Camosun College — Mechanical Engineering Capstone
The Camosun College Capstone Team
Four students, one semester, and a production-ready shell for Aqua Sentry.
Four students, one semester, and a production-ready shell for Aqua Sentry.
The current smart buoy market is largely divided between high-cost, research-grade oceanographic instruments and low-cost consumer devices that are not designed to withstand long-term deployment in harsh marine environments. At the same time, there is a growing need for affordable, easy-to-deploy monitoring systems that provide real-time environmental data for researchers, industry, and environmental organizations. This creates an opportunity for a low-cost smart buoy capable of collecting reliable data while remaining accessible to a wider range of users.
Pink Pigeon Innovations Inc., a technology startup based in Victoria, British Columbia, is developing Aqua Sentry, a low-cost marine monitoring platform designed to improve access to environmental data. The smart buoy is intended to continuously measure important water quality parameters such as water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and other environmental metrics, while also monitoring atmospheric conditions including air temperature, humidity, and light intensity. CEO and Founder Imtehaze Heerah partnered with our capstone team to design and prototype a durable buoy hull and electronics enclosure that could protect the system in marine environments while supporting future manufacturing.
A major objective of this project was to create a functional and visually appealing prototype while designing the buoy for future batch production using manufacturing methods such as vacuum forming, laser cutting, and waterjet cutting. Balancing manufacturability, durability, cost, and performance presented several engineering challenges throughout the design process. Working within project deadlines and evolving design requirements required our team to apply engineering design principles, manufacturing knowledge, and problem-solving skills developed during our studies at Camosun College. This project provided valuable experience in designing a real-world product intended for commercial development.
Project & Accounting Lead
Sam’s lifelong passion for cars and design pulled him toward mechanical engineering, where a natural gift for math backed up his dream of becoming a car designer. As head of the Camosun Engineering Automotives Club, he brought hands-on project leadership to Aqua Sentry, shaping the buoy’s design to be compact, intentional, and production-ready. He’s excited to bring the buoy to oceans worldwide.
Manufacturing Lead
Markus has always been drawn to engineering and the process of solving problems. As manufacturing lead, he learned HDPE vacuum forming and plastic welding from scratch, kept the team’s materials and documents organized on a shared drive, and built strong client and supplier relationships — sourcing acrylic, HDPE, mooring equipment, and marine fasteners from local partners in person.
Documentation Lead
Isak has always loved building rough prototypes of his own ideas, and joined Camosun’s Mechanical Engineering program to back them with real math and proper design methods. On Aqua Sentry he applied SolidWorks, 3D printing, manual machining, and laser cutting — his first real step into marine industry work, and a stepping stone toward his engineering career.
CAD Lead
Austin has been fascinated by the mechanics of heavy machinery and vehicles for as long as he can remember, which pulled him toward mechanical engineering. He’s spent much of his academic career and free time designing and reverse-engineering mechanical systems and parts, developing a sharp eye for fitments, tolerances, and additive manufacturing along the way.
“Our team would like to sincerely thank Pink Pigeon Innovations Inc. for the opportunity to contribute to the design and development of the Aqua Sentry smart buoy. We also extend our gratitude to Enviro Floats and the District of Saanich for generously donating the four buoys and HDPE pipes used in the development of our prototypes. This project provided a valuable opportunity to apply the engineering knowledge and design skills we developed throughout our studies while contributing to the advancement of a real-world product with meaningful environmental applications.”
— Pink Pigeon Design Team, Camosun College