In order for microfluidics devices to be marketable, they must be inexpensive and easy to use. Two projects were pursued in this study for this purpose. The first was the design of a chip alignment system for visual feedback, in which a two-layer microfluidic chip was placed under a camera and an image processing and linear algebra program aligned a computer model to it. The system then translated the new locations of air valves and could detect valve activation in a chip filled with food coloring. The second was the design of a cheap, portable system to detect phosphorus in water. This system could not be completed due to time constraints, but the methods were detailed, and design ideas were laid out for future work. / by Ian Gerstel. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.