This document summarizes an interview with Jerry Sommerville, an electronics expert and faculty member at Westwood College. It discusses his early interest in engineering as a child, his educational background and career working on projects for NASA, the F-18 Super Hornet, and developing a sensor solution for aerial refueling. It also outlines his current work on a laser guided robot patent and advice for students to think broadly about emerging technologies and entrepreneurship.
Real Time Robot Control System Software Description_3Jerry Sommerville
This paper distinguishes between batch mode operations of conventional industrial robots and real-time robot operations that the laser positioning system affords. It introduces the Flexbot, a sub-scale experimental robot for desk top demonstrations, and it introduces a "virtual reality" motion control technique that allows a user to interact with a "virtual robot" on the computer screen to perform real-time robot motion control of the Flexbot.
Abstract
The number of internet-of-things (IoT) connected devices is increasing daily, providing new opportunities for information access and interactivity. This talk will focus on work developing low-cost, IoT systems for social good using a user-centered design approach with a focus on applications in the built environment. We will discuss how such systems can empower end-users through access to new information, provide services that alleviate their daily challenges, and discuss future directions for these increasingly ubiquitous technologies.
Bio:
Matthew Louis Mauriello is a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, where he was advised by Jon E. Froehlich, and an M.S./B.S. in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the State University of New York at Albany. His research in the area of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) focuses on applying user-centered design and computer science techniques to social good problems, emphasizing those facing our health, education, environmental, and computing systems. His work has been published in top-tier venues for HCI and Ubiquitous Computing with several receiving awards for being in the top 5% of submissions at venues including the international SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)—the premier venue for HCI research.
Testing Hyper-Complex Systems: What Can We Know? What Can We Claim?TechWell
Throughout history, people have built systems of dramatically increasing complexity. In simpler systems, defects at the micro level are mitigated by the macro level structure. In complex systems, failures at the micro level cannot be compensated for at a higher level, often with catastrophic results. Lee Copeland says that we are building hyper-complex computer systems—so complex that faults can create totally unpredictable behaviors. For example, systems based on the service-oriented architecture (SOA) model can be dynamically composed of reusable services of unknown quality, created by multiple organizations, and communicating through many technologies across the unpredictable Internet. Lee explains that claims about quality require knowledge of test “coverage,” which is an unknowable quantity in hyper-complex systems. Join Lee for a look at your testing future as he describes new approaches needed to measure test coverage in these hyper-complex systems and lead your organization to better quality—despite the challenges.
Esta es la presentación del Dr. Félix Alberto Soto Toro, Ingeniero de Diseño Eléctrico de la División de Análisis y Sistemas Avanzados de la NASA Kennedy Space Center, ofrecida en el Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR) el martes, 7 de octubre de 2014.
Real Time Robot Control System Software Description_3Jerry Sommerville
This paper distinguishes between batch mode operations of conventional industrial robots and real-time robot operations that the laser positioning system affords. It introduces the Flexbot, a sub-scale experimental robot for desk top demonstrations, and it introduces a "virtual reality" motion control technique that allows a user to interact with a "virtual robot" on the computer screen to perform real-time robot motion control of the Flexbot.
Abstract
The number of internet-of-things (IoT) connected devices is increasing daily, providing new opportunities for information access and interactivity. This talk will focus on work developing low-cost, IoT systems for social good using a user-centered design approach with a focus on applications in the built environment. We will discuss how such systems can empower end-users through access to new information, provide services that alleviate their daily challenges, and discuss future directions for these increasingly ubiquitous technologies.
Bio:
Matthew Louis Mauriello is a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, where he was advised by Jon E. Froehlich, and an M.S./B.S. in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the State University of New York at Albany. His research in the area of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) focuses on applying user-centered design and computer science techniques to social good problems, emphasizing those facing our health, education, environmental, and computing systems. His work has been published in top-tier venues for HCI and Ubiquitous Computing with several receiving awards for being in the top 5% of submissions at venues including the international SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)—the premier venue for HCI research.
