A member of the United States military is separated from their group, leaving them lost in an unsafe battlespace. To stay hidden from enemies, they use a smart handheld device that connects to a team of drones that locates missing personnel without using GPS signals allowing them to be quickly and safely located.

This is the realityWest Virginia Universityengineers are makingpossible for combat search and rescue operations to pinpoint isolated personnel without using radio GPS that an enemy can easily intercept.

Through a 21-month, $300,000 project with funding from the Small Business Innovation Research of the U.S. Air Force Laboratory and in partnership with Kinnami Software Corporation,Guilherme Pereira, associate professor in theDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineeringat theBenjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, is working to change the way search and rescue tasks are executed in hostile territories.

"In some environments, such as underground, in buildings, forests or in warfare, GPS signals are not available, only partially available, or jammed, preventing drones from self-localizing using GPS," Pereira said. "Therefore, drones need to rely on other sensors, such as accelerometers and cameras, to estimate their position. In a cooperative team of robots, they can also use information from other robots in the team to help with their localization."

The contract, through the U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, will support development of Kinnami's resilient data platform, AmiShare, and WVU's research on the robustness of navigation in challenging environments. Kinnami's resilient data management platform, combined with WVU positioning and navigation algorithms for unmanned drones and ground devices, provides a new solution to increase search and rescue effectiveness in saving isolated personnel.

Kinnami's platform can work in degraded communications environments and provides a secure means to share sensitive data in a timely way, such as location or biometrics, which will allow a rescue team to monitor the lost person and their health during the rescue mission. Kinnamis platform, AmiShare, will enable secure peer-to-peer data sharing about the person being rescued in real-time and will support mission operations more effectively.

By using a network of drones and rescuers carrying Android Tactical Assault Kits (ATAKs), search and rescue teams can have data shared directly with them in order to locate the missing individuals. ATAK is an Android smartphone geospatial infrastructure and military situation awareness app that allows precision targeting, surrounding land formation intelligence, navigation and data sharing.

"Rescue teams will receive health information from the lost person. This information can be used to plan the rescue mission and help prioritize personnel rescue in cases where several people are being rescued," Pereira said. "ATAKs will also give the search and rescue team the ability to control the drones, pointing them to regions with a higher probability of finding lost personal or simply moving them away from other rescue vehicles."

WVU's research and Kinnami's platform will be used with the network of drones and in the ATAK devices to form a single network that communicates as one sharing data between rescue team members in the air, on the ground, command and control personnel.

In this research, Pereira and co-principal investigatorJason Gross, interim chair and associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, will assume the drones will use radio signals to estimate the relative distance between them. Then, in a network of several drones, once one robot knows its localization, the information can be combined with the range to estimate the localization of the entire team.

"Using the same principles of the robots, we will be able to also localize people without using GPS signals," Pereira said. "This will be important in search and rescue missions, where the missing person may also be carrying an ATAK."

Once the lost person's device is connected to the network, the rescue personnel will have an estimate of their position, thus allowing a fast rescue.

"WVU research is complementary to Kinnami's platform since Kinnamis software will secure all the communications involved, including drone to drone communications, drone control signals and the communication between the ATAK devices and these devices and drones," Pereira said. "Securing these will prevent enemy hackers from finding the lost person before the rescue team or faking a lost person in a different position."

Engineers will use a new indoor robotics testing facility that is currently under construction in the Statler College.

This project leverages our existing research in this area from another project with Kinnami and extends it to include human operators and ground beacons which add new dimensions of research questions, Gross said. We seek to integrate several technologies: network data security, cooperative localization and control across a network of humans and robots. Each of these technologies are needed for search and rescue operations in contested environments so, in this project, it is important to think through the implications and limitations by trying to integrate them.

Kinnami AmiShare integration with Robot Operating System and the ATAK app will provide a resilient data fabric for secure peer-to-peer communications acrossrescue teams, Sujeesh Krishnan, CEO of Kinnami Software Corporation, said.

