Major Qualifying Project Center A Term 2008–2009

2005-2006||2006-2007||2007-2008||2008-2009||2009-2010||2010-2011||2011-2012

The MIT Lincoln Laboratory continues a joint collaboration with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to have a number of their undergraduate seniors perform their Major Qualifying Project (MQP) at the Laboratory in Lexington, MA.

Description of Fall 2008 Projects:

top

Modeling Multi-Target Track Association and Sensor Fusion
Group 31 – Systems and Architectures (2–3 students)
Dr. Stephen D. Weiner
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

The Systems and Architectures Group is concerned with modeling the performance of Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) systems comprised of networks of sophisticated radar and optical sensors connected by an overall battle management control structure.  In such BMD systems, information collected by several sensors on a number of targets must be combined and used to make decisions regarding which targets should be intercepted and which targets should be rejected.  For this process to be successful, it is necessary that the data from “sensor 1” on “target A” be associated with data from “sensor 2” on “target A” and not with data from “sensor 2” on “target B”.  To date, most of the analyses of this problem have involved elaborate Monte Carlo simulations which provide high fidelity modeling of the target motion, target signatures and sensor measurement capability but provide limited flexibility to consider target and sensor variations.  They also provide limited insight into those threat and defense parameters, which have the greatest influence on overall performance.

The students will develop simple modular parametric models of the association and fusion process to permit rapid evaluation of the overall defense performance as a function of number of targets, density of targets, velocity spread of targets, defense sensor resolution and accuracy in range and angle, any sensor measurement biases and the relative geometry of the different sensors.  Major modules will include association of crossing targets for a single sensor, handover of single targets from one sensor to another, sensor bias estimation and removal, association of objects in a target complex seen by one sensor with these objects seen by a second sensor.  For each module, the output will be the probability of success and the probabilities of different failure modes as a function of the input parameters.  These individual modules will be combined into an overall functional model whose output will be the probability of correctly selecting the object to be intercepted (the warhead) as a function of all the input parameters.  This overall model will be used in higher-level simulations of total BMD system performance.  It would be nice if versions of the model could be developed as an Excel spreadsheet(s) or a MATLAB script(s).  The output of these simple models will be compared with the output from more elaborate Monte Carlo simulations.

Students for this project could be Physics, Mathematics, or Electrical and Computer Engineering majors or a combination of these majors. The skills needed for this project include a background in probability and error analysis (MA 2621 or MA 2631), understanding of coordinate systems and simple target motion (PH 1110 or PH 1111; PH 2201 or ES 2503 would be helpful), and understanding of the capabilities and limitations of computers to model these processes.  The most important skill is good judgment, to model all the important factors in the problem and ignore all the unimportant factors. Knowledge of MATLAB is also required There are a number of people in Group 31 who can assist in acquiring the background and developing the judgment needed to address this problem.

top

Distributed Computing in a Radar Open Systems Architecture
Group 33 – Ranges & Test Beds (2 students)
D. Seth Hunter
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD
WPI Computer Science Department

Lincoln Laboratory’s Ranges and Test Beds group is developing the ballistic missile defense sensor infrastructure for the Pan-Pacific Range, associated mobile range assets, and field test beds.  Distributed computing technologies have enabled remote and centralized control of disparate range assets and the real-time fusion of data from multiple sensors to improve analysis capabilities.  Common challenges in these efforts include the distribution of data, control of computer clusters, monitoring and visualization of system and network resources, and deterministic real-time performance.

Students participating in this Major Qualifying Project will select, design, and integrate a new technology into one of the group’s distributed computing projects.  Current efforts include an open system architecture for radar sensors, a ballistic missile defense system test bed for live-time testing of experimental algorithms, and the distributed operations of a range control center.  A selection of specific project ideas relevant to these efforts will be provided during the PQP phase of the project and the students will be allowed to choose the project which best fits their specific interests and abilities.

