_{Project Topic Ideas (Spring 2005 List)}

_Automobiles

 _{Dash Mounted Speed Limit Indicator}

• _{Problem: When driving in an unfamiliar are it can be frustrating to not know the speed limit. In many areas Speed limit signs are not posted because of blanket city speed limits that non-residents may not know}
•  _{Solution: A small indicator next to the speedometer on the drivers dashboard could easily display the current speed limit for the road that he is currently on. The indicator would gather the speed limit information via locally planted transmitters using blue tooth. In the absence local transmitters a GPS device could transmit the information based on the location. .} 
• _{Component: Indicator and Receivers} 

 _{A route-generator}

• _{Problem:Traffic jams tend to slow down traffic and cause a lot of inconveniences with that (being late for the meeting, miss the plane, etc.).}
•  _{Solution: Create a device located in the car that is wirelessly connected to the cameras on highways and takes the pictures of the traffic at different points of the route, so that the driver could choose the least congested route to get to the destination.}   
• _{Component: A PDA-like device, router (internet connection).}

 _{Car Alarm Sensor}

• _{Problem: : A car alarm is great. It gives us a piece of mind to know that our car is somewhat protected. But what good does it do when you don’t know the alarm is going off? Today’s car thieves are sophisticated. They can disarm the alarm in record speed before anyone can take an action.}
•  _{Solution:  Car Alarm Sensor will be programmed into your car key remote or alarm remote. As long as you are within the distance defined by the frequency, it will light up, vibrate or beep depending on the setting you select.}  
• _{Component:  The microchip will be programmed and embedded into the remotes.}

_Business

 _{Quick Card}

• _{Problem: Hand-entering contact information from business cards is error-prone and tedious.}
•  _{Solution: A quick and easy barcode-like image is printed either on the bottom or the back of the business card. When the person returns from the gathering, all they need do is swipe the business card over a scanner for a brief moment and the contact information is instantly stored on their computer.}  
• _Component:

 _{Copy Waste Calculator}

• _{Problem:  In a copy production environment, accurately assessing waste is tedious and impractical.}
•  _{Solution: Develop a smart scale to weigh the waste and approximate wasted ink impressions using a normal distribution. Periodic samples of actual counts are input via a keypad periodically to fine-tune the distribution model to a specific copy production environment.}  
• _{Component: Digital scale with flash memory}

 _{SPFS Smart Payment Food Source}

• _{Problem:  Long lines at checkouts in grocery stores, slow payment methods.}
•  _{Solution: Track individual items as they pass through a checkout zone. The computer tabulates the total for the food selected while in the checkout zone via electronic tags. The customer then moves into the payment zone allowing them to view their total and the price break down. The customer then selects payment and it is automatically deducted from the individuals checking account.}  
• _{Component:  : The computer tracks the food in the users shopping cart via an electronic tag. The computer creates a total cost for the items in the cart. The computer authorizes payment and the user is out in 1/3 of the time.}

_Commercial

 _{Smart Shoe}

• _{Problem: Shoes become uncomfortable after wearing them for a long period of time. The shoes can become too tight or too hot causing discomfort.}
•  _{Solution: Smart shoes contain sensors which will gradually decrease or increase the shoe temperature to maintain the initial comfort level. Sensors can also track foot movement in order to loosen or tighten the shoes. If the foot is constantly moving, the shoe maintains it's tightness. However if the foot does not move often the sensors can loosen the shoes to make them more comfortable.}  
• _{Component: Software which reads sensor data to adjust shoe tempurature and pressure.}

 _{Easy Label Printer}

• _{Problem: Printing labels with MS Word is troublesome and confusing for many users. Current label printers print labels one at a time.}
•  _{Solution: Using an optical scanner, a system can detect the margins of labels on a label sheet. The printer then sizes and positions the labels appropriately on the sheet.}  
• _{Component: Scanner, printer.}

_Culinary

 _{Auto Chef}

• _{Problem: : Planning out family dinners takes more time and planning than it has to.}
•  _{Solution: : My solution is a computerized system that takes a meal as input. The output will be a list of ingredients, list of tools and appliances, and help for preparing the meal in the form of task management. For example, it will tell you when and for how long and at what temperature to cook a component of the meal, providing audible reminders for task deadlines.}  
• _{Component: Computer system including hardware and software}

