Kamea was born in Hawai‘i, raised on island and spent 3 years in LA and another 3 in Michigan, before moving back. He graduated from Kaiser Highschool, and graduated from KCC with an AS in Engineering and in Natural Sciences before transferring to UH Manoa to complete his BS in Electrical Engineering and possibly MS. Kamea is a member of VIP Team RoSE working on a mars rover that will compete this summer in the international University Rover Competition. Kamea is interested in both analog and digital circuit design, working as a TA for both intro to digital logic (ECE 260) and circuit analysis (ECE 211). In his free time Kamea enjoys playing with his cat, reading/listening to audio books, and playing video games.
Home Island: O‘ahu
High School: Kaiser High School
Institution when accepted: UH Manoa
Project Site: University of California Observatories, Santa Cruz, California
Mentors: Aaron Hunter & Philip Hinz
Project title: Characterization and Design of Eddy Current Sensors for Adaptive Secondary Mirrors
Project Abstract:
Adaptive Optics (AO) systems correct for atmospheric distortion of light in real time by adjusting the surface of Deformable Mirrors (DM), enabling sharper astronomical imaging. Each portion of a DM is controlled by an actuator, requiring precise displacement measurements of the surface of the mirror. This project focuses on characterizing the CM05 eddy current displacement sensor as a potential alternative to existing capacitive sensing methods. The sensor’s performance is evaluated using both a commercial TX1 driver and a custom-built system based on the LDC1614 inductance-to-digital converter. Comparative analysis includes sensitivity, resolution, and susceptibility to measurement errors. In experimental trials, both the eddy current and capacitive reference sensors are mounted in fixed positions while a conductive target is moved incrementally by an actuator. The actuator is brought to its zero position, then stepped up and down, with measurements averaged before and after each movement to evaluate accuracy and repeatability. By adjusting sampling rates, conversion times, filters, and other factors, the system’s ability to measure micron-scale displacements is optimized. The LDC1614 performance must match or exceed that of the TX1 and capacitive sensor. Additionally, in the design of custom coils, factors such as geometry, capacitance, and coil size are analyzed to enhance the Q-factor and overall system performance. The ultimate goal is to develop a cost-effective, high-precision displacement sensor prototype suitable for integration into an AO system.