This project requires 2 students majoring in Computer Science, with strengths in the areas of computer networks, operating systems, distributed systems, software engineering, and web services.  The technologies most likely to be used during the design and implementation of the project include Linux, Java or C++, XML, SQL, CORBA/DDS, and various web service packages.  The desire and ability to work as an intern at Lincoln Laboratory on preparatory research during the summer prior to the MQP is a strong advantage.

top

Multi-Static Radar Signal Processing on Commodity Hardware
Group 33 – Ranges & Test Beds (2-3 students)
Dr. David Holl
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

The Ranges & Test Beds group prototypes new directions for future radar systems through advanced system and algorithmic development such as real-time MIMO processing via multiple antennas and waveform diversity.  However, these advanced processing techniques come with elevated computational requirements.  Fortunately, an unprecedented level of superscalar power is readily available in today's consumer electronics, such as video game consoles and desktop computer graphics cards.

Students on this project will research the feasibility of radar imaging algorithms on superscalar commodity devices, then build and test real-time prototypes.  This project requires two to three students majoring in electrical engineering, computer science, or other equivalent background.  Experience with C/C++ or MATLAB is required, and knowledge in one or more of the following is strongly helpful: real-time signal processing (ECE4703), operating systems and network programming (CS3013, CS4515), or distributed computing (CS4513).  Background in computer architecture, holography, biomedical imaging (ECE/BME 4201), or computer graphics (CS4731) is a plus.

top

Real-Time Three-Dimensional Radar Visualization
Group 33 – Ranges & Test Beds (2–3 students)
Dr. David Holl
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

The Ranges & Test Beds group prototypes new directions for future radar systems through advanced system and algorithmic development such as real-time MIMO processing via multiple antennas and waveform diversity.  Some of these advanced techniques produce 2-D and 3-D images of uncooperative targets in real-time, and thus need a means of projecting the resulting images with minimal latency to modern display hardware.

Students on this project will design and test graphics rendering pipelines for the real-time presentation of tomographic and interferometric radar images.  This project requires two to three students majoring in electrical engineering, computer science, or other equivalent background.  Experience with C/C++ or MATLAB is required, and knowledge in these areas is strongly helpful: distributed computing (CS4513), computer graphics (CS4731), real-time signal processing (EE4703), or computer system design (ECE4801).  Background in computer architecture, holography, or biomedical imaging (ECE/BME 4201) is a plus.

top

Design of a Wideband Circular Array
Group 39 – Air Defense Techniques (2–3 students)
Dr. Herbert Aumann
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

Group 39 is interested in developing a wideband antenna for an aircraft surveillance program. This particular project focuses on the design, prediction and simulation of a circular phased array antenna.

The students would model and optimize the phased array and phased array elements using WIPL-D or NEC software with particular emphasis on wide bandwidth performance. A few prototype phased array elements would be built. Students would verify the simulations by measuring isolated as well as embedded element patterns on an antenna range.

The project requires two to three electrical engineering and/or physics students. Background in electromagnetism (EE 2112 Electromagnetism or PH 2301 / PH3301 Electromagnetism) is required and MATLAB experience would be helpful.

top

Weather Radar Data Processing Algorithm Development and Analysis
Group 43 – Weather Sensing (2–3 students)
Dr. Mark Weber
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

Lincoln Laboratory's Weather Sensing Group conducts applied research for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The research is focused on hazardous weather surveillance, forecasting, and dissemination of pertinent information to key decision makers in the aviation system (pilots, air traffic controllers, traffic management planners, and airline dispatchers). The group specializes in Doppler weather radar processing technology, high-resolution short-term weather forecasts, sensor fusion, and information technology.