Our software, in combination with WVUs positioning and navigation algorithms for drones, will provide new capabilities to the 563rd Rescue Group, our Air Force customer, for locating isolated personnel in network degraded and GPS denied environments, said Krishnan. Were excited to partner with WVU to support faster safer smarter rescue missions for the Air Force and for other first responders where up-to-date situational awareness is key to response and action.

The future of the U.S. Air Force is through innovation and forward-thinking technology, and were excited to be working with Kinnami and West Virginia University on the next stage of this project, U.S. Air Force Major Joshua Stanley with the 563rd Rescue Group said. Having the ability for rescue teams to and communicate in real-time with each other and more efficiently locate isolated personnel, in contested and degraded environments, provides operational and strategic advantages for Air Force personnel recovery operations."

-WVU-

au/07/18/22

MEDIA CONTACT: Paige NesbitMarketing and Communications DirectorWVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources304-293-4135;paige.nesbit@mail.wvu.edu

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WVU Today | WVU engineers advance U.S. Air Force search and rescue missions in hostile territories with unmanned drones - WVU Today

There's no shortage of tech startups with ambitious plans to build electric vehicles, with varying degrees of hype and flakiness. Lucid Motors is one of these emerging young brands, and while its first product, the 2022 Air luxury sedan, features its fair share of gadgetry and design dazzle, it's also an impressive example of what can result when tech dweebs and car nerds collaborate.

The Lucid Air made its debut as the limited-production Dream Edition, which has since sold out, and now is in the process of fleshing out the lineup. We sampled the now-top-spec Grand Touring Performance near Lucid's headquarters in Newark, California, and tested the next-rung-down Grand Touring back home in Michigan. Lower-cost Touring and Pure trims are set to join the lineup by the end of the year, but for now the $140,500 Grand Touring is the most affordable variant. Lucid has since increased the price of the Grand Touring model to $155,650, but only on orders received after June 1, 2022.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

For that six-figure outlay, you get a four-door EV sedan with a luxuriously trimmed cabin, 819 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and an EPA-estimated driving range that's far and away the most generous among EVs. The special sauce is Lucid's innovative battery pack (112.0-kWh capacity in the Grand Touring) and its super-aerodynamic design, which allows it to achieve up to an estimated 516 miles per charge when equipped with the standard 19-inch wheels. (The optional 21-inch wheels reduce that to 469 miles.) In our 75-mph highway range test, our Grand Touring test car (on 19s) managed 410 milesconsiderably less than the EPA number, but still the best result of any EV we've ever tested, and the first to top 400 miles.

The $180,500 Grand Touring Performance entices with 1050 horsepower, but even with its slightly larger 118.0-kWh battery pack, its EPA range estimate is lower at 446 miles. Twenty-one-inch wheels wearing summer tires are standard here, which contributes to the reduced range, but the additional power potential from the electric motors is also partially to blame.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

HIGHS: The EV range champ, a surfeit of power, striking design.

Charging is quick in both Grand Touring models, and Lucid estimates that on a DC fast-charging connection, 300 miles can be added to the battery in just 21 minutes. When we did our fast-charging test from 10 to 90 percent charge on an Air Dream, it took 46 minutes at an average rate of 135 kW, the fastest we had ever measured. Home charging is slower, naturally, but the Air can accept the highest rate of Level 2 charging, 19.2 kW, assuming your house is wired to give at that rate, which can add about 75 miles for every hour the car is plugged in.

Both models are powered by a dual electric motor powertrain, and Lucid claims the more powerful Performance version can hit 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. (The slightly more powerful Dream Edition Performance model did exactly that when we tested it earlier this year.) The 819-hp Grand Touring, meanwhile, hit 60 mph in 3.0 seconds flat at our test track.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

Merely feathering the accelerator pedal moves either Lucid forward without delay, but the Performance is noticeably punchier. A launch-control feature allows the driver to easily unlock the car's maximum capability for straight-line performance: First select Sprint mode, then simply hold your left foot on the brake and mat the go pedal until the telltale blue-bear logo appears on the gauge display. Release the brake, and the car rockets forward with a whoosh and virtually no wheelspin.

