Part IV Project Management System

#1: An OmniRotor Class Drone for Rock Sample Collection on Mars

Allocated

Gathering materials from Martian hot springs is a complex endeavor, both technically and geologically. Initial tests on these materials have shown them to be highly diverse in composition. Their unique shapes and structures indicate the need for a dynamic and adaptable method of collection. Given the materials' characteristics (such as size, shape, and porosity), working with cutting-edge micro- and nano-technology ... Read more

Mechatronics Robotics

Mechatronics Engineering

#2: Ultra-Flexible Robotic Manipulation Systems for Industrial Assembly

Allocated

The goal of this project will be to develop a complete robotic system for "Manufacturing Track" of the robotic grasping and manipulation competition of IEEE ICRA 2024 and IEEE IROS 2024. We have won this competition in 2019 and we can do it again! The goal of the robotic grasping and manipulation competition is to test the capabilities of a ... Read more

Mechatronics Robotics

Mechatronics Engineering

#3: A Multi-Terrain Robotic Platform Combining a Speedboat and Bioinspired Deployable Wings

Allocated

This project will focus on the development of a multi-terrain robotic platform that will be combining a speedboat platform and deployable wings for providing aircraft capabilities to the platform. The idea is to create a seaplane that can fully fold its wings becoming an efficient speedboat. The plan is to use the developed platform for the inspection of remote water ... Read more

Mechatronics Robotics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#4: Teleoperation and Telemanipulation with the New Dexterity Open-Source, Bimanual Robotic Manipulation System

Allocated

This project will focus on the development of teleoperation and telemanipulation schemes for the New Dexterity modular, dexterous, open-source, anthropomorphic bimanual manipulation system. The particular robotic platform has been designed for research and rapid experimentation in robot grasping, dexterous manipulation, and bimanual manipulation. The platform combines adaptive and hybrid actuation systems with lockable joints, facilitating transitions between the execution of delicate and forceful tasks. ... Read more

Mechatronics Robotics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#5: An Open-Source, Adaptive, Body-Powered, Dexterous, Humanlike Prosthetic Hand

Allocated

This project will focus on the development of a new version of the OpenBionics adaptive, humanlike prosthetic hand. We will focus on the modelling, design and development of a new hybrid, body-powered prosthetic device. The new design will demonstrate the adaptive behavior of compliant, under-actuated robot grippers and hands and their superior grasping capabilities under uncertainties (e.g., object pose uncertainties). To ... Read more

Biomechatronics Mechatronics Robotics

Mechatronics Engineering

#6: [Industry Sponsored] Aerodynamic optimisation of a state-of-the-art VTOL system

Allocated

This project is sponsored by Swiss UAV manufacturer Anavia (https://www.anavia.eu/). In this project you will manufacture a 3D model of their UAV and conduct wind tunnel testing in order to assess the aerodynamics of the UAV with a focus on the tail boom geometry and functionality. You will test different tail boom geometries and designs to improve: (1) stability at ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#7: A Systematic Review and Development of 3D Printed Lab-On-Chip for Cancer Biopsy Sampling

Allocated

The ability to sample cancerous ductal epithelium may identify early malignant and pre-malignant cytological changes and assist surgical excision, facilitating diagnosis of non-palpable cancer before detection on current imaging modalities. Most pre-malignant and malignant differences arise from the epithelium lining the lobular duct unit, and access to this region by integrated biosystems with spectroscopy techniques can revolutionise cancer diagnosis and ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Medical Devices

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#8: A Systematic Review and Development of Healthy Home Monitoring Device for the Prevention of Rheumatic Heart Disease.

Allocated

People who live in unhealthy homes are more likely to have to make trade-offs between housing costs and decent food, heating, health services and other necessities of life. Those affected due to unhealthy homes, including children, are often hospitalised and treated but return home to the same conditions that caused the illness. The most vulnerable people, particularly children and older ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Medical Devices

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#9: Frictionless Triboelectric Generator

Allocated

This project aims to use water as another triboelectric layer to create a frictionless triboelectric generator. As water slides over another solid triboelectric layer, electricity can be generated. Recently, we created a close-ended cylinder made of Teflon filled with water, and flipping the cylinder caused the water inside the cylinder to rub against the inner wall of the Teflon tube. ... Read more

Smart Materials and Microtechnologies

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#10: Shoe insole pressure sensor for gait analysis

Allocated

This project aims to create a wearable, flexible shoe insole pressure sensor. It can map the pressure distribution of a foot as a person walks. This has the application to assist in the rehabilitation process. A Bluetooth will be required to transmit the foot pressure as a person walks to a remote PC or smartphone. You are expected to use ... Read more

Biomechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#11: Flexible Graphene Sensor for Leaf Moisture Detection

Allocated

This project aims to make a flexible sensor made from graphene and integrated with a processor, GPS module and wireless communication chips. The sensor is made of laser scribing polyimide into graphene as IDT and acts as an artificial leaf. The sensor can detect the amount of moisture. The onboard processor will then process and transmit the data with the ... Read more

Mechatronics Smart Materials and Microtechnologies

Mechatronics Engineering

#12: A small portable wind turbine with triboelectric energy harvester

Allocated

Wind energy is everywhere. The use of wind turbines with electromagnetic transduction has been used to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. This has been a proven method for more than a century. However, the use of triboelectric instead of electromagnetic transduction has the advantage of low cost and light weight. The aim of this project is to design a ... Read more

Smart Materials and Microtechnologies

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#13: Understanding Riverbed Hydrodynamics: CFD Investigation of Porous Media Effects on Turbulent Flow

Unallocated

Te Waipounamu, the South Island of New Zealand, contains many braided rivers where the riverbed often consists of coarse gravel and pebbles. The riverbed is therefore a porous medium, which enables the water to penetrate through the spaces between individual solid grains. Furthermore, the mean speed and dynamics of the turbulent river flowing above is affected by the porous media. ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#14: Innovative Modelling of Vegetation-Fluid Interaction: A coupled CFD-FEA Approach with Wind Tunnel Validation

Allocated

When the wind passes over grass, trees and other vegetation, we see a complex and beautiful display as the vegetation moves in response to the wind. This occurs because the vegetation is not perfectly rigid but inherently flexible. A similar process occurs with water flowing over aquatic vegetation like seagrass and kelp. In both cases, not only does the fluid ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#15: Unveiling the aerodynamics of kites

