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STUDENT RESEARCH SHOWCASE 2019 PRESENTATIONS

 

Engineering


PoMS: Posture Monitoring Shirt
A comfortable shirt that uses Machine Learning to generate posture-defining coordinate transforms based on electrical resistance from stretch sensors

Leon Aharonian, Bronx High School of Science

The objective of this research was to create a comfortable, highly informative, accurate Posture Monitoring Shirt (PoMS) which would not limit the wearer’s natural range of motion. PoMS consists of a tightly fitting garment with twelve stretch sensors whose electrical resistance changes with their length. The resistance of each sensor was recorded with an Arduino circuit. To help account for the hysteresis in the sensors, the change in resistance over time (derivative) was recorded. Posture was defined as a set of three coordinate transforms: pelvis to sternum, sternum to left shoulder, and sternum to right shoulder. An experiment was conducted to determine the accuracy of PoMS. During the experiment, the ground truth posture was recorded with a Vicon motion capture system and retroreflective markers strategically placed on appropriate anatomical landmarks. The coordinate transforms were generated with Matlab using the Vicon-recorded position of the markers. Subjects (n=5) performed six cyclic movements, using specific degrees of freedom and one minute of random torso movements. Four Machine Learning regression models were created to predict the torso posture based on the resistance input data: Linear Regression, K Nearest Neighbor, Random Forest, and a Neural Network. The algorithms were trained with the cyclic movements and used to predict the freestyle, random movements. The results are very promising and show that the developed methodology is successful. PoMS can be used for an extremely wide variety of medical and athletic applications. Since bad posture and back problems are very common PoMS has potential to help everyone.

Harnessing the Signaling Power of Cancer Cells for Tissue Engineering
Roshini Balan, Holton Arms High School

The presentation includes the background, hypothesis, methods and materials and results of the research. 

Tesla Polymorphic Structures
Alexander Divoux, American Heritage School Plantation

This presentation describes the project "Tesla Polymorphic Structures," where rhombic-dodecahedron shaped modules were rotated with electromagnetics to create a modular robot.

Improving the Efficacy of Modern Airliners with the Co-Flow Jet Airfoil
Hans C Ehrnrooth, Pine Crest School

In my project, I focused on redesigning the wing of the Boeing 777-300 to be 23.5% more efficient that correlates in a 20.5% increase in fuel efficiency, essentially the new aircraft can fly 3500 km longer with 20.5% less fuel, which are large enough increases to consider replacing fossil-fuel burning engines with hybrid or electric ones for the same route. The purpose of my redesign is to create a commercial aircraft that has significantly reduced emissions to prove that commercial flights can significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emission without sacrificing speed or payload capacity.

Ortho, An Intelligent Exoskeleton – Myoelectric, Pressure, and Health-Sensing Powered Arm Orthosis via Neural Network for Muscle Rehabilitation
Arun Eswara, Plano East Senior High School

Arm Orthosis Braces, used to support the arm after it is paralyzed or atrophied, are expensive and inconvenient. Ortho is an arm orthosis that uses inputs from electromyographic muscle sensors, pressure sensors, and an accelerometer to mechanically assist arm movement. Ortho is an intelligent device that non-invasively gathers movement data and actively controls flexion via embedded sensors.

Improving the Braking System of a Formula Student Race Car with Better User Input
Grant Fields, Pine Crest School

This research analysis optimizes the braking system of a Formula Student Race Car (FSRC), a race car division organized by SAE International. The vehicles mechanical geometry was examined and mathematically formulated to improve safety, performance, and usability.

Serene: An Assistive Biomedical System to Predict and Prevent Autistic Meltdowns
Raghav Ganesh, Lynbrook High School

According to the CDC, about 1 in 59 children are identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many individuals on the spectrum periodically experience emotional outbursts known as meltdowns, which are triggered by high levels of accumulated stress. Meltdowns are very unpredictable and can hinder an individual's ability to be independent. My research project, Serene, focused on the development of a solution to predict and prevent autistic meltdowns. Serene consisted of a custom wearable device, a machine learning based cloud service and a mobile application. I tested Serene with 10 individuals with ASD, ranging from 13 to 27 years of age, collecting 157 hours of test data. My system achieved 90% accuracy in predicting stress and was validated by users as a vital tool for common, everyday scenarios. 

Furthermore, a version of the mobile application that works with the sensors found in Android Wear OS smartwatches has been released on Google Play with over 500 installations worldwide. The mobile application helps users with ASD manage stress and improve the executive function skills needed to plan, manage time, control emotions, work with information, stay focused and get tasks done. 

Using Vibration Generators to Disrupt Mosquito Breeding in Still Water Environments
Ward Genoway, American Heritage School Boca/Delray

Designed to showcase the elements of the project, explain its significance and also showcase the researcher as well. Presentation requirements are separated into separate sections on the website.

Enhanced Piezoelectric Material
Heriberto Gonzalez, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

The idea is to create a piezoelectric and do some change to its properties to do some enhancement, and if can produce more energy that it was producing before it was enhance. Some application for this could be and boost to charge a battery vibration.

The Effects of Various Doping Agents and their Derivatives on the Performance of Solid-State Supercapacitors
Bill Hung, Pine Crest School

Research on developing a replacement for the traditional Li-ion battery by improving solid-state supercapacitor performance.

Creating a Cost-Effective and Portable Micro Spectrometer
Abhitya Krishnaraj, American Heritage School Plantation

A spectrometer is a machine that quantifies the properties of light as it passes through a liquid. My project utilizes a powerful sensor with an Arduino Uno for prototyping and an application that gathers data from the sensor and compares it to pre-existing data found in the database. My solution is extremely portable and cheap compared to commercially available spectrometers, which are usually expensive, large, and take minutes to set up. I was unable to test my completed product as the sensor that I used stopped working while I was running tests to check my code.

 

Experimental Determination of the Minimum Filtration and Sizing Requirements Needed to Effectively Remove the Majority of Microplastics from Washing Machine Discharge
Richard Grey Leonard, Score Academy

The purpose of this investigation was to experimentally determine the minimum filtration and sizing requirements needed to effectively remove the majority of microplastics from washing machine discharge without impacting drainage or machine operation.

Effectiveness of Micro X-Ray Computed Tomography to Reveal Variations in Pore Structures
Aviral Misra, Blue Valley High School

My presentation will discuss the ability of micro x-ray computed tomography as an effective way to characterize the pore structure of various materials. For this purpose, pore structures of three different materials, one formed through biological pathways (bovine femur) and the others through synthetic means (3D printed polyamide and aluminum), were investigated and statistically analyzed. The presentation will describe the methods and procedures, conclusions and potential applications.
 

Flushing of Anthropogenic Contaminants during Storm Events in San Diego River and Its Tributary
Federick Pinongcos, San Diego State University

The presentation talks about evaluation of temporal trends in concentration profiles of anthropogenic contaminants in the San Diego River. 

Manipulating Particles in Microfluidic Flow with AC Electrothermal Effect
Md Fazlay Rubby, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Its a presentation about a microfluidic device using AC electrothermal effect. First i am trying to describe about my experiment and then i have presented my numerical analysis regarding experiment. Then i  am trying to make relation between these two results. Finally i have shown my application area of my research.

 

Development of a Prosthetic Limb Based on the Human Nervous System
Sierra Stocker, Pine Crest School

My presentation discusses different methods of improving the functionality of prosthetic limbs in their ability to transmit sensory and motor information to and from the user in order to improve the lives of limb absent people.

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