The Pratt Brothers, known for their award-winning holiday displays, partnered with the team to create Zephyr, an animatronic steampunk baby dragon featured in their Rawhide Christmas Western Town exhibit. Zephyr’s design enables wing folding, tail gear rotation and expressive movement for an immersive guest experience. The project demonstrates the creative integration of engineering, art and…

Honeywell Aerospace tasked the team with improving sustainability in turbine material testing, traditionally conducted with high-emission burner rigs. Their proposed design integrates an air-fuel ratio sensor to optimize combustion control and reduce NOx emissions. The system maintains FAA compliance while providing a more efficient, environmentally responsible testing process. Sponsor Honeywell Aerospace

The U.S. Marine Corps tasked the team with developing a low-cost, portable small unmanned aircraft system built from secure, non-foreign electronics. The prototype autonomously follows programmed flight paths, avoids obstacles without reducing speed and allows manual intervention when needed. This design enhances operational safety, efficiency and ease of use in diverse mission environments. Sponsor United…

The team is developing a low-cost unmanned aerial system capable of carrying a five-pound payload across a 10-mile range using commonly available materials and commercial avionics. Components are sourced from local hardware suppliers to enable accessible, point-of-use manufacturing. The fixed-wing design mirrors a Cessna aircraft, emphasizing load capacity and simplicity, while demonstrating innovation in sustainable,…

Boeing partnered with the team to develop an autonomous drone interceptor capable of detecting and neutralizing hostile aerial threats. The system integrates AI-based detection algorithms with a net deployment mechanism to disable targets in flight. This approach offers a practical, adaptive solution to counter the growing challenges of drone warfare. Sponsor Boeing

Partnering with Los Alamos National Laboratory, the team is addressing ergonomic and safety challenges in glovebox operations used for material disposal. Their design integrates a UR5 robotic arm to automate repetitive tasks while maintaining human oversight for complex procedures. The addition of improved chamber access and visibility features reduces operator strain and enhances safety in…

Paragon Space Development Corporation, a leader in life support and thermal control solutions, tasked the team with designing a tactile‑enabled space glove to improve astronaut dexterity. The glove integrates a haptic feedback system using linear resonant actuators and force-sensing resistors to simulate touch. This innovation improves tactile awareness and precision during extravehicular activities, advancing Paragon’s…

Summit Automation tasked the team with developing a more robust electrical connector for lifting and sliding doors that elevate before movement. The design ensures the housing remains concealed within the door frame while protecting against environmental exposure and sustaining more than a thousand open-close cycles without failure. The improved connector enhances product reliability and supports…

Summit Automation, a leader in luxury automated door and window systems, engaged the team to complete the final 10% of motion in bi-fold door automation. The team designed and integrated a hybrid system using a pin mechanism for initial opening and electromagnets for closing. This innovation extends Summit’s product capabilities, enabling full automation and expanding…

Price Industries, a leader in air distribution products, tasked the team with automating the company’s manual spring wire installation process, which is currently time-consuming and causes repetitive strain. After evaluating multiple design concepts, the team selected a two-axis pneumatic device that replicates a sinusoidal wave motion to apply wire onto a frame grille. The resulting…