Dimitri Papazoglou : Greek-American featured at International Engineering Conference

NEW YORK – Greek-American Dimitri Papazoglou, was featured at the prestigious 15th Annual Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI) at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton July 19-21.

The 22-year-old Papazoglou, who just graduated from Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, was selected to present a paper that he and his student colleagues, Betsy Sanchez and Monica A. Vanterpool, developed for the design of an anti-spill cup for people with Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s disease.

Papazoglou spoke with The National Herald about the anti-spill cup whose innovative design will undoubtedly help countless people who struggle with disorders that affect movement. The simple action of holding a cup and drinking from it can be nearly impossible for those with tremors. The anti-spill cup counteracts the involuntary movement, as Papazoglou told TNH.

When asked if he always wanted to pursue mechatronics-engineering, Papazoglou said he always used to take things apart as a child, especially anything with a battery, to see how it worked. This inquisitive nature led him to Vaughan where he majored in mechatronics-engineering as opposed to electrical engineering because it was a more interdisciplinary program. The program is one of the only ones in the country and as Papazoglou noted, “Vaughan really supports us on projects” like the anti-spill cup and through clubs like the AV Club and Robotics Club, funded by the school that help students create remarkable inventions and explore mechanical, electronic, and robotic solutions to real-world problems.

He observed that Vaughan’s Robotics team was the World Champion in 2016, highlighting the wonderful work and innovation supported by the school.

Papazoglou, whose father is from Athens and mother from Argentina, grew up on Long Island, and is continuing his education at the University of Dayton where he is pursuing a doctorate in electrical engineering. The conference which was a great success is undoubtedly the beginning of a long and distinguished career for Papazoglou and the team from Vaughan.

The Anti-Spill Cup paper’s abstract follows:

Essential tremor (ET) is a very common, complex and progressive neurological disorder involving movement. The two most common types of tremors are essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. ET is categorized as an involuntary movement that most often affect hands. This movement occurs in the form of rhythmic jerks known as vibrations. In its simplest form, a vibration is considered as the oscillation or repetitive movement of an object. Excessive shaking can make certain voluntary actions such as holding a cup full of liquid difficult to accomplish. In the market there exists a product (Lift Ware Steady), a spoon, the purpose of which is to counteract involuntary movements caused by a hand tremor. Hence, the idea of designing and implementing an Anti-Spill Cup. The purpose of the artifact is to counter-act unintended movements, maintaining the cup at equilibrium while hand vibrations occur thus decreasing the likeliness of the liquid being spilled. A mechanical control technique called AVC (Active Vibration Control) is used. This approach is used in the automotive industry. Engines and transmissions are highly vibrating systems; to counteract this effect, the AVC method is utilized. It also overcomes the limitations of a passive vibration control mechanism. For the Anti-Spill Cup, the hand oscillations are measured by the means of a sensor (accelerometer). This signal is at that point fed to a microcontroller where an algorithm is written to offset the tremor vibrations. An actuator signal is generated by the microcontroller which is then fed to an actuator (servo) that will induce motion to the mechanical system for controlling and stabilizing the cup’s trembling. The process of designing this product from start to finish includes design of the cup, study and assembly of electronics, and the development of a control algorithm.

Read more here.

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Source: thenationalherald.com