STEM III 2nd Quarter Projects

EPB Holiday Windows - Continuation Project

EPB Teams - you have an exciting and unique opportunity to help EPB bring your ideas to life for the entire city of Chattanooga!  This is a BIG deal that you will remember for years to come.  During the 2nd quarter, your team will work with EPB to build the holiday window displays.  You will learn a lot as you work with EPB employees to solve problems and create amazing, dynamic displays.  This opportunity requires working outside of school.

Flywheels User Needs Research Project

Car manufacturers and technology companies are racing to create highly automated vehicles (HAV) and most agree the question of whether you’ll use self-driving vehicles is not if but when.  The Flywheels group formed in Chattanooga in partnership with Volkswagen to explore the concept of HAVs for consumers.  Analysis of urban car usage found that car drivers spend almost half of their driving time looking for a parking space.  The situation is not much better for users of public transportation, as the different lines and modes are usually not well coordinated.  This leads to waiting time when changing from one line to another, and overcrowded stations.  Flywheels proposes to solve these issues and they have asked STEM students to conduct market research and prepare a user needs analysis for Chattanooga.  This project will support an ongoing research project at UTC.  If you think self-driving vehicles are the next big thing or you want to dig deep into customer needs and have a real impact on a startup company, this could be the project for you.

Note: An independent 3rd quarter project will focus on developing a mechanical coupling prototype for the Flywheels concept.  This 2nd quarter project is not a prerequisite for the 3rd quarter project but would be an opportunity for students interested further projects involving self-driving vehicles.

Global Maritime Awareness

If you’ve ever purchased smartphones or exotic foods in the grocery, it’s likely their journey included a transoceanic voyage.  The world’s oceans are busier than ever with maritime cargo vessels, cruise ships, and naval operations.  Keeping them safe is the business of International Maritime Security Associates.  Based in Chattanooga, IMSA observed how maritime safety information was frustratingly difficult to access and use.  As a result, they developed a solution to provide accurate, timely, and geographically-relevant maritime information in a convenient tablet package.  Their focus is on delays, civil unrest, piracy, disease and health, and critical weather.  Now they want to expand their data sources to include the Global Maritime Data Security System (GMDSS).  As you might have guessed, GMDSS is difficult to access and use.  To begin to piece together the GMDSS puzzle, IMSA has asked STEM student teams to research and analyze GMDSS to understand how to interface with it in order to provide this data to IMSA customers.  If you're into live data, maritime activities, technology, software, or just want to work with a startup company with a global mission, then look no further!

Prosthetic Design and Fabrication

The 3D printing revolution has had an impact on many industries and prosthetics design and fabrication is a shining example.  Today, schools across the country are using 3D printers to make prosthetics for kids using freely available STL files.  This project applies 3D printing technology to solve other patient needs.  Our sponsor is Fillauer, an international prosthetic manufacturer located only a few miles from the STEM School.  Their mission is helping people perform daily activities that you and I may take for granted.   If you are interested in human factors design, medicine, or biomechanical engineering, this may be the project for you!  Checkout Fillauer's website for more information about your sponsor.

Note:  While not a pre-requisite, this 2nd quarter project will provide invaluable experience for a 3rd quarter project to design a prosthetic-like mechanized arm for a young woman with severe disabilities.

Sporting Goods Merchandise Display

You may not have heard of WestRock but you know their customers:  Target, Home Depot, and Hibbett Sports, to name but a few.  Located only a few miles from the STEM School, WestRock designs and fabricates custom promotional displays for big-name national companies.  If you see cardboard-based displays in stores that look really cool, they were probably designed at WestRock.  Their plant includes many of the same tools you'll find in our FabLab--except on an industrial scale.  In this project, you'll work on a problem WestRock is actually doing for one of its customers.  Their job mixes art, marketing, design, engineering, and production into one.  With the tools in the FabLab, you actually have the ability to create displays of near-professional quality as WestRock.  The kickoff will include a visit to WestRock's creative offices followed by a plant tour.  Are you ready to take the challenge?  Checkout WestRock's website to learn more about our sponsor and see examples of their work below.

ShopBot Vacuum Table

If you’ve used the ShopBot, you’re familiar with the importance of securing your material with screws to keep it from flying around the FabLab.   Local entrepreneur Kent Davis visited the FabLab and suggested improving the ShopBot with the addition of a vacuum holddown system.   This approach uses a vacuum pump to create suction across the ShopBot surface to hold down materials for cutting.  With this system, it’s unnecessary to use screws to hold down the material.  Mr. Davis implemented a vacuum system for the CNC router at his sign company and he offered to share his lessons learned with a team of students.  For this project, one team of students will research, design, and build a vacuum holddown system for the ShopBot.  In doing so, they will leave a lasting impact on the FabLab and earn the appreciation of every STEM student and the FabLab Teacher. 

Note: This project is limited to one team.