The youngest finalists of the Science Innovation contest

The contest has reached the final round, gradually revealing the excellent face after nearly 3 months of competition. At the final round (April 28), the competing teams had a meeting present about projects and products before the Jury. Out of the 29 teams that entered Final roundMany young faces of the GenZ generation show their love for scientific research and seek creative solutions for life.

Author Pham Thanh Chung (17 years old), Ninh Binh, brought to the contest with various products knitted from lemongrass and water potatoes. Thanh Chung said that the products take advantage of locally available, low-cost materials and are made by hand-knit environmentally friendly, in order to replace plastic materials. Dried lemongrass leaves are fragrant, brittle and hard, woven together with sedge, rattan to form items of high use value such as trays, boxes, lamp frames, cup liner, pot liners, dishwashing buns, pieces lining cups, cups, bowls, pots… Light and soft dried potato stalks are also used to make trays and containers.

Chung said that the product can be used in daily life, can be dried to avoid mold. Currently the product is home-made by Chung’s family.

Another team was the group of Le Quang Duong (17 years old) with the idea of ​​​​building a map of landslides and flash floods in Nam Tra My district, Quang Nam province. Stemming from the fact that landslides and flash floods occur every year with great frequency causing serious damage to people and property, the team came up with the idea of ​​building warning maps about this situation.

The group uses Gis software to calculate data to create maps, and at the same time, use the coordinates of the locations where landslides occur in Quang Nam, with reference to the Institute of Geology, Vietnam Academy of Sciences. Male. The group also developed a landslide forecast map, a landslide-flash flood risk zoning and a dual hazard map.

The results of the test team have not shown the accuracy of the zoning map, but the members of the Jury appreciate the team’s spirit when in high school, they approach the Gis map quite early, hope want to apply local service knowledge.

Another product from a group of students at My Loc High School, Nam Dinh province – a smart hand washing system in schools. The product development team wishes to form a habit of frequent hand washing to prevent the infection of respiratory and digestive diseases, especially in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic. Smart hand washing machine system with 3 chambers (dry disinfection, hand washing with domestic water, hand washing with soap). “The preeminent feature of the system is the integration of wastewater treatment with acacia leaf extract and reuse for watering plants with an automatic irrigation system via a humidity sensor,” said the group’s representative.

Materials for manufacturing products include arduino UNO circuit board, ultrasonic sensor module, 12V pump, temperature sensor module, pH sensor module, formex plastic sheet to build the frame of the system, welding machine electricity, circuit breakers, water pipes… After experimenting with fresh and dried leaves, the team found that the wastewater was neutralized with extracts from the leaves, which helped the pH level in the wastewater to return to a neutral state that would be suitable. suitable for plants (ensure safety for plants and soil). The group added that the product can be developed in two directions, including smart hand washing in schools and extraction solutions used to make biological pesticides.

The jury rated the group’s ideas as very encouraging when there was a spirit of scientific research right at school. However, the product still has some limitations such as not working if the power fails, the product price is high compared to the market. “Instead of using sensors, it is possible to use simple mechanics to still wash hands during power outages and reduce costs,” suggested a council member.

Another product from student Nguyen Do Quynh Nguyen’s group, a device for measuring and early detection of scoliosis. The team applied a Kinect sensor capable of recognizing the skeleton to measure and give an angle measurement of the spine, thereby drawing conclusions about the spine’s condition. When the person being measured stands at the specified position (in the sensor’s operating area), after 10 seconds the sensor will start taking angle data and then through the programmed code to give the data on the screen. Figure. When the button to export results is clicked, the measurement information is printed on paper for storage.

According to the group, the actual test results on 550 students found that 28 of them had scoliosis (the X-ray method used for authentic reference also discovered this number).

The group’s representative said, using infrared scanning camera to calculate the skeleton. At this time, the Kinect sensor collects and gives information about the skeleton points with 3D spatial coordinates, then relies on the programmed algorithm to calculate the angle in the spatial coordinates that will help diagnose the person with dementia. Scoliosis or not. The product costs about 7 million VND and takes only 10 seconds for a measurement and can calculate how many degrees the specific deviation angle is, according to the research team.

Evaluating this idea, the representative of the Jury said that X-ray is still an irreplaceable method, but the team’s idea is commendable thanks to its passionate and creative spirit.

Council members suggested that other sensors can be used more conveniently, and at the same time need a third party to prove the product serves human health. Developing low-cost products is a good idea, but the jury thinks that more professional references such as orthopedic surgery, medical ethics committee or directly from the medical equipment side, level of expertise are needed. permission and connectivity for large-scale deployment.

Dr. Nguyen Phi Le, member of the jury, highly appreciated the spirit of the teams. “There are middle school and high school students who answer the judges’ questions innocently, confidently and with enthusiasm. At a young age, they already have a sense of issues with great influence on society. “, said Dr. Le.

The final results of the contest will be announced and awarded in May, taking place with the Young Scientist Summit 2022. The first prize is awarded to the author or group of authors with an excellent research project worth 50 million VND, the second prize is 30 million VND, the third prize is 20 million VND and the consolation prize. The contest also honors excellent ideas, worth 10 million VND each.

Competition Science Initiative organized to create a playground for people who love science and technology; aimed at professionals and non-specialists. The competition is aimed at young scientists, under the age of 40, seeking and promoting product ideas with practical value to solve problems in life. After two months of launching, the contest has attracted more than 100 applications for ideas and products, of which 88 are valid. 20,000 turns readers’ votes.

Nhu Quynh