On Monday, April 14, Jinfu Leng and Karthi Kishore Jakkli Sounder will present their masters thesis defenses. Leng will present his thesis 1 p.m. in Avery 347. Jakkli Sounder will present his thesis at 3 p.m. in Avery 256C.
Jenfu Leng’s thesis is titled “Using a UAV to Effectively Prolong Wireless Sensor Network Lifetime with Wireless Power Transfer.”
Abstract: Wireless sensor networks are widely used for everything from border security to monitoring waterway pollution. Supplying energy for long-term deployment is a main challenge in applications of wireless sensor networks, as batteries are the primary source of energy. Current wireless sensor networks deployed for long periods either require additional infrastructure, such as solar panels, or periodic maintenance. Our research lab has recently proposed a novel solution that uses a micro unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to wirelessly charge the sensor nodes and prolong the lifetime of the network. Recent studies have shown that significant power can be transferred wirelessly over medium distances. As the UAV itself has a limited energy capacity, the challenge is how to charge the sensor nodes so that the sensor network lifetime can be maximized. We prove that the optimization problem is NP-Complete and propose a series of algorithms for the UAV to charge the sensor network. The results show that the current UAV wireless power transfer system can prolong sensor network lifetime by more than 50%. The algorithms are divided into three categories: complete knowledge, some knowledge and no knowledge of sensor network energy. As expected, the results indicate that the more information the algorithm can use, the better performance it can achieve. In addition, we identify the bottlenecks of the current system, such as the high energy consumption rate of hovering while charging, and provide guidance for future improvements.
Committee members: Dr. Carrick Detweiler (Advisor), Dr. Jitender Deogun and Dr. Mehmet Can Vuran
Karthi Kishore Jakkli Sounder’s thesis is titled “Hazardous Waste Finder: Hazardous Waste Tracking Management System.”
Abstract: Hazardous waste is a waste that is considered substantially harmful to health and environment. Hazardous waste includes explosives, compressed gas, poisons, oxidizers, corrosives, flammable solids/liquids, radioactive materials etc. It is important that hazardous waste needs to be recycled in a timely manner. Hazardous waste management comprises of three stages namely treatment, storage and disposal. Tracking the waste is a fundamental requirement at every stage in waste management. In this project, I developed an android mobile application - Hazardous Waste Tracker (HWT) using a hybrid mobile application Phonegap framework. HWT allows an inspector to conduct a weekly assessment about the type of hazardous waste collected and the recycled rate from an inspection site. The benefit of this project is to effectively manage time and manpower by eliminating the traditional use of paper reports used for tracking.
Committee members: Dr. Jitender Deogun (Advisor), Dr. David Swanson and Dr. Lisong Xu