15 ECE students among winners of Honda's first iDream Student Challenge

Fifteen electrical and computer engineering students, and their three ECE faculty mentors, were part of the winning teams in Honda's first iDream Student Challenge.

Honda announced the winners on July 8 at the 2010 Honda Initiation Grant Technical Horizon Symposium in Columbus, Ohio. With a focus on technologies that advance the quality of human life, the iDream Student Challenge is a scholarship program designed to inspire new thinking to everyday challenges and foster a spirit of innovation among the leaders of tomorrow.

This year’s competition included 19 teams of Ohio State science and engineering students whose projects offered creative engineering solutions and innovative technologies in one of three categories: electronics, mobility and materials. A total of $60,000 was awarded to the top three teams in each category as well as to the viewer’s choice winner, a team chosen via online voting.

This year’s winning teams comprised of electrical and computer engineering students and their faculty mentors are:

• 
  Electronics, First Place: No Abandonment, a Baby Wireless Sensor, an alarm system to help save the lives of children accidentally left in vehicles.
  Team members: ECE students Chuan Lim Kho, Chad Work, Bakhrom Halmatov and Michael Belt
  Faculty mentor: Steven Bibyk, associate professor, electrical and computer engineering
   
• Electronics, Second Place: EEG Based Vehicle System, an electroencephalogram (EEG) based brain-computer-interface (BCI) for monitoring the level of vehicle operator fatigue in the context of a vehicle safety system.
  Team members: ECE students  Daniel Callahan, Tejas Kataria and Adam Jones
  Faculty mentor: Lee Potter, associate professor, electrical and computer engineering

• Electronics, Third place: Smart Refrigerator, a refrigerator with an inventory control system that monitors the perishable shelf life of items and provides information on where to store items to optimize life.
  Team members: ECE students Greg Dottavio, Cameron Quatman, Andy Ferguson, William Fleeter and Syra Arif
  Faculty mentor: Steven Bibyk, associate professor, electrical and computer engineering
   
• Mobility, Third Place: Automotive Acceleration Control System, a complete robotic driving system that eliminates human inefficiencies to reduce traffic congestion and accidents on the road.
  Team members: ECE students Bryan Skursha, Michael Roe and Jeremy Vila
  Faculty mentor: Hooshang Hemami, professor, electrical and computer engineering

Honda selected Ohio State to pilot the iDream program this year; next year it will be a national contest.

Find out more about the student teams and their projects via the Honda iDream Student Challenge website.