Over the past year, final year engineering students have been working hard on a critical piece of their undergraduate education – their capstone project. Learn about these projects on April 12 at the Capstone Expo.
Around 200 capstone projects will be showcased on April 12 at both a virtual and in-person expo. All McMaster Engineering departments and schools will be represented. Projects will be divided into industry-relevant themes — which are also the cornerstone of McMaster’s applied research — including Advanced Manufacturing, Digital & Smart Systems, Energy, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Environment, Health & Bio-innovation, Infrastructure and Transportation. Alumni, faculty, staff, students, industry partners and secondary students are invited to this celebration of student innovation and the next generation of problem-solvers who will change our world.
Here’s a sampling of some of the projects you will be captivated by:
Beta Buddy – Mobile application that provides rock climbing beta for bouldering problems. Beta means advice, tips, step-by-step description of a climb or a sequence, or general information on how to success-fully complete a particular climbing route/boulder problem. Learn more about Beta Buddy.
Electrical & Computer, Research Theme: Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Members: Paulette C., Alex T., Dominik L, Lance S.
SpotHole – a vehicle-mounted device that passively detects unfavourable road conditions such as potholes. The device collects data from high-speed cameras, motion sensors, and GPS to locate potholes and sends this information to a database. Data will be used to classify road conditions and suggest optimized road repair work to municipalities. This project placed 3rd in Innovative Design at the Canadian Engineering Competition.
Eng Phys, Research Theme: Infrastructure
Members: Desmond K., Erin N., Bri C., Neil K., Veronika H.
GammaGuardian – GammaGuardian is a rapidly deploying radiation shield fit with a suite of infrared sensors and radiation detection modules that automatically position its shielding array between the radiation source and the user to provide optimal radiation shielding.
Eng Phys, Research Theme: Digital & Smart Systems
Members: Ben T., Adam M., Joshua D., Raimi S.
Sign Buddy – a wearable device that aids in teaching the user American Sign Language by providing real-time feedback based on the user’s hand motions. This creates an uncomplicated way to learn and practice sign language independently. This first version of Sign Buddy is aimed at beginners and teaches the signs of the alphabet using a method called ‘fingerspelling’.
Software/Mechatronics, Research theme: Health & Bio-Innovation
Members: Stephen S., Adam B., Harneet S., Mohamed M., Ramsha K., Shahad A.
Designing a net-zero vertical farming operation – The future of agriculture must accommodate a growing urban population with shrinking arable farmlands due to climate change and natural disasters. One solution to these challenges is vertical farming. Our project uses food waste from grocery stores in an anaerobic digester to power a net-zero GHG emissions vertical farm growing lettuce and basil.
Chemical, Research theme: Infrastructure
Members: Tracy H., Muhammad O., Haniska C., Amaara R., Charles L.
Explore the full list of projects.
The virtual component will happen from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. on the VFairs platform. Students will present their designs in an exciting trade show booth-style format complete with high-quality videos and real-time demos showing the functionality of a design. Watch on-demand videos and chat live with the students.
The in-person component will happen from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. on McMaster’s main campus. You’ll find the ECE projects in CIBC Hall, 3rd floor MUSC, and the other projects in Burridge Gym, DBAC. The in-person component will be drop in style: come and stay as long as you please!
