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MESA Lab Fall 2012 Semester Highlights

January 12, 2013

            With the first semester of the MESA Lab completed, the lab takes a look back on the progress it has made in such a short span of time. At the start of the semester the lab was nothing but empty shelves, desks, and tables. Over the course of a few months it has transformed into a fully operational research laboratory with a rising number of members from undergrads to PH.D students. The lab had begun to assemble it's research vehicles; the Quadshot was the first to take off with its first outdoor flight in October. This was shortly followed by the Quadrotor's First outdoor flight. These vehicles, now operational, will assist in further research in the lab.

 

            The MESA Lab also participated in the Click&Move Motion and Automation Design Contest put on by  Advanced Motion Controls. Phase I of this competition took place over the course of the fall semester.The challenge of Phase I was to create a virtual motion and automation program in the Click&Move software of a newly proposed system. The MESA Lab project was the Robust Heliotropic Servo Design for Concentrated Photovoltaic Systems or HCPVS. This system is a new take on solar energy collection designed to be more cost effective and user friendly than traditional solar panels. During the semester the MESA team worked hard on the development of the software as well as modeling of the proposed system. With the completion of Phase I at the end of the semester the MESA Lab was rewarded first place!

 

            The MESA Lab is proud of these accomplishments as well as its other research that has been taking place in the lab; some of this research includes Fractional order calculus, remote wind sensing, and augmented vision. With on-going research continueing and new research starting, the MESA Lab looks back at its achievements in first as only the first step toward a great many more.