 _{Food Manager}

• _{Problem:  Inefficiencies in fast food kitchens lead to slow customer service and excess waste. Knowing when and how much food to prepare can be ambiguous information.}
•  _{Solution: Computerized planning/management system that alerts employees to low numbers of prepared foods (ie. fries). In this system, fries would be cooked only when necessary.}  
• _{Component: Computer system including hardware and software manager program.}

 _{Smart Pot}

• _{Problem: Busy schedules require more efficient multitaskers especially for home meal preparation.}
•  _{Solution: My solution provides an alert to food preparers when a pot of water is boiling.}  
• _{Component: Pot with integrated sensor, battery, possibly bluetooth technology for wirelesss communication to "base station."}

 _Kitchen-Mate

• _{Problem: People don't eat home-cooked meals enough because it is too hard/they don't know how.}
•  _{Solution: Combining a database of recipes with a touch-screen display, a small projector, and a barcode reader, Kitchen-Mate allows people to choose from a list of recipes that they have the ingredients to (the scanner maintains inventory) as well as show step-by-step instructions projected directly onto their kitchen counter-top}  
• _Component: 

 _{Automated Meal Planner}

• _{Problem: Trying to decide what to have for dinner can be a hassle. Once a meal has been decided the next hassle is making sure you have everything that you need.}
•  _{Solution: A menu planner that has a database of recipes and meal plans and takes requested meal types from the user. The planner would then generate a meal plan on a daily, weekly, monthly, or user defined time span. This program would also print out a shopping list of needed items and their quantities for each meal.}  
• _{Component: Meal Plan Generator and Database.}

 _{A specials-teller}

• _{Problem: Sometimes it is very hard to find a restaurant of your liking with the specials that one would like to have. ( type of food, price range, etc.).}
•  _{Solution: Create a device that has the information about all the specials in the restaurants in the area according to the type of food the customer is looking for.}  
• _{Component: A PDA-like device, internet connection}

 _{Wait No More}

• _{Problem: You go to a restaurant and find out there is a 2 hour wait.}
•  _{Solution: A unified system to a central website to post the current wait time. An option would also be to enable a customer to make a reservation so they can leave at the appropriate time so they will not have to wait a long time for their dinner.}  
• _{Component: Software to interface with restaurant software, remote server to access information about a restaurant, web interface}

 _{“Touch for Food”}

• _{Problem: Drive-thrus at fast food restaurants can sometime bring unpleasant surprises thanks to fouled up orders}
•  _{Solution: A touch menu system where the driver can enter exactly what he wants}  
• _{Component:  Touch menu}

_Education

 _{Universal Language translator}

• _{Problem: How to understand different languages. Traveling to different countries can at times be hard because of the language barrier.}
•  _{Solution: Microcomputer system worn on cloths that can translate words in any language automatically.}  
• _{Component: Device uses several separate computer programs to assist with inflections in tones and other nuances in the human voice. If necessary, when translating languages, because of various dialects and inflections that can occur in the human voice, the device polls the separate programs each and through a voting process picks the most likely translation for a particular word.}

 _{Attendance Recorder}

• _{Problem: Currently Teletechnet students fill out attendance sheets. It is a waste of paper. If professors track the attendance for grading purposes, then this would aid them also.}
•  _{Solution: Students would swipe their ID cards into an attendance tracker. I don’t know the type of ID cards in current use by ODU, but student information could be taken from those, if the technology is compatible. Or it could be fingerprint based.}  
• _{Component: ID cards, card or fingerprint identification machine, software that identifies and classifies input, and runs electronic reports for students and the professors tracking attendance.}

 _{Digital Translator}

• _{Problem: With more and more of the armed forces spreading overseas, there is a need for them learn new languages rapidly. In many instances soldiers are not given enough time to learn the language.}
•  _{Solution: The digital translator can translate words or sentences to the specific language through voice recognition. One can speak in english in what the want to say and the translated version will be displayed to the screen. The digital translator can also have the technology to speak the translated message so the user can hear how it sounds.}  
• _{Component: The Digital Translator is software that the size of a palm that uses speech speech recognition to type in words and a series of programs to translate the words or phrases.}

 _{Advanced Learning System (No Child Left Behind System)}

• _{Problem: Students learn at different rates and these rates differ from topic to topic. Grouping students into two or three different levels of classes is not enough. Also with the technology available today and the shortage of qualifies teachers, teaching resources need to be better utilized.}
•  _{Solution: Provide student's with computer's in class where they can learn at their own rate. Curriculums will be computer based. Headphones are available to student's for multimedia learning and the teacher can focus on student's with problems. No longer will smarter kids sit bored in class and slower kids just become frustrated. This is an approach used by Dr. Zeil in the web-based version of CS361.}  
• _{Component:  Education system that is computer based}