Allocated

Kites have been widely used for various applications, including recreational activities, sports, scientific research, and energy generation. Understanding and optimizing their aerodynamic characteristics are crucial for improving efficiency and stability in diverse operating conditions. The first phase of the project involves developing high-fidelity CFD simulations to analyse the flow patterns around different kite designs. By leveraging advanced numerical techniques, ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#16: Winds of change: CFD and wind tunnel investigation of abrupt changes in aerodynamic surface roughness

Allocated

Predicting the skin-friction drag when air or water passes over a rough surface is relatively trivial using empirical data like the Moody chart. However, this assumes the rough surface is everywhere uniform with no variations in the flow direction. In reality, however, surface roughness can abruptly change. Examples include a localised patches of rivets on an otherwise smooth aircraft fuselage, ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#17: 3D Printed sand-casting molds

Allocated

Adapt the CDAM Lab binder jetting printer to be able to print in sand-casting sands in order to create ready-to-cast molds. The project will include finding/sourcing suitable sand powders and binders for the machine, developing the print parameters for these materials, and the post-processing techniques to get the unbound sand out of the green molds without damaging them. Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes Smart Materials and Microtechnologies

Mechanical Engineering

#18: Metal additive manufacturing in a nitrogen atmosphere

Allocated

This project will involve being able to run metal additive manufacturing powders, normally run in an argon inert atmosphere, in a nitrogen inert atmosphere. It will also involve testing the metallurgical and mechanical properties of the parts printed in the nitrogen atmosphere and comparing them to those produced in an argon atmosphere. This project will be supervised by Dr Simon ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes Smart Materials and Microtechnologies

Mechanical Engineering

#19: Nodal designed bicycle

Allocated

Develop a system of 3D printed nodes, joined by off-the-shelf carbon tubes to create a lightweight custom bicycle for both on-road and mountain purposes. Alhtough the nodes can be printed in metal, such as aluminium, the first goal of the project would be for a deisgn in which the nodes were printable in nylon. Full mechanical testing of the nodes, ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#20: Pellet extruder for robot arm 3D printer

Allocated

This project is for the design and development of a working pellet extruder for an ABB robot arm that will be converted into a 3D printer. This project will be supervised by Dr Simon Chan. Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#21: [Industry Sponsored] Development of a smart system to identify, locate, and monitor the usage of equipment in noisy workshops

Allocated

Steel fabrication is a process that involves creating large metal assemblies to individual specifications using a range of equipment. To ensure maximum productivity, it is important to monitor the utilisation of these machines. While tracking manual equipment utilisation is possible, it requires fitting sensors on the equipment and integrating them into the equipment itself. This project aims to develop a ... Read more

Acoustics Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#22: Identifying speech communication inequity in our learning spaces

Unallocated

Have you ever struggled with understanding lecturer’s speech in a class? Yes, then what if you had hearing impairment or were studying in a language that is NOT your first language? Acoustics of rooms such as background noise and reverberation affect our hearing detrimentally by degrading the intelligibility of speech, making it harder to understand what speakers are saying. When ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#23: Accuracy of acoustic virtual reality for replicating speech perception in real world

Allocated

Virtual reality (VR) technology has been attracting huge interests from various industries because of its variety of potential applications. While typical VR system provides users with visual information through head mounted displays (e.g. goggles), acoustics VR is the “sound” version of VR technology which allows users to virtually experience various acoustic environments without visiting the actual sites. One of the ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechatronics Engineering

#24: Exploring efficient machine learning algorithm for conservation-centric acoustic bird monitoring

Allocated

Monitoring Aotearoa’s native bird species and identifying at-risk populations are critical for their conservation. While high-risk species require detailed population monitoring, which is often intrusive (capturing and fitting radio/GPS transmitters to birds), it is desirable to have an alternative low-cost, passive solution. With many visually cryptic (hard to see) remote species, such as kiwis, acoustic methods involving animal call tracking ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechatronics Engineering

#25: Aerial Drilling

Allocated

Drones have proven to be invaluable tools for precision applications but pose potential dangers and hazards to human workers. These applications include maintenance of electrical powerlines, repairs on towering structures, upkeep of offshore infrastructure, and management of similarly inaccessible and isolated environments. Our project aims to explore the feasibility of developing a drone equipped with an integrated drilling attachment, envisioning ... Read more

Drone Technology

Mechatronics Engineering

#26: Cooperative Aerial Manipulation

Allocated

Payload control and precise positioning have become increasingly essential in various industries. Industries such as construction, agriculture, and many more often require the ability to position and orient payloads with unique geometries. Utilising a swarm of drones to perform these tasks presents a ground-breaking solution by allowing the payload-carrying capacity to be scaled using multiple drones while achieving high precision ... Read more

Drone Technology

Mechatronics Engineering

#27: Aerodynamics of a Boeing 737 Max 9 airplane following the sudden loss of a door plug

Allocated

BACKGROUND: On January 5, 2024, the door plug of a commercial Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines came off as the plane was climbing, opening a large hole on the side of the plane, alarming passengers onboard, and raising new questions about flight safety. For now, certain models of that plane have been temporarily grounded by the Federal ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#28: Transient Loads on a UAV in Turbulent Cross Flows

Allocated

If you have flown into Wellington, you know about crossflows and windshear: that sudden gust catching the side of the aircraft, causing a discomforting jump for passengers. Now imagine that the aircraft is much, much smaller, and the gusts more frequent. This is the scenario facing small Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which often operate low to the ground and are ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#29: Performance of Variable Pitch Propellers in Wind

Allocated

Multirotor drones usually employ fixed-pitch propellers as their main means of flying. Simple, lightweight and reliable, these propellers suffer aerodynamically when used outside of their expected operational point. Furthermore, the system response is limited by the inertia of the motor-propeller combination, as force changes can only be made through changing the motor speed. Variable Pitch offers a solution to this ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#30: Fully-Actuated Pen-Drone

Allocated

This project will investigate the development of fully-actuated multirotor UAV for controlling point contact and motion across a vertical plane, i.e. precisely write on a board. Read more

Drone Technology

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#32: Internal and External Pressures on Closely-Spaced Townhouses

Unallocated

All over Auckland, townhouses are appearing, fitting two, three, four or more houses where previously there was one. While many share walls with their neighbours, often they are designed as stand-alone dwellings, to give occupants a greater feeling of separation. However, while there has been some work on the external loads created by clusters of high-rise buildings, there is little ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#33: Utilizing tidal flows at aquafarms: Revolutionizing shellfish aquafarming in New Zealand

Allocated

The project will involve development and testing of a system that utilizes tidal flows for improving growth of shellfish (e.g., mussels, oysters, scallops, geoducks, and bonanza clams) at aquafarms. CFD modelling will be used in the theoretical analysis, followed by laboratory and ocean testing of the develpoed prototypes. Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#34: Acoustic black hole, does it really work as it sounds?

