Student develops smart 3D camera

Got some coverage in The Globe and Mail on April 8, 2010. For more details, please click here.

AUniversity of Windsor PhD student has won a $10,000 scholarship in an AUTO21-sponsored competition.

AUTO21 is Canada’s national automotive research program, which provides funding to more than 50 applied research and development projects at 45 universities across the country.

Siddhant Ahuja, a student in electrical and computer engineering, took the top prize in a recent technology competition for developing a visual sensor network that can track products and people through an automated production line. His system begins with the tiny cameras found in cellphones. When linked up with high-power microprocessors, the cameras keep the robots working smoothly in three dimensions.

Student develops ‘smart camera’

Check out the Windsor Star’s Coverage of the research here.

Award-winning research by a University of Windsor PhD student has produced smart camera technology that can increase assembly line efficiency, improve surveillance systems, replace controllers in computer games and help surgeons make precise incisions.

Siddhant Ahuja, a student in the university’s electrical and computer engineering department, recently won a $10,000 scholarship in an AUTO21-sponsored TestDRIVE competition, showcasing leading-edge technologies developed by graduate students across Canada.

Auto manufacturing through robotic eyes

With just two tiny cameras connected to a circuit board and a three-minute technology pitch, Siddhant Ahuja was handed a $10,000 scholarship.

The PhD student from the University of Windsor presented his work on smart cameras used for quality control, assembly and robotic guidance to a panel of Dragon’s Den-like judges at the 2010 AUTO21 TestDRIVE competition in Ottawa and took top prize.

Read more on this here

Industrial camera system earns PhD student top honours in national research competition

Siddhant Ahuja never misses an episode of Dragon’s Den, so he thought he knew what to expect when he entered—and won first place in—a contest modeled after the popular television program.

“They didn’t really grill us as hard as I thought they might,” said Ahuja, a PhD student in electrical and computer engineering who was in Ottawa Tuesday to take part in TestDRIVE, an AUTO21 graduate student competition held during the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters’ annual summit.

Read more on this here.

Developing innovative automotive technologies gives University of Windsor student a financial boost

A smart camera technology that can help increase a factory’s efficiency helped a University of Windsor student win a national automotive research competition. Siddhant Ahuja, a PhD student, won the AUTO21 TestDRIVE competition, receiving a $10,000 scholarship for his work on indoor real-time location tracking systems.

Wireless communication monitoring systems have been ineffective in tracking items on an assembly line due to the harsh shop conditions that can disturb radio frequencies. The visual sensor network technology presented by Ahuja can trace products through an assembly line and aid in automated inspection and identification, increasing the flexibility and productivity of automotive factories. The network uses spatially distributed smart cameras and web-enabled software.

Read more on this here.

PhD student hoping to wow judges in technology contest

Armed with nothing more than two cameras and a tiny circuit board, a UWindsor doctoral student will travel to Ottawa today to demonstrate how he can make car manufacturing more efficient and compete in a contest for as much as $10,000 in scholarship money.

Siddhant Ahuja, a student in electrical and computer engineering, will compete tomorrow against six other students in the TestDRIVE contest, an AUTO21 graduate student competition Tuesday at the Chateau Laurier hotel. The competition, structured like the television show Dragon’s Den, is held during the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters’ annual event, Roadmap to Recoverysummit.

Read the full article here