RITE Project Descriptions: Summer 2006
1. A Sensor
Networks Testbed for Securing Localization and Time Synchronization
Prof. R. Liu
Sensor networks have drawn extensive attentions in recent years due to the demands of future combat systems and plenty of civilian and commercial applications, including but not limited to environmental monitoring, target tracking, search and rescue, and disaster relief. The inherent characteristics and emergent properties of these sensor networks make a node?s location and time clock an important part of their state. Since sensor networks are usually deployed in hostile environments, in order to establish trustworthy network services, security issues associated with localization and time synchronization must also be studied, and necessary countermeasures should be employed. Recently, our recent research results have shown that attackers can take advantage of noise to cause more damage and avoid detection, and there are reasons to believe this is even more so when attacking localization and time synchronization in sensor networks. In this project, we will build a sensor network testbed. In particular, we will deploy the network in different environments, and try to attack its localization and time synchronization services with various ways. A good localization and time synchronization schemes have to pass extensive field tests under different conditions in the presence of attackers. Another advantage of field tests is to verify those physical and noise models that are used in deriving the optimal strategies, and investigate the performance gap introduced by the discrepancy between the theoretical models and the actual situations.
2. Automatic Speaker-Independent Speech Recognition
Prof. C. Espy-Wilson
There is an increasing demand for automatic speaker-independent speech recognition solutions for desktops and wireless handheld devices. The development of accurate, efficient, robust and speaker-independent digital signal processing algorithms for speech recognition is the subject of intensive on-going research in the Department. Many of the research activities involved, such as the evaluation of algorithms across different databases and the development of fast algorithms, are suitable projects for undergraduate students. Typical subprojects include the evaluation and comparison of different algorithms in the various components of the recognition system, testing of the recognition system on different languages, and the application of these algorithms on environmental sounds to see how well they are characterized and distinguished from speech.
These projects should give students a good understanding of current ASR systems and insights into the new directions of research in the area of speech recognition.
3. Automatic Speaker Recognition
Prof. C. Espy-Wilson
The need for robust speaker identification and speaker verification systems has become even more critical in recent years given the nation's security issues. Research in the department in this areas focuses on the development of digital signal processing algorithms that capture speaker-specific information and the development of acoustic models that can deal with limited training data. Typical subprojects that are suitable for undergraduates include the development of algorithms and speaker-specific parameters for speaker identificatin, integration of algorithms into the speaker verification system, evaluation and comparison of different algorithms for speaker identification.
4. Cell Clinics for Bioelectric Interface with Single Cells
Prof. P. Abshire
Interfacing electronics to biological systems leads to the possibility of creating devices capable of being used as biosensors, environmental monitors, and hybrid bioelectronic computational engines. The potential applications in healthcare, security, and scientific research are numerous. Students will contribute to ongoing research in the Integrated Biomorphic Information Systems Laboratory to develop such bioelectronic and biophotonic interfaces to single cells. These interfaces consist of microelectronic circuits integrated together with micromechanical structures for cell manipulation and capture. Subprojects include circuit design and simulation, characterization of integrated circuits, comparison of integrated measurements with traditional physiological techniques such as patch clamp, design and construction of PC boards and interfaces, and development of methods for cell manipulation. This project involves review of electronics and biological literature in addition to design, simulation, testing, cell culture and physical construction.
Prerequisites: Integrated circuits and/or MEMS and/or physiology experience
5. Development of a USB2-based Communication System for Asynchronous Neural Spike Trains
Prof. T. Horiuchi
Students will develop a USB2-based PC-board that will enable research chips in the laboratory to read asynchronous "address-event" spike trains at high-speed into a Windows-based PC. This communication system will enable the spike-based neural systems modeling that the laboratory does and to assist in understanding and testing our bat-like sonar systems. PC-board, CPLD and/or logic design experience desirable. Some exposure to the biological modeling projects will be natural and some involvement will be expected.