Allocated

The Acoustic Black Hole (ABH) is a recently proposed innovative technique for attenuating sound and vibration in various applications, including aero-space and automotive industries. The extraordinary effect is achieved by inducing local variations of stiffness and damping properties along a structure, and as a result, vibrational energy gets trapped in the ABH. The aim of the present project is to ... Read more

Acoustics Design/Systems Engineering Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#35: Tidal energy for powering marine farms

Allocated

Marine farming of aquaculture is one of the fastest growing industries in New Zealand and requires a resilient supply of clean and cheap electrical energy. Tidal energy conversion has great potential for supplying New Zealand’s current and future energy needs, including the marine farming industry, and provides an opportunity to grow New Zealand’s economy. Previously, there have been attempts to ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics Design/Systems Engineering Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#36: Variable Arm Angle and Control Modification for Multirotor UAVs

Allocated

Multirotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been increasingly used over the past decade in various applications, such as canopy sampling, branch cutting, powerline testing, and inspection of manufactured or natural structures. Many of these real-world applications require deliberate contact with an external object, which can destabilize the UAV. On the other hand, having coupled rotational and translational dynamics in underactuated ... Read more

Drone Technology Dynamics and Control Mechatronics Robotics

Mechanical Engineering

#37: Incorporation of a Force sensor in Fully Actuated UAV and Control Design

Allocated

The UAV's physical interaction with the external environment can be seen in many applications such as bridge contact-based inspection, pruning a tree branch, powerline testing, pipe inspections, etc. Performing physical interactions with an unstructured environment demands integrating a UAV, the attached arm, and the controller system. Meanwhile, Fully-actuated UAVs have decoupled translational and rotational motion, extending the operating capabilities and ... Read more

Drone Technology Dynamics and Control Mechatronics Robotics

Mechanical Engineering

#38: The role of tall buildings in creating pedestrian level wind nuisance in the urban environment

Unallocated

BACKGROUND: Wind flow over the surface of the earth, referred to as the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) flow, is usually modelled as boundary layer flow over a rough flat plate. The surface roughness of the flat plate in such studies is correlated with the corresponding terrain roughness (e.g. relatively smooth for flat open rural terrain, or relatively rough for suburban ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#39: Improved prediction of aerodynamic loading on buildings

Allocated

Building designers need accurate wind loading data for the design of the structure and cladding of the building. This is traditionally done in wind tunnel tests, but in recent years CFD has supplimented or replaced experimental method. However, the recommended methods for CFD consistantly overpredict the stagnation pressures by ~50%. In this study students will undertake wind tunnel tests to ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#40: Improvement of Upwind Sailing Aerodynamics

Allocated

Most racing yachts have fractional rigs and this can cause the head of the mainsail to be separated since it is not operating in the downwash of a headsail. This project will test a modified rig that reduces this effect. The two sailing rigs will be tested at a range of apparent wind angles and compared in a velocity prediction ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#41: Thermal pollution of the Waikato River

Allocated

Thermal power stations must reject heat to the environment. For the Huntly power station the condensors are cooled by water which was designed to be drawn and returned to the Waikato River. The heating of the river can kill fish and other river life, and so limits are placed on electricity generation to reduce harm to the river. This study ... Read more

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering

#42: Improved prediction of Convective Heat Transfer

Allocated

Natural convection in an enclosed cavity is a basic problem in heat transfer, and has many applications in engineering and science. The existing correlations for date from the 1960s and are based on inaccurate CFD an limited experimental data. This project will develop new correlations for laminar and turbulent convection, through CFD modelling and a review of the modern literature ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering

#43: Satellite mission and hardware design for upper atmosphere sampling

Allocated

TPA-SI are developing a new generation of nanosatellite platforms. There is an intention to develop in house CubeSat platform systems to be mounted to the external spacecraft structural walls to maximise payload volume. Moreover, a mission concept is in development for direct measurement of the lower thermosphere and upper mesosphere using aerodynamically stabilised “dart” satellites. These darts would b folded ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#44: Ground-board mounted microphone assessment

Allocated

Several international standards recommend the use of ground-board mounted microphones for making outdoor noise measurements. However, recent work has shown that this method is affected by the impedance of the ground, and the angle of incidence and frequency of the sound. It has also been shown that different ground board geometries can mitigate this effect. In this project you will ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#45: Cyclist aerodynamics

Allocated

In this project you will assess the effect of turbulence on the drag force acting on a cyclist. This will be an experimental project conducted in the wind tunnel at the Newmarket Campus which will seek to replicate and then extend this study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167610523002787. Cycling New Zealand will likely be involved. Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#46: Paddle hydrodynamics

Allocated

In this project you will further develop an experimental rig for measuring the forces acting on a kayak paddle and then use the rig to conduct experiments to measure these forces. This will specifically require you to implement an accurate force measurement system as well as a system for determining the exact location of the paddle during each "stroke". If ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#47: Deployment of telescopic barrels for spacecraft optical instruments

Allocated

The objective of this project is to Investigate and improve the precision of the deployment of telescopic barrels for spacecraft optical instruments. Barrels are used as part of optical instruments with the secondary lens at the deployed end of the barrel, for these instruments to be properly focussed the barrels need to be deployed with extreme accuracy. The project will ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Dynamics and Control Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes Robotics Smart Materials and Microtechnologies Space Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#48: Deployable Helicoid Antenna for CubeSats.

