The PolyU Undergraduate ME & AP Student Team won the Best Student Design Award 2023/2024 organized by the IMechE Hong Kong Branch. The team members are Gong Ziqi from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Zhu Wenjia from the Department of Applied Physics.
The winning project is called the "Wave Pillow". Nowadays, with the increase in the number of people suffering from cervical spondylosis, the need for treatment and corrective ergonomics has raised awareness among people and the medical community. There is a strong relationship between the quality of sleep and the incidence of whiplash. A proper pillow plays a crucial role in improving sleep quality. Therefore, this project design incorporates flexible electronic devices and various physical sensors to create smart, wave-shaped pillows that can be applied to different sleeping postures and accommodate people of different genders and ages. The design project was developed from multiple perspectives: Background, Design Concept, Mechanical Element, Innovation Achievement, and Commercial Viability, which comprehensively demonstrated the innovative and implementable nature of the design.
The IMechE Hong Kong Branch organizes the annual Best Student Design Award to recognize the contributions to the mechanical industry from student design projects and to appreciate the performance of outstanding mechanical engineering students. The award is given to the design project that has the potential to impact the mechanical engineering industry, exhibits technical excellence in the field of mechanical engineering, demonstrates innovation, and shows commercial viability.
