Seniors Work on Capstones with Sikorsky Engineers

Students tackle complex projects involving AI, coding and robotics

Six Sacred Heart University School of Computer Science & Engineering students are working on their senior capstone projects with engineers from Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company. The Stratford-based aircraft manufacturer has also provided funding to support the students’ projects.

As a way to get more hands-on experience in their field, the students decided to do a capstone project, one final, extensive assignment before graduation. At the time of sign-ups, they did not know Sikorsky engineers would play such a pivotal role in their passion projects, nor that the company would provide the groups with $10,000 to advance their work.

Four of the students, who are studying computer science, are creating a Smart Corrective Action Assistant, or SCAA software, that will help an organization identify and resolve issues based on historical data. Their project aims to develop smart AI-driven software that will help Sikorsky engineers and production teams solve recurring technical issues.

The two other students, who are studying engineering, are working on building and designing a robotic arm that responds and reacts to commands. Inspired by JARVIS, the fictional Tony Stark’s super smart computer assistant from the Iron Man films, the students aim to build a robotic arm that acts as a physical assistant. The arm, called Makers Assistant Real Kinematics, or MARK, will not only accept and respond to voice commands, but it will also perform actions such as picking up tools.

A couple of times a month, each group of students Zooms with the engineers from Sikorsky. The professionals pepper the students with questions, which inspire the seniors to think deeply about their projects and the complex work ahead of them. The students ask the engineers questions, and they provide feedback.

“Sikorsky proudly partners with Sacred Heart University to nurture future STEM innovators through real-world capstone projects,” said Steve Schmidt, vice president of engineering & technology at Sikorsky. “The MARK team’s voice-controlled, image-recognizing robotic arm demonstrates how we can accelerate automation for helicopter production. The SCAA team’s AIdriven, correctiveaction assistant streamlines aircraft production issue resolution. These projects highlight the creativity and technical excellence that will shape our engineering and manufacturing future. We look forward to deepening our collaboration with SHU.”

Tolga Kaya, professor and director of the engineering program, said from the students’ point of view, being able to work with top-level engineers is “huge.”

Working on MARK

Doria Lukasik-Drescher, an electrical engineering major, and Julia Piascik, a double major in computer engineering and computer science, are the scholars behind the robotic arm MARK. They’ve been friends since their first year at SHU and made a pact that they would work on their capstone project together because it would be a good way to stay in touch during their busy senior year.

Kaya was impressed with their idea and gave them the go-ahead to start working. They ordered parts over the summer and got busy this semester. They have two very distinct roles: Lukasik-Drescher works on the hardware, and Piascik is in charge of the software. “We have a pretty clear vision,” Lukasik-Drescher said.

Piascik is writing all the code for MARK using Python, and Lukasik-Drescher is ensuring the software and hardware communicate with one another. She works with wires and circuit boards to get MARK to move.

“Ideally, when this works, someone will say, ‘Hey MARK, can you pass me a hammer?’” Piascik said. “Then MARK, or the arm, will retrieve the hammer, pass it to the user and respond, ‘Here’s the hammer. What else do you need?’”

Lukasik-Drescher and Piascik agree that working with Sikorsky is great. “They want to help us, and they want to see us succeed,” Lukasik-Drescher said. Piascik added, “These are true engineers, and to be a student and work with them is an amazing experience.”

The SCAA Group

Senior computer science students Mahmud Kandawala, Joaquin Camaran, Thiago Reis and Mirbalaj Rishi make up the team working on the SCAA. The group hopes to develop an internal software tool that helps Sikorsky engineers and production teams quickly resolve recurring technical issues.

Their idea builds off a system that’s already in place at Sikorsky. The SHU version of the SCAA enables users to enter simple questions to receive AI-generated responses complete with instructions and references from Sikorsky’s history.According to Camaran, the primary objective is to enable Sikorsky engineers to solve technical problems more quickly and efficiently by leveraging AI. In simple terms, engineers will be able to chat with an assistant that can search through past reports and documents to find step-by-step solutions or helpful references to similar issues that have already been resolved.

Camaran is responsible for developing the project’s front end. “I’m working on designing and building the part of the application that people actually see and use—the interface where engineers and administrators interact with the assistant,” he said. “This includes the chat screen where questions are asked and answers appear, as well as pages that allow administrators to log in and securely upload or remove documents that the assistant will learn from. My goal is to make everything look clean, feel easy to use and work smoothly so that anyone can quickly find the information they need without any confusion.”

Kandawala is the lead student and backend engineer on the project. He oversees the system architecture and guides the team’s development workflow, ensuring that each component from the database to the user interface integrates seamlessly. “Taking the lead in these areas has pushed me to think like a professional software engineer, balancing design, performance and security while also mentoring my teammates and keeping the project aligned with Lockheed Martin’s standards,” he said.

Rishi, the project’s machine-learning specialist, teaches computers how to use data. “I am very excited to work on this project, and I believe it is going to be the highlight of my senior year. So far, the Sikorsky engineers are really nice, and we are off to a good start,” Rishi said.

The computer students are thrilled to work with Sikorsky and soak up all the knowledge they can from the experts. “Seeing how the engineers approach problems, break them down into manageable parts and tackle solutions at an enterprise scale has been eye opening,” said Kandawala. “It shows me the difference between classroom projects and real-world engineering, and it motivates me to bring that same structured, detail-oriented mindset to my own work.”

Kaya is thrilled about the partnership with Sikorsky and is excited to see his students’ projects progress over the next several months. He said the experience and mentorship for the students is “priceless.”

Header image: Doria Lukasik-Drescher and Julia Piascik with MARK
Inset: Joaquin Camaran, Mahmud Kandawala, Mirbalaj Rishi and Thiago Reis