Allocated

The progress in the area of electronic hardware has allowed a significant reduction in the size of satellites, and there has been an incredible growth in the nanosatellite market, e.g. cubesats. However, despite the reduction of the size of the electronics, other equipment, such as optical elements like mirrors or lenses, or antennas, cannot be reduced significantly without a decrease ... Read more

Acoustics Design/Systems Engineering Drone Technology Dynamics and Control Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes Mechatronics Robotics Smart Materials and Microtechnologies Space Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#49: [Industry Sponsored] Mapping the co-efficient of friction across an industrial warehouse floor

Allocated

NOTE: This is a preallocated industrially sponsored project. A full description is provided to the preallocated students. This project concerns measuring and mapping floor co-efficient of friction along a vehicle path. Read more

Design/Systems Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#50: Autonomous Towing of Farm Implements

Allocated

Partnering with Pastoral Robotics, an Auckland precision agriculture company (see www.pastoralrobotics.co.nz). Spikey® is a step change technology that enables true precision fertiliser application in pastoral farming. Currently implemented as a large contractor-centric machine, Spikey® is designed to be towed by a tractor. There is an opportunity to couple the Spikey® technology to a small robot such as Govor (see www.agovor.com). Pastoral Robotics ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Robotics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#51: *[CDP-CEE] How do experiences during internship programmes shape our engineers?

Allocated

The Faculty of Engineering encourages students to take up a combination of sub-professional and general hours as part of their practical work experience. The 800 hour requirement is intended to help students develop a deeper understanding of the scope of industry and the nature of the engineering work environment. This project will examine the internship experiences of the current undergraduate ... Read more

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#52: Renewable energy in the North Hokianga

Allocated

This project, in partnership with Tapuwae Incorporation Ngāi Tūpoto ki Motukaraka Trust, explores renewable energy options on rural farms in the North Hokianga. The project will involve analysis of current electricity usage from power and fuel, and scoping various solar/battery options, including farm vehicles. Read more

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering

#53: Sustainable Development in the North Hokianga

Allocated

This project, in partnership with Tapuwae Incorporation Ngāi Tūpoto ki Motukaraka Trust, explores sustainable development in the North Hokianga. The project will involve analysis of current sustainable development models, e.g. circular and doughnut economics, from Māori practitioners, to enable mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga. This project is open-ended and exploratory. Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#54: Enhancing the Performance of Classical Control Methods with Reinforcement Learning

Allocated

Classical control methods, such as linear quadratic regulators, often require parameter tuning. Typically, these parameters remain constant throughout the entire window of interest. In this project, our goal is to learn the free parameters through reinforcement learning. The objective is to enhance the optimality of classical controllers by making the weights state-dependent and representing this through a neural network. ... Read more

Drone Technology Dynamics and Control Space Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#55: Learning how to hop between space objects using low-thrust propulsion.

Allocated

Several missions require transfers to multiple targets in space; examples include asteroid tours and spacecraft servicing. Designing low-thrust trajectories to accomplish these transfers can be complex, as it typically results in a dynamic traveling salesman problem. A key aspect to reduce the complexity of the problem is the ability to compute low-thrust transfers in a very efficient way, enabling the ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Space Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#56: Tele Robotic Automation System for Ophthalmology.

Allocated

Clinicians are making swift moves to compensate for the social distancing necessary to keep safe in the post-COVID-19 era. Since ophthalmology is a specialization that requires close proximity to patients to conduct examinations, it poses a severe health risk, both for patients and specialists. Telemedicine could alleviate the situation. To increase the effectiveness of virtual visits, still, many advancements must ... Read more

Mechatronics Medical Devices Robotics

Mechatronics Engineering

#57: Deep Learning Based Health Monitoring of Industrial Assets

Allocated

Health monitoring is a process of collecting data in real-time from various assets using sensors, and other IoT devices that provide valuable insights to organizations for making informed decisions. In this process, deep learning plays a vital role by enabling organizations to learn from complex data for making such decisions, especially in the context of fault diagnosis, and predictive maintenance ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechatronics Engineering

#58: Māori Data Sovereignty for construction data connectivity

Unallocated

Construction 4.0 processes require vertical integration of an enterprise's systems, and horizontal integration of collaborative networks and end-to-end solutions across the value chain. This requires the provision of a protocol whereby Construction 4.0 data can be readily shared and connected across platforms and the multitude of data producers and users. The protocol will fit within a “Western” Construction 4.0 paradigm ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#59: An Industry 4.0 Smart Factory

Allocated

In manufacturing industry, production batches are decreasing, resulting in an increase in required changeovers. Companies are required to respond quickly and cost-efficiently to the changing market. One way for the Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) to become more agile, is to have an agile, modular and reconfigurable manufacturing infrastructure with intelligence embedded in the manufacturing facilities. This project aims ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#60: Use of cutting force dynamometer for machining process optimization.

Allocated

Machining processes are affected by a number of parameters. The most direct and prominent of all are the cutting forces, torque, and vibrations. These parameters are indicative of the process in control or not. They also help optimize the process for machining quality and the effective use of the cutting tools. Dynamometers can measure the cutting forces at work with ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#61: [Industry Sponsored] Crane Anti-collision at New Zealand Steel

Allocated

In the bustling world of manufacturing, there are a lot of moving parts to keep track of and often it is up to operators to keep track of all the moving parts. The training of operators is an obvious first step to improve safety, but operators cannot be solely relied on. With the implementation of IoT devices, there is ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechatronics Engineering

#62: New Zealand Solar Sail Mission in Cislunar Space

Allocated

This research project focuses on the conceptualization and design of a New Zealand solar sail mission set to explore cislunar space. The primary objectives encompass the examination of families of periodic orbits and a comprehensive study of the cislunar environment, with a specific focus on dust and micrometeoroids. The project aims to undertake a preliminary spacecraft design, identify regions in ... Read more

Space Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#63: Thumping good floors: Making homes quieter for a peaceful sleep

Allocated

The Problem: Have you been in an apartment or hotel room when those pesky neighbours are stomping around on the floor above you? Densification of housing is leading to more medium-rise, multi-tenancy buildings in NZ. Projections suggest that by 2050 such dwellings will constitute 30% of Auckland’s housing stock. Traditionally, sound insulation between dwellings has focused on speech privacy, underestimating ... Read more

Acoustics Dynamics and Control Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#65: An invisible acoustic barrier for quiet ventilation windows

