MULTIMATIC SHOCK AND IMPACT TESTER
Multimatic Inc. is a Tier 1 automotive supplier that has expressed the need for a machine that can perform shock and impact tests. Shock tests simulate various deceleration scenarios. Impact tests use a hardened surface to apply an impulse to a test specimen. To address this need our team designed a “drop tower” machine that drops a mass from a predetermined height to perform either a shock or impact test, depending on the configuration of the specimen.
Team members: Yesith Jayasinghe, Dylan Walton, Audrey Eagle, Alexander Forsyth, Roydon Fraser, (Faculty Advisor)
AUTOMATED MICROFLUIDIC WATER NUTRIENT ANALYZER
Due to increasing climate change challenges, water is a precious resource. Having data on the water nutrients in large bodies of water generates accurate models, that help decision makers shape future policies. The collection of nutrient data is a significant challenge. In partnership with the University of Waterloo’s Microfluidic Lab, our team has developed a fully automated solution that implements the Lab’s research to automatically collect nutrient data. This will allow researchers to collect and analyze data for any body of water in Canada.
Team members: Boxuan (Tom) Zhao, Jun Han (Jon) Ma, Robert Pavlinich, Ben Tonita, Carolyn Ren (Faculty Advisor), Pei Zhao (Faculty Advisor)
OPEN ARMS PROJECT
The Open Arms Project creates a versatile, inexpensive robotic manipulator arm. The interactive robotic arm is designed for educational and experimental purposes. This enables students and hobbyists to have easier access to complex robotics. The design is inspired by the open-source community allowing anyone to construct and/or modify the arm to meet their interests.
Team members:
Xiule Fan, Dominik Postl, Eric Sipkens, Matthew Hassenbach, David Xia
Faculty Advisors: Baris Fidan, Brandon DeHart
Mentor: Alexander Werner
SOLCLEAN
As the world shifts to cleaner energy, renewable energy resources are increasingly sought-after alternatives to fossil fuels. Residential solar panels are used to generate clean, sustainable energy for homeowners. However, the amount of electricity generated is significantly diminished when the panels are covered by snow, dust, or other debris. SolClean has designed a system to remove these obstructions to allow greater energy generation.
Team members: Rebecca Wong, Kali Hodgson, Daphne Patterson, Gongyi Zhang (Mike Collins, Faculty Advisor)
NARCS
The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) requires a solution to sample suspicious packages without exposing agents to hazardous substances. Using disposability and control of the contaminant pathway, Team Narcs provides a powder extraction and sealing device that greatly reduces this risk. Opioids are smuggled across borders. Synthetic opioids are the main driver of overdose deaths in North America, claiming 47,600 lives, in the U.S., in 2017. Its potency can easily cause accidental overdose. 2 mg of fentanyl can be lethal.
Team members: Harseerat Khaira, Kelly Zhu, Hanaa Diwan (Roydon Fraser, Faculty Advisor)
INSULA MEDICAL: SMARTER AND SMALLER INSULIN PUMPS
Insula Medical has created a compact and ergonomic insulin delivery system for use by Type 1 Diabetics. Our solution is smaller and less expensive than delivery systems currently on the market. This was achieved by devising a novel pumping, and insulin reservoir system. Our design has been fabricated and fully tested by our team. Additionally, the system integrates the pump control with users’ smartphones. This enables seamless, closed-loop communication between Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps, by means of simple smartphone control.
Team members: Sara Salmon, Joel Ravi, Raiyan Faruqui, Connor Al-Joundi, (Roydon Fraser, Faculty Advisor)
PLANT PROTEIN PROCESSOR
The increase in awareness of the negative environmental, health, and animal well-being impacts of animal agriculture has put pressure on the plant-based meat industry to deliver products which meet consumers’ needs. However, current methods of producing plant-based meat are not commercially competitive due to their complexity, low throughput, and high energy use. The plant protein processor produces textured vegetable protein (TVP), a common component in plant-based meat, with a higher throughput using less energy than existing mechanisms, while still replicating the texture of meat.