6. High Power Microwave Effects on Communications Electronics
Prof. V. Granatstein
As integrated electronics evolves to ever smaller scale components and to lower power supply voltages, it becomes more vulnerable to attack by High Power Microwave (HPM) pulses. This is especially true of wireless communications electronics which may have a ?front door? input path for the HPM pulses through an antenna. At the University of Maryland, a generic and basic study is underway of the physical mechanisms that lead to component, circuit and system degradation as a result of exposure to HPM. The study involves laboratory experiments, analysis and numerical simulation.
7. High Speed Optical Switching for Fiber Optic Communications
Prof. J. Goldhar
The student would participate in optical testing and characterization of novel optoelectronic devices, data acquisition, data analysis and comparison of results with computer simulations. The research would be conducted at the Laboratory for Physical Science which is a 15 minute walk from campus. It is also reachable by the UM shuttle.
Prerequisites: U.S. citizenship and ENEE 322-Signal and System Theory and ENEE 381-Electromagnetic Wave Propagation are the courses directly relevant to the research. Without these courses, students with a solid math and physics background should be able to learn the essential theory as needed during the project.
8. Laser Sensors Lab Project
Prof. C. Davis
The Maryland Optics Group has an opening for a MERIT student on one of their projects involving optical communication and sensing. The exact nature of the project will be available in March when students are notified of their assignment. Successful completion of ENEE 380 (Electromagnetic Theory) and ENEE 381 (Electromagnetic Wave Propagation) are recommended.
9. Polarization Dependence in Nonlinear Fiber Optics: Modeling and Experiment
Prof. T. Murphy
In fiber-optic communication systems, the polarization state of the light can vary unpredictably because of thermal and mechanical disturbances in the fiber. The critical challenges faced by optical engineers are to (1) develop a theoretical and mathematical understanding of polarization dependence in optical fibers and (2) develop components that behave identically for all possible input polarization states. Although models exist for describing nonlinear effects in fiber, many of them neglect these important polarization effects.
The goal of this project is to develop software for more accurately modeling the polarization evolution in nonlinear fibers, and to compare the numerical models with experimental measurements conducted in our laboratory. The project will involve both electromagnetic simulation and programming. Applicants should have some prior experience in programming in Matlab and C/C++.
10. Sensing and Control for Mobile Robots
Prof. P. S. Krishnaprasad
Knowledge of a robot's own state as well as the state of the environment is necessary to devise safe guidance and control laws for mobile robots in complex environments (that may include other robots, stationary obstacles, people, etc.). Robots operating outdoor can be given access to the global positioning system (GPS) to determine location to varying degrees of precision. Since GPS signals do not penetrate indoor, alternative methods of localization are being explored, including the specialized application of ultrasound and radio frequency beacons, vision systems, and wireless carrier signals used for computer networks. In this project, students will explore the nature and use of such location sensing techniques for mobile robots operating indoor and outdoor, together with feedback control laws that are appropriate for these differing modes of location sensing. They will also explore how to couple location sensing to maps, ultrasonic obstacle sensing etc. Students will develop control software using MDLe, a motion control language for robotics developed in the Intelligent Servosystems Laboratory (ISL). Strong programming skills and interest in algorithm development are a must. Students with interest and skills in hardware will be given an opportunity to contribute to an ongoing project on a hovercraft robot under development in ISL.
Students participating in this project will receive instruction in the basic principles of location sensing, GPS, robot motion control, and allied topics. They will have access to several commercial robots equipped with ISL software. They will work with graduate students in the lab and outdoor to collect data, test control and sensing algorithms, and investigate subtleties that arise when complex physical systems interact with software.
11. Thumbnail Summaries of Video Sequences
Prof. R. Chellappa
In many applications, hours and hours of viedo data are collected. Only a few frames may contain relevent or useful information. In this project, the summer intern will develop methods that retain only the interesting frames and discard the others, so that a quick thumbnail summary of a given video sequence cna be produced. This project has applications in surveillance, entertainment and video indexing and retrieval.