Artificial Intelligence Sensing Technology for Blinds Path Findings
Over 30 million souls live in a world of darkness, a number greater than the populations of both Norway and Sweden combined. Every individual deserves the chance to embark on a journey across our magnificent blue planet. Yet, regrettably, little has been done to assist them. With this project, we’re lighting the way for the blind to explore our beautiful world independently, breaking free from dependence and embracing boundless horizons. In order to put our theory of the project into practice & explore the use of artificial intelligence & computer science, we started by collecting the required materials for our project such as micro-controllers, sensors, a pair of glasses, a laptop, and a miniature camera. Then we moved onto creating the project itself in which the digital software programmed onto the hardware plays the key-role, as the sensors and the camera will record the details and information from the surroundings and send it to the laptop for further processing. The camera would be the backbone of our project, as it will stream real-time footage to the laptop which will be analyzed by an open-source object detection model ‘YOLOv8’ for identifying objects. After finishing the base model of our project, we tested it in-front of objects such as toy cars, bikes, people, etc, and the results of the object-detection would be shown on the laptop. To observe this data, we created a device which has different modules and integrations for different functions. For example, we will use our camera and then stream it onto a laptop so the reading and the data can be processed on the laptop by AI using YOLOv8. As mentioned in the start, many people do not possess the ability to see, to assist them we have thought of this device which uses all readings and its analytical skills to analyze data and help them navigate, travel or simply, live a better life.
Inclined Sedimentation of Suspensions: Theoretical and Experimental Investigation into the Boycott Effect
The Boycott Effect is a phenomenon where sedimentation rate can be increased by tilting the container which holds the suspension, making it a way to increase the efficiency of the process without additional energy input. This makes the Boycott Effect valuable in speeding up and optimising a multitude of industrial applications such as wastewater management and food processing, all of which employ sedimentation to separate particulate matter from the fluids in which they are suspended in. Thus, it is imperative to model the Boycott Effect accurately for a wide range of cases, including arbitrary shaped containers and suspensions of various concentrations without the need to run costly, computationally expensive numerical simulations. In this project I investigated the inclined sedimentation of suspensions both theoretically and experimentally. Experimentally, two image tracking programs were created and tested out on my own experimental videos. I demonstrated the use of a novel method for making use of the Beer-Lambert Law to optically keep track of local concentration of suspensions. This method allows more information to be gathered about the sedimentation process in a very low-cost, non-equipment intensive or invasive way. Theoretically, I expanded upon the well-known analytical 2D PNK theory by accounting for concentration-hindering and sediment build-up effects, as well as the geometrical theory for 3D cylindrical geometries. All parts of the theoretical model were verified with experimental data and shown to have good agreement. (233 words)
Wibrazz
"Blindness keeps you from things, deafness keeps you from people" (Helen Keller) Wibrazz is a communication tool that can be placed inside sportswear. Two versions have been developed. The simpler one allows hearing-impaired footballers to compete in the league with other athletes. The referee is given an additional device to give a signal when he blows his whistle. The hearing-impaired footballer then senses the signal from the device he is wearing and knows that he must pay attention to the referee. The complex version speeds up communication between the coach and the players during training sessions. It allows the coach to send simple messages to his players using his smart device. The athlete senses the signal from the device and acts on what has been previously discussed (e.g. a long signal means, "Everyone come to me!") With over 70 million deaf people worldwide, and 2-4 out of 1000 people in the United States who are functionally deaf, this can affect an individual's mental and physical well-being, and it is therefore a pressing issue to provide these athletes with the means to develop their talents in a traditional team environment. In addition to the organisations within countries, the ICSD is present on the international stage. Their importance is demonstrated by the fact that the 2023 Deaf Football World Cup featured teams from countries such as the United States, Germany, England and Japan.