FAU WAVE COMPETITION AWARDS CEREMONY
Monday, April 12, 2021
WELCOME WELCOME
Thank you for joining us as we celebrate the accomplishments of our student innovators. This year was our most challenging one with many of our students still learning from home while developing impressive projects. The teams have accomplished a variety of projects, including a multi-use robot that sanitizes and disinfects; an engaging online educational platform that teaches real life skills; and a better baby monitor that implements sensors for sudden infant death syndrome prevention. All of these projects were completed while students adapted to their ever-changing work and school schedules.
SCHEDULE SCHEDULE 4:00 p.m.
Welcome Message
4:10 p.m.
Opening Remarks
Regina Thompson, Strategic and Economic Initiatives Manager
Daniel C. Flynn, Ph.D., Vice President for Research
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4:15 p.m.
Student Guest Speaker
4:20 p.m.
Student Pitches
5:20 p.m.
Winners Announced
5:25 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Aditya Devendra, Student, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Regina Thompson, Strategic and Economic Initiatives Manager
ACKNOWLEDG Previous participant, Rachel Wong, current FAU graduate student.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to offer special thanks to the Division of Research for funding FAU Wave and helping the students develop their innovative ideas. We are also grateful to the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry for connecting students with specialized faculty mentors and resources that foster the growth of their projects. We would like to thank FAU Tech Runway for their collaborative efforts to support the advancement of student entrepreneurs. The team with the strongest focus on community engagement will receive a cash prize from the Division of Academic Affairs’ Office of Community Engagement.
Thank you to the families, mentors and Division of Research staff who make this program possible. With your support, we are making a positive impact on our community even during these challenging times. We are ideation. We are creation. We are FAU Wave.
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WHERE FAU WAVE COMPETITION LEADS The FAU Wave competition provides $500 seed funding for students to create innovative projects to solve real-world issues. *statistics as of 2020
4 93
PARTICIPANTS
8 4
WON THE FAU BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
WON $82,000
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STUDENTS OBTAINED JOBS
19 17
ENTERED FAU TECH RUNWAY
2 1
EARNED A MASTER’S DEGREE
PROVISIONAL PATENTS *in progress
GAVE A TED TALK
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TEAM PROJECTS
(alphabetized by team lead)
Utilizing Virtual Reality to Augment the Efficiency of Analyzing CT Scanned Organisms Student: Arman Alexis
Mentor: Tricia Meredith, Ph.D.
Project: While there is a variety of software available offering the ability to view anatomy in the form of Computerized Tomography (CT) scans, these methods fail to give viewers a full, immersive viewing experience. This research involves the use of virtual reality (VR) technology to create a realistic and immersive experience when viewing CT scans by placing the viewer in a full 3D environment that allows manipulation of position, rotation and scale of the imported file. To create the software, traditional techniques used in current CT viewing software, such as volumetric rendering, are used to display the CT scan as a 3D object. Using these techniques in conjunction with custom SteamVR software development kit scripts, allows user interaction in VR. The custom import scripts, allows users to view Dicom, .raw and .obj files. These combined techniques create a fully functional prototype.
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FAU Keep Moving Students: Alexia Betances, Sandy Abdelmalak, Christopher Cadenas and Diane Garcia
Project: Keep Moving was created in May 2020, with the support of FAU’s Division of Research, as an online initiative to help stay united as a community. The community-impact research project focuses on community advocacy, implementing new virtual ideas to improve quality of life, as we all transition into a new era of safety, social stigmas and unprecedented challenges. The content ranges from virtual volunteering to motivation and laughter. The objectives are to improve mental health and fitness through posting healthy recipes and at-home workout videos. The relentless drive to connect with community members, helps expand the reach and overall degree of community engagement. Future goals consist of expanding the student-based organization to other universities, growing membership and developing unique opportunities for community engagement.
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Astron Stargazing Student: David Fein
Project: Astron Stargazing is an astrophotography company that offers a greater understanding and appreciation of the universe through broadcasting the process of acquiring celestial photographs, with the opportunity to purchase. This process includes setting up observational and photographic equipment, adjusting the camera to account for differences in brightness between objects and preparing the telescope to properly track objects for long-exposure photographs.
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Fit Oven, LLC Student: Brandon Feinstein
Project: The obesity crisis recently hit an all-time high at 42.4% of the current U.S. population – this is the first time the national rate has passed the 40% mark. The crisis is fueled by an abundance of foods containing poor nutritional value, like the ones in almost every vending machine. Fit Oven utilizes a state-of-the-art intelligent vending machine that stores pre-made healthy meals prepared by local food suppliers and stores them in a temperature-controlled compartment. The consumer uses a 27-inch touchscreen display to choose their desired meal. If cold is selected, the meal will dispense instantly. If hot is selected, an elevator system will transport the meal into an internal microwave oven, heat it, and then dispense warm food to the consumer with a pre-wrapped cutlery set. There will be options for all types of diets and lifestyles.
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SIDs Prevention Baby Monitor Students: Osee Frais, Jordan Culp, Guillermo Gayoso, Eric Jobson, Jordan Matthew and Michael Troubeev
Mentor: Amir Abtahi, Ph.D.
Project: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDs) is a tragic event that claims the lives of more than 2,000 infants each year in the United States. Medical doctors believe that SIDs likely occurs when a baby has low oxygen blood levels, an elevated heart rate, or a poor sleeping position. To solve this, the SIDs Prevention project was created with the intent to provide guardians of newborns peace of mind by developing a device that can monitor the positioning and vitals of their child. This system includes a heart rate and blood oxygen level sensor in a wireless bracelet with a pulse oximeter and a camera with artificial intelligence for image recognition. All devices are connected and built into a newly designed crib that requires minimal setup. The SIDs Prevention Baby Monitor was designed to save the lives of infants and provide guardians peace of mind by consistently monitoring the baby’s vitals and sleeping positions.
