Prototypes 2019

Learn more about our 2019 prototype projects

Abundant Energy Harvesting and Jefferson Hora

Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering

What is your prototype about? Due to very short R&D time and limited DEEP TECH grant budget, the prototyping activities will solely focus on the circuit optimization, chip fabrication and testing of the energy harvesting circuit to utilize only 1 single PV cell (other energy sources, e.g. thermal and RF will not be explored) and also the power analysis of the overall and individual circuit blocks in the WSN device will be analysed. The development of the entire WSN device will not be demonstrated.

The design prototype will give a chance to improve further the energy harvesting circuit chip to utilize only 1 single PV cell and characterize the whole system power requirement of the WSN to have a battery-less powered WSN device in the final product version, henceforth, to minimize the overall cost of the WSN board device.

What motivated you to get into this, and what motivates you to see this through? Having the desire to own a start-up company in the future by utilizing the developed skills in my very owned field of expertise in low-power integrated circuits design, pushes me to explore more to provide possible solutions on the challenges on the power issues of the wireless sensor node devices. It will be an overwhelming feeling if ever I’m one of the potential researchers or contributors to address the challenges faces now in the deployment of WSN devices. It is now a reality that moving to the IoT era (wherein GSMA’s prediction of 25 billion of connected devices by 2025) will be too costly and time-consuming if ever this connected devices will still require batteries. Therefore, it is essential to employ a solution that will prolong battery life. Energy harvesting is one viable and significant solution to this problem.

What is your piece of advice for people thinking about applying for the Techcelerator? Go for it, don’t be afraid to push for your brilliant ideas, and be timely, otherwise, somebody else will.

For more info contact Jefferson at Jefferson.Hora@student.uts.edu.au 

MicroPro Creations (Hybrid Microfluidic Sperm Sorter) and Steven Vasilescu

Doctor Of Philosophy 

What is your prototype? Our devices use microfluidic technology to reframe the way we treat male infertility. Our prototype aims to create a healthy cell population for use in infertility treatment, ultimately guaranteeing embryo health and successful fertilization.

What motivated you to get into this, and what motivates you to see this through? Infertility is a growing worldwide epidemic, and the stress and insecurity couples experience, as a result, can severely impact their family life. One child in every classroom (1 in 20) is now born via IVF, which means the growing demand for assisted reproductive technology needs to be as safe and efficient as possible. We believe the excellent research being done in reproductive medicine should address the needs present in society and do so in an ethical and responsible way. To this end, we are endeavouring to achieve impactful technology that helps couples in need where they need it most.

What is your piece of advice for people thinking about applying for the Techcelerator? Make use of all UTS has to offer! Approach the deep tech team, talk to UTS Startups and meet with people in your field. The best part of the accelerator is the support and mentorship you get from your handpicked team, so don’t be afraid if you don’t know it all. Just be open to learn and curious in the knowledge around you.

For more info email steven.a.vasilescu@student.uts.edu.au. We would love to hear from anyone who has experience with IVF or assisted reproductive technology, or anyone who is keen to learn more about or work. We can be contacted via email at steven.a.vasilescu@student.uts.edu.au or on our LinkedIn profiles at https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-vasilescu-9310b0b2/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/sajad-razavi-11289b191/

IntelliCloth (Smart Posture Memory Clothing) and Behrokh Abbasnejad

Doctor Of Philosophy

What is IntelliCloth? The concept is developing a smart clothing that records correct rehabilitative/sport exercises applied by a physiotherapist/trainer and uses real-time Vibro-Tactile Feedback (VTF), to help people perform the correct exercise without specialist support, in their own home.

At Deep Tech Early-Stage Accelerator, we aim to develop a proof-of-concept prototype—a smart arm or knee sleeve—that replicates one degree of freedom rehabilitative motion, such as muscle stretching and bending.

What motivated you to get into this, and what motivates you to see this through? "Stand up straight." That's timeless advice we've probably all heard at one time or another. It's worth heeding. Good posture is important to balance by standing up straight. This also helps you maintain correct form while exercising, which results in fewer injuries and greater gains. And working on balance can even strengthen your abilities in tennis, golf, running, dancing, skiing — and just about any other sport or activity. Even if you are not an athlete, it still pays to maintain good posture in daily activities.

