Here’s a short video clip of Creator of Tomorrow, Gary Chan, talking about how the accelerometer in a handphone was used by the Makanstura folk to create an app that mimics how people actually use the book!
Wouldn’t it be nice?
In November Create2011 winners went up to Beijing and explored the city for engineering oddities and challenges.
We’ve put up the winners’ writeups on the trip on our Facebook Fanpage. Do pop over for a quick read on what’s interesting about China’s Capital.
Here’s a peek at what they’ve done…
What's in the Nokia Campus? White-suited folk putting phones together; designers get the best view of the city; and a problem to be solved... Hans (The Three Musketeer) thought security efficiency could improve with an algorithm that ignores belts and watches. He also found answers to his earlier questions! More...
Xuesong thinks that the best part about the visit to Nokia Campus was the phrase: "Curiosity and childishness.” What say you? More...
We went up to Yingli Green Energy for a look see in their factory. They produce solar cells which are used in solar panels. You might have seen them at the recent World Cup where they were the sponsors. Yohanes thinks that he can improve upon the solar cells' efficiency by using wings of moths?!? More...
It’s all in the video. Check out the questions by UCreateChange fans on our Facebook Fanpage. 
Twitter’s great!
I’ve been on it for a while now, and I’ve realised that it’s the perfect way to get breaking news and chit-chat with like-minded folks (read Your Twitter Username is your email address).
What I really like about it are the lists which I use to categorise tweeps…
Do subscribe to my Twitter lists and share the love!
We’re back with a bang! Over the next two weeks, we’ll be giving away four pairs of tickets to Universal Studios: Singapore! All you have to do is to join in our fun contests to win ‘em!
So head over to our Facebook Fanpage at http://www.facebook.com/ucreatechange?v=app_17037175766 and get started on winning your pair of tickets to Universal Studios: Singapore!
School: CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls School
Team members: Lynn Chew Wan Ling, Andris Wee Jie Yi, Chee Je Lynn
Imagine a world where your mobile phone allows you to take pictures that you would be able to edit freely without any constraints whenever and wherever you want. All you have to do is to lay your phone flat on your palm and a picture in three dimensions would pop out.
As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words, allow yourself to immerse in the memories you hold dear. Also, this function would enable you to find out more about the picture. All you have to do is to zoom in to whatever you want to find out, like zooming into a leaf.
This would allow you to see what is happening in the leaf at that time such as the cell movements. You would also be able to find what kind of tree it is with just a click.
Imagine a world in your hands. A world of knowledge, a world of wonders – all these compact in one. If you are a person who loves to travel or a person who just wants to find out more, this would be the phone would be the perfect tool for you! Get it and be the envy of your friends!
School: Anglo-Chinese Junior College
Team members: Yohanes Lim, Anthony Gunawan, Hans Adrian
This proposal is presenting the new way of ‘controlling’ your computer cursor by using fisor (finger sensor) while overcoming the problem stated above. This product is able to replace the long-reigning mouse for it is able to enhance the mobility of its user and its use can be expanded for medical use as well as industrial use.
One set of fisor consists of five finger-tip-sized cursor controllers which are airborne. A set of fisor is for the use of one hand (from thumb to little finger). The intensive use of nanotechnology enables fisor to be equipped with motion sensing to control the mouse cursor. Supporting multi-touch , fisor makes everyday works easier, especially during presentation. As it is airborne, fisor does not require any surface to function unlike the current mouse. Thus, whether it is at home, on the bus, or during presentation, fisor is a real convenient to be used.
Finger Sensor (Controller):
The Data Bar:
The Fisor portable thumbdrive:
On the bus, it is troublesome to use a mouse since there is little or no level surface to use the mouse effectively. The alternative of Synaptic Touchpad requires the user to balance the laptop with the non-dominant hand while moving the cursor with the dominant hand. Our alternative, fisor, is airborne thus there is no trouble when there is no surface and there is no limitation to stick to the pad below the keyboard to move the cursor.
isn’t it weird that in a presentation, the presenter needs a helper to click the slides or although presenter uses a remote, he still has to go back to his laptop to open other files (web browser, etc)? Using fisor, you can present effectively and conveniently as you can control your laptop cursor from anywhere within the sensor range. This means less time consumed for coordination and going back to laptop.
