Tennessee State University News November 29, 2010 Engineering Professor, Students Utilize Artificial Intelligence to Build Better Aircraft Sensors<http://tnstatenewsroom.com/2010/11/engineering-professor-students-utilize-artificial-intelligence-to-build-better-aircraft-sensors/> In the midst of a crisis, airplane passengers count on pilots to be well prepared and well informed about issues when they arise. Pilots themselves count on an intricate network of sensors that alert them when something goes wrong and regular maintenance between flights. Fortunately, TSU electrical engineering faculty and students are developing new technology that will help ensure that aircraft pilots are not only alerted by the sensors, but also are continually updated with real-time information that even suggests courses of action and commands for overcoming the temporary conditions. With funding from the Air Force Research Lab at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, Dr. Mohamed Zein-Sabatto, professor of electrical engineering, is leading a research team of three undergraduate students and three graduate students. "Right now, there are no guarantees that during the flight the pilot will be able to accurately respond to crises and make sound decisions. Our research project will help determine how a particular mechanical failure happens and then decide what the pilot's options are in avoiding a crash," Zein-Sabatto said. The group is using artificial intelligence and fuzzy logic to make real-time assessments of what is going on in the skies and to develop planned courses of action to accommodate temporary mechanical failure during a crisis. Zein-Sabatto's research is comprised of work on two distinctive features of modern aircrafts - the airframe, including the fuel tanks and wings; and the propulsion chamber, including the engine. Ideally, the team's work will improve sensors that monitor structural health, fuel flow control and the propulsion chambers on both sides of an aircraft. Using turbine engine simulation software donated to TSU by NASA and the Air Force Research Lab, Zein-Sabatto's group has been collecting data under a number of conditions to process and analyze how failures occur, identify particular patterns, and, at a secondary level, decide what to do based on how human beings think. The funding enables Zein-Sabatto to compensate student researchers and students are able to use their work for capstone and thesis projects. "Working on this project has helped me expand on the knowledge I learned in my controls class and get familiar with more advanced software and control systems," said Frederick Northern, a senior electrical engineering major from Nashville, who plans to graduate this December. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.