Elektroingenjör på Utexpo

Design and Hardware Architecture of a Modular Expansion Gateway for Industrial Applications

• Participants: Feisal Karimi and Bashir Engman.
• Collaboration partner: HMS.

The project focuses on developing a modular expansion gateway for industrial applications based on the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5. The objective is to create a compact, flexible hardware platform for industrial edge systems that integrates data processing, communication, and power distribution into a single solution.

The work includes the design and implementation of a custom 6-layer printed circuit board (PCB) featuring a 24 V (volt) input stage, regulated 5 V and 3.3 V power rails, and a boost converter generating approximately 54 V for Power over Ethernet (PoE). The platform also supports modular expansion through a board-to-board connector and provides interfaces such as I2C, SPI, UART and Arduino-compatible connections.

During the project, the PCB was designed in KiCad, manufactured and experimentally validated. The results confirmed stable voltage regulation, successful PoE power delivery to external devices, and reliable communication with connected peripherals. The project demonstrates how a modular and industrial-oriented gateway platform can be developed for future Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and edge computing applications.

Development of a Software Defined Radio Platform for Drone RC Link Neutralisation

• Participant: Adam Alshami.
  
• Collaborator: Swedish Armed Forces Technical School (FMTS).

This degree project focuses on the development of an SDR-based anti-drone system for neutralising drone RC communication in the 2.4 GHz (gigahertz) ISM band. The system was built using a HackRF One, an external power amplifier and a custom-designed high-gain Yagi-Uda antenna.

Different jamming techniques, including barrage, sweep, and frequency hopping, were implemented and tested. The antenna was designed, simulated, optimised and verified through practical measurements and field tests.

The final system disrupted the drone’s video and RC communication links at distances up to 100 meters, demonstrating a practical and cost-effective SDR-based anti-drone solution.

Feasibility Of An Automated NearField Scanner Approach

• Participants: Max Torbjörnsson and Izzat Makki.
• Collaboration partner: Axis Communications AB.
  

The results from EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) test chambers indicate whether a product is approved or not, and at what frequencies the regulatory limit has been exceeded – but not where the emission originates. Troubleshooting with near-field probes and a spectrum analyser by hand is inconsistent and time-consuming. By automating the process and generating consistent visual results, the search for the source of the error is simplified. A repurposed 3D printer, along with a spectrum analyser and near-field probes, is used to conduct the measurement. The measured data is displayed as a heat map over the measured area, along with an Excel and CSV file containing the stored coordinates, signal amplitudes, and frequencies used to generate the heat map. The prototype’s main purpose is to facilitate troubleshooting of a failed device to reduce the number of chamber tests.

Pedagogical DC–DC Buck Converter Design and Analysis

• Participant: Musstafa tanash.
  

This degree project focuses on the design and analysis of a pedagogical DC–DC (Direct Current) buck converter demonstrator. A buck converter converts a higher DC voltage to a lower DC voltage with high efficiency. However, the fast switching action can also create conducted electromagnetic interference, EMI, which may affect nearby electronics.

The project investigates how different input filters and output capacitor/filter networks affect three important design factors: conducted EMI, output-voltage ripple and efficiency. The work was carried out as a simulation-based comparative study, where all cases were tested using the same operating point and the same LISN-based (Line Impedance Stabilization Network) observation method. The results showed that input-side filtering had the largest effect on the dominant conducted-noise path, because it acts directly on the pulsed input current. The output-side networks mainly affected ripple, resonance behaviour, and selected high-frequency peaks.

The conclusion is that the demonstrator should not be based on one fixed filter solution. Instead, a configurable design is recommended, allowing different input and output filter options to be tested with jumpers. This makes the demonstrator useful for demonstrating practical trade-offs among EMI, ripple, efficiency, damping, and resonance in power electronics.

Raspberry Pi 5 Battery HAT for Hardware-Autonomous Backup Power

• Deltagare: Tomas Albashki.
• Samarbetspartner: HMS.

När strömmen försvinner fortsätter systemet! Det här projektet handlar om ett smart, hårdvaruautonomt backup-kort för Raspberry Pi 5 som automatiskt växlar mellan extern USB-C-ström och ett 2S-litiumjonbatteri. HAT:en är designad för att hålla igång Pi:n utan att förlita sig på mjukvara, med skydd mot överström, underspänning och hög temperatur. Projektet kombinerar teknik, robust design och användarvänlighet – perfekt för IoT-applikationer, labbexperiment eller industriella miljöer. Besök montern för att se hur hårdvara kan hålla din Pi vid liv och upptäck hur enkelt det är att ge din Raspberry Pi trygg reservkraft!

Remote Current Monitoring of Wind Turbines Using Existing Telldus Infrastructure

• Participant: Mohammed Hayder Yousif Yousif.
  

This project involves developing a low-cost retrofit system for real-time monitoring of older wind turbines. By utilising a non-invasive current transformer and an ESP32 microcontroller, the system measures RMS current and converts it into a digital resistance value via a digital potentiometer (MCP4131).

This approach allows the data to be emulated as temperature values, enabling the existing Telldus infrastructure to process and transmit the information wirelessly. The solution provides a stable remote monitoring method without requiring expensive infrastructure replacements, achieving a functional monitoring system at very low hardware cost.

RESET Air Standard Adhering PM2.5 Sensor System Power Optimisation

• Deltagare: Soren Smink och Petter Johansson.
• Samarbetspartner: Lansen Systems AB.

Människors hälsa blir en allt viktigare faktor i dagens samhälle. RESET Air Standard Grade B ställer krav på mätning av partikelhalter i luften. Det här examensarbetet undersöker möjligheten att utveckla ett kompakt PM2.5-sensorsystem drivet av två ER18505-celler, som kan uppfylla kraven samtidigt som en batteritid på fem år uppnås. Projektet fokuserade på mätning av PM2.5 och generering av luftflöde. Ett open source-baserat PM2.5-mätsystem från Texas Instruments implementerades med hjälp av mikrokontrollern AVR128DB48. Sensorn Bosch BMV080 utvärderades också, men krävde ett förkompilerat programbibliotek med cirka 27 kB RAM-användning, vilket överskred de 16 kB SRAM som var tillgängliga. Flera metoder för att generera luftflöde utvärderades, däribland en DC-fläkt och piezoelektriska mikroblowers. DC-fläkten genererade ett tillräckligt luftflöde men förbrukade cirka 0,30 J per sekund under drift, vilket överskred den tillgängliga energibudgeten. En drivkrets för en piezoelektrisk mikropump konstruerades och simulerades för att förbruka cirka 2,9 mW, men det genererade luftflödet var otillräckligt. Mätsystemet detekterade partikelhalter mellan 240 och 470 μg/m³, men krävde ytterligare kalibrering och signalbehandling för att uppfylla RESET Grade B. Under de testade implementationerna uppfyllde varken luftflödesgenereringen eller PM2.5-mätningen kraven för RESET Grade B eller målet om fem års batteritid.