Sharjah24: Engineering students and faculty from American University of Sharjah (AUS) presented cutting-edge engineering innovations fused with tailored technology at the Sharjah Innovation Week at University City of Sharjah. The event was held as part of the activities of the annual UAE Innovation Month.
Exhibiting a multi-rotor and hybrid autonomous drone was mechatronics engineering graduate Ahmed Khalil. Devised as part of Khalil’s master’s thesis research, the unmanned craft can both fly and roll on the ground, and is designed to detect leaks inside heating, ventilation and air conditioning ducts.
“Leaks inside ducts cause a significant loss in energy, and this is especially important in the UAE because we use air conditioners almost every day. It is difficult to detect these leaks because regular maintenance is costly. This drone travels inside these ducts and helps detect the location of leaks autonomously. It uses adaptive control with a set of sensors for navigation,” explained Khalil.
He developed the drone over a three-year period, under the supervision of Dr. Mohammad Jaradat, Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Master of Science in Mechatronics Engineering Program Coordinator; Dr. Shayok Mukhopadhyay, Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering; and Dr. Mamoun Abdel-Hafez, Professor and Head of Mechanical Engineering at AUS.
A prototype of a robotic fish designed by mechatronics engineering students Abdulrahman Aly and Mohamad Omari caught the eye of visitors at the Sharjah Innovation Week exhibition. Able to maneuver like a real fish, this underwater inspection device can be used to report on sea pollutants, water temperature and pressure, and inspect underwater objects. The prototype consists of a streamlined waterproof 3D-printed body housing a microcontroller, a camera module and a high-voltage amplifier along with a servomotor actuating the bio-inspired tail. The project was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Mehdi Ghommem, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Lotfi Romdhane, Professor in Mechanical Engineering.
Dr. Usman Tariq, Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering, showcased his collaborative project “Completing the Incomplete with L’Art Da Vinci (The Artificial Da Vinci),” which uses deep learning technology and artificial intelligence to clarify and complete images for a variety of uses.
The project was developed in collaboration with his electrical engineering student intern Gaurav Wadhwa. The principal investigators for the project were Dr. Abhinav Dhall and Dr. Subrahmanyam Murala from the Indian Institute of Technology-Ropar in India, and Dr. Tariq.
“This tool is useful for professionals in media who want to remove unwanted objects in scenes such a sign board, people, blemishes on the face and others. It also is also useful for law enforcement agencies to help them complete partly occluded faces, create realistic looking images from the description of witnesses of a suspect, and so on,” said Dr. Tariq.
Sustainable construction was the focus of three civil engineering students who sought to replace concrete with rubber crumb, which is recycled rubber produced from automotive and truck scrap tires; and Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS), which is a by-product from the blast-furnaces used to make iron.
“Concrete is one of the highest pollutants in the world and it is produced in high volumes because it is needed. What we sought to do is examine whether we can replace 30 percent of the concrete with rubber crumb. There is very limited research on the subject, and we wanted to be among the pioneers who would examine this possibility. We wanted to work on a project that focuses on sustainability while being novel and different,” said Raed Tariq, a civil engineering major.
Tariq worked with his civil engineering classmates Mazen Abdulkhaliq and Seif Abbas to complete this graduation project under the supervision of Dr. Jamal Abdullah, Professor in Civil Engineering, and Dr. Rami Hawileh, Professor in Civil Engineering.
Throughout the years, AUS students and faculty have actively participated in Sharjah Innovation Week, displaying some of the most innovative projects. The work shown demonstrates the university’s focus on advancing research activities and providing a hands-on learning environment for its students.
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