Taipei City University of Science and Technology (TPCU) students won four golds, three silvers, three bronzes and four special prizes at the Seoul International Invention Fair on Saturday.
A Bluetooth alcohol detection helmet for scooter riders, from a TPCU team of information engineering students, Tang Yuan-chi (湯元麒) and Gao Li-yu (高立瑜), and advising professor Chang Hsien-Chung (張獻中), earned a gold medal and a special prize at the international invention fair.
The device is intended to curb driving under the influence of alcohol, as these often-fatal incidents are common in Taiwan, the team said in a TPCU news release yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City University of Science and Technology
The helmet uses Bluetooth earphones and a breath alcohol device to measure alcohol levels, which would prevent the scooter from starting if too high, it said.
Additionally, the scooter’s engine would shut off when the rider removes the helmet, preventing it from being started by someone else, the release added.
TPCU’s electrical engineering team also won a gold medal and a special prize with a safety device that alerts a scooter rider of dangerous turns.
The device collects data on driving speed, lean angles and centripetal force to determine whether it should alert the rider to slow down, the team said.
The school’s computer and communication engineering team won a special prize for its smart drying rack that automatically dries and sterilizes clothes.
It uses a fan, temperature and humidity detectors, and ultraviolet lights and LEDs to prevent mildew by drying and sterilizing clothes, the team said, adding that it could also send text alerts.
Another gold medal and special prize winner was the mechanical engineering team’s weather balloon equipped with infrared sensors that control its pressure valve to prevent it from bursting at high altitudes.
As it expands during ascent, the sensors tell the valve when to release pressure, the team said, adding that it would also lower costs.
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