_{Entertainment}

 _{Automated healthy menus}

• _{Problem: Lack of information about choice of food items when dining out.}   
•  _{Solution: : Design a small computerized system, in the restaurants that take as input the customer’s height, weight, age etc. and suggest the best possible menus available - With a breakdown of the calories, cholesterol and fat intake. The selected items list will be automatically made available to the chefs in the kitchen.}        
• _{Component: restaurant database, sensors, display screen.}

 _{Auto Drum Tuner}

• _{Problem: Drummer’s spend a lot of time trying to tune their drums and keep them tuned.}
•  _{Solution: : An interactive device that allows the user to input the size of their drums, how many lugs per drum, what kind of drum, and what sound they are going for. The machine will automatically tune the drums with the correct tension so that a drummer a can concentrate on other stuff like “warm up exercises”.}  
• _{Component: a computer that can search through a database in order to find the best tuning for a drum with the given dimensions.}

 _{Virtual Video Store}

• _{Problem: Its annoying having to go all the way to the video store to get a movie to rent, it also uses up gasoline.}
•  _{Solution: Build a system that would allow TV viewers to to download to their cable box and play any movie in a database(other than just new releases), and charge a rental fee based on the movies age, popularity...whatever. The system could then remove the movie after the rental term is up, during that time the viewer could watch it as many times as they want, just like renting a DVD.}  
• _{Component: computer receiving unit, cable network}

 _{DVM Dynamic Video Media}

• _{Problem: DVD's and video games are prone to becoming damaged due to scratches on the disk. Additionally, DVD's and console game systems are generally not available for direct download. Console game systems require you to purchase the system and the game as separate components (some systems don't offer certain games).}
•  _{Solution: Build a common device using a computer and flash memory to allow for direct downloads of DVD's and console video games. The computer will offer removable impact resistant flash media to store either DVD's or games. An internal menu will allow an individual to select the game/movie they wish to view. The idea is to offer games/movies to the consumer at a lower price and make games compatible on one system.}  
• _{Component:  The computer will be the entire system. A software driven database will be used to select the media and enable a particular emulator for a game.}

 _Robo-Buddy

• _{Problem: Preteens need a fun and interesting way to learn facts easily.}
•  _{Solution: The Robo-Buddy is a toy robot that can follow individuals around the house and do various built in entertaining things as well as answer questions. If asked a question, the Robo-Buddy will connect to any wireless network installed in the home and look up the answer on credible websites. It will then read the answer back to you.}  
• _{Component:  Voice Recognition Software, Robotic Parts, Wireless Ethernet or Bluetooth, and Voice Synthesizer.}

_Environment

 _{LEEWARDS - Lateral Environment Early Warning And Remote Detection System}

• _{Problem: Pilots sometimes suffer from spatial disorientation, or are unaware of surrounding terrain in adverse weather conditions, causing crashes.}
•  _{Solution: Require all civil and commercial aircraft that carry passengers and routinely fly in bad weather conditions (Fog, Low clouds, whiteout conditions) to have an onboard system that monitors lateral space (obstacles,elevations) within 2-5 minutes travel time of the aircrafts current position. The system would tell the pilot about any obstacles/terrain in the aircrafts path, what adjustments to course/altitude need to be made to avoid it, and display/announce the aircrafts true altitude at that time(in case someone forgot to set the altimeter).}  
• _{Component: Onboard computer, LCD, GPS system}

 _{Integrated Thermostat}

• _{Problem: Individuals waste energy by leaving thermostats set at a costant temperature throughout day whether they are home or not. Energy can be saved by resetting the thermostat to a more cost effective level when residents are not at home. This practice would save consumers money on electric or gas bill and cut down on energy production thus protecting the environment}
•  _{Solution: A Bluetooth or other wireless technology thermostat installed in the home with a GUI interface to their PC allowing for easy scheduling of thermostat settings. Increased ability could come in the form of being able to remotely control the settings via logging into computer remotely or connecting via cell phone or other wireless device. Allowing user to call or log in to signal the thermostat. â– I am on my home please turn up the heat.â–}  
• _{Component: computer controlled thermostat, Bluetooth or other wireless technology}

