Senior Theses and Projects
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11988/9
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Item Open Access A Brand Strategy & Communication Plan for Theovision International to Raise Funds Through Rebranding & Repositioning of the Organisation(Ashesi University, 2022-05) Atidigah, Daniella; Ofori-Amanfo, Lily; Dickson, PriscillaTheovision International is a faith-based not-for-profit whose mission is to use cutting-edge oral techniques to spread God’s word and love in indigenous languages throughout Africa and beyond. The problem the consulting team presented with was that Theovision struggled to manage and engage its donors. However, an internal and external analysis and a comprehensive needs assessment revealed that Theovision, although it had existed for over 32 years, had low brand awareness and low visibility. This project aims to provide Theovision with a strategy that would allow it to increase the number of donors and turn its one-time donors into recurring ones. After extensive research, a three-step strategy was proposed to solve the challenges faced. The three step strategy included fundraising through partnerships with local churches and corporate institutions, a brand strategy that allows it to target a wider audience and a social media strategy.Item Open Access A cash and token paid entertainment content streaming site(2020) Munyao, Angela MusangiPeople that cannot afford subscription to paid and ad-free media hosting sites always have to deal with random and un-seamless popping up of ads as they browse, while viewing content on free media hosting sites, and mostly, these free media hosting sites lack current content such as recently released movies or songs. The solution proposed in this paper is a cash and token paid entertainment content streaming site with undisruptive ad hosting. In this site, users can access up to date content (songs, movies, comedy clips, and TV Shows), all they need to do is pay for the content in tokens, and they obtain the tokens by either converting their cash into tokens, or by watching ads hosted on a specified page within the site (Users can make a choice to visit this ads page or not, and hence do not incur random popping up of ads while browsing). The aim of the solution is to accommodate users that cannot afford money-paid media hosting sites but desire to watch up to date content with minimum or no disruption from ads, and it achieves so by creating a fair playing field between ad-owners and content viewers by sharing some of the revenue generated from hosting ads with the ad-viewers.Item Open Access A credit scoring system for mobile money users: A case study of Berekuso, Ghana(2020) Melly, Viola CheptanuiAn estimated five billion people in the world own a mobile phone [11]. Among these people, an estimated four hundred and fifty-six million people are from Africa, with eight million people being from Ghana [11]. The high number of mobile phone owners shows the importance attached to the use of mobile phones. The curiosity and the availability of resources to develop new applications have led developers to come up with new and innovative ways that go beyond the primary intention for which the phone was created: communicating with one another. One such innovation is the development of mobile money services [17]. This research seeks to find out how effective a credit scoring system would be in addressing the non-payment of loans by the customers of service providers. It proposes an online platform that provides users with financially related information and a credit scoring system that can help both lenders and borrowers check the creditworthiness of an individual before they get access to loans.Item Open Access A customized mobile health appointment booking application for Gamma Health Consult Limited, Ghana(2021-05) Dewortor, YvonneAccording to research undertaken by Gamma Health Center (GHC), the geriatric (elderly) most at times become a burden for most working families as they must be catered for and sent to the hospital for regular routine checks, especially in situations where they have special health concerns. It becomes more challenging for such working guardians who may have to spend virtually all day or most of their working hours at the hospital with their elderly relatives for just a routine medical check-up. With the advancement in medical care and technology, and especially with a shift to preventive medicine, the geriatric population is expected to increase and with most families becoming a part of the working-class society, this will pose a serious problem in the society and the health sector as well. This project seeks to solve this problem by developing a web and mobile application for doctors and guardians or caretakers of geriatrics to help save their time by allowing them to schedule appointments for the routine checkup of their geriatric relatives.Item Open Access A data management platform and bulk SMS program for the Ritzz Exclusive Guest House(2020) Hijazi, MohamedBusinesses are using technology to gain a competitive advantage over players in their respective industries. The Ritzz Exclusive Guest House, a hospitality