Francis Tuttle Technology Center Pre-Engineering Academy seniors in the Engineering Design and Development class will present their research and inventions at the Engineering Showcase next Tuesday evening, May 8, from 6:15 to 8:30 p.m., at Francis Tuttle's Portland campus, 3500 N.W. 150th.
Student teams have identified an open-ended problem that they felt could be improved upon, conducted research and interviews with those closely affiliated with the problem, constructed a prototype solution and will present their findings and inventions during a thirty minute presentation. Each presentation will be followed by a question and answer period to defend their solution.
There will be a brief introduction at 6:15 p.m. followed by group presentations of their innovations.
A few projects:
Disaster Shelter
A geodesic dome comprised of corrugated plastic, with interchangeable parts, in addition to having structural integrity, solution will provide effective temporary shelter to dislodged persons in the wake of a natural disaster until permanent shelter can be found.
Digital Antenna
A television antenna designed for the twenty first century, unit contains servos which enable the user to alter the electric field without contact with the antenna. Servos are controlled by any generic television remote control through a mounted infrared receiver on the antenna. The unit also contains the ability for programs to be saved and retrieved using the remote control.
USB Secure
This device focuses primarily on information stored in portable USB drives and uses a physical lock instead of vulnerable digital versions to protect data. When the lock is turned it pushes the chip containing the data into a USB female connector. The male connector, located on the outside of the device, is plugged into the computer and the information flows between the two freely. When task is complete a button on the top of the drive is pushed to re-lock the device. Until the key is inserted and turned, the information remains secure.