Awareness is essential to good posture. Sometimes we can be very busy or too focused on the activity itself and forget about maintaining good posture while doing that activity. This can lead to some serious injuries/recurrence injuries when it comes to do the sport or rehab exercises. 

When I was doing the literature review, surprisingly I learnt that posture related injuries (work-related injuries, sports-related injuries, elderly fall injuries, and injury recurrence) are common and cost Australian economy for about $30 billion a year. So, I asked myself, how we — engineers — can improve our awareness about our posture while focused on doing an activity (working, sport or rehab exercises). I came up with this idea to develop a portable device— smart clothing—that could remind us to maintain good posture in our activities.

What is your piece of advice for people thinking about applying for the Techcelerator? The Techcelerator gives you a chance to work on something that you are passionate about in a very friendly environment and you can get a lot of precious advice and support to help your startup succeed if you just get through a few selection rounds.

This program is a great opportunity to learn from industry experts, get privileged access to many cutting edge technologies, reduce administrative expenses, maintain morale through peer support, boost acquisition through media coverage, attract better human resources, gain credibility in the eyes of investors and be guided in critical choices. It allows you to shorten the learning cycle to the extreme and reduce distractions.

I definitely encourage students to apply to Techcelerator program even when they’re not ready. It is a great way to practice and learn about how to submit the best possible application and pursue your passion and dream.

For more info on IntelliCloth contact Behrokh at Behrokh.Abbasnejad@student.uts.edu.au or on LinkedIn 

Melo Ring (Smart Ring 3) and Braeden Knox

Bachelor of Mechatronic Engineering and Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation

What is Melo Ring? Our Prototype was originally created by my teammate Joel Meredith in Product Design for an assignment. It is a ring that can connect to phones and computers via Bluetooth to control music. The potential impact of a startup such as ours will streamline the functionality of audio for people’s devices, which is the goal of any wearable piece of technology.

What motivated you to get into this, and what motivates you to see this through? My motivation for pursuing a startup was to gain experience in a real-world project, to break out of the university assigned tasks and, gain hands-on experience in a safe to fail setting of how to develop a product.

What is your piece of advice for people thinking about applying for the Techcelerator? My advice is to simply give it ago. If you have an idea that you think is worth developing the DTESA is an environment that will grant you access to resources, advice, and facilities that you probably wouldn’t have access to alone.

For more info on Melo Ring visit https://www.mymeloring.com

Skin Saver and Sadia Khan 

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Bachelor of Medical Science

What is SkinSaver?  SkinSaver is an application aimed at encouraging the everyday person to prioritise their skin health. Often time skin conditions are diagnosed in the later stages when treatment becomes difficult. Our app utilizes machine learning technology to detect a range of skin lesions and has an inbuilt tracking feature to ensure users are able to maintain observation of their potential skin condition. SkinSaver aims to provide an affordable, accessible and attentive approach to healthcare.

What motivated you to get into this, and what motivates you to see this through? I have always had a fascination for artificial intelligence and its application within society. Aside from machine learning and AI, I have also been very passionate about making a difference within the medical and health industry. These were the two determining factors in my decision to study both software engineering and medical science. Being able to intertwine my two disciplines and passions is just one of the many reasons I enjoy working on such a product.

The main reason that motivates me to see this through and watch SkinSaver become something life changing, has to do with skin conditions and lesions effecting almost all individuals at some point in their lives. Whether it be a burn, acne or a lesion far more critical like skin cancer, it can effect anyone at any time. My motivation is driven by helping the everyday person and making them feel confident and healthy in their own skin and body.

What is your piece of advice for people thinking about applying for the Techcelerator? Have a game plan and never be too afraid to step out of your comfort zone. The best resources and advice come from areas you least expect. Always ask questions and seek out diverse thought processes. Where you may be lacking someone else might excel, so always be willing to take advice and new approaches to ideas and methodologies. Deep Tech provides you with amazing support and networking opportunities so have fun and use Deep Tech to your advantage.

For more info on SkinSaver follow us on Facebook and Instagram

Get in touch

For more information contact the prototype directly using the information provided above. Follow our LinkedIn Page or email Techelerator@uts.edu.au. You can also sign up to our mailing list to hear more about the prototypes and their journeys.