business in Ghana, needed an application that would integrate into its existing processes and enable it to communicate with their Ghanaian based clients to increase customer loyalty. This project proposes a two-in-one application, Bulker. The proposed solution will enable the guest house to send text messages to its local clients and allow them to receive responses in a cost-effective and user-friendly way.Item Open Access A descriptive study on the application of project management tools in organizations in Ghana(2020) Gyapong, Yaa KorangThe introduction of project management tool into firms have catalyzed tremendous increases in the success rates of projects worldwide. The six key processes; Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring, Controlling and Closing, that ensure the effective implementation of all projects have proven time and again to be one of the best guidelines in achieving this feat. Over time, various groups have postulated theories and developed tools that aim to ensure the effective execution of each of these six stages. These tools advanced efficiencies in completing projects, maximize limited resources such as time, human and capital resources, as well as gain a high reputation and standings in society for completing projects [5]. Although these tools in isolation have aided project managers in successfully meeting the triple constraints of time, scope and quality, there still begs a need to push for the practice and use of project management tools in a more deliberate way, that will guide agile project managing companies to achieve their goals. In Ghana today, there is a grave lacking in project management professionalism which has heavily impacted the way projects are executed and managed. McKinsey Digital suggests project cost overruns of about 45% with 56% less value output than expected in large IT firms across the world [1]. This study aims at exploring other implications of and various benefits associated with the use of project management tools in Ghana. I believe that there needs to be a holistic understanding of and presentation of these tools in a manner that best suits the Ghanaian context and culture to ensure that projects are executed professionally. Furthermore I aim at developing a model framework of a holistic project management tool that addresses and guides the six key stages of a project to achieve project success and reduce the level of project failure in Ghana.Item Open Access A drone-facilitated disaster response system with first aid delivery: Intelligent healthcare(2022-05) Oyan, Ofeoritselaju JacintaThe use of drones has become prevalent, especially for big tech companies like Google, Amazon, DHL and so on. It is now becoming the future form of delivery services. In sub- Saharan countries that are developing, UAVs can be used to deliver certain products to parts of the country that vehicles cannot operate or for faster, uninterrupted delivery. Building a system that will be used for natural disaster response (especially fire disasters) and first aid delivery is the focus of this project. In an article discussing fire accident trends in Ghana [1], the researchers discovered that the rate of fire incidences increased each year. A major factor to this increase was negligence and amongst the several causes of fire accidents, 41% of them were due to domestic fires. About 379 deaths and 5489 fire incidents were recorded in the year 2013. This year, about 5 fire accidents have already been recorded in regions like Kumasi, Accra, Apiate and Tema [2]. This project integrates the use of a website application called "Drone Aid" to order drone delivery services and circuitry to build an efficient disaster response and delivery drone. It is also important that the fire response system implements long range communication technology that is also low power and energy efficient. The drone prototype in this project is built from a drone frame kit and further customized for first aid delivery and circuit carriage. While developing this system, other constraints such as cost of materials, drone capacity/payload and drone flight range are considered.Item Open Access A facilities management system utilizing the application of three-dimensional models for Ashesi University(2020) Armo-Himbson, Samuel Kofi NtaamaThe act of maintenance is a critical factor in ensuring that the lifespan and efficiency of an object or a structure are maintained. Likewise, it is of much importance that organizations continuously pay close attention to the conditions of the environment in which their operations run. To attain maximum efficiency, every equipment that comprises a given environment must be appropriately maintained or taken care of. The field of facility management is a very well established one and utilized in various levels of organizations ranging from recreation centers to office complexes and even academic institutions. Facility Managers ensure that resources and assets acquired are appropriately looked after and periodically maintained. This paper gives a walkthrough of a facility management system for Ashesi University. The system is designed to be a digital implementation of processes involved in