Mechanical engineering capstone projects in rehabilitation design

We report results of a multi-year project aimed at offering socially relevant capstone design projects (with a rehabilitation engineering focus) to mechanical engineering student teams in their final undergraduate semester. Students meet regularly with one or more experts in rehabilitation over the course of the semester to develop and refine design concepts consistent with a clinical needs assessment. On average, two teams of 3-4 students participate in this project each semester. An overview of several recent design projects is provided, highlighting aspects that particularly leveraged the collaboration and expert involvement integrated into the project team. We also present a novel project element piloted recently, in which an engineering capstone team is paired with a capstone team in advertising at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications (CoJMC). Our anecdotal experience suggests that this approach encourages clear identification of functional requirements and connections to market needs early in the design process, and provides a broader, less siloed capstone experience for engineering students.