Part IV Project Management System

#1: How to make used coffee ground to be better engineering materials for composite reinforcement?

Allocated

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks around the world. The production of used coffee ground when brewing coffee has been taken as granted and these materials have been injected directly into normal waste streams, such as land fill or sometimes for composting. It has hardly been looked at to see whether these grounds can actually be used as ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#2: Aerodynamics of ellipsoids and rugby balls

Allocated

A study of the aerodynamics of ellipsoids and rugby balls using experimental wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics modelling techniques. Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#3: Thermal management of microelectronics using impinging jets

Allocated

A study of the heat transfer from a heated component (e.g. cylindrical body) due to impinging jets, with the influence of confinement. Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering

#4: Implementation of flexible large stretch sensor for limb movement detection

Unallocated

We have developed a very flexible and stretchable sensor. The resistance of this sensor will response according to the amount of stretching. If used at the joints of limbs, it can detect the amount of limb motion. The aim of this project is to work with a PhD student, who developed this sensor into a working system. The sensor placed ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#5: National Instruments Autonomous Robotic Competition

Allocated

This is an annual competition in Australia. The aim is to build from scratch an autonomous robot capable of completing the required tasks. Labview and MyRio are to be used and there is no exception since this is a NI sponsored project. This year, we will use what we have learned in 2016 and develop a robust autonomous robot to ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#7: 3D Printer conversion from FDM to PPE

Allocated

This project will involve the conversion of a standard fuse-deposition, FDM 3D printer into an extrusion print method. The project will involve mechanical design convert the FDM mechanism into an extrusion system that hold the syringe with extrusion mechanism, modification of shareware 3D printing program such as Raprep, etc and testing. Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#8: Artificial Leaf for Spray Coverage detection

Allocated

New Zealand Wine just asked us about the possibility of an “artificial leaf” sensor that could be placed in the grape vines to assess spray coverage (so not looking at drift, but checking that the sprayer in the vineyard is correctly targeted and the right amount of spray is being applied to the leaves). So for that we would want ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#9: Smart AGV for Manufacturing in the context of Industry 4.0

Allocated

Industry 4.0 is our fourth industrial revolution which is regarded as our future industry that highlights the automation and data exchange in manufacturing. Smart Factory, as one of the key concept in Industry 4.0, refers to a highly automatic and intelligent manufacturing environment equipping with advanced technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Cyber-physical Systems (CPS). This project mainly ... Read more

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

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#10: The effect of Plenum depth on the performance of a transpired solar collector

Allocated

Transpired solar collectors are use solar energy to pre-heat air in HVAC and drying applications. There are gaps in the understanding of the effect of the plenum on the heat transfer process. Experiments will be performed to determine the effect of plenum depth. Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering

#11: Modelling the condensation of CO2

Allocated

There is an increased interest in using CO2 as a refrigerant, and for this to happen designers must be able to reliably predict the heat transfer processes when it changes phase. However, the limited experimental data shows that the generic heat transfer correlations developed for other refrigerants do not accurately predict the heat transfer for CO2. In this study, CFD ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#13: Buoyancy flows in sedimentation ponds

Allocated

Sediment ponds are used to hold runoff, allowing the sediment to settle out of the water. They become less effective if the water in them becomes stratified, or if there is temperature difference between the pond and the inflow. In this project a small experimental model of a sediment pond will be made and used to measure the speed of ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering

#14: Internet of Things enabled Machine Management Platform

Allocated

Internet of Things (IoT) is an internetworking of physical objects which are converted into smart by various sensors. This project aims to use typical IoT technologies like RFID to real-time control and monitor different machines in the smart manufacturing shop floors. Students are likely to work with some practical industry companies and develop IoT-enabled solutions which will be set up ... Read more

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

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#15: Internet of Things enabled Real-time Visibility in Industry 4.0

Allocated

Real-time visibility of various manufacturing objects is significant in an Industry 4.0 enterprise. This research firstly attempts to use real-time equipment twining with Internet of Things (IoT) technology to track and trace the manufacturing resources. Students are likely to build an AR model to demonstrate the real-time status of various manufacturing objects such as workers, materials, machines, tools, and tasks. ... Read more

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

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#16: Big Data Analytics Platform for IoT-enabled Manufacturing

Allocated

Internet of Things (IoT) enabled manufacturing is an advanced principle where typical production resources are converted into smart objects which are able to sense, interconnect, and interact with each other to automatically carry out the manufacturing activities. As the wide usage of IoT digital devices which are able to generate huge number of data, manufacturing companies are facing challenges for ... Read more

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

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#17: Internet of Things-enabled Smart Manufacturing Execution System