managing facilities from the stage of reporting to assigning duties to respective parties for reparations. The adoption of the use of a three-dimensional modeling tool enables users to have a realistic feel of the school environment hence making it easier to make adequate reports consideration the exact location and type of fault. The main tools utilized in the development of the system include HTML, PHP, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, and three.js, which is a JavaScript library for SD modeling. This project is intending to revolutionize the field of facility management, making it more inclined towards a digital representation.Item Open Access A free web application for the Ghanaian real-estate market(2021-05) Odum, Kweku AmankwaTechnology has had a significant impact on the world and revolutionized all its industries. The real-estate industry has incorporated technology in its activities by using the internet and services like social media, web applications, and websites to ease accessibility and widen the reach of advertisements. The steady growth of Ghana's real estate industry has seen a rise in online property advertisements. This move online has introduced some challenges in terms of the propriety of online advertising mediums. As a primary advertising medium, social media ensures a broad reach, but competition from other content is likely to stifle engagements if you are not a recognized brand. Web applications and websites will be the ideal alternatives, but most of the existing ones are poorly managed; layouts are rough, content has disparities and advertisers are charged exorbitant fees. This project aims to create a web application that will aid Ghana's real-estate industry in an advertisement without worrying about efficiency and expenses. The web application will be developed using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and SQL.Item Open Access A geofence and IoT-based solution for child abduction in Ghanaian schools(2023-05) Takyiwa-Debrah, AkosuaLocation-based technology has become increasingly popular in various industries, including healthcare, security, and entertainment. This research focuses on the security of children and explores the potential of geofencing technology and wearable devices in improving school security systems. Geofencing has gained popularity for its potential in various fields such as logistics management, personalized marketing among others. Geo-triggering events within geofences enable real-time notifications and automated actions based on user proximity to specific locations. However, the effectiveness of geo-triggering events in different geofencing scenarios remains a topic. This research aims to investigate and compare the effectiveness of geo-triggering events across different geofence sizes as a way of improving child safety systems. It also analyses the most suitable way to place a wearable device on a child based on child activity in school. Schools are considered to be one of the safest places for students to learn and grow. However, with the increase in incidents of school shootings and other security breaches, it has become imperative to enhance the security systems in schools. The research findings indicate that the distance parameter significantly impacts the effectiveness of geo-triggering events, primarily due to the inherent variability in device location. In summary, the research emphasizes the influence of distance on geo-triggering effectiveness and highlights the power consumption implications associated with geofencing technology. These insights provide valuable considerations for optimizing geofencing systems and designing strategies to mitigate the impact of distance and power consumption on the overall effectiveness of geo-triggering events.Item Open Access A low-cost Analog Discovery alternative(2022-05) Acquah, Kojo OfosuWorking with electronics entails a significant amount of testing and evaluation with signals. Test bench tools including oscilloscopes, function generators and power supplies are often used during experiments. The downside of testbench equipment such as oscilloscopes, power supplies among others is that, they are typically sold as separate, pricey modules. Testbenches used in most laboratories in schools occupy space and usually have to be connected to the mains. Students have to take turns in using this equipment. To address this issue, USB-based devices including the Analog Discovery are available. However, they are expensive for basic undergraduate courses. This project seeks to develop a cheap USB-powered gadget that can function as a signal generator, oscilloscope and power supply. These were build based on the ARM Cortex M0+microcontroller along with additional custom circuitry. Power supply output can be controlled between 5V and 12V. Sinusoidal, square and sawtooth waves can also be generated at different frequencies.Item Open Access A Low-Cost Kneading Machine for Shea Butter Processing(Ashesi University, 2022) Addy, Hutton AyikweiThis paper focusses on the design and fabrication of a low- cost kneading machine as an alternative to traditional kneading process, which can be manually, or motor powered. Using conceptual