Advanced Fitness Metrics: Smart Barbell Attachment

Kevin Zabrowski, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in Electrical Engineering and minor in Mathematics

My senior design project focused on creating a device that measures advanced exercise metrics such as barbell velocity, acceleration, and tilt. These are important for optimizing strength training and rehabilitation but are not captured by traditional methods. To solve this, I developed a smart barbell attachment: a lightweight, wireless sensor system that uses an accelerometer and gyroscope connected to a microcontroller. This system records real-time motion data, which is then processed using algorithms to provide detailed feedback on lifting performance. Through testing, the device successfully distinguished between light and heavy lifts, detected points where lifters tend to struggle, and identified barbell tilts that may indicate muscle imbalances or technique flaws. These results validated that the system could provide athletes, coaches, and physical therapists with useful, actionable data that normally goes unseen during workouts.

I became interested in this research area because of my background in powerlifting and my desire to explore ways to measure lifting performance more precisely. I was motivated by the idea that deeper, more accurate measurements could not only improve athletic outcomes but also prevent injury by identifying poor form early. During my initial research, I reviewed several commercial products and found that while some measured bar velocity, none offered comprehensive tilt angle tracking or gave users access to raw sensor data for deeper analysis. That realization made me confident there was a meaningful opportunity for innovation.

Going into the project, I expected the capstone to be centered on building hardware and running some tests to demonstrate it worked. In reality, the experience was much richer and more complex. It required me to study and apply advanced techniques like sensor fusion through Kalman filtering, coordinate transformations using rotation matrices, and digital signal processing in MATLAB to clean up noisy data. The project became an interdisciplinary challenge, bringing together hardware design, embedded programming, algorithm development, and biomechanical analysis.

One of the hardest challenges I encountered was dealing with sensor imperfections. Accelerometers tend to suffer from noise, while gyroscopes are prone to drift, making raw measurements unreliable. Combining these two sources through sensor fusion to get stable, accurate readings turned out to be a detailed and technical process. Another major challenge was designing an algorithm to detect exercise repetitions based on velocity data. Lifting movements in real life are inconsistent. Pauses, varying tempos, and small deviations made simple threshold detection unreliable. I had to build a finite state machine (FSM) that could adapt to these irregularities without miscounting repetitions. On the other hand, some aspects went more smoothly. Designing and assembling the physical prototype, including the 3D-printed case, was relatively straightforward and satisfying. I was also surprised by how much trial and error went into tuning filters. Extracting clean velocity signals required carefully balancing filter settings to reduce noise without removing valid movement data.

If I were to continue this work, I would first add Bluetooth capability to the device.
Currently, the prototype logs data onto a micro-SD card, which means users have to manually transfer the data for analysis. Wireless streaming to a mobile app would make the system much more convenient and practical. This would also open the door to real-time feedback, such as audio or visual cues when a user’s form begins to break down during a set. Another area for expansion would be adapting the data analysis algorithms to run directly on the device or in the app, so that lifters receive instant feedback rather than having to review reports afterward.

Finally, I would test the device with a broader group of users with different body types and lifting styles to make the repetition detection algorithm more robust and adaptable to diverse patterns. The most important takeaway from this project is a deeper appreciation for the challenge of capturing and analyzing human movement in a reliable way. I developed confidence in building systems from start to finish, from the idea stage through hardware assembly and software programming to producing useful feedback for users. This process also taught me how to comprehensively document my designs and create professional-quality figures and schematics that clearly communicate technical ideas.

Understanding Children's Mental Health

Mahjazee Ruiz, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in Psychology and minor in Dance

For my capstone, I wanted to focus on an area that really aligned with my passions and interests, something I felt very strongly about. I've always been motivated to work with children and adolescents in my future career, and I have also always been a big advocate for mental health awareness in our society and communities. Focusing on the minimal attention that children's mental health receives would be very suited and important research for me.

My expectations for this capstone experience were pretty high, as I had never written or done this much research on my own, and that reality was a little daunting and overwhelming when I realized how big the project actually was. I think the hardest part for me was structuring all my information in the most relevant order and in a way that cohesively flowed, because there was so much information I had gathered.

At times, when working with my mentor, I found it hard to take out things I had written or edit and change them, because I believed every piece of information was important. Some things made more sense than others when developing the idea and structure for my research, so I had to make sure I was purposeful with the information I included to keep the goal of my research clear.

Finding the specific sub-topics I would include about children's mental health research was also quite challenging since many areas of children’s mental health didn't necessarily have that much research done on them, especially in terms of early diagnosis and interventions.

Not having a sufficient amount of research made the process take longer than I wanted and was a little frustrating. But the easiest thing for me about this entire project was writing it. It came so naturally to me to talk about something I would genuinely advocate for. When you speak from your heart, the words flow effortlessly, and that was one of the things that I most enjoyed from this research.

As someone who has struggled with mental health since a young age, this capstone hit close to home. I could relate to the need for identifying mental health needs in children, because when I was a kid having someone there and different outlets of expression helped me through a lot of difficult times.

As a child, it’s challenging to understand your emotions, especially if they are due to some sort of mental challenge. The environment that you come from can be evident in the way a child copes with their emotions and feelings. It was important for me to highlight the basis that there is not being enough care for specific groups, with emphasis on underdeveloped and marginalized communities.

