John Schmalzel

Bio: John Schmalzel is an academic researcher from Rowan University. The author has contributed to research in topics: IEEE 1451 & Intelligent sensor. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 76 publications receiving 668 citations. Previous affiliations of John Schmalzel include Stennis Space Center.

Sensors and signal conditioning

Abstract: The challenge we take up in this fourth installment in a series of tutorials in instrumentation and measurement is to consider how to make a sensor work in a measurement system. Signal conditioning broadly includes the steps needed to make the sensor an active part of a measurement system by providing excitation, if required, and then performing the preliminary actions needed to obtain a signal that can be processed. What's done to and with that signal is the subject of future parts of this tutorial series. Luckily, we don't have to wait that long to get results, because the output of the signal conditioning stage can be used for something as simple as driving a display subsystem so that we see results. Signal conditioning is a critical step in a measurement system but so is each element as emphasized by the serial model we have been using so far to depict the basic elements of an instrument. However, it is important to keep in mind that many overall performance limits of a measurement are strongly influenced by what happens in the signal conditioning stage. For example, linearity, accuracy, noise rejection, and long-term drift behaviors will be strongly affected by decisions made here.

An architecture for intelligent systems based on smart sensors

Abstract: Based on requirements for a next-generation rocket test facility, elements of a prototype intelligent rocket test facility (IRTF) have been implemented. The preliminary results provide the basis for future advanced development and validation using rocket test stand facilities at Stennis Space Center (SSC). Key components include distributed smart sensor elements integrated using a knowledge-driven environment. One of the specific goals is to imbue sensors with the intelligence needed to perform self-diagnosis of health and to participate in a hierarchy of health determination at sensor, process, and system levels. We have identified issues important to further development of health-enabled networks, which should be of interest to others working with smart sensors and intelligent health management systems.

The competitive assessment laboratory: introducing engineering design via consumer product benchmarking

Abstract: In today's quickly changing and increasingly competitive market place, it is imperative that manufacturers keep abreast of the technological advances and design innovations incorporated into competing product lines. The term competitive assessment (or benchmarking) has been coined by manufacturers to describe the process of ethically acquiring, inspecting, analyzing, instrumenting, and testing the product lines of other manufacturers. The Competitive Assessment Laboratory at Rowan University is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). In the laboratory, multidisciplinary teams of freshman engineering students from each of the four engineering departments perform each of the above tasks on a consumer product. The laboratory contains a series of consumer appliance test stations featuring PC-based data acquisition systems capable of measuring thermocouple and voltage/current signals. Each station is also equipped with mechanical measurement equipment and portable materials testing equipment. In addition to introducing students to the science and art of design, the Competitive Assessment Laboratory enables the faculty to assess the constantly evolving initial conditions under which the typical engineering student enters his or her course of study.

Rocket Testing and Integrated System Health Management

Abstract: Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) describes a set of system capabilities that in aggregate perform: determination of condition for each system element, detection of anomalies, diagnosis of causes for anomalies, and prognostics for future anomalies and system behavior. The ISHM should also provide operators with situational awareness of the system by integrating contextual and timely data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) as needed. ISHM capabilities can be implemented using a variety of technologies and tools. This chapter provides an overview of ISHM contributing technologies and describes in further detail a novel implementation architecture along with associated taxonomy, ontology, and standards. The operational ISHM testbed is based on a subsystem of a rocket engine test stand. Such test stands contain many elements that are common to manufacturing systems, and thereby serve to illustrate the potential benefits and methodologies of the ISHM approach for intelligent manufacturing.

A Venture Capital Fund for Undergraduate Engineering Students at Rowan University

Abstract: All engineering students at Rowan University are required to take the eight-semester Engineering Clinic sequence wherein multidisciplinary student teams engage in semester-long design projects. In addition to projects that are funded by local industry, faculty research grants or departmental budgets, a Venture Capital Fund has been created, which is specifically ear-marked for the development of original student inventions. Funding of up to $2,500 per student team per semester is competitively awarded based on student-generated proposals to the Venture Capital Fund, which has been created through a series of grants from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). To qualify for funding, a multidisciplinary student team must propose, plan and implement an original, semester-long product development enterprise. To date, 11 projects have been funded through the Venture Capital Fund. This paper describes the results of several student entrepreneurial projects and compares the results of student surveys to assess the effectiveness of entrepreneurial projects in satisfying the technical objectives of the Engineering Clinic. The results suggest that students engaged in entrepreneurial projects devote more hours per week on their projects, have more “ownership” in their projects and have a better understanding of the technical aspects and societal impact of their projects than their counterparts who are engaged in the more traditional engineering design projects.

