Senior Design Project Details 2024-25

ALLO Communications is a leading telecommunications company that offers fiber telephone, long-distance, broadband, internet, and television services to residents and businesses. This project aims to automate and enhance ALLO Communications' Bill of Materials (BOM) process to improve efficiency and accuracy. The work will proceed in four phases: 1) Automating BOM generation using Python scripts and the 3-GIS API to create detailed Excel spreadsheets; 2) Validating BOM data with predefined checks and GPT analysis; 3) Integrating validated BOMs into Smartsheets; and 4) Potentially automating BOM costing based on vendor agreements. This automation will replace a manual, error-prone process, saving $24,000 to $39,000 annually and supporting ALLO’s network expansion efforts.

Building on last year's development of the Electronic Parts Catalog (EPC), the second year of the project focuses on creating a comprehensive E-commerce platform. The EPC streamlined internal processes by enabling efficient browsing and ordering of parts for manufacturing and repairs. This new phase aims to leverage the organized parts data to develop an external-facing E-commerce site, simplifying parts ordering and increasing sales through enhanced customer accessibility and SEO techniques. The platform will automate order processing and payments, improving operational efficiency and introducing a new, effective sales channel.

In April of 2024, BCBSNE brought our first Generative AI Co-Pilot, Bennet, into production pilot. Bennet was designed to assist Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) in answering member benefit questions.

The project aims to develop an automated scoring system that streamlines the evaluation process by identifying red flags without requiring individual assessments. The system will systematically run a series of predefined questions, submit them to Bennet for responses, and compare these responses against pre-labeled ideal answers to generate a confidence score on their accuracy. This automation is designed to significantly reduce manual testing time as the development team frequently updates model versions, refines prompts, and adjusts index searches, thus enhancing efficiency in a rapidly evolving field.

CLAAS, founded in 1913, is one of the world's leading agricultural engineering equipment manufacturers. In the assembly process of ag machinery, a single worker often assembles multiple components with numerous bolted joints and a vast range of torque tools, fastener sizes, and clamping loads required. This project, in collaboration with CLAAS and Atlas Copco, aims to enhance the assembly process for agricultural machinery by developing a marking device for torque tools. The device will use exhaust or clutch disengagement signals to automatically apply permanent witness marks next to bolted joints, improving accuracy in environments lacking data acquisition systems. The project is divided into two phases:

• 1st year: Provide design proposal and functional mockup of the proposed mechanism. (complete)
• 2nd year: Provide industrialization of functional mockup. This year’s project aims to Develop an ‘add-on’ device to existing tools that addresses the requirements that have been presented.
This is an interdisciplinary project including Senior Design and Mechanical Engineering students.

Compass North is an aircraft management software platform developed to streamline the business side of private, business, and corporate aviation operations. From trip creation to expense tracking, private aircraft managers and pilots can easily communicate details, log information, and view aggregated reports through the Compass North Manager Hub and the free mobile app. This is a continuation project, and the main goals are to expand upon the existing PWA created last year in legacy React Native, by extending capabilities of the new system to implement new features.

The long-term goal for this project is to create an Alpha release and iterate based on user feedback (to be gathered in conjunction with the COB Marketing Capstone) with the intent for the services to later go into production.

This project aims to develop a tool for DMSi’s hardwood lumber customers to streamline their lumber order fulfillment process. Currently, users manually sift through inventory lists to find the best bundles for specific orders, a task that can take up to an hour. The new tool will automate this process, reducing the time required to just a few minutes by quickly identifying the most suitable bundles based on width, length, and availability. Additionally, it will integrate with an existing system that tracks bundle locations in the warehouse, helping users choose the fastest-to-access bundles in rush situations. This enhancement will significantly improve efficiency in order processing for DMSi’s clients.

DPA Auctions is an online auction experience unlike any other. We have disrupted the online auction industry by attracting well-qualified buyers from across the country and internationally. Our Live Auction Board provides the feel of an on-site auction with a dynamic clock and bidding extension time, all from the comfort and convenience of bidding from your own computer, tablet, or smartphone.

