The University of Maryland’s Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering (CPSE) program at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) held its second annual Demo Day on Friday, August 16, 2024. The student demo portion of the event took place in the lobby of the Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Building, while the formal program was held in the Basement Theater below. Dr. Bill Phillips, the 1997 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, served as the event’s guest of honor and keynote speaker.

The first half of the event featured prototype demonstrations from eight student groups, comprised of 28 high school and community college students who participated in CPSE’s "Jumpstart Your Engineering Career" summer program.

Brian Schoem, CPSE Program Coordinator, kicked off the formal event with introductions, followed by welcoming remarks from Dr. Anne Khademian, Executive Director of USG, and Dr. Romel Gomez, CPSE Program Director.

The formal program included a keynote address from Dr. Bill Phillips on “Quantum Reforms of the Modern Metric System,” followed by a Q&A session, during which Dr. Phillips awarded prizes to participating audience members.

After the keynote, Dr. Nestor Tiglao, CPSE Professor and Summer Program Chief Innovation Architect, introduced the student teams. Each team took the stage to explain their concepts and demonstrate their prototypes.

The eight student groups and their projects were as follows:

• AquaSmart – A self-sustaining smart aquarium that automates maintenance through remote monitoring and control, providing real-time data to users.
• BallBuddy – An autonomous tennis ball-collecting robot.
• Magic Gambit – A computer vision system enabling humans to play against a computer on a physical chessboard.
• PillPal – An automated pill dispenser that simplifies medication management.
• SafeCycle – An intelligent turn signal device designed to enhance biker safety.
• SignScribe – A robotic hand that translates speech into sign language in real time.
• Sky Swift Deliveries – An autonomous drone delivery system ensuring safe and reliable package transport.
• SurroundSense – A wearable device providing real-time spatial awareness and obstacle detection for the blind and visually impaired.

The teams were evaluated by three judges — Tom Clifford, Program Director for Business Engagement; Michelle Marcellino, Director of UMD Programs at USG; and Michael Keeney, USG Chief Financial Officer — on the following criteria:

• Clarity in articulating the problem
• Product design
• Market validation
• Quality of project demo and poster
• Final pitch presentation

(Left to right: Elliott Owens, Sakib Niaz, Yenni Do, and Allison Andreyev [Winning Team: SignScribe])

At the end of the pitch presentations, the SignScribe team was awarded the 2024 “Best Team Award” for their innovative robotic hand, which translates speech into sign language. Their performance was recognized as the best in meeting the judging criteria.

Photos from the event can be found on USG’s Flickr page. Also check out the Summer Program’s promo video for CPSE’s 2024 Demo Day HERE.