MS, University of Cincinnati, 2001, Engineering : Industrial Engineering

Internet has by far and wide changed the way information is being processed and used. The World Wide Web took the world by storm to become the widest known, used and talked-about technology for faster provision and reception of large volumes of coherently structured online information. In this age of technology where information and knowledge transfer is critical for the success and continuous enhancement of any product it is imperative to keep abreast with technological innovations. One such step towards technology transfer is achieved by developing a data mart utilizing one of the most powerful web- to -database middleware application called ColdFusion. The thesis talks about the application of ColdFusion to create a warehouse of data for the automated guided vehicle Bearcat III. Since design, development and continuous enhancement is necessary for building a complex system like the Bearcat III online data storage and retrieval about various components of the autonomous guided vehicle becomes imperative. The thesis delves in detail the methodology adapted in the design and development of the online data mart, which stores information ranging from team members details, parts, sponsorer information and other critical data that are vital for knowledge transfer. The data mart will serve as a great reference tool for information interchange and enhancements on the Bearcat III.

Committee: Dr. Ernest L. Hall (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering, Industrial

Master of Sciences (Engineering), Case Western Reserve University, 2011, EECS - Electrical Engineering

This thesis describes a cost effective, accurate, and precise electronic navigation system which is suitable for outdoor commercial mobile robots. The hardware design of the system incorporates commercial off the shelf Global Positioning System receiver modules and support electronics. The software design of the system makes use of an open source positioning library to enable Real Time Kinematic satellite positioning. The designed navigation system has been integrated with a preexisting mobile robot platform, an autonomous robot lawn mower, which includes a set of reference sensors to provide accurate robot pose information. The reference platform is used to quantitatively evaluate the performance of the new cost effective system. A degradation factor of 1.7 in terms of positional accuracy is traded off in favor of achieving a cost savings factor of about thirty.

Committee: Roger Quinn PhD (Advisor); Roger Quinn PhD (Committee Chair); Marc Buchner PhD (Committee Member); Francis Merat PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Robotics; Robots