The Asset Manager project aims to develop an advanced software tool for asset management in the agriculture and transportation sectors. This tool will leverage AI-driven analytics to offer real-time market valuations and financial advisories, enhancing profitability and decision-making for users. Key features include real-time data integration, predictive analytics, and a user-friendly interface, with seamless integration into DPA Auctions for streamlined asset sales. The tool is designed to optimize asset value, simplify decision-making, and support strategic financial planning. By automating and improving asset management, the Asset Manager will differentiate DPA Auctions in the market and boost customer satisfaction and transaction volumes.

This project’s goal is to enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction by developing a system that allows Retail Sales Teammates to track the status of loan applications through the decision and closing process. The system will implement a messaging feature to notify teammates when an application reaches a new stage, providing details on timing expectations, outstanding requirements, and other pertinent information. This initiative aligns with the business goals of improving customer experience (CX) and operational efficiency by addressing the issues of fragmented data and slow processes. The immediate focus will be on integrating this system with retail loan origination platforms, ensuring seamless data flow and near-real-time updates.

Hinco is a company that specializes in injury prevention and management for its clients in the manufacturing, construction, and warehousing sectors. We currently collect a lot of data in many areas, including physical screening of employees, ergonomic analysis of the production systems, job hazard analyses of different jobs, etc. We review this information and strategize with clients for injury prevention best practices.

This project would centralize and review the data, currently in separate apps and programs, and use machine learning to find potential predictive modeling of injuries. This would be used by one of Hinco’s clients in the agriculture manufacturing sector to better allocate capital resources and make improvements.

Kiewit Technology Group (KTG) builds solutions to enable and support a $17.1 billion company. Our mission is to deliver project schedule and cost certainty by employing technology designed by and for the construction industry. The Cost Optimization Resource Group Interface (Corgi) project at Kiewit aims to optimize cloud resource utilization by creating a unified monitoring system. The goal is to enhance visibility into resource efficiency, addressing issues of underutilized or orphaned cloud resources that currently lack effective monitoring. This project seeks to empower product teams with direct access to cloud usage data, reducing reliance on DevOps teams and fostering self-sufficiency in resource management.

The MVP for the project will be a web app with a component-based front-end, enabling managers to oversee cloud resource efficiency, filter resources, and rank them based on efficiency. The project will primarily involve developing front-end features using technologies like Vue.js and Plotly Dash, while backend development may be included for interested students. The final deliverables will include well-documented code and a modular, maintainable interface. Students will work in a Linux environment with tools such as Django, Postgres, and Docker, and will have the opportunity to collaborate with Kiewit's development team to ensure a smooth handoff.

McCain Foods’ Grand Island, Nebraska facility is a large-scale food processing plant, employing about 400 employees specializing in onion rings and other appetizers. The plant produces approximately 400,000 pounds of onion rings per day. Other appetizer products produced by McCain Foods include fried pickle chips, fried green beans, French toast sticks, and fried corn nuggets.

This is an interdisciplinary project with Mechanical Engineering students that aims to improve onion processing by replacing the current manual handling, and by developing an automated feeding system and a real-time data dashboard. The automated system will accurately place onions on a feed belt, enhancing ergonomics and increasing processing speed, while a new camera system will monitor peel efficiency. Simultaneously, a dashboard will integrate data from existing cameras and PC&R systems to provide real-time insights into onion sizing and quality, optimizing allocation and manufacturing decisions. Key deliverables include the automated placement system, real-time data integration with Factory Talk, and a user-friendly dashboard for better crop yield forecasting and operational efficiency.

Mutual of Omaha, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, has been a leader in insurance and financial services since 1909. The company is committed to community support and providing comprehensive financial protection. Currently, Mutual of Omaha does not have an AI-driven analytics system but maintains data repositories that can be queried.

