From cookie dough to accessibility innovations, there was certainly a lot to see at this year’s Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Symposium. On March 20th, graduating students showed off their fourth-year design projects, and there was no shortage of the “wow factor.”
We had the chance to chat with some of the students to learn more about their inspiration for their projects and how certain classes in their Mechanical Engineering degrees helped them devise innovative solutions to problems around the world.
Self-Extending Stilts
Want to grow even taller? Well, Team 25’s self-extending stilts can help with that—instantly. Motorized self-extending stilts can be incorporated into any entertainment performance, like tradeshows, circuses, festivals, or simply just a great party trick. Currently, stilts cannot be adjusted in their height during use. When asked what course inspired them to do this project, they said that their materials courses helped them to make their buckling calculations, and their mechanical design courses helped them to come up with the design for their project. Additionally, the team said that their co-ops helped them get real-world experiences to create their project as well.
AutoSwap
Inspired by a request from Dr. Yue Hu, AutoSwap addresses the lack of automatic tool changers in collaborative robots that work alongside humans in manufacturing. In manufacturing, productivity is lost due to manual tool changes, and AutoSwap addresses this by enabling automatic tool changes to help make manufacturing processes more cost-effective. One of the team members said: that for Dr. Yue Hue, this project could also double as a way to switch between different cooking tools.
miniWEC
Taking wave energy converters – portable. Team 8 created a miniaturized wave technology converter that is designed to provide renewable electrical energy for portable marine devices, such as research buoys equipped with sensors for data collection. A miniWEC can also withstand long-term deployment in areas with turbulent waves and other weather conditions. The team says that they wanted to create a mechanical design while also incorporating renewable energy and sustainability. Plus, congratulations are in order for the team as they took home the Best Overall Project Award and the Best Practical Design Award.
Co-zyBond
Team 7 created a smart mattress equipped with sensor technology to help mitigate the risks of co-sleeping with an infant. A parent will wear a smart device that vibrates if a child is at risk when co-sleeping. When asked how their courses helped them come up with their design project, they said that their sensor courses helped them come up with their life-saving solution.
Coil-wRaptor
Team 16’s design ensures precise winding on single or multiple cores, requiring minimal user input. Since the project focuses on precision, this is an innovative tool for advancing research and development in the broader field of linear induction motors. Plus this team was also a winner of the Best Student Design Team Award.
To close out an fantastic day, our students attended their awards ceremony and Grad Toast. Take a look at more award winners from the day below.
More Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design award winners
Congratulations to all of our students on the successful completion of this incredible milestone. We’re all so proud of you and can’t wait to see how you’ll continue to bring innovative ideas to life in your future endeavours.