Having successfully designed a small prototype of a solar-powered car, Elijah Preston (14) of St Andrews College, Dublin, is not resting on his laurels; he’s looking forward to building a vehicle with technology he hopes will eventually help electric vehicle (EV) drivers overcome range anxiety.
The third-year student designed his vehicle online and manufactured it using 3D printing technology; it is propelled by a solar panel on its roof.
There are some solar-powered cars in existence but “none of them do what I want to do in solving the problem of range anxiety; using it as a cushion added to standard EVs”, he said. “It has potential, 100 per cent. I’m surprised companies have not adopted this.”
Elijah said he was pleased with the outcome “but even more excited for next year” when plans to convert an electric golf cart to solar or build a 2-metre long solar car from scratch.
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The harnessing of multiple forms of renewable energy features prominently at the 61st BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, often with a notable degree of innovation.
Jack McCormack (16) and Conor McGrath (15) of St Joseph’s College, Tipperary, designed their own “vertical axis” wind turbines that are foldable in adverse weather but also are suitable for use in built-up areas – overcoming the issue of standard turbines “that are loud, too big and an eyesore”.
Not only that, their turbine is adjustable depending on wind direction. The other unique aspect of their design is use of wires to easily deploy the folding mechanism, Jack said.
Klara Piechocka (16), a fifth-year student at St Columba’s Comprehensive School in Glenties, Co Donegal, used a solar drying method to harvest varieties of seaweed that are plentiful along the coastline where she lives. Then testing a variety of chemical methods, she found a process called “hexane distillation” was best at generating biodiesel – a sustainable feedstock for renewable energy.
The vast tonnes of rotting seaweed washed up on shores “is what the ocean doesn’t want. It’s abundant. Nobody has found a use for it beyond soap and fertiliser”, she said.
The process does not interfere with the important role of seaweeds in capturing carbon and reducing emissions, in maintaining marine habitats and improving water quality by countering algal blooms, Klara said.
The 61st staging of the exhibition is notable for the extent to which young entrants use artificial intelligence routinely to enhance the quality of their work and to develop every conceivable form of App to make life easier and often to improve wellbeing.
Michael Taggert, Cathal Óg Fagan and Billy Dunne, fifth-year students from Coláiste Mhuire, Westmeath, devised a multipurpose App for farmers which provides alerts on farm safety and weather but expanded its functionality to enable farmers connect together after their survey of 300 farmers indicated they had concerns about isolation and their mental health.
A total of 105 farmers responded, with 60 per cent “saying they were suffering with their mental health”, Michael said. They used FlutterFlow to devise the mobile App and are confident it could be useful with a lot of functions built on to a chat group for farmers.
Anan Jalali and Alex O’Donoghue, transition year students at St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny, decided to test the effects of high-energy drinks on their sleep patterns using Apple Watch technology.
Jalali said they were aware of consuming high-energy drinks could have a downside in terms of causing sleeplessness, and even anxiety or depression in extreme cases. He said they tested themselves, some classmates and a few of his Cork cousins, and used the data to generate graphical representations of their sleep.
What was striking, he said, was the drinks affected each of them in different ways. Science experiments often throw up surprising results. In his case, he added: “What surprised me most was that I averaged seven hours of sleep a night.”
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