_Finance

 _CheQed

• _{Problem: paper checks can be spoofed and cost money to create. A more convenient way of writing checks.}
•  _{Solution: PDA program that connects to stores system through encrypted wireless to send the check to the register. This program can interact with financial programs such as Quicken or Money.}  
• _{Component: PDA program, Encrypted Wireless}

 _One

• _{Problem: A person has multiple credit cards in their wallet.}
•  _{Solution: Create a dynamic credit card that holds multiple credit cards. An interface is needed to combine the all the accounts into one. A display screen on the card allows you to choose which one you want to use at the time of payment.}  
• _{Component: Software is needed for the card to manage a small database on the card for all the information about a person’s credit card account.}

_Health

 _{Diet and Exercise Planner Software}

• _{Problem: Obesity is a huge problem in United States. Most people take the matter into their own hands by spending a lot of money on diet pills and diet plans that doesn’t work.}
•  _{Solution: Diet and Exercise Planner Software is compatible with any hand held planner devise such as a Palm Pilot. You simply install the software on your daily planner. After typing in all of the required profile information such as weight, body fat, age, gender and etc, the planner will calculate and generate an individualized daily meal plans and exercise regime.}  
• _{Component: Diet and Exercise Planner Software will be a program composed of algorithms to calculate the meal and exercise plans.}

 _{Pill Remainder}

• _{Problem: People need reminders to take their medicine regularly}
•  _{Solution: digitized pillbox - programmable, customizable}  
• _{Component: LCD display, embedded computer}

 _{Diet Tracker}

• _{Problem: A convenient and easy way to monitor and track and track dietary intake and exercise output on an ongoing basis. The diet and exercise industry is huge and weight and obesity is and increasing health concern throughout society.}
•  _{Solution: A small monitor which incorporates a pedometer, as well as other methods to enter exercise and activity information. As well as incorporate a simple way to enter nutritional and dietary intake. Both inputs will provide output to the user with up to the minute information about their daily goals.}  
• _{Component: Software, pedometer, PDA or similar simpler platform. Well designed GUI}

_{House hold}

 _{Cleaning Organizer}

• _{Problem: Have you ever had a mother-in-law inspect your house for cleanliness? Can’t remember when you last changed your sheets? Maybe you want to make sure your housekeeping department is making its rounds properly.}
•  _{Solution: An organizer that tracks the last date and time items were cleaned. You can specify when the software should notify you to clean items again. Whether it keeps the list, or emails the list to your computer.}  
• _{Component: software for a handheld device, or could be a scan-type system in a business setting: to swipe a bar-code, for instance, and then download to the software on a computer.}

 _{Bring Back My Stuff!}

• _{Problem: Having something stolen can be very devastating. Especially when a lot of time and effort has been put forth to earn the money possible to purchase certain items (example: jewelry, home entertainment systems, vehicles).}
•  _{Solution: : small or translucent computerized tracking devices that can be affixed to items. If stolen, law enforcement agencies can track the signal produced by the tracking device and recover the stolen items.}  
• _{Component: GPS tracking equipment}

 _{Go Study!}

• _{Problem: Students can be distracted by many things while trying to study. The biggest distraction being the television. How many times have you said, "okay, at 8:30 i'm studying," but instead continue to sit in front of the television.}
•  _{Solution: A device that students or parents can set to turn off the television at a specific time. The device would also restrict students from turning the t.v. back on until sufficient studies are completed. A "mini-test" determines whether or not a student has studied a sufficient amount of material.}  
• _{Component: computerized switch that disables t.v. and power switch; console to administer "mini-test"; usb or other data port to allow students or parents to download subject related "tests"}

 _{Inventory Checker}

• _{Problem: Maintaining an inventory of canned goods in the home is difficult.}
•  _{Solution: : An storage system that provides stock rotation with it's central feature being a bar code scanner and computer inventory system that can be connected to a home wireless network and accessed from a web browser.}  
• _{Component:  Barcode scanner, embedded computer, wireless interface.}

 _{Christmas Gift List}

• _{Problem: : Currently when families and friends exchange gifts at Christmas time there is no way to track who bought what for whom. Also there is no easy way to find out what that long lost relative wants for Christmas. Consequently, many people receive the same gift from multiple people and get gifts that will never be used and are not wanted.}
•  _{Solution: : Build an online christmas gift list. Users can log on and make their christmas list of the things they want. When people buy those gifts for them, they are marked off the list similar to most store’s gift registries.}  
• _{Component: The christmas gift website.}

