A few of the most exciting recent breakthroughs from faculty, students and alumni.
What is it? An app that overlays augmented reality visuals onto an iPad screen, mapping out the schematics and systems inside a building. Who made it? Javier Irizarry, an assistant professor in the School of Building Construction, and PhD student Masoud Gheisari. What inspired it? Facility managers and construction workers can only access detailed information about a building and its systems from a fixed location such as a desktop computer, or by using paper charts. Why is it game changing? Instead of having to seek out a component of a building—say, a fuse box or wall stud—InfoSPOT’s augmented reality will direct users to precisely where they need to go and tell them exactly what they need to know. “It knows what you need,” Irizarry said.
Solar Beverage Cart
What is it? A kiosk that uses solar power to keep drinks either hot or chilled. Who made it? Students on Tech’s Engineers for a Sustainable World chapter with a grant from solar energy firm SunEdison. What inspired it? The team wanted to create something powered by renewable energy that could be used on Tech’s campus. Why is it game changing? The design of the cart could be implemented for all sorts of mobile food and drink vending equipment (most are currently powered by gas engines or batteries). It also could help the 1.5 billion people worldwide who live without electricity. “This will not only raise money for our group, but will promote sustainable energy sources and pique the engineering interest of students around campus,” said Zac Hoffman, a civil engineering major and president of the chapter.
BrailleTouch
What is it? An app that allows visually impaired people to send text messages and type emails on touchscreen smartphones. Who made it? Mario Romero, PhD CS 09, a post-doc research fellow in the School of Interactive Computing; distinguished professor Gregory Abowd; PhD students Brian Frey, Caleb Southern and James Clawson; and research assistants. What inspired it? Visually impaired people typically need gear that costs thousands of dollars to type on their smartphones. Why is it game changing? The free app, which has been featured on CNN, allows users to tap at six buttons on the screen and speaks letters aloud after they’ve been registered. The app is also faster to use than a traditional QWERTY keyboard, meaning it could be popular among sighted people as well. “It may be a solution for everybody to get their eyes off their phone so they can walk and text or watch TV and make a comment on a blog,” Romero told CNN.
Soft Template Infiltration Technique
What is it? A manufacturing process that forms piezoelectrically active nanostructures (tiny structures that can be controlled to perform functions) from lead zirconate titanate. Who made it? Nazanin Bassiri-Gharb, an assistant professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering. What inspired it? Before, researchers used thin films, which did not have nearly as high of a piezoelectric response, to develop nanostructures. Why is it game changing? The process could enable fabrication of ferroelectric nanostructures with user-defined shapes, location and pattern variations. “These are truly smart materials, which means they respond to external stimuli such as applied electric fields, thermal fields or stress fields,” Bassiri-Gharb said.
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