The Air's road manners are refined and borderline athletic. It's not as sharp as the Porsche Taycan, and its width makes it feel less nimble than an Audi e-tron GT. The 0.82 g of grip on the 19-inch all-season range tire also falls well short of those cars, whereas the previous Dream Edition we tested on the summer 21s did 0.92 g. But the Grand Touring nonetheless offers a compelling blend of comfort and sport. Three driving modes alter the car's suspension, steering, and powertrain to a surprising degree. Smooth mode, the Air's most comfortable setting, sets the dampers to soak up bumps as much as possible and limits the horsepower to help preserve range. Swift and Sprint modes are where things get more interesting, with the latter unlocking the maximum horsepower. The dampers are firmed up in these settings for better handling, and the steering dials in a bit more heft as well as some road feel that's largely absent in the default Smooth mode.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

No matter the setting, the Air's brake pedal feels squishy through the initial bit of travel before firming up as the pads bite at the rotors. Luckily, the Air's two regenerative braking modesStandard and Highboth are aggressive enough so that drivers can avoid touching the brakes the majority of the time, although some drivers might welcome a less regenerative coast mode. The Air Grand Touring's 193-foot stop from 70 mph, though, is a disappointing performance, some 30 feet longer than that from the summer-tire-equipped Dream.

The Air's design to a large degree is both aesthetically pleasing and thoughtful. The front- and rear-seat passenger compartments are more spacious than expected, and interior materials are both premium and contemporary, with soft nappa-leather upholstery and textile-covered dash panels. Cleverly located storage bins, including one hidden beneath the lower infotainment display screen, provide ample places to stash smaller items, and the Air's cargo capacity is adequate thanks to a deep well under the car's hood and a wide-mouthed, if somewhat awkwardly accessed, trunk.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

LOWS: Broiling under glass, body squeaks and creaks, work-in-progress infotainment software.

Missteps are few, but they include a wireless charging pad that could accommodate an iPhone 13 Pro Max only when the phone was inserted caseless and upside down. Similar to the Tesla Model X SUV, the Lucid Air's windshield runs uninterrupted up and over the roof, creating a wide-open view for everyone inside. This type of vehicular showmanship is sure to impress prospective buyers when they first slide behind the wheel, but the wow factor quickly becomes a sweat-on-the-brow factor when the car sits in the sun.

Michael SimariCar and Driver

To match the Air's cutting-edge electric powertrain, Lucid has installed an equally impressive infotainment system, but its software is still a work in progress. The curved 34.0-inch display and onscreen graphics give the interface a high-end look, but the software occasionally lags, and accessing simple features sometimes requires wading through submenus. Lucid assures us that enhancements are on the way via over-the-air updates and says that as many as 17 updates have already been pushed out to customer cars since the Air's launch. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are on the list to be added to the infotainment system but haven't yet been enabled. The unfinished nature of the infotainment software combined with some body creaks and squeaks remind us that this is an early-build car from a brand-new automaker.

Still, as a first stab at luxury EV motoring, the Lucid Air is a mighty impressive piece with many traits both car enthusiasts and technology aficionados will appreciate. Lucid, for the most part, has avoided the temptation of stunt engineering and instead focused on creating a groundbreaking electric car with excellence rooted in performance and efficiency.

