Capstone Season is upon us and there are 50 Mechanical Engineering teams showcasing their projects at the Expo on the 24th of April at the McCamish Pavilion! The Capstone Design course is generously supported by numerous corporate partners and alumni. This weekly article series will highlight a few select sponsors, their projects and the student teams working on their projects.
Team Name: Lapdogs
Project Name: Laptop Theft Deterrent
Members: Sydney Weiss, Jake Cuppels, Nathan Hensley, Chase Gutkrecht, Peter Shoemaker, Max Toothman
Problem: While working in a public areas such as coffee shops, it is not unusual to ask a stranger to watch your belongings when stepping away for a few moments. Unfortunately, it only takes stepping away for a few seconds for a laptop or other personal belongings to be stolen. Gartner, an information technology research company, concluded that one laptop is stolen every 53 seconds. Currently, the most popular laptop security device is a cable lock. Lapdog Securities is creating a device that is compact, lightweight, and tamper-resistant to attach to laptops to reduce the risk of theft.
Projected Impact: Once developed, Lapdog Securities’ theft deterrent device will provide increased security for personal electronics and reduce the risk of theft. Long term, Team ‘Lapdogs’ wants these security devices to be provided by companies for their employees. According to Gartner, the estimated cost of stolen laptops per year is $1.8 billion. Much of the cost of losing a laptop is from loss of data associated with the loss. Companies and schools could reduce the risk of laptop theft by utilizing laptop theft deterrent devices. Eventually, the team wants to see this type of device expand to other personal electronics, such as phones and tablets.
Proposed Solution: Project sponsor, Lapdog Securities has developed preliminary backend technology to create a laptop theft deterrent device that includes an alarm with radius settings, a biometric locking system, and connection to a phone application. This device will be a “Set it and forget it” that stays on as long as it is on the laptop and does not affect the way the laptop is used at all.
Team ‘Lapdogs’ conducted surveys to understand how the end users would prefer the attachment to work. They are currently testing various materials and novel combinations involving plastic, metal, and other flexible material that would be durable enough to resist cutting. The team has also developed a few CAD models of a universal attachment system that will fit most (if not all) laptops on the market. The design challenge is to create an attachment that takes into account the user inputs as well as work universally on laptops and not interfere with any of the existing electronic ports. The team plans to utilize the Invention Studio and the Machining Mall to build prototypes and validate their designs. The owner of the company, Niloy Roy says that working with the team has been “exceptional” and that he “couldn’t have asked for a better team!” Roy plans to work further with engineering students and faculty from Georgia Tech to further the electronics and programming aspects of the product.
Check out this and over 200 other exciting capstone design teams at the Spring 2018 Capstone Design Expo on 24th April at 4:30pm in the McCamish Pavilion. More information on how to RSVP is on the website here: http://expo.gatech.edu/. Please invite friends and family to attend and cheer for our graduating seniors!
All senior students in Mechanical Engineering culminate their undergraduate educational experience with the Senior Capstone Design course in order to provide firsthand experience at solving real world problems in a team environment. Students typically work in teams of four to six individuals and each team is advised by a faculty member. Companies interested in submitting a project for consideration can contact Dr. Amit S. Jariwala, at 404-894-3931 or via email at: amit.jariwala@gatech.edu.