Those who have brought the art of computer animation to new heights with such films as Toy Story, Antz and Jurassic Park could well benefit from a visit to this year's Esat Telecom Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.
The work of a 16-year-old Dublin student could slash multi-million-dollar film budgets as he has designed a low-cost but effective model for a three-dimensional scanner which uses lasers.
For the average film-goer, talk of such technology is bamboozling, but film directors will appreciate the achievement of Joe Fitzsimons, of Belvedere College, should his design become reality. He believes its use could be extended beyond screen models to educational software, web pages and architectural models.
The fifth-year's research illustrates the degree of mastery of computer technology which has grown with the Young Scientist competition. His motivation was "to be able to have more realistic models on web pages" which he was working on his personal computer.
The problem was that the scanners available, such as those which use "laser stripe triangulation", cost over £30,000 and require a skilled operator and highly-specialised software.
His first attempt at a prototype using Technic Lego had limitations so he applied computer-aided design to develop a "rotoscan", which has a laser scanner head on a rotating arc.
It takes an original approach to 3D measurement by being based on measurement of one length and two angles when scanning an object, rather than the conventional approach based on the length along three axes.
A high degree of inventiveness incorporating electronics is evident in a high-tech telephone home link developed by Stephen McGuinness (14), a second-year student at Ballinteer Community School. By the use of three different tones in a remote unit, he can switch on 10 different lights, a radio and heating system in a model home. The unit is simply held close to the handset to trigger a decoder in the house, which in turn activates switches.
He is not aware of any system with the capability of his on the market and is already working on the next model which will mean the remote unit can be dispensed with and instructions programmed in with a password using the phone.
An invention with a topical statement is the creation of Thomas Collier (14) and Eoin O'Carroll (14), second-year students at Glenstal Abbey School, Co Limerick. Their Robocan 2000 is an adapted model car with a crane added and an electrified magnet. It is designed to remove metal objects, particularly cans and tins, in landfills for recycling. "It's our contribution to dealing with the waste problem," said Thomas.
Second-year students from Muckross Park School, Dublin, studied the "millennium bug". There is not going to a computer crash, predicted Ciara Spain (14), Alice Shackleton (14) and Roisin O Brolchain. However, they anticipate less obvious problems, such as difficulties with lifts, air conditioning and many machines which contain microchips but whose function has no obvious time-link.
The winners of yesterday's Irish Times/Esat Young Scientist Simplex Crossword Competition were: Sean McErlean, St Malachy's College, Co Antrim; Audrey Duffy, Ashbourne Community School, Co Meath; Edel Maher, Patrician College, Ballyliffin, Co Laois. The winners each receive a £15 gift voucher for Golden Discs.
