In collaboration with engineering company Emerson Electric Co, electrical and computer engineering (ECE) students have completed their senior design project. This project provided experience in both hardware and software systems, helping students develop skills directly applicable to the industry and allowing Emerson to continue product improvement.
Emerson works with the SCSU ECE programs and has sponsored Senior Design Projects for over 10 years. Furthermore, the equipment used in these projects is donated by industry partners like Emerson.
According to Professor Yi Zheng, who mentors the senior design teams, the projects help students gain in-demand skills that improve their job prospects.
“Students, including international ones, are securing jobs because of the experience they gain here,” Zhang said.
The 2025 project involved creating a SmartMesh IP Network Device Battery Power Management System that can be used in products like oil field pumps. The key was understanding the hardware and software integration.
The student team developed a Transmission Power Control System by creating a dual interface GUI (Graphic User Interface) that utilizes CLI and API protocols to dynamically, directly and wirelessly change the transmission power of the Smartmesh Devices. The system also had an additional feature to monitor and give information about battery life and health.
Smartmesh IP Devices are already existing technologies being used by Emerson in oil fields, but the key innovation was optimizing the device’s power usage. This method reduces the frequency of manual battery replacements, adjustments, and maintenance, improving efficiency for oil field operations.
Daniel Eze, a computer engineering major, said that Emerson was very happy to see that they were able to develop the method for the battery power optimization on this granular a level.
Due to differences in circuitry design across devices such as sensors, the embedded software is unique. Zheng pointed out that ECE students are trained to work with both hardware and software in embedded systems, making their skillset distinct from other majors such as computer science or software engineering.
This long-time partnership with Emerson highlights the real-world experience SCSU students gain through industry collaboration.