Group 43 is seeking students in electrical engineering, computer science or physical sciences with strong software development skills and interest in algorithm development and analysis of Doppler weather radar data.  Our project will develop improved algorithms for the detection of hazardous wind shear at airports where environmental challenges (strong ground clutter, terrain blockage and intrinsically low radar cross section of the wind shear phenomena) are significant.  Facility with MATLAB and C/C++ is desirable.

top

Service Oriented Architecture for Tactical Networks
Group 65 – Advanced Networks and Applications (3–4 students)
Dan VanHook
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

The Advanced Networks and Applications Group specializes in networking issues in the context of unique government requirements. One major activity focuses on mobile, ad-hoc, heterogeneous networking in an airborne context. High-performance networking (Gigabit class and above) over satellite systems to both fixed and mobile systems is another area of focus. In the application area, the group is exploring ways to apply service-oriented architectures to sensor and decision support systems in environments with both wide- and narrowband communication systems comprising reliable (fiber) and unreliable (wireless) links. The group also operates an experimental all-optical, dark fiber network (Bossnet) that runs from Boston to Washington, D.C.

This project aims to adopt current search, information retrieval, multimedia delivery, and network device control Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) implementations that were developed for and deployed in a fixed networking environment to operate with wireless network nodes.  The wireless nodes are composed of links that are subject to outages, capacity limitations, and large delays.  Students working on this project will design, build a prototype implementation, and test an abstraction layer that enables SOA tools to operate in a heterogeneous networking environment.

This project requires Computer Science or Electrical and Computer Engineering students with a solid background in software engineering and network programming skills.  Students should have experience with Java.  Recommended preparation would include successful completion of CS 2102 and 3733.  Advanced coursework such as CS 4233, 4513 or 4514 would be a strong plus.

top

Boundary Layer Impairments to Airborne Lasercom Tracking Systems
Group 66 – Advanced Lasercom Systems and Operations (3–4) Students
Dr. Jeff Roth
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

Our group is currently working on laser communications for air-to-space links to allow high-bandwidth data extraction from a theatre to a global backbone.  At optical frequencies, non-laminar airflow around an aircraft terminal's aperture can distort an optical communications beam. If these distortions significantly affect the tracking system, then requirements on pointing to the remote terminal will not be met and the link will not function.

We therefore have interest in knowing what tracking algorithms can best accommodate the boundary layer effects.  We have an experimental testbed for studying pointing, acquisition, and tracking and this testbed includes the Boundary Layer Emulator that allows us to insert distortions similar to what might occur around an aircraft.  With this Emulator we can perform experiments to quantify the impact of this impairment to the tracking system.

In an effort to address the boundary layer problem, this project will focus on the Boundary Layer Emulator, algorithm evaluation, and system engineering of a hardware tracking system.  Tasks may include:

(i)   Generating arbitrary-length time series of boundary layer optical distortions using the statistical characteristics of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results.
(ii)  Comparing the performance of different tracking algorithms under varying boundary layer conditions.  Experiments with the Boundary LayerEmulator or simulations will be used to generate results.  Could utilize data produced in (i).
(iii) Designing a digital tracking processor capable of implementing processor-intensive tracking algorithms optimized for handling boundary layer distortions.

For this project we desire physics, optics, electrical engineering and/or computer science students.  Experience with some or all of the following topics is desirable: MATLAB, statistics, physical optics (PH 2301, PH 3504, PH 2601), fluid dynamics (ES 3004), noise theory (ECE 4304), digital signal processing (ECE 2312, ECE 4703), digital design (ECE 3801), HDL and FPGA knowledge (ECE 3810), and communication systems (ECE 3311).

top

Preflight Optical Sensor Evaluation System
Group 71 – Mechanical Engineering (1–2 students)
Dr. Michael Languirand
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD
Mechanical Engineering Department

MIT Lincoln Laboratory has a long history of designing, developing, and building systems for air defense, missile defense, space surveillance, tactical surveillance, and advanced communications. These activities involve the complete hardware development cycle from conceptual design and analysis, through fabrication and testing.

One of Lincoln Laboratory’s ongoing programs is the Missile Alternative Range Target Instrumentation (MARTI) system, a testbed used to support the development of the Airborne Laser (ABL). The MARTI system is an array of optical sensors on a sounding rocket used to characterize the targeting and engagement capabilities of the ABL Aircraft during the early phases of its flight test program.