designs with related reviewed literature, a final concept model was developed for the project using 3D CAD software. The kneading mechanism to determine the torque and critical stress areas within the system. Fundamental design analysis, calculations and the application CAE from mechanical machine design, fluid mechanics and mechanics of materials were conducted to select the best geometry, size, and materials for the project. The machine consisted of a table-like support structure, a 20kg shea paste container, a gear box consisting of miter gears power transmission, two shafts and 3mm thick steel mixing blades. Fabrication included various manufacturing processes. The machine had a power transmission efficiency of approximately 87% comparing the input and output torque generated. The machine had an oil yield increase of 18.6%, however when manually powered, the time of kneading was the same but required less energy as compared to hand kneading. The tests proved that the hybrid kneading machine is an efficient alternative to the traditional kneading process.Item Open Access A low-cost microcontroller-based PLC for industrial automation of a gold processing plant(2022-05) Ndede, Kwaw TawiahMost mining companies incur losses because of the improper automation of their gold extraction procedures. Some companies tend to rely on relay logic, a more cumbersome and inefficient automation method. This approach involves the manual control of the plant with relays and contactors. Another approach involves buying a Programmable Logic Controller from third-party companies. However, this method is very expensive and requires company-specific products to move. The paper discusses the successful design of a low-cost microcontroller-based Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). This PLC was designed as a cheaper approach for mining companies in Ghana. The design was initially implemented with the MKL25Z microcontroller but was later replaced with the Atmega128 due to the unavailability of the MKL25Z microcontroller as a result of a global chip shortage. The PLC was implemented on a Printed Circuit Board and can be programmed with any of the IEC 61131-3 standard programming languages for Programmable Controllers (Ladder Logic, Instruction List, etc.) using a open source software called OpenPLC which can supports the use of these languages on a microcontroller. Additionally, the PLC can communicate with a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system via Modbus IP, allowing for the SCADA system to monitor the states of the input and output devices, as well as control the field devices from the office.Item Open Access A non-intrusive approach to measuring flow rate in a pipe using machine learning(2023-05) Debre, Deborah Enya EsiThis paper addresses the issue of inadequate flow rate measurement in domestic water pipe systems, specifically within the content of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) network. While most large-scale water production plants and pipelines are equipped with flow meters for consistent monitoring and control, the same cannot be said for most in-house domestic water pipe systems. Furthermore, many users are unaware of how to interpret the readings on the GWCL-provided meters and are unable to track instantaneous flow rate of water entering their homes. This paper proposes a solution using embedded machine learning and specific sensors to develop a non-intrusive, low-cost device for instantaneous flow rate measurement in residential water pipers, with information transmitted to a dashboard for monitoring by the consumer.Item Open Access A personal health record system for patients and medical professionals(2022-05) Hijazi, ShaficAs modern healthcare progresses, hospitals have incorporated technology into their various services. Essentially, this has given multiples hospitals a competitive advantage over other industry players. They have implemented Electronic Health Record Systems that is used within their facilities to efficiently manage patient information. However, patients still have little to no access to their personal records. It is believed that a Personal Health Record System would improve the access and the quality of care provided to patients by allowing them to have direct access to their medical health records. This project proposes a mobile application that will digitize hospital cards and allow patients to maintain and manage their health information privately and securely.Item Open Access A portable and low-cost electroencephalography device with automated autism diagnosis(2021-05) Lormenyo, Hannah BoadiwaaAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by challenges in speech and communication, impairment in social skills, and repetitive behavior. Autistic children in Africa have very severe symptoms of autism due to the lateness in the diagnosis and treatment of autism on the continent. This work explores the use of a portable, low-cost electroencephalography (EEG) device with automated diagnosis as a means of expediting the process of autism diagnosis in Africa. This work compares two instrumentation amplifier designs for the EEG system. It also compares k-nearest