Team members: David Moscoe, Amanda Enns, Jeffray Behr, Mariko Shimoda (Christine Moresoli, Faculty Advisor)
RICENOW RICE MAKER
As globalization exposes individuals to different cultural cuisines, rice has become a widely consumed staple, not only in Asia, but in several Western countries. The cooking process requires knowledge on washing and portioning rice presenting challenges for beginners. Traditionally, this process is done manually, requiring planning and time from a person’s busy schedule. Our novel product, the RiceNow Rice Maker, conveniently automates the entire process using built-in washing, dispensing, and cooking features.
Team members: Kamyar Ghavam (Faculty Advisor), Ingrid Roorda, Andrew Terletsky, Chris Thorogood (Absent, Haris Qayyum)
AUTOMATED WALL PRINTER
Conventional wall painting requires dedicated artists to work manually, with a small margin of error. This is both time-consuming and expensive. We have designed an automated “wall printer” to transform digital line art onto vertical surfaces, with minimum human intervention. Our cost-saving machine allows users to easily print decorative designs in a wide variety of settings.
Team members: Mihaela Vlasea (Faculty Advisor), Ji Hao Zhang, Yunyi Jiang, Lingxiao Fu, Yanglin Ding, Wenhao Chen
ONE FOOT FORWARD – HANDS FREE CRUTCH DESIGN
One Foot Forward revolutionizes the way individuals with lower leg injuries move and interact with their environment. Crutches and other assistive devices are uncomfortable and inhibit user accessibility. Our inventive product redistributes weight-bearing loads to enable a comfortable walking gait, without using hands or arms. Additionally, our product can be quickly removed, when no longer needed for walking, and reattached when necessary. Injury shouldn't hold you back. Come walk with us!
Team members: Stewart Mclachlin (Faculty Advisor), Gregory Sinclair, Andrew Dawson, Taariq Ahamed
AUTOMATED SHELVING SOLUTION FOR PHARMACIES
Pharmacies are often situated in densely populated areas, where space is at a premium. Their prescription area contains quantities of narcotics, topical creams, and drugs. These medicines are stored on space-consuming shelves spanning the back walls of pharmacies. Our system incorporates a robotic arm that traverses through shelves to pick out the requested pill bottles. This reduces frustration when searching for medication. The automated solution enables a more ergonomic, efficient, and safe working environment for busy pharmaceutical staff.
Team members: Ken Maclean, Sameen Waseem, Yashar Laghai Bonabi, Scott Waywell, Ramneek Kaur, (Eugene Li, Sanjeev Bedi - Faculty Advisors)
COOL VIBRATIONS
Cool Vibrations aims to provide remote communities with affordable cooling to preserve food and vaccines. Our innovative solution employs a process known as thermoacoustic refrigeration to harness solar energy, convert it into sound, and then pump heat away from an enclosed space. This cooling method can be integrated into an insulated container to create a refrigerator. With a goal for marketing this technology to isolated populations, Cool Vibrations’ design is inexpensive, reliable, and does not require electricity to operate.
Team members: MacGregor Paddock, Cameron Klassen, Kyle Rath, Lukas Winter, Spencer Kschesinski (Roydon Fraser, Faculty Advisor)
OKO HAPTICS
Current technologies that aid severe visual impairment are expensive, outdated, and draw unwanted attention to their users. Oko Haptics solves these problems with an affordable, lightweight and discrete, wearable device. We have developed an innovative solution for detecting obstacles, enhancing user accessibility and mobility. Creating a live 3D model of the user’s environment, Oko Haptics communicates vital navigational information to the user through tactile vibrations. Our goal is to empower those with visual impairment to confidently and independently navigate their surroundings.
