Summer 2010 Deliverables

Final Report/Presentation Abstract:
In their first semester, mechanical and civil engineering students learn the mechanics of trusses, one of the most fundamental concepts of engineering. From houses and bridges to skyscrapers and playground equipment, trusses are the support systems of everything around us, so a clear understanding of them is imperative to success.  Professors want to assign homework problems involving hand drawn truss diagrams, but the grading of such diagrams requires extensive time commitment. Especially in large classrooms, this amount of time is difficult to attain. To combat this problem, we introduce Mekanix, a sketch recognition system that can recognize, correct, and provide feedback on a student’s hand-drawn truss diagram in real-time. We use geometric constraints to recognize the diagram’s components from the primitive shapes (i.e. line, circle, triangle, etc.) they comprise. In order to make our recognizers robust enough for classroom use, we allow for several configurations, variations, and drawing styles for each shape. Designed to enhance learning, Mekanix is an unobtrusive and helpful tool that benefits the professor and teaching assistant as much as the student.

Final Report PDF:
Final Report

Final Poster PDF:
Final Poster