As part of the Fall 2025 Senior Design Showcase, two research projects featured faculty mentorship that resulted in new ways for students and medical professionals to collaborate in health sciences and medical education.

Judges selected the two projects to be featured in the yearly showcase because of their quality and potential for real-world application.

The students received invaluable experience and the technologies developed are ready to be further refined by another incoming group of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ undergraduates.

Understanding Congenital Heart Defects Through Immersive Technology

If Nabeeha Vorajee were was in a clinical setting, she would need a mask, scalpel and medical scrubs to explore the anatomy of the heart. But she’s not a medical student and the heart she’s studying isn’t real thanks to new technology she helped develop.

³Õ´Ç°ù²¹Âá±ð±ðÌý¾±²õÌý²¹Ìý²õ±ð²Ô¾±´Ç°ùÌý±«°ä¹óÌýcomputer science major, and the heart is made of thousands of pixels residing in a simulated classroom accessible through virtual reality (VR).

Students wear a virtual reality headset to better understand CT scans of the heart. Using AI, the system categorizes the images for common heart defects. It also creates a 3D digital twin of the heart that students can interact with through the headset.

Vorajee’s team took the learning system a step further and applied it for medical education. They integrated AI learning and the ability to highlight, isolate and segment different parts of the heart. If users have questions about what they’re seeing, they can ask the AI data set without leaving the session.

Users can import cardiac CT scans and transform them into a 3D heart, which allows them to take the model and learn beyond the classroom, Vorajee says.

“Computers and VR headsets are a lot more easily available than an actual heart,� she says. “If a student wanted to study up, they’ll be able to do so a lot easier with this program than they will be able to find a heart.�

The project included guidance and mentorship by Laura Brattain, associate professor of medicine, and Matthew Gerber ’98 ’00MS ’05PhD and Richard Leinecker, associate lecturers of computer science.

Clinical Imaging VR

Before pursuing a degree in computer science, Arianna Ramirez Oquendo attended nursing school and used her experience to inform her group’s research project: a VR application to help medical students practice interpreting CT scans.

“When I was in nursing, I realized that most of my practice identifying organ structures and reading CT scans or MRIs was restricted to only lab times,â€� Oquendo recalls. “I needed more than two or three hours a week to really understand what I’m looking at.â€�

Oquendo’s group’s system simulates a clinical imaging office where students can compare normal and abnormal CT scans, identify anatomical structures and recognize medical implantable devices.

The app allows students to see and adjust up to 160 slices — or images — from each CT scan. After the tutorial and CT scan room, there is a final study room where teachers can implement multiple choice or “drag and drop� quizzes on specific scans.

Emily Bradshaw, an associate professor of medicine and project sponsor, says that this project has great potential to help students and supplement their education.

CT imaging can be a difficult radiologic discipline to master because the images are presented in three different planes, says Melissa Cowan, project sponsor and assistant director of instructional technology at the College of Medicine.

“By aligning the CT images to a 3D model of the patient’s skeleton and organs, the students have a visual reference as they scroll through the various views and isolate the key findings,� she says. “This app is another tool to help students learn how to read and interpret CT scans and apply their knowledge to other patient cases presented throughout the curriculum and in clinical settings.�

A longer version of this story can be accessed on the .

The Fall 2020 Senior Design Virtual Showcase features videos and descriptions of all 100+ projects on a that will remain accessible to the public Dec. 3–4.  The five-minute videos submitted by each team provides an overview of their project and the technical work involved to create it.

Some prototypes offer potential solutions to real-world problems. Others have the potential for commercial development.

Some of the projects include:

• “BrainBeats,â€� an innovative way to use brainwaves to compose music, created by computer science students
• An autonomous smart boat that serves as another set of eyes during ocean search-and-rescue efforts, created by electrical and computer engineering students
• Low-cost ventilators that could help alleviate pandemic supply shortages, developed by mechanical engineering students
• An optimized manufacturing schedule for their sponsor’s supersonic jet, created by industrial engineering students

Other projects include water purification systems, assistive mobile applications and robots and drones that assist in everything from aerial surveillance or underground pipe inspections to retrieving golf balls.