Team members: Curtis Lambert, Udayan Sarin, Hernando Castano, Jasjeet Singh Dhillon, (Arash Arami, Faculty Advisor)
ASSISTIVE WEARABLE DEVICE FOR STEP INITIATION
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that affects one in every 500 people in Canada. Sixty percent of that population experience a ‘Freezing of Gait’. Occurrences of Freezing of Gait are characterized by trembling and shuffling of feet, and even complete immobility. Our team has developed a wearable device that detects freezing of gait. It then supplies a torque at the hip enabling users to reinitiate ambulation. We see this as an important tool to aid in the progression of Parkinson’s disease patient care.
Team members: Oliver Chang, Shenon Fernando, Jared Jackman, Ammar Irfan (Arash Arami, Faculty Advisor)
PROJECT KETOS
The pollution of our oceans and waterways with plastic is one of the most poignant environmental issues of our time. Plastics and polymers degrade and eventually end-up in large bodies of water. This leads to the proliferation of microplastic particles, which pose significant environmental and health risks. Microplastics are very challenging to collect and separate using conventional methods. Our team, Project KETOS focused on developing a mechanical filtration process that is capable of separating microplastics from water, in extreme volumes, to make our planet cleaner and more sustainable.
Team members: Baris Fidan (Faculty Advisor), Tom Malcolm, Victor Yu, Roberto Ferro, Sebastien Wilson
BLITZ
The future of transportation relies on self-driving electric vehicles to transform how people commute. Industry leaders, such as Waymo, Tesla, and Uber, have already announced ride-sharing services operated by fleets of self-driving vehicles, also known as “robo-taxis”. Although this technology is on the verge of fruition, much of its required infrastructure is underdeveloped. Blitz is addressing this need by creating an autonomous charging solution to ready existing EV charging stations for the emerging robo-taxi market. The future is now!
Team members: Karan Khalsa, Sanan Akhundzada, Baber Siddiqui, Huzaifa Khan, Kevin Qiu, Michael Chau, Mazen Zohiry
NUWORP HEAT EXCHANGE
Oil-sands exploitation in Canada has significant environmental concerns. The current oil extraction process releases large amounts of greenhouse gasses and generates substantial volumes of wastewater. The “Novel Ultra-Low Water Oil-Sands Recovery Process” (NUWORP) is a patented new solution which eliminates fossil fuel combustion and wastewater for oil extraction. Team Pitch Black has designed a heat exchanger to use the high temperature NUWORP product to heat the input oil-sands. We hope that our contributions will lead to a cleaner, carbon-reduced, oil resource footprint in Canada.
Team members: Anni Wu, Naveed Iqbal (Roydon Fraser, Faculty Advisor)
COMMERCIALIZABLE SELF-MIXING INTERFEROMETER
EInterferometers utilize the wave nature of light to detect fine displacements by measuring the changes in laser power caused by two phase-shifted beams, interfering either constructively or destructively. In the case of Self-Mixing Interferometers, this is done with an emitted beam and its reflection. Using this technology, we aim to develop a sensor that is competitive on an accuracy and resolution basis, with existing fine displacement sensors, while undercutting the cost of existing interferometer technology.
Team members: Jeremy Newton, Trevor McCourt, Alex Mihaila, Stefan Martin (Alex Wong, Faculty Advisor)
FORMULA SAE SUSPENSION SYSTEM STRUCTURAL DESIGN
University of Waterloo Formula Motorsports Team (UWFM) designs, analyzes, and manufactures race cars for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Formula competition. We designed a mass optimized suspension system for UWFM to improve overall vehicle performance. The suspension system supports and controls the weight of the vehicle. The structural components of the previous UWFM suspension system did not meet mass and compliance targets for the 2020 vehicle. Team 19 took the opportunity to perform a lightweight re-design of the suspension’s linkages.
