Project Details

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Interactive display for Shaver's Creek Environmental Center

Company: PSU Environmental and Biological Fluid Mechanics Lab

Major(s):
Primary: ME
Secondary: CMPSC
Optional: CMPEN, EE

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

Students will create an interactive educational activity to engage visitors to Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center (SCEC) on the topic of aquatic freshwater macroinvertebrates (e.g. water boatmen, backswimmers, diving beetles, crayfish, and the larvae of mayflies, caddisflies, and dragonflies, among others), which are important indicators of stream health and a key component of aquatic ecosystems. This activity will be hosted on a touchscreen display, which students will design and build using an inexpensive light triangulation approach. Students will use affordable LEDs and photosensors to augment a large-screen monitor with a frame that localizes user touch locations. They will build on existing content developed by a previous Capstone team, which created a rudimentary web app for identifying freshwater macroinvertebrates. Developing the interactive app for the display is an important part of the project; the final product should be usable to SCEC as-is; students with an interest in biology, ecology, and the outdoors are encouraged to select this team. As part of the project, students may engage in an in-person stream study at Shaver’s Creek to identify macroinvertebrates for themselves.