Download undergraduate project abstarcts-2012 (t.i.e dept)

TITLE: AUTOMATIC ENERGY SAVING SECURITY LIGHTING AND ALARM SYSTEM
STUDENT: COLLINS ODHIAMBO OKOTH -EN 273–1239/06
SUPERVISOR: MR. OMAE OTERI
ABSTRACT
This project aims at addressing electrical energy conservation while ensuring a sense of security by
designing and demonstrating automatic energy saving security lighting and alarm system. This is
achieved by using locally available and cheap electronic devices.
Various electrical models, formulas and assumptions are used in the analysis and determination of
various electronic component values making up the system.
The lighting control circuit is expected to switch ON for 12 minutes and OFF for 10 minutes in a repeated
sequence the moment it is switched ON, and the alarm designed to turn on whenever an open door
detector is triggered.
The deviation (ON for 2 minutes and OFF for 4 minutes) from the expected results mainly arises due to
the approximations of the design component values and electronic circuit design assumptions.
A few recommendations are also presented in order to find a way of improving the system.
TITLE: FINGER PRINT BASED REGISTRATION FOR LEARNING INSTITUTIONS
STUDENTS:
LINDA MAKALI
E18-0145/05
LOUISA IMBUGA
E18-0770/05
SUPERVISOR: MR. OMAE OTERI
ABSTRACT
The overall aim of this project is to develop a system for registration and authentication of students in
learning institutions by means of biometrics. Areas of registration to be addressed are: registration on
school opening days, class attendance, exam attendance, finance and library access. During registration
in school opening days, long queues can be reduced by simplifying the registration process to a single
swipe of a finger, which will automatically input information about the particular student into the
necessary database. This will require only one prior registration process, where the student’s details will
be stored in reference to their fingerprint. This can be done during the student first year in campus.
With the fingerprint authentication system, accuracy will be improved when it comes to class
attendance. During the beginning or end of a Lecture, the lecturer will create a new lecture session
where only the students who were present for the lecture will swipe a finger on the fingerprint module.
Their fingerprint will automatically be read and details about the student e.g. name, registration
number, year and course will be stored hence showing that he/she attended the class. The same will go
for library access and exam attendance since it will reduce the cases of students standing in for their
colleagues during exams.
TITLE: BLUETOOTH BANKING
STUDENT: KOECH PATRICK KIPNGETICH E18-0675/05
SUPERVISOR: MR. KOECH KIPYEGON
ABSTRACT:
It is key to use and employ technology where possible to solve every single human problem so as to save
time hence makes it possible to cover a lot of things within a short period. Currently in the banking
industry most of the services in the bank have to be asked for which mostly involves queuing leading to
a lot of impatience by customers and loss of time. This gives a great need to automate these particular
services. The Bluetooth bank application is basically phone to computer Bluetooth application used to
query a banks database for various banks services such as bank balance, number of transactions carried
out, loan status, money transfer from one account to another. The phone links up with the bank servers
which contains a database with the particulars and records of all their clients. The clients of a particular
bank should have Bluetooth enabled phones in order to access these services.
TITLE: POWER SAVER
STUDENT: ISAAC THEURI NDUMIA
E18-0680/05
SUPERVISOR: MR. MAKICHE
ABSTRACT
Intelligent Energy Saving System can be used in places like where lighting is very important. The libraries will be
well illuminated with many lamps. When people are not present at a reading place the lighting can be made OFF
and when they are present, the lighting made ON. All these can be done through by Dimming circuit and PIR
sensor.
If a person entering to the monitored area, the PIR sensors activates and sense the person, gives to the micro
controller. The Infrared energy emitted from the living body is focused by a Fresnel lens segment. Then only the
PIR sensor activates. After sensing the person, the LDR checks the light intensity of the monitored area, whether it
is bright or dark. Depending on the LDR output, the lamp may be ON / OFF by using Dimmer circuit.
By using this system we can adjust the speed of Fan according to the room temperature measured by Thermostat,
which is connected to the micro controller.
To display the room temperature of PIR mode operation we are using the LCD display.
TITLE: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WI-FI LAN FOR THE COETEC.
