This year`s Expo for Young Scientists, for which Intel is one of the major sponsors, proved that innovation is alive and well and living in the minds of young South Africans. Held in October at the University of Pretoria Sports Complex, the expo showcased the abilities of local learners in the fields of science, engineering and information technology.
The winning projects included a unique Multi-Pixelled Disk (MPD) capable of storing up to 64 times the amount of data that a DVD can hold at present and an innovative computer-controlled robotic soccer player called Robosoccer.
MPD is a data storage breakthrough
Peet van Wyk and Michel Mouton were the co-creators of the Multi-Pixelled Disk (MPD) project. The 16-year-old Waterkloof High School students have hit on a concept that will drastically increase the storage capacity of CDs and DVDs.
Says Van Wyk: "Up to now, the amount of data that could be stored on a CD or DVD was determined by area of the optical storage medium or the compression ratio used. It is theoretically possible to enable an optical device to read a CD or DVD in multiple colours, allowing for different layers of colour to be added to the media, thereby increasing its overall storage area."
A CD or DVD player utilises binary code to read the pits on optical media. Light that is reflected onto a receiver reads as a one while light that is not reflected is read as a zero. Mouton and Van Wyk`s method would allow a specially modified optical device to read the three primary colours (red, blue and green) and write all the combinations of these colours, then using the same binary code to record eight times as much data. The CD or DVD (MPD) would include eight layers: the primary and secondary colours as well black and white while the device would include three lasers - red, blue and green. Using software, the device would burn data to one of the different layers, which reflects the needed primary colours, to achieve about 320 GB of storage on a single CD or DVD. They are currently researching a concept that could allow for optical media capable of storing up to 1 024 times the data presently achievable on a single disk. As the new DVDs can store up to 120GB, this means 122 880GB on a single CD.
A unique aspect of the technology is that it can be produced without the need for heavy investment in research and development. New laser writing and reading technology capable of using red, green and blue coloured beams as well as new CD and DVD media are all that are needed.
Says Mouton: "The scope for application of this technology is almost limitless from portable hard drives and server backups to storing movies in formats that are compatible to the next generation of ultra-high resolution televisions. In addition, CD and DVD media could be drastically reduced in size for use in portable devices such as digital still and movie cameras and media players."
Seventeen-year-old Isak du Preez of Domino Servite School in KwaZulu-Natal was the second expo winner, presenting his design for a robotic soccer player capable of both defensive and offensive play on the field.
Says Du Preez: "Robosoccer builds on an existing international sport which sees robot teams play against each other. My prototype includes a number of AI features, allowing the robot to play both defensively and offensively."
The prototype measures about 12cm by 12cm and weighs about 2kg. It features six electronic circuits including an embedded micro-controller running an application Du Preez wrote in C to control the robot as well as communicate with a remote PC via a radio and IR link. The system also includes a Webcam that provides continuous visual feedback to the remote PC. Du Preez also wrote a program using Visual C++ (18 000 lines) which runs on the PC, analysing the data from the field and issuing instructions to the robot according to its analysis.
"The practical applications for such a robot obviously extend beyond simply playing soccer," says Du Preez. "Other uses range from industrial set-ups to research in artificial intelligence."
The Expo for Young Scientists is affiliated with the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world`s premier science and engineering "Olympics" event for students to demonstrate their abilities in technology. ISEF has been run successfully for the past 53 years and attracts more than 1 200 students from 40 different countries. ISEF candidates are selected from more than 500 affiliated events run for more than one million students worldwide. The winners of the local expo go on to attend ISEF in the US where they can network with like-minded students from all over the world.
Intel Corporation is also a major sponsor of ISEF, which awards scholarships worth more than $3.5 million in 14 categories of research.
Says Parthy Chetty, education manager at Intel South Africa: "It is important to foster a sense of entrepreneurship and innovation among SA`s youth if we, as a country, are to successfully compete in an increasingly globalised and technologically dependant world. The level of creativity presented at the Expo for Young Scientists every year proves that we are able to meet these demands."
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