Duke Energy Innovation Lab

The Innovation Lab will…

• Educate students, parents, visitors, and others about smart devices and their benefits in the context of energy consumption and conservation.  The devices will be created by students in and out of class, and as part of special client-guided or faculty-led project arrangements.
• Push the boundaries of experimental learning. Duke Energy will pose Student Challenges that address real-world issues in the energy sector and beyond. This includes developing rapid prototypes that leverage a range of advanced technologies, especially artificial intelligence.
• Provide students with resume-enhancing project work, ranging from design innovation to the soldering and testing of experimental printed circuit boards for Duke Energy’s use in the field.
• Serve as a classroom-connected lab for courses (such as embedded systems programming, computer organization, and artificial intelligence) to add immersive hands-on learning and enhance curriculum integration.
• Offer STEAM programs to K-12 students and be available for tours for external stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary home of the NKU IoT Club.
• Leverage Duke’s focus on Safety to help build out the lab with Safety top of mind.

The Innovation Lab features...

• Three workstations:
  • Robotics
  • Soldering
  • Device testing
• A showcase area that can be outfitted with future technology, such as electric vehicle charging equipment, battery storage, solar, mini windmill, and smart appliances.
• A continually changing set of projects, such as:
  • Solar off-grid system monitoring.
  • Studies of wind mill effectiveness in low-speed wind, with noise signature analysis.
  • High-tech robot sensor dogs.
• Digital displays that provide dynamic content. They serve to educate visitors on topics such as grid-scale storage and peak demand issues. They adapt to specific programs and events held in the lab, such as STEAM activities or research meetings.