Ryan Lagoy

Intercepting Quad-Copter Spread Spectrum Communications

UMass Amherst ECE 697KK Final Project

While commercial quad-copters may be enjoyable to fly, they are by no means secure. RF signals from one of the best-selling quad-copters on Amazon.com can be intercepted by a more sensitive and powerful external transceiver (such as the HackRF), as was shown by completing this project.

To show that the Hubsan communication link is not particularly secure, this project explored spread spectrum technology and the frequency shift keying modulation scheme used in the Hubsan communication system design. To understand how the system worked, the devices were disassembled so as to view the hardware components for further analysis. The link between the Hubsan controller and the quad was analyzed to show that the maximum range is approximately 198.47m with the performance specifications of the A7105 chip and meander antenna. Next, the HackRF One was analyzed for its receiver performance. It was shown that the HackRF has a roughly 4dB less noise figure, allowing it to receive the FSK signal at a much further range than the A7105 chip. Lastly, a digital receiver was implemented to demodulate and decode the incoming RF I and Q data stream from the HackRF.

Want to read more? You can download the report here.

• Date: Spring 2016
• Category: RF Engineering

Close Project

Website and Graphic Design

FIRST Robotics and Volunteer Website Design

I am interested in learning new things, and applying new knowledge and creativity to my personal projects. I was not formally trained in website design or graphic design, but thought it'd be cool to develop sleek websites, online applications and infographics, so I gave it a try. This widget shows a subset of some of my work relating to my involvement with BAE System's philanthropic outreach in STEM via FIRST Robotics.

Above are some screenshots of a grant application website that I fully designed, implemented, and have maintained for close to 4 years. I built the site with the Laravel framework which uses the Model, View and Controller (MVC) paradigm.

I also wanted to create a infographic to share BAE System's support for FIRST, so I created the diagram above too!

• Date: 2014-Present
• Category: Website Design

Close Project

Microarray Calibration Device For Improved Medical Diagnostics

Boston University Senior Design Project

Fluorescence based testing in microarrays is a viable and efficient method of detecting target proteins, allergens, or diseases with only microliters of sample. Currently, cost-effective fluorescence testing can give no more than a qualitative diagnosis: yes, the target exists, or no, it does not. In most experiments, the probe density of the microarray spots is assumed, and these assumptions are not always accurate. Without knowing the probe density, the efficiency of target-probe binding cannot be quantified from fluorescence measurements alone. The task of this project is to build a microarray calibration system, which includes assembling an Interferometric Reflectance Imaging Sensor (IRIS), fabricating compatible microarray slides, and composing robust software for automated data acquisition and analysis of the microarrays. The development of this system will enable laboratories and clinics to test samples quickly for rapid diagnoses, as well as accelerate the pace of diagnostics research.

I lead the team on the software component of the project. My focus was to design software that would integrate the hardware components together, and perform the computation needed to increase the accuracy of diagnostics. In this process, I took advantage of the parallelizability of the algorithm and implemented it for use on an Nvidia GPU. I also developed a spot detection algorithm that incorporated histogram equalization, background subtraction, and Hough transforms within the Emgu computer vision library. Team members include Allison Marn, Sasha Gazman, and Jyotsna Singh.

Want to read more? You can download the report here.

• Date: Spring 2016
• Category: RF Engineering

Close Project

Transient Electric Field Simulation to Understand Nanoparticle Injection Via Electroporation

Electromagnetics II Project

Nanoparticle injection via electroporation has the potential of being a popular transdermal drug delivery method of the future. Many benefits include lessening the risk for infection, efficient bodily activation of the medicine, and rapid delivery. This method may play a significant role on the battlefield to fighting full-scale epidemics in record times. It is with electromagnetic theory combined with biological understanding that could revolutionize medicinal delivery in the near future. The purpose of this research was to model the electric field in the layers of skin to examine its behavior, discover the transient behavior of the surface charge density on the boundaries between the different layers of skin, and to determine the appropriate time scale in which it takes the system takes to reach its steady state condition.

I was the elecromagnetics analysis lead on this phase of the project. I created the MATLAB numerical models to characterize various electrode geometries using techniques such as the charge simulation method, electromagnetic boundary conditions, image charge theory, Maxwell's equations, etc. I verified my numerical model with an analytical model for two materials with different conductivities and permitivities, known as Maxwell's capacitor. The principle investigatior on this project was Professor Mark Horenstein, and the PHD student was Cassandra Brown.

Want to read more? You can download the report here.

• Date: Spring 2012
• Category: RF Engineering

Close Project

125kHz Low Frequency Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Reader

Analog Electronics Project

RFID readers, also called RFID interrogators, use radio frequency waves to interrogate a tag and receive a resonating frequency that is then interpreted as a binary code. The wireless, non-contact, use of electromagnetic fields to transfer data for the purpose of identifying tags attached to objects (EX: automobile, pet, BU) is quite useful knowledge for developing engineers. Another interesting fact is that the RFID tag does not need to be in the line of sight of the reader, which means that the tags can be inserted inside of objects. Battery powered tags may operate at hundreds of meters, but the tag we are using has no battery. Tags without a source of power are called passive tags. Our quest began with a coil a wire, a few capacitors and resistors, and a RFID tag ordered online from www.DIGI-key.com. In the end, we had developed a 125 kHz Low Frequency RFID reader that is capable of reading various passive RFID tags and the passive tags can be interpreted by a microcontroller with a clock output of 125 kHz.

My role in the project was to develop a radio frequency reciever using basic electrical components (capacitors, resistors, inductors, and operational amplifiers). To capture the amplitude modulated signal, an enveloping diode was used. Because of such low frequency signals, no frequency mixing was required; however a careful eye for filter properties was needed to elimintate the carrier wave signal component. I worked with Sasha Gazman and Gavin Rottman to design, simulate, build, and modify the design so that the baseband signal could be inserted into a microprocessor.

Want to read more? You can download the report here.

• Date: Spring 2013
• Category: RF Engineering

Close Project

Custom Wooden Stand-up Paddleboard

Personal Passion Project

Surfing is a passion I share with my family and friends. My main surf break is in Rye, New Hampshire (yes, there are waves), but I've been to many interesting places to try to catch the ultimate wave. I started surfing when I was 14 on a 9'4" BIC longboard, and although I still use this board often, I slowly progressed to shorter boards. While I was surfing about 5 years ago, I noticed someone standing up on a board in flat water with a paddle in his hand. I was fascinated by this board, and so I did a little Google search to learn about what is now known as stand-up paddleboarding. I wanted to try it, but couldn't afford it, so I decided to make one for myself.

This project started as a high school senior project, and had lasted several years. I first developed the standup paddleboard design in Solidworks, a computer aided design tool. I worked with my father, who mentored me throughout the project. He taught me woodworking techniques, and after working on this project, I feel that I became proficient in making things out of wood.

• Date: 2010-Present
• Category: Surfing

Close Project