MAE

Our purpose:

The purpose of the UCI Solar Airplane project is to prove the viability of solar energy as a substitute for nonrenewable fuel and to provide aid in search and rescue missions during natural disasters where drones and other methods would not be effective. Climate change has progressed at an alarming rate, especially in recent years, making it evident that a drastic change in energy use is necessary. Even so, today’s most commonly used energy source globally is still fossil fuels. While the renewable energy market continues to expand, it is vital to concentrate efforts into promoting applications of clean energy.

The Solar Airplane team works to prove that solar energy is a viable alternative to fossil fuels in aviation in hopes that it will spur an increase in solar energy applications for other energy needs as well. Our project will conducts extensive research into solar panels and aviation to...

Summary: 

In partnership with Saratech and the UCI Battery Lab, our project focuses on optimizing E-Bike batteries. We've selected lithium-ion batteries for their high energy density, long cycle life, and lightweight nature, ideal for electric bike applications. Specifically, we are opting for cylindrical battery types over prismatic and pouch cell types in order to prioritize airflow optimization for efficient cooling.

Recognizing overheating as a significant concern impacting battery performance, we're integrating a cooling system. This system includes a fan for air intake and strategically positioned vents for efficient outflow, ensuring optimal thermal regulation and prolonging battery life. Additionally, we employ simulation and CAD software like NX, SolidWorks, and StarCCM to analyze fluid dynamics, enhancing the effectiveness of our cooling design.

Background:

As electric bikes gain popularity for their efficient transportation, optimizing battery performance becomes essential. E-Bike Batteries serve as the power source. These batteries typically feature a block design, securely...

Robot arms rely on end of arm tooling (EOAT), such as grippers and cameras, to automate various tasks. The compatibility and swift swapping of EOATs are crucial for efficiency. Archytas' current EOAT interface requires a complicated series of steps in order to swap EOAT and lacks compatibility for EOATs with various ecosystems. Our project aims to lower the amount of parts and time needed to swap EOAT, create an interface that has compatibility with Universal Robot’s Robotic Arm, the UR3e, EOAT, update the assembly to include a larger motor, and ensure EOAT attached to our interface can function with a 1 kg payload. A significant aspect of this upgrade was designing a robust locking mechanism capable of withstanding 3D printing imperfections, offering user convenience, and providing secure support for the payload. The external lock and channel design successfully met these requirements, enhancing the overall functionality of the EOAT interface.

Background: 

Working with industrial robotic arm manufacturer, Archytas Automation, this project aims to provide the last two joints on a robotic arm with unlimited degrees of freedom for unrestricted movement. The mostly 3D printed robot employs a system of base-mounted motors, and a pulley and belts system to translate movement to its 5 joints. The last two joints are responsible for the rotational and swivel motion of attachments placed at the end of the arm. Previously, non-continuous belts utilized tensioners to connect their ends. This led to restriction of movement as these could not pass through the pulley gears. By redesigning the gear housings to a more open design and implementing a new tensioning system, we can integrate continuous belts and provide unrestricted movement on joints 4 and 5.

Goal and Objectives:

The objective of the project is to alter the design of the Archytas robotic arm to allow for...

Coastal areas in California attract millions of tourists a year and the more crowded these areas become, the more they are prone to pollution and trash build up. There are a few solutions when it comes to debris collection from bodies of water. We propose an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of maneuvering and object retrieval. Our ROV is nicknamed Archelon and it features applications of modern technology derived from underwater ROV research.

Our team's senior design project is a design of a 6-axis wind tunnel force sensor developed for use in the University of California, Irvine's (UCI) wind tunnel facilities. The sensor is engineered to measure forces and moments exerted by the wind in six degrees of freedom: three linear forces (surge, sway, and heave) and three rotational forces (roll, pitch, and yaw). Its design and implementation are critical for accurately assessing the aerodynamic properties of various objects, ranging from aerospace components to automotive parts and even sports equipment. The sensor is a vital tool for UCI laboratory classes, as it allows students to observe interactions in real time.

Utilizing advanced materials and sensor technology, the project aims to design a reliable and affordable device for wind tunnel testing at UCI. By providing detailed data on how objects interact with wind currents under various conditions, the sensor will enable researchers and engineers to optimize designs for improved performance and efficiency. This project not only represents a significant technological advancement in aerodynamic testing but also the interdisciplinary requirement of complex engineering design.

Background

By orienting air foils in a unique manner, downward forces can be generated on a car, providing it with the ability to increase its cornering speeds due to enhanced grip, improving its overall performance. The aerodynamics sub-team of Anteater Formula Racing (AFR) will use the foam airfoils as a base to layer composite materials on top to create a final design. 