Specifications

2022 Lucid Air Grand TouringVehicle Type: front- and mid-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICEBase/As Tested: $140,500/$140,500 Options: none

POWERTRAINFront Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC Rear Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC Combined Power: 819 hpCombined Torque: 885 lb-ftBattery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 112.0 kWhOnboard Charger: 19.2 kWTransmissions, F/R: direct-drives

CHASSISSuspension, F/R: multilink/multilinkBrakes, F/R: 15.0-in vented disc/14.8-in vented discTires: Pirelli P Zero All Season Elect245/45R-19 102Y M+S LM1

DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 116.5 inLength: 195.9 inWidth: 76.2 inHeight: 55.4 inPassenger Volume: 103 ft3Cargo Volume: 32 ft3Curb Weight: 5212 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 3.0 sec100 mph: 6.0 sec130 mph: 10.3 sec1/4-Mile: 10.7 sec @ 132 mph150 mph: 14.3 secResults above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.2 sec.Rolling Start, 560 mph: 3.7 secTop Gear, 3050 mph: 1.6 secTop Gear, 5070 mph: 2.1 secTop Speed (gov ltd): 173 mphBraking, 700 mph: 193 ftBraking, 1000 mph: 385 ftRoadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.82 g

C/D FUEL ECONOMYObserved: 82 MPGe75-mph Highway Range: 410 mi

EPA FUEL ECONOMYCombined/City/Highway: 131/130/132 MPGeRange: 516 mi

C/D TESTING EXPLAINED

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Tested: 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Dazzles with Clever Design and Inspired Engineering - Car and Driver

Engineering | UW Notebook

July 14, 2022

Denise Wilson, a University of Washington professor of electrical and computer engineering, and her colleague Jennifer VanAntwerp of Calvin University are co-authors of Sex, Gender, and Engineering: Harassment at Work and in School. Wilson will teach a course to go along with the book next spring.Dennis Wise/University of Washington

Denise Wilson, a University of Washington professor of electrical and computer engineering, has experienced sexual harassment and assault in the male-dominated field of engineering.

In her early days as an undergraduate, she was expected to meet male students sexual needs. In graduate school, she was subjected to sexist comments, and in her academic and industry career, she faced inappropriate physical contact in the field and at academic conferences.

I thought things had changed, Wilson said. But then I still hear similar stories from women today.

Wilson is working to end the prevalence of sexual harassment in engineering. She and her colleague Jennifer VanAntwerp of Calvin University are co-authors of Sex, Gender, and Engineering: Harassment at Work and in School, published in April by Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

In addition, Wilson will be teaching a department-level class, EE397, to go along with the book in spring 2023.

There are huge holes to understanding whats going on in the workplace, Wilson said. The book and the course are about raising student awareness and helping them understand how to strategize toward a better work environment no matter where they are on the totem pole.

The book starts by setting the groundwork for why sexual harassment is wrong, describing its legal aspects and the harmful effects on victims. It then examines the groups impacted and what harassment looks like in the university and the workplace, before moving on to contemporary factors, such as COVID-19, U.S. presidents, and social movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter. It concludes by looking at solutions for tackling harassment, with a focus on civility training and other strategies that positively motivate people to do better and intervene if they see harassment occur.

This book isnt a traditional textbook. It uses anecdotes to help connect students with the experience of sexual harassment.

In the culture of engineering, theres a lot of pressure to not speak about difficulty, Wilson said. If youre a good engineer and youre underrepresented, you tough it out. How do we overcome that? I think its only by talking about it and by telling stories, along with the data.

Wilson said there is an unwritten rule about harassment in engineering to just shut up and deal with it. This message is conveyed not only by the male-dominant majority but also by those who have advanced in the field while quietly enduring abuse. This tendency to keep things quiet explains why things havent changed, even as gender representation in engineering has diversified, she said.

Karen Thomas-Brown, the associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion in the UW College of Engineering, said Wilsons and VanAntwerps book is effective for undergraduate students who may have never experienced harassment or heard about the law. Students are going to be able to say, Oh, so this is not just a bunch of women saying you shouldnt do this to us. There are laws.

Thomas-Brown who, as the lead of the colleges Office of Inclusive Excellence, plans to use a deliberate, data-driven approach to create change top-down and inside-out is creating a suite of required college-level DEI courses, including a general course on diversity in society, a course on race, and a course on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in engineering.

A fourth course on sex, gender and harassment, paired with Wilsons and VanAntwerps book will be added to the suite. Next springs department-level course will serve as a pilot, assessing what holes there might be in the book or course before rolling it out to the entire college.