View/download a program of all Fall 2020 Senior Design project summaries.

The students have worked their entire senior year to bring their innovations to fruition – a notable  accomplishment given the constraints of virtual team collaboration to design complex systems and solutions that require hands-on prototyping.

The projects demonstrate students’ knowledge and application of engineering and advanced computing concepts, and provide solutions to real-world problems. Many of the projects are industry-sponsored by entities including Boston Whaler, Coca Cola, Mitsubishi, Orlando Utilities Commission, Steelcase and Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.

Senior design is a required capstone course for most graduating seniors of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Engineering and Computer Science. The projects represent a significant portion of students’ grades and in many cases is the final step before graduation.

The showcase gives students a chance to present their projects to a general audience to show they are fully prepared for engineering and computing jobs. It’s also a way for employers to meet engineering and computer science  graduates about to enter the workforce.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Alumni Judges: A Record Number Volunteer to Help

Adding a friendly competitive element to the showcase, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ engineering and computer science alumni will serve as judges this semester. More than 90 Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ alumni signed up to serve as judges who will score the projects on a variety of metrics, provide valuable feedback to the student teams, and select the best project in each discipline and Best in Show. Winning projects will be announced on the showcase webpage on Dec. 4.

Because of the virtual nature of the Fall 2020 showcase, more judges have been able to participate compared to previous in-person showcases held on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s main campus. The alumni are professional engineers and computer scientists who are self-employed or work in companies of all sizes throughout the state, from across the nation, and even internationally.

“The competitive aspect of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Senior Design has raised the bar on projects,â€�  says Mark Blue ’89 ’08MBA ’10MS, a systems engineer for L3Harris Technologies who has volunteered as a judge for several years. “It gives students marketing skills that they need when interviewing. If you medal, that conversation will be the core of every job interview.

“By introducing a level of competition in senior design, we replicate, in a microcosm, what happens every day in industry. Students who take up that gauntlet will invariably be more competitive and successful throughout their careers. I am very proud of the way Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ engineering students have accepted that challenge.â€�

The projects, which will be on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the and , is a culmination of eight-months of effort that students must complete for their capstone senior design course. Engineering and computer science students take Senior Design I to brainstorm and design a project before bringing them to life in Senior Design II the following semester.

Uniting Florida Engineering Students

This year’s showing will have even more to offer, as students from nine other engineering colleges present 25 additional projects for the first Florida-Wide Student Engineering Design Invitational.

The partnership shows how strong engineering and computer science talent is being developed at universities to fuel Florida’s innovation economy. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is the nation’s No. 1 workforce supplier to the aerospace and defense industry and is among the nation’s top producers of engineers and computer scientists.

“[The invitational] gives a forum to students from many Florida institutions to interact with each other during an important day of their academic career,� says Michael Georgiopoulos, dean of . “Capstone projects, a staple in engineering and computer science colleges in Florida, are a unique way of connecting the talent pipeline with future employers just because engineering students quite often work on capstone projects sponsored by industry.�

Designing for the Future

Orlando Utilities Commission is one industry sponsor that challenged three teams to design a solar-powered art sculpture for the downtown Orlando City Stadium. The three solar sculptures include “Giration,� a soccer ball with filigree shadows; “¡Golazo!,� a soccer player kicking upwards into a net; and “Project Impact,� a bursting soccer ball and three risers.

The event kicks off at 9 a.m. for an hour-long Duke Energy Symposium on renewable and sustainable technology, with keynote speaker Doug Guidish ’07, founder and CEO of Guard Dog Valves. During this time, six graduation mechanical engineering students will present their composite glass-polymer metamaterial project that has the potential to drastically reduce the energy usage and cost of cooling a home through the concept of “passive radiative cooling.�

Another project on display is the “Noni� augmented-reality restaurant menu that provides an authentic view of the food selection and is already being used at local restaurants. The demo will allow users to choose a supported restaurant, point it at the table and experience the food as if it were actually there.

