•  Team 1:  Auto-Owners Insurance
   Web-Based Bond Quote Tool

Auto-Owners Insurance requires a web based tool to facilitate the issuing of bonds, specifically Notary, Auto Dealer, Probate, and License and Permit Bonds. A network of over 34,000 independent agents will use this service which will partially automate a formerly manual process. Our solution will first take input from a user and check it for errors. Then, based on that input, the system will render a decision to issue the bond, suspend the application for further review, or deny the bond. If appropriate, the system will also generate a PDF file for print by the agent issuing the bond and/or an XML file to send to Auto-Owners Insurance for its records. Auto-Owners has challenged us to implement this complex system entirely in Java, and we will deliver.

•  Team 2: Boeing
    Enhanced F/A-18 3D Model For Flight Visualization

The Spring 2005 Boeing Capstone team from Michigan State University produced a F/A-18 flight visualization program to allow the user to "replay" a flight from actual recorded data. Our team will enhance this program to display more detailed control data such as flap, landing gear, rudder and other movements on the plane model.

•  Team 3: DaimlerChrysler
   CFD Mesh Generator GUI/Interface

DaimlerChrysler desires the creation of a new stand-alone mesh visualization application. This application will allow the user to load, visualize and interact with 3D meshes of various car parts. Using a DaimlerChrysler-developed calculation engine, the meshes will be transformed into a format used for fluid dynamics analysis. The design of this application will allow it to be portable over both Unix and Windows systems.

•  Team 4: Ford
   Integrated Automotive Interface

Team Ford will design and build an optimal Human-Machine Interface (HMI) that considers safety, ergonomics, and styling. The components that will be interfaced are audio, climate control as well as basic vehicle diagnostics. The interface will be implemented using Windows operating system and Java program environment. Our, enhanced visual/physical and aural interfaces will hopefully change the driver’s attitude while driving the car from “I have to” to “I want to”.

•  Team 5: Microsoft
    Peer-to-Peer Discovery/Content Sharing

The project entails developing a scalable peer-to-peer discovery and content sharing system. The system will include features such as trust and authentication security as well as smart resource buffering and caching. The system will also include an intelligent load-distributing algorithm to optimize network utilization. The project will build upon the pre-existing Microsoft Windows XP Peer-to-Peer API.

•  Team 6: Motorola
   Managing Complex Heterogeneous Devices

The management of heterogeneous devices has become complex, and will likely continue to become more complex. Devices for one reason or another may require configuration to enter a desired state. Each involved device’s configuration interface may differ tremendously from the next, and the configuration of a device may even differ from release to release. We are designing and developing a universal configuration server, able to communicate and configure each device, hiding the configuration complexities away from the user.

•  Team 7: TWO MEN AND A TRUCK
   Mystery Shop Program

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® conducts quarterly mystery shops for each of their franchise locations. There are two types of mystery shops: Phone and e-mail. The shops are conducted by a third-party company and the results are provided to Two Men And A Truck® in a database format. When Two Men And A Truck® receives the data there are numerous tasks and steps taken in order to generate many reports. We are building an ASP.NET/C# application designed to streamline and automate this entire process into a web-based system.

•  Team 8: Union Pacific Railroad
   On-Board Locomotive Wireless Network

The Union Pacific Wireless Network Project is designed to provide Union Pacific Rail Roads a viable wireless alternative to the current wired data network that exists on board the locomotives of their fleet. As networks need to be changed, individual systems upgraded and new systems added the locomotives must be pulled out of service to have the maintenance performed. This down time costs money in manpower and service time lost by the locomotive. By creating a wireless alternative to the current wired network we aim to provide a solution capable of reducing the down time of the locomotive, the number of man hours required to perform systems upgrades and additions while maintaining, if not improving the security and reliability of the network.