2024 Mechanical Engineering Capstone Designs

This initiative was focused on developing a lightweight, electrically assisted device tailored for individuals with mobility challenges. The device uses mechanical arms powered by a motor using an onboard battery to reduce the load on the user taking the cart up a set of stairs. This innovative solution streamlines the transport of daily essentials up and down stairs, combining ergonomic design and transportability with cutting-edge materials to enhance user independence, efficiency, and capabilities. 

With the widespread use of smart technology, people with dual sensory loss (DSL or deaf-blindness) risk being left out. Our product aims to improve their accessibility to smart technology by creating an ultra-portable glove that allows users to seamlessly receive information from their smart devices. This innovative smart glove employs electro-tactile haptics to induce Braille sensations through electrical stimulations on the user's fingers, enabling those with DSL to access books, text messages, and any other media passively and portably, literally at their fingertips!

Our project introduces an innovative solution to a common winter hassle in Canada: snow removal. Our goal is to develop a remote-controlled snow blower, revolutionizing how snow is cleared. With the ease of a controller and Bluetooth technology, users can effortlessly direct both the movement and chute of the blower from the comfort of their homes. This leads to a convenient, no-fuss method to tackle the daunting task of shoveling snow.

Polymetallic nodules are seafloor-based rocks containing metals essential for society's renewable energy needs. The mining of these nodules represents a multi-trillion dollar opportunity, but existing harvesting technologies are energy-intensive and disruptive to seabed ecosystems.

UWOMBAT (UnderWater Ocean Mining Buoyancy And Trim), together with Impossible Metals, has designed a ballast-driven buoyancy/trim engine for an autonomous underwater mining vehicle. The new system controls the vehicle's buoyancy and trim by selectively replacing processed nodules back to the seafloor, thereby reducing energy costs and facilitating ocean ecosystem repair.

Traditional gym weight stacks pose challenges in transportation and cost. FlexiFit aims to address these issues and make home gym equipment more accessible. Using an innovative constant force spring array and smart controls, FlexiFit significantly reduces the weight of home gym equipment without compromising on workout quality.

Current shielding methodologies for pipe welding involve purging and filling entire pipes with shielding gas before welding. This process is time-consuming, expensive, and resource intensive. Our solution, A.L.I.S (Automated Interior Localized Shielding) is a robot that drives into a pipe and shields welds using a rotating arm that follows the weld as it is performed—dispensing argon gas from the interior of the pipe. The robot also allows for inspection of weld quality via a camera and can take images and videos as necessary. 

Co-sleeping is defined as when an infant and parent/guardian share the same bed. Although co-sleeping has some benefits, there are also risks if not practiced properly.  This is where our product, Co-zyBond, comes into play. It is a smart mattress equipped with sensor technology in order to mitigate risks associated with co-sleeping, such as suffocation. With Co-zyBond, parents will be able to safely co-sleep with their child without the anxieties surrounding co-sleeping.

Wave energy converters (WECs) convert the kinetic energy of ocean waves into electrical energy. Large WECs are currently deployed around the world to power electrical grids. miniWEC is a miniaturized wave energy converter designed to provide renewable electrical energy for portable marine devices, such as research buoys equipped with sensors for data collection. miniWEC enables long-term deployment of these devices in areas with turbulent waves and rough weather conditions.

Klean Kicks is the hassle-free way to keep your shoes fresh. Just slip them into the device when you get home, and within 30 minutes, you'll have a clean pair of shoes. Klean Kicks not only removes dirt and grime but also employs UV-C technology to sanitize, eliminating odor-causing bacteria. Designed for your everyday sneakers and running shoes, Klean Kicks is meant to seamlessly fit into your routine.

The autonomous wall painting robot is an innovation designed to automate the process of painting walls in both residential and small-scale commercial settings. Equipped with advanced sensors, the robot can detect wall boundaries and obstacles precisely. It utilizes a customized painting system, capable of applying an even coating quickly and efficiently, making smart decisions to ensure a quality paint job in a fraction of the time. Its compact design allows easy transportation and operation, making it a reliable and simple solution. 

Using a manual wheelchair for prolonged periods of time and long distances is exhausting, especially for the elderly. We have designed an attachment which motorizes manual wheelchairs which can be easily attached and detached to any type of manual wheelchair.

Montere is a modular espresso machine with easily swappable internal components, significantly decreasing the cost of upgrading or repairing home espresso devices, as well as reducing the amount of e-waste produced. This creates an affordable entry point into the world of home espresso which can grow alongside a customer's changing needs over time rather than being periodically replaced for increasingly larger sums of money, as exists in the current market.

The CrutchTech project aims to revolutionize crutch design by creating a hands-free and comfortable alternative to existing options. Our crutch features a knee linkage mechanism mimicking the Gait Cycle, ensuring a natural walking motion for enhanced comfort while having the injured leg supported. The crutch attaches to the user's thigh to permit a hands-free experience with the crutch compared to conventional solutions.

