2024 Systems Design Engineering Capstone Designs



TERRITORIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

The Systems Design Engineering Department acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.


 


A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRS 
 


 

Lisa Aultman-Hall

Lisa Aultman-Hall
Professor and Chair

Welcome to the 2024 Capstone Design Symposium!  

This event showcases the creative work of graduating Systems Design Engineering (SYDE) students. We are tremendously proud of all they have accomplished on campus and during years of remote learning time.  I appreciate the faculty, staff, and mentors who have guided them throughout their academic journey.  

Capstone is a milestone culminating nearly five years of academic experience, co-operative education work terms, and personal endeavours dedicated to developing innovative solutions to improve the human experience. The teams identified fascinating and relevant problem spaces at the interface of technology, design, and society.  
Most importantly, the projects were enhanced by a sense of accountability to the people, communities, and environments impacted by their work. The combination of technical ingenuity and empathy offers a glimpse of how the students can lead change for a better future as they move forward in their careers. 

At the Symposium, we invite you to explore the design projects, engage with the students, and ask questions about their process. Many teams submit their projects for awards and competitions and value the opportunity to practice their pitch!  

We look forward to seeing the great things the class of ‘24 will accomplish in the field of Engineering and beyond. We are grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the students’ achievements and we wish them every success. 

Dr. Lisa Aultman-Hall  
Professor and Chair  
Department of Systems Design Engineering 


 


CAPSTONE DESIGN PARTICIPANTS
 

16. SubwAI
17. Reflect
19. Algist
20. SMRtGrid

SynapSync

1. SynapSync

Gabrielle Chan, Chamod Gamage, Andy Lee, Lukas Weber, Bryan Yam

Diagnosing cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's is challenging due to the absence of clear physiological symptoms. Existing diagnostics rely on subjective observations and self-reporting. Correlating the brain's physical degradation against cognitive disorders needs to be studied. SynapSync closes this gap. It synchronizes neuroimaging with cognitive test results, correlating brain activity with human behavior. This enables researchers to study cognition and the physiological aspects of cognitive disorders more effectively.

Ventech

2. Ventech

Aidan Bowers, Abigail Chan, Aaron Dyck, Jayden Hsiao

Ventech builds smart vents that enhance Heating Ventilation Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems. The vents intelligently redirect airflow, ensuring even heating and cooling distribution in homes. Each vent is equipped with a miniature airflow harvester and indoor lighting-optimized solar panels, removing the need for battery replacements. An infrared temperature sensor eliminates the need for room-specific thermostats, reducing setup time and cost. The vents are wirelessly controlled through a simple web interface. This solution significantly decreases energy consumption, improves comfort, and reduces costs for homeowners.

Ocean Agriculture Robotics (OAR)

3. Ocean Agriculture Robotics (OAR)

Keenan Burke, Mike Ko, Josiah Lodewyk, Nathaniel Ricker

Ocean Agriculture Robotics (OAR) is designing a semi-aquatic robot to harvest rice on an ocean floating farm designed by Alora. Ocean agriculture will minimize the need for freshwater and land to plant and harvest the world's most important crops such as rice. About 3.5 billion people around the world need rice. OAR is building and testing a prototype to verify the analogous system to the floating farm. Robotic traversal of a hexagonal grid is the primary focus of OAR.

Fridge Friends

4. Fridge Friends

Sharon Chatha, Cormac Cureton, Keaton Lees, Kelly Ng

Sick of food going bad in your fridge? Fridge Friends revolutionizes how household food inventory is managed. The tool uses computer vision to track the fridge's inventory, and uses gas sensors to alert users prior to food spoilage. These real-time insights are delivered to users via a mobile app. The goal of the project is to empower individuals to take control of their food consumption and reduce the environmental impact associated with wasted groceries.

WHEREable

5. WHEREable

Joy He, Matthew Kee, Emily Louie, Jayant Mehta, Gregory Schaper

Individuals with hearing loss often struggle to determine where a sound originated from, which can impact road safety and situational awareness. WHEREable is a wearable device that identifies sudden loud sounds (like a car horn or a siren), determines the origin of the sound, then alerts the user to its direction. It consists of a receiver worn on the head, and a band that can be worn on the arm/leg that is outfitted with small motors which vibrate to indicate the direction of sound.

