From students to technologists: The student innovation journey
University of Advancing Technology Blog
Our Summer 2022 Student Innovation Project (SIP) Showcase was nothing short of amazing! On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, University of Advancing Technology (UAT) students gathered in the UAT Theater to present their innovations to faculty, staff, peers and the community.
Art Direction Professor, Dapzury Valenzuela, hosted the event and was excited to watch students she’s seen grow present all their hard work. “Our Summer 2022 SIP Showcase included projects such as, a faith-based interactive mobile app, an automated smart visor, a cryptocurrency app that uses social media data, a Discord bot for job hunting, a GUI for creating neural networks, an interactive web tool for learning about typography, a game mechanic based on color theory, a dream journal mobile app, and a weapon tracking software, just to name a few. As the Lead SIP Instructor, I have the pleasure of working alongside UAT students as they transition into future technologists. This is a group effort that is only possible due to the support of our full-time faculty who helped guide each project.” Professor Valenzuela adds, “This arduous process takes months to complete, but what students learn will last them a lifetime.”
Presenting the Summer SIP Projects
Preserved Christelle Cyprien
Project Description: This project aims to create an interconnected and interactive mobile application that provides users with an account on most Biblical characters. This includes family trees, maps of character journeys, as well as a timeline of Biblical events.
Degree Major: Virtual Reality
SIP URL: https://thechreative.com/
Smart Visor by Michael Brewer
Project Description: The Smart Visor is an automated sun visor for the vehicle. It uses a compass, clock and photosensor to lower the visor when the sun is beaming in your eyes.
Degree Major: Robotics and Embedded Systems
SIP URL: https://brew906.github.io/Portfolio/sip.html
Qrypt by Matthew Evans
Project Description: A crypto currency app built using social media to help you make a decision when using cryptocurrencies.
Degree Major: Artificial Intelligence
SIP URL: http://matt-evans-portfolio.s3-website-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/projects/qrypt
SNIP THAT by Isis Boone
Project Description: The SNIP THAT is an accessibility application that allows the user to capture a section of their screen and read aloud, enlarge, or copy it to the clipboard.
Degree Major: Artificial Intelligence & Advancing Computer Science
SIP URL: https://booneisis03.wixsite.com/portfolio/sip
FitUnison by Frances Caldwell & Mya Escribens Caldwell
Project Description: FitUnison is a mobile application that uses object recognition to ensure that users are on track with their fitness goals and allows users to work out with ease. It includes features like no other fitness app and is a great alternative for people who are too shy to go to the gym or can’t afford to go to a gym. It encourages people to stay active indoors in a fun and immersive way.
Degree Major: Frances Caldwell, Artificial Intelligence & Mya Caldwell Escribens, Advancing Computer
Science
SIP URL: https://francescaldwell.wixsite.com/my-site
Job Opportunities Bot (J.O.B.) by Brendan Carlson and Emilio Cress
Project Description: The Job Opportunities Bot (J.O.B) is a program integrated into the popular application Discord that allows users to search for compatible jobs to fit their individual needs.
Degree Major: Brendan Carlson, Artificial Intelligence & Advancing Computer Science & Emilio Cress,
Network Security & Network Engineering
SIP URL: https://carlsonbrendan52.wixsite.com/brendan-carlson/sip and
https://ecress.weebly.com/sip.html
Metacognition Artificial Intelligence Kody Mitchell
Project Description: This project focuses on creating a friendly and easy-to-use graphical user interface for those people (including researchers) who are starting to learn how to create neural networks. It will both introduce them to the field of artificial intelligence and intelligently help them in creating the neural network that they need for their project or company. It will enable users to learn how to easily and quickly construct artificial intelligence.
Degree Major: Advancing Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Network Security
SIP URL: https://sites.google.com/view/kody-mitchell/sip
Seeker by Dillan Bullock
Project Description: This project is innovative because Seeker is an application that helps users locate fun destinations based on location, reviews, and data collection.
Degree Major: Business Technology
SIP URL: https://dillanbullockenglishportfolio.weebly.com
You Can Type It by Kristen Kolessar
Project Description: You Can Type It is and interactive website with a hover feature that can help distinguish the differences between sans serif and serif fonts
Degree Major: Advertising Art and Digital Marketing
SIP URL: https://www.youcantypeit.com/
Palette, the Design Pal by Hagen Cates
Project Description: Palette is an application to help clients narrow down what they want from their logo through innovative questions.
Degree Major: Advertising Art
SIP URL: https://hagenjcates.wixsite.com/website
Impact of Time by Jozlyn Nowak
Project Description: A system for games to create a more realistic freelining within games and as a result making player input feel more impactful. The system causes events to run in a game determining is the player is or is not there and if the player is not there, what the outcome would be based on time constraints. This is to give players more of a reason to manage their time in the game and give meaning when the player is asked something.