Allocated

Problem Have you checked around your flat to see if any mould is growing...? Insufficient ventilation leads to damp, mouldy homes and significantly elevated respiratory disease rates. These diseases are NZ’s third most common cause of death. Maori and Pasifika are the worst affected, with hospitalization rates over twice that of other groups and even higher for children. Passive trickle ... Read more

Acoustics Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering

#66: Vibration-Based Rail Track Structure Real-Time Monitoring

Allocated

Imagine being part of a railway maintenance team, where your responsibility is to assess the structural integrity of rail tracks to ensure train safety. The conventional approach of manually inspecting each track segment is quite labor-intensive. Vibrations occur as a train passes over the track, and any damage to the track can lead to variations in these vibration signals. The ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechatronics Engineering

#67: Wearable Energy Harvesting

Allocated

Imagine that your phone runs out of power when you are outdoors and you forget bringing your power bank! You will never have this trouble if you could generate power by yourself when hiking. This project is a continuing project, aiming to improve the existing design of a wearable energy harvesting system that could harness kinetic energy during walking. The ... Read more

Biomechatronics Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#68: Self-Powered Condition Monitoring

Allocated

Vast vibration sources existing in the environment are predominantly in low-frequency ranges, such as vibration of the bridges induced by passing vehicles, swing of the tree branches in the wind, etc. These vibrations can be harnessed as a renewable power source for infrastructure or environment condition monitoring. This project aims to develop a self-powered condition monitoring system by harvesting and ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#69: Model Predictive Control for Path Tracking a Mobile Robot in a Remote Lab

Allocated

Remote labs, where students control real lab hardware remotely, offer a great deal of flexibility and resilience in the current educational setting. Remote control of stationary and tethered hardware is easy. However, controlling an untethered mobile robot is much more challenging. This project builds on the work we have done in developing a remote lab for the VEX mobile robots ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechatronics Engineering

#70: Reinforcement Learning for Accurate Path Tracking on a Remote Mobile Robot

Allocated

Remote labs, where students control real lab hardware remotely, offer a great deal of flexibility and resilience in the current educational setting. Remote control of stationary and tethered hardware is easy. However, controlling an untethered mobile robot is much more challenging. This project builds on the work we have done in developing a remote lab for the VEX mobile robots ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechatronics Engineering

#71: Generative AI Use in Technical Engineering Education

Allocated

How can AI (including Gen AI) be used to help student learning in technical engineering courses? This engineering education research project will look at how to use AI (including Generative AI such as ChatGPT) to help students and staff in technical/theory-heavy courses that do not involve programming or report writing. How accurate/correct is the output generated? Can it be used ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#72: Developing a Robust Simulation Environment for VEX V5 Robots

Allocated

This project continues the work done to create a simulation environment in CoppeliaSim for the VEX V5 robot. The intent is to make this tool a great resource for MECHENG 201 students to use in order to refine their code before their in-person labs each week. This project will look at comparing simulation vs real hardware results, refine the model ... Read more

Mechatronics Robotics

Mechatronics Engineering

#73: Louvre-incorporating rear wing endplates for UOA Formula SAE car

Allocated

Across all forms of motorsport there are many rules which govern the design of a vehicle competing in a certain class. In Formula SAE, there are certain restrictions on the dimensions and positions for aerodynamic devices to be used. In order to maximise the efficiency of a rear wing, whilst staying within the rules, endplates have been used to try ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#74: Enhancing Earth-to-Mars Transfers through Reachability Set Analysis and Reinforcement Learning

Allocated

This project focuses on optimizing Earth-to-Mars transfers by integrating reachability set analysis and reinforcement learning (RL). Our objective is to develop a method for designing multiple impulse transfers to Mars, wherein reachability set analysis assists in identifying admissible states for RL exploration. The trajectory transfer design is formulated as a Markov process, with RL guiding the selection of position vectors ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Space Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#75: Spacecraft Reachability Analysis in Cislunar Space

Allocated

Reachability analysis stands as a pivotal tool in astrodynamics, delineating the achievable states a spacecraft can reach within specified temporal window and propulsion system parameters. Our recent investigation delved into reachability analysis within Keplerian dynamics, specifically focusing on a spacecraft's motion around a single central celestial body (like the Earth or the Sun). Building upon this foundation, our current project ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Space Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#76: Smart Factory Metaverse – immersive real-time insights of manufacturing excellence

Allocated

Overview Welcome to the forefront of technological innovation and industrial revolution! We are excited to announce a unique opportunity for students to immerse themselves into the world of advanced manufacturing and virtual reality. This project invites you to design and develop a prototype for a Smart Factory Metaverse, bridging the gap between the virtual and physical worlds. Objective The primary ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechatronics Engineering

#77: [CDP] Development of a DC current offset probe for high power applications

Allocated

With the rise of electrification, power electronics is a growing industry. Inverters, a class of power converters, are used in applications such as power conditioning and renewable generation to create an AC output from a DC source. An ideal inverter will create a purely AC output, but in practical systems a DC offset can exist. This DC component can lead ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#78: Computational generation of design solutions for Warman Design Projects

Allocated

This project will develop a `system' for proposing design solutions to Warman Design Projects. You will analyse past Warman competition rules and develop a systematic way of summarising the main requirements from those rules (for example, does the device need to move in straight lines, does it need to move along curved paths, does it need sort items by weight, ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#79: Testing and improving a system for guiding novice designers through machine design projects

Allocated

This project will research and develop a system for guiding novice designers through hand calculation-based machine design projects. The objective is to suggest which calculations should be done at each step, with consideration to the dependencies between the calculations. The system should help novice designers avoid getting lost in iterations and should help arrive at a design quicker. This is ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#80: Improving a model-based approach for combining existing designs to create new ones

Allocated

A method has been created at the University of Auckland to systematically create new product designs by combining CAD parts and features from existing variants. This task would normally require prior expertise about the products at hand. The method reduces the need for product expertise by decomposing the redesign/combination task into a sequence of systematic steps based on modelling and ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#81: Exploring Tactile Spatial Acuity Through 3D Printing

Allocated

This research project aims to investigate and quantify tactile spatial acuity (the ability to discern fine details by touch), specifically focusing on the fingertips, utilising 3D printing technology. It will involve designing and fabricating tactile surfaces with controlled geometries, textures, and patterns using resin-based 3D printing techniques, as well as designing a suitable experimental set-up to image the contact between ... Read more