One thing we fight for in this world is equality on all fronts. But how often is the need for children’s mental health advertised? Upon the completion of my capstone, I’ve noticed I have become much more aware of what society should do to navigate a healthier and more emotionally stable world for our children. Awareness and knowledge are where the growth begins, to help and nurture the minds of children for happier and more stable lives.

Visiting Freshkills Park

Matthew Dodge, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in Biology (7-12) and minor in ASL

Last spring, I visited the infamous Freshkills Park, 2,200-acre wetlands that once housed the former Fresh Kills Landfill. For 46 years, Fresh Kills Landfill was the largest operating landfill in the world, processing about 29,000 short tons of garbage per day. In 1996, Staten Island’s Borough President Guy Molinari filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging the Fresh Kills Landfill violated the Clean Air Act of 1970 due to the daily emission of 5 tons of methane gas from the decomposing garbage. The landfill was finally closed in March of 2001, and was briefly reopened as a sorting area after the 9/11 attacks. Rescue workers sifted through approximately 1.6 million tons of World Trade Center rubble.

After closing, the garbage was covered by an impermeable landfill cap, sealing the garbage underground forever. This seal stops water from entering the waste, and stops methane gas from entering the atmosphere uncontrolled. Today, the park is suited to become the largest New York City park, about three times larger than Central Park. It is currently the largest grasslands environment in the region. The ecosystem has since started healing, and has become a hub for Ecology research and bird watching. The park will also have a memorial where the 9/11 search and rescue efforts took place, honoring the lives lost. This beautiful park serves as a reminder for how important environmental conservation is, and what we can do to promote ecological diversity in our environment.

Understanding Prosody in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Kayla Poggi, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in English Linguistics and minor in ASL

Throughout the completion of my capstone project, I learned things that will be beneficial to my future career as a Speech Language Pathologist, and learned more about Autism Spectrum.
For example, understanding prosody, which refers to the rhythm, pitch, volume, and intonation of speech, and plays an essential role in how we convey meaning, emotion, and intent in communication. In autism, prosody can be affected in various ways, which may lead to differences in how speech sounds to others. Many individuals with autism experience differences in prosody, such as monotone speech, which is a lack of variation in pitch, atypical speech rhythm, or inappropriate stress on words. These differences can sometimes make it harder for others to interpret their emotional state, intentions, or level of engagement.
This research taught me how social communication can have its challenges for someone with autism. The differences in prosody in individuals with autism may contribute to challenges in social communication. For instance, their speech might not align with social expectations of tone, such as speaking too loudly or softly, which can affect social interactions and lead to misunderstandings.
Prosody in autism could be due to difficulties in both producing and perceiving prosodic cues. Research could focus on whether individuals with autism struggle more with prosodic production (e.g., monotone speech) or perception (e.g., difficulty recognizing emotional tones in speech).
In addition to learning about prosody and how it impacts individuals with autism, I also learned a great deal about writing an in-depth research paper. I learned about writing structure, paying attention to details and making sure what I am writing aligns with my evidence. I learned how to do research on certain databases, handling citations, and how best to utilize my sources.
If I continued research on this topic, I think it could be further developed by observing people with autism in a social setting and focusing on expressive and receptive language.

The Effect of Spinal Electrical Cord Stimulation for Neurogenic Bladder

Karina Toska, Verrazzano Class of 2025, completed major in Biology and minor in Spanish

My research was motivated by an interest in anatomy and a curiosity of understanding the body systems and how they affect each other. My objective explored urinary incontinence due to spinal cord injury. Urinary incontinence is the leakage of urine from the bladder due to an individual losing control over the muscles in the bladder due to weakness. The urinary system and central nervous system are involved because the damage to nerves in the spinal cord create a miscommunication with the bladder which ultimately leads to patients urinating involuntarily, when their bladder isn’t full.

Methods such as electrical muscle stimulation are used, where shocks are applied from patches placed on top of or under the skin. Studies found that the electrical muscle stimulation had a positive impact, where events of involuntary urination decreased by 64%.

I was anticipating my capstone being difficult, because many studies had to be conducted and reviewed. It was challenging to read through multiple articles and create one cohesive paper based on many different data sets. Learning about and writing about the anatomy of the human body was easy since I had already learned that, and reading through articles gave me a refresher.

I think research on this topic could be further expanded to test if electrical muscle stimulation is able to provide more function to other limitations in the body, such as paralysis. Individuals who have gone through many unfortunate events that left them with paralyzed body parts might feel like they have lost hope, that they’ll never be able to move as they did before. Now, with new technological advancements, they will be able to regain function.

 After this research experience, I have been very appreciative of the physicians and physical therapists that work to help patients live happier lives and allow them to get therapy to gain more control over their bodies, therefore allowing them to have more control over their lives. I’ve been working as an EMT and many of the older patients I have had to transport have urinary incontinence, and many are bed-ridden, with diapers or tubes to catch their urine into a jug.

I was surprised yet elated with the results; in the beginning I had no idea if shocks delivered to the spinal cord would actually have a noticeable effect on a patient being able to hold in their urine, but in a relatively short time, I found that it was possible.