Wilson is hopeful about the potential for change in engineering.

Most people I know in this field they want a good culture, she said. Theres a lot of kindness in engineering that is often hidden under our norms and our image. And I think that we should capitalize on that kindness and concern for society to build a better future internally.

She wants to create the change for her field that shes undergone herself. Wilson has come a long way from the young woman who kept quiet about the harassment she experienced.

I cannot emphasize enough how Ive changed in the process of writing this book, she said. Its much harder to shut me up. Im much more outspoken. I am more willing to be culturally uncomfortable. I learned the only way Im going to do my best and contribute to change is just to be who I am and speak. I have learned to keep speaking even when theres silence on the other end.

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UW professor's new book and course on sexual harassment in engineering seek to disrupt culture of silence - University of Washington

Seven University of Central Florida graduate students are currently interning at Adobe and 3M, among other leading employers thanks to fellowships supported by the National Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering Fellowship (GEM) program.

The GEM program began in 1976. The public-private partnership aims to connect students from underrepresented groups with the nations top employers and universities. Those selected receive a $16,000 fellowship from the GEM Consortium, a paid summer internship, and a tuition remission for a masters or doctoral program of their choice. The national program is highly competitive and enables students to be placed in coveted internships with some of the nations industry leaders in STEM.

UCF has been a partner university for more than 20 years. The GEM program is one of several supporting students of color at UCF, a Hispanic Serving Institution.

This years UCF GEM Fellows are:

Novia Berriel 21MS

Currently a researcher in associate professor of materials science Parag Banerjees lab, Novia Berriel will continue her education as a doctoral fellow in materials science. She originally came to UCF because of the so-called two-body problem the need for two professional spouses to find suitable placements in the same area but has since fallen in love with everything the university has to offer.

UCF is at the cutting edge of everything, she says. And being a Hispanic woman, I appreciate that its an HSI.

Berriel earned her masters in physics at UCF in 2021. Since she began the degree in 2018, she has been working to explore atomic layer deposition of thin films. In this capacity, shes been able to engage with different disciplines by producing the films needed for a variety of devices.

The opportunity to be interdisciplinary in your everyday life is one of her favorite aspects of the materials science department at UCF.

You can collaboratively interface with so many other labs, Berriel says. I work in Research Building I, which houses faculty and labs from many different departments. So, Ive been able to meet experts in different disciplines by just walking around.

As a GEM fellow and intern for Lam Research, she hopes to build expertise in semiconductor development and solar cells, while making the most of the chance to research freely, meet other Fellows and embrace interdisciplinary collaboration.

Jeffrey Chan-Santiago

Drawn to UCFs state-of-the-art research at the intersection of computer vision, machine learning and robotics, Jeffrey Chan-Santiago knew it would be the best place to earn his doctorate in computer science.

He already has experience applying self-supervised models to monitor and identify honeybees in their natural habitat, modify architectural plans and more through work he conducts at the University of Puerto Rico, Ro Piedras. He earned a bachelors degree in computer science from the university and is currently completing his masters degree in applied mathematics.

He is also an intern at Raytheon for the summer. There and at UCF, he hopes to enable robots to learn more efficiently and safely.

He says he is grateful to be at one of the first steps of a lifelong career in research, and he plans to become a professor, ideally in Puerto Rico, and help motivate students toward research careers in STEM.

Joseph Green

As a GEM fellow at UCF and an intern for Adobe, Joseph Green hopes to broaden his every horizon.

He received his bachelors degree in computer science in 2020 at Auburn University, and says he is eager to make the transition to highly populated Orlando, which has attractions like Walt Disney World.

Green credits his participation in the GEM Fellowship program to encouragement he received as part of a learning community at Auburn. He says he looks forward to joining similarly supportive communities at UCF. This will be his first time living in an area he doesnt know, but Green says he already knows he will have a great time experiencing a new schools culture.

In the process, he says he will be able to see all the variety his field has to offer.