RubbleRescue

6. RubbleRescue

Samantha Orizabal, Lam Pham, Kristen Shiozaki, Alison Wigg

In earthquake-prone regions, building structural failures often lead to people being trapped under rubble, complicating search and rescue efforts. This project aims to design a system for search-and-rescue teams to streamline the search processes of earthquake victims trapped under collapsed buildings, by allowing them to locate victims with higher confidence and communicate the location details. RubbleRescue is a sensor network system equipped with accelerometers, microphones, and speakers, that employs acoustic triangulation algorithms to swiftly locate survivors, providing real-time feedback for efficient operations.

Braille Buddy

7. Braille Buddy

Shaahana Naufal, Ayla Orucevic, Mathurah Ravigulan, Julia Turner

Braille is a unique tool used by individuals who are visually impaired. Braille increases users' brain stimulation, improves understanding of grammar and spelling, and creates opportunities for employment and education. Only 10% of students who are visually impaired are learning braille, in part due to limited access to trained teaching staff. Braille Buddy is a tablet application powered by computer vision. It offers auditory reinforcement as students trace their fingers along a braille book, enabling independent learning anytime, anywhere.

AerialVision

8. AerialVision

Hanlin Cheng, Andrew Ma, Krystal Truong, Emma Wai

AerialVision is a scoring solution for trampoline gymnastics. The judging tool automates manual and sensor-based scoring by applying computer vision techniques to videos of competition routines. The annotations of each scored component - execution, difficulty, time of flight, and horizontal displacement - is presented to provide accessible, specific, and unbiased athlete feedback aligning directly with International Federation of Gymnastics judging criteria. Without the constraints of installing sensors or requiring multiple officials, AerialVision lowers financial and material overhead for local competitions and daily training.

Flare

9. Flare

Sophia Chen, Tracy Hicks, Ada Hong, Martha Matsui, Diana Zhang

During a high-rise residential fire, firefighters have limited information about the situation until they arrive at the scene. Similarly, residents are often unaware of the severity of the fire and hazardous zones, putting them at risk. Flare is a proof-of-concept environmental sensing system designed to monitor and display fire progression information to both emergency response and residents during a fire event. Flare's network of sensors tracks key fire indicators, providing critical information for as long as possible in fire environments.

WalkWise

10. WalkWise

Ron Hyman, Sarah Macintosh, Daniel Raymond, Julia Woodcock

We are designing an ambient gait monitoring device and accompanying app to be used by older adults and their family members who seek to understand the older adult's evolving functional ability and wellbeing as they age while living independently. The device is placed on the floor and measures clinically relevant gait metrics through vibration data. This serves as a tool for older adults to track changes in their health while allowing their caregivers to know when to check up on them or get additional help.

Brandon chang

Brandon Chang

Matthew collins

Matthew Collins

Rock laniyi

Rock Laniyi

11. ErgoGrip VR

ErgoGrip VR is a bimodal tabletop Oculus virtual reality controller tailored for Spatial.io applications - a collaborative virtual platform. ErgoGrip VR design is an ergonomic and user-friendly VR controller for elderly individuals experiencing limited finger mobility and muscle degradation. This two-module controller comprises a joystick for navigation within Spatial and a button module for left and right field-of-view rotation, as well as interactions such as waving in the VR application.

Octave

12. Octave

Dylan Hopkins, Claire Reeves, Emily Reeves, Emily Wang, Pamela Wang

Octave, our digital piano practice assistant, is tailored for students aged 5-11 at Royal Conservatory of Music levels 1-3, addressing the common issue of ingrained errors due to repetitive, incorrect practice. This tool enables beginners to identify and correct their mistakes by providing personalized piano practice suggestions; increasing practice efficiency and teaching healthy practice habits.

PhysioPal

13. PhysioPal

Malak Ali, Yash Gajaria, Krishna Kalavadia, Sarah Kennedy, Julie Nguyen

Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee pose challenges in rehabilitation attributed to underutilized or inadequate rehabilitation practices. PhysioPal is an affordable at-home monitoring tool that will allow patients and physiotherapists to actively track the progression and efficacy of ACL injury rehabilitation treatments. To achieve this, electromyography (EMG) sensors in combination with a local and web app are used to provide real-time biofeedback and intuitive data visualizations to permit quick access and quantifiable evaluation of performance and progress.

Umar farooq

Umar-Farooq Sheikh

Steven wang

Steven Wang

Ashley yang

Ashley Yang

14. SafeCycle

SafeCycling is designed to enhance cyclist safety. Equipped with a camera-based vehicle detection system, it operates by analyzing real-time data. When it identifies an approaching vehicle from the rear, SafeCycling triggers visual and haptic feedback mechanisms to notify the cyclist of potential danger. This device will give the cyclist a heightened awareness of one's surroundings.

