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SEPTEMBER 2013

RIT Engineering Student Projects

Page 6

6 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | SEPTEMBER 2013 cover article

RIT Engineering Student Projects— Mark Smith

Last September the RES featured for the first time the Multidisciplinary Senior Design (MSD) program at RIT. This year we report on new projects undertaken by over 350 senior engineering students in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. To refresh your memory, the MSD program is a capstone design experience where students work across disciplines to solve challenging “real-world” problems. Almost 90% of engineering seniors participate from the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Industrial and Systems Engineering. Students from other colleges at RIT are encouraged to participate. Overall, students expend over 70,000 engineer-hours or 35 engineer-years of effort annually on projects of interest to a wide range of stakeholders.

In contrast to the approach used by most engineering schools to teach engineering design, students at RIT work in multidisciplinary teams to address problems that are broader in scope than any individual engineering discipline. Students assess needs and engineering requirements, develop creative concepts, resolve major technical hurdles, and employ rigorous engineering practices to design a prototype device or process which is tested and documented. Students are also introduced to the basic concepts of project management and systems engineering, and learn through teamwork how to leverage the specialized knowledge of others outside their own field of expertise to achieve viable solutions to complex challenges.

In 2012-13, students tackled over 70 projects in a wide range of application areas including Biomedical Systems and Technologies, Vehicle Systems and Technologies, Autonomous Systems and Controls, Energy and Sustainable System, Printing and Imaging Systems, Chemical and Materials Processing, and Process Innovation. See http://edge.rit.edu/content/Resources/public/CurrentProjects for 2012-13 projects and http://edge.rit.edu/content/Resources/public/Project%20Archives for earlier projects. RIT’s senior engineering students have completed almost 600 projects since the program started in 2002.

SponsorshipProject proposals are developed by students, faculty, corporate sponsors, and other external organizations such as NGO’s, hospitals and clinics. Each project is championed by a faculty member who marshals the proposal through an approval process. Sponsors work collaboratively with faculty to insure that project objectives and scope are consistent with student capabilities and course learning objectives.

Proprietary projects are discouraged, consistent with the educational mission of RIT. Emphasis is placed on the utilization of open architectures and non-proprietary technologies, often with the goal of developing flexible, scalable, and reusable platforms. Nevertheless, sponsors have priority access to projects and are encouraged to leverage results for their internal programs. Sponsors can also influence the technologies that students learn about, to produce graduates who are better prepared to make contributions to sponsors’ organizations.

Project ExamplesAnkle-Foot Orthotics (P13001, P13002)Ankle Foot Orthotics provides rigid ankle stability to patients who suffer from a condition known as foot drop, caused by nerve damage in the lower leg. By replacing the natural muscle functioning with power from an air muscle, full plantar flexion can be achieved and assists patients in stabilizing their gate. One team

of students pursued the use of air muscles to power the device, while a second team used electrical power and a torque device to actuate the orthotic. Both projects received awards at the ASME 2013 Summer Bioengineering Conference in Oregon.

Ankle-foot Orthotic with Air Muscle

Motion Sensing for Game Control (P13011)Leukodystrophy is a genetic disease in which the myelin sheath within the nervous system degrades, leading to difficulty moving

and speaking. A team of five students in mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering designed a controller that detects

motions and enables a person with leukodystrophy to interact with electronic media.

Game Controller for Leukosdystrophy

Portable Emergency Ventilator (P13026)A Ventilator is a device that provides positive pressure ventilation to a person who is incapable of breathing on their own. A team of eight engineering students and one industrial designer updated an existing prototype with current technology and an entirely new user interface to make the device lighter, more efficient, easier to

use, and to provide more feedback to the emergency medical technician. Another design iteration is underway, which is intended to result in a commercial device ready for manufacture.

Portable Ventilator Old (right) and New (left)

Motion-Assisted Seating Device for Sailing (P12031, P13031, P13032)This year’s sailing projects were part of a series designed to help a disable person experience the thrill of sailing by enabling motion that able-bodied sailors take for granted. P13032 provided the ability to make significant adjustments to the seat, and P13031 focused on support and protection of the jib trimmer, which allows transfer of the sailor to both sides of the boat. Featured

in the Democrat & Chronicle and Quadsailor.com last year, this year’s jib trimmer project received an award at the ASME 2013 Summer Bioengineering Conference in Oregon. Both devices have been delivered to customers, one in Boston and the other in Chicago.

Assistive Devices for Sailing

Mobile Pediatric Stander (P13045)Mobile assist devices provide disabled persons some independence and a feeling of inclusion. A mobile pediatric standing device was developed by a team of mechanical, electrical, industrial, and computer engineering students so that a disabled child is able to stand at the same level as his or her peers and move at the same pace.

