A modular human to human haptic system assisting with physical rehabilitation, smart glasses to help those with hearing loss and a compact device capable of measuring repeated involuntary leg movements are just some of the works on display at Adelaide University's Ingenuity expo.
The free event at the Adelaide Convention Centre will showcase more than 400 projects from final year College of Engineering & Information Technology and College of Science students on Wednesday, 11 November.
Amelia Wood, Kanishka Sharma, Kesara Sirisena and Mika Hariadi have taken the early stages of a project from supervisor Dr Sajeeva Abeywardena to create ReHaptics: Re-Learning Through Touch.
The module-based system used for physical rehabilitation allows a novice to be guided and receive physical feedback from an expert in skills like writing.
"The process of observing and emulating mentors is the foundation for developing or relearning skills," Amelia said.
"When learning how to write, typically the skill is taught visually, a fundamental example is learning to write via a teacher writing on a whiteboard although we know physical feedback provides the best results.
"This project connects two people, allowing for collaboration on writing and upper limb motion-based activities. As an expert and a novice are physically connected, the expert can provide verbal and physical feedback to the novice, allowing for quick corrections."
While one person leads the action, the other follows the mirrored action through the linkage, Kanishka said.
"Because it is modular too, it can used anywhere so it is something we could see being sent off and used in low socio-economic areas, or developing countries, or even in occupational therapy," she said.
Amelia said the opportunity to showcase her work to the community at Ingenuity was exciting.
"I grew up down South, and there weren't events like this. It's only through University that I have had the opportunity of attending these events, inspiring my passion for engineering," she said.
"The idea that we could do the same at Ingenuity, and inspire the next generation, is really exciting."
Juan Johnson and Dino Reji Varghese, under the supervision of Professor Mathias Baumert, have created a wearable device to detect repeated involuntary leg movements linked to the condition Periodic Limb Movements of Sleep (PLMS).
"We designed and 3D-printed a compact enclosure to house the electronics, making the prototype portable and wearable using an adjustable strap," Juan said.
"The device uses small sensors, like with an ECG, attached to the leg to measure electrical signals generated by the muscles."
"These signals are processed by our custom-designed electronic system to detect muscle activity and movement events," Dino added.
"The results are then transmitted wirelessly to a mobile application, allowing users to view muscle activity, detected movements, and recorded patterns over time."
Not only did they have to create the device itself, the pair created a mobile app, and said this is just the start of what could happen.
"Right now, this is just the prototype, it can be developed to be smaller and more comfortable, we hope it can be used to help in sleep research and movement analysis," Dino said.
Jacob Kazem and Jayden Bertram and supervisor Professor Ben Cazzolato collaborated with industry sponsor Limestone Ventures to address a common problem for people with hearing loss.
"While most people can naturally tune out background clatter to focus on a single voice, people with hearing loss often find crowded environments overwhelming and traditional hearing aids struggle to fix this as they are too small for advanced directional audio," Jacob said.
"We wanted to develop a solution which makes communication easier in noisy environments, using multiple microphones and modern algorithms."
The pair bypassed the size problem, by designing and creating a custom pair of glasses with multiple microphones and electronics.
"Using smart audio-processing algorithms, our functional prototype acts like a spotlight for sound, isolating the voice of the person the wearer is looking at while quieting the surrounding room," Jayden said.
"This project not only proved that advanced acoustic algorithms can be practically applied by students to a real-world commercial challenge, but also showcased how industry and university talent can team up to turn research concepts into life-changing technology."
Ingenuity is the state's largest student STEM expo, and provides community members from students to industry leaders with the chance to engage with interactive examples that solve real world problems.
"Ingenuity is a great opportunity to see the talent and creativity of our STEM students in action," Pro Vice Chancellor College of Engineering and Information Technology Professor David Lewis said.
"It brings together ideas from across engineering, science, technology, and computer and mathematical sciences, and shows how our students are applying what they have learned to real-world problems and opportunities.
“What makes Ingenuity so exciting is the chance to see those ideas come to life. Our students are thinking about the challenges facing our communities, industries and environment, and developing and demonstrating solutions that have the potential to make a huge positive impact.
“We’re incredibly proud of what they have achieved, and we invite the public and industry to come along, meet them, explore their projects, and experience the innovation happening here in South Australia as our students begin their journey to make a difference."
Pro Vice Chancellor College of Science Professor Nikki Stanford said Ingenuity was a wonderful opportunity as it connected students directly with government and industry partners.
"Our event showcases the incredible potential of science and maths to build rewarding careers," she said.
"By connecting students directly with government and industry partners across diverse sectors, we demonstrate the breadth of STEM opportunities available to our graduates.
"This event also showcases how STEM training provides graduates with the most enduring professional skill of all, critical thinking, the best tool for today and tomorrow."
To find out more about Ingenuity or see some of the other projects, visit the website.