This MQP will involve the design, analysis, and/or testing of a device to be used during pre-launch checks to verify the correct operation of the optical sensors.  The students may be involved in design optimization, component selection, structural and thermal analysis, or environmental testing.

The project will require 1-2 students with mechanical design and analysis capabilities. Some familiarity with thermal analysis, mechanical mechanisms, and electrical circuits would be helpful.

top

Design and Analysis for Missile Defense Applications
Group 73 – Aerospace Engineering (2 students)
Mr. Scott Van Broekhoven
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

The Aerospace Engineering Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory is involved in the design and development of experiments for ongoing missile defense tests.  This work encompasses mechanical design, aero-thermal and structural analysis, and the fabrication and testing of flight hardware.  Both suborbital and space-based systems are being developed including the packaging and deployment of novel sensing technologies and the testing of innovative decoy concepts.

The MQP students will be given a project that comprises both design and analysis components.  In consultation with Laboratory staff members, the students will scope and plan their analysis, develop initial concept designs, and analyze those designs they deem most promising.  If time allows, they will have an opportunity to build and test their concepts to compare with their analytical results.  Previous student projects have included the packaging of IR sensors for a suborbital fly-away sensor package, and the analysis of the structural integrity of a missile under high-power laser irradiation.

Two students are needed to complete this project.  A background in heat transfer and thermodynamics is desired.  A working knowledge of Solidworks and some prior laboratory experience would be beneficial.

top

Testing and Analysis of Photon-Counting Focal Planes
Group 87 – Advanced Imaging Technology (2–3 students)
Dr. Brian Aull
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

The Advanced Imaging Technology Group designs and fabricates electronic imaging focal planes based on Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (APDs) integrated with digital CMOS circuitry.  These focal planes count photons to produce digitally encoded imagery.

In this project, the students will carry out measurements to characterize the performance of these arrays, run SPICE simulations to gain insight into any issues that are revealed by the testing, and make recommendations for circuit design improvements.

This project requires a total of 2 to 3 students majoring in physics or electrical and computer engineering, or applied mathematics (or a combination of the three majors). Understanding of the physics of semiconductor devices and first-rate experience in experimental laboratory techniques are required (either PH 3502 or ECE 3901 is required).

top

Tracking Satellites, Asteroids, and Space Trash
Group 91 – Space Control Systems (2–3 students)
Dr. David E. Whited and George Zollinger
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD
Computer Science Department

Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, Lincoln Laboratory has been involved monitoring the ever growing satellite population. This mission area is known as Space Control and is conceptually similar to Air Traffic Control except that instead of tracking planes, we are concerned with satellites, rocket bodies, space debris, and asteroids. Over the last three decades, Group 91 at Lincoln Laboratory has developed a series of optical space surveillance systems for monitoring resident space objects.

Group 91 is currently building OPAL, which is a next generation system for processing optical space surveillance data. The goal of this project is to aid in the development of algorithms and applications for tracking resident space objects. Applications will be developed in a parallel cluster architecture that deploys information in a web services netcentric framework for data fusion. Students will also get the chance to develop Eclipse plugins as part of our on-going efforts to build reusable displays.

Students should have a solid background in Java, Windows, and LINUX. Web programming and GUI design is suggested. A strong background in physics or mathematics is suggested.

top

Reconfigurable Computing Infrastructure with High Performance FPGA Intellectual Property (IP) Cores for Signal Processing
Group 102 – Embedded Digital Systems (2 students)
Dr. Michael Vai and Dr. Huy. T. Nguyen
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

The Embedded Digital Systems Group is involved in the design and development of advanced signal processor technology based on hybrid architectures that use a combination of programmable digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Systems with throughput on the order of 100s of billion operations per second (GOPS) are required to meet the needs of next generation applications.

