University Technology Exposure Program 2022: February Update

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01 Mar, 2022

University Technology Exposure Program 2022: February Update

Submissions received this month included articles related to instrumentation, renewable energy, robotics, automotive vehicles, and more. Presenting a small curation of all the innovative projects.

This article is a part of our University Technology Exposure Program 2022. The program aims to recognize and reward innovation from engineering students and researchers across the globe.

Wevolver, as a part of the University Technology Exposure Program 2022 provides an opportunity for students and researchers working in any discipline of engineering, technology, and science to present their innovations in front of hundreds of thousands of readers from the industry, academia, and beyond. 

The program has kicked off recently, and in this article, we present a summary of the 6 submissions we received as a part of the event.

Submissions received in February 2022

#1. Novel circuit design approach makes pressure sensors smaller and more sensitive by Mikhail Basov

Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors are miniature devices built by fabricating mechanical and electronic components responsible for carrying out the sensing process on a silicon chip. These devices have the advantage of small size and are widely used in various sectors, including manufacturing industries, biomedical applications, consumer products, and more. Balancing the performance and size of components is one of the main challenges faced by an R&D engineer working in the field of MEMS.

New sensor design and fabrication processes add incremental improvements to the technology, but most sensors have used the classic Wheatstone bridge circuit for more than 50 years. Mikhail proposes a novel circuit design, ‘piezo sensitive differential amplifier with negative feedback loop (PDA-NFL)’, that aims to significantly improve the sensitivity and reduce the size of the sensor. 

Read the full article here.


#2. Small Wind Turbines for sustainable livelihoods by Paul Chris Mwale

The next article relates to a small wind turbine built with locally available resources like timber, scrap metal, junk electronics, and some salvaged parts from automobiles and household items. Paul, the author of the article, explains how he built the blades, generator, and control circuits for a fully functional wind turbine. Details about the blade design, electronic circuits, control algorithm, and the specifications of the developed windmill are explained briefly. 

Access the full article from this link.


#3. Design inspiration from woodpeckers could allow robotic arms to be bendable and extendable by Ayato Kanada

The degree of freedom is the count of moving joints that a robot has. Robots with a limited degree of freedom face challenges in applications where obstacles need to be avoided. Continuum robots, on the other hand, have an infinite degree of freedom but lack of rigidity makes them unsuitable for carrying heavy objects.

To address this problem, Ayato’s article presents a concept of a bendable and extendable robotic arm with structured stiffness. The idea is inspired by the woodpecker tongue, which is flexible but rigidly supported by bones. The team behind the project aims to combine the benefits of both conventional robotics and soft robotics to develop something like Dr. Octopus’ arms in reality.

More on this here.


#4. Motion Planning For Autonomous Vehicles Based On Sequential Optimization by Maksym Diachuk

Motion planning is one of the most critical aspects of developing an Autonomous Vehicle control algorithm. The difference between motion planning for industrial bots and autonomous vehicles lies primarily in the fact that vehicles move at high speeds and are directly concerned with the safety of lives. 

The article presents an overview of the new mathematical approach for planning autonomous vehicle motion in a constrained space. The aim of the proposed approach is to improve the quality of AV control in tracking.

Read the article from this link.


#5. Predictive Model of Adaptive Cruise Control Speed to Enhance Engine Operating Conditions by  Srikanth Kolachalama

Cruise control is a feature that helps a vehicle maintain its speed when being driven on long loads. It reduces driver fatigue and is a commonly available feature in many personal vehicles. Adaptive Cruise Control takes a step forward by allowing vehicles to detect and adjust their speed depending on the presence and speeds of other vehicles.

This article presents a novel methodology to predict the optimal Adaptive Cruise Control Set Speed Profile (ACCSSP) by optimizing the Engine Operating Conditions (EOC) considering Vehicle Level Vectors (VLV). The work investigates EOC criteria to develop a predictive model of ACCSSP in real-time.

Access the article here.


#6. A choreomusical e-textile interactive carpet by Irmandy Wicaksono

When we think of smart fabrics, we usually associate them with wearable and fashion technology, such as clothing that can track health and physical activity or gloves that can sense tactile information or hand gestures.

The final article published in the month of February 2022 comes from Irmandy, a Ph.D. scholar from MIT who describes a musical mat that simultaneously responds to touch, pressure, and proximity with musical sounds. MIT Media Lab researchers have developed a large-scale seamless interactive carpet and established an interdisciplinary project that unites new materials, sensing technologies, and advanced digital fabrication with contemporary dance and music.

Read the complete article here.


Community voting begins

We invite our readers to participate in the community voting event to show support for their favorite submissions. The links to the community voting event will be shared on Wevolver’s social media pages. 

The winner of the monthly community vote will be invited for an interview with Wevolver to discuss their innovation and the associated technology. This interview will be shared across all our social channels (with over 700,000 followers).

Conclusion

Being a published author on Wevolver and showcasing the work in front of a huge engineering community can bring new networking and career opportunities for all the budding students and researchers out there. 

We will be back with another post next month featuring a brief summary of the latest submissions. We look forward to more insightful submissions. Visit the official page of the University Technology Exposure Program to submit your article. The program ends on 31st July 2022

About the University Technology Exposure Program 2022

Wevolver, in partnership with Mouser Electronics and Ansys, is excited to announce the launch of the University Technology Exposure Program 2022. The program aims to recognize and reward innovation from engineering students and researchers across the globe. Learn more about the program here.

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