neighbor, support vector machine, decision tree, and random forest as classifiers for providing automated diagnosis for the EEG system. The resulting design was a portable EEG system that can be interfaced with a smartphone for real-time visualization of the EEG signals and automated diagnosis with an accuracy of 85.1%.Item Open Access A reusable, low-cost and self-sufficient sensorbased neonatal pulse oximeter(2022-05) Tawiah, Rosemond NyatefePulse oximeters are non-invasive medical health devices for measuring oxygen saturation and pulse rate of humans. Pulse oximeters used for neonates have been identified to have some limitations in terms of their bulkiness in size, the need for a pulse sensor attachment to a monitoring device to obtain readings and their expensive nature. This project explores a pulse oximeter design to eliminate these limitations and create an accurate alternative for neonatal pulse oximeters. The proposed design includes a pulse sensor and a control and display circuit self-sufficiently powered by a direct current source of voltage. It employs analog signal processing, digital signal processing (DSP) with a low-power but highly efficient microprocessor to ensure accurate values are obtained. The project explores this design but however implemented part of the design (Infrared (IR) sensor) based on the materials and electrical components available. Even though the proposed design was not built as whole, various sections of the design was implemented or simulated and were feasible. The results from the IR sensor built was compared to a commercial pulse oximeter and from the statistical analysis conducted, the two systems have similar readings confirmed by the t-value of 0.917 in the paired t-test. Unfiltered data was used with the algorithm developed and the DSP and the readings for the SpO2 and pulse rate were similar to the commercial oximeter.Item Open Access A small photovoltaic inverter for grid-connected operation(2020) Oburu, David KatandiSolar energy being one of the most promising renewable resources, plays a very significant role in the energy sector of different economies in the world. However, the photovoltaic (PV) system still faces some challenges such as high costs, low efficiency and the photovoltaic (PV) system’s output power intermittent nature as compared to other renewable technologies. This project focuses on three key areas of PV grid-connected inverter control strategies that is the PV Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) using perturb and observe technique, the PV gridconnected Synchronization technique using phase-locked loop (PLL) and PV inverter control using proportionate-integral (PI) technique to control the voltage and the current of the PV gridconnected inverter. The control techniques operate in such a way that during the grid-connected mode, the PV inverter output frequency and the amplitude is controlled by the grid and the inverter operates in a current-controlled mode. The inverter current-controlled mode of operation achieves two requirements that is, the excess energy generated from the PV inverter is transmitted to the grid under no overload condition. During unfavorable weather conditions or overload conditions, both the grid and the PV inverter operate in a voltage-controlled mode in order to maintain a constant frequency and amplitude of the voltage across the load. Simulations in MATLAB/SIMULINK have been used to verify the validity of the proposed system.Item Open Access A Smart Lock Door System Using IRIS Recognition Implemented With Daugman Algorithm and MLP Network(Ashesi University, 2022) Joshua, EvernA security system is a paramount aspect of today's life. With the requirement of security systems to give access to specific people, when it comes to using biometrics, iris recognition is emerging as one of the best biometric-based identification systems methods. As every organization needs to secure specific properties and restrict entrance into certain offices in the building, this project is tailored to building an iris recognition system to provide better security to grant or deny access to some offices at CAMFED Zimbabwe. The Daugman's algorithm helped in iris segmentation and feature extracting while utilizing multi-layer perceptron networks for training and feature matching.Item Open Access A smart wake-up assistive device(2023-05) Zangu, Kelvin KanlaThis project aims to build a basic, smart alarm device that can assist people to wake up fully and actively. The device is targeted towards deep sleepers, students, workers, people with ADHD, or anyone who struggles to respond to alarms at specific times. The device sounds an alarm at a chosen time for a specified period and uses an image or video processing algorithm to detect sleeping positions. If the user continues sleeping after the alarm goes off, the device texts a friend or relative through WhatsApp for assistance. The device should be able to interact with the user using speech and must be plugged into a power outlet to be powered. All functional requirements were achieved, and the project has the potential to benefit a large number of people in the working-age group who have trouble waking up.