STUDENT: KANDAGOR AMON E18-0141/05
SUPERVISOR: DR. S. MUSYOKI
ABSTRACT
Motivated by the need to reduce IT costs while increasing staff and student productivity; wireless local
area network (WLAN) solutions are becoming increasingly viable. Proliferation of affordable mobile
computing devices has boosted demand for access to the university's network and internet from beyond
the tether of the office workstation and computer laboratories. The main reason you probably think of
setting up a wireless network is Internet access. The purpose of a wireless network goes beyond internet
access because there are a variety of services that an organization could carry on the wireless network
.Some of these include intranet and e-mail. Others are more complex, such as setting up wireless
phones, virtual private networks (VPN), teleconferencing and local TV and radio stations. This project
introduces better use of new technologies and applications that assume and build upon a wireless
infrastructure. The wireless network will then be accessible by college staff, students, visitors, and
members of the community using a variety of current and future wireless technologies. It is safe to
assume that most students and college staff have access to various mobile computing devices with
wireless capabilities since the need to use them currently is almost inevitable especially the laptops and
desktops. Hence instant access to new developments in various fields of study will boost learning for
both the teaching staff and students.
This project would help prepare students to succeed in a world continually transformed by new
technologies in which collaboration and instantaneous access to information is the norm.
TITLE: HOME AUTOMATION SYSTEM BASED ON BLUETOOTH TECHNOLOGY
STUDENT: James Maitha Kimeu E18-0209/04
SUPERVISOR: Mr. Koech Kipyegon
ABSTRACT
It is key to use and employ technology where possible to solve every single human problem. In this very
perspective it is good to look in to ways that the same could be employed in our homes to help out in
various household chores. Today in most of the homes, daily chores like switching on and off of security
lights, water heating systems, opening entrance doors among others are done manually. Considering the
general technological advancement with time, it is equally important to upgrade our homes in this
aspect. This gives a great need to automate various home based chores. This approach of home
automation is a great achievement for effective and reliable home management. There are various
approaches to realize this and one of the methods is to employ Bluetooth technology. This project
introduces Bluetooth technology in a home to solve the problem of movement or mobility in a house. It
intends to link up a Bluetooth enabled phone with a computer (with a Bluetooth module) which will
control various appliances in the home. This includes a lighting system and temperature control.
TITLE: DESIGN OF A CALL CENTER USING A VIRTUAL PBX
STUDENT: MARKJUDE .N. BWARI E18-0965/04
SUPERVISOR: Dr. Stephen Musyoki
ABSTRACT
A call center is often operated through an extensive open workspace for call center agents with work
stations. It can be independently operated or networked with additional centers, often linked to a
corporate computer network, including mainframes, microcomputers and LANs. The voice and data
pathways into the center are linked through a set of new technologies called computer telephony
integration ( CTI ).
Call centers have been built on PBX equipment that is owned and hosted by the call center operator.
The PBX might provide functions such as, automatic call distribution, interactive voice response and
skills-based routing. The call center operator would be responsible for the maintenance of the
equipment and necessary software upgrades as released by the vendor.
However, the era of classical PBX-based call centers has passed. Those systems were proprietary and
closed, i.e. they had fixed functionality. This led to the development of the virtual PBX and creation of
virtual, hosted or IP based call centers.
This project aims to create a Call Center by the use of a virtual PBX via open based software referred to
as Elastix.
In contrast to other efforts, I consider the virtual call center as a universal infrastructure, which could be
used as a telecommunication management network center and as an intelligent network service control
point, too.
TITLE: WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF POWER USING ANTENNAS.
STUDENT: NELSON KIGWEGWE KINAVULI - E18-0199/04
SUPERVISOR: MR. KOECH KIPYEGON.
ABSTRACT
In our modern world, it is becoming increasingly necessary to find ways and means to power different
gadgets that we use in our everyday life.
The gadgets in question may present a situation where they may need to be powered remotely.
At the present the most widely used means of remote control is by means of infrared and laser remote
controls. However these gadgets too have they own back draws, for example they have to be d.c
powered. This will mean constant replacement of the d.c battery. They are also delicate to handle as
they can easily get lost, besides, these can only work in a line of sight configuration.
Thus there’s need to find a means of improving on this mode of remote control and hence this project.
Wireless energy transfer or wireless power transmission is the process that takes place in any system
where electrical energy is transmitted from a power source to an electrical load, without
interconnecting wires. Wireless transmission is useful in cases where instantaneous or continuous
energy transfer is needed, but interconnecting wires are inconvenient, hazardous, or impossible.
