Got a Good Idea? Go Build It.

By senior year, students in USC Viterbi's Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering have studied the principles, analytical methods and design tools used to analyze forces and motion, fluid flow, heat transfer, material behavior and control systems.

In the Senior Projects Laboratory course (AME 441), they're tasked with applying that accumulated knowledge to an original project: identifying a problem, proposing a response and taking responsibility for producing a device or system that can be tested.

The four teams featured in this series have set ambitious targets: removing dust from equipment on the lunar surface; enabling a lower-limb exoskeleton to adapt to human walking; creating a vehicle capable of traveling both on the ground and through the air; and planting seeds in terrain made inaccessible by wildfire.

We'll follow their progress as they investigate existing approaches, source components, make design trade-offs and respond to failed tests - with just a few months left to turn each proposal into a functioning prototype.

Rules and resources

Each team begins with a proposal developed over the summer, then has approximately four and a half months and a $400 budget to design, build and evaluate its system. The students must define measurable criteria at the outset, giving the instructors a clear basis for assessing the final result.

AME 441 is taught by Akshay Potnuru, associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering practice; Saakar Byahut, senior lecturer of aerospace and mechanical engineering; Matt Gilpin, associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering practice and associate chair of AME undergraduate programs; and Robert Antypas, part-time lecturer of aerospace and mechanical engineering.

"The students propose something very specific, something that involves designing, testing and measuring, and we hold them to that standard," said Byahut. "Does that actually hold up at the end of the semester? And if not, why not? Have they understood why not?"

The instructors meet with teams each week, questioning design decisions and helping students identify technical risks. Laboratory staff assist with electronics, machining and 3D printing, while course producers - former senior design students and graduate students - provide additional technical and organizational support. Teams can also consult faculty specialists when a project requires expertise in areas such as control systems or robotics.

The exoskeleton that learns

Investigation of Reinforcement Learning for Adaptive Control of a Lower Limb Exoskeleton

No two steps are exactly alike. Walking, climbing stairs, squatting and jumping all require the legs to move differently, creating a difficult control problem for a wearable exoskeleton.

This team is using reinforcement learning to develop a controller capable of adjusting the assistance it provides. In simulation, a digital model reproduces the bones and muscles of a person wearing the exoskeleton. Over millions of attempts, the controller is rewarded for movements that reduce the model's muscular effort. The process teaches the system when and how to assist.

The resulting software will control motors at the hip and knee of a physical exoskeleton. An adjustable frame will accommodate a range of leg lengths and body dimensions. The team will compare the wearer's metabolic effort with and without assistance, aiming for a reduction of at least two percent.

Team members: David Le, Brittney Nguyen, Rose Sifuentes, Hinai Iraheta

The Lunar Dust Plasma Gun

Characterization of an Ionized Gas System for Lunar Dust Mitigation

Lunar dust is made of fine, sharp-edged particles that become electrically charged and cling to spacesuits, seals and other equipment. The moon has no atmosphere to dissipate the charge, and brushing the dust away can generate further static electricity, attracting the particles back to the surface.

This team is building a compact plasma tool designed to remove the dust without physical contact. The device will apply high voltage to gas at low pressure, producing plasma containing charged particles. These particles can repel the dust and neutralize the surface beneath it, helping to prevent immediate reattachment.

Inspired by a NASA device developed at Kennedy Space Center, the students' version is designed for smaller-scale laboratory use. Its portable form can be directed at different samples instead of being permanently attached to one surface. The team will test the device inside a vacuum chamber, where success depends on producing stable plasma and demonstrating its ability to clear charged dust.

Team members: Malithi Sella Kapu, Megan Lee, Sophia Li, Warren Dao

The ground-to-air rover

Design of a Hybrid Rover-Drone System for Search and Rescue Operations

Search-and-rescue teams are often required to traverse difficult terrain, surmount obstacles and search large areas quickly. This team is designing a hybrid rover-drone that can drive where the ground is passable, take off vertically when obstacles block its route and continue the search from the air.

Vertical takeoff and landing removes the need for a runway. Once airborne, the vehicle will shift into fixed-wing flight, which uses less energy than a quadcopter and should allow it to remain in the air longer. The students are adapting an existing Talon model-aircraft frame and adding a separate wheeled system for ground travel.

The ground system increases the weight carried during flight; the team must integrate the wheels, motors, electronics and aircraft structure without preventing the vehicle from taking off or meeting its flight-time target (to remain airborne for at least seven and a half minutes). Testing will compare the aircraft's endurance with and without the ground hardware, and assess its ability to drive, take off vertically and sustain fixed-wing flight.

Team members: Cameron Davis, Antonio McVay, Griffin Simon, Luke Harris

The aerial acorn planter

Design and Experimental Validation of a Soil-Penetrating Seed Delivery System for Reforestation

After a wildfire, restoring forests on steep or unstable terrain can be difficult and dangerous. Aircraft can scatter seeds across these areas, but seeds left on the surface may never enter the soil and remain exposed to birds and deer.

The team is building a compressed-air launcher for seed-bearing penetrators. Each penetrator carries a coast live oak acorn into the ground, creating an enclosed space where the seed can germinate and begin developing roots. The launcher must deliver enough speed to reach a suitable planting depth without subjecting the acorn to a damaging impact.

The students will fire the penetrators into a soil-filled planter and measure their depth and impact force. After one month, they will examine the acorns for emerging taproots, with a target germination rate of 25 percent. The current prototype tests the planting mechanism; a future version could be mounted on a drone or aircraft to reseed terrain that restoration crews cannot safely reach.

Team members: Zhuming Xi, Oliver Lahe, Mikai von Engel, Todd Valkov

The race to the showcase

All four teams are working toward the Senior Design Showcase in December. Each must arrive with a functioning prototype, a documented testing process and data showing how closely the finished system meets the goals established in its proposal. If a prototype misses its benchmark, the team must identify the cause and explain the next engineering step.

The fixed deadline influences every decision about scope, materials and testing. "A very strict deadline can push students to think innovatively," Potnuru said. "They have to decide what they can realistically design, build and test in one semester."

In the coming weeks, this series will return to the teams as they manufacture components, assemble their first prototypes, run tests and revise their designs. Finally, at the showcase, we'll see whether plasma can clear charged lunar dust, an adaptive exoskeleton can reduce muscular effort, a rover can take flight, and a launched acorn can enter the soil and begin to germinate…

Published on October 16th, 2026

Last updated on October 16th, 2026