During his masters program in computer science, he plans to make the most of the opportunity to pursue machine learning, complex networks and other inspiring topics.

Dania Jean-Baptiste

Earning her bachelors degree with honors in computer information systems from Bethune-Cookman University in 2021 made Dania Jean-Baptiste realize how much she enjoyed her field and how much she had left to learn.

To ensure her work would remain at the cutting edge of security standards, Baptiste decided to pursue a masters degree in cybersecurity and privacy. She initially enrolled at Florida A&M University; however, she decided to transfer to another university. Although the transition was difficult, she says having faith helped her continue her path.

So, she applied and was admitted to be a GEM Fellow at UCF. Her fellowship is sponsored by Intel. And this summer, Baptiste is participating in Tech Forward a Salesforce training program that prepares participants from underrepresented groups to earn their certification in network administration.

Baptiste says she looks forward to enriching experiences in research. Her ultimate goal is to learn as much as she can about data analytics, artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Then, she will be able to put her skills to use while giving back to her community.

Andrea Molina Moreno 22 After building a foundation in the different areas of STEM, Andrea Molina Moreno decided to focus on materials engineering.

She says that it has a uniquely broad scope. You can work with anything you choose, since almost everything is material.

Moreno came upon this decision in the midst of several transitions: immigrating from Caracas, Venezuela, transferring from Simn Bolvar University, and graduating among UCFs first cohort of bachelors materials science students.

With the GEM fellowship, she will pursue a doctoral degree in materials science. This summer, she is gaining experience in industry by interning at 3M in Minneapolis. As she continues her education, Moreno most looks forward to serving as a role model for fellow Hispanic female engineers.

What has motivated her so far is the desire to gather as much knowledge as she possibly can. She shares that Ive been studying for so much of my life, and its what I really enjoy doing learning more and more.

Jason Ortiz

The COVID-19 pandemic gave Jason Ortiz an opportunity to pause and think back to some of his original passions.

In 2021, he had already spent three years working as a software engineer at Microsoft in Seattle, where he enjoyed the opportunity to tackle exciting problems in cloud-computing. Still, he had always hoped to further explore 3D applications. Extended reality (XR) encompassing the spectrum of virtual, mixed and augmented reality applications particularly stood out to him.

He says he realized that the fields potential is outstanding. It can address a lot of problems related to isolation, by helping people work in novel ways while still feeling a sense of togetherness. So, he did a bit of research in his downtime.

Thats when Ortiz discovered the pioneering work of UCF Engineering Professor Carolina Cruz-Neira. Even better, Cruz-Neira was teaching in Orlando, his hometown. The GEM Fellowship offered a way to return for his doctorate.

He jumped at the chance. Currently an intern at Argonne National Laboratory, Ortiz will begin as a student at UCF in the fall. He most looks forward to conducting innovative research on collaborative XR and building the teaching skills he began developing as an undergraduate teaching assistant. He is also eager to be the first in his family with a doctorate and hopes to encourage fellow Puerto Ricans to pursue higher education.

Kiaria Tucker

After years of watching crime shows and pointing out technicians as the real heroes, Kiaria Tucker found it easy to decide on a career path.

She remembers that the detectives never actually held my interest. The technicians were the ones who could say This is what happened. This is what the evidence shows. Its thanks to the technicians that they had the evidence they needed to do anything.

Forensic science offered the opportunity for excitement and a tangible impact. So, Tucker received her bachelors degree in chemistry with a forensic concentration from Talladega College. While there, she participated in the McNair Scholars Program, where a mentor encouraged her to apply to the GEM fellowship.

Since her acceptance, Tucker has explored microbiological chemistry research as an intern for Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Knoxville, Tennessee. This fall, she will begin as a thesis-seeking doctoral student in chemistry at UCF. Tucker says she looks forward to earning the skills and certifications that will make her a valuable member of a forensic team. She says from everything shes seen so far, the field still never fails to excite her.

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Engineering Graduate Fellows Get Hands-on Experience with National Industry Leaders - UCF