MATLAB Engineering Project Ideas

Gain practical experience and contribute to the progress of engineering and science while using MATLAB and Simulink in your capstone or final-year project or your master’s thesis topic.

Featured Project Ideas

Review this sampling of research and design MATLAB project ideas and be inspired to solve challenging industry problems.
See the complete project list and find out how to get started.


Satellite Collision Avoidance

Model satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) to identify conjunctions and prevent collisions with space debris while maintaining orbital requirements.

Impact
Contribute to the success of satellite mega-constellations and improve the safety of the LEO environment.

Expertise Gained
Autonomous Vehicles, Aerospace, Satellites, Control, Modeling and Simulation

Traffic Data Analysis for Modeling and Prediction of Traffic Scenarios

Analyze real-world traffic data to understand, model, and predict human driving trajectories.

Impact
Contribute to autonomous driving technologies and intelligent transportation research.

Expertise Gained
Big Data, Autonomous Vehicles, Support Vector Machines, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Automotive  

Smart Watering System with Internet of Things

Develop a smart plant water system using the Internet of Things and low-cost hardware.

Impact
Minimize the negative effects of the overuse of water in farming and preserve water resources.

Expertise Gained
Sustainability and Renewable Energy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Low-Cost Hardware, Deep Learning, Cloud Computing 

Machine Learning for Motor Control

Enhance the performance and product quality required to develop a motor control application.

Impact
Contribute to the global transition to smart manufacturing and electrification.

Expertise Gained
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Control, Machine Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Automotive

Flight Controller Design and Hardware Deployment

Build a mini drone and use the PX4 Hardware Support Package to design the flight controller using Simulink.

Impact
Expedite unmanned aerial vehicle design and assembly with Model-Based Design.

Expertise Gained
Drones, Autonomous Vehicles, Control, Low-Cost Hardware, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) 

Portable Charging System for Electric Vehicles

Design a portable charger for electric vehicles.

Impact
Help make electric vehicles more reliable for general use.

Expertise Gained
Sustainability and Renewable Energy, Control, Electrification, Modeling and Simulation

Warehouse Robotics Simulation

Simulate multirobot interactions for efficient algorithm design and warehouse operations.

Impact
Advance the automation of warehouse applications and reduce associated time and energy consumption.

Expertise Gained
Autonomous Vehicles, Robotics, Human-Robot Interaction, Humanoids, Mobile Robots  

Synthetic Aperture Radar Simulator

Develop a lightweight synthetic aperture radar (SAR) raw data simulator.

Impact
Accelerate the design of SAR imaging systems and reduce the time and cost for their development for aerial and terrestrial applications.

Expertise Gained
Autonomous Vehicles, Automotive, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), Image Processing, Signal Processing, Radar Processing

Optimization of Large Antenna Arrays for Astronomical Applications

Design a large antenna array and optimize its multiple design variables to achieve desired transmission/reception characteristics.

Impact
Advance long-distance communications capabilities for astronomical applications.

Expertise Gained
5G, Smart Antennas, Wireless Communications, Optimization  

Green Hydrogen Production

Develop a model of a reversible fuel cell integrated into a renewable-energy microgrid structure.

Impact
Contribute to the global transition to zero-emission energy sources through the production of hydrogen from clean sources.

Expertise Gained
Sustainability and Renewable Energy, Electrification, Digital Twins, Modeling and Simulation

Wind Turbine Predictive Maintenance Using Machine Learning

Improve the reliability of wind turbines by using machine learning to inform a predictive maintenance model.

Impact
Contribute to providing the world with reliable green energy.

Expertise Gained
Industry 4.0, Sustainability and Renewable Energy, Machine Learning, Electrification, Modeling and Simulation, Predictive Maintenance, Wind Turbines 

Deep Learning for UAV Infrastructure Inspection

Automate the process of infrastructure inspection using UAVs and deep learning.

Impact
Enhance the safety and speed of infrastructure inspection across a wide range of industries.

Expertise Gained
Computer Vision, Drones, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), Deep Learning 

Speech Background Noise Suppression with Deep Learning

Develop a deep learning neural network for audio background noise suppression.

Impact
Advance hearing aid technology through research in speech enhancement and noise suppression and improve the quality of life of persons with a hearing impairment.

Expertise Gained
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Deep Learning, Neural Networks, Signal Processing  

Build a Wireless Communications Link with Software-Defined Radio

Gain practical experience in wireless communications by designing inexpensive software-designed radios.

Impact
Develop your own expertise in wireless technology and drive this megatrend forward, in industry and society.

Expertise Gained
5G, Low-Cost Hardware, Modeling and Simulation, Signal Processing, Software-Defined Radio (SDR), Wireless Communications  

Autonomous Vehicle Localization Using Onboard Sensors and HD Geolocated Maps

Revolutionize the current transportation system by improving autonomous vehicle localization for Level 5 automation.

Impact
Contribute to the progress of the automobile industry and transportation systems.

Expertise Gained
Computer Vision, Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), State Estimation, Sensor Fusion and Tracking