Today, on March 19, the grand opening of the 15th National Contest "TechnoIntelligence" took place in the main building of the Belarusian National Technical University. In total, 179 talented and ambitious representatives of young people of Belarus take part in the contest.
Before the official start, the exhibition of technical creativity of the contestants opened in the main building. The exhibition featured a wide variety of areas of children's and youth's technical creativity: transport models, operating devices, radio electronics, energy-saving developments, software complexes, as well as works on architectural drawing, painting and composition.
The exhibition demonstrated a wide range of interests and a high level of training of the participants. Every year, the panorama of scientific and creative achievements of young researchers is becoming more diverse and impressive.
One of the participants of the event, who presented her development in the "Robotics, Automation and Intelligent Systems" section, was Maria Burakova, a student of the Minsk Radio Engineering College.
— I am presenting the project "Safe Crossing System." This development is designed to help people with disabilities, as well as ordinary pedestrians, to make crossing the road as safe as possible. The idea behind the project is as follows: a camera installed at a pedestrian crossing detects a person. The neural network processes the image, and if necessary, the green light of the traffic light turns on. In addition, a special signal is turned on for drivers to attract their attention.
Vsevolod Levkevich, a student from the Brest region, also presented his development in the Radioelectronics section. The young inventor brought an unusual device for sorting garbage based on sound analysis to the competition. Unlike traditional systems that "look" at waste, his device "listens" to it.
— My device consists of two parts. The upper part has a cavity where the garbage is placed, and the lower part has a rotating platform with containers. When the waste falls into the upper part, the microphone on the board picks up the sound of the impact. The board already has a neural network that analyzes this sound. After determining the type of waste, the system makes a decision: if it needs to open a specific container, the hatch will open, and the waste will be discharged. When I analyzed other recycling projects, I noticed that they usually have a camera. However, the camera has a high chance of error because there are many different types of aluminum cans, and they can be deformed or have different colors. The sound is more accurate. It doesn't matter how the can is crumpled or what color the bottle is — the algorithm will still identify the material correctly.
After presenting their projects at the exhibition, the students attended the grand opening of the event.
The ceremony was attended by the Rector of BNTU Sergey Kharitonchik, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Yuri Nikolaychik, Director of the Institute of Integrated Forms of Training and Education Monitoring Natalia Afanasyeva, deans of faculties, as well as young designers and researchers, rationalizers, inventors and future architects aged 14 to 18 from all regions of the Republic of Belarus and the city of Minsk.
With a greeting and a parting word to the participants of the competition addressed Sergey Vasilyevich:
— Good afternoon to all our guests and participants of the competition! It is a very joyful and pleasant event for our university when so many gifted and talented people come to our university to compete in their creative ideas. Our university has celebrated its 105th anniversary. During this period, the engineering profession, which we teach, has not lost its significance in any way; it has become even more popular. We have very serious and good enrollments, and every year, we receive students with higher scores. The demand for BNTU graduates in various enterprises across our country is very high. We see how important and interesting the engineering profession is for employers and the government. Of course, our country is creating all the necessary conditions for this, and I think you can see it. First of all, this competition has been organized and is receiving a lot of attention. The country has established a system of engineering classes, where about 10,000 students are already enrolled. We have created a National Children's Technology Park and a startup movement, which are all aimed at unlocking the potential of our talented youth. Of course, it is important for us that you compete, because all great discoveries, magnificent and breakthrough ideas begin with a small design. It takes a little creativity, to assemble some kind of mock-up, to see what came of it, and already this idea, in a good way, the germ of creativity cannot be eradicated from itself. And it begins to develop and give new fruits, revealing your talents. Small steps in each direction allow you to understand what knowledge is needed. You come to the university as already very motivated people, you already know what you need, where you need to strive, what enterprises work in your direction and what is the prospect of further development of the enterprise. We hold these competitions because we understand that among you in the future there are very talented engineers and scientists. Of course, among you there will be also major leaders of our large enterprises, ministries and, perhaps, the state. Everything begins with creativity. Your little idea should in you ignite the flame that will warm all your life.
The rector's words became a parting word and support for the children before defending projects in 12 nominations. At these moments, the participants present their ideas to experts and scientists, hoping that their development will receive an award.
Tomorrow, March 20, the closing ceremony of the competition and the award ceremony will take place. We wish all participants of the contest success and productive work!
