January 31, 2006 > Students Showcase Inventions

by Jason Roth

A land mine detecting device and a system to make cars more fuel efficient are just two electronic engineering marvels that will be on display at DeVry University's Business and Technology Innovation Fair on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at the university's Fremont campus, located at 6600 Dumbarton Cir.

Graduating students in DeVry University's electronics engineering technology bachelor's degree program and electronics and computer technology associate degree program will showcase their ingenuity for the chance to impress potential employers. Professionals from leading technology companies will be on-hand to judge the various projects. The event is open to the public from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Electronic and engineering inventions in the competition include:

Mine Rover -- A remote-controlled hovercraft capable of traveling over land and water surfaces to detect metallic land mines and wirelessly transmit the locations from a GPS unit.

A/F YB Tuner -- For motor sports enthusiasts or concerned motorist, the system allows users to adjust fuel mixture, manually or automatically, through the use of a wide band oxygen sensor and air-to-fuel ratio controller to improve a vehicle's efficiency and performance.

Siren Detector -- An electronic device for a vehicle that detects sounds of an approaching emergency vehicle such as a police car and alerts the driver to be prepared to yield.

Blind Spot Eliminator -- Utilizing sensors and cameras, this device helps prevent vehicular accidents.

Remote Controlled Key Finder -- A remote control device that comes with a receiver that can be clipped to a key chain.

"Through their senior projects, students showcase their business savvy, technological know-how and creativity to instructors and prospective employers," said Kandy Simmons, president of DeVry University's Fremont campus. "For these students, this is the culmination of everything they've learned at DeVry."

Judges for the Business and Technology Innovation Fair represent some of the Bay Area's most prestigious companies, including Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, Murphy, McKay and Associates, Varian Medical Systems, Aviza Technology, Infospace Mobil, Computer Methods and Siemans, among others.