From solar panels to cybersecurity tools, Florida engineering students design game-changing products 

One project helps the blind navigate a cluttered world. Another secures communication on classified computers. Yet another revolutionizes energy infrastructure through solar technology. 

These projects have one thing in common: They were created by students in the University of Florida’s Integrated Product & Process Design engineering program, or IPPD, and they are solving major industry problems. 

IPPD is an experiential education program within the UF Department of Engineering Education, where multidisciplinary teams of senior-level undergraduate, Master of Science in Applied Data Science and Master of Science in AI Systems students work for two semesters to design, build and test products requested by industrial and research sponsors. Former IBM executive Heinz K. Fridrich founded the program 31 years ago, and many of the sponsored products are still in use and thriving. 

Guiding the blind 

Clearwater, Florida-based Freedom Scientific, a division of Vispero, is the largest worldwide manufacturer of assistive technology products for the blind and vision-impaired. The company tapped the IPPD program to test ideas that have grown into larger company projects, including Unity — a virtual, digital accessibility prototype app developed in 2023 by a UF team to help blind users navigate 3D spaces.  

“The IPPD program has allowed us to test new ideas and evaluate their viability. Every project has been valuable,” said the project’s industry sponsor, Sriram Ramanathan, director of Web Services, Cloud and Accessibility Innovation for Vispero. “Some have evolved into customer-facing products, while others, though less successful, helped us uncover challenges and refine our thinking.” 

Board game to war games 

Catan is a popular analog board game, and Catan Universe is the digital version. From 2024-2025, IPPD’s Team Tactica used Catan Universe as a jumping-off point to develop Catanatron, a high-performance simulator that acts as a digital testbed to simulate the complex challenges of military war gaming, including resource management, long-term planning and multi-agent negotiation. 

The project’s sponsor was CAE USA, which develops advanced simulation and training solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense. The company uses learning agents, which are autonomous entities like robots that learn to make decisions by interacting with their environments.

“IPPD Team Tactica completed exceptional research in training advanced AI agents,” said industry sponsor Brian Stensrud, Ph.D., technical fellow for Artificial Intelligence in the Defense & Security division at CAE USA.                 

Securing safe solar  

NextEra Energy develops energy infrastructure with photovoltaic modules — devices with semiconducting materials that convert sunlight into electrical energy — but the company was losing photovoltaic modules due to lightning damage at some solar sites.  

So IPPD’s Team Solar Safe created a site-specific soil analysis tool called Solar Safe to help the company develop grounding rods that would protect the modules from lightning, thus saving the costly solar panels.  

“These student projects show what’s possible when academic talent and industry expertise come together,” said industry sponsor Sharon Campbell, career coordinator for the Power Generation Division of NextEra Energy. “Each solution addresses real operational needs while giving students practical experience. Collaborations like this help us learn from new perspectives and support the next generation of engineers.”

Keeping classified chats safe from prying eyes

IPPD's Team Redact designed the Secure Multi-Compartmented Text Chat System known as Starburst, which enables real-time coordination for individuals working on classified computers within Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities — highly secure areas where the government can process, store or communicate about classified information.  

The initial product was developed during the 2018-2019 session, and it was showcased in the RTX Research and Development Roadshow for classified stakeholders. Ultimately, it was integrated into a Classified Communication Suite, which is utilized across military and government operations for secure, instant communication on closed networks.     

Desiccating moisture 

Few things ruin food like moisture, which can quickly turn morsels into a moldy mess. It was an issue at the UF Food Science and Human Nutrition Department that prompted UF Assistant Professor of Food Science Andrew MacIntosh, Ph.D., to ask IPPD teams to develop an advanced food desiccator for preserving moisture-sensitive items in the lab.

MacIntosh partnered with Team DesiGators in 2024 to build the perfect machine, which was cheaper and more advanced than anything on the market. Desiccators hold a drying agent (a desiccant), remove moisture from specimens and protect the specimens from water vapor in the air. The little white packets in vitamin bottles, for example, contain desiccants.   

The DesiGators quadrupled the capacity of a normal desiccator and were able to implement additional features such as air heating, air pressure regulation and air flow regulation. The desiccator remains in full service in MacIntosh’s lab.  

For industry partners, the IPPD program solves problems. For UF students, the experience is transformative.

“IPPD gave me real ownership over a complex technical problem and the confidence to lead under ambiguity,” said former Team Tactica member and UF student Cody Flynn, who graduated in August 2025 and now works as an associate software engineer at Tampa’s Greenway Health. “The experience directly contributed to published research, a best paper award and strong momentum in my early career.”