Goals and Objectives

• Design and produce a precise CNC hot wire foam cutter able to cut pieces of foam 2 feet long
• The entire project should be completed with a maximum cost of $400
• The system should be user friendly and time efficient

Week 7: Design Phase Iteration 1- Determine XZ axis stepper motor system, hot wire system, and user interface

Week 8: Design Phase Iteration 2- Finalize decisions made in week 7, determine mounting base and overall structure 

Week 9: Complete a trade study to...

Summary

In this project, we developed a Physics-Informed Neural Network using PyTorch in Python to solve a specific Partial Differential Equation (Burger’s Equation in our case) under defined initial and boundary conditions. Our approach involved optimizing various parameters crucial to the neural network's performance, such as the choice of activation functions, optimizers, the configuration of neurons and layers, and the selection of an appropriate loss function.

To enhance the model's performance, we introduced a customized loss function that is divided into two components: one addressing the loss incurred by satisfying the PDEs, and the other handling the loss associated with meeting the Boundary and Initial Conditions. Through parameter tuning and training, we achieved a notable Mean Absolute Error of approximately 0.0533, surpassing the required threshold of 0.06.

Visualizations, including both 3D and 2D representations, were utilized to effectively illustrate the outcomes of our machine learning model. Our future endeavors involve refining the model further by incorporating weight coefficients into our customized loss function, aiming for even higher levels of accuracy and efficiency.

The UCI Design, Build, Fly team has been tasked with designing a plane that can complete three flight missions and one ground mission. The variance in flight missions means that the aircraft must be designed with modularity as a key focus. The flight missions for the competition this year are as follows:
Flight Mission #1: The airplane will fly with a pair of crew members made of wood dolls. It will need to complete 3 laps in a 5-minute flight window. 
Flight Mission #2: The airplane will fly with the crew members, EMTs, patient on a gurney, and medical supply cabinet in the fuselage. It will also need to complete 3 laps in a 5-minute flight window.
Flight Mission #3: The airplane will fly with the crew members and passengers as the payload. It will need to fly as many laps as possible in a 5-minute flight window.

Besides the three flight missions, the airplane also needs to perform a ground mission. The ground mission for this year is as follows:

Ground Mission: A timed mission to demonstrate efficiently changing mission configurations.

In a market predominantly led by smart lock giants such as Ring and Nest, our senior design project aims to revolutionize home security. Current solutions face susceptibility to power outages, hacking threats, and intricate installation procedures. Our innovation introduces sensors that provide a superior, cost-effective alternative. These easily installable devices empower users to remotely monitor door lock status, offering a more reliable solution at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional smart locks. This approach not only simplifies the user experience but also addresses vulnerabilities present in existing systems, marking a significant advancement in home security technology.

Currently, there is a technological gap in the manufacturing processes for magnets with complex polarity patterns. Current manufacturing of magnets sacrifices the strength of the magnet to maintain a small size, and vice versa. The 2D Magnetization Head will be able to manufacture small, powerful magnets with complex geometries. Users interact by operating software which actuates the microcontroller, controlling the strength of the magnetic field produced as well as the motion of the gantry that the magnetization head is attached to.

A.R.C.H.E.L.O.N.

Advanced Remote Controlled Hydrodynamic Explorer of Logistics & Oceanic Navigator

Background

The oceanic depths present a vast and seemingly boundless environment, where the occurrence of shipwrecks not only represents a catastrophic event but also often results in the loss of precise location data, leading to significant adverse outcomes. The exploration of these underwater sites by human divers entails considerable risks, making it an endeavor fraught with danger. In contrast, robotic intervention offers a more efficient and cost-effective solution for such underwater explorations. This research proposes the development of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with navigational capabilities, visual systems for underwater observation, and mechanical appendages such as claws or arms for object manipulation. The investigation into the potential of underwater vehicles aims to lay a foundational framework for future adaptations of the proposed design, specifically for applications in shipwreck detection and imaging within marine environments as well as object...

Established in 2015 at the University of California Irvine, HyperXite is a team of undergraduate students endeavoring to build a small-scale Hyperloop pod. As such HyperXite requires a vehicle that will allow us to easily transport our 300kg pod to different locations in addition to serving as a workstation to service and assemble the vehicle during the building stages.

Our Goal as a sub-team within HyperXite is to design, build, and test a vehicle that is capable of transporting, lifting, and servicing the pod regardless of our location or equipment on hand.

To learn more about our team and our project check out the Team Website.

