Samueli School of Engineering

The UCI CanSat team is a senior design team that competes in the international CanSat competition, an annual design-build-launch competition held by the American Astronautical Society focused on space-type systems. Each year, a ten-person team designs a “CanSat,” following competition requirements. This year, the CanSat is required to operate in 4 main phases: ascent, apogee, descent, and landing. During ascent, the CanSat must act as the nose cone of the rocket. At apogee, an ejection charge releases the CanSat from the rocket, and the CanSat must activate a parachute to begin a safe descent. At three-quarters of the peak altitude, the CanSat must deploy its payload. The payload consists of two cameras, one to film payload deployment, while the other is spin-stabilized to film the north side of the CanSat. In addition, while the container descends with a parachute, the payload must descend with an auto-gyro system. The auto-gyro system must significantly decrease the descent rate of the CanSat. Lastly, the CanSat must land safely using its descent-control systems. It must activate an audio beacon that allows the team to find the CanSat upon landing. Throughout all phases, the CanSat must transmit telemetry to the ground station at a rate of 1Hz. Telemetry includes (but is not limited to) GPS coordinates, pressure and temperature measurements, inertial measurements such as tilt and acceleration information, and battery voltage.

Cardiovascular disease affects nearly 50% of adults in the United States, with many requiring right heart catheterization as part of their diagnosis or treatment. A common approach for this procedure is the groin-to-right heart catheterization, which involves inserting a catheter through the femoral vein into the right atrium, allowing access to the interatrial septum. While transradial access (via the arm or wrist) has become increasingly popular due to a lower risk of complications such as major bleeding or stroke, femoral access (via the groin) remains necessary in cases requiring larger catheters or more complex procedures. However, the femoral access approach carries a higher risk of bleeding and vascular injury due to its deeper access site and the potential for excessive insertion force. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop realistic, high-fidelity testing models that simulate the femoral access procedure to enhance procedural safety and outcomes. These models are designed to accurately assess catheter insertion forces and allow early detection of potential device failures before animal or clinical testing. Contemporary simulation models are costly, use hard-to-source materials, and are intended for training purposes rather than research and development (R&D). To address these gaps, we developed a cost-effective, accessible, and easy-to-manufacture groin puncture model that simulates femoral access. Our model features viscoelastic components with anatomically relevant thickness that mimic the mechanical properties (i.e. Young’s modulus and Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS)) of skin, fat, and the femoral vein. These layers are supported by a 3D-printed, Instron-compatible fixture that securely holds the model during catheter puncture force testing. The model is also made from cheap and easily-accessible materials, including: Dragon Skin™ 10 Fast, Ecoflex™ Gel, FlexFoam-iT!™ III, and F-116 REV 1. Our preliminary tensile tests yielded Young’s modulus values (in MPa) within an order of magnitude for the skin, fat, and vein layers. To approach higher values for the Young’s modulus, we plan to explore curing agent ratios, additional thickening agents, and alternative biomaterial additions. The improvement of this fundamental mechanical property and assessment of UTS ensures that catheter testing is evaluated at realistic, physiologically-accurate stiffnesses to prevent catheter failure. In the future, we aim to expand our platform to develop patient-specific models and simulate the entire right heart catheterization pathway, including the tortuous vascular anatomy and transseptal puncture to the left atrium, with the ultimate goal of enabling more comprehensive testing of catheter performance.

Executive Summary: The National Fluid Power Association hosts the Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge, a competition that challenges students to create a vehicle powered by hydraulic components. The competition consists of 4 events, which respectively test the speed, endurance, efficiency, and regenerative braking capabilities of the vehicle. Zotdraulics is creating a tricycle that translates human input into hydraulic power, focusing on speed and endurance. Objectives Our primary aim is to build a trike with an integrated hydraulic system which can operate in three states (Direct drive, Charging and Regenerative Braking). We also seek to build a foundational understanding which future UCI Teams may build upon.

This project focuses on the design of a tertiary water treatment facility employing Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) to provide a sustainable drinking water solution for residents in and around Laguna Niguel, California. The proposed facility treats secondary effluent from an existing wastewater treatment plant, utilizing a multi-step treatment train to ensure compliance with stringent drinking water quality standards. Key processes include ozone disinfection, membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet light treatment, alongside advanced oxidation and biological activated carbon filtration. Environmental and regulatory considerations were integral to the design, aiming to address water scarcity and mitigate the effects of drought while minimizing ecological impacts. The resulting potable water is pumped directly into the local drinking water distribution network, reinforcing long-term water resilience for the community.