Team members: Hassan Gondal, Stephan Lambert (Faculty Advisor), Benjamin Kolli, Sebastien St-Amour
MIGHTY PLOW
Mighty Plow is a mobile ground robot for clearing snow. Equipped with high-torque electric motors, an articulating plow blade, and remote control, the device allows users to clear snow, from household driveways and walkways, without the physical exertion and exposure to the raw elements associated with manual shovelling. Mighty Plow leverages the team members’ experience in machine design, manufacturing, and technology to offer a powerful, innovative device that makes household snow removal convenient, accessible, and fun.
Team members: Angus Smith, Wade Filiatrault, Mohammed Nassar (Faculty Advisor), Alex Derus, Malik Ibrahim
HUSH
Noise a prominent occupation health hazard experienced by employees in industrial environments. The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) has set a maximum exposure limit equivalent to 85 dBA of continuous noise for 8 hours. The numerous material handling carts in use at Honda Canada emit noise levels that exceed OHSA standards. This creates an unsafe and noisy work environment. HUSH has researched and developed a solution to reduce the overall acoustic profile produced by these carts. Enacting our design will give automotive workers a quieter day, and possibly lessen long-term hearing impairment.
Team members: Alex Raffa, Patrick Gilhooly, Armaghan Salehian (Faculty Advisor), Julia Baylis, Sai Poopalarajah
LEAN – SMART GYM EQUIPMENT
People passionate about weight training are seeking an edge to maximize gains and optimize workouts. Advanced training techniques, supported by the latest research, require interruptive and complicated loading schemes. This could compromise safety as users push themselves to their limits while manually adjusting loads. The LEAN team provides an innovative solution that can be retrofitted to home and commercial gym equipment. Our design delivers smart, programmatically-controlled, continuously-variable resistance making the most of every session.
Team members: Nikhil Azisur Venkatesan, Michael Nagorski, Ammaar Vakharwala, Michael Bartella Behrad Khamesee (Faculty Advisor)
VERSATILE AUTOMATION OF GTAW (TIG) PROCESSES
We have designed a cost-effective alternative to multi-axis welding robots. Our system is easily configurable to new and varied weld geometries due to our incorporation of a novel system of guide rails. The system is easier to program than existing robotic systems since it utilizes a “learn by demonstration” technique. The robot can be physically moved through a path and then replay that movement. Additionally, our system accommodates existing weld torches, eliminating the need to purchase specialized welding equipment.
Team members: Rostyslaw Wynnyckyj, Brian Sturgess, Matthew Agnihotri Adrian Gerlich (Faculty Advisor)
DRIVE MECHANISM FOR PULSE TUBE CRYOCOOLERS
Cryocooling involves cooling objects to temperatures below -180°C. This is presently used in many industries, including cooling superconducting magnets in MRI machines and Maglev trains. Currently, cryocoolers are expensive and inaccessible to smaller industries. Development of cheaper drive mechanisms, the “engine” of the system, has been a bottleneck for producing affordable cryocoolers. Partnering with a Waterloo start-up company, Intelline Inc., our team is developing cheaper cryocooler drive mechanisms through novel manufacturing techniques. These exciting new developments are ultimately intended for mass production.
Team members: Jason Young, Ashwin Subburaman, Ian Lung, (Roydon Fraser, Faculty Advisor)
SPIZIO – AUTOMATIC SPICE DISPENSER
Spizio is a kitchen countertop machine automating the process of measuring and dispensing powdered spices. From a touchscreen, people can select a specific quantity of an individual spice or create a spice blend. Upon request, spice is dispensed using a powder metering technology optimized for small-scale use. Spizio is a very convenient product for those who desire a user-friendly and efficient way of storing, organizing, and accessing an array of spices.
Team members: Solomon Anandan, Kamyar Ghavam (Faculty Advisor), Janelle Tan
MOLTEN SALT HEAT EXCHANGER
Our team designed an innovative molten salt heat exchanger for next generation nuclear reactors. Small modular reactors are being developed to provide safe, clean, and low-cost energy for power generation or industrial process heat applications. Oil sands refining is a process heat application which currently uses fossil fuel energy sources that result in increased CO2 emissions. Our heat exchanger transfers thermal energy, from the radioactive nuclear reactor, to the oil sands refining process application safely, reliably, and economically.