The use of fisor can be extended to gaming, where gamers can practically pick weapons and aim the enemy accurately. It can also be used to control augmented reality, which application can be used for puppet master or conductor practice.
Fisor can then also be used in the medical field. It enables doctors and undergraduates to simulate operation by moving their hands to pick up the necessary tools.
School: ITE College West
Team members: Tan Chong Der, Jerome Yap, Wilson Tng
The “Detachable Camera Mobile Phone” (DCMP) explains how feasible this mobile phone can facilitate National Service men to stay connected in places which are highly secured and restricted. By designing a detachable camera phone cum re-attach abilities such security problem will be overcome thus allowing National Service men to stay connected and communicate effectively without any hindrance.
The aim of this project from the Create Factory team is to develop a viable proof of concept for a detachable mobile camera phone use in a highly secure environment. This newly innovative product will be made user-friendly and available in places such as the military bases or places that prohibit personnel from having camera mobile phone.
This unique camera phone has few distinct functions such as water and shock resistant features. The camera itself can be easily detachable from the phone and replace with a blank housing cover. This will allow seamless mounting of blank cover upon the removal of the camera casing without the hassle of acquiring additional non camera mobile phone.
The Project team has completed an analysis to determine most profitable design on mobile phones. The design analysis was made on the material used with the highly recommended material for stainless steel which has the ability to withstand external shocks whereas a polycarbonate cover absorbs shocks on the body of the mobile. For additional protection, we ideally deduced that the cameras side holder should be made of die-cast zinc to withstand impacts and help to secure the external slot cover.
Site design
Further to our thorough research to mitigate the water absorption on the camera mobile phone, a fine rubber ring will be fitted at the edge of the camera casing. Similarly this rubber ring application will be applied at the loudspeaker and microphone compartment.
Site design
The design of this DCMP camera is developed with the following hardware configuration
A customise prototype structure comprises of a 3 pin connector and rubber is shown in this site
A detailed test plan for firmware and hardware will be performed such as a gradual dropped of the DCMP phone during operating mode from a height of 1.50 meters (4.9 feet). Refer to site test plans, namely vibration and height tests:
a) Vibration and shock test
b) Drop test
Similarly, the water resistance test plan will involve the DCMP phone to undergo a rigorous water penetration test with duration of 30 minutes power on. All these tests include harsh environment and material test (anti-rust on stainless steel and resistance against water entering into the circuitry board).
Download the site water penetration test plan
School: Raffles Institution
Team members: Vishnu R Menon, Kuan Sheng Yuan Jethro
As we continue our progress, we often overlook a particular and significant group of people - the physically handicapped.
We do not want this to happen and hence focused our idea to target the movement-impaired, specifically the wheelchair-bound. Often, wheelchair users have to get the help of another person just to pass a curb or a gap like a drain without a cover. This problem increases their dependency on other people and reduces their accessibility and mobility.
Hence, to tackle this common problem that is often overlooked, we have come up with a simple but effective and innovative idea, ‘RevAMP’.
We intend to create a product easily attachable and detachable to any wheelchair. This product will enable people on wheel chairs to “climb” up curbs and stairs, without worrying whether there are wheelchair ramps around for accessing that particular level. This is particularly applicable to less developed countries, where the government do not pay much attention to these issues. Initially, without the ramps, the wheelchair-bound would either have to find an alternate route, which is not only time consuming, but would also be tiring or depend on another person.
Furthermore, the ramp will also come handy when wheelchair users have to cross drains that are not covered. To solve the problem of lack of ramps, we thought of creating a mobile ramp, which can be extended and retracted. When extended, the person on the wheelchair can then scale up the stairs, and when done, retract the ramp back into place.
