48440 research outputs found
Sort by
Elevating Well-Being; A New Vision for Health and Fitness
No full textThis project is a new vision and approach to elevating well-being, health, and fitness through a structural addition to the WPI Recreation Center. Our team researched elements that negatively and positively affect mental health and determined the important correlation between physical activity and mental well-being. This project proposes a new structural addition to highlight elements found in our research. We completed a structural analysis, architectural design and plan, schedule, and estimate to aid the new structure. The addition includes a functional fitness turf, green roof, individual workout suites, wellness hub, mind body studio, juice bar, walking pads, golf simulator, sauna and steam room, locker rooms, and other recreation center upgrades that will contribute to student and community wellbeing. This project outlines the methods used to develop the final deliverables and provides the results of our work, with discussion on areas of the project our team feels there is room for expansion by another MQP team in following years, with a list of future recommendations
Introducing Technological Tools to the Văcărești Natural Park Association to Assist in Wetland Management and Restoration
No full textThe Văcărești Natural Park is an urban wetland in Bucharest, Romania that is experiencing water loss and hesitance from park management to act against it. The goal of this project was to research ways to measure, track, and analyze water loss data so our collaborator, the Văcărești Natural Park Association (VNPA), can present evidence of falling water levels to park management. We used focus groups with the VNPA, observations of the park, interviews with experts in related fields, and research exploring hydrology and technology as it relates to wetlands. We found that measuring devices, a refined water budget, AI tools, and the development of a machine learning model could be useful to the VNPA. We also determined strategies for the VNPA to follow when presenting to park management
Differences of Machine Learning Methods in Alzheimer's Detection Across Male and Female sMRI Data
No full textSex influences neurodegenerative features, yet most ML pipelines ignore it. We analyzed 1,200 ADNI T1‑weighted sMRI scans–stratified by sex, age, and diagnosis –after extracting 95 regional volumes with FastSurfer. Five classifiers (k-NN, SVM, Random Forest, XGBoost, and LightGBM) were tuned; LightGBM achieved the highest accuracy (male 0.79, female 0.74) and precision (male 0.81, female 0.72). Feature‑importance profiles overlapped in core limbic markers (hippocampus, amygdala, entorhinal cortex) but diverged by sex: female models emphasized medial‑temporal atrophy and ventricular expansion, whereas male models weighted putamen, precuneus, and sensorimotor cortices. Our findings suggest that sex-aware modeling can reduce false positives and improve diagnostic precision
From Campus Living Labs to Urban Living Labs
No full textLiving labs are an emerging concept that fosters collaboration and innovation among stakeholders such as businesses, universities, and the government. They face several major challenges, including stakeholder involvement and project scaling. Our project, hosted by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, aims to identify best practices for campus living labs, connect them with the Winterthur Smart City environment, and assess the needs and expectations of any involved stakeholders. The document introduces living labs, explains the methodology—interviews, data collection, and analysis—and presents conclusions: a set of effective management practices, recommendations for a campus living lab interface, and strategies to maintain stakeholder engagement with clear expectations
VineTheatre: A Multi-Sensory Experience in Tirana, Albania
No full textIn Albania, traditions surrounding food and wine faced suppression during the country's time under communist rule. Even after the regime fell in 1991, those traditions have struggled to regain popularity, especially on the international level. This project collaborated with the RRNO Foundation to develop a multisensory gastronomic experience, VineTheatre, which highlights the nearly lost culinary traditions of Albania, focusing on traditional Albanian wines. Through the research of 12 differing multisensory experiences and discussions with the co-founder of RRNO, Mr. Nikolin Kola, the team developed a portfolio of best practices and recommendations to position VineTheatre for success
REI: USPTO Patent Application Risk Evaluation Framework
No full textThe USPTO’s Office of Patent Quality Assurance must strategically review 12,000 applications annually but lacks a reliable way to identify those at highest risk of quality issues. Our goal was to determine which factors best predict patent application risk and to design a framework to support data-driven selection. Through interviews with examiners, analysis of open-source patent data, and review of relevant research, we identified key measurable indicators and additional perceived risk factors. We developed the Risk Evaluation Index (REI) to model this risk and evaluated the role of modern AI/ML methods in improving prediction accuracy. We recommend adopting such a framework, standardizing data collection, and integrating AI/ML tools to support examiners in safe and ethical ways
Tackling Littering on Nantucket
No full textNantucket faces litter challenges along roadways, beaches, and transfer-station routes. Despite regulations, issues like uncovered loads, alcohol container litter, and limited public awareness all contribute to litter. This project analyzed major litter sources and identified strategies to reduce them. We collaborated with the DPW as well as other organizations where we identified problem areas and reviewed current practices. Gaps in enforcement, inconsistent waste-transport habits, and limited redemption options play key roles. We recommend for Nantucket to strengthen awareness and education, improve bottle-redemption access, promote proper handling of construction waste, increase signage and enforcement for uncovered loads, and explore adding receptacles and reverse-vending options
Sea Level Rise, Technology and Acadia National Park
No full textAcadia National Park is experiencing rapid environmental changes caused by climate change, rising sea levels, and shifting ecological conditions. This report explores the park's geological history, the forces that shaped its landscape, and the ongoing climate processes that continually alter it. By combining geospatial analysis, climate data, ecological assessments, current scientific research, and information on warming oceans, melting ice sheets, sea-level rise, increasing storm activity, coastal erosion, salt marsh ecosystems, native species distribution, and overall ecosystem resilience, technological advancements are used to evaluate storm impacts and predict sea-level rise
The Inscriptions, Street Altars, and Flagpoles of Venice
No full textVenice contains thousands of artifacts, including various inscriptions, street altars, and flagstaff pedestals, some of which have lost their significance and functionality over time. Previous IQP teams have briefly documented street altars and flagstaff pedestals on PreserVenice. Gianni Simionato documented inscriptions in Lapidi E Iscrizioni Nel Comune Di Venezia. In this project, we used both resources to revisit previously documented artifacts and update information about each individual artifact in its category. We completed this field work by creating a route to locate the artifacts and using Survey123 to collect data in the field. We found that many artifacts have little to no damage, and their location directly affected their functionality and physical status
Applied Signal Technology (AST) - Improving test automation
No full textApplied Signal Technologies (AST) develops a wide range of applications that leverage Graphi- cal User Interfaces (GUIs) to create an intuitive platform for sophisticated signal processing and analysis. VooDoo is a software demodulator that processes recordings of digitized Radio Frequency Signals to produce bit streams for signal analysis. It is a sophisticated GUI application that requires tedious manual testing, which is often error-prone. Several methods and tools for GUI test automation have been prototyped, such Sikuli and QtWebDriver, with some success. The goal of this project is to improve test coverage through automation by selecting an automation method, designing, and implementing a comprehensive automation test suite for VooDoo