One of the most common tasks in working with space technologies is precisely aligning an assembled Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to a mechanical frame. These frames and PCB’s must interface with surrounding electronics through use of dense fragile connectors, with any misalignment of the assembly causing the connectors to shear. Getting into space creates considerable vibration, and with no air, conduction is the only method of cooling available.

Our project’s goal is to inspire gyms to make working out more accessible by modifying exercise
equipment for a paralympic athlete. While 1 in 4 Americans have a mobility disability, gym
equipment is almost always designed for able-bodied people. We are adapting one half of a
dual-pulley machine to allow our sponsor to demonstrate these issues and push for change
because the components used to alter these machines are often inaccessible.

We are working on helping orthopedic surgeons work smarter and not harder. In the United
States there are over 300,000 anterior lumbar spinal fusions performed every year.

Our project aims to prevent the buildup of plastic pollution in marine and wildlife ecosystems due to helium-filled balloons.

Our project aims to develop a robotic system for internal inspection of industrial piping systems. Current inspection methods face limitations because they rely on either friction with pipe walls or thrust from propellers to traverse piping systems. When confronted with vertical sections, changing diameters, unconstrained environments, or a combination of the three, current inspection methods are rendered ineffective. To address these drawbacks, our team developed a novel version of a soft, continuum robot known as a vine robot.

Our project helps people keep their homes filled with fresh, cool air and lower their AC
costs. The number of extreme heat days in California has tripled over the last century. In
response, many people use AC to cool down their homes, but this is extremely costly
and environmentally unfriendly. Our automatic window-opening system enables
homeowners to bring fresh air into their homes and reduce their AC usage.

The US Navy spends over $60B annually on ship maintenance, where the hazardous work environment claimed the lives of 50 sailors last year. For this reason, our team developed GANER, the Gaucho Autonomous Navy Environment Robot, to replace humans and lead the ship maintenance industry in both safety and cost efficiency. 

With 250 million endoscopies done worldwide annually, endoscopes are a critical component of
today’s medical care, yet, they are also the leading cause of infection by medical device.

Our project aims to create a time-saving device for testing infrared sensors, called Focal Plane
Arrays (FPAs), which are used in mission-critical military and space applications. Current test
chambers used to validate the output of FPAs include a fixed-sized aperture, placed in a
cryogenically-cooled vacuum chamber, which controls the amount of light that hits a FPA during
testing.

Minimally invasive surgeries, such as arthroscopic (keyhole) surgeries, have grown in popularity
due to the promise of faster recovery times and causing less pain. A typical keyhole surgery
setup involves a camera that captures the movement of a surgical tool and displays it on a
monitor. During the surgery, it is easy to lose a sense of scale in translation and orientation of
the tool.