 _{Home Grocer Computer System}

• _{Problem:  With many double income families, consumers do not have time to go to the grocery store. Also comsumers may forget ingredients that they need for recipes or need replacement ingredients that have spoiled. Consumers need a way of easily purchasing ingredients they need for recipes/ meals they would like to make.}
•  _{Solution: Home Grocer Computer System will be connected to your refrigerator. The consumer can enter recipes that will be saved or recipes can be downloaded and purchased. Then the system allows the consumer to choose their weekly/monthly menu each day (from stored recipes) and it determine what ingredients you will need. The system is smart enough to take spoilage in consideration when choosing the size of the grocery products that need to be purchased from history. Also as you remove items like soda from the refrigerator, just scan the empty container and the grocer adds them to the list. The system sends an order on a prearranged time schedule to the local grocery store and a grocery delivery is automatically delivered. Finally, the system can serve other needs as tracking user’s calorie and nutritional intake and suggest nutritional needs.}  
• _{Component: Grocery automation and menu system}

_LifeStyle

 _Intelli-card

• _{Problem: It is a pain to have to carry around numerous cards for identification, security clearance, insurance information, and medical information.}
•  _{Solution: Why not create a card that has all of that information recorded into it a sort of ultimate smart card? A database would electronically store all information that was once obtained through numerous wallet-sized laminated cards (except bank account and credit cards for security reasons). Of course, it would probably have to incorporate some form of finger print analysis and other security measures.}  
• _{Component: magnetic strip or other limited range output devise external database for information storage finger print analyzer as being tested for police firearms to ensure identity of person before use}

 _{Hand key}

• _{Problem: Carrying keys around for doors, cars, etc.. is quite burdensome.}
•  _{Solution: A weak transmitter implanted into the hand which gives off a unique id code. When the hand touching about to touch a door knob or handle, then receiver in the door will detect the signal and unlock the door to the person automatically.}  
• _{Component: small transmitting implantable device receivers in doors register for certain codes similar to smart card locks}

 _{Left Behind Sensor}

• _{Problem: Important personal possessions such as cell phones, book bags, or laptops may inadvertently be left in a public place and possibly lost or stolen before discovering that they're missing.}
•  _{Solution: Develop a device composed of two parts: a transmitter to be attached to the item being protected and a receiver to be worn by the individual. A short-range wireless connection between the two devices is maintained. Once an individual's receiver passes out of range of the transmitter, the receiver alerts the individual by beeping or vibrating.}  
• _{Component: Short-range wireless transmitter and receiver, possibly using Bluetooth technology}

_Pets

 _{The doggy-don’t}

• _{Problem: Dogs love to jump on people, and they love to jump on furniture.}
•  _{Solution: : If they can make anti-bark collars, why can’t they make anti-jump collars? There should be a collar that, when placed on a dog, shocks him every time he stands up or jumps high enough to reach furniture. Of course, such a device would only be used in doors.}  
• _{Component: Shock device that is triggered when dog jumps a certain height.}

 _{“Space Ventura” – The Pet detector}

• _{Problem: Pets like, cats and birds frequently get lost and the owners are unable to find them.}
•  _{Solution: Build a device that can be easily fixed to any pet. The information about the location (space coordinates) of the pet can be made available to a hand-held device (cell phone) of the owner. This information can be displayed in the form of a map on device, so that the owner can trace the pet even if they are not at home. A beeper can be attached to the sensor that can be switched on by the owner from their phones.}  
• _{Component: remote sensors, cell phone, beeper.}

 _{A pet-finder}

• _{Problem: Pets tend to run away out of the house as soon as they see a way out.}
•  _{Solution: : Insert a computer chip under the skin of the animal/bird connected to the satellite GPS to find the location of the runaway pet.}  
• _{Component: A computer chip, available GPS connection.}

_Safety

 _{Cabinet Lock}

• _{Problem: To help alert parents when they forget to re-close a safety latch to a cabinet with cleaning supplies, medicines, guns. Or can alert them if the cabinet is opened. For instance, the child has figured out how to open the latch or older children have opened a gun cabinet.}
•  _{Solution: Locks could have laser beam connection. When getting something out of the cabinet, a low noise can be emitted signaling that it is open. When the laser connection is broken for extended period, a signal is sent to a unit that can sound an alarm or could dial a phone number and play a message alerting which connection has been broken. Would also need a message to say that the lock battery is low or out.}  
• _{Component: locks with laser, unit that receives signal from the lock that the laser connection has been broken.}

