Coral conservation research depends on the ability to reliably and accurately control lighting. This project aimed to develop a personalized website that gives users the ability to send color and intensity commands to a series of Maxspect 500W LED commercial floodlights at Biosphere 2’s coral research space.

The team’s design works by sending light settings from the main system to individual controllers on the lights via controller area network bus communication protocol. The design includes one Raspberry Pi 5 and three Raspberry Pi Picos that serve as the main and individual controllers, respectively. Each light is equipped with a Raspberry Pi Pico integrated with two digital potentiometers that allow operators to precisely adjust lighting parameters based on given commands.

Users can also apply 24-hour lighting schedules and receive real-time feedback from a photosynthetic active radiation sensor. This allows them to monitor and detect out-of-range intensity values. Additionally, the team gave each microcontroller a housing unit to protect it from the environment and the capability to dissipate heat produced from the electronics. This system enables enhanced lighting control and data collection to support coral conservation research at the U of A Biosphere 2 facility.

Law enforcement professionals must be prepared to rapidly and effectively respond to active shooter events. This includes breaching any barriers that may stand in the way. In schools and hospitals, many doors are of high-security, reinforced metal types that render traditional breaching tools – such as the Halligan and battering ram – ineffective and inefficient. When every second counts, these tools require multiple officers and valuable minutes to gain entry.

To address this limitation, the team created a new tool that can breach these reinforced doors quickly and can be operated by a single officer. The design uses a common hydraulic actuator with a maximum column load of 2.5 tons. It is encased in an aluminum shell and equipped with steel teeth to breach both inward- and outward-opening doors by warping the door’s hinges and breaking the door frame.

The team used CAD software analysis to ensure the device can withstand the expected forces, and prototype testing results were promising. It is also lightweight and portable, featuring a backpack so the user can carry the hydraulic pump and 12V battery during use. This device provides an effective, durable and low-weight door breaching capability for first responders. These features make it a successful tool for breaching any security door an officer might encounter.

Bone health metrics, such as bone strain and gait patterns, provide critical insights into conditions like osteoporosis and spaceflight-induced bone loss. This project presents a specialized treadmill system with a soft ambulatory surface designed to advance this research by simulating diverse terrains and reduced-gravity environments. By studying rat gait under conditions that mimic lunar or Martian gravity, researchers can analyze how different gravitational forces impact bone density and strength. The treadmill also allows for controlled experiments on the effects of walking on various aggregates to provide insights into bone strain and potential rehabilitation strategies.

The project involved extensive mechanical, electrical and software engineering. The team designed mechanical components using OnShape software and fabricated them with 3D printing, machining and laser cutting. The students integrated electrical systems into a custom printed circuit board. Software development focused on creating an intuitive user interface and ensuring precise control of treadmill speed and harness height.

Verification testing confirmed the system’s performance including treadmill velocity accuracy, harness weight capacity and aggregate recirculation efficiency. The final prototype is compact, fits inside a fume hood, and is powered by a standard 120V wall adapter, making it suitable for laboratory use. Additionally, it can connect to implanted devices for data collection via an antenna.

In aircraft with multiple fuel tanks, pilots must regularly switch between tanks to maintain balance and prevent fuel starvation. However, pilots with disabilities are often unable to operate the fuel selector handle in its current design. The team worked with Jessica Cox, an armless pilot, to create a custom redesign that accommodates her needs. Additionally, the team integrated additional automated systems that allow her to focus on other critical flight tasks while ensuring proper fuel control.

The redesigned system consists of four primary functions: an automated fuel selection, an electronic override, a redesigned fuel selector handle, and a means of error detection. The pilot can enable automatic fuel switching as desired. When activated, the system automatically switches between tanks every 30 minutes. An electronic override allows the pilot to manually change the valve’s position with the push of a button. Cox can use the redesigned handle to move the valve without electronics. It is ergonomically optimized for Cox while remaining accessible to a nondisabled copilot. Finally, error detection alerts the pilot or copilot of any system issues using a display and light-emitting diodes that offer constant visual feedback. This project was specific to Cox, but the results enhance flight safety, reduce pilot workload, and ensure accessibility for all pilots regardless of physical ability.

Supersonic missile nose cones are designed to minimize aerodynamic drag at ultra-fast speeds while protecting sensitive electronics. These nosecones, or radomes, are often made of advanced materials that are transparent to the missile’s radar so it can track targets but are sensitive to impacts. Current testing methods for evaluating high-speed rain impacts on these radomes require very expensive and time-consuming methods. Furthermore, simulating a water droplet impact at supersonic speeds is challenging due to the complexities of deformable liquids.

The team’s solution is the Radome Impingement Test Apparatus (RITA) which uses pressurized gas to propel a nylon bead down a barrel at high speeds into a sample radome. This system affordably and accurately simulates the damage water droplets inflict on radomes. RITA uses an articulating mount to precisely adjust the angle and location of the testing sample to create varied impacts. It can evaluate the resulting damage to the radome and convert it into a damage score. This score becomes a metric to evaluate which radome materials perform better under high-speed rain impacts. Verification test results show promise for RITA as a rapid-turn and inexpensive evaluation solution.

As algae-based industries – including biofuels, agriculture, and pollution management – continue to grow, precise and scalable monitoring of algal growth is becoming increasingly vital. However, existing assessment methods are energy-intensive, time-consuming, and limited to laboratories. This project addresses these challenges by improving a benchtop sensor designed to take real-time, in-field measurements and develop it into an in situ sensor for continuous deployment in raceways, which are
cultivation environments.

The team focused on key improvements, including extending the sensor’s temperature range, boosting durability, and improving user-friendliness. Using spectrophotometry at 650 and 780 nanometers, the team’s system applies Beer’s Law to measure algae concentration and turbidity.

Data from the device is transmitted via ethernet to an external acquisition device. Once there, a digital-to-analog conversion stage ensures seamless integration with standard data collection systems. To mitigate temperature-induced fluctuations in laser output, the system includes a double-beam design that calibrates all measurements with simultaneous sample and reference readings. The team applied all these design improvements to both the original benchtop sensor and to the new in situ sensor. In addition, the team created a compact, hydrodynamic housing for the in situ version.

Drones often struggle in applications where visibility is limited. This project provides a lightweight, cost-effective, and highly reliable solution for enhancing drone performance in challenging environments. The team developed a simplified drone DVEPS-Lite system that enables autonomous drone navigation in these DVEs. By integrating lidar, or light detection and ranging, and video camera sensors, the system maps the drone’s surroundings in real time and allows the drone to navigate safely while avoiding obstacles, even in low-visibility conditions.

The team’s solution was to design and build a custom mirror mounting system that reflects the lidar laser. This creates a crosshair pattern, which allows more precise object detection at distances of up to 20m. The team also included an actuator system that stabilized this mount by counteracting drone tilts and vibrations. This stabilization was necessary to ensure accurate environmental mapping and obstacle detection. The drone operates autonomously while transmitting telemetry and visual data back to a ground control station, providing operators with critical situational awareness. Additionally, the system features manual override capabilities so the operators can stop or land the drone when necessary.

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 ***