The seamless incorporation of a high performance FPGA coprocessor into a software application is highly desirable. Besides the apparent benefit of application acceleration, this capability will support the implementation of a target system in multiple stages using technologies of increasingly higher performance and risk factors (e.g., DSP, FPGA, and ASIC). This project is aimed at developing an infrastructure with a high level middleware library that will allow the use of high performance FPGA IP cores to support heterogeneous, reconfigurable signal processors capable to deliver 100s GOPS of computation in the challenging form factors required for embedded processor found in radars, sonars, and communication systems. The use of FPGA embedded programmable processors to interface IP cores with different host processor architectures will be explored.

A total of two electrical and computer engineering students with suitable backgrounds will work under the direction of Dr. Michael Vai and Dr. Huy Nguyen to design and implement the infrastructure. Performance, scalability, and flexibility of a prototype implementation will be demonstrated in a modern radar application. This will be an excellent project for engineering students wishing to work on the forefront of computer technology in the important field of reconfigurable, embedded processing.

Preferred candidates will have the following qualifications:

  • Successfully completed coursework in discrete linear systems, (ECE 2312).
  • Successfully completed assembly programming, (ECE 2801 or CS 2011).
  • Successfully completed coursework in computer architecture or digital embedded systems, (ECE 4801, ECE 2801, ECE 3803)
  • Understanding of linear algebra, FIR, FFT, and proficiency in MATLAB.
  • Proficiency in FPGA design with VHDL or Verilog, (ECE 3810).
Also desirable: programming experience in C and MATLAB; computer system interfacing and network experience.

top

Design and Implementation of an Intelligent Distributed Signal Processing Library for Real-Time Computing
Group 102 – Embedded Digital Systems (2 students)
Dr. Jeremy Kepner and Ms. Nadya Bliss
WPI Faculty Advisor – TBD

The Embedded Digital Systems Group is involved in the design and development of advanced signal processing software technology for rapid prototyping of real-time embedded systems.  One of the key technology challenges in the development of embedded processing is the hardware-to-software mapping and optimization of the application software.  Overall program efficiencies of 30% or more are needed to make programmable solutions viable for embedded form-factors, and yet initial (unoptimized) efficiencies as low as a few percent are common for C or C++ programs.  The problem is exacerbated when the application requires multiple processors in order to meet throughput requirements.  To address these challenges, Lincoln Laboratory is researching intelligent middleware technology aimed at delivering high-performance on parallel and distributed architectures.

This project is aimed at developing a high performance middleware library that will be capable of automatically mapping itself onto parallel and distributed processors.  The library is being prototyped using the class definition and function overloading features of MATLAB. Neural network and dynamic programming techniques are being developed to facilitate automated mapping strategies. 

A total of two computer science, electrical and computer engineering (concentration in signal processing), physics, or mathematics students with suitable backgrounds will work under the direction of Dr. Jeremy Kepner and Ms. Nadya Bliss to design and implement the middleware.  This will be an excellent project for computer scientists and engineers wishing to work on the forefront of computer technology in the important field of embedded signal processing.

Preferred candidates will have the following qualifications:

  • Successfully completed coursework in linear algebra, (MA 2071 and/or 2073).
  • Successfully completed coursework in parallel programming, (CS 3013).
  • Successfully completed coursework in algorithms (CS 2223 and/or CS 4120), including: complexity analysis; basic knowledge of graph algorithms (insertion, sort, search, etc); understanding of program analysis (including dependency graphs and concurrency analysis).
  • Successfully completed coursework in artificial intelligence or machine learning, (CS 4341).
  • Working knowledge of MATLAB (either based on class or job experience).
Also desirable: completion of a compiler class; parallel programming work experience (i.e. experience with MPI, multi-threaded programming, parallel array languages); and/or completion/experience with parallel numerical algorithms (e.g. parallel linear algebra).

top

 

The work described in this web page was and will be performed at Lincoln Laboratory, a center for research and development operated by MIT. The opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this web page are those of the authors and not necessarily endorsed by MIT, the U.S. Air Force, or the United States Government.

Employment at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and/or participation in these projects is restricted to U.S. citizens.
The work described in this web page is sponsored by the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Air Force under Air Force Contract FA8721-05-C-0002.

 

top of page