A More Nimble Police Robot

While some of you may remember watching RoboCop in college, a team of four University of Cincinnati mechanical engineering students have actually constructed a police robot to help the school's police department. Their 40-pound box-shaped robot moves, speaks and shoots video. Dubbed the "Midwayer," it's designed to take the place of officers in high-risk situations, from gathering information in dangerous places to acting as stand-ins in hostage crises. Officers can also communicate through the robot. The students--Ian Blaney, Josh Kline, Dan Johnson and Devon Spivey--assembled the night vision-equipped robot for their senior project at the request of the police department, which wanted a smaller machine (it already has a $75,000, 180-pound robot that requires a one-ton trailer to get around) with two-way communication system, says Capt. Jeff Corcoran, director of emergency services at the school. The students built the more compact device for $5,000.
Source: Students build police robot
Elizabeth Troutman
The Cincinnati Post, May 17, 2005
news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050517/NEWS01/505170363

Cane Comfort

John Vandiver of Burlington, Kentucky, had two motivations when he set out to build a better walking cane--to complete his senior project and to help his mother, who suffers from a degenerative disc disease. As a student in manufacturing engineering at Northern Kentucky University (he has since graduated), he built a shock-dampening cane that relieves the discomfort felt by people with leg or back problems each time their cane hits the ground. He affixed a hydraulic buffer--a steel cylinder with circulating fluid--to a regular cane and thereby improved its shock absorption. While Vandiver spent about $150 to assemble his prototype, he expects mass production to lower the cost. "I'm reviewing patent options," he tells The Cincinnati Post. "I'm guardedly optimistic."
Source: Engineering student builds a better cane
The Cincinnati Post, May 20, 2005
news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050520/NEWS01/505200338

A Different Kind of Bartender

Don't expect any words of wisdom from this bartender--all you'll get is cold, hard...metal. A team of senior computer engineering students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Peter Kiewit Institute built a robotic bartender and service automation system for their senior project. The robot processes orders, concocts drinks and tabulates sales. "We're able to take orders from a (personal desk assistant), which is routed to a server, which converts it into instructions for the robot," senior computer engineering student Robert Powers tells the Daily Nebraskan. And the robot bartender was just one of 25 UNL senior projects showcased at a recent exposition. Also featured was a GPS-guided lawnmower that could trim your yard at the push of a button and a cargo tricycle designed to provide cheap and convenient transportation.
Source: Senior engineer majors introduce inventions
Kaylene Nieland
Daily Nebraskan, April 20, 2005
www.dailynebraskan.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/20/4265d6e816277

Improving Some Tried-and-True Designs

Senior engineering students at Western Michigan University are using their final design projects as opportunities to make an impact on people's lives. For example, one team--composed of Eric Locker, Brian Demos, Todd Lambkin, William Leach and Terry Lee--are redesigning a transit cart for Goodwill Industries, aiming for improved efficiency and ergonomics. While the current cart is essentially a metal cage designed to transport donated goods to Goodwill's processing center, the students are working to make the new design more amenable to loading and unloading. "We're going to make it easier to access materials in the cart. It will be accessible from both sides," Locker tells the Western Herald. "We lowered the height of the access." Another project with potential involves a light and affordable wheelchair. A student team made up of Marc Egan, Michael Gianunzio, Toan Van and Blake Zeeman are trying to find the best combination of metal and plastic that will meet their low cost and weight goals. Their original idea of wheelchair sides made entirely of plastic did not pan out. Says Betsy Aller, chairwoman of the industrial and manufacturing engineering session, "It's a project that shows typical constraints in the industry. You need to evaluate and adapt. You can't always get what you want."
Source: Senior engineering majors design transit cart, LiveFree Lift
Erin Dudley
Western Herald, March 30, 2005
www.westernherald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/03/30/424a0bca69300%20