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Marine Connex Student: Aiden Natalie
Project: The marine-related consumer industry often relies on personal contacts when it comes to connecting to a vendor for marinerelated needs. This can be frustrating when looking for the right person for maintenance work or a boat to rent for a fishing trip. Marine Connex is a platform that connects marine-related consumers with the best local marine talent. The goal is to advance the marine industry with today’s technology standard for finding a service provider, similar to home service apps, such as Thumbtack and Angie’s List. For the professional, the app provides exposure to consumers looking for their service. For the consumer, the app provides a simple search to find services they need and find qualified vendors. Marine Connex creates a bond between consumers and vendors. Keeping boaters happy and the pros busy.
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Unsunk, Inc. Student: Luis Pollon
Project: Earning an education is vital, but the topics students learn are primarily based on academic subjects and not real-world skills. Students are expected to excel in school and in life, but the education system fails to provide essential topics such as learning strategies, time management, public speaking and financial responsibility. That’s where Unsunk comes in. Unsunk offers brief digital courses, and easy-to-consume social media content, all with educational integrity. Courses address public speaking, to improve professional presentations, time management strategies, to reduce stress by prioritizing and accomplishing more, and many other skills that set students up for success – in and out of school. In addition, the learning platform will soon offer courses from educators.
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SPods Student: Paris Prince
Project: More than three billion people, including those in health care settings in underdevelopment regions, lack accessibility to water and soap for handwashing. As a result, many die from diseases such as cholera and hepatitis. Handwashing stations and alcohol-based sanitizers are current temporary solutions offered by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund and other emergency departments, but can pose numerous challenges. Hand sanitizers are not practical in settings where handwashing is minimal because they are less effective on soiled or greased hands, and handwashing stations are difficult to maintain and lack accessibility. SPods, a hybrid pod innovation that allows handwashing to be more accessible, distributable and environmentally-friendly, can help solve this issue. Supply and logistics specialists may procure mass quantities of SPods and distribute them worldwide for easy universal access to improve hand hygiene and help those who lack access to clean water.
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Smart Multipurpose Robotic System Students: Jose Sanchez and Jose Baca
Project: The Smart Multipurpose Robotic System provides an alternative to building managers for sanitation services. One example is the sanitation of spaces where many people are in transit, such as hospitals, universities, schools, malls and government facilities. This robot system can navigate areas, avoid obstacles, identify objects and disinfect objects around a building. The system maps out its environment and connects with other robots by sending environmental data and footage. The automated system is able to work 24/7 to ensure a safe and healthy environment unlike a regular employee who needs time off. Integrating smart robotic solutions in public spaces is crucial to create a safer environment for all living beings.
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SobrEYElyzer Students: Alex Singh and Aman Shaan
Project: Inspired by the recent spark in social justice awareness, SobrEYElyzer was created with the intent of reducing inherent biases in law enforcement. This project uses eye-tracking technology to observe a subject’s eyes to test sobriety. Artificial Intelligence models can then be trained to recognize patterns of eye interference captured by eye-tracking technology to determine if the interference can suggest the sobriety of the subject. Currently law enforcement either uses drug tests where consent is needed in many states, which can be difficult to obtain, or their own intuition, which can be subjective. This project removes the subjective aspect to create a consistent and accurate sobriety tester that would not need a subject’s consent. By creating SobrEYElyzer, the personal biases and errors are reduced to create a more efficient way of recognizing sobriety.
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Biodegradable ChitosanSilver Nitrate Hydrogel Wound Dressing Student: Satviki Singh
Mentors: Vivian Merk, Ph.D., and Daniela Scheurle, Ph.D.
Project: Infections originating in a hospital are often caused by bacteria and sometimes result in longer hospital stays, higher medical bills, medical complications and even death. Controlling such infections begins with proper wound care. The goal of this project was to determine how wound care could be improved by using chitosan (a dietary supplement made from the shells of crustaceans such as crabs, shrimp and lobster) to create an antibacterial and biodegradable hydrogel that can also be used as an antibiotic drug delivery mechanism. After testing, the results suggest that the hydrogel had antibacterial activity as well as absorption and release capacity, suggesting that the chitosan-silver nitrate hydrogel can be utilized in wound care as an antibiotic absorbing and releasing wound dressing to minimize infections in the hospital.
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PEACE: Protecting the Elderly with AI for Clinical Emergencies Students: Vivek Sreejithkumar, Mariam Rizvi and Isabella Grande
Mentor: William Hahn, Ph.D.
Project: Every 11 seconds a senior adult is treated in an emergency room for a fall, and every 19 minutes one senior adult dies from a fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The key is reacting quickly and efficiently so seniors can receive the necessary treatment to protect them after they fall. This project uses artificial intelligence-pose-tracking technology to detect patterns of atypical movement to provide a faster forewarning for potential medical incidents, particularly falls, expediting reactivity to such emergencies. The project will improve accuracy in detection by turning a fall detector into a predictionbased system to target patterns and bodily movements in feet, hands and the face, that would suggest the onset of a fall in the near future.
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NOTES
Cover: From left, Alexis Base, Vassili Georgakopoulos and Giannina Duran
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fauwave@fau.edu fau_wave FAU Wave
www.fau.edu/fauwave