Team members: Tanmay Patel, Farhan Kabir, Andrew MacMillan (Roydon Fraser, Faculty Advisor)
BINDER JETTING SYSTEM FOR INDUSTRIAL R&D
Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, is a manufacturing process where objects are created by bonding/fusing material, layer by layer. Powder Bed Binder Jetting (PBBJ) is a widely used AM technique, where powder material is joined utilizing an adhesive agent. PBBJ printers can produce complex and large parts at low cost using a variety of materials, including metals and ceramics. Our team has implemented an innovative open control architecture with customizability and modularity to command an existing experimental PBBJ system to improve printing performance and machine safety.
Team members: Jie Shi, Jing Jing Kong, Guchuhan Gao, Mihaela Vlasea (Faculty Advisor), Matthew Chai, Marc Wang (Project Mentor)
OVR-EZ CANOE PORTAGE ASSISTANCE DEVICE
Canoeing is a popular activity for countless Canadians, many of whom also enjoy the challenge of portaging (carrying their canoe overhead from one lake to another). Portaging a canoe presents numerous ergonomic challenges and can also lead to long-term injuries. This results in shorter trips with shorter and fewer portages, ultimately limiting the experience for the user. The OVR-EZ portaging-assistance device improves the portage experience. This device eliminates awkward lifting, comfortably distributes the canoe load, and improves the user’s carrying posture.
Team members: Stewart McLachlin (Faculty Advisor) , José Rondon, Robb Nelson, Lucas Pilozo-Hibbit, Nick Ho, Evan Valenta, John Montesano (Faculty Advisor)
DIENAMIC
Industrial lead times for stamped sheet metal prototypes can range from one to eight weeks. Each die is specific to an individual part, so for every design change the fabrication of a completely new die is required. This is both expensive and wasteful. Our team, DieNamic, tackles this issue by creating an innovative shapeshifting die that conforms to various part geometries. This reduces waste, removes the need to machine a new die for every design iteration which decreases prototyping costs and reduces lead times dramatically.
Team members: Andy Gehlan, John Cho, Omar Shakir, Malik Karim, Samudra Raval, Kamyar Ghavam (Faculty Advisor)
GET IT YOURSHELF
Upper kitchen cabinets are typically designed for people 5’8” (172.2 cm) or taller. This poses a problem for many people, especially wheelchair-bound individuals or those with limited mobility. Few solutions exist to make these upper shelves more accessible. Existing solutions are still not fully accessible nor modular – some even require entire kitchen redesign, at considerable expense. Our innovative design addresses these issues by making these shelves fully accessible while maintaining a modular design.
Team members: Lexi Wong, Kaushik Sarkar, Merna Hanna, Saira Obaid, Kamyar Ghavam (Faculty Advisor)
MODULAR ELECTRIC LONG BOARD ATTACHMENT
Are you looking for the most portable, extravagant form of last mile transportation available? Do you happen to have the budget of a 22-year-old student? If so, the Modular Electric Long Board Attachment is the perfect product for you. This device allows the mechanically and non-mechanically inclined to turn a traditional long board into an electrically motorized one. It also increases the customizability of current electric longboards, all for a price that doesn’t break the bank.
Team members: Jacob Van Wart, Braxton Nash, Ben Harris, Tom Kestle, Chris Rennick (Faculty Advisor) Absent: Tanmay Patel, Carol Hulls( Faculty Advisor)
THE BALANCED BIKERS
Riding a bicycle can be a challenge for those with disabilities which impact balance, such as people with cerebral palsy or stroke survivors. Traditional training wheels inhibit cyclists from leaning into a turn.This can result in significant injuries when attempted. Our team, the Balanced Bikers, have designed a spring-loaded mechanism to allow tilting during turns, which assists cyclists in returning to the upright position. It is adaptable to any bicycle size and style, eliminating the need for an expensive custom option.