There will also be a real-life transformer in the form of a six-legged surveillance robot, known as “SigSent.� The droid will demonstrate the intelligence to tell the difference between rough and smooth terrain and adapt between walking and rolling on each appropriate surface.

The showcase will close with an award ceremony in the Engineering II Atrium from 3:30 to 5 p.m. A volunteer panel of faculty, staff and engineering professionals will vote to determine the top projects in each discipline, the top visiting project, and best-in-show.

More than 75 projects are part of Senior Design, a capstone course for engineering and computer science disciplines at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. Students take Senior Design I to brainstorm and design a project before bringing it to life in Senior Design II the following semester. Many projects are sponsored by corporate clients. Graduating students present their projects to a panel of faculty, staff and engineering professionals at the end of the semester to prove their knowledge and that they are job-ready.

“Our students’ undergraduate education culminates with senior design,” said Charles Reilly, associate dean for Academic Affairs, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Engineering &Computer Science. “Their rigorous academic experience at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is enhanced with resources such as our Maker Space labs, and senior design ‘boot camps’ to spur students’ leadership, teamwork and ingenuity.”

The showcase also gives employers a chance to check out the talent pool. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is the nation’s No. 1 workforce supplier to the aerospace and defense industry, and is among the nation’s top producers of engineers and computer scientists

From 9 to 10:30 a.m., the showcase will feature the Duke Energy Symposium on Renewable and Sustainable Technology, with keynote speaker Tamara Waldmann, director of Florida Distributed Generation Strategy for Duke Energy. Two earth-friendly student projects will be presented: a water conservation system that shuts off irrigation based on ground-saturation levels, and a dual energy-harvesting platform that collects energy from the sun and human foot traffic.

See the event program with .

Here are just a few of the projects that will be on display:

“ELLE:” Learn a Second Language with Virtual Reality Game

Developed in collaboration with Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ language instructors, this computer science project enables users to learn a language through immersive and entertaining gameplay. Players navigate in the game environment while answering language-comprehension questions. The downloadable game can be played with virtual reality or on a desktop computer. The project uses Portuguese, but the system can be developed to teach any language. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ faculty will test the virtual reality version against the desktop version to understand which method is more effective.

Attendance Made Easy in a Single Picture

This computer science project enables instructors to quickly take attendance using a single photo of the class and facial recognition technology.

Water-Conserving Ground Probe that Monitors Saturation Levels

No more watering lawns when it’s raining. Made for sponsor client Guard Dog Valves by mechanical engineering students, this system can save thousands of gallons of water by shutting off an irrigation system based on ground saturation, not a timer. The system uses a high-tech ground probe that senses water saturation and sends a signal via Wi-Fi to shut off the sprinkler.

Drone-Mounted Inventory-Taking Scanner

Taking inventory can be a long and labor-intensive process for any business or organization. This electrical and computer engineering project involves a radio frequency identification reader scanner that can attach to a variety of mobile platforms to easily, quickly and safely scan inventory. It can be used on industry-grade drones for scanning a variety of environments, such as warehouses, cargo ships and cattle fields. The system is designed to collect and report the data.

Luggage-carrying robot: “FollowBot”

This smart luggage cart, designed by electrical engineering students, follows the user with Bluetooth technology synced to a smartphone. It was designed for parents traveling with kids and strollers, travelers in wheelchairs, and others who need an extra set of hands. The idea is for airports to have FollowBots available for rent in airports to assist travelers as they make their way to the gate, but it could be expanded for use in other venues where heavy equipment is frequently transported, such as convention centers, concert halls and event halls.

“Batpack”: Hands-Free Navigator for Visually Impaired

This wearable system created by electrical engineering and computer engineering students can help visually impaired people navigate around obstacles hands-free, without the need to hold a cane or an assistive-dog leash. The wearable system uses sensors on the back and around the waist that provide vibration feedback. The vibrations get increasingly stronger as the person walks closer to an obstacle.

