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  • We undertake research in a number of mechatronic areas and collaborate with local and international academic institutions incorporating New Zealand industry partnerships.

    Education
    Learning how to be a successful mechatronics engineer is entirely different from learning how to excel at a single traditional engineering discipline. It requires the ability to think from a mechatronic system design and integration viewpoint. Our degree instills this systems thinking philosophy throughout our degree.
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  • Research

  • Listed below is a selection of the research projects we are currently working on. Though some of the projects may be labelled as undergraduate and/or postgraduate, if there is a project you feel particularly passionate about, come in and convince us it is the right one for you.
      • Cooperative land, sea and air mobile robots

      • We are developing a family of land, air (UAV) and sea (ROV) cooperative robots that communicate with each other to collaborate in more effective task completion. The outcome of this project will be a family of three, possibly spherical, robots that communicate with, and control, each other.

        Undergraduate & Postgraduate
      • Smart Pest Control systems
         

      • In collaboration with Lincoln University, we are developing a range of smart pest control solutions that can recognize which species is going through the system and either log that particular animal, or take whatever action is most suitable for that particular species.

        Postgraduate
      • Conductive Additive Manufacturing
         

      • This project is an extension of work undertaken with Auckland University of Technology, and in collaboration with the National University of Singapore, in which we developed a system to allow curved layers of material to be deposited as part of the Fused Deposition Modelling additive manufacturing process.

        We are now incorporating conductive polymer into the parts in order to manufacture complete plastic parts with integral conductive wiring and, eventually, components.

        Undergraduate & Postgraduate
      • Thermoplastic Rubber Fused Deposition Modeling

      • The research, undertaken in collaboration with out partners at Vaal University of Technology, will produce a 3D printer capable of printing in thermoplastic rubber and will culminate in a 3D printer capable of printing a model of a shoe, as a tool to help revitalize the South African shoe industry.

        Undergraduate
      • Bio-printing Cellular Bandages for Burn Victims

      • This project, undertaken in collaboration with Kode Biotech, will develop molecules that can be inkjet printed and retain the required properties to act as diagnostic or therapeutic tools while, at the same time, having the ability to attach to surfaces so that the support scaffolds that are so essential for current 3D bioprinting technologies are no longer required? This interdisciplinary project will bring together two innovative technologies, bioprinting and KODE biosurface engineering, to build a new bioprinter that will allow the creation of novel biological assays, including a range of diagnostic tests and microarrays, therapeutic products, 3D cellular bandages and, in the future, living tissue and organs.

        Postgraduate
      • Bio-printing diagnostic test strips
         

      • This research will develop bioprinting technologies using KODE™ constructs which will lead to the ability to print medical diagnostic tools requiring no special equipment to read the diagnostic results and to the 3D printing of functional tissue and organs without the scaffolding required by current tissue engineering technologies. Beyond the immediate benefits to NZ science and technology of novel diagnostic testing tools, the research opens up the field of 3D tissue engineering and molecular printing.

        Postgraduate
      • KiwiSat Satellite
         

      • This project regards the construction, testing, calibration and implementation of a magnetometer unit for use in the amateur satellite 'KiwiSAT', which is to be launched into low Earth orbit. The magnetometer senses the strength of the magnetic field on three axes, and uses the readings to form a direction which can then be used to determine the satellite's attitude.

        Undergraduate
      • Smart Guided Needle
         

      • This project will develop a robotic system to guide flexible bevel tip needles through tissue. This will allow surgeons to guide a flexible needle to whatever point they need to in the body, thus allowing for minimally invasive surgery.

        Postgraduate
      • Predictive Home Health Monitoring Systems

      • This research is integrating the signals form a number of home health monitoring devices (blood pressure, glucose, asthma, weight, etc.) into a software system that uses the data to make intelligent decisions about the users health and gives them advice on how to keep healthy.

        Undergraduate & Postgraduate
      • Exoskeletons for Stroke Rehabilitation

      • The project, in collaboration with staff from the University of Auckland, is developing a series of exoskeletons to help with the rehabilitation of stroke victims and other physical rehabilitation activities.