Background:

Robotic walkers are a cutting edge technology that move by the usage of classic mechanics requiring links, gears, shafts, and more. With the progress of next generation AI capability, such as CHATGPT, it is no question that programming AI to complete tasks or commands is possible. Through the usage of code alongside mechanics you can program a mechanical walker to complete simple tasks as simple as following a black line all the way up to complex warehouse tasks. A lack of reliability and simplicity is why these robots are not common, only showcased by companies such as Boston Dynamics. To provide a simple yet reliable control integration, a minimally actuated approach will be taken. Minimally actuated robots use a minimal amount of sensors and actuators to make sure they are less prone to failure and more reliable.

Goals and Objectives:

Our winter 2024 Robotic Walker will feature a minimally actuated...

The team nine senior design project has been tasked with designing and building two revisions of a minimally actuated robot walker. In the first half of the project the team was tasked with designing a walker with eight legs, two DC motors, and IR remote control. Upon completion of this revision at the end of the fall quarter, the team changed focus under the direction of Professor McCarthy, the project sponsor. The refined objective shifted to building a new robot walker with four legs, two DC motors, and more complex autonomous control abilities. Robot autonomy was made possible through Arduino control and PixyCam robot vision, enabling line and object tracking. The overall goal of the project was to achieve a robust and high functioning robot with control autonomy in order to further the research conducted by Professor McCarthy and his graduate student Jiaji Li.

Practicing pickleball alone is tedious and ineffective. Current models on the market are too expensive and do not provide essential features for pickleball play/practice. Our project is to design an inexpensive machine that can replicate realistic pickleball trajectories that would be observed in a game. This includes adjustable speed, spin, angle, launch height, and feed rate. Our niche however is a 3-wheel design, allowing our machine to launch pickleball with sidespin, a feature that current models on the market do not have. All parts used to create the machine will either be commercially available or will be replicable using online services. 

The project aims at testing the level of relativity between values of airfoil performance from prediction and the one in reality. Through the airfoil analysis tool (XFOIL), the team will simulate a numerical airfoils and obtain the values from the prediction. In the meanwhile, the team should design and manufacture the corresponding airfoils that are valid for wind tunnel test. Finally, the team will compare the results from the two methods and apply Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) to evaluate the conclusion relativity between prediction and reality.

Our project objective is to design and build a vertical lift system to transport a 16 oz plastic water bottle. The bottle must maintain its upright position, from a starting height no greater than 2 inches up to a platform positioned between 8 and 12 inches above the table surface. With the system on a budget of $250, there is an emphasis on the system being simple in design and use. Due to a 10 week design and assembly timeline the design must be easy to manufacture. And an overall goal to have the robot move quickly, reliably, freestanding, automated and battery-powered.

In this project, we are creating a control system, with the end goal of having an autonomous electric bicycle that makes use of the self-stabilizing geometries of two wheeled vehicles. This control system will consist of mostly off the shelf parts, such as a pre-built remote control bicycle, a Raspberry Pi, gyroscopic sensors and compass magnetometer sensors. They will all connect in order to sense the speed, lean angle and position of the bike. With this information, the microcontroller will change the steering angle accordingly to stabilize the bicycle.

Standard home thermal management systems consume a significant amount of energy. This can be costly and contributes greatly to CO2 emissions. Our project aims to test an insulated and airtight structure that maintains comfortable temperatures without heat pumps, boilers, or furnaces. 

Ventilation Nation will design a modifiable testbed in order to analyze the effects of changing different physical and functional characteristics of a home and show how models can be used to improve ventilation-only performance. Our goal is to use this testbed as proof of concept for the feasibility of a real-world ventilation-only home thermal management system.

Summary

For this project, we aim to design a robot with the ability to fold and maneuver four legs while being equipped with the tools necessary to perform a suture. This device aims to streamline the suturing process by reducing human errors and labor through robotic technology. In the event of an accident, there are many risks and time delays associated with manual treatment during a patient’s access to treatment. Modern medical devices are well equipped to deal with such issues but can be expensive and difficult to access.

The Under Pressure Team is developing an active pressure regulator for the UCI Rocket Project. The UCI Rocket Project relies on the utilization of gaseous nitrogen to pressurize the propellant tanks of the rocket. In order to effectively manage the pressure within these tanks, pressure regulators are essential components. However, the fixed-pressure pressure regulators that have been employed by the UCI Rocket Project exhibit several inherent characteristics that hinder optimal performance. Factors such as regulator droop, choked flow effects, the influence of supply pressure, and limitations posed by orifice sizes all contribute to deviations from the desired regulator output during flight. To address these shortcomings and enhance engine performance, the integration of a component capable of self-correction to maintain a consistent outlet pressure is necessary.