 _{Disaster Net}

• _{Problem: In remote environments, disaster can strike without warning.}
•  _{Solution: : Combining wireless technology with clustering techniques, DisasterNet is a low-cost information network system for remote environments. Any computer with a wireless card and system requirements to run the software can participate. The network behaves in a peer-to-peer fashion, with disaster warnings/alerts propagating across the network instantly. The initial grid can be set up by simply stationing low-powered computers across the coverage area.}  
• _Component: 

 _{All Times Child tracker}

• _{Problem: Kidnapped children are a problem and a horror faced by every parent. This usually happens when the parent does not know or is not in the child's presence.}
•  _{Solution: Microscopic chip implanted at birth in leg or arm that keeps track of children's whereabouts until 18 years of age. The device is biodegradable so at 18 device is disintegrated and expulsed from the body naturally. Parents keep with them a small computer device that allows them to know where their children are at all times.}  
• _{Component: Microbe system implanted in children at a young age typically 2 months after birth. Parent using a handheld computer device can program information concerning locations such has home address, school address or any location they desire into device. The implant able device communicates with a satellite system that tracks locations of the child at any time of day and relays them back to the parent through palm device. In short parents knows where child is any time of day and where they possibly should not be. Notification to emergency personnel such as police, ambulance and fire can easily be activated.}

 _{Auto Inflating Life Vest (AILV)}

• _{Problem: When you are out on a boat, you are required/should wear a life vest. However the bulky orange vest is not attractive or comfortable. A lot of people choose not to wear them. Moreover, when someone is out on the water alone and falls into the water and becomes unconscious, without a life vest that person has no chance of surviving.}
•  _{Solution: AILV is made out of improved waterproof and durable material that covers the current life vest. AILV is slim and comfortable to wear. It also has a band of reflective material sewn into the design for night vision problems. It contains a small automatic waterproof air pump that can tell the difference between air density and water density. If the person is unconscious in the water, the vest will auto-inflate without manual effort. You can operate the pump both in manual and auto mode.}  
• _{Component: The sensor that detects different densities and triggers the pump mechanism.}

 _{CITS- Common Information Tracking System}

• _{Problem: Preventing terrorist attacks can be very difficult as information is not available (in a timely manor) to the correct authorities to prevent the attack. Often information arrives too late or goes unnoticed; with the proper guidance this information can be utilized as an early warning system to prevent the attack.}
•  _{Solution: Build a common database which tracks everything; the sale of items, arrests, trucking logs, etc. The data will be placed into categories with different threat levels assigned to a particular element. When a combination of threat levels indicates that the authorities should be notified the CITS shares the information with the proper authorities on a hierarchical basis.}  
• _{Component:  The database would be built/implemented and controlled with computers. The foundation would probably be J2EE and ANT.}

 _{Interactive Driver Education Application (IDEA)}

• _{Problem: Poor driving skills, knowledge and etiquette due to lack of driver education leads to accidents, frustration and road rage. A further supplement to driverâ– s education and DMV testing to enhance knowledge and awareness in specific areas that leads to typical problems.}
•  _{Solution: Web based interactive application taken at time of driver exam at DMV to increase driver awareness of certain bad driving habits and frequently broken rules, including good driver etiquette, safety techniques, etc.}  
• _{Component: Web Based application}

_Sports

 _{Golf Ball Locator}

• _{Problem: Golf balls are easily lost.}
•  _{Solution: A small chip inside golf balls can broadcast allowing identification. (Can also be used for coloring the ball in flight on TV.)}  
• _{Component: radio transmitter}

_TECHNOLOGY

 _{Multi Os Encrypter}

• _{Problem: There is no single instant messaging software that offers encryption and runs on all desktop OS platforms}
•  _{Solution: An IM application written in a single language that will run on all platforms using industry standard encryption}  
• _{Component: JAVA}

 _{“Radar Plate”}

• _{Problem: Many times a young pitcher (Little League? High School?) see the speed at which he’s throwing during warm-ups. A radar gun and someone to man it is not always available.}
•  _{Solution: A home plate with a built in radar system and a small LCS screen for the catcher to read}  
• _{Component:  Radar system, LCD screen.}

