Students in the TLP get experience designing and prototyping systems that engage with data -- from gathering data with sensors, to storing data, to modeling data, to taking actions based on data. Below are several real world examples that inspire us.
A data collection system called SportVU is revolutionizing the way NBA coaches and scouts are evaluating their players. SportVU is a blend of cutting-edge hardware, advanced computer algorithms, and complex systemic data analysis. The system captures every movement of every player on the court through high-tech cameras, then processes the information using powerful analytics software. The recorded data is evaluated and used to determine key statistics that tell how players are performing on the court and how team performance can be improved. SportVU is, in essence, writing out the formula for success to the coaches and managers of the NBA. It is a perfect example of how three disciplines (systems, electrical, and computer) of engineering are being integrated to produce amazing results
Consider the EZ-Pass toll road system. Electrical, mechanical, and computer engineers (representing the vertical domain-specific part of the T) would be well-prepared to design the RFID sensors that are in the EZ-passes and the sensor-triggered cameras that take pictures of cars that try to pass through the tollbooth without paying – but they would not have the tools to balance trade-offs between an RFID-based system versus a GPS-based system. Systems engineers (representing the horizontal integration-focused top of the T) would be good at scoping the overall problem, defining requirements, exploring trade-offs between configurations for the system, and ensuring that the system is user-friendly, but would struggle with laying out the actual electrical system. A TLP graduate will be more able to integrate these two perspectives when compared to graduates not in the TLP.
This is an interesting TED talk on the rethinking of warehouse dynamics. Currently, inventory pickers must manually move around the warehouse and use conveyor belts for packing and shipping. In this new warehouse, a series of robotic systems transport inventory directly to the human operators, allowing for faster and more organized warehouse operation. As you will hear in the video, the system integrates physical hardware (electronics and mechanical parts) with systems evaluation (data analysis) to produce a better functioning warehouse. The subject may not be the most interesting in the world, but it is worth the watch:
The Under Armour E39 is a compression shirt with the smartest commercially-available exercise monitor. At the center of the shirt is a small device that contains a dense system of electrical and mechanical sensors that collects data during your workout, and tells you everything about your performance. Like so many other commercially successful technologies, the Under Armour 39 follows the interdisciplinary principles that we follow in the Technology Leaders Program.
That is, the system incorporates the domain-specific components of electrical, mechanical, and software engineering with the integration-focused properties of systems evaluation and engineering. The end result is a device that is worn and endorsed by some of the best athletes in the NFL.