Representatives of the Vitebsk region won 4 main awards of the youth project «100 Ideas for Belarus»
A full hall of participants and experts, long discussions between experienced specialists and novice innovators, heated constructive debates, practical advice, a spirit not of rivalry but of empathy, growing excitement, fulfilled expectations, the triumph of the winners – this is perhaps how one can describe the atmosphere that prevailed at the final of the "100 Ideas for Belarus" project. To get here is already an honor for each of the finalists, meaning that their developments impressed the jury at the regional stages of the competition. Nevertheless, there can only be one winner, or rather, one in each of the 10 nominations in two age categories.
Students of the Vitebsk branch of the Belarusian Academy of Communications Nikita Kudinov, Ilya Ivanov, and Denis Susalko left no chance for participants from other teams and became the best in the nomination "Industrial and Construction Technologies and Production". Their "Gesturebot" is a robot (currently in a game version) that can be controlled using a special wristband. This method of manipulating the mechanism will help rescue services, builders, and special units in situations where work is associated with increased risk or where human access is impossible. For the final, the guys modernized the model: they added a controllable paw with a two-finger grip, increased engine power, and expanded the chassis. They said that many experts and spectators were interested in their project and asked many questions, which surprised the young developers. In the future, they would like to establish serial production of the gesturebot.
Andrey Chernomortsev from Secondary School No. 1 in Dubrovno is concerned about the problem of conserving and utilizing the energy remaining in discarded AA batteries. A soon-to-be graduate and a promising young inventor, he believes that it is necessary not only to collect and dispose of used power sources but also to extract residual energy from them, store it in a special device, and then charge an accumulator. Andrey has designed an attachment for a regular battery collection container that performs this function. According to the Dubrovno resident's calculations, an accumulator powered by residual energy will be sufficient to illuminate a room and recharge any devices, which will significantly save electricity consumption and, consequently, the budget.
Associate Professor Yulia Bulavka from Polotsk State University has proposed a polymer modifier for road bitumens that offers several competitive advantages, primarily the availability of raw materials (petrochemical production waste) and, consequently, its cost-effectiveness.
Students of Vitebsk State University named after P. Masherov, Alexander Shidlovsky and Diana Biryukova, have created a cheaper and lighter analogue of a smart cane for people of golden age and all those in need of assistance. It can be used for support while walking, and also serves as an emergency notification device: when the panic button is pressed, relatives receive an SMS with the coordinates of the person in distress. In addition, the cane is equipped with a flashlight, signals a reminder to take medication, and can "tell" about the weather and changes in the owner's pulse. The development of Vitebsk students differs from the already existing smart cane by its more affordable price, which means it can become part of the arsenal of pensioners who enjoy walking alone around the city streets and its surroundings.
However, my personal attention was drawn to another team of schoolchildren from Dubrovno. Their medical robot-ophthalmologist "Doctor Eye" is a development for vision testing. The device can be successfully used for self-diagnosis: you just need to press one button. Anastasia Kotikova and Pavel Korneev recommend their peers and all adults to take care of their eyesight, spend less time in front of gadget and TV screens, and spend more time walking in the fresh air and doing physical exercises.
Out of more than 100 participants, 20 projects by schoolchildren, students, and young scientists became the winners of the "100 Ideas for Belarus" final – one in each of the 10 nominations across two age categories.