 _{Internet Rating System}

• _{Problem: With so many filter problems and the danger of being sued for lack of censorship, it would be nice for legitimate web sites that are geared toward older crowds to separate themselves with a rating system.}
•  _{Solution: Create a universal filter that can be added to any system or current filtering software, so that a given line of text in an HTML document can be checked for a rating. This will not stop those who want to deceive the filter, but will allow legitimate websites to filter themselves if they are only looking for a given clientele or simply dont want to censor their chat boards/forums.}  
• _{Component: Filter Software that searches for given HTML line, compatibility software, and an addition to an HTML line in the code of given sites.}

_{Transportation}

 _{Collision detector/reporter}

• _{Problem: Hit and runs are a problem many people must face.}
•  _{Solution: Sensors on the sides and corners of cars can be used to detect a collision while id chips embedded in the license plate of the cars can transmit identification of both cars involved to police while notifying the police of the accident.}  
• _{Component: ROM chip with license plate number, satellite transmitter distance sensors using light or sound cpu for distance calculations}

 _{Automatic Auto}

• _{Problem: Driving a car can be dangerous because of the unpredictable nature of humans. Accidents can happen for any number of reasons such as fatigue, emotion, inexperience etc.}
•  _{Solution: Complete road sensing system that performs like an autopilot built into car. Human would drive car onto highway at which point autopilot could be engaged and used until exiting highway. Would incorporate separate processors to handle sight, touch and sound.}  
• _{Component: Computer system that processes information and data from a satellite to assist with image sensing. Other computer systems would be built for processing touch and sound data. Car can be preprogrammed for highway driving with road names. Time of day can be further narrowed down to allow only during rush hour when congestion and risk of accident is highest. D.O.T can provide additional information downloadable to system concerning road conditions and changes to any roads. Millions possibly billions of calculations could be performed for trip routs.}

 _{Stop-light Remote}

• _{Problem: I deliver pizzas at night. When it starts getting late, fewer cars tend to be on the road than normal. Sometimes, I’ll be sitting at a stop-light for several minutes, even though I’m the only person on the road.}
•  _{Solution: : VDOT has come up with cameras that check whether or not someone is at the light. This is expensive. Not only that- it doesn’t work. If VDOT wants to be effective while making money (instead of spending it), they need to sell remote controls that can interface with stoplights. My remote sends a signal to the stoplight, the stoplight sends a call-signal to any nearby remotes (in case any other cars with remotes are around and I’m lying about being the only one at the light), and if there are no other cars, the light changes to green to let me go. If another car is around, then he can respond to the call-signal from the light and say, “I’m here, don’t let that other guy trick you, Mr. Light.”}  
• _{Component: remote for input/output, infrared receiver in stop-light, signal transmitter in stop-light to send to other cars, and a computer component that reads that signal from the remote and changes the light based on whether other drivers respond}

 _Top-teller

• _{Problem: Sometimes, I put things on top of my car and then drive away. I’ve lost things by doing this, and I know that other people have as well. Whether it’s a gas cap, a slurpee, or a baby, it’s a real problem.}
•  _{Solution: : I need a sensor on top of the car that can interface with a box that tells me not to drive away until I remove what I left up there. The sensor can be a sheet, and it can be installed into the car (or painted the same color as the car for the cheaper model of this product). Now, when I get in my car and something is on top of it, I will be warned by the little box that lights up and says, “Something is on top of your car. Don’t drive away yet.”}  
• _{Component: The box that interfaces with the sensor. It has to be a smart box, because it must recognize rain, snow, or any other type of weather-weight that goes on top of the car. It must be able to be calibrated, in case something is installed on top of the car or if something is SUPPOSED to be up there.}

 _{Gridlock Cruise}

• _{Problem: Driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic can be an exhausting activity because a driver must constantly brake and accelerate.}
•  _{Solution: Develop a proximity sensor mounted on the front of the vehicle to determine the distance between the vehicle and the one ahead. In conjunction with the sensor, provide a "cruise control" for automatically braking and accelerating at low speeds (< 30mph) to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle ahead.}  
• _{Component: Proximity sensor and cruise control logic}

 _{Personal Automated Interstate Transit}

• _{Problem: Long road trips take time and put lots of mileage on your vehicle. If you travel by plane or train you often need to acquire a rental vehicle once you reach your destination.}
•  _{Solution: A new transit system that uses a persons own vehicle for transportation is computer controlled. A vehicle would be secured to a special conveyance that uses a computer organized railway/interstate type system. This transportation system would allow people to take their own vehicles on long trips without the added mileage on the vehicle and with greatly decreased travel time.}  
• _{Component: Computer Automated Transit System.}