This project aims to develop a generative AI system for Mutual of Omaha's Workplace Solutions to analyze and summarize problem tickets and event logs. The system will leverage a large language model, like GPT-3 or BERT, to generate insights and recommendations, integrating interactive visualizations and query capabilities. Key tasks include data collection, model fine-tuning, system integration, user interface design, and documentation. The goal is to improve customer satisfaction, reduce operational costs, and enhance business intelligence, with flexibility for use across various datasets within the organization.

This project will identify possible high-consequence infectious disease (HCID) patients and prevent disease spreading by isolation while providing high-quality patient care. The project will educate healthcare providers on the "Identify, Isolate, and Inform" (3I) process to address health-security issues and develop scalable immersive Virtual Reality (VR) simulations that will revolutionize our approach to 3I education.

Nebraska Public Media is deploying the ATSC 3.0 Virtual Channel (VC) and RUN3TV app to enhance viewer experiences in the Omaha and Lincoln areas. This next-generation TV system will offer improved video and audio quality, robust transmission, and interactive features like "Start Over" and Dynamic Ad Insertion. The project aims to customize the RUN3TV app to align with Nebraska Public Media’s goals, including delivering a modern viewing experience, collecting viewership data, and increasing engagement through local news and on-demand content. Key objectives include developing interactive features, integrating data analytics, and ensuring accessibility.

The Nebraska Trucking Association (NTA) serves as the statewide trade association for truck operators and related businesses in Nebraska, offering essential resources, political representation, and industry connections. By supporting workforce development and enhancing recruitment efforts, the NTA aims to strengthen the trucking industry’s presence and effectiveness in Nebraska and beyond.

This project is addressing workforce development challenges in the trucking industry by enhancing its outreach to high school students and young adults. Currently, the NTA employs a mobile truck driving simulator and VR diesel technology experiences to engage potential recruits. However, the existing VR solutions often overwhelm users with extensive training, failing to provide a concise yet immersive exploration of diesel technology. This project aims to develop a proprietary VR application that allows users to quickly explore a virtual truck shop and its components, offering a streamlined introduction to diesel tech careers. The finished application will be shared with state trucking associations, workforce organizations, and educational institutions to attract and inform new talent.

The Know Your Well (KYW) program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) involves high school students and teachers in groundwater quality testing using a Progressive Web Application (PWA) for data collection. Since its 2017 launch, it has engaged over 500 students from 29 schools in testing for contaminants and recording well data. Supported by NRDs, the Nebraska Department of Energy and Environment, and the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, the program aims to enhance the PWA's functionality by refining features like photo-capture, offline storage, and geographical display based on beta-test feedback. The long-term goal is to expand the program to include up to 50 schools and 1,000 wells, improving app usability and strengthening NRD partnerships.

Nelnet Business Services, a subsidiary of Nelnet, Inc., provides EdTech solutions for K12 schools under the FACTS brand. One component of the FACTS suite of services is a Student Information Service (SIS) which serves as the operating system for K12 educational institutions. The proposed project aims to enhance the data migration process from other SIS vendors to FACTS SIS, improving efficiency and speed, scalability, and client satisfaction. By automating data migration and onboarding processes, the project will reduce time, effort, and human errors while supporting business growth by handling larger data volumes. These improvements will result in faster client transitions, enhancing their onboarding experience and leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates. Additionally, automation will allow technical and support staff to focus on strategic activities, driving resource optimization and reducing labor costs. Overall, the project will accelerate time-to-value for clients, improve their experience, and support business expansion.

Scoular Company is an agricultural supply chain solutions provider that operates in various industries, such as grains, food ingredients, animal feed ingredients, pet food ingredients, international trade, and transportation.

Scoular’s current operational framework involves navigating multiple systems for tasks such as printing, electronic signing, and automating the delivery of transactional documents, leading to a fragmented user experience and lower adoption of automated processes. The outdated ECM Citrix application faces discontinuation of support, further complicating the situation. To address these issues, Scoular aims to develop a unified, user-friendly application within the Microsoft ecosystem, using Microsoft PowerApps for front-end administration and Power Automate for automating email notifications, enhancing efficiency and user satisfaction to improve service delivery, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge.