Allocated

IoT-enabled manufacturing is an advanced principle where typical production resources are converted into smart objects which are able to sense, interconnect, and interact with each other to automatically carry out the manufacturing activities. The project involves working on a manufacturing execution system (MES) with advanced technologies for creating a smart production environment. The technologies to be used include, Internet of ... Read more

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

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#18: Noise source localisation using a rotating microphone

Allocated

Sound source localisation using audio signals has been a key research area in signal processing because of its various applications. One of the applications is localising noise sources. Microphone arrays (array of more than one microphones) have been commonly utilised to achieve the purpose, however, reducing the number of microphones employed in the system has been a common interest of ... Read more

Acoustics Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#20: Localisation of bird calls in NZ bush

Allocated

Have you ever spotted kiwi birds in NZ bush? Can you imagine how many of them are living in a forest? It is actually quite rare that you come across birds like kiwis because of their declining population and nocturnal lifestyle. Therefore it is a quite challenging task for the rangers and researchers to study the ecology of such birds ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechatronics Engineering

#21: Tone it down! - Noise level warning system for helping people to speak with their voice down -

Unallocated

How do you feel when you are dining with friends in a very noisy restaurant? Noise often becomes a serious problem in public spaces. It is known that humans will involuntarily speak up when they cannot hear their voices, which is also known as the Lombard Effect in psychoacoustics. Similar phenomenon also occurs when people feel voice of others are ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechatronics Engineering

#22: Optimal Upwind Sail Trim

Allocated

Minor adjustments in sheeting angle can have an effect on the forces generated by a sail. The aim of the project is to model 2D and 3D upwind sails and establish the optimal sheeting angles. This will clarify if accurately modelling separation is essential for CFD models of yacht aerodynamics. Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#23: GPS augmentation for the tracking of short distance movements

Allocated

The project is sponsored by Trimble LOADRITE. Trimble is an established world leader in Navigation and Measurement Systems, with over 6000 employees in more than 30 countries. Based in Auckland, Trimble Loadrite focuses on creating technological solutions to improve the productivity and efficiency of heavy equipment operations such as quarries, mines, waste management and construction. This project aims to develop ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#24: Remote Monitoring of Handwashing Practice in Hospitals

Allocated

This project has been proposed by Dr. Maneesh Deva, a paediatrician at Waitemata Hospital Poor handwashing practices in hospitals are linked to health care-associated infections, which affect 1 in 25 patients. The World Health Organization estimates that these infections are responsible for financial losses on the order of tens of billions of dollars and that complications arising from these infections ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#25: Adapting a desktop inkjet printer for flatbed printed electronics

Allocated

Inkjet printing, the controlled deposition of micron-sized droplets, is commonly used in the home and office. The same principle of patterned droplet deposition has also been used to deposit electrical materials to form printed electronic circuits. While the technologies are largely identical, the cost of inkjet printers for printed electronics are orders of magnitude greater. The aim of this project ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#26: Inkjet printed electronics and 3D printed structures

Allocated

The integration of printed electronics into 3D printed structures would enable significant advances in fields such as structural health monitoring and frequency selective metamaterials. Currently, application is limited as the inherent surface roughness of 3D printed parts limits the successful formation of continuous printed features. The aim of this project is to look into how the 3D printed surface can ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#27: Autonomous origami: Pre-programmed folding of 3D printed structures

Allocated

3D printing as a manufacturing technology gives numerous potential benefits with regards to design optimization, distributed manufacturing and embedding of functional elements. Drawbacks currently are the slow speed of printing and the complexity of embedding functional elements within a 3D structure, both of which can be overcome by constructing a sheet of material that folds into the desired final shape. ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#28: Modeling, Analysis and Development of an Anthropomorphic Robot Hand

Allocated

An increasingly popular alternative to the fully actuated rigid robot hands is the new class of adaptive, under-actuated and/or compliant hands that was recently proposed for robust grasping and dexterous manipulation. The robustness, the low cost and lightweight design and the low complexity of these hands make them easy to replicate and repair, while the inherited compliance and the reduced ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#29: A Hyper-Adaptive Robot Hand for Aerial Grasping

Allocated

This project will focus on the development of an hyper-adaptive robot hand for aerial grasping. We will investigate alternative uses of structural compliance for the development of grasping mechanisms. The hand will be affordable, extremely lightweight, robust to impacts with the environment and it will be used for aerial platforms such as drones and autonomous helicopters. Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#30: Learning to Grasp Blindly with a Hyper-Adaptive Robot Hand

Allocated

This project will focus on the development of a hyper-adaptive robot hand for blind grasping. The design will utilize only one servo motor to control multiple Degrees of Freedom (DoF) per finger and will retain the adaptive behavior of compliant, under-actuated hands and their superior grasping capabilities under uncertainties. The finger-pads will be equipped with appropriate sensors that will facilitate ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#31: Development of an Adaptive Robot Hand for Aerial Grasping

