NC State’s Product Innovation Lab Showcase Highlights AI, Safety Tech and Smarter Design

Graduate students from across NC State collaborated to develop and pitch innovative products ranging from smart health wearables to AI-powered tools, showcasing how cross-disciplinary teams turn ideas into market-ready solutions.

On Thursday, Dec. 4, graduate students and members of the Triangle’s innovation and start-up community gathered at Raleigh Founded for NC State’s 10th annual Product Innovation Lab Showcase.

The MBA 555 Product Design and Development course – recognized by Forbes as one of the nation’s top 10 Most Innovative Business Courses – is a collaborative experience that brings together multidisciplinary graduate teams across engineering, management, microbiology, design, physiology and textiles. Throughout the fall semester, students work alongside faculty from Poole College of Management and the College of Engineering to learn the entire product development process.

The course places students in charge of the innovation journey, from research to prototyping to business planning. Troy Nagle, faculty mentor and Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, says that ownership is core to the experience: “We give them a large concept and say, ‘It’s yours. Run with it.’ We never tell them exactly what to do, and by the end, they have a prototype, a business case and they’re so proud of themselves.”

This collaborative approach pairs MBA and engineering students – pushing them to approach problems through multiple lenses. That mix of perspectives often leads teams to surprising results, says Ola Harrysson, Edward P. Fitts Distinguished Professor, who guides students through prototyping and manufacturing considerations. “Teams get the same information and interview the same people, yet they come out with completely different solutions. It often comes down to who they are and the experiences they bring with them.”

The course continues to evolve alongside industry needs, with students increasingly exploring new technologies like artificial intelligence. Jonathan Bohlmann, fellow course instructor and Professor of Marketing and Innovation at Poole College of Management, notes this shift firsthand: “We don’t chase technology, but we follow the trends. Five years ago, none of our teams touched AI. Now we have multiple projects that incorporate it.”

The semester concludes with a pitch showcase in cooperation with RIoT, an Internet of Things (IoT) community hub, where students present prototypes, business cases and go-to-market plans to local entrepreneurs acting as “investors.” This year, eight student teams debuted concepts ranging from an app that reduces food waste to a smart glove health monitor for construction workers – demonstrating just how much innovation can happen in a single semester of cross-disciplinary creativity.

“Watching everything come together is its own reward,” says Bohlmann. “I always say the only thing better than the beginning of the semester is the end. Seeing where they end up and being able to celebrate how their ideas culminate into something great – that’s my favorite part.”

Judge’s Favorite

aimkon Health – Aim for Safety. Work with Confidence.

The judges’ favorite project was aimkon Health’s SitePulse One smart glove, developed by team members Nia Sayyed (microbiotechnology), Kendolyn Johnson (physiology), Kutay Durular (ID), Marc Dobos (ECE) and MBA students Ian Brown, Abdul-Rahim B. Abdul-Mumin and Joon Kim. The innovative SitePulse One health tracking device for construction workers detects heat stress, fatigue and dehydration in real time, delivering early alerts before conditions turn dangerous.

“Construction workers operate in intense environments and make up a majority of workplace injuries. Most devices don’t track the factors that lead to falls – like dehydration, core body temperature, heart rate and oxygen levels – so we created an affordable device that tracks all of them at once,” said Sayyed.

The team’s early prototype impressed judges, but Brown and Johnson note that clinical testing remains a crucial next step. “Sensors can behave differently on different parts of the body, so we need to validate how the device performs before we move into manufacturing.”

Audience Favorites

FoodMindful – Your AI Sous-Chef for Effortless Meal Planning

FoodMindful, created by Chase Maier (nuclear engineering), Sinchana Kandiga and Prathika Ponnuswamy (ECE), Kinjal Sharma (MEM), and MBA students Chloe Ekberg and Ramanpreet Kaur, was the audience favorite – earning the most mock investor dollars.

Designed for busy, eco-conscious households, the FoodMindful app reduces food waste by turning what you already have into personalized meal plans. The app uses AI to analyze grocery receipts, track inventory, and suggest personalized recipes based on user preferences and consumption habits. The app also incorporates gamification elements, such as a savings dashboard, to motivate users to reduce waste and save money.

“People want to meal prep with the best intentions, but by Wednesday, they’re too busy, they order takeout, and the chicken and spinach they bought on Sunday go to waste,” said Ekberg. “FoodMindful fixes that by scanning your receipt, tracking ingredients and expiration dates, and generating recipes that use what you already bought.”

SMARTFIT – Adapts to You, Senses for You.

A second audience favorite was SMARTFIT, an intelligent prosthetic socket that provides an adaptive fit for limb loss patients, developed by MBA students Paul Hart and Jajuan Monroe, Marisa Boretti (Eng. Ed.), Bhavya Jain and Meghana Manjunath (ECE), Pinar Onal (BME) and Sharmila Shirolkar (MEM).

