Interdisciplinary – Page 6 – UROP Spring Symposium 2021

Interdisciplinary

Understanding Dynamic Loading of Wheelchairs Secured in Vehicles During Crashes

To develop integrated wheelchair seating stations for automated vehicles (AVs), manufacturers need to understand the loading involved when securing a wheelchair to the vehicle, because wheelchairs can weigh much more than vehicle seats. The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) has conducted hundreds of dynamic sled tests of wheelchairs since the 1980s that include data on securement forces. These tests have involved manual, power, and stroller wheelchairs and a range of crash dummy sizes from small children to large adult males. This project first involved updating the wheelchair sled test database with the most recent test results, and then investigated factors that affect load levels. The main finding is that the weight of the wheelchair has the greatest correlation with the amount of floor loading. Results from this analysis will allow vehicle manufacturers to design wheelchair seating stations for AVs that will allow passengers who travel while seated in a wheelchair to ride safely and independently.

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3d Online Body Shape Model Development

In the automotive industry, there have been an increasing number of fatalities, easily preventable by building safer vehicles. In the medical field, it is almost impossible to thoroughly test accuracy of medical technology without using a physical model, which are oftentimes very expensive. This study involves the development of realistic user-manipulated 3D body models for usage in the medical, automotive, and engineering fields. Along with my mentor and fellow researcher, we have been building a nuanced body model application using Unity to be put out on the apple store and google play store. While results are inconclusive so far, as the application has not been released yet, it hopefully will facilitate the lives of engineers, researchers, and manufacturers working in a number of industries.

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3d Online Body Shape Model Development

In the automotive industry, there have been an increasing number of fatalities, easily preventable by building safer vehicles. In the medical field, it is almost impossible to thoroughly test accuracy of medical technology without using a physical model, which are oftentimes very expensive. This study involves the development of realistic user-manipulated 3D body models for usage in the medical, automotive, and engineering fields. Along with my mentor and fellow researcher, we have been building a nuanced body model application using Unity to be put out on the apple store and google play store. While results are inconclusive so far, as the application has not been released yet, it hopefully will facilitate the lives of engineers, researchers, and manufacturers working in a number of industries.

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Video Communication for Brain-Computer Interface Research

This project was to create an instructional video for the Direct Brain Interface Lab, which conducts Brain-Computer Interface research. This lab helps develop and test brain-computer interface devices that help the human brain communicate with software by translating brain activity into commands for electronic devices and computer systems. The video was created to improve communication between researchers in the lab and the lab participants using the brain-computer interface devices. The video format is especially helpful for participants with disabilities who are sometimes unable to understand conventional directions. The video explains how to use the device, and how the user needs to “think” the commands for the computer to respond with the appropriate output. This instructional video was created using videos from the lab’s database, including direct-feed videos of the brain-computer interface device’s output, and videos of people using the devices to create those outputs. These videos were chained together with Adobe Premiere Pro. The final video contained effects and a voiceover to help better communicate the instructions. This video will be used in the lab to help the participants better understand their brain-computer interface devices and how to use them correctly. The video will be updated periodically depending on how the participants respond and how the instructions change. The lab can now communicate their instructions in a video format, which will help better explain how to use the brain-computer interface.

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Enhanced MEAGA (Minimum distance-based Enrichment Analysis for Genetic Association)

The goal of the MEAGA (Minimum distance-based Enrichment Analysis for Genetic Association) is to help researchers understand complex traits derived from the correlation between genes. More specifically, this project aims at creating a network of genes with edge weights being their correlation with each other. This will allow researchers to test hypotheses between genetic pathways/functions and the correlation between specific genes. There currently exists a genetic network consisting of genes, but their connections/edge weights are binary (weight of 1 or 0). The goal right now is to convert the existing binary network into a continuous network, so the edges can have continuous values indicating the correlation between genes. The project focuses on graph algorithms such as Prim’s, Dijkstra’s, and Kou’s algorithm to create a genetic network that can create Steiner trees of indicated genes. Thus far, a gene to gene correlation file has been created with different correlation cutoffs of 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9. This research can be valuable in identifying associations between genes and certain traits or diseases. This research may help the medical field when identifying the causes of conditions.

