e-Newsletter
BT Young Scientist 2010
Did You Discover Sport at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2010?
The Discover Science & Engineering team went “sporty” for the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in January with the Discover Sport stand. The centrepiece of the stand was a Formula 1 Ferrari which was raced in Abu Dhabi a few years back. The car is now used as a demonstration car at exhibitions and it attracted many visitors to the Discover Sport stand. Information was provided about the science and engineering behind Formula 1 and we even had a former Technical Director of Jordan Grand Prix, Gary Anderson, on hand to give a seminar on “Engineering in Motor Sport” on the Friday of the exhibition.
Finola and Fiona our resident Discover Primary Science (DPS) crew (assisted by Caroline and Margaret) were kept busy from morning to night demonstrating a range of fun activities from the DPS Activity Pack.
The T4 – Technology Subjects Support Service - stand featured a demonstration on the use of Computer Aided Design software (SolidWorks) which is used in the design, development and testing of products such as sports footwear. The T4 team also exhibited a wind tunnel to simulate the aerodynamic air flow around model designs such as an F1 racing car etc.
Researchers from the DCU School of Health & Human Performance demonstrated some of the technologies and methods used to examine exercise performance in both elite athletes and healthy subjects. This incorporated maximal and submaximal exercise testing of subjects on both a treadmill and a stationary cycle ergometer at regular intervals throughout the day. Subjects were tested to evaluate their capacity to exercise, heart and respiration function, as well as their body’s reaction to this exercise at different intensities.
Wobbleball is a novel gaming system, designed by Clarity researchers. Players use motion tracking devices to capture large body movements to complete on-screen games. These types of games are known as exergaming systems. Wireless motion sensor devices that are embedded into the wobbleboard track the tilting of the board and translate it into movement in the game on the screen. The sensor technology used in Wobbleball is similar to that used in games such as Nintendo Wii.
The Dancemat, or Clarity learning tool is essentially a dancemat which contains embedded sensors, usually used for Xbox dancing games. In this case the game is used as a learning tool with maths and spelling games. Players step on various spaces on the dancemat to spell or to add. This type of game is known as an exerlearning system.
The team from Adidas were on hand with their gait analysis equipment to identify which type of footwear would suit participating visitors best. They also had models of what’s inside the latest versions of Adidas footwear and how your running shoe performs when it hits the ground with each step.
Participants at the K’NEX Challenge Workshops were asked to design and build a spaceship and the winner of each session was presented with an I Love Science t-shirt.
Discover Science & Engineering also sponsored the Bending it like Beckham show in the BT Arena.
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