Distillation is a method of separation using a column and involves heating a mixture of liquid components with differing boiling points. As the mixture is heated, the components vaporize and condense on trays along the height of the column as they cool. Distillation has a long history dating back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt as a method of perfume and medicinal compound production. It has since advanced to meet specifications through fractional distillation. Three experiments were performed to better understand pressure drop along the length of a column, column efficiency under total reflux, and column efficiency under constant reflux. This was done by varying the power to the reboiler of the column bottoms, or varying the reflux ratio and measuring the pressure drop via manometer, and obtaining overhead and bottoms samples. The Darcy-Weisbach equation was used to correlate the boil-up rate to pressure drop. The Fenske equation was used to determine the minimum number of trays needed to obtain a given composition under total reflux. Under constant reflux, a similar analysis was completed using a McCabe Thiele diagram. It was found that the pressure drop increases with boil-up rate, however, not with the relationship predicted by the Darcy-Weisbach equation. The operating mode, boil-up rate, and reflux rate had no impact on the number of trays needed to obtain a given composition. Additionally, a design extension was provided to show how distillation can be used for the production of spirits. 

Project Prometheus aims to combat wildfires through early detection using low cost, solar powered, mass deployable sensor modules that communicate via LoRA. Data collected from these modules will be aggregated by an overhead UAV, where a series of advanced machine learning models are employed to analyze sensor data, in combination with local weather station data in order to provide a proactive approach to wildfire management, enabling timely intervention and mitigating property and environmental damage

Envision is an embedded device used to wirelessly control a computer over Bluetooth using hand gestures. The device uses an onboard Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) to provide gesture data to the user’s PC with low latency and low power.

This device was developed to democratize gesture app development, slashing the hardware and knowledge requirements to develop hand gesture applications. We created an SDK by exposing features like fingertip positions or pinch strength through event-driven non-blocking APIs. Our improved SDK reduced demo app size by about 80% for prototype gesture interaction apps.

The former Preco site is a historical, metal manufacturing property located in the City of Commerce, California, which has been deemed as an area with significant environmental contamination by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LARWQCB). Due to the presence of trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and 1,4-Dioxane in groundwater, these residual chlorinated solvents are hazardous to the environment and human health. Previous remediation efforts, like Soil Vapor Extraction, were unsuccessful to address shallow groundwater contamination and the source of the plume. Therefore, alternative remediation efforts have to be explored to achieve long-term water quality stability. This project aims to develop a comprehensive site model and a remedial action plan (RAP) to mitigate contamination and present a solution to LARWQCB. Our team proposes the use of PlumeStop®, an in-situ activated carbon technology provided by Regenesis, to immobilize and treat the residual solvent plume successfully. This approach offers a cost-efficient and long-term sustainable alternative to conventional pump-and-treat methods. This research provides a strategic framework for long-term remediation and environmental restoration to combat antecedent contamination.

One in four people will experience a stroke in their lifetime, and technical advancements have decreased stroke deaths worldwide, correlating to an increase in stroke survivors. About 80% of survivors experience upper extremity impairment, and half of stroke survivors will experience muscle spasticity, paresis, and/or contractures after recovery, hindering activities of daily living (ADLs). To address this growing concern and particular needs in care standardization, psychological support, and effectiveness, we sought to leverage machine learning to provide personalized care. Our approach is two-fold: movement characterization and targeted stimulation. We aim to characterize different patient movements using a random forest-based machine learning model and electromyography signals. Then, using the characterization and the relative strength of the EMG signal, we will direct electrical stimulation to the arm with individualized locations and intensities. Our project focuses on two muscle groups: flexor carpi radialis & ulnaris and extensor carpi radialis & digitorum. Our main achievement thus far is creating our characterization machine learning model with a 93% accuracy. We have also developed an initial functional electrical stimulation (FES) prototype, showing our capability to customize and safely house the FES within the greater solution pathway. With further optimization and integration of our prototype, we will be able to demonstrate the impact of our solution in providing individualized support and care for common ADLs.

The Glove Band is an innovative wearable musical instrument that emulates various instruments through finger gestures and hand movements. It bridges the gap between traditional playing techniques and modern digital synthesis, offering an intuitive and expressive way to create music. The glove is embedded with sensors that translate user movements into musical notes and dynamic controls, which are processed by a microcontroller and output through a speaker.