Access to clean drinking water is an on-going issue in thousands of communities across Canada. Ceramic water filters are a proven effective solution for Canadian water systems, however they require frequent and labor-intensive cleaning which hinders widespread usability. Our innovation introduces a fully automated, self-cleaning ceramic water filtration system. By removing the need for regular maintenance, this system can extend its reach to a broader population, contributing to the effort to provide a greater number of Canadians with access to clean drinking water.
 

Creating an automated winding system for Waterloop's hyperloop project, coil-wRaptor ensures precise winding on single or multiple cores. Requiring minimal user input, it adapts to variable core sizes in three dimensions and handles diverse wire gauges. With a primary focus on precision, it provides a valuable tool for advancing research and development in the broader field of linear induction motors.

The Under Cutter is a waterproof, electric angle grinder designed for a variety of uses in underwater environments. With an easily swapped blade, variable speed control, and a custom designed tool housing, it seeks to be a compact, easy to use tool for underwater abrasive cutting. Using a mix of off the shelf and custom-designed but easily manufactured components, this project seeks to create a standardized device for industries where existing solutions tend to be bulky, customized, and expensive.

In current industrial kombucha brewing methods, a common issue arises with the presence of residual, unfermented sugar. We're trying to improve the kombucha brewing process by introducing mixing using vortex rings.

The group has developed a system to proactively detect potential upper body collision hazards and deliver haptic feedback to mitigate collisions. This system solves the need that exists for independent navigation for the visually impaired while reducing the occurrence of head-level accidents. Essentially, a sixth sense for the visually impaired.

Tetrix Kits are used by the MME department at the University of Waterloo to facilitate hands-on design experience in first year courses. At the end of each term, co-op students and teaching assistants in the department manually count, sort, and reorganize approximately 70 Tetrix kits each consisting of over 290 parts. This project aims to provide an automated solution to count, sort and reorganize Tetrix kits.

yesUcan is a multi-tool for opening sealed containers. Whether that be a jar, can, or bottle, yesUcan assists the user in the process of opening by reducing the input force via gear relations, making it ideal for people who struggle to overcome the strength required to open these standard sealed containers. Being compact with no electrical components makes it convenient to store in your kitchen, and take it wherever you need it. Think you can't? yesUcan!

The Packer-Pro seed handling system brings the herb and seed industry an automated solution to the tedious task of manually measuring and packaging seeds for retail sale. Utilizing both electronic and pneumatic control, the Packer-Pro system accurately processes bulk seeds into sealed packets in a fraction of the time required to do so manually.

Teledyne FLIR has been performing manual calibration of a sensor package for a drone development project requiring human input. Our custom End-Effector seamlessly mounts the sensor package to a Kinova Gen 3 arm. The thermal calibration target enables visual and thermal inputs to calibrate the sensor package. Accompanying is the controls and automation software which map an optimized trajectory and 1-click calibration resulting in a 0.08 reprojection error.

The Chariot Mobility device is a one-of-a-kind custom mobility aid designed specifically for a client suffering from a spinal condition (Arnold Chiari Malformation) to assist with able-body walking tasks. Its lightweight standing frame and mechanical propulsion system were made to accommodate the client's physical limitations while also being safe and easy to use. The Chariot aims to address the lack of custom solutions for those suffering from unique mobility issues. 

Have you ever wanted to instantly grow up to 3 feet? Perform for an audience and leave them in complete shock? Self-extending stilts is an exciting project that can be incorporated into any entrainment performance from circuses, festivals, tradeshows or simply to impress your friends. 

Existing stilts lack the capability for users to adjust their height during use. This left an exciting possibility for a novel stilt walking act that could allow the performer to start at ground level and gradually elevate to obscure heights.
 

The SunBrew Solar Kettle is a portable, lightweight, & sustainable solution to obtain boiling water when backpacking outdoors in the summer. It uses special parabolic mirrors to focus incoming solar radiation onto a specialized glass tube that houses up to 450 ml of liquid. From room temperature, you can enjoy boiling water for hot beverages or rehydrating food within two hours. 

The purpose of this project is to conduct fluid mechanics research on sloshing dynamics in conical containers subjected to linear, oscillatory motion. Specifically, the flows on the free surface are of interest, and the aim a system to shake a conical container is necessary in order to capture and study the flow using cameras.

The University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT) seeks to improve the accessibility of their current competition vehicle, a 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ.  Current solutions for accessible vehicles only exist for larger vehicles such as trucks/vans. UWAFT LiftOff aims to create a system that alleviates the difficulty of transferring into small vehicles to improve their accessibility for low-mobility individuals. 

