Tons of electricity—and a bit of nerves—filled the lobby of the Senior High last night as juniors and seniors enrolled in Mr. Zachary Potter’s Engineering Design course showcased and presented their capstone projects to parents, friends and a panel of educators and college professors, including Dr. Joseph Mahoney, Engineering Department Chair at Alvernia University, and Dr. Matthew Rhudy, Associate Professor of Engineering at Penn State Berks. The capstone projects, which are the culmination of a semester’s worth of work, give engineering students an opportunity to work in small groups to identify real-world problems and design functional prototypes aimed at improving safety, accessibility and quality of life. 

Seniors Mason Cerra, Alex Ocasio, and Andrew Osborne developed EZ Incline, a real-time slope safety system designed to help prevent lawn mower accidents. The device, which attaches directly to a mower, continuously measures ground incline and alerts the operator through vibration when the mower reaches a potentially dangerous slope. The system uses an ESP32 microcontroller connected to an accelerometer and gyroscope to detect tilt and roll angles. That data is then transmitted to a programmable smartwatch worn by the operator, allowing them to monitor slope conditions while mowing.

The idea for EZ Incline was driven by a real-life incident involving a person who was seriously injured in a mower accident. The students also drew from personal experience, noting that lawn mower operators often rely solely on judgment when navigating hills. EZ Incline is meant to provide objective, real-time feedback to help operators make safer decisions.

Senior Marc McCaw and juniors Jonah Gates and Sterling Elbourne developed Guardian Cam, an AI-powered dash camera designed to help reduce distracted driving among teenagers. The system monitors both the interior and exterior of a vehicle, using artificial intelligence to detect behaviors such as phone use, failure to wear a seatbelt and lack of attention to the road. In addition to alerting drivers in real time, the system can also provide parents with insight into driving habits through collected data and reports.

To train their AI model, the team worked with large public datasets totaling more than 20,000 images. They manually labeled objects within the images by creating bounding boxes, allowing the system to accurately recognize specific behaviors and conditions while driving. The judges commended the team for the project’s scope, real-world relevance and future potential beyond teen drivers, including applications in fleet management, ride-sharing services and insurance-related safety programs. 

Seniors Aubrey Ridge and Mackenzie Mentzer, along with junior Sopuluchukwu Okpokwu, developed Steady Hands, a set of adaptive eating utensils designed to help individuals with fine motor skill challenges eat more independently and comfortably. The team began their project by researching fine motor difficulties, particularly how they affect children during everyday tasks such as cutting and scooping food. Their goal was to reduce frustration and increase independence during mealtime by creating tools that stabilize food and allow for more natural wrist movement. Their prototype included an adapted pizza wheel cutter with an adjustable, 3D-printed handle that can be held in multiple orientations, accommodating users who struggle with traditional grip positions. The team also designed a plate with a detachable magnetic “wall,” allowing users to cut or scoop food against a stable surface to prevent items from sliding or rolling away. The students collaborated closely with special education teachers, occupational therapists, classroom aides and parents from Exeter throughout the inclusive design process. 

Seniors Cole Forsythe and Jakob Franek, along with junior Julian Greb, developed a prototype for wrestling headgear designed to help reduce head injuries such as concussions and cauliflower ear, while improving comfort. The students began by researching injury data in wrestling and found that concussions are among the most common injuries in the sport. Drawing from their own athletic backgrounds in wrestling and football, the team explored how elements of football headgear could be adapted to improve protection in wrestling. 

Their prototype combined components from multiple types of headgear, including modified ear pieces and padded sections inspired by football equipment. The design emphasized creating a “halo” of protection around the head, an approach reinforced through conversations with athletic trainers, coaches and fellow athletes, who helped them refine their design based on real-world feedback. The team then produced a functional prototype that was tested by a wrestler who had previously suffered a concussion, who reported improved comfort and protection with their prototype compared to standard headgear. 

The Engineering Design capstone experience provides students with hands-on exposure to the full engineering process—from problem identification and research to prototyping and professional presentation—preparing them for future studies and careers in engineering, technology and related fields, which is a career pathway that nearly all of them plan to pursue following graduation. Because students also produce a prototype, it also gives them a glimpse into the problems that can occur during the manufacturing process, which certainly happened with the wrestling headgear team who stressed over receiving a shipment of essential materials a month later than expected and just a few days before the project’s due date. But even supply chain delays are a part of the learning process, they said. “It was stressful with time management,” said Julian Greb with a nervous laugh, “But figuring it out under pressure is part of the process.”

Mr. Zachary Potter emphasized the significance of the capstone showcase, noting that it represents more than just the completion of a semester-long project. “This capstone showcase event represents not just the completion of a semester-long project, but the culmination of these students’ time in our STEM Pathway,” Potter said. “It is a showcase of the skills and knowledge they have built over their four years at the Senior High and within the Technology Education department. Their willingness to participate in this high-level academic pathway, in my opinion, puts them above their peers. I am very proud of their efforts this semester and throughout their time in our STEM Pathway.”