Allocated

This project will focus on the development of an adaptive robot hand for aerial grasping. We will investigate alternative uses of structural compliance for the development of grasping mechanisms. The hand will be affordable, extremely lightweight, robust to impacts with the environment and it will be used for aerial platforms such as drones and autonomous helicopters. Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#32: Development of a Force Feedback Device for Telemanipulation with Robot Arm Hand Systems

Allocated

This project will focus on the development of a force feedback device for telemanipulation with robot arm hand systems. The device will take advantage of a combination of sensors and signals in order to provide a mixture of sensory information back to the user. Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#33: Simulation of rip currents in a swimming pool

Allocated

Statistics suggest rip currents are one of the major causes of death by drowning in NZ. To mitigate this, the idea of simulating rip currents in a pool environment for the purposes of water safety education and training has been proposed by Hydroverse Ltd. This project will aim to simulate rip currents in a scale model of an Olympic pool ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#34: Safety Shield Sensor Project

Allocated

This project is proposed by Teknatool (www.teknatool.com), a global manufacturer for wood and metal working equipment.In this project Teknatool wants to combine the recent advances in technology and tiny programmable microcontrollers for improving operator safety in workshop machinery. The project will research into sensors and sensor technology for workshop machinery. A prototype "safety shield" array of sensors will be ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#35: Metamaterial for vibration suppression and energy harvesting

Unallocated

Metamaterial is a kind of artifical material that can exhibit exotic properties by engineering their microstructures. This project involves developing and validating a new metamaterial that can be used for effecient vibration suppression and energy harvesting concurrently. Thanks to its special design of microstructures (local resonators), the metamaterial can filter waves in multiple frequency ranges and thus suppress broadband vibrations. ... Read more

Acoustics Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering

#36: Rain impact noise

Allocated

In this project you will develop a method for experimentally measuring the force acting on a surface (at a number of orientations) due to a drop of water falling from a height. You may also conduct numerical simulations to predict this force. The force data will be used to develop a model for predicting the noise produced by rainfall on ... Read more

Acoustics Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#37: Wind noise measurement rig

Allocated

Currently, no standardised method exists for measuring the noise produced by a microphone system immersed in an airflow. In this project you will develop a rig for generating a quiet airflow an introducing turbulence to this airflow via a variety of mesh screens. You will measuring the turbulence in this flow using hot-wire anemometers and then measure the wind noise ... Read more

Acoustics Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#38: Ultrasonic transducer for acoustic levitation

Allocated

In this project you will design and hopefully build an ultrasonic transducer capable of producing high amplitude sound fields capable of levitating small spherical objects. Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering

#39: Noise mapping at Auckland zoo

Allocated

In this project you will develop a numerical and analytic model for predicting the sound level within several animal enclosures due to ambient noise and also several outdoor speakers playing noise at a specified level. You will then conduct a noise survey to validate your model. This project will develop expertise in noise modelling and measurement using standard techniques. Such ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering

#40: Robotic amputated limb for evaluating an osseointegrated prosthetic leg

Allocated

Background: Osseointegrated prosthetics are surgically attached directly to the bone in the residual limb to provide stronger more functional artificial limbs. However there are issues due to loading that cause loosening and hence infection. Aim: Develop a robotic physical model of the human lower limb to test various characteristics of an osseointegrated prosthetic. Objectives: 1. Manufacture physical model of residual ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#41: Optimisation of strain sensor systems for load determination

Allocated

The drive for increased efficiency at lower cost has led to the development of real-time load estimation on wheel loaders: loads cannot exceed the maximum allowed, but of course under-loading a truck is inefficient. Traditionally, wheel loader manufactures use hydraulic pressure measurement as a method of load determination. This is becoming increasingly difficult: the error terms increase due to increased ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#43: Active acoustic cloaking

Allocated

Acoustic cloaking involves surrounding a body with loudspeakers and microphones so that additional sound is created to cancel out any disturbances produced by the body: in effect the body becomes acoustically invisible, or “cloaked” (e.g. Starship Enterprise, but in terms of sound rather than light). A cloaking system needs microphones to measure the incoming sound, signal processing to predict the ... Read more

Acoustics Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#44: Mechanical and functional properties of polymer nanocomposites

Allocated

“Polymer nanocomposites have recently attracted attention because of their novel and multifunctional properties. Specifically, reinforcing thermoplastic polymers with nanotubes or nanoplatelets to form nanocomposites is a way to extend the usage of polymeric materials in engineering applications by improving their mechanical properties, namely elastic modulus and yield stress with filler contents as low as 5–10 wt%. Furthermore, filler’s shape, dimension, ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#45: Fluid helix inerter: design, implementation and characterisation

