Fall 2005 Senior Design - Problem Ideas
Most students have turned in the first assignment, which was to identify a problem they would like to see solved.
Here is a grouping of problems, as well as the students who submitted them. You might find this useful to see if other students share your interests and would like to work together on a problem.
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General problem
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Specific problem
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Suggested by
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Environmental Control
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CO2 and pH in aquarium
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J.Smith
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Environmental Control
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Keeping plants watered over weekend
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M.Biel
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Environmental Control
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Temperature control in rooms
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R.Garcia
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Environmental Control
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Controlling window shades based on time-of-day
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C.Vinasco
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Environmental Control
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Blocking cellular phone usage in places they would be annoying
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C.Alfonzo
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Environmental controls
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Enhanced cooling for desktop PC
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I.Denholm
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Laundry
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Moving from washer to drier
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J.Ong
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Laundry
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Washer-drier combination
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M.Kelly
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Laundry
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Remembering that clothes are in washer/drier
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K.Kolze
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Laundry
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Knowing whether a washing machine is available without going to laundry room
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L.Hollahan
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Parking
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Locating car in large lot
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W.Figueroa
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Parking
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Finding parking space in city
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M.Caceres, S.LeBlanc
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Parking
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Knowing where an empty spot exists on campus
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K.Maziarz
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Parking
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Balancing number of spaces available against number of passed sold
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J.Kurucz, R.Amin
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User Interface
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Headphone wires on iPod get in the way
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M.Teixeira
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User interface
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Friendlier voice recognition phone directory
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H.A.Memar
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User interface
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Universal text language translator
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V.Vo
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User interface
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Repetitive actions in computer games
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H.Trinh
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Wireless coverage
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Coverage extension devices, in-building coverage
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I.McNabb, J.Kilroy
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Wireless coverage
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802.11 AP handoff
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R.Quinn
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Wireless coverage
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Cellular coverage in subways and other underground areas
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I.Feinstein
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Access control
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Keeping animals out of garbage without making it hard for garbage men
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R.Osorio
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Access control
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Granting/denying individuals administrative access to bank accounts
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M.Schurgot
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Access control
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Preventing access to WLAN outside property boundaries
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I.Rahman
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Inventory control
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Avoiding refrigerators full of expired, out-dated food
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C.Latoja
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Inventory control
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A system to let you know how much of various foods are in the house/refrigerator when you go shopping
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S.Gupta
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Personal inventory control
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Keeping track of the items you carry with you on a daily basis
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B.Slivka
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Fossil fuel consumption
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Alternative energy sources
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B.Chiappetta
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Power generation
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Solar power
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J.Salvo
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Portable devices
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Cellular phone battery lifetime, ability to recharge anywhere
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C.Ramos
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Mobility for elderly/disabled
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System to allow person to have their weight supported from above
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M.Modi
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Visual aids for vision-impaired
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Control of electronic equipment with hard-to-see labels
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J.Ventry-McGee
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Emergency notification
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Medic-Alert with vital signs
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Y.Lawson
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Laptop security
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"Lo-jack" for laptops to track use and recover stolen devides
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C.Lubin
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Laptop security
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ID-card-based access control to PC
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L.Carola
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Commuting
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Real-time status updates
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T.Matos, B.Song
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Commuting
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Wasted time at red traffic lights with no opposing traffic
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Y.Ivanyutin
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User identification/ authentication
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ID that doesn't require ID card token
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A.Semidey
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User identification/ authentication
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Non-SSAN based Student IDs
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A.Velasco
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Keys
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Carrying, sorting multiple keys on multiple key chains
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I.Bundang
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Keys
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ID card based security system for dorms, classrooms w/o room-by-room readers
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A.Musa
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System survivability
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Providing infrastructure for operations and communications where commercial infrastrucure is destroyed (Blood Bank operations)
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Prof. Curtis (Howe School)
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System survivability
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Planning for operations and communications where commercial infrastrucure is destroyed and system is stressed (NYC Office of Emergency Operations)
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Prof. Skown (Howe School)
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Communications survivability
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Providing communications in the wake of wide-spread destruction of infrastructure
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D.Toner
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Communications survivability
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Communications depends on availability of commercial power
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C.Budiarjo
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Virtual sign-up sheets
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System to gather names, attendees using ID cards' mag stripes
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L.Insley (career services)
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Textbooks
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Preserving softcover books
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C.Singla
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Child care
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Changing babies diapers without having to touch them
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L.Robles
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Appliances
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Temperature regulated grill
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R.Lemence
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Multi-OS PC
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System for fast context-switching between two or more OSs
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D.Sebastian
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Cleaning
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Cleaning windows on multistory building
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L.Scaturro
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Alcohol
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Keeping track of how many drinks have been consumed
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W.Petronczak
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Presentation system
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Missing markers for whiteboards, boards that need to be cleaned, need to display slides
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E.Lenge
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Intelligent devices
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RF scanner that knows where it is and changes tuning channels accordingly
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D.Grinkevich
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Sensing
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Sensing racquetball position to judge game
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C.Castro
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Reliable computing
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PC with two independent processors
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A.Musa
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Network access
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Secure communications thru insecure (wireless) network. "Poor man's VPN"
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G.Gryzb
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Safety
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Blade guards on power tools (saws)
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J.Engleman
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Port Security
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Verifying contents of shipping containers
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S.Doshi
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Yard maintenance
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Automated mowing, vacuuming, raking, trimming, etc.
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A.Afzal
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Remote status
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Remote sensing of presence of mail in mailbox
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C.Pook
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Disease monitoring/detection
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System to detect specific pathogens to allow targeted treatment, rather than broad-spectrum treatment
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I.Saaem
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Information storage/retrieval
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Automatic means to scan handwritten class notes and be able to search by content
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S.Stepanian
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Calendar management
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Scheduling and tracking appointments, tasks
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S.Akhar
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Credit, ID, Token card management
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Consolidation of multiple cards onto one with ability to shift balances between them
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J.Ante
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Dorm maintenance
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No useful trouble tracking system
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N.Young
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Network access
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Content-rich web sites accessed over low-speed connections
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J.Chia
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Storage
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Access to books on top of large bookshelf
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S.Doherty
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Workgroup collaboration
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Software to allow groups to meet, discuss, and collaborate in an online environment. Perhaps an extension to or front-end to WebCT
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Prof. Skown
Prof. Reilly (Howe school) |
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System interface
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Standardized interface to automotive diagnostic outputs
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J.Spero
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