Technology and the Pursuit of Economic Growth.

Abstract: Technology's contribution to economic growth and competitiveness has been the subject of vigorous debate in recent years. This book demonstrates the importance of a historical perspective in understanding the role of technological innovation in the economy. The authors examine key episodes and institutions in the development of the U.S. research system and in the development of the research systems of other industrial economies. They argue that the large potential contributions of economics to the understanding of technology and economic growth have been constrained by the narrow theoretical framework employed within neoclassical economies. A richer framework, they believe, will support a more fruitful dialogue among economists, policymakers, and managers on the organization of public and private institutions for innovation. David Mowery is Associate Professor of Business and Public Policy at the School of Business Administration, University of California, Berkeley. Nathan S. Rosenberg is Fairleigh Dickinson Professor of Economics at Stanford University. He is the author of Inside the Black Box: Technology and Economics (CUP, 1983).

Digital and analog communication systems

Abstract: Add this article to private library Remove from private library Submit corrections to this record View record in the new ADS The book presents an introductory treatment of digital and analog communication systems with emphasis on digital systems. Attention is given to the following topics: systems and signal analysis, random signal theory, information and channel capacity, baseband data transmission, analog signal transmission, noise in analog communication systems, digital carrier modulation schemes, error control coding, and the digital transmission of analog signals. Bibtex entry for this abstract Preferred format for this abstract

Anomaly Detection and Diagnosis Algorithms for Discrete Symbol Sequences with Applications to Airline Safety

Abstract: We present a set of novel algorithms which we call sequenceMiner that detect and characterize anomalies in large sets of high-dimensional symbol sequences that arise from recordings of switch sensors in the cockpits of commercial airliners. While the algorithms that we present are general and domain-independent, we focus on a specific problem that is critical to determining the system-wide health of a fleet of aircraft. The approach taken uses unsupervised clustering of sequences using the normalized length of the longest common subsequence as a similarity measure, followed by detailed outlier analysis to detect anomalies. In this method, an outlier sequence is defined as a sequence that is far away from the cluster center. We present new algorithms for outlier analysis that provide comprehensible indicators as to why a particular sequence is deemed to be an outlier. The algorithms provide a coherent description to an analyst of the anomalies in the sequence when compared to more normal sequences. In the final section of the paper, we demonstrate the effectiveness of sequenceMiner for anomaly detection on a real set of discrete-sequence data from a fleet of commercial airliners. We show that sequenceMiner discovers actionable and operationally significant safety events. We also compare our innovations with standard hidden Markov models, and show that our methods are superior.

Electrical Impedance Tomography for Artificial Sensitive Robotic Skin: A Review

Abstract: Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a nondestructive imaging technique used to estimate the internal conductivity distribution of a conductive domain by taking potential measurements only at the domain boundaries. If a thin electrically conductive material that responds to pressure with local changes in conductivity is used as a conductive domain, then EIT can be used to create a large-scale pressure-sensitive artificial skin for robotics applications. This paper presents a review of EIT and its application as a robotics sensitive skin, including EIT excitation and image reconstruction techniques, materials, and skin fabrication techniques. Touch interpretation via EIT-based artificial skins is also reviewed.

Sensors and signal conditioning

Abstract: The challenge we take up in this fourth installment in a series of tutorials in instrumentation and measurement is to consider how to make a sensor work in a measurement system. Signal conditioning broadly includes the steps needed to make the sensor an active part of a measurement system by providing excitation, if required, and then performing the preliminary actions needed to obtain a signal that can be processed. What's done to and with that signal is the subject of future parts of this tutorial series. Luckily, we don't have to wait that long to get results, because the output of the signal conditioning stage can be used for something as simple as driving a display subsystem so that we see results. Signal conditioning is a critical step in a measurement system but so is each element as emphasized by the serial model we have been using so far to depict the basic elements of an instrument. However, it is important to keep in mind that many overall performance limits of a measurement are strongly influenced by what happens in the signal conditioning stage. For example, linearity, accuracy, noise rejection, and long-term drift behaviors will be strongly affected by decisions made here.