Mechanical & Mechatronics

Researchers at Waterloo Engineering have created technology to safely control and coordinate autonomous robots to perform routine tasks in hospitals and long-term care facilities.

The system, developed to help address a projected global nursing shortage, features ceiling-mounted sensor nodes equipped with cameras, LiDAR (light detection and ranging), an onboard processor and a 5G WiFi communication interface to connect to the cloud.

An international research team led by Waterloo Engineering has found a way to turn plastic waste into the main ingredient in vinegar using sunlight.

Their discovery could help reduce plastic pollution, especially in water, while also producing acetic acid, a chemical widely used in food production, chemical manufacturing and energy applications.

A health-technology company that grew out a fourth-year design project at Waterloo Engineering continues to gain traction after earning a key approval from Health Canada this fall.

Vena Medical was launched at Velocity, the flagship startup incubator at the University of Waterloo, after classmates Michael Phillips and Phillip Cooper (both BASc ’18, mechanical engineering) won early commercialization funding through entrepreneurship programs.

A company launched in 2024 by three Waterloo Engineering graduates has secured US $50 million in backing to help drive a move away from residential gas furnaces to its all-electric, smart heat pumps.

Vancouver-based Jetson, which was started by experienced technology entrepreneurs Stephen Lake, Matthew Bailey and Aaron Grant (all BASc ’12, mechatronics engineering), announced the funding infusion this week as it sets its sights on transforming the home heating and cooling industry in North America.

An alumnus of Waterloo Engineering aiming for a career in avionics and national defense has won a $50,000 scholarship to pursue graduate studies.

Megan Chang (BASc ’25, mechatronics engineering) was one of 14 female winners nation-wide through a program created to remember the 14 women murdered by a misogynist at École Polytechnique (now Polytechnique Montréal) on Dec. 6, 1989.

An alumnus of Waterloo Engineering has been named to an international list of the 100 most influential people driving business climate action.

Stephen Lake (BASc ’12, mechatronics engineering) appears on an annual list published by TIME magazine with an eclectic mix of world decision-makers, executives, researchers, and innovators that includes California Governor Gavin Newsom, actor Samuel L. Jackson, King Charles III and Pope Leo XIV.

Three entrepreneurial graduates of Waterloo Engineering have launched a new product they hope will change the home heating industry, reducing carbon emissions and saving customers money by driving a move away from natural gas to greener electricity.

Stephen Lake, Matthew Bailey and Aaron Grant (all BASc ’12, mechatronics engineering) built on their prior success in business to co-found Vancouver-based Jetson with a goal of making electric home heating much more common.