Testing Hyper-Complex Systems: What Can We Know? What Can We Claim?TechWell
Throughout history, people have built systems of dramatically increasing complexity. In simpler systems, defects at the micro level are mitigated by the macro level structure. In complex systems, failures at the micro level cannot be compensated for at a higher level, often with catastrophic results. Lee Copeland says that we are building hyper-complex computer systems—so complex that faults can create totally unpredictable behaviors. For example, systems based on the service-oriented architecture (SOA) model can be dynamically composed of reusable services of unknown quality, created by multiple organizations, and communicating through many technologies across the unpredictable Internet. Lee explains that claims about quality require knowledge of test “coverage,” which is an unknowable quantity in hyper-complex systems. Join Lee for a look at your testing future as he describes new approaches needed to measure test coverage in these hyper-complex systems and lead your organization to better quality—despite the challenges.
Esta es la presentación del Dr. Félix Alberto Soto Toro, Ingeniero de Diseño Eléctrico de la División de Análisis y Sistemas Avanzados de la NASA Kennedy Space Center, ofrecida en el Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR) el martes, 7 de octubre de 2014.
Students learn about the Bernoulli Effect.
Students practice the engineering process testing paper airplanes and gaining concrete evidence about fight and design.
Engineers play critical roles in astronomy, from building telescopes, to designing scientific instruments, to operating observatories. Working together, engineers and scientists answer fundamental questions about our universe. In this session, you'll hear from women engineers making contributions to astronomy by developing a new high resolution optical spectrograph, adapting telescope control software for remote operations, architecting document management and managing critical systems for the next generation of telescopes. You will learn about the different engineering disciplines involved in astronomy, key concepts and technologies shaping astronomy today, and how to find job opportunities in astronomy as an engineer.
Strategic Renewable Energy Planning on Campus
Part of a workshop presented by Mieko A Ozeki, University of Vermont
This workshop will share lessons learned from two public institutions, University of Connecticut and the University of Vermont, that carried out comprehensive renewable energy feasibility studies and renewable energy plans on their respective campuses. Participants will break up into small groups to brainstorm ideas to implement a renewable energy and microgrid plan, and mindmap how these ideas can be tied to research, co-curricular education activities, green job opportunities, operations, and climate action planning on their respective campuses.
Students learn about the Bernoulli Effect.
Students practice the engineering process testing paper airplanes and gaining concrete evidence about fight and design.
Engineers play critical roles in astronomy, from building telescopes, to designing scientific instruments, to operating observatories. Working together, engineers and scientists answer fundamental questions about our universe. In this session, you'll hear from women engineers making contributions to astronomy by developing a new high resolution optical spectrograph, adapting telescope control software for remote operations, architecting document management and managing critical systems for the next generation of telescopes. You will learn about the different engineering disciplines involved in astronomy, key concepts and technologies shaping astronomy today, and how to find job opportunities in astronomy as an engineer.
Strategic Renewable Energy Planning on Campus
Part of a workshop presented by Mieko A Ozeki, University of Vermont
This workshop will share lessons learned from two public institutions, University of Connecticut and the University of Vermont, that carried out comprehensive renewable energy feasibility studies and renewable energy plans on their respective campuses. Participants will break up into small groups to brainstorm ideas to implement a renewable energy and microgrid plan, and mindmap how these ideas can be tied to research, co-curricular education activities, green job opportunities, operations, and climate action planning on their respective campuses.
NASA Employee works for Westwood College Electronics Program_2
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• WESTWOOD.EDU
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: ELECTRONICS
EXPERT JERRY SOMMERVILLE
Westwood College • October 15, 2014
2. When Jerry Sommerville was a child he often wondered how the family television and car worked. His
father let him try to fix both whenever they broke down. He quickly realized these machines were made
up of interrelated systems and if he wanted to understand them he couldn’t just focus on one area. This
was the start of Sommerville’s fascination with all types of engineering. Since then he has worked on the
F-18 Super Hornet, NASA’s Deep Space Network and Mars Rover landing tests. Sommerville is also a
faculty member at Westwood College – Inland Empire campus where he shares his expertise with
career-focused students.
Were you curious to take apart the TV or car, as a child, too? Check out Westwood’s Electronics
Technology degree here!
How did you get started in the electronics industry?
