Pink Pigeon Design Team
Introduction
Currently the smart buoy consumer market offers either expensive lab-grade equipment or cheap consumer gadgets with no protection from harsh ocean conditions. With the US removing their own scientific data collection platforms, the market is growing for a low-cost, easily deployable, ocean monitoring buoy with real-time updates. To offer a solution, Pink Pigeon Innovations wanted to create Aqua Sentry, a low-cost marine sensor platform that makes the environment smarter by making data accessible. The buoy he designed will continuously monitor key water quality parameters including ambient air temperature, light intensity, water temperature, salinity, and additional environmental metrics The CEO & founder of Pink Pigeon Innovations, Imtehaze Heerah, approached our capstone team in hopes of designing and producing a unique buoy shell that can protect the programmed hardware developed by him and his team. A major component of the project was creating a visually appealing prototype while also developing the product for batch production using tools like vacuum forming, laser cutting, and water jetting for repeatability. Delivering both affordability and durability was a challenging goal, and our skills were pushed by tight deadlines along with layered project requirements. This project was a great opportunity for our team to apply the skills we acquired and improved at Camosun College." To offer a solution, Pink Pigeon Innovations wanted to create Aqua Sentry, a low-cost marine sensor platform that makes the environment smarter by making data accessible. The buoy he designed will continuously monitor key water quality parameters including ambient air temperature, light intensity, water temperature, salinity, and additional environmental metrics The CEO & founder of Pink Pigeon Innovations, Imtehaze Heerah, approached our capstone team in hopes of designing and producing a unique buoy shell that can protect the programmed hardware developed by him and his team. A major component of the project was creating a visually appealing prototype while also developing the product for batch production using tools like vacuum forming, laser cutting, and water jetting for repeatability. Delivering both affordability and durability was a challenging goal, and our skills were pushed by tight deadlines along with layered project requirements. This project was a great opportunity for our team to apply the skills we acquired and improved at Camosun College.
Acknowledgements
Our team sends an earnest thank you to Pink Pigeon Innovations for allowing us to participate in the product's design. We also would like to thank Enviro Floats and Saanich for donating the 4 buoys and HDPE pipes used for our prototypes. We are excited to take Aqua Sentry to bring Pink Pigeon’s ideas to life through our design talents and team chemistry.
Team Members
Samuel Verrier
(Project and Accounting Lead)Sam's lifelong passion for cars and design drew him to mechanical engineering, where a natural gift for math gave him a strong foundation to pursue his dream of becoming a car designer. Camosun's hands-on learning environment has been key to that growth, both in terms of technical design skills and in leadership as head of the Camosun Engineering Automotives Club. The club's projects gave Sam direct experience applying the full engineering process, which has translated well into the development of Aqua Sentry. His eye for detail has shaped the buoy's design to be compact and intentional, pushing the prototype toward production-ready quality. Sam is excited to bring this project to oceans worldwide and to keep expanding his expertise on the path to his dream career.
Markus Stewart
(Manufacturing Lead)Markus has always been drawn to engineering and enjoys finding solutions to problems. As the manufacturing lead, this project has introduced him to the fine details required for various processes not covered through his courses such as HDPE vacuum forming and plastic welding. Throughout his course work and subsequently the project, he applied his strong organizational skills to ensure his and the team’s physical materials and digital documents remained accessible via an intuitive shared drive. Markus has developed strong client communication skills by going to all of the team’s meetings with suppliers and partners. Another key role he performed was helping source acrylic, HDPE, mooring equipment, and marine fasteners from various local sources through in-person meetings. His experience in team settings has allowed him to work efficiently in a small group environment. Markus is looking forward to applying his smart buoy experience to marine equipment manufacturing.
Isak Nordstrom
(Documentation Lead)Isak has always had an interest in building and developing rough prototypes of his ideas. He joined the Mechanical Engineering Program to learn the skills to support his ideas with mathematical proof while implementing proper methods of design and documentation. Through engineering, Isak has become more patient and methodical when approaching problems mainly through an improved understanding of all the nuances that go into a well-designed system. During the capstone project he finally got a chance to apply the design skills he gained and refined during his program such as SolidWorks, 3D printing, manual machining, and laser cutting. This project was a great stepping stone that introduced Isak to the marine industry and allowed him dedicated time to learn about design for ocean applications. He is excited to learn more about the professional side of engineering as he continues through the Engineering Bridge program and future career.
Austin Deibert
(CAD Lead)For as long as Austin can remember, he's had an interest in the mechanics of heavy machinery and vehicles. This interest led him to pursue a career in mechanical engineering. Thanks to this passion, he’s spent large portions of both his academic career and his free time designing and producing mechanical systems and parts, which has allowed him to develop a strong understanding of fitments and tolerances, especially when it comes to additive manufacturing. In addition to designing from scratch, he’s also quite familiar with reverse engineering systems with the intention of modifying specific portions or parts, such as producing homemade car parts. He is particularly excited to begin working in the field and further develop his skills through real-world experience.