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Pollutant Data Prediction: Protecting our Watershed Through Sensing

Watershed health largely influences quality of life, but it is difficult to quantify. Tracking and reducing pollutants is one way to improve watershed health. Total suspended solids (TSS) is an invaluable measurement in determining the amount of pollutants in a body of water. Despite many studies relating TSS to turbidity (water opacity) or doppler backscatter (sound refraction), there is yet to be a way to accurately predict TSS on a long term basis. This study takes previously calculated correlations between suspended solids concentration (SSC) and doppler backscatter using linear regression and conducts a gaussian process on the data to determine a more accurate model. The model created is based on probabilistic computations with a 95% confidence interval. This model will require initial data points from a site before a model can be developed, unlike the previous model, but the confidence interval will decrease in size as more data points are added. Therefore, we will be able to determine a more accurate model for each specific site. The model developed in this study will then be used to predict TSS values for new sites as TSS and SSC are related measurements, and TSS is a more widely used measurement in regulations. This result allows us to continue with further research into the number of true TSS/ SSC samples necessary to determine an accurate model and how the model will react to changes in flow rate implemented by controlled valves.

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Eye tracking to determine cognitive load during programming practice

Novice programmers need scaffolded instruction to maximize their ability to learn how to program. Parsons problems are an increasingly popular solution. These problems require learners to place mixed-up code blocks in the correct order to solve a problem. We are conducting think-aloud sessions and a within-subjects experiment to understand the efficiency and cognitive load of solving adaptive Parsons problems versus writing the equivalent (isomorphic) code. We are also investigating the impact of prior programming experience on students’ experiences and changes in students’ self-efficacy. This study will report on cognitive load and self-efficacy ratings before and after the task for the two problem times. We expect students to exhibit greater learning gains on fixing code with errors when solving Parsons problems with distractors than without. We also expect to find a correlation between self-efficacy and cognitive load ratings. The implications of this study are to improve programming learning tools for novice programmers.

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Eye tracking to determine cognitive load during programming practice

Novice programmers need scaffolded instruction to maximize their ability to learn how to program. Parsons problems are an increasingly popular solution. These problems require learners to place mixed-up code blocks in the correct order to solve a problem. We are conducting think-aloud sessions and a within-subjects experiment to understand the efficiency and cognitive load of solving adaptive Parsons problems versus writing the equivalent (isomorphic) code. We are also investigating the impact of prior programming experience on students’ experiences and changes in students’ self-efficacy. This study will report on cognitive load and self-efficacy ratings before and after the task for the two problem times. We expect students to exhibit greater learning gains on fixing code with errors when solving Parsons problems with distractors than without. We also expect to find a correlation between self-efficacy and cognitive load ratings. The implications of this study are to improve programming learning tools for novice programmers.

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Species Distribution Modeling of Pseudopipra pipra in the Neotropics

The Neotropics is one of the most species-rich regions in the world (Condon et al., 2008). Its diverse landscape and complex history has allowed for population isolation and subsequent diversification (e.g. Berv et al., 2021). While our knowledge of phylogenetic diversity in the Neotropics has dramatically increased in recent years (e.g. Berv et al., 2021; Tello et al., 2009), our understanding of how species’ have adapted across a myriad of climate regimes in the Neotropics is less well understood (Weir, 2006).

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Predictions of Core Dynamo Formation in Super-Earths

As we continue to search the galaxy for habitable planets, our attention has turned to super-Earths, large rocky planets with the potential to support life. The increase in size and mass is expected to change several significant properties, including the planet’s magnetic field. Planetary magnetic dynamos are crucial for life to develop, and scientists have long debated the mechanics of dynamo formation and operation. Utilizing data on the planetary composition in our solar system and relevant material properties under high pressures and high temperatures, we will predict the likelihood for the development of a super-Earth dynamo. Earth, the largest of the four rocky planets in the Solar System, may have sustained its dynamo the longest, but Mercury, the smallest, is the only other planet to have a still-functioning dynamo. This indicates that size is only one of many factors that impacts dynamo evolution. Thus, various corroborating effects must be accounted for in our analysis. To model the internal dynamics of exoplanets, samples of core material will be compressed to high pressures. The experiments will offer data on whether a planetary core would be molten, how it would transfer heat and undergo changes with pressure. Additionally, models will be created to form predictions about the impact of mass, radius, and other properties on the formation of core dynamos. Once the extent of internal convection is defined, the model will allow for the estimation of a range of masses or radii for a super-Earth to produce a magnetic field.

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