        Undergraduate & Postgraduate
      • Design for Additive Manufacturing Methodologies

      • This research aims to develop a set of methodologies that can be used the maximize the potential benefits of additive manufacturing. These methodologies will be integrated into a CAD package so that, upon selecting the best AM technology for the context, the part is automatically modified to suit the process.

        Postgraduate
      • Ceramic 3D printing
         

      • This project is adapting Z-Corp 3D printers to operate with low-cost ceramic materials. The components produced with these clay-based ceramic powders can be fired to produce strong, complex and lightweight ceramic parts. The final material properties, including the porosity of the parts, can be controlled through the part design and, potentially, through additives to the material that burn out during firing.

        Postgraduate
      • Hybrid Additive/Conventional Flexible Manufacturing Systems

      • This project is developing a series of systems for using additive manufacturing technologies in the context of flexible manufacturing systems. It examines which technologies might be applicable to FMS and how they might be implemented as part of a flexible manufacturing cell.

        Postgraduate
      • Smart Pill Box
         

      • This project will develop a smart pill box, capable of storing all the pills needed by a patient for an entire week, and allowing the patient to only access the correct pills for the correct time of the day.

        It will also incorporate a compliance monitoring system to ensure that the correct pills have been taken and, if not, will make intelligent decisions to remedy the non-compliance.

        Undergraduate
      • RFID Chemical Storage System
         

      • This project aims to make a smart chemical storage system in which all chemicals are automatically weighed and accounted for. The storage system will know exactly which chemical is where, and whom they have been checked out by and how much of the chemical was used.

        Undergraduate
      • 3D Printing of Collagen Cornea Replacements

      • This project, in collaboration with the ophthalmology department at the University of Auckland, is developing a method to 3D print cornea replacements using collagen. The proof-of-concept is being developed using a modified fab@home 3D desktop printer.

        Undergraduate & Postgraduate
      • Large Scale 3D Printer

      • This project will transform one of our existing 6 degree of freedom robot arms into a large scale 3D printer, capable of printing in a wide range of plastic pellets or filaments. The project involves, first, retrofitting the robot arm so that it can be PC controlled, and designing and building an extrusion head capable of extruding from pellet material, and another capable of printing form filament based material. Software must then be written to allow 3D stl files to be sliced and converted into paths that the robot arm can then print.

        Undergraduate
      • Robotic Tattooing System

      • This project will create a fully automated tatooing system capable of producing tattoos in full-colour directly from photographic images. Potential uses include a range of medical tatooing applications and cosmetic repair.

        Undergraduate
      • Vision System for Scout Robot System

      • This project will create a 3D vision system for a Pioneer based scout robot using the Kinnect sensor package. This will allow the robot to efficiently navigate through a 3D environment.

        Undergraduate & Postgraduate
      • Sparring Partner Robot System

      • This project will build a full-sized sparring robot partner that martial artists can use in their training.

        Undergraduate
      • Electric Car

      • This project involves the construction of a light-weight street-legal electric car incorporating a range of technologies to aid in the cars sustainability.


        Undergraduate
      • Kinect based Indoor Mapping System

      • A system capable of mapping an indoor environment and recognizing the occupants within that environment will be developed using a series of X-Box Kinnect sensor packages.


        Undergraduate & Postgraduate
      • Smart Phone App Development

      • We have a range of apps needing to be developed for smart phones, including apps to control security systems, implementing fashion styling algorithms, a range of mobile health apps.

        Undergraduate
      • Room Occupancy Sensor

      • This project involves the manufacture of a room occupancy sensor. The sensor should measure how many people are in a room, for how long they are there, log the information, and transmit the info wirelessly to a laptop.

        Undergraduate
      • Materials Handling Forklift
         

      • This project involves design analysis, optimization and ergonomic improvements to a forklift for handling materials and products within the bread and dairy industries.

        Undergraduate
      • Exoskeleton for Product Handling
         

      • This project involves the construction of a hand controlled exoskeleton, attached to a forklift to assist drivers in handling heavy payloads


        Postgraduate
      • Sea to Land water condition sensor network

      • This project involves the construction of a smart buoy for monitoring water conditions to determine whether it is safe for watercraft to land.


        Postgraduate