Team members: Cliff Butcher (Faculty Advisor), Victoria DeRooy, Connie Melidy, Ross Ecclestone, Jonathan Reemeyer
HYBRID COMPRESSED AIR ENERGY STORAGE
A totally green energy grid requires large scale energy storage. Pressurized air in salt caverns can store megawatt hours of energy, called Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES). However, CAES currently lacks the response time needed to compete with gas turbines in the energy market. The objective of our project was to design and simulate the next generation of CAES systems by adding a hybrid element capable of improving the response time to meet grid level energy demands. Ultimately, this can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
Team members: Seba Al Jalam, Matthew Gomes-Reissmann, Qais Alkawalit, Safwan Qazi, Ahmed Al-hasani Roydon Fraser, (Faculty Advisor)
DESIGN OF A LIQUID ROCKET ENGINE
Waterloo Rocketry has an award-winning history of successful hybrid engine designs. Consecutively winning awards at the Spaceport America Cup, an intercollegiate rocket engineering competition. This prototype liquid rocket engine was designed and tested to serve as the team’s transition from hybrid rockets to liquid rockets, resulting in more efficient engines that can reach higher altitudes. Using nitrous oxide and ethanol as propellants, this newly developed engine is designed to lift the team’s current rocket to 10,000 ft.
Team members: Matthew Lai, Doris Jiang, David Kong, Vithusan Rajkumar, Nick Lin Jean-Pierre Hickey (Faculty Advisor)
WAREHOUSE AERIAL MANIPULATOR (WAM)
In today’s advancing marketplace, companies need to stay competitive through new and innovative solutions in their production processes. Warehouses directly play an integral role in managing the products of a company. Our team, WAM, brings a leading-edge inventory and management system to existing warehouses. It provides a streamlined solution through the use of flying drones, fitted with a manipulator. WAM automatically performs the tasks required in a warehouse, including selection and placement of stock, as well as inventory management, using image recognition.
Team members: Peter Park, Fabio Chai, Chan Kim, John Liu, Baris Fidan (Faculty Advisor)
2D RAPID PROTOTYPING SYSTEM
Engineers love creating innovative designs. Rapid prototyping technology turns ideas into physical parts, quickly and economically, making it an invaluable tool to advance projects from concept to reality. There are many prototyping solutions available today, each with unique advantages and limitations. These alternative solutions are important for supporting the variable requirements of innovative design. Our project focuses on a new 2D cutting solution that overcomes the prohibitive cost of laser cutters, and the difficulties associated with cutting sharp internal features with endmills.
Team members: Mark Frayne, Kyle MacDonald, Peter Alexis, Kaitlyn Leis, William Owen (Faculty Advisor)
CNC STEEL TUBE NOTCHER
Welding steel frames is a common fabrication process, but it requires cutting complex profiles on structural tubes for proper assembly. These cuts are difficult, if not impossible, to produce with conventional machine tooling. Our project prototypes a Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) mechanical cutting device, designed specifically to process steel tubes for frame weldments. This device will significantly benefit university design teams and small fabrication shops.
Team members: Sanjeev Bedi (Faculty Advisor), Kevin Zhang, Adam Caldwell, Michael Lenover, Roman Boychuk, Eugene Li (Faculty Advisor)
ROGER, THE DYNAMIC TENNIS BALL LAUNCHING MACHINE
Competitive tennis players face opponents with diverse playing strategies. To develop an athlete’s consistency, coaches often use tennis ball launching machines. The drawback with current machines is that they cannot vary the ball spin, speed, and placement between launches. Our product, Roger, eases the learning curve from practice to competitive matches by simulating different playing styles. Roger is configurable to make shot patterns that mirror a specific opponent’s style of play giving an athlete the upper hand during a match.