The Bottle Lift and Transfer project is a one-quarter project of MAE 151A. The primary objective of this endeavor is to engineer a mechanism capable of lifting a standard, unopened 16-ounce water bottle vertically and transferring it horizontally onto a predetermined platform. The device is mandated to operate entirely autonomously, powered by batteries, and be able to possess repeatability in its actions.

To meet these stringent criteria, this team devised and fabricated a sophisticated system comprising a scissor lift mechanism for vertical movement and a linear actuator to facilitate horizontal transfer. The intricate motions are orchestrated and controlled by an Arduino UNO board, leveraging IR sensors to signal the controller and dictate halts during the vertical ascent.

Summary:

The unique task of working underwater poses new challenges in communication, power distribution, buoyancy, water tightness, motor control, and pressure hull strength. ZotQuatics Engineering seeks to overcome these challenges by designing and manufacturing a low-cost, open-source ROV capable of search and recovery of metal debris in the Anteater Recreation Center swimming pool. More specifically, our ROV will have 4 degrees of freedom, a manipulator, live camera footage, will be able to submerge to a depth of 10 feet, and will operate for at least 20 minutes per run.  We are designing the ROV because of the growing ocean pollution problem. Although this ROV is not meant for deep sea applications, the knowledge we gained from this project will help us contribute to future projects that are related to the issue and potentially start a MATE team here at UCI.

Background:

Due to the rise in ocean pollution following...

On-market treatment of spinal bone tumors causes spinal cord & organ damage, decreasing quality of life for ~200K patients. Spine-Rad Brachytherapy Bone Cement uses radioactive bone cement to avoid these negative effects. The treatment has been proven to work & needs to be safely manufacturable. We will be creating a system that scores & snaps open a glass vial full of radioactive powder (P-32-HA) used for the treatment and dispense a user-specified amount of the powder into a syringe used for the treatment. Without an automated procedure and process for a technician to score, snap, and dispense the powder, they would be put at risk for radiation because of the beta emissions.

UCI Cargo Plane is a senior design project aiming to develop a lightweight RC aircraft capable of taking off, maneuvering, and landing with the heaviest payload possible to compete in the International SAE Aero Design competition. Our MAE151 project acts as an auxiliary unit to the team by providing additional analysis of the two major load-bearing structures in the aircraft: the cargo bay fuselage beam and the primary spar structures for next year’s aircraft. With our analysis, UCI Cargo Plane will be able to develop an aircraft with a larger strength to weight ratio for future competitions, allowing for increased payload capacity. 

The process of characterizing the vibrational modes of Hemispheric Resonator Gyroscopes (HRGs), such as finding the principal axis of elasticity and damping, is time-intensive and requires manual input. To reduce human involvement, we have developed a method of tracing the inner rim of the HRG with a measurement laser utilizing an image recognition machine learning algorithm. Automated controls collect the data for the trial, reducing the manual involvement to setting up the run. The underpinnings of this project are high-precision controls, computer vision, machine learning, and data acquisition.

Renewable Hydrogen is a possible alternative fuel to natural gas that can be used in gas turbines without producing greenhouse gas emissions. However, all combustion processes produce NOx, which is a harmful air pollutant and isn’t very well studied for Hydrogen. Our sponsor seeks to better understand hydrogen combustion by examining the interaction between hydrogen flames, but lacks the equipment to fully study every region in the flame. Thus, we are tasked to design a mechanical device that moves a camera around the flames to capture the reaction, protects the device from the high temperature of the flames, and processes those images to create a 3D heat release map of the high temperature regions. This way, the researchers can pinpoint where the regions of NOx will occur based on these images and figure out ways to reduce the regions of high NOx production. 

Over the winter and spring quarters, our project focuses on designing and manufacturing an affordable, DIY-friendly full suspension mountain bike for garage-level construction. 

We've finalized decisions on suspension and frame design, emphasizing manufacturability. Currently, we're refining designs for compatibility and performance, initiating proof of concept trials, and developing welding skills. Future steps include completing a comprehensive CAD model, sourcing components, fabricating a welding jig, welding the frame, assembling components, and showcasing finalized design. This project fosters collaborative innovation and empowers makers to shape the future of mountain biking technology

In order for satellites in orbit to maintain its heading to Earth, they utilize gimbals. Gimbals stabilize the payload which allow it to consistently point in the same direction even in motion. ICU is a MAE 151A/B project team in which we are developing a gimbal and counter gimbal mechanism to enable gimbal motion on small spacecraft without affecting attitude. The gimbal will be placed in low earth orbit in a 1U box with a high resolution camera to capture visual data of Earth. We are sponsored by Aaron Freeman and David Reeves of General Atomics who provide us industry knowledge and access to professional hardware.