USC - Viterbi School of Engineering

Summer Engineering projects

Anti-theft Device

Create and demonstrate an anti-theft warning circuit that illuminates green LED if there is no input to light, sound and touch sensors, illuminates yellow LED if one of the light, sound and touch sensors receives input, illuminates red LED if two of the light, sound and touch sensors receive input and sounds an alarm (using a circuit created by students) if all three sensors (the light, sound and touch) receive input

Bridge

Using balsawood, students design and build a bridge 2-lanes wide strong and durable enough to support a remote controlled car that carries 3 standard red bricks (that students design and build from a VEX robotics kit) driving across a distance of 4ft. The clearance under the bridge is 1ft.

HazMat Indicator

Using simulation software and discrete electronic parts, students design and build a sensor control circuit which receives digital inputs emulating radiation levels, and uses digital logic to translate input signals to the output actions of illuminating the proper LED.

Helicopter

Students will design and build a helicpoter capable of vertical flight from a launch station

Motorized airplane

Students design, build and fly a tethered motorized glider. (students first learn about the components of flight through experimentation and simulation).

Prosthetic Arm

Using a VEX robotics kit, students create a prosthetic, robotic arm that autonomously manipulates a paper cup (grab without crushing, move, lift, rotate).

Rockets

Students design, build and launch a single stage model rocket from raw materials (students first learn about the components of rocket flight through experimentation and simulation).

Snack Machine

Students design and build a snack machine that dispenses ice cream, cotton candy and popcorn. The snack machine offers choices of vanilla or unflavored ice cream, color or plain cotton candy and buttered or non buttered popcorn. Students design and build the logic, circuits, structure and mechanism of the machine.

Rescue Robot

Using the LEGO NXT robot kit, students design and construct a robot that can follow a predetermined path to escape a building model. The robot that must sound an alarm (so people can locate it), turn on its light (to illuminate the path), and stop 3 times (to allow injured survivors to keep up).

ROV Sampler

Using VEX robotics kit, students design a robot that autonomously gathers and retrieves soil samples for analysis, autonomously clears obstacles, levels a graded surface with user input.

Search Robot

Use an iRobot to create and demonstrate a search robot that searches a simulated room (using virtual walls and actual obstacles for survivors after a disaster. The robot will identify survivors by having the survivors interact with the robot once the survivor is located.

Synthetic Rubber Processor

Using simulation software and discrete electronic parts (digital signal processing), and a LEGO MindStorms NXT kit (programmable logic unit), students design and build a device which selects and adds color in the creation of a synthetic rubber compound (before the reactants are combined). The device also mechanically adds and mixes the selected color into the mixture.

Water monitor

Students design a water monitoring system that monitors water quality as its being delivered in real time, and transports acceptable water to distribution point and redirects contaminated water to collection point.

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University of Southern California – Viterbi School of Engineering