It is well known that the composition of an ambulatory surface has a substantial effect on the kinematics and energy expenditure during gait. An example of this that is easily visualized is walking on cement vs. walking in soft sand in a playground or on a beach. While the effect of surface composition on gait can be studied by having patients and/or animals ambulate over surfaces covered with different materials, this involves the use of large amounts of material and does not allow for researchers to control gait speed. The purpose of the current project is to design a small animal treadmill that can be covered in different materials to facilitate studying gait as a function of surface material composition at a controlled speed. This is particularly relevant to understanding sand therapy in athletic training and to study the effect of regolith (dirt from the surface of the moon or mars) on gait. In the latter case the material has limited availability making it crucial to minimize the amount of material used on the treadmill and material loss. The treadmill will necessitate a mechanism to coat the moving surface with a uniform layer of a soft material (sand vs regolith) prior to the animal contacting the surface. Additional requirements will be collection of and recycling of the material after it falls off the moving surface of the treadmill. This will necessitate use of a mechanism to minimize aerosolization of any dust created in the process. A mechanism will need to be incorporated into the device to suspend the animal over the treadmill to simulate reduced weight. Finally, the walls of the treadmill will need to be transparent to facilitate video analysis of gait and incorporate an antenna to power a wireless batter free sensor implanted onto the bones of animals. Last year a team worked on this project and they were able to successfully place a uniformly thick layer of regolith on the treadmill. However, this layer was very thin and not uniform near the edges of the treadmill belt. In addition, the amount of recycled material was less than 90%, which would not allow use of material that has limited quantities available (ie regolith). The goal of this year’s project is to improve on the treadmill design by creating a thick uniform layer of sand/regolith on the treadmill that will better simulate walking on a surface made of the material.

*****This sponsor will not be present at Open House. If interested, please sign up for an interview slot here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W7dSHnMc_Ctv9cJKZnKJFQZAyrteTTo9SU6sbt2iIBE/edit?usp=sharing*****

Jessica Cox is a graduate of the University of Arizona and the world’s first armless pilot. She initially trained in and currently flies an Ercoupe. This airplane does not have rudder pedals, which allows Jessica to control the airplane and work the radios/navigation equipment with her feet. Jessica and her husband are currently working on building a Van’s RV10, a larger, 4-seat airplane that is faster and more capable than an Ercoupe. Two years ago, a senior design team successfully developed a control system that allowed for 6-axis control of the airplane using foot pedals that also allow Jessica to control the navigation aids and radios. Last year a team worked on designing a door for the airplane. There are numerous additional modifications that need to be made to facilitate safe use of this airplane. This year the project will involve design of a fuel control valve for the RV10. The requirements will include the ability to change the fuel valve to select from the right or left tank and put the valve in the shutoff position in the case of emergency. In addition to allowing Jessica to manually select the valve position while seated, automated control of the valve should be incorporated to automate valve positioning based on fuel flow.

To continue finishing up the Aerospace Radome Impingement Testing project. The follow on should be to strengthen the enclosure structure, produce a repeatable aiming system and mounting. Enclose the pressure system. Upgrade the radome mounting system that will anchor it the the system chamber (enclosure) and produce repeatable mounting of the radome (X,Y,Z positioning). To investigate achieving higher Mach numbers for the bead impact. Provide a complete user manual and repair manual. A thorough document review and calculation for equivalent impact damage of a solid bead in imitation/emulation of a meteorological particle (rain drop, hail stone, bird beak, sand, small gravel, It seems the method is used in industry – increase the confidence and comfort level with the method.

Key things are to
1. Revise design to eliminate temperature impact on laser signal to allow system operation from 0 to 50C
a. Likely through addition of beam splitter/dual detector system
By successfully completing above tasks, the need for existing temperature control system that has failed in the field destroying the sensor system is eliminated
2. Develop a new in-situ sensor and mount that will allow direct sensing in algae raceway (pond). Current design requires a pump to flow pond water through the sensor mounted outside the pond.
a. Mount should prevent sensor rotation (so it can’t be just held by a cable)
b. Mount should be adjustable to allow sensor to collect data from 2” to 6” above raceway floor

***This sponsor will not be able to attend Open House. Please view an informational video here if you have interest in this project - https://youtu.be/0eoX6U279Y4. Feel free to email Greg Ogden with questions - gogden@arizona.edu***

Degraded Visual Environments (DVE), as defined by the US Army, is a “reduced visibility of potentially varying degrees, wherein situational awareness and aircraft control cannot be maintained as comprehensively as they are in normal visual meteorological conditions and can potentially be lost.” The BAE Systems Degraded Visual Environment Pilotage System (DVEPS) helps pilots stay aware of their surroundings even when visually flying blind.
The team will design and build a “DVEPS lite” that is a significantly simplified version of this system for a drone instead of for a Blackhawk Helicopter. The system will incorporate different imaging modes to give the drone situational awareness, enabling it to see objects both with a camera and with a distance measuring sensor. The system shall transmit this data down to a ground station, and react to objects in its path to avoid collisions. The team must thinking carefully about the design of the payload to enable it to send meaningful data, without weighing too much to fly.

