DCU-Final-Year-Projects-Booklet-2025

90 174. Development of an Urban Farming Test Rig This project focuses on the development of an urban farming test rig. Urban farming is the practice of cultivating food in a built-up area. This provides its own unique challenges to the successful growth of healthy plants, namely a potential lack of natural sunlight, irrigation and a suitable medium for the product to grow in. The rig aims to act as a testing platform for a larger commercial urban farm, changing lighting and watering parameters to find the optimal growing conditions for a particular plant species. By changing the lighting conditions and water volume applied to the plants, a growth test was conducted using the rig to confirm its functionality. Student Programme Mechanical andManufacturing Engineering (Year 4) Project Area Control Systems, Mechanical Design andManufacture, Agriculture Project Technology Solidworks Student Name(s) Thomas Loughran Email thomas.loughran2@mail.dcu.ie Supervisor Dr Nigel Kent 175. PreZen PreZen is a tool designed to address the widespread lack of confidence and communication gaps by helping students and young professionals improve their public speaking skills in a supportive environment. This is achieved by providing personalised feedback to enhance their presentation abilities. PreZen evaluates several critical aspects, such as tempo, clarity, and tone. This speech analysis is essential for identifying a user’s presentation weaknesses and providing constructive feedback. PreZen also incorporates gamification elements, such as badges, progress tracking, and challenges, to encourage consistent usage, which are displayed on a user-friendly dashboard. By offering a comprehensive solution, PreZen aims to become a trusted tool for personal and professional growth, fostering better communication. Student Programme Computing for Business Project Area Educational, Speech Technology Project Technology CSS, Docker, HTML5, JavaScript, Python, SQL, Machine Learning, Django Student Name(s) Zara O’Connor  |  Rosemary Joyce Email zara.oconnor3@mail.dcu.ie   |  rosemary.joyce22@mail.dcu.ie Supervisor Dr JohnMcKenna 176. Non-Circular Gear Transmission Analysis This project focuses on analysing gear transmission with non-circular gears. A programwas developed to generate the profile of a driven gear based on the polar coordinates of a non-circular driver gear. It also calculates and provides the tooth profiles for both gears, ensuring they function as a complete non- circular gear pair. By simplifying complex calculations, the programoffers a cost-effective and efficient solution for non-circular gear design. It helps optimise designs for specific requirements that are difficult tomeet with traditional circular gears. The program enables customgear pairs for unique mechanical applications, providing flexibility and efficiency in power transmission, making it a valuable tool for engineers working with specialised systems. Student Programme Mechanical andManufacturing Engineering (Year 5) Project Area Mechanical Systems, Gear Design Project Technology C/C++, Excel/VB, Matlab Student Name(s) Alexandra Lacey Email alexandra.lacey8@mail.dcu.ie Supervisor Dr Tamas Szecsi