Automation Engineering Association of POLIMI: Supporting Student Projects

Last Updated on 22nd November 2023 by peppe8o

During my visit to the Maker Faire Rome 2023, I met a group of students from the Politecnico di Milano. I noticed them for their passion and for their availability in explaining their projects. They run by financing their projects mainly with donations or funding, so I decided to give them a space in my blog describing who are they and their main projects.

Anyone wishing to get more info about them will find their contacts at the end of this post, as well as a link to their funding campaign.

About the Automation Engineering Association

AEA, the Automation Engineering Association, is a non-profit student association of Politecnico di Milano. Its main objective is to promote the figure of the automation engineer, encouraging collaborative relationships and sharing of interests among students. The students joining AEA have the possibility to take expert masterclasses, build a strong network of people who share common goals, visit automation companies, work on projects and better understand their future career possibilities.

Our aim is to create a large community of students willing to help each other in order to make their academic journey more exciting. This means combining engineering knowledge with personal and social enrichment. To do this, we organize different types of events in collaboration with companies or alumni in the automation sector, and simple meetings or aperitifs in which students can talk about their university experience.

Each Bachelor, Master or PhD student of Politecnico di Milano can join the association.

Our Projects

The association offers students to be enrolled in various projects in the automation sector. It features four already-started projects, and it is working on proposing new ones.

FALCO Project

FALCO is a self-driving drone capable of performing various tasks, including:

• Lifting and transport of objects previously recognized and processed by computer vision;
• Scanning of buildings and surveys;
• Sweeping of inaccessible areas;
• Help in rescue and law enforcement’s operations.

The working group is divided into teams, responsible for optimizing the drone’s hardware, writing the control and machine learning codes, and creating a platform capable of managing all the drone’s operations.

HAND-ROBOT Project

The HAND-ROBOT project, in collaboration with BEA association, consists in the creation of a bionic limb controlled through EEG (Electroencephalographic) and EMG (Electromyographic) signals. The ultimate goal is to provide an open-source version of the final implementation.

The working group is divided into teams with different tasks:

• Design and construction of the components of the prosthesis, and implementation of the components with the numerous sensors and electronics;
• Work on PCBs and sensors required for the operation of the prosthesis;
• Creation of the control system of the implant;
• Interpretation and transduction of the input signals.

ARDUINO + COMPUTER VISION Project

The project of the robotic arm with computer vision consists in developing control algorithms and direct/inverse kinematics on an Arduino robotic arm.

The computer vision is used to identify the objects to be picked up through artificial intelligence algorithms and communicate their position to the robotic arm.

The project has two working groups:

• Control, which supervises Arduino, Matlab and theoretical knowledge of robotic arm control;
• Computer vision: Machine Learning, Neural Networks, Image Analysis.

For further information about our projects, please visit our website.

DUCKIETOWN Project

Duckietown, which began as a course at MIT in 2016, aims to spread a new vision for AI and robotics education, focusing on a strategy that employs computer vision with image segmentation, in order to hone the autonomous driving capabilities of vehicles. In collaboration with Polimi Data Scientists, AEA wants to create a diverse team of programmers and control experts dealing with:

• Crossroads detection with advanced computer vision algorithms and route planning algorithms to choose the optimal trajectory to follow;
• Traffic lights and signage detection and interpretation, combining with the ability to react accordingly;
• Ability to avoid pedestrians (rubber ducks), implementing obstacle detection algorithms and a control system that allows the robot to avoid pedestrians safely;
• Integration with the robot’s existing navigation system, for a smooth and safe driving flow.

This project has not yet started, but the call for applications will be open very soon!

Support AEA

AEA is a non-profit association of Politecnico di Milano that aims to expand the interests of students in the world of robotics and automation and to provide them with an opportunity for learning and networking in these areas.

Fundings are a key factor for the growth of AEA, which has seen a considerable increase in members in the last year. We would like to propose newer projects and initiatives to students: however, this is hardly achievable, given our current financial resources.

The funds raised at the link below will be used to develop innovative projects that aim to improve the living conditions of various people. Furthermore, we will organize events and workshops to bring new students closer to this amazing world, who can help us develop our ideas.

If you want to support us, please donate through the gofundme platform.

CONTACT US

If you have any specific questions regarding the association, feel free to reach out to us at the email address [email protected].

Below you can also find the contact information of our Projects Team Leader and Companies Team Leader, if you want to know more about anything related to our projects and relations with companies.

Andrea Venezia, Projects Team Leader: [email protected]

Lorenzo Rocco Didò, Companies Team Leader: [email protected]