The Kiewit Hall Garage project will build on the Studio Manager and create new systems to make The Garage the leading workshop for College of Engineering Students. UNL previously developed the Studio Manager for managing a community-based workshop. This project will impact students’ daily lives as they are learning and using equipment in the Kiewit Hall Garage by adding key features to the Studio Manager. These updates will allow for immediate support to student projects and safe and secure storage of student projects with real-team analysis of data and grant reporting. Some of the areas needing research include hardware integration (scanning barcodes on NCards), UNL Security requirements (communicating with 3D printers), and integration with existing UNL tools (pulling user data from @huskers.unl.edu accounts).

Dr. Kevin Pitt, an assistant professor at UNL specializing in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems, aims to enhance communication technologies for children with speech impairments. His research, supported by NIH and Smartbox Assistive Technology, focuses on integrating advanced technologies like brain-computer interfaces to improve AAC systems' effectiveness and user experience.

The proposed project seeks to develop an AAC prototype that incorporates emotion-awareness and adjustable speech prosody to address current system limitations. This system will help children express emotions naturally and access vocabulary more efficiently. It will involve interdisciplinary collaboration, user-centered design, and usability testing, with potential stretch goals including advanced emotional recognition and broader implementation strategies

The project goal is to develop impactful, informal virtual learning experiences that can reach youth anywhere and engage them to do and learn more about science and arachnids. We first need to test whether virtual reality informal science learning games such as (a) a player (i.e., informal science learner) or (b) a facilitator (informal science teacher) are as effective as real-life experiences. We are interested in comparing outcomes associated with attitudes towards science and spiders.

" The "Running Robot Rerun" project, sponsored by Dr. Chris Bohn from the School of Computing, is a continuation of a previous project that combined remote-controlled vehicles with laser tag technology. The original project, known as RoboLaserTag or Running Robot, allowed RC vehicles equipped with infrared light and photodetectors to engage in competitive games, such as shooters-vs-shooters or stalkers-vs-runners, with a web-based scoreboard to track player performance. The new project aims to refine and expand upon the initial work, enhancing the system's robustness, adding new gameplay features, and improving the overall player experience. The project team will focus on ruggedizing the electronics by mounting them on a PCB, introducing a first-person shooter (FPS) mode with camera integration, and exploring autonomous driving and shooting capabilities. Additionally, the team will work on developing separate controls for the driver and gunner, potentially integrating VR headset-based or phone-based controls. The expected deliverables include comprehensive hardware and software design documents, guides for installation, maintenance, modification, and gameplay, as well as KiCad files for PCB design and 3D printing files. The ultimate goal is to create a fun, playable system that builds upon the original project's foundation while introducing innovative new features."

The Husker Scope project is an all-in-one cross-platform (IOS, Android, and Web App) application that currently implements a Dual Channel Function Generator, Oscilloscope, and Spectrum Analyzer functionality for use within UNL engineering courses and around the world.

This year, Husker Scope 4.0 will continue to develop the hardware interface to enable and test the two-channel inputs for the Oscilloscope and Spectrum Analyzer to enable functionality outside the normal audio range. Additionally, continue development and testing of the multi-channel Logic Analyzer functionality to all app platforms.

The goal of this project is to develop a web application that overlays eye-tracking data onto film footage to help coaches and athletes analyze how athletes watch and process game film. The primary function is to analyze pre-recorded film, with optional live feedback during training. The application will use eye-tracking devices or webcams to capture gaze data, overlay it on video, and generate metrics to improve athletes' performance and coaches' training strategies.

Key features include gaze insights, progress tracking, and video annotation. The project will start with one sport and focus on webcam-based tracking, with potential expansion to iPhone integration. The system aims to provide valuable feedback by visualizing gaze patterns and improving both training and game preparation.