Biomechatronics Mechatronics Smart Materials and Microtechnologies

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#82: Development of a Reactive Spray Printer for Printed Electronic Devices

Allocated

The printing of electronic devices offers a cost-effective, flexible, and environmentally sustainable solution for creating lightweight, low-power electronic devices with applications ranging from consumer electronics to healthcare and beyond. Current methods of printing electronic devices, however, are limited by the contradictory requirements of printability (i.e can an ink be made that can flow in the correct way) and functionality (i.e. ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes Smart Materials and Microtechnologies

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#83: Thermal model of 3U CubeSat

Allocated

Te Pūnaha Ātea– Space Institute (TPA-SI) will be launching our first satellite, TPA-1, in October of 2024. The spacecraft is a 3U CubeSat comprising a commercial platform and four payloads developed at TPA-SI. Whilst the mission team have confidence of thermal survival of the spacecraft due to experience on similar missions, no thermal modelling was performed of the satellite. One ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Dynamics and Control Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes Mechatronics Robotics Smart Materials and Microtechnologies Space Systems Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#84: Visualising speech for second language pronunciation learning

Unallocated

Learning a second language is no easy feat, especially if you want to sound like a native speaker. Most language aids (think Duolingo) use speech recognition systems to evaluate the users’ pronunciation but that is often not very accurate, not to mention unintuitive for the learner. This project follows on from a previous project where speech acoustics and visualisation were ... Read more

Acoustics Biomechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#85: Mobile based tabletop system for hearing impaired listeners

Allocated

While hearing aids help hearing impaired listeners amplify the sounds around them, they cannot restore their hearing to that of a normal hearing person. Reverberation and background noises in our surrounding acoustic environments in particular is greatly detrimental to hearing aids users, affecting how well they can understand speech and thus hindering communication. Even something as simple as talking at ... Read more

Acoustics Medical Devices

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#86: Understanding speech sounds in an acoustically varied world

Unallocated

In our day-to-day spoken communication, we listen to speech in varying acoustic environments. To decipher the speech signal accurately we ignore any variations caused by the environment while picking up on important acoustic cues such as, timing, pitch. Each language employs these acoustic features differently, for example, te reo Māori has vowel length contrasts, tonal languages like Mandarin and Cantonese ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#87: Capturing speech audibility in classrooms through machine learning techniques

Unallocated

A successful learning experience requires students to be able to hear what the teacher is saying. Poor audibility in New Zealand classrooms is a problem for many students, potentially affecting their learning. Students need a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or speech audibility to hear the teacher against background noise. This is especially critical for Students with hearing difficulties, and Students for whom ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#88: Investigating the Interfacial Properties of Plasma-modified Waste Polymer Blends using Rheology

Unallocated

As part of a large government funded project, we are investigating ways to improve plastic recycling. A key theme in the project, focuses on the plasma treatment of polymers and its role in enhancing the miscibility of various polymer blends, thereby improving mechanical properties. The current study investigates the interfacial properties of plasma treated polymer blends using different rheological fitting ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#89: Cold plasma jet modified flax fibre reinforced composites manufactured from waste polyethylene

Allocated

Waste disposal by incineration and landfill is discouraged by recently revised legislation. For example, municipal disposal facility levy rates have increased from $30 to $60/tonne in New Zealand between 2022 and 2024 according to the waste minimisation act. Such penalties encourage alternative waste pathways, but thermosetting polymers, primarily used as a high- performance composite matrix, inherently cannot be reprocessed for ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#90: Extrusion upcycling of waste plastic using atmospheric plasma jet modification

Allocated

As part of a large government funded project, we are investigating ways to improve plastic recycling. A key theme in the project, focuses on the plasma treatment of polymers and its role in enhancing the miscibility of various polymer blends, thereby improving mechanical properties. Polyethylene(PE) and polypropylene(PP) can easily be recycled, but both of these or often contaminated, i.e. some ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#91: Development of an e-textile based wearable for sonic interaction design

Allocated

As our interactions with the digital world happen increasingly through mobile, wearable and embedded devices, the way we interface with computers is also changing. E-textiles, or electronic textiles, are fabrics with electronics integrated within them. They allow body movement, or other kinds of environmental change, to be sensed but instead of using the hard silicon, copper and plastic of traditional ... Read more

Acoustics Biomechatronics Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#92: Using advanced thermo-reversible crosslinks to enhance the mechanical properties of waste polyethylene.

Allocated

As part of a large government funded project, we are investigating ways to improve plastic recycling. Current mechanical recycling processes have their limitations, including cost constraints, degradation of mechanical properties because of heat, mechanical stress, oxidation and ultraviolet radiation during reprocessing, as well as the production of inconsistent quality products. These issues are prevalent in the recycling of mixed polymers ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#93: Traction Control System Design for FSAE Car

Allocated

As the FSAE competition is constantly evolving, FSAE:47 faces the ongoing challenge of staying competitive, requiring continuous modifications to keep pace with evolving car designs from other universities.In order to maintain this competitive edge, the role of control systems has become evidently critical in extracting optimal performance from the car. Given that a new car is designed every year and ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#94: Develop a digital twin of a drivetrain test rig to carry out remote anomaly detection.

Allocated

With proliferation of Internet of things capable devices and technologies, digital twins have become a key development area to revolutionize and streamline industrial process monitoring. Currently, the use of digital twins for monitoring of anomalies have limited applications and often relies of data collected at low sampling frequency. However, vibration based condition monitoring is a well-studied topic, that requires ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechatronics Engineering

#95: Improving natural fibre processing and composite performance through low-temperature plasma treatment

Allocated

This project will investigate the ability of low-temperature plasma to treat natural fibres, including Harakeke and linen flax. The resulting changes in fibre composite properties will be investigated and and and assessment made on the suitability for scale application Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#96: Understanding and improving the real-world performance of an Olympic 470 dinghy

Allocated

This project will look to investigate the factors affecting the performance of an Olympic 470 racing dinghy. Read more

Design/Systems Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

#97: Optimized Drone Gimbal

Allocated

The project aims to develop an optimized gimbal system capable of actuating heavy loads (1.2kg) while being very light weight itself (less than 800g). The unique requirements of the Suncave mean we need only 2 degrees of freedom and to only be within 10 degrees pointing accuracy toward the laser turret at any point (which is traditionally an order or ... Read more

Mechatronics Robotics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#98: Upcycling Wastewater-derived Biopolymers to Develop Sustainable and Flame-retardant Composites

Unallocated

Bio-based polymers from renewable resources have attracted great interest as a potential replacement to synthetic polymers. This is due to environmental issues, such as greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, related to increased usage of fossil fuel feedstock in the production of synthetics. For these reasons, eco-friendly approaches in the design of new biopolymer-based systems have been implemented to meet ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#99: The Hot Chocolate Effect – changing the speed of sound with bubbles?

