Galileo Magnifico

IT Carlow Students Amongst Just Six Finalists in National Technology Competition

Students from IT Carlow comprised no less than two of the six national finalists at last week’s Intel Galileo 3rd Level Technology competition, which took place at the Science Gallery in Trinity College Dublin.

The competition, which was open to all 3rd level undergraduate students on the island of Ireland, invited students to create unique technology design incorporating the Irish-designed Intel Galileo board. The Intel Galileo board is the first in a family of Arduino*-certified development and prototyping boards based on Intel architecture and specifically designed for makers, students, educators and DIY electronics enthusiasts.

The two finalist projects from IT Carlow were Smart Shower by Cathal Grant, James McCabe and Anthony Mullen and Smart Window by Dillon O’Reilly, Nicholas Sloan and Melvin Benny.

The Smart Shower project is an innovate idea designed to give people with intellectual disabilities and mobility difficulties more independence by converting an existing shower in a bathroom into a SmartShower in seconds, without any renovations or extra costs to the shower or bathroom. The SmartShower is a portable unit that can change any shower into a disable shower instantly.

Smart Window is a complete gas and reaction system that aims to prevent CO poisoning as well as effects from the build-up of other gases such as methane. The project uses the Intel Galileo as a control system to interpret input signals from a sensor and send on an output signal to a reaction system that alerts and provides a safer environment for building occupants.

Both projects were highly commended by the judges who commented favourably on both the designs and the work put into the project by the IT Carlow students

The four remaining finalists were from Maynooth University, Waterford IT, IT Blanchardstown and DCU. Laura Brown from DCU was declared the winner for her Power Scout Energy Monitor that uses Intel Galileo, GROVE base shield and GROVE energy sensors to monitor the energy usage of various electrical appliances in the home.

Speaking at the event, Philip Moynagh, VP Internet of Things Group at Intel said “The digital world has been completely transformed in the last decade and the physical world is now at a similar tipping point. In this next computing wave driven by the Internet of Things it will be those who can move quickly and seize opportunities fast that will benefit most from the transformation. We have been very impressed by the projects on display today and it is really exciting for us to see these students bringing these innovative applications to life using a technology that was designed right here in Ireland”.

-ENDS-

For reference: Alma Feeley, IT Carlow      t: 059 9175098   m:087 8204934

Caption:

Smart Shower jpg:
IT Carlow students (l-r) with their Smart Shower project, one of just six finalists in the Intel Galileo 3rd Level Technology Competition: James McCabe, Cathal Grant and Anthony Mullen

Smart Window.jpg:
IT Carlow students (l-r) with their Smart Window project, one of just six finalists in the Intel Galileo 3rd Level Technology Competition: Nicholas Sloan, Dillon O’Reilly and Melvin Benny.