Mobile Pediatric Stander

Maximum Power Point Tracker (P13271)The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) has been working to produce a new family of satellites based on the CubeSat

standard. A team of RIT engineering students was tasked by AMSAT with developing a 7 Watt Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT), a device which maximizes the power obtained from a solar panel. A satellite

Maximum Power Point Tracker

SEPTEMBER 2013 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 7cover article cover article

incorporating the MPPT is planned for launch into orbit by NASA in 2015. The project was selected as a finalist in the prestigious Texas Instrument’s Analog Design Contest Engibous Summit.

Levitation Clock (P13321)Magnetic levitation can be used to tell time. An array of four solenoids are utilized to vertically propel small, lightweight, magnetic objects. Each object can be in one of two states, on or off, so that four solenoids can represent the numbers 0-15, which enables the clock to display a 12-hour format. Minutes are

displayed abstractly using an 3-color LED. The clock is aesthetically pleasing and seems "magical" to captivate users.

Levitation Clock

Piano Touch Pad (P13363, P13364)Traditional electronic keyboards require a musician to use one hand for special effects while playing keys with the other. Two

student teams developed a touch sensitive keyboard so that a musician can keep both hands on the keyboard. Controls are implemented on each key to vary pitch, volume, and vibrato by sliding a finger in the X and Y direction.

Piano Touch Pad

Bearing Test Measurement System (P13505)The purpose of this project is to create a test stand on which fuser bearings can be evaluated (pass or fail), to significantly

improve accuracy. This new method replaces a labor intensive approach applied to bearings returned to Xerox for remanufacturing. The new fixture has also been shown to outperform commercially available bearing tester made by Flextronics.

Bearing Test Measurement System

Projected Image 3D Printer (P12552, P13552)Building on last year’s project, this system uses an ordinary overhead projector to project black and white images onto a film of UV

curable photopolymer to selectively cure the polymer. The prototype includes a movable platform, an adjustment method for image size and focus, and a procedure for generating a sequence of black and white images.

Projected Image Printer

Wyman-Gordon Forging Locator (P12556, P13556)A team of electrical and mechanical engineering students continued work on a laser-based system to measure the alignment of a forging relative to the forging dies in a press, which provides visual feedback

to the operator indicating degree of misalignment. Improvements were made this year along with full systems integration and delivery to Wyman-Gordon.

Laser-Based Forging Locator

Ruggedized High Speed Camera System (P13571)A team of six mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering students developed a weather resistant, miniaturized camera system capable of capturing and transmitting high-resolution HD video or

14 MP image data. The system incorporates high-speed electronics while maintaining an IP-64 environmental protection standard. The enclosure supports a variety of lenses, has a rugged structure, and resists weather conditions while dissipating heat created by the

internal electronics.

Ruggedized High Speed Camera

Titania Nanotube Reactor (P13601)A team including chemical and mechanical engineering students designed, built, and tested a electrochemical reactor for titania nanotube synthesis, including the ability to control ambient humidity and other parameters that might affect the water

concentration of the reactor electrolyte. By providing much more control over the reactor’s solution temperature, humidity, and other environmental conditions, the synthesized nanotubes have more uniform growth and higher yield.

Titania Nanotube Reactor

Conductive Heat Transfer Lab (P13621)A team of seven chemical, industrial, mechanical, and electrical engineering students designed an instrument cart which allows students to observe conductive heat transfer and calculate the thermal conductivity of materials, as part of a heat transfer laboratory experience.

Conductive Heat Transfer Lab

Garlock Expansion Joint (P13671)This project involves the design and fabrication of a device to test an expansion joint, a rubber and fabric component that is bolted

between piping connections. An expansion joint buffers expansion and contraction, vibration, and torsional twisting, and it is less expensive than re-piping. A team of six mechanical and industrial engineering students developed a solution that allows Garlock’s customers to better understand the integrity of an expansion joint in the field.

Garlock Expansion Joint

Triathlon Shoe (P13673)Triathletes switch mid-race from rigid cycling shoes to soft flexible running shoes. The cycling shoes distribute pedal pressure and transfer energy efficiently to the pedals. The running shoes dampen the impact of running and flex with the foot. A team of mechanical

and industrial engineering students and an industrial design student created a new sole that meets both objectives. The device adjusts its rigidity and changes dampening characteristics while remaining comfortable to wear.

Triathlon Shoe

See the digital edition of the Rochester Engineer for sample technical papers.

Mark Smith is the Director of Multidisciplinary Programs in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering at RIT. He can be reached at(585) 475-7102 or mark.smith@rit.edu.