The University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (UM-SJTU JI, JI hereafter) held 2024 Winter Design Expo on December 18 at Long Bin Building. The event presented 44 innovative projects, 21 project posters and an architectural model display, offering a comprehensive view of the creativity, teamwork, and hands-on problem-solving abilities of the students. The works on display are from a wide range of experimental courses offered in the fall semester, including “Design and Manufacturing 3”，“System Design and Implementation”，“Product Design and Manufacturing”，“Introduction to Engineering”, “Undergraduate Research Course”, “Networks”, and “Introduction to Green Architecture and Design”.
At the design expo, freshman students impressed visitors with their insightful and practical design solutions, demonstrating not only imaginative ideas but also a deep awareness of real-life challenges.
Delivery Climbing Robot
Tired of climbing stairs to pick up takeout every day? The Delivery Climbing Robot is an innovative tracked robot designed by JI students for dormitories without elevators. The robot uses multiple linked tracks to climb stairs safely and efficiently, employing a unique tank shock-absorbing system, strong torque motors, and smart balancing technology. The Bluetooth-enabled device allows users to control it remotely from their dorms, making it an ideal solution for the campus environment.
Automatic Home Medicine Sorter
Ever been frustrated with a cluttered family medicine cabinet, where medication types are mixed, and expiration dates are unclear? The Automatic Home Medicine Sorter worked out by a team of freshmen serves to help families organize and manage their medicine cabinets. Featuring a touch screen for easy storage and retrieval, this system also tracks expiration dates and automatically disposes of expired medications, ensuring safety and convenience for users.
Elderly-Specific Smart Cane
Falls pose a major safety risk for the elderly, and the JI students designed a smart cane to help protect them. Equipped with ultrasonic sensors and GPS technology, the smart cane automatically detects falls and sends distress signals to caregivers, ensuring the safety of elderly users. It also charges through solar and walking energy, making it a reliable tool for daily use.
Hydroelectric Heating Device
Extreme cold weather can disrupt water supply systems, causing pipes to freeze and even burst. To address this issue, JI students developed a hydroelectric heating device using the kinetic energy of flowing water to generate electricity, which is then stored and used to heat copper joints during cold weather, preventing pipes from freezing. The device is eco-friendly, efficient, and made from corrosion- and high-pressure-resistant materials, ensuring long-lasting durability and reduced maintenance costs.
Smart Irrigation System
Gardeners often overlook their plants due to busy schedules. The “Smart Irrigation Assistant” designed by JI students allows users to remotely monitor and adjust soil moisture levels for optimal plant growth, making it easier to care for home gardens. Humidity and temperature sensors detect soil moisture, while an ESP32 chip transmits data to the cloud via WiFi. When soil moisture drops below 50%, the system automatically orders a 100ml watering.
Guard Dog Robot
The Guard Dog Robot created by JI freshman students is an autonomous navigation robot designed for security purposes. Equipped with a Raspberry Pi 4B and a Sony IMX500 AI camera for precise intruder recognition, the robot can patrol warehouses and factories at night, ensuring safety with its obstacle-avoidance and intruder-recognition capabilities.
JI senior students presented their graduation projects, many of which incorporated cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies and engineering machinery theories to address real-world problems.
SJTU Echo Campus Voice Assistant
Is it difficult to find information on campus? The SJTU Echo Voice Assistant designed by JI senior students uses voice recognition to help students and visitors access campus information quickly and accurately. This project integrates voice recognition, speech synthesis, and natural language processing technologies to provide answers through voice interaction, allowing visitors to access information such as class schedules, library hours, and shuttle bus times.
Outdoor Self-Powered Lightweight Computing Platform
In response to growing demand for sustainable technology and reliable outdoor systems, a team of JI senior students developed a self-powered outdoor computing platform. With efficient energy use, smart battery management, durable design, and intelligent data processing, the platform is designed for harsh environments. An IP-65 waterproof acrylic shell protects it from rain, dust, and humidity. A microcontroller unit (MCU) processes data, supporting the development of off-grid, sustainable solutions.
Engineering Machinery Profile Scanning Tool
To enhance the operating experience of remote-controlled excavators, JI students focused on developing a scanning tool to accurately capture the 3D shape and color of the excavator, providing foundational data for building digital twin models. The project addresses challenges in acquiring accurate 3D shapes, color information, and converting these into point cloud data for subsequent processing, supporting sustainable development and efficient operations in the construction machinery industry.
Design and Implementation of Embedded ARM Hardware Platform
ARM architecture is widely favored for its superior energy efficiency and flexibility in embedded systems. JI students worked out a high-performance, low-power embedded ARM hardware platform, optimizing the throughput-to-power ratio while addressing challenges in PCB design for high-speed processors and Linux kernel installation and startup. The project delivered a complete embedded ARM hardware platform, including schematics, PCB layouts, physical hardware, and a successfully loaded Linux system.
The design expo event also marked the official launch of the JI Robot Club. The club, designed as a platform for robot enthusiasts, innovators, and practitioners, will provide opportunities for students to engage in regular technical lectures, seminars, and company visits. At the exhibition’s award ceremony, the club’s robotic dog made an appearance, offering interactive services to attendees.
JI enterprise partners have a meeting with faculty and students.
Gold award team of the Engineering Machinery Profile Scanning Tool project
The JI graduation design projects have always emphasized the integration of industry, academia, and research. Since 2010, more and more enterprises have been providing and sponsoring “customized” projects aligned with their product’s market development direction. The proportion of collaborative graduation projects between JI and enterprises has been increasing, enhancing the effectiveness of engineering practical teaching through synergistic collaboration of university and industry resources. The design expo employs various effective methods like course introductions, visual displays, and dual mentorship with companies to stimulate students’ creative thinking from multiple perspectives. It offers a diverse platform for talent cultivation and corporate cooperation by the institute.
