TCNJ students Drew MacFarlane, Jake Eger and Matthew Dietz won first place at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Region 1 Micromouse Competition which was held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Advised under Dr. Orlando Hernandez, the team continued the legacy of Micromouse as their senior project. The goal of the Micromouse project is to design and build an autonomous robotic vehicle that will solve a maze.  Their robot secured first place by making it the furthest in arguably the competition’s most challenging maze yet.

At the conference students had the chance to compete and apply practical engineering knowledge in the various competitions. They also had an opportunity to network and learn from other students from across Region 1. In addition student members had a great opportunity to network with the Industry Professionals and the IEEE Leaders.

Learn more:

• IEEE Region 1 Micromouse Competition
• Micromouse Competition Rules

Completed Socket Module Prototype with custom printed circuit board

Dr. Anthony Deese, Assistant  Professor of Electrical Engineering, presented a paper at the International Electrical and Electronic  Engineering (IEEE) Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) in Seoul, South Korea. The paper is based on a senior project that students Brain Carrigan, Elliot Stein and Elie Klein designed in 2012.  It examines the design and construction of a simple, yet effective circuit-based hardware solution to home automation. Emphasis is placed on cost-efficiency, ability to incorporate wide variety of loads (e.g. HVAC), minimal installation requirements, and user-friendly interfacing. This technology is becoming popular as homeowners desire easy access control over various electronics in their homes. Additionally, they speculate that this system will reduce power utility bills by 5% to 15%.

The Smart Electric Power Systems Laboratory was purchased by the School of Engineering through a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant and is planned to be used in electrical engineering labs to teach students about power systems. The hardware includes generators, transformers, transmission lines, and, synchronous and induction motors; these are all used to physically simulate a large electric power system. Tyler’s circuit will allow for quick and wireless switching between load and system configurations. Future plans for the project will allow for data acquisition and the creation of a hub controller for a wider range of testing. He is currently a senior project team working to achieve these goals.

Tyler greatly appreciated Dr. Deese‘s guidance, the MUSE program for this opportunity and the NSF for its generous grant. He was ecstatic to work in a field of study that he is interested in and to see his project be further used in the School of Engineering.  Information about applying to the MUSE program and a list of other MUSE projects can be found here:

TCNJ’s Solar Splash team came back with numerous awards in the 2012 Intercollegiate Solar Splash Competition held in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  The team was assembled as a senior project and consisted of team members Glen Reese, Steve Voinier, Steve Stockhamer, Chris O’Mullane, Patrick Dougherty and advisors Dr. Norman Asper, Anthony Deese, and Karen Yan.

This year’s team designed their boat around a previous year’s hull. Special features of their design included fabrication of a custom propeller that was machined on TCNJ’s new five axis CNC machine, a new peak power transfer system, new solar panels complements of Schott Solar, and a robust storage system that allowed for maximum boat buoyancy in case the boat filled with water. “The project required a lot of time and effort” Patrick said, “but that helped to make the competition as fun and enjoyable as it was.”

The competition spanned five days and consisted of three events, endurance, sprint and slalom. The endurance event tested the boat’s power efficiency and use of solar power; the sprint event raced each boat to 300m; the slalom event tested the boats’ maneuverability. Teams were also judged on visual display, technical report, qualifying time, hull design and workmanship. TCNJ came back with 4^th place in the overall competition, 3^rd in slalom and for their technical report, 5^th in sprint, and won awards for Outstanding Hull Design and Outstanding Workmanship.

Information and pictures from the competition of the team can be found on Solar Splash’s website, TCNJ Solar Boat, and TCNJ Solar Boat Pictures

TCNJ ECE students Daniel J Bluman, Andrew Iepson, and Dan Chokola participated in the international Microwave Theory and Techniques ( MTT-17) Student Balun Competition in Montreal, Canada this past summer. The idea to compete began when professor of electrical engineering Dr. Allen Katz challenged his Electronics Lab II class to design an electrical device called a balun. They proved to have the best design and were advised by Dr. Katz to participate in the MTT-17 competition.

