the microcontrollers, DAC, ADC, simple antenna/piece of co-ax)
channel in the presence of information being transmitted
Prepare a channel (either simulation or physical) from which sample
measurements may be taken for testing purposes References:
Determine signals (both theoretically and verified by simulation) which may [1] Communication Systems, Simon Haykin
usefully be used to extract a channel quality measurement and implement on [2] Telecommunication Systems Engineering
the channel of interest [3] IEEE Communications Magazine
Implement in hard- and/or soft-ware a device which takes measurements on a [4] IEEE Signal Processing Magazine
real channel and deduces a probable and meaningful channel quality measure
 Project code: PR2004-20 Brief statement on relevance to engineering programs offered at NUI Maynooth
This project allows for a student to research known communication systems and
protocols from the perspective of simplicity, elegance, known difficulties, spectrum
Title: The Personal Area Network
and under both time and resource constraints. This work allows for freeform thought
since the exact parameters of the design/implementation are undecided beforehand
Degree Stream: Computer / Electronic / Communications
and the student must make informed decisions (under appropriate direction).
Supervisor: David Naughton
Depending on the stream from which the student is drawn he/she may concentrate on
the physical layer communication issues (Communications), the MAC layer/level
Prerequisites: Interest in communication systems, simulation and implementation.
issues (Communications/Computer), or the low-level implementational issues
(Communications/Electronic).
Project Description:
Traditional wireless systems are designed to provide access to a reasonably wide area
centred about the basestation. One disadvantage of this is that it is easy for an
Some Typical Progress Requirements for:
unauthorized individual to attempt to gain access all that is required is to be within a
certain range of the transmitter. The use of many smaller transmitters of lower power
Pass: A thorough literature review on the area and presentation of a proposal for such
which transmit directionally could be used to limit the area in which any wireless
a communication system (e.g. modulation scheme, transmission frequency, bandwidth
connection could be intercepted.
required, implementability in discrete components, etc... )
The aim of this project is the investigation, design and implementation of a simple
single node Personal Area Network, destined for use in a low power short range
Honours: As above with the addition of a demonstration of a sound knowledge of the
point-to-point system. The use of many of these nodes linked together with
problem constraints and possible solutions, including noteworthy comparisons to
appropriate protocols could allow for enhanced robustness to outside snooping on a
advance the case for the attempted implementation
private network delivered over a wireless link.
High Honours: A working implementation of a simple point-to-point communication
Expected Procedure:
system in discrete components based on the above chosen design parameters with a
The student will be expected to :
clear plan of how such a system could be expanded to a more general system
Conduct a thorough literature review of communication schemes currently in
use/development
Propose a design based on criteria of simplicity, implementability and Resources Required:
practicality (given the resources and time constraints of a final year Access to electronic instruments and components (e.g. oscilloscope, microcontrollers,
project) DAC, ADC, simple antenna)
Design and build, using discrete components, a simple transmitter and receiver
suitable for the modulation scheme and transmission frequency chosen
above References:
Implement digital modulation of test data over the above constructed link [1] Communication Systems, Simon Haykin
Allow for arbitrary data to be transmitted over the communication link [2] Telecommunication Systems Engineering
Construct a simple multipoint testbed using directional antennas [3] 3rd year notes - `Modulation and Coding'
[4] IEEE Communications Magazine
[5] IEEE Signal Processing Magazine