Nearly 70 projects that range from solutions to real-world problems to entertainment will be on display from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. These projects are part of Senior Design, a capstone course for engineering and computer science disciplines at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. Students take Senior Design I to brainstorm and design a project before bringing it to life in Senior Design II the following semester. Students use coursework, plus additional Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ resources such as Maker Space labs and Senior Design Boot Camps to complete their projects that are then presented to a panel of faculty, staff and engineering professionals.

“Senior Design is a culminating experience that gives our students the opportunity to integrate what they have learned in all of their separate courses, as they work in teams on challenging, real-world problems. Students demonstrate their ability to tackle big problems, which can give them confidence,” said Charles Reilly, associate dean for Academic Affairs at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

The showcase also gives students an opportunity to demonstrate that they are job-ready to employers. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ is the nation’s No. 1 workforce supplier to the aerospace and defense industry, and is among the nation’s top producers of engineers and computer scientists.

Here are just a few of the projects that will be on display:

Diabetic Breath Tester

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ electrical engineering senior Christine Sleppy has grown up watching her two brothers constantly prick their fingers to test their blood sugar levels. An older and younger brother both battle type 1 diabetes.

“I thought, ‘If we can test alcohol on our breath, why can’t we test our blood sugar, too?’� she said.

That was the inspiration behind her senior design project – a diabetic breath tester – that can signal to users if their blood-sugar levels are in a healthy or an unhealthy range simply by blowing into a container.

The diabetic test made by Sleppy and three other teammates uses volatile organic compound sensors to test the amount of chemicals on someone’s breath. If high levels of acetone and ketones are found, research suggests that it indicates high blood sugar. Users blow into a hand-held container to test their levels, and the results then are transmitted via Bluetooth to an Android mobile application for the user to read.

“Our idea is to limit the amount of finger prickings so it becomes less invasive,� said Sleppy, who added that the breath-test technology right now cannot replace blood-glucose meters that have been the primary testing method for diabetics since the 1980s. That’s because more advanced sensors with the capability of providing specific readings still need to be developed before diabetics can rely on breath testers. Blood-glucose meters now require users to draw small drops of blood daily onto test strips that measure sugar levels.

This type of breath-test technology for diabetics has never hit the market for consumers, although there is extensive research happening across the country. A researcher from Western New England University also has created a similar product. It cost Sleppy and her teammates about $400 to create. Her teammates are electrical engineering seniors Jonathan Brown, Noah Spenser and Edert Geffrard.

Kitty Bot

When teammates Stephen Barth, Bryen Buie, Carlos Garzon and Trenton Williams brainstormed ideas for their Senior Design project, they had one main criteria: Create something that would spark a fun and exciting reaction from people.

That was the basis for Kitty Bot, a robotic, indoor cat toy the students designed for about $120.

“We wanted to show engineering can be fun and creative,� said Garzon, who has been described as a “creative soul� by his teammates.

Kitty Bot is a spherical toy made from a hamster ball that has a circuit board inside programmed to automatically move and turn the toy via three motors. The toy also is decked out with feathers, bells, fuzz and fur to entice and entertain a pet cat. The circuit board, motors and other hardware are tightly secured so a cat can knock the toy around without anything coming loose.

The twist? None of the Kitty Bot teammates have pet cats. However, they are Star Wars fans and turned to BB-8 – a Star Wars droid character that also moves via an automated sphere – for inspiration.

“We took that design [of BB-8] and applied it to a cat. Current toys on the market are just little stuffed mice and things like that, nothing robotic,� said Buie. “We thought this would be a fun project.�

Automatic Aerobic Composting Machine

A team of students has combined technical skills with a love of the environment to create an automatic, solar-powered composting machine, scalable for home or commercial use.

Compost is a nutrient-rich, sustainable substitute for fertilizer. Using yard trimmings and food waste such as coffee grounds, vegetables and fruit, compost can be spread over lawns to deter pests and plant diseases. The process to create compost, though, takes two-four weeks and often lots of manual labor.