The competition was part of the International Microwave Symposium (IMS), and was an enriching environment that also included presentations on new and cutting edge technologies. The students were amazed by the magnitude and the diversity of the event upon learning they were the only competitors from the United States. The group spent many hours perfecting the design to meet the challenging specifications such as size and bandwidth goals. A balun is an electrical device that converts between a balanced signal and an unbalanced signal. Common applications are radio and television transmission between coaxial cables to a balanced two port cable. After the competition the students attended technical presentations and went to dinner with CEOs of corporate sponsors. The group proudly left with certificates of high achievement.  Information about the competition can be found here: http://rcaverly.ee.vill.edu/Balun/Balun.html

This year the ECE department held its semiannual student and faculty social. The room was filled as professors presented their work, goals for the department, and provided guidance to the students. As if the opportunity to listen to and socialize with their professors wasn’t enough, they also had mountains of pizza, soda and deserts for those who attended. After presentations, faculty and students mingled and Dr. Anthony Deese showed everyone the new Smart Electric Power System Laboratory. The social is made possible due to the efforts of Electrical and Computer Engineering department and will be happening again next semester.

Photos of the event can be Found Here.

A micromouse is a self-contained autonomous robot capable of navigating a maze. The maze is a 16 by 16 grid made up of 18cm by 18cm squares. Each wall is 1.2cm, leaving the mouse with only 16.8cm to move around in. It is placed in one of the four corners of the maze and must find its way to the center without climbing, jumping over, or damaging the walls of the maze. The micromouse can make as many runs to the center of the maze in the allotted 10 minutes. The team with the fastest time from the corner to the center wins the competition.

Designing and fabricating a micromouse is a rigorous and difficult process that requires quite a bit of knowledge for the various components. Not only must the motor and drive systems be created but everything from the chassis to the device’s wheels must be made to fit within the small maze. Sensors have to be designed and placed on the micromouse, and perhaps most importantly, software must be programmed to allow all of the systems to work together to identify and maneuver around tricky paths the maze has to offer. After a break from the competition over the past two years, the team started fresh this year with a brand new design. They also plan on helping out future teams with the knowledge and experience they gained from the project. Overall the team has put a lot work and dedication into this project and it seems to have definitely paid off.

In previous years teams from The College of New Jersey have always performed well in the competition. In the past five times that TCNJ has entered the competition, they have taken home one 3rd Place, one 2nd place, and three 1st place awards.

Learn more:

• Region 1 Student Conference Micromouse Competition
• Micromouse Team website

On October 5th, 2011 the Electrical and Computer Engineering department held its second semi-annual social. About 20 people attended the event which included free pizza,soda and assorted pastries. Students had a chance to know their professors better and discussed topics ranging from the benefits of being an Electircal or Computer engineer to predictions for the World Series. Overall both students and faculty seemed to enjoy the event and each other’s company.

Standing from the left: Zach Esh, frame design and fabrication; Kyle Wilson, telemetry & instrumentation; Joe McCarty, motor & motor controller (design and fabrication); Justin (Maxx) Binger, project leader & solar power system; Hunter Carson, fairing and braking; Dr. Norm Asper, Professor Emeritus, secondary mechanical advisor. Kneeling from the left: Dr. Karen Yan, assistant professor, primary mechanical advisor; Jon Saia, steering & suspension. Not pictured: Dr. Anthony Deese, assistant professor, primary electrical advisor.

According to the ELECTRATHON AMERICA website which creates the official regulations for these types of events “ELECTRATHON is a type of ELECTRIC MARATHON in which the winner is determined by how far you go in a certain time with a given amount of battery power. ELECTRATHON AMERICA class competition uses specific design rules to ensure safe and fair competition. ELECTRATHON AMERICA events are held around the country and is an exciting new environmentally progressive sport.”

The stated goals were:

• To drive electrically powered vehicles as far as possible for one hour on a closed loop course using limited electrical energy.
• To provide a forum where skill and ingenuity may be displayed, compared and tested.
• To improve public awareness and understanding of efficient alternative electric vehicles.
• To create an affordable sport defined by established rules in which groups and Individuals can participate competitively and safely.

TCNJ designed their vehicle in Pro/Engineer and loaded into Fluent to analyze aerodynamic drag. Its design materials were sheet aluminum body panels with polycarbonate windshield and side windows. There were a lot of steps involved in completing the vehicle which will not be relayed here. Luckily Dr. Norman Asper wrote an excellent article in which he described the process in detail.

At the competition TCNJ’s The NJ011 car completed 47 laps and won first place in the Solar Division. Justin (Maxx) Binger describes the effort as “using less power than the average hair dryer with an equivalent energy consumption of 807 miles per gallon*! (*One US gallon of gasoline contains an average of 36.6 kWh of energy.)

According to Dr. Asper “This has been a great learning experience, and a great basis for future Electrathon projects, not only in The College of New Jersey’s School of Engineering, but also extended out into area high school technology programs.

Learn more:

• Connecticut Electrathon Challenge
• ELECTRATHON AMERICA website
• Dr Asper’s detailed description of Electrathon (with pictures)