Allocated

An inerter is a mass-like, two-node, mechanical device with the unusual property that the force applied across it is proportional to the relative acceleration of the nodes (in a similar way that the force applied to a spring is proportional to the relative displacements of the ends). It has unusual dynamic properties that have a range of potential applications in ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#46: Manufacturing and evaluation of panels made from recovered plastics and resin

Allocated

Panels for housing can be manufactured by recycling plastic materials from various sources. It thus contributes to decontaminating the environment, since most of this waste is buried in municipal land without any use, or accumulated and burned in landfills, causing environmental degradation.” [*]In this project, panels similar to those mentioned in the reference will be manufactured and tested, keeping in ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#47: The folded-beam waveguide absorber

Allocated

The folded-beam waveguide absorber (FBWA) is a beam folded back and forth over itself: when vibrated at one end, waves travel along this beam ad are absorbed by damping (either natural or deliberately added). The fact that it is folded means that in effect a very “long” beam can be folded into a “small” physical space. Properly designed, they can ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#48: Traction Control of a Four Wheel Drive Electric Formula SAE car

Allocated

This is a student proposal to design and implement a four wheel drive traction control system for the M017 electric car. Each wheel of the electric vehicle is independently controlled by motors, which can be run of speed or torque control mode. The torques of these motors will be adjusted using the control algorithm to minimize the slip at each ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#49: Fused deposition modelling and life-cycle testing of a rehabilitation knee brace

Allocated

Knee injuries are common in modern society. The rehabilitation of these injuries often includes the use of knee braces, either post-injury or post-surgery, as an integral part of the rehabilitation process. Since all patients require a different sized brace, this project proposes to develop a system for the 3-D scanning and printing of custom designed rehabilitation knee braces. Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechanical Engineering

#51: Novel additive manufacturing using a Kuka robot

Allocated

This is an Industry 4.0 project.Additive manufacturing is a process that creates physical parts directly from 3D CAD files. The 3D CAD data may come from a CAD tool, e.g. Creo, or a 3D scanning/digitising process (using a 3D scanner, or other photographic methods).This project uses an industrial robot, i.e. Kuka for additive fabrication process, i.e. 3D printing. A Kuka ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#52: Closed-loop Control of FDM 3D Printers Using Augmented Reality

Unallocated

This is an Industry 4.0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0) related project. 3D printing technologies have experienced a rapid development in recent years. However, some solutions such as the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) process still suffer from the low quality and poor consistency. Since most FDM control systems are open loop, there is no feedback that can tell the controller whether the machine ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechatronics Engineering

#53: MTConnect-based Cyber Physical Machine Tool

Allocated

This is an Industry 4.0 project.Cyber-Physical Machine Tool (CPMT) is the integration of machine tool, machining processes, computation and networking, where embedded computers and networks can monitor and control the machining processes, with feedback loops in which machining processes can affect computations and vice versa. The core of the CPMT is the Machine Tool Cyber Twin (MTCT). MTCT is a ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#54: Reconfigurable Platform for 3D Printers

Allocated

Additive manufacturing (otherwise known as 3D printing technology) has been rapidly developed in the past decades; its applications spread to almost every corner in our lives, including aerospace, automotive, engineering, medicine, biological systems, marine and etc. Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is one of common 3D printing methods. However, when printing products with overhangs, support structures are often needed, which leads ... Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#55: Investigating the performance of a concentric magnetic gearbox

Allocated

Advances in creating permanent magnets with high magnetic flux densities for longer operating life have renewed interest in the concentric magnetic gearboxes. Such gearboxes allow building transmission assemblies that allow varying speeds and torques without contact, which overcomes several friction related drawbacks of traditional gearboxes such as such as heat dissipation, noise generation and tooth wear from constant gear meshing. ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#56: Development and Characterisation of Rice Husk Based Composite Particleboards With and Without a Binder

Allocated

In this study, rice husks (RH) of various species will be manufactured into composite particleboards without a binder and with a biodegradable polymeric binder, PLA. It will also be benchmarked again the existing commercially available wood based particleboards, medium density particleboard, MDF. It is envisage that upon the success of such particulate biocomposites, their potentials in manufacturing and building industries ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#57: Study on 3D printability of Rice Husk Based Polyethylene or Polypropylene Composites

Allocated

Rice husks (RH) of various species with different mass fraction (wt%) will be blended with polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) using an extruder to produce RH composite filaments. These filaments will subsequently be used to produce 3D printed test samples for fundamental mechanical testing to assess their final product quality in terms of mechanical properties. Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#58: Leading edge vortices on low-rise building with various roof slopes

Allocated

Analysis of the flow around the Silsoe Cube has shown that some of the highest suction pressures are created as the result of the periodic formation and shedding of strong vortices. This project will investigate whether similar patterns exist with low-rise building with a variety of roof pitches. The investigation will involve the manufacture and wind tunnel testing of a ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#60: Development of a Velocity Prediction Programme for a 49er dinghy

Allocated

In 2016 a 49er dinghy wind tunnel model was constructed and tested with downwind sails. This project will include wind tunnel testing with both upwind and downwind sails in order to provide an aerodynamic model for the dinghy. The project will also include analysis of hydrodynamic data in order to develop a full Velocity Prediction Program. Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering

#61: The flight of roofing tiles in strong winds.

