(Tammy Mak / BCIT News)
Final-year mechatronics students Liam Johannson and Zy Jarvis are proudly showing off their innovative machines at this year’s Engineering Expo to wrap up their academic careers at BCIT.
Johannson’s project, lovingly named “Beefy Bits”, is a dog treat sorting machine that works by weighing treats that come down the conveyor belt and sorting them into four different boxes by weight.
“So this project can not only weigh dog treats, it can weigh anything that could fit on the conveyor belt and anywhere in a factory setting, it can be brought in and weigh stuff and separate it into categories. Hopefully improving the quality and the output of the company. So it can pretty much end up anywhere in any factory that is where the size works pretty much.”
Liam Johannson, BCIT student
In January, Johannson’s team was approached by sponsor Open Range Dog Treats with a non-functional version of the machine and was tasked with fixing it up.
Zy Jarvis and his group, who is also sponsored by Open Range Dog treats, worked on an automated dog treat labeler, cheekily named the “21 Jump Treat”.
“It uses a camera to detect treats on a table and then it relays that information to our robot, our ABB robot and it will go find the treats on the table. Pick them up, place them in a labeler to get labeled and then it will retrieve them from the labeler and place them in a box.”
Zy Jarvis, BCIT student
Like Johannson’s, this device also has usages beyond just dog treats. Jarvis says the device is intended to eliminate the need for a human worker to do repetitive processes, to lower the risk of repetitive strain injuries like arthritis.
BCIT’s Engineering Expo took place on May 8. It was a crucial moment for final-year mechatronics students as they present their projects culminating four months of hard work. Mechatronic students, in addition to electrical and mechanical students, explain and demo their interactive projects to an audience filled with industry partners, alumni, faculty, and peers. Last year’s expo drew a crowd of 350 spectators. After his time at BCIT, Johannson is east-bound to continue his studies in Toronto.