To make the process easier for users, students Matt Aberman, Shayna Brock, Cody Baker and Thomas Phan created a composting machine that does most of the work. For about $500, the team built an acrylic machine equipped with sensors to monitor the temperature and humidity levels of the waste being broken down into compost. If the temperature or humidity is not at an ideal state, the machine automatically turns itself to mix up the materials and allow in more oxygen that’s needed to break down the waste. Similarly, if the humidity levels are off, a water mister or fan will automatically turn on to add or reduce moisture. The machine runs on a solar-powered battery, and transmits real-time information to a mobile application complete with a start button, an estimated date of when the compost will be ready and a reading of the compost’s current temperature and humidity levels.

“There’s nothing on the market that is fully automatic for home use,â€� said Aberman, who also is part of the Foundations for Engineering Education in Distributed Energy Resources (FEEDER) program at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ that’s funded by the federal Department of Energy. “The end goal is to develop a system that is scalable for different applications.â€�

Many projects offer solutions to real-world problems, including cost-saving methods for corporate sponsors such as Boeing and Florida Hospital. Other projects will be entered into national engineering competitions, many have commercial applications and others are just plain fun.

It’s exactly what leaders in the College of Engineering & Computer Science want to see from their graduating seniors. The goal of the showcase is to give students a chance to display their final projects, demonstrate their technical knowledge and show they are fully prepared for engineering jobs. On a more practical level, the projects represent a significant portion of students’ grades and are the final step before graduation.

A group of seven aerospace engineering students have entered their origami-inspired project “FOLDSATâ€� into NASA’s Florida Space Grant Consortium competition scheduled for May. The project offers an innovative way to generate electricity in outer space by unfolding giant solar panels that can be easily transported.

“The bigger the solar panel, the more power can be generated,” said student Daniel Jimenez. “But bigger solar panels become difficult to transport on a rocket payload where there are strict size and weight constraints.”

The team engineered a solution with a flexible, foldable solar panel. Folded, it measures 4 by 4 by 2 inches, small enough to fit on on a standard 4 by 4 inch satellite. In outer space, it can be unfolded and provide more than a square foot of usable solar cells that can generate enough watts to power an observation camera or a satellite-propulsion system. Their prototype could be scaled-up to provide six times more power than the current standard.

“More power for a cube satellite means that more robust space research can be done,” Jimenez said.

Another aerospace engineering team has invented a different way for Floridians to experience the sport of hang gliding, a recreational activity typically enjoyed in states with more mountainous terrain.

They have engineered a hang glider that catches air when pulled by a boat, while also catching curious stares from onlookers.

“Our project is a proof-of-concept showing how a hang glider can go airborne from a boat,” said aerospace engineering student Ben Boswell. “We didn’t fly very high in our tests, but the idea could be further developed to bring about a way to enjoy hang gliding in Florida where the terrain is so flat.”

The students received some funding to help get the project started, but they paid for much of the cost out of their own pockets. They built the glider in the garage of one of the team members. They wanted to incorporate their future aspirations into their senior design project.

“The glider was our idea, and we made it because we could,â€� said team member Charles Stankie. “We are all going into flying careers, and two of us want to be test pilots so we wanted to make a manned aircraft to test.”

To see a clip of their practice runs

A team of four electrical engineering students will demonstrate their project “Mind Games,” intended to show how body-controlled electronic sensors can be used in entertainment settings. They will use muscle movements to control an arcade claw-grip game; heart beats to control a light display with increasing levels of light depending on heart rate; and a model car controlled with brain waves, a technology that is gaining more attention but still limited in use.

The free showcase is open to the public and also includes a talk by Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ electrical engineering alumnus Arun Ramaswamy, Ph.D., chief engineer of Nielsen at 11:30 a.m.  Projects will be displayed inside and outside of the Engineering I and II buildings and the Harris Engineering Center on the main campus.

See the for descriptions and locations of all projects.

Some prototypes offer potential solutions to real-world problems. Others offer a bit more fun and have the potential for commercial development. It’s just what leaders in the College of Engineering & Computer Science want to see from their graduating seniors.