Unallocated

Some aerodynamic measurements have suggested that tumbling roofing tiles can travel much further than might be commonly assumed. This project will involve scale model tests in the wind tunnel of roofing tiles breaking free from a house roof with the intention of creating a more realistic model of the flight behaviour. Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering

#62: Interaction between co-axial UAV rotors

Allocated

On some UAVs there are space advantages in using a coaxial arrangement. This is particularly true where larger numbers of rotors are used with these tilted slightly to allow the generation of a side force. This project will investigate the way in which the two rotors interact with each other. Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#63: Further development of a dexterous anthropomorphic hand

Allocated

This project aims to improve the design and manufacture of an existing low-cost, adaptive hand prosthesis with the aim of improving the design and ease of manufacture and assembly. It will utilise FDM 3D manufacturing methods and 'snap' assembly techniques. Read more

Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems

Mechanical Engineering

#64: Converting rotational energy into electricity for powering tire pressure monitoring system

Allocated

Tire pressure monitoring is critical for the safety of vehicles. Many serious car accidents that might have been avoided had drivers known their air pressure was low. Even now, it’s estimated that a substantial number of vehicles hit the road each day with underinflated tires. The majority of TPMS sensors are powered by batteries which limit their useful life. Harvesting ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#65: A low-cost low-power vibration data logger

Allocated

This project will build up a low-cost low-power vibration data logger for machinery monitoring. Proper low-power MEMS accelerometer and microcontroller unit (MCU) will be selected and power management module will be developed. Acceleration will be recorded and saved in the memory or transferred wirelessly through Bluetooth or wifi for post analysis or real-time monitoring. Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#66: Self-powered health monitoring device

Allocated

This project will extend the previous year's project to deliver more efficient solutions for self-powered heart rate monitoring at two aspects. The energy harvesting component should be improved to adapt to human motions. The power consumption in power management for sensing and data transmission should be further reduced to match up the power supply from the energy harvesting component. Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#67: Controlling Floating Wind Turbines to Improve Region Transition Dynamics

Allocated

Floating wind turbines have different control objectives depending on the mean wind speed. Traditionally, the main objective is to maximise power capture when the mean wind speed is below rated conditions. In above rated wind speeds, the objective is regulate power to a constant output and possibly reduce fatigue load on key turbine components (mutli-objective control). Each mode has separate ... Read more

Dynamics and Control

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#68: Enhanced computer model of design coordination (a student-requested project)

Allocated

This project will focus on design coordination, which is the management of dependencies among individuals and teams involved in the design of a complex product or system. Effective coordination can assist with timely completion of a design project, while ineffective coordination is known to cause unnecessary rework and wasted effort, in which individuals spending more time than necessary on communication ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#69: Assessing and improving a method for design guidance

Unallocated

A computer-based method has been developed to provide dynamic guidance for the design process. The purpose is to help an inexperienced designer by guiding them to the next step in the design process, considering the status of the design they are working on and their desired design outcome.This final year project will apply the proposed design guidance method to a ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#70: Implementation of a Remote Teaching Laboratory for VEX Robots

Allocated

It is proposed to use a remote teaching lab for MECHENG 201 where students log into a remote computer, upload their code, and control the VEX robot wirelessly over the network. This project builds on the progress done in 2016 where wireless download of compiled code was implemented successfully to ensure that we offer the students a reliable and fair ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#71: A design modelling method applied to design of a robotic manipulator

Allocated

A 2016 final year project assessed a design modelling method by developing a mechanical design for a robotic manipulator. While the project team members were creating the design, they concurrently applied the modelling method. Issues in the method were revealed, and improvements to it were suggested. In this project you will continue the work. You will advance the design of ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#72: Steering wheel force feedback control for robotic driver test rig

Allocated

To test the UoA robotic driver hardware and software thoroughly, a test rig was developed. This test rig is to be used to emulate the forces applied on the robotic driver when driving a real car. This project will focus on designing and developing a force-feedback system where a suitable resistance force is applied to the steering wheel of the ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#73: Assessing advantages and limitations of VR for visualising advanced design information

