Young ICT Explorers visit ADM+S at QUT
Author Natalie Campbell
Date 11 October 2023
On 4 October 2023, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society at QUT hosted fifteen East Brisbane State School Grade 6 students to present their projects for the 2023 Young ICT Explorers national competition.
The Young ICT Explorers (YICTE) is a non-profit competition supported by CSIRO Digital Careers, The Smith Family, Kinetic IT and School Bytes. The annual competition encourages primary and high school students from years three to 12 to use their imagination and passion to create an invention that could change the world using the power of technology.
“The QUT excursion was amazing. I enjoyed meeting the researchers. They taught us the unique things they each did. I learned that all the students and researchers work together with different roles, like programming,” said grade six student Sebastian Barlow.
“The part I enjoyed the most, was when we had an opportunity to talk to the professionals and understand their current jobs, that can inspire children to start thinking about their future,” said student Artemy Plekhanov.
While at QUT, the students presented the following projects virtually to the YICTE judges.
Child Seat Saver
The Child Seat Saver is designed to prevent young children from being injured or fatally harmed whilst traveling, or being restrained in a vehicle by using an Arduino microcontroller in the seat which operates in conjunction with a simple mobile app, to alert a parent when their child is unbuckled but also when their mobile device moves away from the vehicle while there is still a child in the seat.
Air Smart
The Air Smart Air Pollution Monitor will monitor air quality within and outside the city using a gas sensor and Arduino to measure local air quality over time and compare the air pollution at key locations. The sensor is designed to show the difference in pollution levels between urban and semi-rural areas to highlight the need to reduce air pollution in these areas.
Hydro Green
Hydro Green is a portable, renewable energy source powered by water currents. When an Underwater Propeller Thruster is activated by the flow of the water, it spins and that movement creates energy. This energy goes through our voltage regulator to maintain the constant output which makes mechanical energy, which then goes into a dynamo generator that converts it into electrical energy.
Multi Sphere Delivery
And lastly, the Multi Sphere Delivery project presents a driving/flying hybrid delivery vehicle that conquers traffic congestion, weather delays and capacity issues. The vehicle uses magnetic propellors to fly like a drone, and driverless car capabilities to navigate roads on the ground.
The program encourages students to use creativity and innovation to gain a greater understating of the diverse capabilities of technology, which was evident amongst the students visiting ADM+S. The students engaged with Centre researchers and heard about some of the current research and innovation happening in the tech space, hopefully inspiring a new generation of careers in technology.
East Brisbane State School Student Aarush Khadka reflected on the visit to QUT, commenting “one thing I learnt from talking to the researchers at QUT is that many researchers and students work together to create big and complicated projects. Overall, I thought the university was lots of fun and something to take inspiration from.”
Finalists of the 2023 competition will be announced in November.