Sommerville earned his bachelor of science in engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.
3. “The program encouraged students to gain experience in every area of engineering (mechanical,
structural, electrical) which gave me a very broad understanding of the discipline,” he said.
After graduation he worked as a Project Engineer for TRW in the Ballistic Missile Division of Northrup-
Grumman. Sommerville noticed that between thrust vector actuation systems, igniters and electrostatic
discharge there was an electrical component to most of his projects. When he decided to go back to
school for a master’s degree he made electrical engineering his focus at California State Polytechnic
University-Pomona.
What are some of the accomplishments you’re most proud of in your career?
After earning his degree, Sommerville got a job with Sargent Fletcher, Inc. (now Cobham) a company
contracting with the Department of Defense where he made his mark by developing a solution to a major
problem with the F-18 Super Hornet. The refueling store was located five inches from the landing gear
doors on the plane, creating a large potential hazard. If the fuel hose did not retract properly it could
interfere with proper deployment of the landing gear and cause the pilot to be unable to land on the
aircraft carrier unless he or she severed the hose or jettisoned the refueling store into the ocean. Neither
option was desirable.
Sommerville developed a sensor that determined if the hose reel was stowed properly or not. F-18s with
his technology flew in the Gulf War and significantly increased tactical capabilities for the Navy. His
design was so successful another company called ForceSwitch purchased the technology and still uses it
today.
“I was there when they installed the first sensors and tested the aircraft at a facility in Pax River, Maryland
in March of 1999. They had success in refueling four or five different aircraft. It was quite an event for me
to see my idea come to fruition,” Sommerville said. Visit the Boeing site to see more information about
this milestone of F-18 E/F Aircraft development
He’s also proud of his work with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (where Inland Empire faculty member
Eric Aguilar also works). While there Sommerville worked on a Hydro-Static Transmission that was used
for JPL’s Deep Space Network. He also worked on a project for the Mars Science Lab and positioning
systems for Mars Rover landing tests.
“Instrumentation for testing and data acquisition, those are areas of great value in the engineering field if
you know how to apply them. There’s a conceptual part of engineering where you come up with ideas.
But then you have to verify if that idea really works. That’s where these skills are really valuable,” said
Sommerville.
4. Jerry’s patch that the Navy gave him after their successful qualification of the aerial refueling store at Pax
River Md, in March 1999
Tell us about your project that is currently in review for a patent.
While working on his master’s project titled “An Algorithm of Locomotion for a Quadruped” Sommerville
developed the mathematical theory that was the basis for his Laser Guided Robot Patent Application.
“The idea came from many of my past jobs. Working with rocket propulsion, one of my specialties was
computer programs that simulated performance on missiles. I used this knowledge of physics and
computer programing in my robot project. Later I figured out how to use lasers to measure distance while
working on a robot that could walk over uneven terrain as an extension of my master’s project. This is
where all the pieces come together: software, mechanics (kinematics, dynamics) and electrical controls.
“I brought the laser prototype to Friends & Family Day at Westwood and demonstrated how it can
measure distance accurately up to 30 feet. We measured a poster on back wall with a measuring tape
and the laser. The tape measure said 2 feet, 5 inches. My meter said 2.4125 from 20 feet away. The
reason the comparison is close because it measures spherical coordinates accurately using electronics,”
Sommerville explained.
5. How do you balance this with your responsibilities as a Westwood faculty member?
“A lot of what I’m doing is related to the classes I’m teaching. Because I’ve worked with computers a lot, I
also teach digital electronics classes. I have a prototype mouse-controlled robot hardware that I call the
‘flexbot’ that I encourage students to investigate.”
Check out a video and software demonstration of the laser positioning system here.
Do you have any career advice for our students?
“I encourage them to keep an open mindset. A lot of the students in my classes this term are IT-focused
computer science majors. They see IT as servers, networks and databases. I encourage them to think
more broadly, to think like entrepreneurs. There are up-and-coming services in the industry they could
learn about and start their own businesses. For example, servicing information from submeters that
measure water and power usage. They don’t have to be focused on one particular role or conventional
roles. There are emerging technologies that can take them many different places.”
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About the Author: Westwood College
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