Unallocated

What became known as the Hot Chocolate Effect was the result of a US physicist, Frank Crawford in 1982, noticing a pitch change in the sound of his spoon hitting the bottom of a mug of newly-made drinking chocolate. There have been a couple of papers describing the phenomenon but it does not appear to be widely known. Crawford’s analysis ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering

#100: Sound insulation in modern dwellings

Unallocated

This project builds on earlier projects. The initial part will comprise reviewing international criteria contained in national building codes and international standards for acceptable insulation in housing (especially those relevant to apartment or town house developments using lightweight sustainable building materials). This will be aimed at identifying 1) the basis for the criteria, 2) why we are currently finding ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering

#101: [Industry Sponsored] BreathSonix: Respiratory Sound Analysis

Allocated

Are you passionate about healthcare technology and interested in exploring the hidden symphony of breathing? "BreathSonix: Respiratory Sound Analysis", a project sponsored by Fisher and Paykel Healthcare, offers an exciting opportunity to delve into the world of medical innovation. BreathSonix focuses on the development of a non-invasive method for monitoring respiratory health and breathing metrics by analysing respiratory sounds. Utilizing ... Read more

Acoustics Dynamics and Control Mechatronics Medical Devices

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#102: Multi-Directional Nonlinear Vibration Absorber

Allocated

Linear vibration absorber (for short, LVA; Also called “tuned mass damper” or TMD) is designed to absorb vibrations of a primary structure. The TMD in the Taipei 101 Tower is a good example of engineering application adopting such technology. However, two issues exist for the traditional LVA. First, the traditional LVA needs to be tuned properly to match the natural ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering

#103: It's all in the ankle: The visibility of cycling motion

Unallocated

Edewaard and colleagues [1] claim that cyclists should mount tail lights on their ankles to improve visibility. In this project, we'll re-examine that claim, attempting to quantify the "importance of the ankles" (relative to other joints) when a cyclist is seen from different viewpoints (eg., profile, frontal, oblique), at different viewing distances, and for different viewing durations (eg., 500ms versus ... Read more

Biomechatronics Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#104: Microcontroller-based LED device to measure visual sensitivity to small changes in light intensity

Allocated

The quantitative understanding human visual sensitivity is important and has many applications. For example, a model of sensitivity can be used in the design of illuminated flight instruments in an aircraft cockpit. This project is a biomechatronics/human-computer interaction (HCI) project. You will design and build a microcontroller-based LED device which can be used to deliver temporally and spatially precise visual ... Read more

Biomechatronics Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#105: Detecting apnea and hypopnea events using clinical polysomnograms

Allocated

Sleep apnea (SA) is a common disorder involving the cessation of breathing during sleep. It can cause daytime hypersomnia, accidents, and, if allowed to progress, serious, chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease. Continuous positive airway pressure is an effective SA treatment. However, long waitlists impede timely diagnosis; overnight sleep studies involve well trained sleep physiologists scoring a polysomnograph (PSG). A PSG ... Read more

Biomechatronics Medical Devices

Mechatronics Engineering

#106: Tactile perception studied with 3D printing and motion capture

Allocated

This is a biomechatronics project. You'll use 3D printing and motion capture to better understand how the human nervous system processes forms and shapes that contact the finger tip. In previous work, we 3D-printed test objects comprising a regular, rectangular array of raised, oriented bars measuring 0.75 × 0.75 × 3 mm (width × height × length) that were centre-to-centre ... Read more

Biomechatronics Medical Devices

Mechatronics Engineering

#107: AI-based ambient light simulation to improve the robustness of computer vision for a mobile quality inspection system

Unallocated

Automatic quality inspection using computer vision is an important tool to improve productivity and to ensure 100 % quality checks in manufacturing. For most computer vision methods, ambient light creates challenges because the appearance of the objects changes significantly when the lighting is different. Usually, this is overcome by blocking the ambient light as much as possible. In our Industry ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechatronics Engineering

#108: Waste to Value; Application of Plasma Treatment for the Manufacture of Microfibrillar Composites from Waste Thermoplastics

Allocated

Separation of polymers during plastic recycling is expensive, and typically causes a decrease in mechanical properties of final recycled products. It is essential to investigate new methods to overcome the problem of immiscibility in polymer waste streams and improve the processing and performance of polymer blends. As a possible technology for recycling of polymer blends, the microfibrillar composites (MFC) concept ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#109: 3D real-time object tracking with a cobot driven camera a in confined spaces

Allocated

The objective is to track and film a moving object seamlessly using a camera affixed to an OMRON cobot. The precise coordinates of the target object will be provided, and the task is to ensure that the camera smoothly follows its movement. This will be accomplished through a cobot coding within the Robot Operating System (ROS), enabling real-time object tracking. ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechatronics Engineering

#110: Completion of the design and build of the infrared heating rotational moulding machine, and its performance evaluation

Allocated

The design, build and performance evaluation of a laboratory-scale infrared heating rotational moulding machine is a partly completed project. There are mechanical and electrical works that need to be taken up, for the machine to have full functionality. Once that is done, work on the performance evaluation of the machine can be completed. The results of some prior research ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#111: 3D printing of a polymer blend for robotic applications

Allocated

Sustainability is extremely important, with concern for and well-being of the environment central to all human endeavour. In this regard, the Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing and Design at the Newmarket Campus is involved in, among other things, research, and development in the broad area of composites made with natural materials. Such composites are suited for and find use ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#112: Manufacture and performance evaluation of bio-composite panels

Allocated

Sustainability is important, with concern for and well-being of the environment central to all human endeavour. In this regard, the Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing and Design at the Newmarket Campus is involved in, among other things, research and development in the broad area of composites made with natural materials. Such composites are suited for and find use in ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#113: Out-of-autoclave processing of pre-impregnated composite materials

