The University of Florida's Integrated Product & Process Design (IPPD) engineering program is translating student projects into real-world solutions. According to the university, the program connects academic work with industry challenges, producing innovations such as navigational tools for the blind and cybersecurity systems.
One innovation from the IPPD program is an app called Unity, designed to help visually impaired users navigate complex 3D spaces. Developed in collaboration with Freedom Scientific, a maker of assistive technology products, Unity exemplifies the program’s focus on market-ready solutions. Sriram Ramanathan, director of Web Services, Cloud, and Accessibility Innovation for Vispero, said the program provides opportunities to test and evaluate new ideas.
Another IPPD project, Catanatron, is a high-performance simulator that uses concepts from the digital board game Catan Universe to support military wargaming. Brian Stensrud, Ph.D., technical fellow for Artificial Intelligence at CAE USA, praised the project for its research in training advanced AI agents.
IPPD students are also contributing to energy infrastructure innovation. A project called Solar Safe performs site-specific soil analysis to help protect photovoltaic modules from lightning strikes. NextEra Energy worked with the IPPD team to address risks to their solar panels. Sharon Campbell, a career coordinator at NextEra Energy, noted that the projects demonstrate the potential of combining academic talent with industry expertise.
Team Redact, an IPPD student team, developed Starburst, the Secure Multi-Compartmented Text Chat System, to enable real-time, secure communication for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities. Created during the 2018–2019 session, Starburst was showcased at the RTX Research and Development Roadshow and later integrated into classified military and government networks.
IPPD’s Team DesiGators addressed food preservation by developing an advanced food desiccator in partnership with UF’s Food Science and Human Nutrition Department. The device increases capacity fourfold compared to traditional models and improves moisture control. UF assistant professor Andrew MacIntosh, Ph.D., now uses the desiccator in his lab.
The IPPD program provides hands-on experience that helps shape participants’ careers. Cody Flynn, a program graduate and now an associate software engineer at Greenway Health, said the program gave him responsibility for complex technical problems and the confidence to lead. He credits his early career achievements, including published research and awards, to his participation in the IPPD program.
