WATERLOO, Ont., (Thursday, March 14, 2013) – A new laparoscopic suturing tool and a system of artificial vision for the visually impaired are among the innovative projects that fourth-year engineering students will present at a public event at the University of Waterloo starting tomorrow.
Students in eight programs will present more than 150 projects designed to improve the quality of life of Canadians. The project symposiums will take place on four separate days at the William G. Davis Computer Research Centre, located on the main University of Waterloo campus. Visitors are encouraged to browse the interactive displays and discuss the projects with students.
"The inventive design projects represent months of hard work by our very talented students," said Pearl Sullivan, dean of Engineering at Waterloo. "As in the past, we anticipate that some of the projects will lead to successful start-up companies and the commercialization of new products and services.”
Among the projects:
Sign Language Communication Suite – Systems design engineering symposium
This project bridges the communication gap over long distances between the American Sign Language and the non-American Sign Language community by developing a desktop application that provides an interface that will allow the two parties to communicate without a language barrier.
Artificial Vision for the Visually Impaired – Electrical and computer engineering symposium
Artificial Vision uses image recognition technology to transform images to intelligent audial instructions for the visually impaired. An embedded system analyzes the visual input captured by a camera mounted on the user’s head and uses the input to identify certain objects including crossroads, traffic lights, cars or other potential hazards.
Automation of a Laparoscopic Suturing Tool – Mechanical and mechatronics engineering symposium
The prototype of a functional automated laparoscopic suturing tool for abdominal surgery will be used for laboratory testing. It was designed in collaboration with KidsArm project researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
Financial Trading Strategies – Management engineering design symposium
This project explores the creation of financial-trading strategies, most of which are not readily available to retail investors with limited resources such as time, money and tools. Strategies were developed based on research, intuition, personal observations and work experience.
The schedule of events is as follows:
Friday, March 15 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Students graduating from systems design engineering will exhibit projects in the areas of human and biomedical engineering, mechatronics, financial, and environmental systems.
Monday, March 18 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Students graduating from mechanical and mechatronics engineering will exhibit projects in the areas of education systems, robotics, reconfigurable service systems, medical equipment and environmental recognition and mapping.
Wednesday, March 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Students graduating from electrical and computer engineering will present projects that solve problems in the areas of entertainment, music, power, robotics, security, sensors and devices, software, tracking, transportation, and user input.
Friday, March 22 from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Students graduating from management engineering, nanotechnology engineering, and software engineering will demonstrate innovative projects in the areas of software systems for mobile devices, desktop computers, embedded systems, cloud computing, logistics, financial systems, nanofluidics and nanobiotechnology, nanophotonics and electronics, and nanofunctional materials.
About Waterloo Engineering
The faculty of engineering at the University of Waterloo is a multi-faceted engineering school with eight academic units, home to about 295 faculty members, 1,945 graduate students and 6,840 undergraduate students. More than 36,140 alumni have made their mark in industry, academe and the public sector, in Canada and around the world. For further information, go to www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca.