1. Safety Upgrades
2. Hoist Replacement / PLC Upgrade
3. Hoist control system replacement
4. Crown Pillar Stability Assessment
5. Monitoring – Trigger Action Response Plan
6. Site Improvements / Dump Planning

Rightfooted is seeking to design a safe, collapsible, hard-mounted dressing hook for amputees.

Amputees often use a hook to help them put on or take off their pants, dresses, shorts, leggings, underwear, etc., especially when getting ready for bed or using the bathroom. However, with traditional, stationary hooks, two separate hooks are necessary - one facing upwards for getting dressed and another facing downwards for undressing. The proposed design aims to simplify this process by introducing a single, rotating hook that can be used for both purposes.

The proposed design involves reconsidering the profile of a traditional dressing hook. This new profile will be mounted on a slim device that can collapse or rotate the hook out of the way for most of the day. When the hook is needed, it can be electronically moved into position with the desired orientation, either for dressing or undressing. The hook will hold its position for a period of time before collapsing or rotating back into its low-profile standby position. Additionally, when in the extended position, the design can quickly rotate into the opposite desired position when required.

The design of the hook must pose a minimal risk in case of a fall. Moreover, it should not pose any danger to young children in the household as they may accidentally touch it with their hands and fingers. Additionally, the hook must be sturdy enough to withstand strong forces imposed while dressing or undressing tight-fitting clothes, such as bathing suits or leggings.

It must be possible to power this design from a standard 120-volt outlet and mount it in a standard American home on drywall backed by a wooden stud.

The project team will also outline the cost and requirements for manufacturing the finished design.

Automated Inspection Programming Improvement
Currently our AOI (automated operator inspection) programming is slow, and includes false failures. This increases operator touch time at the machine, waiting on a result. We are looking for a team to help streamline the programming among various aerospace CCA boards, and help show cost savings/ training improvement. Programming basics will be trained, though some independent research will be needed. Relevant disciplines include EE, IE, and ME. Students must have US citizenship, as these boards support USA aerospace and defense for Honeywell Aerospace.



Creates and maintains programs for the AOI (Automatic Optical Inspection) in a CCA manufacturing site.
Creates parts library in the master database
Validation testing for newly created AOI programs
Troubleshoots machine programs as needed
Interface and support internal customers (production, quality, engineering, etc.)
Test equipment to include AOI (MEK Verispector)
Must be self-directed, dependable, and motivated with excellent relationship and time management skills.
Proficient with PC-based software including Microsoft Office Suite, including intermediate knowledge of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. MacOS experience a plus.
Strong, effective organizational skills required; detail oriented; ability to multitask
Ability to read, and interpret engineering instructions, schematics, technical procedures, and various reports
Ability to keep accurate documentation

*** Interview sign up link - http://tinyurl.com/Celestica24506 ***

Refer to the concept and a previous unit of Automated Fresnel Lens concentrating solar stove to build an improved version of solar stove with higher accuracy of solar tracking, standardization, and safety. Want the prototype unit to have a potential of commercialization. Dr. Peiwen (Perry) Li has this project funded by research grant from DOE through UA.

*** Interview sign-up link - http://tinyurl.com/AME24505 ***

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the world’s population is expected to grow to almost 10 billion by 2050 with two out of every three people are expected to live in urban areas. Beyond providing fresh local produce, vertical indoor agriculture could help increase food production and expand agricultural operations. Producing fresh greens and vegetables close to growing urban populations could help meet growing global food demands in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way by reducing distribution chains to offer lower emissions, providing higher-nutrient produce, and drastically reducing water usage and runoff. Vertical farms incorporate controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. One of the most significant resource inputs and cost in a vertical farm system (and also in greenhouse operations) is labor mainly for crop maintenance and produce harvesting. Leafy greens are commonly grown in vertical farms within nutrient film technique or deep water culture based systems with produce harvesting and packing performed manually demanding significant time with labor use and cost for the labor affecting profitably of the vertical farming operations. This project aims to design an autonomous, robotic platform to harvest leafy greens and microgreens that is suited for a vertical farm system (can also be used on greenhouse operations with similar crop productions systems).

Scope: (1) Work with senior capstone course instructor, and Dr. Murat Kacira and Mike Mason (from BE Department) to understand the hydroponic crop
production systems growing leafy greens in vertical farm and greenhouse systems. (2) Evaluate the produce harvesting operation, required tools and system used in commercial operations, and determine the needs for an autonomous robotic platform for produce harvesting. (3) Design the system and create a 3D technical SolidWorks/AutoCad drawings. (4) Build a prototype system, complete its mechanical, optical, and electrical diagrams and components. (5) Develop and implement the programing code for systems operations for mechanical, electrical, and optical controls. (6) Test system and demonstrate its operations. (7) Develop plans (including cost estimates) to turn the lab prototype into a standalone, compact, turnkey system that can be used in a commercial vertical farm (possibly in greenhouse operation). The system designed and produced should be capable of receiving produce rafts/holding boards to the harvesting station, introducing the produce and roots to the harvesting unit, removing the produce shoot and roots from the growing rafts/boards, and presenting the shoots into conveyor belt directing to packing line, and directing the roots to a collecting bin for recycling purposes, and directing the emptied raft/board to a stacking platform/line. (8) Present results in a video conference and PowerPoint presentation to Sponsor and at the COE Presentation Day.

***Interview schedule coming soon***