2017 JI Winter Design Expo concludes successfully

The University of Michigan- Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute’s (UM-SJTU JI) 2017 Winter Design Expo was held at SJTU Minhang library on December 13th, attracting a large turnout of company representatives, parents, and students. The exhibition showcased 50 projects of JI’s various experimental courses from freshman through senior year, including “Introduction to Engineering,” “Design and Manufacturing III,” and “System Design and Implementation,” as well as a “Global Multidisciplinary Design Project.” It depicts a comprehensive picture of JI undergraduate students’ accomplishments in research and innovative practice.

2017 JI Winter Design Expo site

Freshman students’ imagination targets healthy living

Pollution monitor units, portable exercise box, gaming bikes are just a sample of a wide array of JI freshman students’ innovative projects. Full of creative designs and cool interactive experiences, these products surprised and dazzled the audience again and again.

“Bike-Controlled FPS Game System” exhibit

“Nerf Battle Judge” exhibit

“Soccer Arcade” exhibit

On the soccer field, the outcome often depends on the kicks. Do you want to immerse in the intense sensation of “penalty shoot” from the comfort of your home? The Ultimate Shot Team turned this dream into reality by designing an interactive device that retains most of the original features of the goal and emphasizes the accuracy of the shots. They installed twelve boards in the goal area to let users exercise their shot accuracy by selecting targets randomly. A user can decide the distance of shooting, so as to achieve the effect of gradually improving the shooting ability. Through the combination of sports and entertainment, users are provided with both fun and exercise experience.

“Sous Vide for Cheese” exhibit

Have you ever tried baking gingerly in your home oven but are annoyed by the difficulty of controlling the temperature and time of baking? Faced with this problem, the Cheesecake Cryogenic Cooking Team designed a special home-made cheesecake machine using a more efficient low-temperature cooking method. The cake is sealed in a mold and heated in water with accurate temperature control. Different from the cheesecakes baked in hundreds of degrees Celsius, this method provides a brand new taste. In addition, the temperature of water bath heating is also more uniform than the oven. In the set time and temperature, the success rate of baking the cakes will increase significantly.

“Real Fight Simulator” exhibit

Modern people generally lack exercise, especially the muscle strength training; therefore, the Fighting Simulator Team designed a game to exercise the four limbs, combining fun and health. Unlike some games with image capture systems or wearable, the Real Fight Simulator creates a solid target that lets players hit and read their scores via a pressure sensor. In order to get a higher score, a player needs to be more precise and more forceful in using the left and right uppercut, straight punch, knee hit, left and right kicks, and other classic moves, so as to achieve the effect of body workout.

Capstone Design projects are customized by enterprises, a new model of global teamwork

As a highlight of previous Design Expos, a large number of capstone design projects sponsored by international multinational companies have helped make this Design Expo a success. The 19 graduation projects at this exhibition are all sponsored by well-known companies in the industry, such as General Electric, Siemens, Intel, Huawei, United Automotive, etc. Following the key technologies of the enterprises, these project topics are closely related to daily life.

“Smart Vision Inspection” exhibit

Since the “consumer-grade” drone has inundated the market, aerial drone photography is no longer a dream for photographers. However, in the view of “Smart Vision Inspection” Team, the UAV is not just a flying camera. Under the auspices of General Electric, the team aims for vehicle testing. In their design philosophy, the UAV can inspect various vehicle models’ license plates and annual test signs autonomously without manual interventions. According to the feedback of the image, they can repeatedly adjust the UAV’s hover position, find the best location to shoot the target photos, and can automatically adjust the position for different vehicles.

“Gesture Recognition System” exhibit

Remember the sensational moment of the Hollywood hit “Minority Report” where Tom Cruise showed a very cool gesture interface? The team of the Panasonic-sponsored “Gesture Recognition System” is committed to bringing this invisible “magic power” into reality, having used a single camera to design a high-precision and low-cost gesture recognition system.

The Global Multidisciplinary Design Project team receiving an award

In addition, the “Global Multidisciplinary Design Project” team demonstrated their innovative design to reduce the vehicle headlight fog during the winter morning hours. Their low-cost defogging solution is using replaceable desiccant, metal heating wire, and anti-fog film to enhance the defogging efficiency of the lights. The project is supported by General Motors Corporation of the United States. Students participating in the project cooperate with each other on site and in remote locations to complete the topics given by the sponsoring enterprises.

Capstone design instructor testing a project product

The team of “Fast and Better Image Labeling” showing products to mentors

Meeting of the company representatives

Since the launch of corporate-sponsored projects at JI in 2010, more and more multinational companies have sponsored and funded “customized” projects that follow the market directions of their companies. Within three months, students learn to solve design problems, apply engineering knowledge to multidisciplinary projects, and experience the real workplace atmosphere in advance. In addition, students learn about professionalism, professional ethics, entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability.

Faculty, staff, and students at 2017 Winter Design Expo