VIDEO: Seniors Present Inventive Designs at Annual Engineering Student Projects Expo
June 18, 2019
From a 3-D printed prosthetic arm and night vision technology to an innovative new smartwatch and an aerial golf ball retriever, the second annual Engineering Student Projects Expo was a great success. Check out some of the highlights.
By Keith Pierce
New designs to combat flooding in Norfolk. A smartwatch that monitors health and vital signs of soldiers in the field. A robotic vehicle that autonomously navigates an obstacle course. A dynamic 3D printing system for augmented reality. A device for separating aerosol particles.
These are just a few of the projects that were on display at the second annual Engineering Student Projects Expo (ESPEX).
"I have been completely overwhelmed with how sophisticated the projects are and how great the presentations are," said Nancy Grden, executive director of the Strome Entrepreneurial Center. "I saw a lot of great projects that were well thought out with the customer in mind. It was excellent!"
Hundreds of students, faculty and sponsors, as well as local employers and industry partners, filled the north cafeteria of the Webb Center to examine nearly 60 innovative senior project demonstrations and to hear student teams explain the research behind their designs. Some local industry leaders also viewed the expo as an opportunity to meet new engineering talent.
"There's a lot of good science going on here," said Michael Pellerito, deputy director, science and technology - U.S. Navy Fleet Forces Command. "While these projects might seem like just basic science, these are the building blocks for a lot of technology we need to use in the Navy."
"Today allows us to invite our corporate sponsors and or would-be corporate sponsors not only because they're interested in the work you do, but it gives us the opportunity to sell what ODU has to offer the world," Stephanie Adams, then-dean of the Batten College of Engineering and Technology, said to the student teams at the end of the event.
Participants voted for their favorite projects. Adams presented the People's Choice Award to an electrical engineering project titled "Vision Guided Mobile Robot for Automated Near Real-Time Surveillance in Noisy Environment." The ODU Vision Lab team developed the device that uses automated facial recognition and tracking using a military-grade robotic platform connected to a remote computer.
See more ESPEX photos: https://tinyurl.com/ESPEX2019Album