The goal of the showcase is to give students a chance to display their final projects, demonstrate their technical knowledge and show they are fully prepared for engineering and computer science jobs. On a more practical level, the projects represent a significant portion of students’ grades and in many cases is the final step before graduation.

For a list of all 63 projects and summaries, .

The Fall 2015 Senior Design Showcase will be in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s Engineering II atrium Thursday, Dec. 3, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Projects Give More Independence to People in Wheelchairs
The Dec. 3 showcase will include student-made inventions to help wheelchair users with severe mobility impairments operate their power chairs by just moving facial muscles or looking a certain direction.

For example, a team of five mechanical engineering students created a first-of-its-kind, low-cost system using 3-D printing and electromyography (EMG, or muscle sensors).

The students put together several electronic components into a small 3-D-printed box that attaches to the joystick on a wheelchair. EMG sensors are then placed on the person’s face, near their forehead. The sensors send a signal to the box and depending on which muscles are used, the signal moves the joystick propelling the person forward, backwards, right or left.

“I was really excited to work on this project because we are helping people,� said Megan Pence, one of the mechanical engineering graduating seniors who developed the chair. “We worked well as a team learning to understand our strengths and complimenting them to add value. It’s great to see it working.�

The wheelchair – a project led by Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½-based nonprofit Limbitless Solutions, known for making 3-D-printed bionic limbs for children – was debuted for media on Nov. 24 and received extensive news coverage, including more than 500,000 social media views and shares to date.

See Fox35 Orlando’s video about the wheelchair here.

Another wheelchair project, the “Smart Chair: Sensor & Mind Automated Remote Technology Power Chair,� controls a power wheelchair with eye movements, depending on the direction the user looks when looking at sets of LED lights positioned in front of their head. The technology was created by a team of four electrical and computer engineering majors.

Innovative Projects Make Recreation More Fun

Two teams have made kayaking a lot easier. A team of four mechanical engineering majors came up with a foot-pedal-powered system that can be retrofitted onto any kayak without altering the body of the vessel. The kayak is propelled hands-free, allowing users to ditch the paddle and instead free their hands to cast a fishing line or take photographs.

Another team of four mechanical engineering majors will showcase their easy-to-use kayak anchor, which employs a pulley system from the bottom of the vessel. That team, called “JAMM Pole,� is seeking a patent.

A team of four electrical and computer engineering students have created a kit that can help improve users’ boxing techniques. The “HitSmart� system can be fitted onto existing boxing gloves and provides feedback data to the user.

And for people who want to improve their BMX racing skills, a team of four electrical and computer engineering students has created a simulation tool that monitors acceleration, heart rate and reaction time. The data is transferred in real time to a mobile application. What’s more, the device is solar powered and captures the energy from the BMX rider pedaling.

“This is exactly the kind of innovation we encourage here,â€� said Michael Georgiopoulos, dean, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Engineering & Computer Science. “With the help of our corporate sponsors, excellent faculty and amazing students we are on the cutting edge of engineering that solves real-life problems and makes life better, easier and more enjoyable for people.â€�

Some prototypes offer potential solutions to real-world problems. Others offer a bit more fun and have the potential for commercial development. It’s exactly what leaders in the College of Engineering and Computer Science want to see of their graduating seniors. The goal of the showcase is to give students a chance to display their final projects, demonstrate their technical knowledge and show they are fully prepared for engineering jobs. On a more practical level, the projects represent a significant portion of students’ grades and in many cases is the final step before graduation.

For a list of all the projects and the day’s line up of speakers .

The showcase includes some possibly life-saving inventions. For example, two teams developed different systems that would alert weary or forgetful parents that they’ve left their infant or toddler strapped into their car seat after the parent has walked away from the vehicle.

One team developed an app that sends the parent an alert message and buzz on a smart phone if they get beyond a certain distance from the vehicle. A sensor inside the vehicle, which detects life and temperature readings, triggers the phone alert. If the parent ignores or doesn’t hear the alert, the vehicle’s alarm and/or horn starts to blare, drawing attention to the vehicle.

