Videos
Loading the player ...
- Offer Profile
- 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.
Product Portfolio
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