Addressing a major bottle neck in the electric vehicle industry for an industry sponsor by designing a new material storage and transfer solution for large thin metal sheets as well as optimizing an end effector design for automated handling. This solution targets reduction of downtime and scrap costs by lowering the amount of stored part deflection. It also improves transportation efficiency by utilizing more dense part storage.

Foosball is a beloved table-top soccer game requiring at least two people to play. The Goal Guard Guru is the solution that provides foosball professionals, enthusiasts, and newbies alike with the option to play by themselves while still maintaining popular aspects of the game. This new and improved foosball table is specifically designed for single-player fun for hours on end! Have no fear, the Guru is here! 

With VR and XR technology reaching new heights, wouldn't it be even cooler if you could feel the virtual objects you're seeing? Most solutions are too expensive or bulky and simply inaccessible to most people. What if there was a device you could actually try out? A device compact and simple enough to be practical? Foreal VR Glove aims to be a lightweight, affordable and accessible solution that will allow users to feel like they are grabbing a virtual object in a virtual environment. 
 

Introducing "FeelScript" - revolutionizing accessibility for the visually impaired! Snap a pic of any text with your phone, and watch as our innovative technology transforms it into braille on the back of your device. Feel the words come to life with our tactile interface, providing an empowering reading experience. Seamlessly switch between words as the modules reset, opening a new world of independence and inclusivity. Feel the power of literacy at your fingertips with FeelScript - making language accessible, one touch at a time.

HEXA-Force is a novel six-axis mechanical loading platform aiming to revolutionize 3D imaging of biomaterials. The platform allows for precise application of large biomechanical loads in multiple simultaneous directions, allowing more accurate material characterization. Designed to mimic complex physiological loading conditions, HEXA-Force aims to advance the understanding of biomaterial behavior and bone-implant mechanics, making it a valuable tool in the field of orthopedic biomechanics and medical imaging research.

Faculty Advisors: Stewart McLachlin, Nikolas Knowles

The project focuses on enhancing efficiency and reducing development costs in industrial automation for Vibratory Bowl Feeders. A streamlined design process utilizing simulations is employed, resulting in an efficient, cost-effective prototype with a simplified interface. The initiative aims to minimize design time and maximize operational efficiency in manufacturing environments.

AutoSwap is an innovative solution addressing the lack of automatic tool changers in collaborative robots, specifically for the Sawyer Cobot. Collaborative robots, designed to work alongside humans in manufacturing, often face increased cycle times and costs due to manual tool changes. AutoSwap addresses this by enabling automatic tool changes, merging the collaborative benefits of these robots with enhanced manufacturing efficiency. This technology promises to streamline operations where collaborative robots are employed, making them more cost-effective.

Faculty Advisor: Yue Hu

An in-class demonstration unit designed to show significant topics covered in Thermodynamics I & II that are not so easily seen in real life: refrigeration cycle, compressor work and efficiency, phase change in a valve (demonstrated through Schlieren imaging), latent heat addition/removal, and the interaction of a thermodynamic cycle with its environment. Usable in class settings, with minimal setup and secondary equipment required. 

Our Carbon Infinity Tech combines existing Direct Air Capture (DAC) of CO2 with mechanical principles to tackle the current climate crisis. This sustainable device, attached to a Light Rail Transit (LRT) vehicle, cleans the air by using the train's motion without any external power. It comprises an aerodynamic enclosure that houses adsorption cylinder beds containing zeolite. The increased air flow rate through the chamber results in an enhanced CO2 capture.

Presso is a coffee machine that lets you extract the perfect espresso shot, every time. 

An in-situ kelp weight measurement device for coastal kelp farmers in maritime regions to replace labourious and time consuming methods. This project focuses on creating a kelp farm buoy that utilizes waves to power on-board systems that measure the water level. This would then be correlated to the kelp weight. This device enables measuring the amount of absorbed carbon in kelp farms so that it expands our carbon sinks, in addition to land ones, against our fight for climate change. 

ErgoInject is an advanced injection device designed to address the challenges of repetitive strain injuries caused by high force requirement needles. Featuring an ergonomic grip, button-controlled injections, and a lightweight, cord-free build, ErgoInject offers a practical solution to medical needs while prioritizing precision and comfort.

In a time where technology has progressed to create autonomy in daily tasks, it seems that the area of food preparation is yet to be pursued. Our design, the Sous-Bot, creates a more autonomous food preparation experience for those without the time or ability to prepare meals. The Sous-Bot requires the user to simply place their fruit, vegetables, or meats onto the cutting platform, and within minutes, the ingredients are cut into a specific style, as requested by the user.

Cookie Dough Dynamo is partnering with The Crumby Cookie Dough Company to streamline their cookie dough production process by replacing their manual scooping and packaging operation with an autonomous solution. This project aims to redesign the process to increase the production output whilst minimizing operational waste produced.