April 24, 2024
By Ashley Ritchie

Over 200 student teams from 12 schools and three different Georgia Tech colleges showed off the results of their semester-long senior design projects at the Spring 2024 Capstone Design Expo on April 23. Woodruff School students impressed judges, taking home five awards and five honorable mentions.

For the second Expo in a row, two teams tied in judging for the best overall project including interdisciplinary team Seekr with their navigation aid. The project aimed to restore independence to blind and visually impaired airline passengers. Team members found that travelers with limited vision often use video calls with friends or relatives to help them navigate. Others depend on airport personnel pushing them to the gate in a wheelchair.

Their solution is a device the size of a crossbody bag that passengers could borrow from the airport and turn in as they board their flight. It offers voice directions and beeps to help them make their way through the terminal.

“Complaints to ADA coordinators [at airports] have been up 167% since 2020, so airports are really looking for a solution,” said team member Aislinn Abbott, a mechanical engineering major.

The team of mechanical and computer engineering and computer science students has tested their concept in large venues with nearly a dozen people with visual impairments. Airport testing is the next step, and the team is in conversation with several, including Atlanta’s. This summer, they’ll participate in the CREATE-X Startup Launch program to continue developing the idea and potentially turn it into a commercial venture.

Team Mechiwis received the award for best mechanical engineering project. The team of Invention Studio PIs created a new retractor to give doctors better access during total shoulder replacement surgery and improve patient outcomes. The team was sponsored by restor3d and was given the opportunity to visit their facility to test their retractors’ performance in a real cadaver lab.

“The team at restor3d was extremely helpful throughout the entire process and enthusiastically supportive towards our ideas. Being able to have knowledgeable industry professionals weigh in and provide feedback was an invaluable resource and we had a great time when we went to visit and tour their manufacturing facility,” said team member Lena Moller.