Augmented reality, self-driving cars and a geodome managed by secondary school students were in the spotlight at the annual Engineering Expo at Technological University of the Shannon (TUS).
In its third year, the expo at the Athlone campus provides a platform for students and researchers to come together, foster collaboration and celebrate engineering excellence.
Among the highlights was an exhibition involving an autonomous vehicle where PhD researcher Guilherme Gomes explained his steering-wheel prototype and how it can be used in detecting blind spots.
Also on show was the Geodome Project by transition students from the midlands who are developing systems that track and control key environmental factors, including air quality, moisture, temperature regulation, light levels, airflow control and automated irrigation.
There were 130 undergraduate and 23 PhD student posters on display at the exhibition on Thursday, April 10th.
When it came to the Computer and Software Engineering projects, the winner in Software Design was Fabrizio De Fiore for ‘Danger Detection and Cloud-Based Vocal Assistance System for Visually Impaired User in Augmented Reality’.
Joanne McMenamin had the best project in Applied Computer Hardware for her entry: ‘An AI-Driven Dementia Assistant Towards Safer & Independent Living’.
For Applied Networking, the award went to Kevin Stephens for his project on ‘Network Intrusion Detection System using Machine Learning’.
Sukrit Roy Chowdhury had the best taught Masters project: ‘Monitoring Mental Health using Cognitive Science; Astress Detection Approach’, while Samantha O’Sullivan had the Best Poster for a Research Student.
In the Mechanical and Polymer Department, the winners included: Douglas Felce, Kristof Racz and David Mata Manzano.
In addition to student projects, the expo featured several staff exhibitions including Minecraft, Technology Teacher Education, a TUS Library showcase, Automation Robotics, VR Autonomous Driving Experience and TRANSMIXR, enabling staff to share and showcase the research they are currently involved with.
Dr Sean Lyons, Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Athlone Campus, said: “The annual engineering expo is an opportunity for the TUS engineering community to display the wide range of projects and initiatives taking place across the entire engineering discipline; from Civil Engineering to Software Design and from Robotics to Mechanical Engineering.
“I’m incredibly proud of the amazing work on display, it showcases the combination of leading-edge research with applied innovation intrinsic to TUS Engineering programmes and indeed in our students and staff, highlighting the real-world applications and impact that their projects have in the region, nationally and internationally.”
Director of Education and Public Engagement Jane Burns added: “The Expo celebrates the research excellence of staff and students and the collaborative and supportive environment we have in the Faculty of Engineering. It provides a platform for showcasing the practical applications of engineering education and fostering valuable connections with industry partners who have collaborated with our students on some of these projects. We are thrilled to see the impact of our work extending beyond the classroom and into the broader community.”