Bachelor of Electronic Systems Engineering (ESE) students Thomas Abdallah, David Eelman and Stanislav Rashevskyi have been named winners of the college’s Tech Showcase, held August 14 at the Cambridge campus.
Bachelor of Electronic Systems Engineering students Thomas Abdallah, David Eelman and Stanislav Rashevskyi were named winners of the college’s Tech Showcase for their robotic air hockey system.
The annual showcase features best of program, final-year projects from 14 technology programs; winners are honoured with Conestoga’s Mastercraft Award which recognizes excellence in program-related skills. Established in 1980 by former Conestoga president Kenneth E. Hunter, the award includes a Coat of Arms and a cash award of $1,000.
“We were thrilled and excited to be selected as the best overall project,” said Eelman. “We are proud to represent the capabilities of the ESE program at the college-wide level.”
The team presented a robotic air hockey system -- a custom designed high-speed robot capable of autonomously playing air hockey against a human player that was developed using industry relevant technologies and skills gained in the ESE program.
Inspired by an open-source project posted online, the air hockey system demonstrates technologies that include object recognition with computer vision, high-speed robotic position control and autonomous control strategies.
“The robot needed to be capable of reacting quickly and moving very fast to compete against a human player in the fast-paced game of air hockey,” explained Eelman. “To accomplish this we had to overcome two major technical hurdles. First, tracking the position of the puck required a high frame-rate camera and a powerful computer to process the images in real-time. Second, to move the robot at high speeds we designed and built our own motor drivers to support the high power motors that were needed to match the speed of a human. Both of these tasks were great technical challenges that allowed us to apply what we learned in the ESE program to real-world problems.”
Conestoga is the only college in Ontario to offer accredited engineering degree programs. The Electronic Systems Engineering and Mechanical Systems Engineering degree programs feature small classes, project-based learning and co-op work experience to prepare graduates for success in their chosen fields.
Other Tech Showcase projects included a web application firewall project presented by students in the Computer Applications Security graduate certificate program, art-deco inspired bedside tables crafted by a Woodworking Technology advanced diploma student and a community hub concept completed by a student in the Bachelor of Interior Design program.
Conestoga offers a full range of engineering and information technology programs. Visit the School of Engineering & Information Technology for more information.