Student Designs

In the summer and fall in Southeast Asia typhoons bring heavy rainfall and strong winds. The CYCLONE CATCHER was designed to turn the fierce wind and water into energy. Generally, small wind turbines can't withstand the strong wind speeds caused by typhoons and are often damaged or destroyed. The CYCLONE CATCHER is composed of a triangular outer wall for stability with a hydroelectric power system and a wind power system. The wind power system contains a generator, an accelerator, and an emergency deceleration device to produce power during a typhoon. The Hydroelectric power system, with its generators, water tanks, and pumps, uses the water collected during typhoons to produce power during calm weather. 

Designed by: Chih-Ting Yeh and Lang-Wen Ma of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

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Internally displaced persons camps in Nigeria currently house over 500,000 babies. Premature births and hypothermia-related incidences are claiming many lives as temperatures drop at night and medical services cannot get there in time. INCUBE is a temperature-controlled low-cost incubator. It consists of a cardboard cot and a bag filled with hot water that heats a beeswax pouch, which regulates the temperature of the cot. The pouch can be quickly heated using equipment readily available at the camps (a pot filled with water over a fire) and provides enough warmth to keep the baby alive until medical assistance becomes available. 

Designed by: Aditya Kujal Walia of Northumbria University

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Imagine designing everyday products with impossible materials that only exist in the digital world. Imagine a future where designers can manipulate the color, texture, and reflectivity of materials across time and different viewing angles. Imagine that the future of color creation is not based on layers of chemical paints, but a combination of 3D-printed optical lenses and simple color blocks. These are just some of the possibilities capable with Illusory Material. It uses computation power with the most advanced 3D printing technology in the world, multi-material voxel printing, to allow designers to play with CMF or even material properties that have never existed before. 

Designed by: Jiani Zeng and Honghao Deng of MIT and advised by Axel Kilian of MIT Architecture and Stefanie Mueller of MIT CSAIL for Stratasys

Contact: Email | Website

With the rapid development of technology, children's concentration has gradually declined. Visual Land was developed to use children’s free time at home to improve their ability to focus, overcoming the shortcomings of current treatment methods. It incorporates eye scanning technology with games to train children while keeping them engaged. The training content of the games are divided into three categories: graphic identification, numerical calculation, and language learning. The training data is also provided to parents to help them understand the progress of their child. In addition, via cloud transmission, the therapist can review the current training achievements and adjust the training scheme accordingly. 

Designed by: Yi-Jie Chu, Yang-Chen Hsieh, Jia-Hong Wang and Pei-Yi Wu of Visual Land for Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology

Contact: Email

Core is a digital health record system where patients can manage their health information in a private, secure, and confidential space. It is composed of an insurance card, access hubs, and a universal patient portal. Access hubs are placed at every department in a hospital where a patient interacts with their care team. When a patient goes to a doctor's appointment, they scan their insurance card or phone at an access hub, which acts as a trigger to release health record information into their universal patient portal. Patients are also able to document their treatment journey. 

Designed by: Jesse Palma of Purdue University

Contact: Email

T³ Monster is a set of teaching aids for developing fine motor skills that combine light and sound effects. Each monster is designed to focus on a different muscle group in the hand to address different training purposes. The associated app tracks the data generated by playing with the different monsters so that clinicians can monitor progress and adjust the training. To make the game more interesting and interactive, a rich and lively interface along with stories and pictures was created. This also encourages parents to play with their child, enhancing parent-child interaction while training at home. 

Designed by: Yu-Ling Tseng, Wen-Hsuan Chao, Han-Chin Liu and Ying-Chieh Wang of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology

Contact: Email

Shine LA is a public health initiative designed to get Angelenos healthy and create lasting behavior change. Conducted by Cedars-Sinai and partnering with the LA Rec and Parks Department, Shine LA leverages the rich content of public programming to create an integrated system to get LA moving in preparation for the 2028 Olympics and beyond. The Shine LA app provides easy access to a network of classes and events put on by LA Rec and Parks and other family-oriented partners. The Ready, Set, Shine! marketing campaign will get citizens excited to get moving with its environmental play spaces throughout the city and rewards booklets. 

Designed by: Sophia Rowland, Wenyuan Xu, Camilla Golestaneh, Brian Ostroff, Robin Vane and Jordan Riggins of ArtCenter College of Design

Contact: Website

This modular wooden stroller was designed to evolve with a child’s needs. It can be configured as a baby carrier, walker, push bike, scooter, or bicycle. It was designed for children between the age of 1 and 4. The driving motivations behind the design were to improve production efficiency through a modular design, save families money with a versatile multipurpose design, reduce the consumption of environmental resources by using a renewable material, and increase human-product interaction.

Designed by: Haitao Shi, Rongxiu Cen, Xinlin Xiao, Xudong Yang, Ping Bai and Yaguo Tan of Guangdong Industry Technical College

Contact: Email

A high proportion of autistic children suffer from sensory disfunction, particularly hypersensitivity to sounds. Many normal sounds, for instance, from machines and crowded environments, are intolerable to them, causing panic and distress. Hushh is a set of ear muffs designed to calm autistic children when they are overwhelmed by noise, especially in public. When a child panics, press the ear muffs tightly around their ears. Music originating from nature plays automatically, triggered by the infrared ray detector, gradually calming the child. Hushh can also be used as a toy when hanging around the child’s neck when not in use. The smooth, bouncy surface and embossed texture make Hushh fun to touch and play with.

Designed by: Tianhe Zhang of Jiangnan University

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Dart is an electric ride-share bike and associated lifestyle brand. The bicycle ride-share market is focused on getting from point A to point B and seldom prioritizes the rider’s experience along the journey. Dart, in contrast, is an electric ride-share bike that is all about making the journey enjoyable. The design focused on improved bike performance, versatile riding characteristics, exciting aesthetics, and streamlined user interactions. The electric hub motor gives riders an extra power boost to speed over difficult urban terrain and arrive at work free of sweat. The adjustable handlebar provides users the option to ride with an aggressive lean over hills or pedal upright comfortably over flat ground. The design and proportion of the bike also inspire confidence and make riders feel stylish. This encourages people to incorporate cycling into their lifestyle. Additionally, the locking mechanism is positioned to let users lock the bike to a rack from either the left or right side, greatly improving disembarking convenience when parking.

Designed by: Victoria Chiang, Francis Lin, Nico Hitson and Kevin Shankwiler of Georgia Institute of Technology

Contact: Email