“Though it sounds cliché, the feeling of knowing that this project could save lives creates an emotional attachment and accomplishment that is not easily described with words,� said team leader Eli Lorenzo, who will graduate May 7.

Another team took a different approach to reach the same goal. – saving children or pets left behind in hot locked vehicles.

Phillip Quintero’s team developed a system that has the ability to scan an area as big as a standard sedan’s backseat in order to detect if both life and a harmful environment exist. If both conditions are confirmed, a custom alarm will be signaled that can be heard up to 500 feet.

Among the markers the system scans for are temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The life-detection system uses ultrasonic sensors for motion, and infrared sensors for body temperature, Quintero said. If a toxic environment is detected, a custom alarm will sound. The two team members who graduate this summer hope to potentially add two features later– either automatically having vehicle windows come down once the alarm is activated or activating the air conditioning. The other two team members who graduate next month already have jobs lined up.

And then there’s the team lead by Brevard County’s Ocean Rescue Chief Jeff Scabarozi. He is responsible for overseeing lifeguard operations from Cape Canaveral to Melbourne Beach. When he decided to go back to school to get a second degree in mechanical engineering, he knew exactly what his project would be – a way to cut the time between rescuing a drowning swimmer and getting him or her to medical care on shore.

Scabarozi and his team developed a three-in-one trailer that can carry a personal watercraft on roads and also on sand. The trailer then can be used as a gurney to transport a patient over sand to an ambulance.

“I’ve had this idea for a while,� Scabarozi said. “It’s something we desperately needed. When I had the opportunity to pursue my engineering degree it was a perfect fit. And I had a lot of support from Bevard County to do it. �

The trailer is already used on Brevard’s beaches, Scabarozi said. It was brought to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to show others how it works.

Brevard Ocean Rescue lifeguard Derek Swor will be on hand to explain the project because Scabarozi is making a presentation about the new trailer at the U.S. Lifesaving Association National Conference this week.

Not all the inventions attempt to solve life-and-death problems. One team came up with a game called Drone Hunt. The team adapted a drone to respond to laser tag shots while flying within a limited air space. Players use laser tag weapons to fire at the drone for a specific amount of time. When the time expires, the drone returns to its takeoff position. The computer aboard the drone logs data about the activity, including the accuracy of shots.

“We thought it would be fun for potential consumers,� said Emmanuel Martinez, who led the team of graduating seniors. “We also recognize that with some refinement there could potentially be some military-training applications here.�

The free showcase is open to the pubic and also includes a talk by alumna Grace Bochenek, director of the National Energy Technology Laboratory.  Projects will be displayed inside and outside of the Engineering II building and the Harris Engineering Center on the main campus.

Innovation was the star of the show – a spectacle of projects created by graduating seniors of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS). The showcase included projects that received funding for the 6th Annual Symposium on Renewable and Sustainable Energy, sponsored by Duke Energy.

Students, all finely dressed as if for a job interview, received well-earned close-ups.

More than 400 of them displayed 92 inventions inside and outside the Harris Engineering Center and the Engineering II building. Also, three renewable and sustainable projects were individually presented lecture-hall style before a packed house that included the day’s keynote speaker, Dr. Bryan Hannegan, from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Projects included a gadget that can detect conditions for brain-eating water amoeba that plague Florida’s recreational waters; a device that turns plastic bottles into material for 3D printers; a solar-powered submarine; and a human-powered vehicle that reaches a speed of 42 mph and could someday become a viable alternative form of transportation. Just to name a few.

Some of the projects received start-up funding from corporate sponsors such as Boeing, Siemens Energy, Lockheed Martin, Harris Corporation, Philips, and more. Yet, all required huge measures of effort and aptitude.

During their final two semesters, the students divided in teams and coordinated with faculty advisors to develop project proposals, secure sponsorship funding in many cases, conduct design analysis, build prototypes, prepare reports, and finally demonstrate their projects during Senior Design Day. For many CECS students, the projects are mandated for graduation. Students – who are graduating either in May in December – worked 10 or more hours a week to bring their projects into fruition.