Alexander Gruhl, Lakshya Khanna, Long Tieu

15. Brain Safe-SYDE

Alexander Gruhl, Lakshya Khanna, Ayesha Mohammedally, Long Tieu

Sports are essential for physical and cognitive development, yet concussions in contact sports pose serious health risks. Brain SafeSYDE is developing an athlete-worn device that collects vital data like acceleration and impact location. It alerts players, coaches, and parents to potential traumatic brain injuries, enabling prompt medical attention to reduce further harm and the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. The product features an IMU-integrated skull cap with pressure sensors for data collection and transmission and a dashboard to display the data.

Sayohn

Sayohn Ahilan

Andrei

Andrei Grovu

Moiz

Moiz Khan

Archan

Archan Patel

Suyash

Suyash Unnithan

16. SubwAI

SubwAI automates inventory management at Subway restaurants by utilizing weight sensing and computer vision technologies. The system detects the item and recognizes if a re-supply is needed.

Reflect

17. Reflect

Ryan Hui, Aaron Jiang, Seoyoon Kim, Ashvin Moro, Julia Sim

On average, 12% of clothes in closets go unworn annually with a 60% increase in clothing purchases over 15 years, fueling environmental issues like greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and textile waste. Reflect is a clothing recognition system that captures a user's outfit with a camera mounted on a personal mirror and catalogs them in an app, creating a virtual wardrobe. The system tracks the usage frequency of each clothing item, highlighting the items that are less used to encourage responsible and sustainable consumer habits.

Algist

19. Algist

Kate Leung, Emily Voigt, Silja Walenius, Abigail Waterston, Jessica Wormald

Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, can have the potential to produce cyanotoxins, posing a threat to drinking water safety. Traditional monitoring is often insufficient, as it relies on visual observation of surface scum. Algist uses distributed in-situ sensing, telemetry, and algorithmic change detection to map and characterize algae dynamics in a drinking water reservoir. Our real-time data collection and change detection sentinel system measures chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin, direct biomarkers of algae proliferation, to alert reservoir managers and researchers of high algae presence in an area.
 

Joelle rennick

Joelle Rennick

Anya sarvanandan

Anya Sarvanandan

Chidinma umenwofor nweze

Chidinma Umenwofor-Nweze

20. SMRtGrid

Many of Canada's remote communities, burdened by the environmental impact and logistical difficulties of diesel generators, seek a shift to cleaner energy alternatives like nuclear power. However, the challenge lies in matching diesel's flexibility and economic viability.

SMRtGrid hopes to bridge this gap by introducing a controller to allow Small Modular Reactors, a cutting-edge nuclear technology, to more closely meet fluctuating energy demands. In addition, our modelling system simulates SMR integration with microgrids and showcases how this can be a feasible solution for remote communities.

 


THANK YOU
 


 

PROJECT SUPERVISORS 

Prof. Nasser Azad (Team #1) 
Prof. Robert Hunter (Team #2) 
Prof. Amir Khajepour (Team #3) 
Prof. Yimin Wu (Team #4) 
Prof. Ewen MacDonald (Team #5) 
Prof. Eugene Kim (Team #6) 
Prof. Siby Samuel (Team #7 and Team #17) 
Prof. Yuhao Chen (Team #8) 
Prof. Beth Weckman (Team #9) 
Prof. Shi Cao (Team #10) 
Prof. Cosmin Munteanu (Team #11) 
Prof. Andrea Scott (Team #12) 
Prof. John McPhee (Team #13) 
Prof. Lisa Aultman-Hall (Team #14) 
Prof. David Wang (Team #15) 
Prof. Jim Bookbinder (Team #16) 
Prof. Michael Mayer (Team #18) 
Prof. Monica Emelko (Team #19) 
Prof. Ali Elkamel (Team #20) 

 

COURSE INSTRUCTION TEAM 

Dr. Reem Roufail 
Orion Bruckman 
Alex Magdanz 

 

TEACHING ASSISTANT 

Jerrin Bright 
 

SUPPORT STAFF 

Chris McClellan 
Dr. Calvin Young 

 

THANK YOU

Thank you to all the project advisors, support staff, and grad students that have helped our capstone teams this year. Your support has allowed the students to explore complex, impactful projects and has given them the help and advice they need as they move on to the next stage of their lives. Your assistance has been very much appreciated. 


 


FUTURE CAPSTONE DESIGN PROJECTS
 



For more information about Systems Design Engineering design projects or to inquire about joining us in future design projects, please contact:

Reem Roufail,
rroufail@uwaterloo.ca

 


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