Team members: Adrian Gerlich (Faculty Advisor), Pawel Kapa, Justin Frederick, Marek Polak, Kristi Kadzadej
MARS FARM
Mars Farm is a proof-of-concept design for a sustainable Martian farming system. It considers both transportation and operational requirements for the upcoming missions to colonize Mars. Our concept focuses on the mechanical design and automation required to ensure safe and reliable operation within the extraterrestrial Martian environment.
Team members: Robert Biafore, Reza Rajan, Ronan Tunney, Mihaela Vlasea (Faculty Advisor)
TEAM SHOULDERWATCH: QUANTIFYING ARM ELEVATION IN THE WORKPLACE
Overhead working postures (e.g. under a vehicle in an assembly line) are linked to significant musculoskeletal disorders in the shoulder, which negatively impact workers and companies alike. Our project develops a solution to quantify the duration of overhead work using data collected from commercial smartwatch sensors. We use machine learning techniques for activity recognition, informed by analysis of shoulder biomechanics, to recognize movement cues associated with overhead work and present an approach to effectively track and monitor workers’ exposure to overhead work and risk of shoulder injury.
Team members: Hillary Tran, Josh Li, Stewart McLachlin (Faculty Advisor), Joel Mills
AUTOMATED INVESTMENT MOULDING MACHINE (AIMM)
This project provides a fast, low-cost alternative to traditional metal prototyping methods. Although traditional methods of machining and metal 3D printing can produce complex parts with high dimensional accuracy, they are very expensive and require long lead-times. Using 3D-printed mould patterns, automated mixing, and a rapid pattern removal process, AIMM streamlines the production of high accuracy moulds. These moulds produce cast metal parts in a fraction of the machining or metal printing time.
Team members: William Baxter, Owen Rice, Matthew McGuire, Ariana Montazeri, Michael Burello, Clifford Butcher (Faculty Advisor)
WASTE COLLECTION & ROUTE OPTIMIZATION
In order to optimize the collection of waste in modern cities like Toronto, our team has created an electromechanical device that measures the capacity of a waste bin. This device is easily mounted onto city waste bins and sends its data to a smartphone application. This data is then utilized to determine an optimized waste collection route for garbage truck drivers.
Team members: Yonna Worku, Osama Rai, Atpouthan Paskaran, Henry Odunze, Komal Habib (Faculty Advisor)
AUTOMATED BRAKE TESTING DEVICE FOR PASSENGER RAIL CARS
In partnership with VIA Rail, Canada’s largest passenger rail service, we are developing an automated air brake testing system for passenger rail cars. The system aims to reduce the time and manpower required for maintenance as VIA expands their fleet. We are delivering portable “wireless pressure sensing units” which transmit data to a “Basestation” control hub, which then processes the data. The Basestation can facilitate a variety of tests through an integrated pneumatic circuit. The user controls the system through an Android tablet application.
Team members: Lauren Hankins, Stephen Cholvat, Ben Klassen, Brian Chan
DYNAMIC LIGHTING SOLUTION
A lamp which automatically adjusts its blue light content depending on user sleep patterns and time zone. Blue light content is automated to match the daily colour temperature cycles of natural circadian rhythms to reduce student fatigue caused by eye strain.
Team members: Jiwoo Jang, Caitlyn Kodric, Jordan Nahm, Zihuan Min, Charlie Allan (Shi Cao, Faculty Advisor; Ajoy Opal, Faculty Advisor)
SEMI-ACTIVE EXOSKELETON FOR SPASTIC DIPLEGIA
Spastic diplegia is a common form of cerebral palsy accounting for approximately 70% of cases. Severity can vary and the straight-line gait of the person is affected. A semi-active exoskeleton is being prototyped to assist with straight-line gait of persons with spastic diplegia.
Christian Mele, Bryce Kieffer, Katie Arnold, Talha Ahmad, James Tung and Arash Arami (Faculty Advisors)