Not coincidentally, sighs, smiles and satisfaction filled the air.

“I feel mainly relief because we worked so hard on our project. This is like, finally!” said Sarah Bokuaic, whose Driving Management System is an app that can help prevent accidents by signaling such occurrences as blind spots and tailgating; it also monitors fuel efficiency. She can now graduate with a degree in computer engineering.

“This is our capstone for graduation in our major,” said Michael Carras, who will graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering and was part of Solar Knights, which showcased a solar energy domestic water heating system. “We are at the end of our [Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½] road. This is an absolute accomplishment, a great victory.”

“Today was pretty much it for me,” commented Kris Graves, with his body language giving away a double meaning. Leading up to a mechanical engineering degree, his only class of the spring semester involved a solar powered grain dryer that reduces moisture. Graves added he was pretty much wiped out emotionally, too.

Mechanical engineering student Maurice Roberts was simply exhausted all the way around. He was part of a group that produced the IFS Eagle, an immersive flight simulator for multiple vehicles. “My thought is that my body is tired,” said Roberts, noting had had gotten up at 5 that morning after three hours of sleep.

For Emily Poltevecque, a mechanical engineering degree comes with a bit longer wait, December. Still, as she stood behind her team’s project, Heat Transfer in Multiple Tubular Bundles (a new petroleum extraction process for use in Canada), her face told the tale.

Cool, confident and beaming, she said: “I never had any doubts that we would get it done. But is it a relief? Yes.”

Mike Strobridge, a Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ engineering student who uses his thoughts to control a model-sized car, trained his brain for two months to prepare. While donning a headset that harnesses his brainwaves, he will show visitors how he makes the car go forward by thinking of pain (such as stepping on a tack), and go backwards by thinking in Swedish.

He is among 350 graduating seniors of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ College of Engineering and Computer Science who will demonstrate their engineering talents at the 2013 Senior Design Day Showcase, which includes the fifth annual Symposium on Renewable and Sustainable Energy, sponsored by Progress Energy.

The keynote speaker is Bobi Garrett, deputy director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

“The CECS Senior Design Day showcase is Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s equivalent of national computer and car shows that ‘wow’ visitors with the latest technologies, innovations and prototypes that can be seen and experienced,” said Charles Reilly, CECS associate dean for Academic Affairs. “What’s so impressive is that these innovative, high-tech solutions to real-world problems are created by students.”

The projects represent the engineering skills that students have acquired during their rigorous academic coursework at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. During their senior year, students work with their faculty advisors to develop innovative project proposals, conduct design analysis, design and build prototypes, prepare engineering reports and give presentations and demonstrations of their projects on Senior Design Day.

All projects will be displayed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Engineering II building and the Harris Engineering Center on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s main campus. Complimentary hot dogs and water will be available on the front lawn of the Harris Engineering Center starting at noon, while supplies last.

Senior Design Day Showcase is free and open to the public.

See a full list of projects and a complete schedule here: http://www.cecs.ucf.edu/documents/SeniorDesignProgram.pdf

As part of Senior Design Day Showcase, Progress Energy sponsors a Senior Design Symposium on Renewable and Sustainable Energy. The event features 24 senior design projects related to renewable and sustainable energy. The projects will be displayed in the Engineering II atrium. Student teams will deliver formal presentations about their projects in the Engineering II, Room 102 lecture hall.

Highlights of “greenâ€� projects include: a multiple team effort to bring off-grid electricity to the South African township of Pomolong; a solar unmanned aerial vehicle that provides rush-hour information; a self-charging children’s recreational vehicle; a refrigerator that uses a magnet-based cooling system to cut energy costs by a third; a solar-powered boat; a project that extracts high-altitude wind energy, and other innovations.

Keynote speaker Bobi Garrett is scheduled to speak at 8:30 a.m. in Engineering II, Room 102 lecture hall. She is considered a leading expert on the commercialization of renewable and sustainable energy solutions.