Wireless energy transfer is different from wireless transmission for the purpose of telecommunications
(the transferring of information), such as radio, where the signal-to-noise ratio, or the percentage of
power received, becomes critical if it is too low to recover the signal successfully. With wireless energy
transfer efficiency is the more important parameter.
TITLE: INTERACTIVE LEARNING FORUMS FOR UNIVERSITIES
STUDENT: WAIGANJO EDWARD NGURE-E18-0975/04
SUPERVISOR: DR. EDWARD NDUNGU
ABSTRACT
This project involves coming up with a software based solution to curb the problem of lack of sufficient
communication between lecturers and students beyond the lecturer rooms. This solution aims to make
interaction between the parties involve, happen at any time whenever necessary and greatly increases
the time and instances when information is exchanged between the two principals.
This will be a JAVA based application designed to work in such a way that a student or lecturer can login
in to a specific server, through created user accounts. Have a designated server to host various
applications such as lecturer profiles and inboxes where students can send messages to the lecturers
and access important lecture notes, course outlines and various reference materials posted by the
lecturers themselves.
Instances may occur where a lecturer may not be available for a lesson, this platform may have various
video and webcam applications that make learning continue even though the lecturer is physically not
present.
Also have various discussion forums for students to post their comments about various topics resulting
from a previous lecture.
This interactive learning platforms works just as a classroom session but the difference is that the
previous can be accessed at anytime and anywhere on various media channels such as a personal
computer.
A platform such as this could greatly enhance the learning experience for both the students and the
lecturers at large and make our learning institutions take advantage of the various technological
advances available to them.
TITLE: MOBILE INTELLIGENT REMOTE HEALTH CARE MONITORING SYSTEM
STUDENT: GITINDI KELVIN GIKONYO -E18- 0211/04
SUPERVISOR: DR S. MUSYOKI
ABSTRACT
Many studies have shown that Internet Access in African countries had failed to penetrate general
public as expected. With less percentage of the public accessing the Internet it is evident that most of
the useful applications offered by Internet are inaccessible. On the contrary Mobile phones are in great
demand; smart phones in particular have an ever-growing market. It is evident that with greater number
of Mobile users, people can be facilitated with mobile accessible applications. Of many beneficial
applications, one such application is providing remote health care on mobile devices. Much work has
been done in this area of research; however using Bluetooth enabled smart phones with WAP
technology implementing an intelligent remote health care system has been proposed. A rule based
expert system can identify diagnosis for remotely located patients to off location expert physicians and
subsequent analysis can be delivered to the patient relieving her from frequent visits to health care
service provider thus reducing the load of patients on existing infrastructure. This project presents
design and implementations of one such system, Mobile Intelligent Remote Health care Monitoring
System (MIRHMS) and discuss issues based on the present condition in Africa.
TITLE: INTEGRATED TELEMEDICINE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
STUDENT: MURIITHI NELSON GACHOKI-
E18-0214/04
SUPERVISOR: MR. KIPYEGON KOECH
ABSTRACT
Due to difficult terrain and limited transportation infrastructures, developing countries continue to
suffer from the absence of extended and adequate medical and healthcare services. This inadequacy in
basic health services is often accompanied by very low patient-doctor ratios. With emergence of new
and more advanced technologies such as synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) and fiber optic cable, such
developing countries can achieve the dream of healthcare delivery to the people.
The design goal of the integrated telemedicine healthcare system design is to demonstrate an
affordable and low cost system that facilitates communication between physicians and healthcare
professionals across the country. The system implements connectivity among rural clinics and urban
area hospitals to be used mainly for tele-consultation, and maintaining patient information. The design
includes a web based telemedicine system, which provides basic services for medical tele consultation.
The system can be used by healthcare providers to store and retrieve patient information, write
referrals and give feedback to referrals by using a relational database for data management and a web
based Graphical User Interface (GUI) specifically designed for telemedicine.
