Bachelor Theses

2024

1. ETSIST

   Design and Development of a Three-Axis Stabilized Pointing System Based onMicroprocessors for Obtaining Self-Leveled and Magnetically Oriented Images

   César García Moreno

   Jul 2024

   Abs

   The purpose of this project, titled "Design and Development of a 3-Axis Stabilized Pointing System Based on Microprocessors for Obtaining Auto-Leveled and Magnetically Oriented Images," is to design, implement, manufacture, and validate the necessary electronics to enable the rapid, precise, and semi-automatic creation of antenna visibility masks. Currently, ground-satellite communication is crucial in both civilian and military fields. Its constant use is fundamental for tasks such as geolocation, obtaining meteorological, scientific, and strategic data, as well as establishing communications, among many other applications. This communication takes place during specific periods called communication windows, which are intervals when the satellite and the antenna have a direct line of sight. Due to the high speed of low-orbit satellites, which constitute most operational satellites today, these communication windows are brief, typically between 10 and 15 minutes. Therefore, it is essential that these windows are not limited by objects in the antenna’s environment. To ensure optimal communication, a visibility mask is used to evaluate the full range of visibility between the antenna and the satellite. Specifically, a visibility mask is a set of data that relates an antenna’s azimuth position to the minimum elevation necessary to maintain visibility with the satellite. To generate visibility masks in a semi-automatic, rapid, and precise manner, it is proposed to implement a system based on capturing and processing images around the antenna to obtain the azimuth and elevation values of the visibility mask. The system developed in this project allows for the remote acquisition of images that are automatically leveled and geographically oriented. To implement a valid system for this task, a set of sensors and actuators are studied and implemented to ensure the validity of the images for subsequent processing. The obtained results confirm that with current technology, a system capable of generating a set of correctly calibrated, leveled, and oriented images for creating visibility masks with an error of less than 0,5^∘ in azimuth and elevation can be developed. The results have also identified some system limitations and improvements to overcome these limitations. In conclusion, the implemented system guarantees high precision in identifying communication windows and optimizes the time and resources necessary for the deployment and adjustment of antennas.

2. ETSIST

   Communication and Processing System for Obtaining Horizon Elevation

   César García Moreno

   Jul 2024

   Abs

   The purpose of this project, titled "Communication and processing system for obtaining horizon elevation" is the design and implementation of a system architecture to create horizon elevation reports, allowing the control of multiple hardware devices and being controlled from various types of devices. Currently, ground-satellite communication is crucial in both civilian and military fields. Its constant use is fundamental for tasks such as geolocation, obtaining meteorological, scientific, and strategic data, as well as establishing communications, among many other applications. This communication occurs during specific periods called communication windows, which are intervals when the satellite and the antenna have a direct line of sight. Due to the high speed of low orbit satellites, which most operational satellites are, these communication windows are brief, typically between 10 and 15 minutes. Therefore, it is essential that these windows are not limited by objects in the antenna’s environment. To ensure optimal communication, a visibility mask is used, which evaluates the full range of visibility between the antenna and the satellite. Specifically, a visibility mask is a set of data that relates an azimuth position of the antenna to the minimum elevation necessary to maintain visibility with the satellite. To generate visibility masks in a semi-automatic, quick, and accurate manner, it is proposed to implement a system based on capturing and processing images around the antenna to obtain the azimuth and elevation values for the visibility mask. The system developed in this project allows the processing of a set of images whose pointing direction and camera characteristics are known, to generate visibility masks from this data. The results obtained confirm that, with current technology, it is possible to develop a system capable of transmitting, processing, and displaying visibility masks with an error of less than 0.5^∘ in azimuth and 0.5^∘ in elevation. While achieving the results, some limitations of the system were also identified, as well as possible improvements to overcome these limitations. In conclusion, the implemented system not only guarantees high precision in identifying communication windows but also optimizes the time and resources needed for the deployment and adjustment of antennas.

3. ETSIST

   Design of a mobile application for smishing detection aimed at elderly people

   Rubén Sanz Barrio

   Dec 2024

   Abs

   This paper presents the project brief entitled "Design of a mobile application for smishing detection aimed at elderly people". In recent years there has been an increase in phishing cases, specifically 534% between 2018 and 2023 according to APWG reports. Phishing also accounts for 43% of digital crimes in 2023, according to reports from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, representing almost twice as many cases as the second-most-committed cybercrime. In this context, the elderly people are the most affected age group, with losses of almost $3,500,000,000 in 2023. Given all the above, the overall purpose of the project is to develop a mobile application that enables older people to detect phishing, specifically smishing, in a simple and accessible way. First, the task of classifying SMS is carried out by a Machine Learning model based on the characteristics of URLs extracted from the content of messages. This required an analysis of the different results obtained by the models studied. Secondly, the data models to be stored in the database were designed to ensure that their structure would meet all the proposed functionalities. Finally, the development of the mobile application was divided into frontend and backend assigning responsibilities according to the MVC architectural pattern. This separation allowed the user interface to handle representation and interaction, while the backend handled data handling and business logic. Since the mobile app is aimed at older people, there are several factors that were considered. To access the application, it is not necessary to use emails, usernames, passwords, etc. to make it easier to use. The mobile app supports versions 8.0 or higher of the Android operating system, which means that approximately 95.4% of Android device users will be able to use the app according to the development environment Android Studio. After the tests are performed, we can assure that the system is able to solve the main use case of the application, which is the detection of SMS smishing suspects. If the received message is suspected of smishing, the user is alerted by a notification that the application itself sends to his mobile device. In addition, the user can keep a check on SMS suspected of smishing thanks to the possibility of obtaining the record of smishing or viewing analysis statistics. This project is a small contribution and the first approach to solving this serious problem. There is a lot of future work to refine this application, from the use of AI models that make the accuracy of analysis greater, to the evolution of the application to combat other types of phishing. This could significantly reduce the number of cases where older people are victims of virtual scams, making their experience with using new technologies safer and more rewarding.

In progress

Bachelor Theses

2025

1. ETSIST

   Real-time situational awareness for Emergency Services

   Arturo López López

   2025
2. ETSIST

   Smart management of autonomous vehicle fleets at the edge

   Estela Mora Barba

   2025
3. ETSIST

   Embedded AI for prescription maps in precision agriculture

   Estela Mora Barba

   2025
4. ETSIST

   Early diagnosis system for skin conditions

   Javier Bravo Acedo

   2025
5. ETSIST

   Artificial intelligence applied to cybersecurity in ICT networks

   Ainara Picot Arizmendi

   2025
6. ETSIST

   Autonomous and adaptive planning systems for intelligent agents

   Alejandro Botas Bárcena

   2025

PhD Theses

2027

1. ETSIST

   (pending title)

   Xi Tao

   2027