 _{Driver Sleep Alarm}

• _{Problem:  Often times drivers fall asleep while driving which causes many accidents and in some cases, death.}
•  _{Solution: the sleeper alarm will detect when the car begins swerving and will sound the alarm to make sure that the driver is still awake.}  
• _{Component: the component is sort of one aspect of the whole “smart cars” idea. There will be a guidance system and when sudden and/or drastic movements are detected the car will sound the alarm.}

 _{Taxi-Cab Finder}

• _{Problem: Waiting for a Taxi can be irritating if you are in a rush, well wait no longer!}
•  _{Solution: This device can be placed on light poles and in various places where taxis are usually in high demand.. such as a hotel. The TCF is wirelessly connected to all other devices that are located in each cab. When pressed, each cab receives the location of where the button was pressed and if that cab driver isn’t on a run and they are nearby then they can go pick that person up.}  
• _{Component: the small electronic devices on the light poles and the receivers that are in each cab. A display screen is also needed in the cabs.}

 _{Motorist Revival}

• _{Problem: Everyone has experienced fatigue while driving long distances. Not only is this a dangerous situation but trying to stay awake behind the wheel of a car can become a bothersome and annoying feat. Colas and energy drinks do not always work.}
•  _{Solution: A computerized system within the vehicle that can detect when a motorist becomes fatigued and adjusts various settings inside the vehicle to provide comfort as well as allow the motorist to "wake up", gain energy, and regain concentration. Computer components: Sensors to detect that motorist is sleepy or tired. Lighting, windows, stereo volume, temperature adjustments, and seating will also need to be computerized for automatic adjustment/correction.}  
• _Component: 

 _{Governing Automobile Safety}

• _{Problem: Many automotive dealerships have the risk of new cars being abused by employees and by customers on test drives. There are many customers and employees who drive these new cars at excessive speeds and do things which may damage the vehicles. Car dealerships lose money on repairing vehicles and customers buy vehicles which they think have never been abused.}
•  _{Solution: G.A.S technology can reduce this problem by providing software which can govern the speed of the vehicle by setting a max speed and providing sensors which measures distances to other vehicles and sensors on brakes to slow the vehicle down. Like electrical fuses, the G.A.S chip can be removed when the vehicle is sold.}  
• _{Component: Software program which reads sensor data to adjust vehicle speeds}

 _{Parking Spot Finder}

• _{Problem: I can't find a parking spot at ODU.}
•  _{Solution: Use pressure sensors in the parking lot that communicates with a status light for each row. Rows with free spots are green, and those without are red.}  
• _{Component: Transmitter, Receiver}

 _{CARRS (Computerized Alternate Route Reporting System)}

• _{Problem: Traffic snarls are often caused by drivers that are unaware of different routes they could be taking.}
•  _{Solution: Put an LCD in every car, or have maybe a portable device, that would display a map indicating current traffic conditions and display alternate routes the driver could take to avoid backups.}  
• _{Component: GPS system, onboard computer, LCD, traffic monitoring stations}

 _{Eye in the Sky}

• _{Problem: Your GPS system tells you which way to go, but does not take into consideration traffic. Traffic advisories are provided to the public, but there is no central traffic notification system. It is also a public safety concern to have traffic backed up, so police would prefer motorist to choose another route.}
•  _{Solution: Provide a service that GPS systems / OnStar, etc can use that will let them get traffic information and let them take traffic into consideration when making routes. Using this service will provide a large completive edge for GPS service competitors.}  
• _{Component:  Traffic tracking and notification system}

 _{“ Key Card Ignition”}

• _{Problem: Despite many advances in automobile technology, many cars still use a lock and key mechanism for their ignition. Like any mechanical system, parts can break causing inconvenience for any motorist.}
•  _{Solution: A key card system like many hotels have on the doors to their rooms.}  
• _{Component:  A component that reads key cards.}

 _{Smart Car Maintenance System}

• _{Problem:  People often have trouble keeping track of the times routine maintenance is needed for their cars.}
•  _{Solution: The Smart Car Maintenance System is a small computer built into the car with a built in maintenance scheduling system specific for that kind of car. A screen kept in a compartment between the front seats allows interaction like a PDA so that when maintenance is performed it can be put in the computer and the next required time for maintenance can be computed (example: oil change every 3000 miles). By checking the cars actual statistics, the computer can inform the owner when it is actually time for maintenance again.}  
• _{Component: Touch Sensitive Screen, Interactive Menu, and Car Maintenance Software.}