Volume 17 | Number 1 | Spring 2005 | Automation Issue

The French Connection

Edouard Boniteau and Thomas Dalmagne, both of Lyon, France, recently completed a four-month internship with ATRP’s automation research group.

Georgia Tech’s Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) recently hosted two undergraduate students from France. Edouard Boniteau and Thomas Dalmagne, both of Lyon, France, interned with ATRP’s automation research group as part of their requirements to complete their degrees in Mechanical Engineering at Enim University. The internship program is an ongoing effort between Enim and Georgia Tech to introduce French undergraduate students to American culture while also helping to expand their knowledge in their respective fields of study.

Over the course of the past few years, four other interns have participated in the program. During the four-month internship, the interns work on a mechanical design project where they learn about an industry problem, propose a solution, evaluate the design and functionality of the proposed concept, and build a prototype. They are involved in funded research projects and also work on advanced concepts in the pre-project phase.

While with ATRP, Boniteau and Dalmagne worked with Gary McMurray, automation research project director. Their work centered on projects to enhance the design and performance of ATRP’s prototype automated shackle line loading system. The prototype is being developed as a cost-effective automated system that can be integrated with a commercial singulation machine to provide intelligent hardware to rehang birds onto shackles after an immersion water chiller. Each used their mechanical engineering training to propose new mechanical designs for the system as well as to generate ideas on integrating sensing technology into the system, which would be used to study optimal bird position on the shackle line for proper grasping.

McMurray says that the internship experience has been rewarding for both ATRP and the students. “The students get a real taste of research work, what it takes to bring a design concept to an actual prototype, while we have the opportunity to bring in fresh ideas to solve these very difficult problems.”

The students are graded at the end of the internship and must present a 45-minute oral presentation to Georgia Tech and their Enim University advisor via an Internet video conference. They are graded on the technical content of the research project and their oral presentation, which is delivered in English and judged on their competency and command of the English language.

When asked what they enjoyed most about their internship experience, Boniteau and Dalmagne both agreed that the most rewarding experience was learning what it takes to bring a design idea to the prototype stage.

They also spoke of what they enjoyed most about their time in America. Boniteau admired the welcoming spirit of the American people along with their willingness to give advice and be open-minded. Dalmagne found the sights and sounds of a trip to New Orleans to be a special highlight of his time in the country along with the excitement of attending a NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The internship was Boniteau’s first trip to America, and Dalmagne’s second (his first visit was as a young child).