BT Young Scientist 2008
Congratulations to the two first year students for winning second prize in their category. Their entry involved devising an environmentally inclined robot that could also increase safety in the home.
Their project "Envirobot" is based on the Quadrabot, supplied by Longford-based iBOTZ (Ireland) Ltd. This four-legged, mobile robot bug can be programmed in a variety of ways to detect light, smoke or smog and also the intense light given off by a live fire.
"We decided to do a project that mixed technology and the environment," explained Daniel. They had seen a TV programme about the waste of energy in the home and this gave them the idea. "A lot of energy is wasted by leaving lights on in unoccupied rooms," he said, pointing to a chart showing the hundreds of euro wasted each year in a typical home.
For this reason they programmed the Envirobot to locate light sources and either beep or do a little jig once detected.
The robot will also detect smog or smoke which diminishes a light source and can also track down the source of a fire based on light intensity.
"We had to write the programmes and download them to the robot and then make sure it was working," Thomas said. "We have been working on it for about six months," Daniel added. Although only 13, both are veterans of the Young Scientist having participated last year in the primary school section of the event.