Allocated

Approaches have been developed to support design by showing how a design’s functionality is embedded in the interaction between its parts and their surfaces. However, these approaches are difficult to use because the 3D information is difficult to visualise when an assembly is projected onto a 2D display. This project will investigate whether VR might provide less cumbersome visualisation of ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#74: Longitudinal vehicle speed control using a robotic driver

Unallocated

The UoA robotic driver has been in development for several years. This project will focus on implementing and testing vehicle speed control using the existing hardware. Initial testing will be carried on a test rig with a simulated vehicle but the aim is conduct testing on a real vehicle using the chassis dynamometer at Newmarket. Tasks include control design, hardware ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#75: An artificial-muscle dragonfly robot

Allocated

The Biomimetics Lab is developing small robots that operate without conventional electronics. One of them is a dragonfly robot that flaps its wings under the action of artificial muscles. The muscles are controlled through a soft artificial muscle oscillator. In its current form the oscillator and the dragonfly are separate structures. In this project the students will build the oscillator ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#76: National Instruments Autonomous Robotic Competition

Allocated

This is an annual competition in Australia. The aim is to build from scratch an autonomous robot capable of completing the required tasks. Labview and MyRio are to be used and there is no exception since this is a NI sponsored project. This year, we will use what we have learned in 2016 and develop a robust autonomous robot to ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#77: Scale model longitudinal stability testing for a quadbike throttle-by-wire system

Allocated

Due to their high centre of gravity, quadbikes can easily pitch and roll over. Using the throttle aggressively can cause the bike to pitch over or roll over when turning. One solution that was investigated in 2014 was to use a throttle-by-wire system that would monitor the bike's telemetry and limit the throttle when necessary. In this project you will ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#78: Investigate the relationship between gradient, vehicle fuel consumption and emissions.

Allocated

Vehicles driving up an incline use more fuel than when being driven on a level road or down an incline. Vehicles that do a circuit that includes both upgrades and downgrades use more fuel than compared to driving on a level road. This project will use an instrumented car to collect fuel consumption data for a variety of test routes ... Read more

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#79: Investigate the relationship between NOX NO2 and NO emissions.

Allocated

Tightening of emissions standards have resulted in reduction of vehicle emissions generally. NOx emissions have also reduced however there is evidence that NO2 emissions have been increasing.This project will investigate the relationship between NOx NO and NO2 under normal driving conditions. Read more

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering

#80: Measure fuel consumption and emissions characteristics for domestically available fuels.

Allocated

This project was run in 2013 and 2014 and compared fuel consumption figures for 91, 95, 98, and fuels with up to 10 % ethanol. The 2014 project used a Ricardo single cylinder research engine in the Thermodynamics laboratory. Previous projects looked at fuel consumption differences. This project will look specifically at tailpipe emissions on a modern vehicle. Read more

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering

#82: Fuels Research using the Ricardo Research Engine.

Allocated

The Ricardo E6 single cylinder spark ignition engine has been relocated from the city to Newmarket campus. In the process a new DC controller was installed. This project will investigate the performance of the new controller and review engine management system, data acquisition and calibration requirements. The engine currently has a manual throttle control which requires adjustment within the test ... Read more

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#83: 3D Printing of Soft Magnetic Composite Motor Parts

Allocated

This project is proposed by Teknatool (www.teknatool.com), a global manufacturer of woodworking equipment.Soft Magnetic Composites (SMCs) are a material that has recently attracted significant interest for use in electric motors. The material is consists of iron powder particles coated with an insulating layer, this powder is then pressed to form a solid shape which can be used to create ... Read more

Design/Systems Engineering Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#84: Sensor integration for a smart glove

Allocated

This project will extend StretchSense’s existing prototype glove (with 3rd generation electronics), currently equipped with stretch sensors, by adding accelerometers and other MEMS devices to enhance its ability to sense the movement of the user’s hand. To utilize this new information, an Arduino-based API will be developed to coordinate and process these sensors for the end-user. The target demographic of ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#85: Hybrid object tracking for augmented reality using inertial sensors and fixed cameras

Allocated

Future augmented reality systems will require real-time measurement of the position and orientation of various physical objects. Position and orientation of a known object can be measured using LED beacons mounted on the object and fixed cameras. However obstruction of camera views etc. may lead to poor quality measured data. The aim of this project is to combine data from ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#86: Full freeform 3D printing using 5-axis system

Allocated

Current 3D printing technology builds objects one layer at a time, often restricting the structures that can be fabricated. In this project the team will use a 5-axis motion system to break away from the limitations of layer-by-layer printing to achieve full free form fabrication. This requires improvements and characterisation of printing parameters as well as programming to control the ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#87: Towards fully-printable soft robots: 3D printing in silicone