Addressing the issue of poor socket fit in prosthetics, which can cause pressure points and tissue damage, the SMARTFIT solution involves an adjustable socket with embedded pressure sensors and a digital component that displays a heat map on a smartphone app, allowing real-time pressure adjustments.

“In a standard prosthetic socket, there’s no adjustability, and patients – especially those with diabetes – can’t feel pressure points. Over time, that can cause real tissue damage. SMARTFIT gives users a heat map in an app so they can adjust the fit in real time and relieve that pressure,” said Hart.

The idea stemmed from long-standing challenges in the prosthetics industry, and perspectives from engineering, research and business team members provided valuable experience and insights during product development. “This course allowed us to combine our strengths to solve a real problem. It opened up our scope and showed us how an idea can actually become something that helps people,” shared Onal.

More Inspiring Innovations

AEROGUARD – Your Halo Above.

AEROGUARD’s drone-detection and situational-awareness service system was the audience's third-favorite project.

Created by ECE students Cole Dickerson, Alex Haines, Lakshmi Lavanya Inturi, Sean Kearney and Madhavi Rajkumar Shetagar, and Jenkins MBA students Joel Ezugwu, Alma Maria Isander and Carlos Lemus, the system focuses on drone detection to protect the electric power grid from malicious drone attacks, alerting personnel to incoming drones and allowing them to take precautions. The system delivers real-time clarity for faster, safer decisions, preventing outages, accidents, false alarms and financial losses.

“Our idea is to protect the electric power grid from drone incidents – whether it’s a malicious attack or an accidental hit – because even one small collision can cause major damage and costly repairs. And instead of just selling a detector, we’re offering a full service that integrates with existing security systems, manages upgrades and maintenance, and keeps the grid from having to learn something new,” said Lavanya Inturi.

ChartStart – Saving you valuable market research time.

ChartStart is a market research automation tool that reduces months of work to minutes. Developed by Siya Bhandari (microbiotechnology), Kirupakaran Arul and Sankeerth Vishnubhotla (ECE), Astin Andrews (IMSE), Prem Gandhi (ISE), Prithvi Donthi Rukmangada (MEM) and Travis Clemens (MBA), ChartStart pulls verified insights from trusted databases and turns them into a clear snapshot of any market – highlighting trends, risks and competitors so users can move faster and make stronger decisions.

“We built a tool that’s hyper-focused on one purpose – market research. Instead of reading thousands of reports and building templates manually, AI does the heavy lifting,” said Arul.

ToddFlex – Shoes that Grow with Them.

Designed by Jack Boucher (ISE), Kaleah Gaddy (textiles engineering), John Fraello and Gauravdutt Singh (MEM), and Jenkins MBA students Richard Dong and Rand Hiasat, ToddFlex is an adjustable, barefoot-style toddler shoe that supports natural foot development while reducing the need for frequent replacements. The design pairs flexible materials with expandable sizing and playful customization, giving parents a healthier, longer-lasting option for growing feet.

The team noted that existing products tend to be either size-adjustable or focused on foot health – but not both – and most target older children or young adults rather than toddlers. That cross-disciplinary challenge shaped their approach to ToddFlex.

“Working with teammates from different majors has been amazing. Seeing ideas come together – from 3D printing to design – felt like a real cross-functional team,” said Dong. “It’s exactly the kind of experience you need in the real world.” 

SenseAhead – Detect Early. Work Safer.

Another product focused on reducing workplace injuries was SenseAhead, a multi-sensor smart shirt designed to help workers and promote safer workplaces, developed by Artemis Badger (BME), Marc Dobos (ECE), Luisa Chavez Vasquez (ECE) and PhD candidates Sultanus Salehin and Irem Yunculer.

The SenseAhead Smart Shirt monitors heart rate, oxygen saturation, temperature and motion to detect early signs of heat stress and fatigue. By delivering real-time alerts and actionable insights regarding these measurements, workers can make adjustments to prevent health emergencies before they happen.

“We chose a T-shirt because you don’t have to remember to wear it. If we can shrink the system into a small component and integrate it into clothing, it won’t be felt but will help keep workers safe,” said Salehin.

REMmask – Validating Good Sleep.

REMmask is an at-home REM sleep monitoring system that detects variance in eye movement. Created by BME students Jessica Eng, Emily Foley, and Paige Gill, and ECE students Isaac Paolino, Ysabel Rey and Emily Adams, the device bridges the gap between consumer-grade trackers and clinical sleep studies by using electrodes to monitor eye movement – a key indicator of REM sleep.

“We’re developing a better system for at-home sleep monitoring, focusing on REM sleep, which is a big indicator of conditions like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and mental health issues. Our goal is to make it more comfortable and accurate for patients,” said Paulino.

By eliminating bulky wiring typically used in clinical sleep tests, REMmask enables users to collect high-quality data from the comfort of their own homes – and get a better night’s sleep while doing it. “Instead of just relying on consumer watches or clinical polysomnograms, we track eye movement with electrodes (EOG) so we can monitor REM sleep accurately while keeping it comfortable for users,” said Eng.