Degree Major: Game Design
SIP URL: https://jozlynnowak.weebly.com/sip.html#/
The Color of Gameplay by Phillip Nguyen
Project Description: This project is about implementing color theory into a game as a main game mechanic. This includes things like color mixing or complementary color groups.
Degree Major: Game Design & Game Art & Animation
SIP URL: https://phillipnguyen540.wixsite.com/portfolio
The Dream Journal by Novali Maxson
Project Description: The Dream Journal is an Android Mobile App for those who like to document their dreams digitally and incorporate artistic expression. The project is unique in its programming function that applies animation-like effects.
Degree Major: Game Design & Game Art & Animation
SIP URL: https://novalimaxson0824.wixsite.com/website-2
Adaptive Progression Tree by James Nowdomski
Project Description: A freeform style of progression for video games in the RPG genre, meant to assist and guide players who are not as experienced in this genre where mechanical progression isn’t static. It is meant to lessen the burden of choice paralysis and only focus on what will actually enhance the player experience, but not so much that advanced players don’t have any sense of autonomy in their decisions.
Degree Major: Game Art & Animation
SIP URL: https://jamesnowdomskiiv.weebly.com/sip.html
The Wolf Guardian by Carissa Rasche (with Ashten Morgan) (Online)
Project Description: The Wolf Guardian is a game that seamlessly blends the classic arcade fighter and metroidvania genres. The player is given the freedom to explore the environment freely and unlock many secrets. Among these secrets are an array of totally unique fighter style move sets and abilities that will expand and overcome increasingly powerful foes over the course of the game.
Degree Major: Game Art & Animation
SIP URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNsMkW1qbhE
Where Demons Live by Benjamin Unagnst (Online)
Project Description: Everyone has their consensus of what a mental illness is and what it all entails. However, that only scratches the surface of what a mental illness actually is. My project aims to shed some more light onto the subjects of mental illness and show the public that there is more that goes into one single mental illness. The main goal for this project is to help inform the public of the multitude of different and symptoms that all go into having one single mental illness.
Degree Major: Game Art & Animation
SIP URL: N/A
Split-Personalities by Elijah Nutter
Project Description: This project aims to give the player a unique experience by having them play as the both the protagonist and the antagonist. They will play as the protagonist that is trying to achieve their goal, while they are also going to play as the antagonist opposing that goal.
Degree Major: Game Design & Game Programming
SIP URL: https://zzzzzz2468.wixsite.com/my-portfolio/split-personalities
Stealth Perimeter by RJ Catterton (Online)
Project Description: The new innovative Stealth Perimeter will help you catch those pesky thieves. The Stealth Perimeter will provide you with everything you’ll need to find the thief, recover the stolen artifacts and get that promotion you’ve always wanted. The secret lies in a patented system that tracks the potential movements of the thief so you’ll always have an idea for where they could be.
Degree Major: Game Programming
SIP URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVBFblph3ng
Peak Gaming Performance Tracker by George Couch (Online)
Project Description: Peak Gaming Performance Tracker takes in data from games that you play and then recommends time slots when you should play based on when it believes that you’ll perform at your best.
Degree Major: Advancing Computer Science
SIP URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CposbsWldY
Deeplens Weapon Tracker by Monte Gualtiere
Project Description: At a base, my project will be a computer program that will be able to determine if a student or intruder on campus were to pull out a weapon, like a gun or firearm using tracking software.
Degree Major: Advancing Computer Science
SIP URL: https://www.montegualtiere.com/
CR4CK3RJ4CK by Jonathan Luna
Project Description: A Caeser-Cipher Decoder which is primarily made in Python’sCommand-Line. This allows users to be free from messy websites and annoying ads plaguing web pages. The goal is to expand it to more than just one type of decoder.
Degree Major: Network Security
SIP URL: https://john4luna2.wixsite.com/website/my-work-1
Idle Picture by Colby McGregor
Project Description: An idle clicker game with the mechanic of creating your own upgrades.
Degree Major: Digital Video
SIP URL: https://colbymcgregor.weebly.com/sip.html
The Write Way to Play by Roman Sanchez
Project Description: This project aims to provide a 3D world that gives the user different prompts and examples in order to teach them how to format a script.
Degree Major: Digital Video & Game Design
SIP URL: https://sanchezrfs.wixsite.com/website/about
Congratulation Innovators!
The UAT community choose six winners from the SIP presentations. Categories include Best SIP Pitch (Stealth Perimeter by RJ Catterton ), Most Market Viable (Peak Gaming Performance Tracker by George Couch ), Viewer’s Choice (SNIP THAT by Isis Boone ), World Changer (Deep Lens Weapon Tracker by Monte Guiltier ), Ingenuity Prize (Smart Visor by Michael Brewer ), and Best in Show (Preserved by Christelle Cyprien ).
Congratulations to the winners and all of the students who can now claim their own exciting innovations in the tech world!