Remote Switching Station Power
Team Members
Samuel Bilot, Nakita Menke, Nathan Fox, Jacob Lille, and Matthew Sunde, Electrical
Engineering
Advisor
John Lukowski, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor
ITC Holdings Corp.
Project Overview
ITC is considering construction of switching stations that are located in geographically
remote areas where distribution level power is not available. Our project is to design
a renewable energy powered micro-grid to supply continuous power to the switching
station. This project is being designed for operation in the southwest United States;
however, the solution will also be scalable to any area in the world. Additionally,
this system must be safe, reliable, and cost effective.
Automated Functional Testing Device for Logic Devices
Team Members
Alexis Schroeder, Spencer Banaszak, Abhilash Vinod, Electrical Engineering; Derek
Wing and Stephen Ardanowski, Computer Engineering
Advisors
Aref Majdara and Tony Pinar, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project Overview
Michigan Tech’s Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering is always looking
for ways to optimize the lab environment and better students’ understanding of lab
equipment and electrical components. Many labs in the electrical engineering department
require the use of devices utilizing basic logic gates in order to do various tasks.
The functionality of these logic gates are tested at the end of each lab cycle by
the department’s lab supervisor. Reusing electrical components is cost-effective and
preferable to replacing logic gates at the end of each lab session. However, the current
testing process is tedious and requires long sessions in order to properly test for
the functionality of each logic gate. Each gate has to be tested individually so as
to account for all types of basic logic gates. If any anomalies are found, the faulty
parts are thrown away. This team has been given the opportunity to design a device
that will expedite the process, while retaining the proper testing functionality.
Boat HUD
Team Members
Matthew Radloff, Electrical Engineering; Zachary Nedzlek, Karan Desai, and Jamie Docka,
Computer Engineering
Advisor
Trever Hassell, Electrical and Computer
Engineering
Sponsor
Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC)
Project Overview
Although current technology exists for heads-up displays (HUD) in many applications
today, especially considering the expanding market for virtual reality, a marine application
has not yet appeared. The opportunity exists for a boat heads-up-display that allows
the user to view applicable information as an overlay on the environmental surroundings.
Currently, marine operators need to trade their view between dash instruments and
activity around them. Specifically to this project, our team’s goal is to develop
software that will transmit navigational information from a data bus (NMEA 2000) to
a display output in a predetermined layout.
Automated Functional Testing Device for Operational Amplifiers
Team Members
Dustin Powell and Nick LaBelle, Electrical Engineering; Miles Lefevre, Xilun Song,
and Erik Madson, Computer Engineering
Advisor
Aref Majdara, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project Overview
The Automated Functional Testing Device for Operational Amplifiers is a device designed
to test two operational amplifiers: the LM741 and LF356. The electrical and computer
engineering (ECE) department’s lab uses many operational amps, and sometimes broken
ones get accidentally reused or working ones accidentally get thrown away. This device
provides rapid feedback to the user if the operational amplifier is working properly
and up to ECE department lab standards. The goal of this device is to save good operational
amplifiers from being thrown away, as well as save student’s and lab instructor’s
time from troubleshooting bad ones during lab.
Cancer Detection
Team Members
Erin McCarthy, Electrical Engineering; Andy Kirkum, Joshua Stauffer, and Jonathan
Lehto, Computer Engineering
Advisor
Tony Pinar, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor
Barzin Moridian
Project Overview
The Lung Cancer Diagnostic System project aims to create an application prototype
to help diagnose lung cancer in computed tomography (CT) scans. Machine learning algorithms
will make predictions and highlight suspicious areas on the CT scan. A set of diagnosed
CT scans will be used to train the machine learning algorithm, allowing for new predictions
on new CT scans. Image processing makes it possible to get data from each scan in
a format that an algorithm will be able to use. Then, the findings will be displayed
on a clear and intuitive user interface (UI).
SERC AFRL 05 Personnel Recovery—Power
Team Members
Brody Sundquist, Liz Adams, Nick Gagalis, Kayla Kent, and Blake Lindeman, Electrical
Engineering
Advisor
John Lukowski, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor
Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC)
Project Overview
The US Air Force contracted Michigan Tech with the task of creating a charging device
that will aid military pilots in emergency situations. The main focus concerns extending
the life of their Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) radio battery. The CSEL radio
is a communication device that provides secure two-way over-the horizon, near real
time data communications, precise military Global Positioning System (GPS), and increased
radio frequencies and modes of communications over existing radios. The device must
extend the amount of battery life from the current 84 hours to 28 days. The design
will incorporate one active energy harvesting device and one passive energy harvesting
device. The device will feature a USB input, hand crank operated induction motor,
and a photovoltaic cell to charge an internal battery. That internal battery will
then have a USB output to a cradle designed to hold the CSEL battery and potentially
other device’s batteries. The cradle will contain any charge management circuitry
necessary to safely recharge the CSEL battery.
Canister Wipe Auto Pre-Thread
Team Members
Stefan Koerner and Clinton Andrews Electrical Engineering; Jacob Erickson, Mechanical
Engineering; Christopher DeWidt, Computer Engineering
Advisor
Trever Hassell, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor
Leading Disinfectant Wipes Producer
Project Overview
Our team was tasked to create a solution to pull out the first wipe of a package of
wipes to improve the initial consumer interaction. This must be done without adding
much cost to the product and effecting the current defect rate. The solution must
be integrated into a highly automated environment with a high production rate. To
determine an appropriate solution, the team broke up the problem by type of feature,
how the process will work, and where the process is placed.
Deposition System GUI
Team Members
Natalie McGrath, Tyler Terteling, Shane Skalski, Thomas DeVoe, and Daniel Yan, Computer
Engineering
Advisor
Tony Pinar, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Sponsor
Chito Kendrick
Project Overview
Our project involves the automation of thin film deposition system in the Minerals
and Materials Thin Films Lab. The system we are working with uses chemical deposition
to apply a thin layer, in the order of nano- to micrometers, of material onto a substrate
surface. The process uses a series of pumps and vents to ensure the pressure in the
machine’s chamber is controlled. Along with automating the system, we are tasked with
implementing safety measuring into our project.