Vision-based Intelligent Prosthetic Robotic Arm

This project involves the design and development of an anthropomorphic trans-radial prosthetic robot that offers low-level assistive intelligence. The device is capable of autonomously determining object positions through a palm-embedded camera, and utilizes a two degree-of-freedom wrist to track and orient itself to an object. The fingers are actuated using a bevel-gear driven system that allows for variable grip strength through the relation between the forces generated at the fingertips and the current draw of the motors. The core advantage of this system is its user-friendly human interaction, reducing cognitive burden during grasping activities of daily living

Noise Pollution Exhibit at the EcoTarium

Our project team designed, developed, and tested an educational interactive display about noise pollution as part of the new City Science exhibit at the EcoTarium Museum of Science and Nature. Collaborating with the museum staff, we created a Java application to run on a touch screen computer. After we tested the application and developed it into a working prototype, we made recommendations for further ways to enhance the exhibit. Our results show that the exhibit successfully demonstrated how people’s responses to noise are subjective, and visitors who used the exhibit often engaged each other in dialogue concerning noise pollution