TCE Projects Receive Chancellor’s Innovation Funding
Four projects spearheaded by Tickle College of Engineering faculty and graduate students have been selected as awardees for this year’s UT Chancellor’s Innovation Fund.
The Office of Research, Innovation & Economic Development (ORIED) established the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund in 2023 to raise awareness, promote innovation, and support entrepreneurship for UT’s promising innovators. Through this program, UT will help enable commercialization of new technology, support the launch of technology-based startups, and fund entrepreneurial opportunities for researchers across the campus.
The winning projects will receive funding up to $50,000 to support commercialization and entrepreneurial efforts.
This year’s TCE award winners are:
Sai Swaminathan
NeuroCamTags: Low-cost, self-powered IoT sensor platforms with on-chip AI for smart manufacturing
Smart manufacturing increasingly relies on Internet of Things (IoT) devices and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor and optimize production processes. While these technologies offer significant advantages, they also come with notable challenges. Traditional IoT devices often depend on batteries, rely on cloud computing for data processing, and face data security concerns—all of which can hinder the efficiency and scalability of smart manufacturing solutions.
To address these issues, Swaminathan’s project introduces NeuroCamTags, a low-cost, energy-efficient edge sense platform that performs on-device AI without relying on the cloud.
NeuroCamTags are an innovative, battery-free sensing platform developed at UT that use ambient light for power. These devices integrate sensors and on-chip AI, enabling real-time monitoring of equipment and processes without the need for constant cloud connectivity, and can respond within milliseconds. They securely transmit data using LiFi (light-based communication) rather than radio frequencies (RF), providing significant security advantages. NeuroCamTag platforms cost under $10 per node.
Dustin Crouch, Madhu Dhar, and Rigoberto Castillo Advincula
Endoprosthetic Thumb: A Revolutionary Limb Replacement Technology for People with Amputation
There is an urgent need for a thumb replacement option that restores natural sensory and motor function without the patient having to sacrifice a healthy digit. The Endo-Thumb product addresses this unmet need. The orthopedic implant is completely covered with the patient’s own living skin and looks like a biological thumb. The project’s technology restores shape, size, and function without having to remove another finger or toe.
Shuai Li, Jindong Tan, and Weizi Li
A method, system, and apparatus for recognizing object surface materials for adaptive multimode robotic disinfection
The project’s technology is designed to automate cleaning and housekeeping tasks in a variety of environments such as hospitals, supermarkets, hotels, and personal homes. It’s being created to meet the demand for robots capable of performing dexterous tasks autonomously to address the high costs associated with manual labor, especially because of the high labor turnover and training costs.
Tom Zawodzinski and Brian Washington
Development of aluminum-air batteries
The global push for sustainable energy requires solutions across a wide range of applications. Batteries are crucial to addressing this need. Current battery technologies, which rely on a steady supply of expensive and often scarce materials and processes, pose significant environmental challenges and long-term scalability issues. This project offers a solution through the development of mechanically rechargeable metal-air batteries, more specifically aluminum-air batteries.
The project’s technology introduces a novel mechanical recharge design that allows for the ease of replenishment of aluminum materials within the configured battery systems. Unlike traditional aluminum-air batteries that require complete replacement of the aluminum anode, the project’s system enables the battery to be refueled with scrap or waste aluminum materials almost instantly for constant energy output.
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, [email protected])