In its fifth installment, the Think Science Fair held at the Dubai World Trade Centre this year showcased many creative inventions coming from hundreds of student teams.
Few of the most notable are the music designed especially for the blind and the deaf, ventilation jackets for laborers, a software that can read a camel’s body language, and a mechanism which allows cars to power street lights and signals.
A team from Al Ma’ali International Private School in Abu Dhabi developed a device called the ‘Hertz Design’ which is a piano with Braille letters for the visually impaired. It also works for the deaf through a feature wherein the vibrations of a guitar’s strings can be felt.
Source: Khaleej Times
One of the team members, 17-year-old Rashid Al Hammadi said, “We wanted to help the people who can’t see or hear. They should be able to listen to and feel music like everyone else does. Each of the guitar’s strings has a different vibration and sound, so they’ll be able to feel the music and different patterns.”
Meanwhile, a team from Al Itihad School engineered a ventilation vest which can cool off the laborer who work long hours under the heat. It keeps the workers in a comfortable temperature thanks to its design which traps cool air inside and eliminates heat within the vest.
“This vest can really help the workers because they work in areas where there is no shade. In the summer, we have unbearable heat. We should think more ways of keeping the workers cool,” said Saeed Abdullah Sharat, one of the researchers.
On the other hand, a team from Dubai Model School designed a system wherein cars from the UAE can produce electricity to power street lights and signals. It works using pressure plates installed on roads, which transfers mechanical energy into electrical energy.
Source: Khaleej Times
“The energy will be stored in batteries and can be used to power street lights and other things on the roads,” said Rifah Mohammed Al Filasi, one of the team members.
Students from UAE University, led by Alaa Haroon, have developed a method that can predict what mood a camel is in. This is made for the prevention of camel deaths.
Haroon said, “Camels are very important in the UAE heritage and we have to keep them safe and healthy. In camel racing, they get very stressed after the race and some of them die, we have to prevent that.
“We use a software that’s already available for free and we take photos with a 3D camera that is used for gaming. We upload the pictures onto the software and it tells us how the camel is feeling and what mood it’s in.”
The annual event, which is considered the largest scientific event in the region, is composed of a fair and a competition. It was held from April 18 to 20 this year.
“This acclaimed scientific event has helped discover Emirati scientific talents early, so that we can support and provide them with the necessary skills and knowledge to become prominent thinkers and scientists in their respective fields,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of the event’s sponsor Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
Source: Khaleej Times