Unallocated

Out-of-Autoclave (OOA) pre-impregnated composite materials are growing in popularity for the manufacture of composite components, by removing the reliance on expensive autoclave processing. Implementation of OOA processing would yield savings in cost, energy and time. A low cost OOA processing oven was designed and manufactured in-house in a previous project, and some validation was achieved by comparing the mechanical ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#114: [Industry Sponsored] Auralisation vs Reality – Preferential Study

Allocated

Auralisation is a process of audio simulation that enables different acoustic environments to be demonstrated without them needing to be physically present or constructed. The aim of auralisation is to provide a high degree of engineering accuracy, so that if the one was placed in the physical acoustic environment, there would ideally be no subjective difference between the auralised scenario and reality. AiHear® is a virtual reality auralisation app (for Apple devices) that can simulate ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#115: Mobile Phone Acoustic Calibration

Unallocated

Smartphones are ubiquitous, powerful devices, capable of running a wide range of apps that make use of the various sensors installed in the devices. One such sensor is the microphone – traditionally used for phones calls – which can also be adapted for use in a wide range of other apps. These microphones are relatively inexpensive, mass-produced devices, with varying acoustic properties. ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#116: An investigation into rolling road wind tunnel usage for FSAE front wing aerodynamics validation

Allocated

Ground effect is an essential aspect of the performance of several components of the aerodynamics package of an FSAE car. Validating these effects is difficult to do since wind tunnels often create thick boundary layers on the floors which are not representative of what the real wing goes through. One way to mitigate this is with a rolling road. The ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#117: Strain energy driven deployable spacecraft structures

Allocated

Deployable structures are often used for space applications as they can be stowed into a relatively small volume during launch (thus requiring less space on board a launch vehicle), and then deployed to the required size once on orbit. Reliability is a crucial requirement for this type of mechanisms, as failure to deploy can produce the failure of the ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Dynamics and Control Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes Mechatronics Robotics Smart Materials and Microtechnologies Space Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#118: Development of a scale testbed for validation of path-tracking control systems for Driverless Formula SAE

Allocated

The Formula SAE competition is introducing an autonomous vehicle category to the control of the Formula SAE cars. To complement the work already completed and ongoing for this competition, this project aims to develop a scale testbed to validate path-tracking control systems, among other benefits. This will utilise sensing from existing Motion Capture systems to reduce the perception requirements and ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#119: Development of a low-cost solution for job and staff cost tracking suitable for SMEs

Allocated

Real-time job tracking ranks among the top 10 essential requirements for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), yet it remains an unresolved challenge for many. Currently, numerous companies rely on physical paper-travelers accompanying products throughout their processing stages. However, accessing real-time product location information via computers is difficult, if not impossible. Typically, data from paper-travelers is only inputted into databases or ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechatronics Engineering

#120: Optimal Multi-debris removal sequences

Allocated

Space is congested, with the main component being space debris: 4 out of 5 tracked space objects is indeed non operational. Active debris removal (ADR) refers to the act of interacting with passive spacecraft or rocket bodies in order to reduce their remaining orbital lifetime. To stabilise the growth of space debris it is paramount to employ ADR, which is ... Read more

Space Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#121: Intuitive human-robot collaborative assembly

Allocated

We have been amazed by the mind-blowing robots from Boston Dynamics. However, behind those futuristic robot videos, open challenges exist in autonomous sensing, reasoning, and trajectory planning of autonomous robots, in particular when working in close distance with humans. In our team, we took the initiative of creating a smart collaborative robot that can actively work together with humans to ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems Robotics

Mechatronics Engineering

#122: [Industry Sponsored][Confidential] Automated stem assembly and quality checking system

Allocated

Oasis Engineering (https://www.oasisengineering.co.nz/oasis_home), based in Tauranga, New Zealand, is a world-leading supplier of valves and couplings for the compressed natural gas application solution. They are well-known in New Zealand as a specialist in producing close-tolerance machined parts in difficult materials such as stainless steel and titanium. Though they have state-of-the-art factories in New Zealand for machining, they still trust ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#123: [Industry sponsored][Confidential] QA checks on steel frames using computer vision techniques

Allocated

FRAMECAD (https://www.framecad.com/) is the world-leading cold formed steel (CFS) construction automation solution provider that exports end-to-end design and building systems to more than 35 countries. With FRAMECAD’s technology, a building either residential or commercial can be produced and assembled into flat packs in off-site factories and then delivered to construction sites for installation. This project aims to develop steel ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#124: [Industry Sponsored][Confidential] Nozzle Improvement and Dispenser Hanger Development

Allocated

Oasis manufactures a range of ball valves used with compressed natural gas (CNG) and gaseous hydrogen (GH2) for the vehicle refuelling industry. These valves operate across an extreme range of pressures and temperatures which pushes the performance limits of existing designs and materials. Oasis has identified opportunities to make improvements to the nozzle designs to prevent dirt and foreign particle ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#125: [Industry sponsored] Design and development of a sensor to measure humidified carbon dioxide flow

Allocated

During product testing, we often measure the flow rate of our products to verify our system. We would like to upgrade our in-house built measurement devices to add in more capabilities for product testing which brings in some interesting new design challenges. The new flow measurement device shall aim to measure the flow and composition of humidified CO2 with minimal ... Read more

Mechatronics Medical Devices Smart Materials and Microtechnologies

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#126: [Industry sponsored] Breathing mask exhaust fluid dynamics and noise

Allocated

1. Introduction and Background: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a type of sleep disordered breathing which results in a patient’s upper airway collapsing during sleep. This collapse leads to an obstruction within the airway which wakes the patient. An untreated patient may experience these events hundreds of times a night which can cause, or contribute to heart conditions and chronic ... Read more

Acoustics Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#127: Development of an applied CFD framework for the University of Auckland FSAE Team (Available for a Single Student)

Allocated

Please note that this project is available for a single Student as it has already been preallocated to 1 student. (Preallocated student: Mitchell Bremner - mbre898@aucklanduni.ac.nz) Aerodynamic performance is a critical aspect of competitive advantage for motorsports vehicle performance. Performance characteristics are developed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and validated against unit problems and benchmark cases. Using experimental data ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

Projects for 2024