Allocated

The excellent compliance and large range of motion of soft silicone structures has lead to strong interest for biomimetic and human-robot interaction applications. However, many current devices are fabricated by a manual moulding process that limits the complexity of the fabricated structure. The aim of this project is to develop 3D printing of miniature soft devices using silicone rubber, which ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#88: Regenerative energy knee exoskeleton

Allocated

Background: robotic exoskeletons have the potential to provide assistance to a user to increase productivity, endurance and decrease injury risk. However large power requirements necessitate heavy and stiff devices. Aim: to develop a soft lightweight regenerative energy knee exoskeleton that can harvest energy from various stages of a gait cycle and inject this when needed. Objectives: 1. Develop soft ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#89: Understand the effects of Botox on human muscles to develop new robot therapy

Allocated

Background: Children with cerebral palsy often have Botox injections in their limbs to loosen their joints and provide better walking patterns and reaching motions. However this also means they lose some control of their muscles and hence need physiotherapy as well. Aim: Use biomechanics and muscle modelling to understand what effects Botox has on muscles in order to help design ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#90: Flexible and stretchy “artificial skin” pump

Allocated

Background: Open wounds such as in osseointegrated prosthetics, blast injuries, burns and surgeries require skin grafts and need to repel infections. Skin grafts, regeneration and transplants all take a long time and most often an infection has already grown. Aim: To develop a soft flexible artificial skin that has an embedded pump to continuously flush liquid (such as saline ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#91: 3D printing with functional materials: magnetic nanoparticles

Allocated

3D printing has gone through explosive growth as a technology to fabricate customised solid objects. However, until now 3D printed objects have been somewhat boring in they do not actually "do" anything - external sensors and actuators are required to create a functioning device. Combining 3D printing technology with functional materials will allow fabrication of devices where sensing and actuation ... Read more

Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#92: “Acoustics in a tea Cup”

Unallocated

To investigate the origin, control and applications of the phenomenon causing the marked pitch rise when certain liquids slow after being stirred. This is easily seen in a cup filled with a milky drink if the bottom of the cup is tapped with a spoon as the drink comes nearly to a stop. Interestingly the major rise appears just before ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering

#93: “Design for a portable, mechanical Impacter”

Allocated

This project follows on from previous years’ work which demonstrated the viability of measuring the insulation of floors in buildings against impact sounds without using a standard heavy impact machine. The major deficiencies of using the latter can be obviated if we derive the impact performance from a measure of the airborne sound insulation. However, a method of measuring a ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering

#94: An investigation of infrasound

Allocated

Local authorities on occasion receive complaints from residents claiming that they are being disturbed by infrasound (or sound just at the bottom end of the normal human hearing range). Because such territorial authorities only cover audible sound nuisance (typical by-laws are expressed in dBA) and their instrumentation (Sound Level Meter) is usually quite simple these complaints are often unresolved. This ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering

#95: Proving the performance of the Acoustics Lab’s Anechoic Chamber

Unallocated

Despite the long existence of the anechoic chamber no formal validation of it and the extent of its free-field volume and frequency range has ever been completed. A new/revised ISO standard has just been published which suggests ways of measuring the performance of such chambers. This project will comprise developing a means for scanning a microphone accurately and trackably ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering

#96: Investigation of the performance of a resonator-lined duct as a 1D acoustic metamaterial.

Allocated

Recently published results from theoretical modelling suggest that a simple duct lined with an array of Helmholtz resonators can be considered as an acoustic metamaterial. Importantly this can dramatically reduce the effective speed of sound through the duct near the frequency of resonance of the resonators. This project will be an attempt to validate the actual performance in a ... Read more

Acoustics

Mechanical Engineering

#97: Roll forming of composite sheets

Allocated

The project will be carried out in collaboration with an Auckland-based company. Roll forming is a manufacturing technique where a sttrip of material is fed through a series of profiled pairs of rolls, normally arranged in tandem. It is an extreely versatile process to manufacture profiled sections and is widely used in the sheet metal industry. The researchers at the ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#98: Development of scaling methods for curved structures under impulsive water impacts

Allocated

In the marine environment, one of the most extreme load cases is when an object impacts the free surface of the water. This can occur when; racing yachts are propelled into large waves, waves break against offshore structures or coastal waves impact with infrastructure. This complex loading scenario has been studied at both laboratory and full scale. Currently, there is ... Read more

Aero-Fluid-Hydrodynamics Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#99: Farm Post Perching UAV

Allocated

The aim of the project is to develop a multirotor UAV that is capable of landing on farm fence posts. Objectives include developing new landing gear to grasp and perch on a post and to modify an autonomous landing controller using visual tracking of the post. Studies will consider the effect of such things as post size, target colour, and ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#100: Skydiver Tracking UAV

