College of Engineering at UMass Dartmouth

Topic: Network-less Wireless Sensing for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of Bridges: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Investigations Location: Lester W. Cory Conference Room, Science & Engineering Building (SENG), Room 213A Zoom Conference Link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/93281343753 Meeting ID: 932 8134 3753 Passcode: 518247 Abstract: The Internet of Things (IoT) has significantly advanced the application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), particularly for civil engineering infrastructure such as bridges. Despite the advancements, the widespread application of WSNs in SHM remains hindered by their limited network lifetime, posing a significant hurdle to their adoption. Furthermore, IoT and WSNs open a new attack surface. Designing SHM systems with wireless sensors utilizing no network allows system resiliency to cyber-attacks. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been heralded for their potential to overcome these limitations through secure and efficient data collection. This thesis expands on the existing UAV application by proposing a novel UAV-assisted WSN system that employs Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) as the communication protocol for synchronized data gathering in SHM systems. Our design diverges from traditional multi-hop WSNs by leveraging UAVs as mobile data sinks, reducing the energy burden on individual sensor nodes, and significantly prolonging the sensor's operational life. Through an analytical study, we demonstrate that our UAV-BLE system offers a remarkable improvement in network lifetime in comparison to conventional network routed WSNs. Additionally, the use of BLE facilitates a lightweight authentication scheme, providing secure wireless communication between sensor nodes and the UAV. Thus, this novel approach enhances the overall robustness and longevity of SHM systems. A proof-of-concept implementation utilizing a PASCO bridge kit equipped with wireless load cell sensors, demonstrates the feasibility of our approach. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first exploration of a BLE-centric synchronization scheme in the context of SHM, marking a significant leap toward secure, safe, reliable, and efficient monitoring of civil engineering structures. Co-Advisor(s): Dr. Hong Liu, Commonwealth Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth Committee Members: Dr. Liudong Xing, Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth; Dr. Ruolin Zhou, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth; Dr. Tzuyang Yu, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UMASS Lowell NOTE: All ECE Graduate Students are ENCOURAGED to attend. All interested parties are invited to attend. Open to the public. *For further information, please contact Dr. Hong Liu via email at hliu@umassd.edu

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Observatory Open House For updates on weather conditions please refer to www.assne.org

UMass Dartmouth Observatory Field

Spring 2024 14-week full session classes end, last class before final exam.

Online

Spring classes end today.

UMass Dartmouth

Mechanical Engineering (MNE) Senior Design (Capstone) Presentations April 30, 2024 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Poster and prototype preview begins at 8:00 a.m.) Woodland Commons The Mechanical Engineering Department is proud to share this highly anticipated event with students, faculty, staff, family, friends, and any other interested guests! This is a culmination of the Class of 2024's Senior year team project with industry, or UMD research faculty. Attend all day, or come and go as your schedule allows. For more information please contact Dr. Hamed Samandari/Instructor (hsamandari@umassd.edu) or Sue Cunha/Administrative Assistant (scunha@umassd.edu).

Woodland Commons, UMass Dartmouth Campus

Topic: Multi-phase Algorithm Design for Accurate and Efficient Model Fitting Location: Claire T. Carney Library (LIB), Room 314 Zoom Conference Link: https://umassd.zoom.us/j/98963429286 Meeting ID: 989 6342 9286 Passcode: 283650 Abstract: Recent research applies soft computing techniques to fit software reliability growth models. However, runtime performance and the distribution of the distance from an optimal solution over multiple runs must be explicitly considered to justify the practical utility of these approaches, promote comparison, and support reproducible research. This paper presents a meta-optimization framework to design multi-phase algorithms for this purpose. The approach combines initial parameter estimation techniques from statistical algorithms, the global search properties of soft computing, and the rapid convergence of numerical methods. Designs that exhibit the best balance between runtime performance and accuracy are identified. The approach is illustrated through nonhomogeneous Poisson process and covariate software reliability growth models, including a cross-validation step on data sets not used to identify designs. The results indicate the nonhomogeneous Poisson process model considered is too simple to benefit from soft computing because it incurs additional runtime with no increase in accuracy attained. However, a multi-phase design for the covariate software reliability growth model consisting of the bat algorithm followed by a numerical method achieves better performance and converges consistently, compared to a numerical method only. The implementation of a framework-designed algorithm into a software reliability tool is demonstrated. The proposed approach also supports higher-dimensional covariate software reliability growth model fitting suitable for implementation in further tools. Co-Advisor(s): Dr. Lance Fiondella, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth Committee Members: Dr. Hong Liu, Commonwealth Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth; Dr. Ruolin Zhou, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMASS Dartmouth NOTE: All ECE Graduate Students are ENCOURAGED to attend. All interested parties are invited to attend. Open to the public. *For further information, please contact Dr. Lance Fiondella via email at lfiondella@umassd.edu

Claire T. Carney Library, Room 314