Recent advancements in protein generative AI models require better visualization tools for analyzing protein functions and sequence patterns. We propose a user-friendly web application for affordable VR hardware like Google Cardboard and Apple Vision Pro. This application will enable scientists to visualize and analyze dynamic changes in protein sequences and structures in multiple modes, including VR and desktop. By testing with diverse datasets and collaborating with UNL researchers, we aim to create an accessible tool for protein data visualization.

This project will enhance bioinformatics research and AI model development by providing an interactive system for exploring protein spaces. Researchers can efficiently identify and analyze critical sequence patterns, leading to deeper insights and more accurate results. The system will feature a user-friendly design, real-time interaction, efficient visualization techniques, and robust data management. By ensuring model transparency and collecting user feedback, we want to build a reliable tool that drives biological research advancements and offers students valuable hands-on experience.

The University of Nebraska State Museum seeks to streamline its group reservation process for field trips and other services at Morrill Hall. Currently, the manual system involves teachers filling out an online form and waiting for staff to confirm availability, leading to delays and frequent back-and-forth communications. This inefficiency consumes significant staff time and hinders the museum’s ability to expand its programming. The goal is to develop an online reservation system that allows educators to directly select available dates and services, reducing lead times and administrative burden. The new system should update availability in real-time and notify both teachers and museum staff, although final data entry into the museum’s CRM system will remain manual due to API limitations. This improvement aims to enhance the visitor experience, alleviate staff workload, and support the museum’s growth and outreach efforts.

UNL's University Operations seeks to improve water management by automating the collection of water usage data. Currently, data is collected manually from water meters, leading to inefficiencies and limited accuracy. The project will develop a system using single-board computers (SBCs) and radio receivers to capture real-time water meter data and upload it to a central database. This system aims to enhance monitoring, detect leaks early, and integrate with existing utility management.

The Senior Design team will research suitable radio receivers, develop software for data capture and transmission, and create a central database. Deliverables include a working prototype, a central database, and comprehensive system documentation.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing has five Campuses across the state of Nebraska. This project will be developed with the Lincoln campus but has the potential to be utilized on all campuses. You will be able to utilize the College of Nursing building for a workspace if needed including access to Oculus Quest headsets and Dell XPS laptops. The Senior Design team will use these resources to create or expand upon existing VR content.

The final deliverable will be an engaging VR game designed to supplement traditional educational methods. The goal is to develop a virtual reality (VR) game that immerses students in the kidney’s environment, enhancing their understanding of its anatomy and functions. The VR experience will simulate a journey through the kidney, modeled after the Magic School Bus concept, to facilitate interactive learning about renal physiology and pathophysiology.

This project aims to develop automatic tracking of movements and behaviors of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) to implement the data collection, pre-processing, and early stages of analysis. Marmosets are highly social primates with strong family attachments. Forced social isolation in a confined space is a stressor with physiological, psychological, and behavioral effects mirroring some of the effects seen in humans.

Our framework will integrate computer vision, deep learning techniques, and contactless, continuous, multimodal video recording including RGB and thermal video data. The state-of-the-art in multi-animal pose estimation offers a solid foundation for the analysis of animal movement but advancing from tracking poses to tracking behaviors will enable exciting biological insights into marmosets and, in the future, other primate species in naturalistic settings.

Werner Enterprises, Inc., founded in 1956 by Clarence L. Werner, is an American transportation and logistics company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Starting with just one truck, Werner has grown to become one of the largest truckload carriers in the United States.

Werner Enterprises offers three AI-driven projects to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs. The projects include: 1) Suggesting Repairs, which involves creating a system to forecast future truck repairs based on truck IDs and Repair Orders; 2) Warranty, which aims to develop a tool to automatically identify if replacement parts are under warranty, preventing unnecessary expenses; and 3) Part Categorization, which focuses on automating the categorization of parts based on descriptions or part numbers to streamline inventory management.

You will use Werner's AI system, CoPilot, and have the flexibility to choose your development technologies for the UI and backend. Expected deliverables include prototypes, presentations, final documentation, and the system's code. Werner will provide access to data, technical guidance, and regular check-ins to support your project.