Tissue staining for cancer diagnosis uses chemicals that must be controlled. Much of the staining waste stream is noncontrolled but no method exists to determine how much of the waste stream needs to be controlled as hazardous waste. Environmental impact and cost make this a significant problem.

The goal of this project is to design a system to automatically detect and sequester controlled substances above their specified control levels. Sequestration reduces generation of controlled waste and prevents it mixing with noncontrolled waste.

Prototype sensors use ultraviolet and visible light spectra to detect hazardous chemicals and provide control signals that direct the system to align the flow path to either controlled or noncontrolled waste paths, as applicable. This allows the waste to be monitored continuously with little operator action.

The objective of this project is to perform a customer-based analysis of camera-equipped prosumer drones, the median-priced unmanned aerial vehicles used by hobbyists and professionals alike for photography and videography.

The team conducted cost, customer and feature analyses and hardware testing for three drone models manufactured by Yuneec. Results were combined to develop a comparative model of the drones and to identify areas of possible optimization.

The final comparative model encompasses test and analytical results plus evaluations of “smart” features such as sonar collision avoidance, autonomous flight modes, and indoor/outdoor positioning systems. The team also used data gathered during test flights to assess the drones’ camera performance.

The goal of this project is to design, build and validate a 3-D soft tissue printer for the Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center.

The printer uses a silicon-based material-extrusion system that connects to a nozzle feed for the printing operation. Stepper-motor-driven axial motion is controlled by a Raspberry Pi microcontroller.

Computer-aided design stereolithography models are loaded onto the printer via microSD card. The printer includes a heated bed for the additive manufacturing process. The primary use of the printer is to print medical models for medical procedure training.

The objective this project is to develop a system to align optical lenses within a riflescope subassembly during production. The designed optical assembly station allows alignment, in less than 20 minutes, of the target assembly to within specified tolerances.

To meet all the requirements presented, a nontraditional approach to optical alignment was adopted. The station projects an expanded laser beam through a refractive axicon lens, which transforms the beam into a ring that is sent through the bore-aligned lens barrel into a camera with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor sensors.

Misalignments of a scope lens within the barrel, such as tilt and decenter, cause changes to the thickness of the projected light ring and to the position of its center, which are detected by the camera. This data is used to adjust the lens until the error is within the acceptable tolerance for the target assembly.

Although 3-D printing has become increasingly popular in industry, particularly in rapid prototyping for product development, 3-D printers are still lacking as standalone devices.
To improve upon this technology, the team created a 3-D scanning system capable of analyzing plastic objects with dimensions up to 100 by 100 by 100 millimeters. Data is collected using phase-based, time-of-flight sensors, then analyzed and processed via a MATLAB-based program included with the scanner.
This program allows the user to export a computer-aided design stereolithography file of the scanned rendering, which can be redirected into any 3-D printer for fabrication.

The goal of this project is to develop an indiscernible button to perform a specific function to enhance airline passenger experience in super first class suites.

This system can be used to adjust passenger seats, open and close window shades, or turn the in-flight entertainment system on and off.

The new system improves upon current button design by introducing a fabric with electroluminescent paint that helps reduce failure due to accidents and reduces total system footprint. The paint doubles as a light source illuminating the buttons concealed under the fabric.

The goal of this project is to design a mechanism to compensate for vibration of aircraft passenger seat tables caused by turbulence. The system design includes three actuators, capable of handling turbulence up to 1g of acceleration, that move in up-and-down, rolling, and side-to-side directions. Sensor data from table movement and location is acquired by accelerometers and distance and weight sensors, and processed by an Arduino Zero, which tells the actuators when and where to move. The table is mounted on a credenza that keeps the table hardware in place and holds all the electronics, including the power source and cables.

The goal of this project was to investigate opportunities to increase efficiency by implementing Industry 4.0 “smart factory” technology, which centers on automation and data exchange, into the sponsor’s manufacturing facilities. The project also uses augmented reality, in the form of Microsoft HoloLens technology, to further improve manufacturing capabilities. The sponsor’s factory workers and engineers will be able to use the augmented reality system to view visually guided instructions for the assembly and manufacture of small satellites. The team also produced a trade study for the sponsor that analyzes Industry 4.0 and “smart factory” technology factors of interest to the sponsor, such as equipment cost and training time.

The Nasogastric Tube Placement Verification System was designed to determine the proper placement of a nasogastric tube in the stomach for tube feeding. Every year, many fatalities occur due to misplacement of nasogastric tubes. Current verification methods include X-ray and indirect verification. These methods are either expensive or inaccurate, and require a medical professional, creating a great need for a system that accurately indicates the correct placement of the tube in the stomach. The team designed a sensor, based on galvanic cell electrochemistry, that recognizes the acidic stomach environment. As the sensor enters the stomach, a chemical reaction produces a current that correlates to the pH of the solution. This current is processed by a microcontroller and indicates to the user whether the tube has been correctly placed. This system is specific, cost-efficient, and easy to use, allowing caregivers outside of the hospital to properly feed their patients.

There was a discrepancy between natural gas usage recorded by the sponsor at its power plants and what it was being billed by its suppliers. Fuel usage and measurement are critical to accurate operations and cost management, and the goal of this project is to assess the sponsor’s fuel measurement system in order to locate the source of the discrepancy. After mining large amounts of data supplied by the sponsor and finding a correlation to explain the discrepancy, the team developed a correction factor that aligned sponsor and supplier measurements. The team then integrated this correction factor into the power plant data management software to ensure that it recorded valid fuel usage.