Selected Projects

At AOE, we safeguard our clients' intellectual property and trade secrets. We're happy to be able to share some public information about our projects with you.

• Embedded Microcontrollers

  

  This is our general purpose microcontroller platform, the XACT, mounted on a student's robot. This board, based on Atmel's AVR XMEGA line of microcontrollers, is currently in development here at AOE. We've used this board in developing prototypes for our clients as well as with local students building their first robots and, we must admit, we're fans. It's currently undergoing revision and refinement, but we aim to make this one of the most accessible and versatile microcontrollers on the market. With plenty of inputs and interfaces to work with and a range of on-board sensors, this little workhorse is a favorite project around here.

  

  We designed and built this custom embedded Linux ARM platform based on an Atmel AT91SAM9 microprocessor. We also have experience designing and building solutions using legacy hardware such as 8051 and Zilog eZ80 processors.

• Ruggedized High-Speed Optical Networking

  

  Together with our collaborators at a major DOD prime, we are in the process of developing a ruggedized network node intended for automotive applications. It provides a wide range of interfaces, including RS232/485, CAN, analog, and ethernet. That data is transported over fiber, making this node spectacularly fast for its low price tag.

• Computer-Aided Surgery

  

  Aligning the knee properly during arthroplasty is challenging and existing systems are tremendously expensive. This prototype was developed with a local surgeon; it is roughly one-hundredth the cost of those systems and determines femoral alignment to a precision of less than half a degree.

• Flow Measurement through Image Analysis

  

  One of our clients needed an automated system for measuring fluid flow in nebulizers. Even with the gurgling that happens as the bottle empties, we were able to determine the flow rates (with greater than 99% accuracy) from a bottle of anesthetic solution by finding the height of the meniscus through image processing.

• Renewables

  We have a long standing interest in solar power and recycling. Our solar thermal pyrolysis system has potential application in municipal waste and bio-waste disposal. We are excited that using our system, we are able to generate energy-dense, valuable end products for refinement into fuel or soil amendment without spending more than it's worth to make them. In the process, undesirable and sometimes dangerous waste can be rendered harmless to people and the environment.

• Industrial Automation

  Many of our projects involve elements of industrial automation, from motor control to closed-loop systems to sensing and data analysis. Notably, we prototyped a precision four-cam active valve controller. We have also prototyped closed-loop motor control systems for embedded hardware. We are well-versed in the appropriate use of many types of harsh environment sensors, including high temperature electronic, optical, thermal imaging, MEMS, and conventional sensors.