TITLE: INTERFACING VOIP TO GSM
STUDENT: WANJIRU NJUGUNA. E18-1050/04
SUPERVISOR: DR. STEPHEN MUSYOKI
ABSTRACT
Since time in memorial the telephone has been used as the preferred mode of communication between
people. Its importance in business firms and organizations is therefore unquestionable. There have been
numerous technologies that have been developed to make the telephone system more flexible, less
costly and broaden its coverage. One such technology is the Private Branch Exchange (PBX).The system
was developed to connect internal telephones within an organization while providing connections to the
local exchange. The system was later improved by the introduction of the IP (Internet protocol) PBX
(Private branch exchange) which can exist as a hardware device or virtually as software. An IP PBX is
designed to route voice and data traffic within the organizational Wide Area Network (WAN). This is
with an aim of reducing call costs associated with inter-branch communication. Outbound calls meant
for other destinations can be routed through an interface to a fixed line or GSM network. An IP based
GSM gateway can be connected to an existing Local area Network(LAN) in order to achieve an interface
between the IP PBX and the GSM network. The project aims at setting up a virtual IP PBX system that is
cheap to install and maintain and interfacing it to the GSM(Global System for Mobile Communication)
network by use of a GSM Gateway. This gateway will be connected directly to a LAN network to act as a
'mobile phone' through which all outbound calls be routed to the GSM network.
TITLE: RADIO MICROWAVE LINK DESIGN AND PATH LOSS ANALYSIS: A KENYAN TELECOMMUNICATION CASE
STUDY.
STUDENT: ALICE WAKANYI ANANGI-E18 – 0686/03
SUPERVISOR: MR. MAKICHE
ABSTRACT
Telecommunications systems have become an integral part of today’s communications network.
The advent of wireless technology heralded new opportunities in the communication industry making
communication possible in a wider scale without the use of cables.
Radio microwave equipment plays a key role in the telecommunications industry today, especially
in GSM1 transmission networks. Usually, the microwave equipment is used to carry data and to direct
traffic from one location to another. This type of equipment operates on the line-of-sight principle in
that no transmission can take place unless there is a direct line of sight between the two microwave
antennae.
In today’s market, different vendors have different microwave products which include the
Ericsson Minilink, which are of three types: Minilink E, Minilink HC and Minilink TN, also there is Harris
Microstar and Harris Truepoint,being: Type I and Type II, Siemens SRAL and many more. The key
criterion in choosing either of the above equipment is based on the nature of the link; i.e. the
microwave links capacity.
As it is in communication systems, signal losses are inherent, and in radio microwave, path losses
are present which lead to signal losses in the communication system. The aim of this project is to delve
in depth into the intricate design procedure of a radio microwave link, the path losses present, what
causes them [path losses], the magnitude of path losses in the various equipment, how the various
vendors try to mitigate the path losses in their equipment, how engineers cater for these losses when
coming up with a link budget, and finally propose ways of minimizing path losses in radio microwave
technology based on the research carried out.
This project will be undertaken based on the Kenyan Telecommunication scene and research data
accorded to this will be highly appreciated and will go a long way in the successful completion of this
project.
TITLE: WEB BASED MONITORING VIA GSM TECHNOLOGY
STUDENT: MILLICENT ADHIAMBO AGUTU-E18-1073/05
SUPERVISOR: MR. OMAE OTERI
ABSTRACT
This project implements a web based monitoring solution using the readily available cellular
technologies taking into consideration the use of GSM technology. The GSM in this case, is used to
convey real time message whenever motion is detected in the vehicle. The project has a remote circuitry
that sense motion and sends the information to the microcontroller which converts the motion signals
received by the infra-red motion detector to message signals. The infra-red sensor is interfaced with the
GSM module which transmits the signal to a database central server. At the control center there is a
computer that is interfaced with the GSM modem to connect it to the server database and monitor
client status.
TITLE: THE DESIGN OF A MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA WITH A RECTANGULAR APERTURE
STUDENT: KACHUMBO .W. ELIZABETH-E18-0967/04
SUPERVISOR: MR. EDWIN KIPYEGON
ABSTRACT:
In the last few years there has been an increase in the use of mobile telephones for communication. The
cellular handsets used in the 1980s were bulky and heavy. Advancements in VLSI technology have
enabled size reduction for various microprocessors and signal processing chips being used in cellular
phones. Another method for reducing handset size is by using more compact antennas most preferably
the Microstrip Patch Antennas.
Microstrip patch antennas radiate primarily because of the fringing fields between the patch edge and
the ground plane. This antenna has a number of advantages which are: they are light in weight, low in
volume and have a low profile planar configuration which can be conformal to the host surface and thus
are extremely compatible for embedded antennas in hand-held wireless devices e.g. cell phones, pagers
etc. as well as telemetry and communication antennas on missiles and satellite communication.
In this dissertation, the design of a microstrip patch antenna with a rectangular aperture operating at
2GHz will be discussed in detail together with the results obtained from the simulation of the said
antenna.