Young people use technology for human well-being
Ecuadornews:
9 institutes and 18 schools participated in the activity. 30 enterprises that passed the pre-selection stage were exposed. in the beginning there were about 80 projects. the best were chosen. A group of students from the Vicente Rocafuerte school presented a proximity sensor created to help people with visual disabilities.
The goal is to make Guayaquil a friendlier city for people with visual disabilities. That’s why the group of friends decided to create something that allows a safer mobility for this segment of the population. It is a proximity sensor. Initially they elaborated it with an audible alarm, but since there is a lot of noise pollution in the city, they opted for a vibratory sensor. In this way, the movement of the device will alert the user that it is very close to something. This device was made by students of the third year of the computer science specialty of the Vicente Rocafuerte school. It is one of the projects presented by students from various educational centers as part of the Inter-Institutional Workshop held by the Instituto Superior Tecnológico Bolivariano.
The event involved 9 institutes and 18 colleges, which in total exhibited the 30 projects that exceeded the pre-selection stage. Originally there were about 80 projects, of which the best ones were chosen.
The proximity sensor was installed for the sample in an Ironman helmet, which attracted numerous spectators. Anthony Bayas, one of the filmmakers of the device, explained that the idea is to make it small so that the person who uses it can wear it on his trousers and thus feel when someone gets too close. Diego Coello, member of the group, pointed out that the sensor is a prototype. “We think that Ecuador is a country with a lot of noise. We do not want people to think that the sensor adds to the noise of the environment, so nobody will want it, it will bother. But if it’s a vibrator, nobody will complain and it will be more useful. “According to Diego, the project took about three months. First they made the helmet and the physical presentation. That took two months. And the installation of the wiring took a month more. For them it meant extra effort, since they did it after school, working in the lab after the school day.
In the event, a project was also presented that adds a sensor to a cane and glasses, all designed for people with visual problems. The device detects objects at an approximate distance of between 80 cm and one meter, to facilitate the movement of those who suffer from a disability. Another invention that young entrepreneurs hope to be at the forefront of technology in the country is a smart home whose devices can be controlled through WhatsApp. The project was in charge of José Pico Mieles, Alan Álvarez, Steven Muñoz, Álex Corrales and Demetrio González, ITB Technology Analysis students.
To achieve the management of the house through the telephone application, they used a mini PC called Raspberry Pi 3. “Via WhatsApp we wrote a command, as if we were chatting with another person and the system does what is indicated,” explained José Pico. For the exhibition, the students made the model of the living room of a house and with the popular application they turned on and off a light bulb, a fan and the lights of the Christmas tree. “We can also open and close a door or window.”
According to the young entrepreneurs, their initiative is perfectly applicable in a real-size home. “Here we are turning on 110 volt devices. It is practically the reality, we do not use small lights. All are 110 volts, so we can do with larger equipment, we can turn on and off an air conditioner, handle other devices with higher voltages and currents. All thanks to the use of circuits like the one we have there, which has 4 relays “. With this project, bold creatives can install four points in a house to handle the same number of artifacts. And from there, make updates for four more points. “The cost of a smart home can be very high, from $ 25,000 to $ 30,000. Instead, we talk about a device that can cost $ 500, and each update of four points costs five dollars, “said Pico.
“New products must be developed to generate new sources of income”
Víctor Gómez Rodríguez, vice-rector of Outreach and Social Projection of the ITB, stressed the importance of these meetings of entrepreneurs organized by the educational institution every two years. “The idea is to teach young people that not only have to think about being someone else’s employee, but from innovation and personal inventiveness can develop new products, new services, new machinery, new technology, which could generate sources of income. And this is one of the ways to achieve it. “This was the third inter-institutional day of the Instituto Superior Tecnológico Bolivariano and included the first contest “From school to the institute”, aimed at schools in zones 5 and 8.
The objective was that schools had a space to present what they are doing in topics of entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as enabling students to know other scenarios to promote and defend their initiatives. “It was seen that young people are offering solutions to problems that Ecuadorian society has. For example, development of products for human and animal food, development of technologies for automated drip irrigation, home automation for home control, air conditioning, “said Gómez. (I)
Source: http://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/