The College of Engineering's Explorations celebration attracted many spectators, including corporate representatives, other Illinois students, and families from the community. The event took place December 5 at the Illini Union, and gave first-year engineering students a chance to display their innovative products from their first semester. Highlights included presentations and projects from the Illinois Engineering First-Year Experience (IEFX) electives. Attendees also had the opportunity to vote on teams and individuals with outstanding posters, projects, and presentations.
Michael Duong (Aero) poses with his robotic-sensor gloves and remote-control car he developed with teammate Mateusz Jedryczka (ECE).
This project was designed to be a proof of concept for controlling a remote object using minimal movements (as opposed to controlling robots in bulky protective clothing) and used sensors on the gloves to maneuver a remote-control car with full capability (forward, backward, left, right). In hazardous situations where robots are warranted, a human operator can finely control a robot without having to use a bulkier, heavy, and expensive apparatus.
Spectators got a chance to try out the hover craft, which floated easily across the floor.
The team that developed the hover craft included Tom Hampton (MechSE), Adam Brown (MatSE), Pramuk Heenatigala (ECE), Cody Kredens (MechSE), and Arthur Tseng (ECE).
This hover craft was constructed using simple materials: two leaf blowers, a wood platform, a shower curtain, and a plastic lawn chair.
Ian Weivoda (MechSE), Sarah Cunningham (ECE), Josef Sabuda (MechSE), Peter Lordanov (CS), and Tyler Hartman (Aero, not pictured) pose with the innovation they called the Delivery Plane.
The concept of the Delivery Plane is to use drones to transport emergency aid to people in remote or difficult-to-access locations.