U of R Engineering students show off new tech

Engineering students show off projects As the semester comes to a close, engineering students from the University of Regina showed off their projects. Cole Davenport reports

The year has culminated into a final project for engineering students at the University of Regina. On Saturday, they showed off their work that was eight months in the making.

Natnael Alemu is in his final year as an electronics engineering student, and his team’s project is focused on monitoring some of Saskatchewan’s rough roads. Sensors attached vehicles collect data on bumps while driving.

“We noticed we could measure these roads, maybe see how bad they are and be able to just present to the city and see how bad it is, maybe try to fix this,” said Alemu.

Alemu and his team have developed a website called roadquality.ca that shows the data they have collected. They hope that their software could even have some application with Google.

“You would be able to see it as part of your map navigation. It could recommend you don't take this road, take another road,” said Alemu.

The annual project day gave students a chance to showcase their work to industry professionals and finish of their year of studies.

“It is a big, important day. Everyone gets to get dressed up and everyone looks great. Their families are here, their friends are here so it's a very exciting day for the students,” said Gina Macpherson, an academic advisor with the Faculty of Engineering.

Some students, like electronics engineering student Bridget Palaschuk, are already seeing some real life applications for their projects. She developed a beer keg monitoring system that brings up to the minute stats like temperature; amount poured, and even the foam, on a few of the taps at the bar on campus.

“They've been able to notice when they've had waste due to pouring off some of the foam and refilling it, we've had it installed on two lines for two weeks,” said Palaschuk.

Based on a report by Cole Davenport