Electrical Engineering Students Showcase Copeland Creek Pedestrian Counter at Community Celebration
At the Native Plant & Butterfly Garden and Copeland Creek Trail celebration on August 29, 2026, two Sonoma State University Electrical Engineering students, Heybee Esquer Cheno and Vinci Jahniel Aure, presented their summer research work on the Copeland Creek Pedestrian Counter.
The event, organized by SSU’s Center for Environmental Inquiry (CEI), the Kinesiology Department, and community partners, celebrated the unveiling of the newly improved Native Plant & Butterfly Garden and Copeland Creek Trail. The celebration brought together students, faculty, community members, environmental professionals, regional partners, and local leaders.
As members of the 2026 SSU Summer Research Program, Heybee and Vinci contributed to the development and testing of a pedestrian-counting system designed to measure the number of people using the Copeland Creek Trail. The system collects pedestrian traffic data and makes the information available through an online dashboard.
During the event, the students described their work and discussed some of the technical challenges they encountered during the project. In particular, they shared their experiences developing a reliable wireless communication system and designing a solar-powered system capable of operating continuously in an outdoor environment. They also discussed challenges associated with pedestrian detection, sensor placement, field installation, power management, and transmitting data from the trail to the online dashboard.
The event provided an important opportunity for the students to communicate their engineering work beyond the classroom and laboratory. Heybee and Vinci interacted with members of the public, the Mayor of Rohnert Park, environmental scientists, faculty, and community partners, explaining the system and answering questions about its design and operation.
The Copeland Creek Pedestrian Counter is an example of how engineering, environmental studies, and community engagement can come together in a practical project. The collected data can help provide a better understanding of how the trail is being used while giving students the opportunity to apply engineering concepts to a real-world problem.
Congratulations to Heybee Esquer Cheno and Vinci Jahniel Aure for their great work and dedication to this project. Their work is yet another example of how engineering students can apply their technical skills and knowledge to real-world projects that help improve and support our communities.
The Copeland Creek Pedestrian Counter dashboard can be viewed at:
CEI BUTTERFLY GARDEN - PEDESTRIAN DASHBOARD