The projects ranged from the life-saving to the whimsical as the Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies in Edison held its annual Senior Showcase.
Forty-one seniors — majoring in civil and mechanical engineering or electronic and computer engineering — demonstrated 20 projects that ranged from a coffee maker that interfaces with a cell phone, to a device that mimics the movements of a physical therapy patient so exercises can be performed without the presence of a therapist.
There was a basketball hoop that could detect which player had scored, and a wheelchair that would help children with cerebral palsy to exercise their arms to prevent atrophy while seated.
Parents and community and academic partners were invited to the showcase, held June 2 in and outside the Edison Academy building, which is on the campus of Middlesex County College. Underclass members also toured the exhibits to give them “a chance to see what the expectations are,” according to guidance counselor Kelly Nakielny.
And those expectations are exceeded in each succeeding year, according to the principal, Dr. Linda Russo.
“Wow! That’s all I can say,” Russo said. “Every year gets better and better.”
David Schildkraut and Shantanu Ghosh, both of Edison, created “SAVER,” a remotely operated vehicle that could be used to enter a burning structure to detect obstacles that might be encountered by firefighters and locate trapped individuals. They designed every aspect of the device, producing some parts with a 3-D printer, and demonstrated it for the Edison Fire Department.
“Why not send a machine inside to reduce the risk of human life and speed up searches?” Shantanu asked.
“We’ve chosen a type of infrared that produces a very high quality image,” David explained. “It can see through smoke and get a full 360-degree view of everything that is around it.”
Over the course of the school year, the students created prototypes and recorded all of their trials and errors in engineering notebooks, which would be presented as part of a patent application.
“We want project-based learning,” said electrical and computer engineering instructor Enzo Paterno. “We want the students to do something — not just learn the things but apply them. It’s not just lecture, lecture, lecture.”
Paterno explained that students are encouraged to be entrepreneurial: “Think of a problem and solve it, and people will pay a lot of money for it.”
Amulya Musipatla of Edison and Neha Shah of Monroe set up their “SmartLot” devices in the front driveway of the school, demonstrating by driving a car back and forth. Their sensors, set at each end of a row in a parking lot, would let drivers know how many empty spaces are available.
“It doesn’t detect people passing by, but it does detect cars,” Neha explained.
“Coolit,” the project of Akshat Malkowthekar of South Brunswick and Shree Nadkarni of Edison, would use the energy created by pedaling to power a bicycle-mounted refrigerator for the delivery of medicine in rural locales. Akshat said the device could be produced for under $50.
“We convert machine energy into electrical energy,” Shree explained. “Bicycles are used mostly for recreation in the United States, but in Third World countries they can be used for medicine deliveries.”
The Edison Academy, a National Blue Ribbon School, is part of the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School District. More information is available at www.mcvts.net.
