Posted on April 29, 2025 by Sean M. Wood
The TaijiToy Team gives a birds up as their Senior Design I project comes close to competition at the Tech Symposium
Entrepreneurs know the importance of controlling costs when running a small business. That’s one reason Steve Brown contacted the senior designers at the Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Design.
Brown founded TaijiToys, a 3D version of the yin-yang symbol. His design comes in multiple colors, representing something different, each pairing a contrast. He wants help developing an AI so fans of the collectibles can shop for the TaijiToys that represent them.
“I’m working to create custom-tailored collections,” Brown said. “The engineers are helping me do that.”
Computer Engineering major and Senior Design Team 1 leader Wesley Muller-McKinstry said the project is a good opportunity to work with AI. It’s the main reason he picked it for his team. They are taking information Brown used to collect manually from online forms and building what are essentially personality profiles for customers to connect them with their TaijiToy.
“Our job is to automate this and put it all online,” Muller-McKinstry said. “We’re asking customers to answer questions about their aspirations, and what’s most important to them. Based on those responses, we generate the color pairings resulting in opposing traits. Things like ambition and calmness.”
He said it has given him valuable experience working for a client, managing expectations, and collaborating. “This is what I can expect to encounter in the actual engineering workforce,” Muller-McKinstry said.
Brown, who creates the toys with a maker space in Boerne, said working with the Senior Design 1 team allows him to learn about his business.
“I benefit greatly as a small-business owner and as an upstart,” Brown said. “There is just a tremendous benefit to working with students instead of a company that would charge me. I can afford the process of learning, engaging, and collaborating. It provides a huge cost saving.”
Senior Design 1 team will present their work at the Spring 2025 Tech Symposium May 1. They are:
- Nathaniel Duarte, Computer Engineer
- Anthony Guzman, Computer Engineer
- Wesley Muller-McKinstry, Computer Engineer
- Ernesto Quenedit, Computer Engineer
- Paul-Anthony Sutton, Electrical Engineer
— Sean M. Wood
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