Allocated

The aim of the project is to develop a vision-based skydiver tracking system for a unique UAV platform. Only the yaw flight axis will be considered but tests will span simulation, wind tunnel, and skydive experiments. One of the research objectives will be to find a relationship between yaw rate and fall speed. Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechatronics Engineering

#101: Structural and thermal testing of in-road Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) systems

Allocated

Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) is rapidly developing as potentially a key component in the uptake of fully electric vehicles. The long-term objective would be to have IPT charging systems laid within pavements, allowing contactless charging while the vehicles are travelling. Current IPT systems consist of some fragile componentry that would require protection if they are to be buried in roading. ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#102: Precision Weed Spraying using a UAV

Allocated

The aim of the project is to assess the accuracy of weed spraying using a multirotor UAV. A light source on a gimbal would take the place of a spraying unit, so one task would be to use image processing to measure ‘spray’ accuracy and coverage. One research objective is to assess spray accuracy when flying the UAV in both ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#103: VR Camera Mount for a UAV to Improve Take-offs and Landings

Allocated

Working with Ariel Camera, a company that conducts aerial videography in Auckland, the aim of the project is to develop a mount for a virtual reality (VR) camera. The VR camera captures 360 degree footage and must be suspended at the end of a pole below a multirotor UAV to minimise the presence of the aircraft in the footage. A ... Read more

Dynamics and Control Mechatronics

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#104: Characterisation of dynamic polymer foam failures in composite sandwich structures for marine applications

Allocated

Polymer foams, when combined with Carbon or Glass fibre reinforcement plastic factsheets, are becoming widely used in structural applications. In the marine industry, polymer foams are often specified for dynamically loaded regions of the boat, such as forward hull slamming regions. Understanding how and when these materials fail is critical to developing an understanding of design allowables and comparative performance ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#105: Sustainable composites with fire retardant properties

Allocated

Sustainability has become a big global issue due to stringent laws introduced in various countries. That has made natural resources very attractive to manufacture composites, the group of materials which is growing in importance and demand. However, often the natural reinforcements, such as natural fibres, are not thermally stable, making the composite products vulnerable under fire situation. The researchers at ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#106: Development and Assessment of Resin Infusion Processes for the Manufacture of High Performance Yacht Structures

Allocated

High performance yachts utilise a large amount of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) in masts, booms, hulls, decks, etc. The commonly applied manufacturing method is consolidation (applied pressure at raised temperatures) of fibre reinforcements pre-impregnated with thermoset polymer resins (a.k.a. Prepreg). Prepreg composites are typically processed within large pressurised ovens (autoclaves), after the time consuming and mostly manual process of ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#107: Material development for biodegradable coronary stents

Allocated

In conjunction with the Faculty of Medicine & Health Science and a San Francisco based well-known biomedical company, CACM researchers have been developing biodegradable coronary stent materials and have recently found a unique combination of three-polymer blend that has shown great promise to achieve the required mechanical performance in its original and biodegraded conditions. This project will involve the manufacture ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#108: Development of Non-destructive Airflow based Methods to Detect Defects in Automotive Carbon Fibre Preforms

Allocated

A preform is a 3D fibrous structure, which is the precursor to the manufacture of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) components via Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM). BMW leads the automotive industry in the application of CFRP manufacturing in series production, as applied for the BMW i3 and i8 models. The RTM process involves the manufacture of the fibrous preform, which ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#109: In-situ Sensing for Robust Manufacture of Composite Aircraft Structures using Resin Infusion

Allocated

The application of reinforced plastics continues to grow in the automotive, marine, aerospace and infrastructure sectors. The term Liquid Composite Moulding (LCM) refers to a group of manufacturing processes for the production of highly reinforced fibre composites. The Resin Infusion process is applied for short production runs, for moderate to large part sizes. A fibrous reinforcing structure (or preform) must ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics Engineering

#110: Creating conductivity in non-conducting natural fibres using graphene-based materials

Allocated

The usage of natural fibres is increasing globally at a very fast rate due to their environment friendliness. However, their use in electrical/electronic components is often hindered by their poor electrical conductivity. Recently the researchers at CACM have been successful in synthesizing and characterizing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and graphene before finding a novel way of depositing them on fibre ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

#111: Determining the Influence of Binder Material and Preforming Parameters on the Manufacture of CFRP Automotive Parts via RTM

Allocated

A preform is a 3D fibrous structure, which is the precursor to the manufacture of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) components. BMW leads the automotive industry in the application of CFRP manufacturing in series production, as applied for the BMW i3 and i8 models. Preforms are commonly assembled from multiple layers of 2D fibre textiles, formed into the 3D shape ... Read more

Mechanics of Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Mechanical Engineering

Projects for 2017