For example, if a wheelchair-bound person needs to cross a drain without a cover. All he needs to do is to extend the ramp and move over.He could then retract the ramp, and continue his journey on the other side of the drain. The process could be repeated as many times as wanted, so the person would never have to worry of being unable to cross from place to place.
The wheelchair-bound might not have enough strength to push themselves up the stairs, since it is inclined, as they would be working against gravity. However, The scaling the stairs can be made totally mechanised, removing the need to manually control the ramp and wheelchair.
Our product is a small and compact but serves its purpose well. This makes it suitable for low-cost mass production, and the project is thus a feasible one. Furthermore, this mechanism can be attached to wheelchairs that are currently being used. Hence, users to do not need to pay for a whole new wheelchair, just to enjoy this feature.
Through this project, we wish to accomplish two things.
One is to encourage more people to make use of knowledge from the field of Science and Technology and apply it in helping the community by setting an example of such projects.
The second is help make the lives of the physically disabled much better. Finally, we hope to materialize this idea with the support of Create 2011.
School: Nanyang Polytechnic
Team members: Gwendoline Tan Wan Xin, Benezer Seow Jing Yang, Daniel Lim Yu Xuan
Our idea originated when one of our group member went overseas with his friends. While it’s late at night, they got lost with each other along the streets. Both of them got separated from each other and could not contact each other due to inaccessible cellular communication. In the end, they were lucky to be able to locate each other with the help from the locals.
However, as they return home, they were complaining about the lack of a tracking device in the market which requires neither cellular data nor GPS (Global Positioning System).
Hence, we started to brainstorm ideas and came out with the product “Sense.It!”.
Sense.It! is more of a social networking device instead of a mapping device. Everyone have friends and most of us will like to meet up with friends.
Sense.It! consists of a chip and software. Both hardware and software can be built into either a mobile device or even their laptops.
We want to create a chip known as Sense.It! chip that is able to broadcast signals within a 10km radius. The signal broadcasted is used to “communicate” and detect other Sense.It! chips nearby without any reliance on third party technology (such as cellular data and GPS).
Privacy Issue
As Sense.It! is a social device, it allows users to track their friends even without the use of third party technology. This can cause problems such as stalking and endangering the privacy of each individual. Because of this, it has to be the responsibility of the user to accept requests only from friends that they trust with.
School: Raffles Institution
Team members: Low Jia Jin, Loke Wei Jie, Wong Zhi Yang
Imagine that your bulky desktop computer is now just a screen with a small microchip, imagine that you can access the work you did at home from your laptop without the hassle of saving it onto a storage device or specialized web host, and imagine that your Smartphone has the computational potential power of dozens of modern desktops combined.
CloudOS is a revolutionary paradigm in distributed network computing, redefining the traditional notion of a PC altogether. Instead of being an input, computational, and output device all in one, we remove the computational element from the equation altogether.
In CloudOS, users are allocated a designated amount of storage, system memory and processing muscle in a centralized computing cluster. This creates a personal space whereby a full-fledged operating system is deployed. Back at home, users send input data from our computer peripherals (keyboard, mouse, etc.), where it is packaged as instructions and sent via the internet to our reserved personal space in the cluster to be processed. After being processed in the cloud, the output in the form of visual and audio feeds is encoded and transmitted back to our computers, where a receiver picks it up and displays it to us.
This goes beyond modern distributed databases (Google Docs, Mediafire, Dropbox, etc.) as the cluster is now not just a home for document storage, it is a hub of processing. In fact, you can do anything that you would otherwise do on your PC from CloudOS, you can surf the web, create documents and files, even install and play games, all from that same online environment. Simply put, the end-user experience is not compromised, and ideally, it should not be functionally different from a locally based system runtime environment at each operational instance. In fact, your entire PC is now but an IO (input/output) interface, meaning that all your data is always at one place.
A game that you install from one PC at home can be played from another PC at your friend’s place. A spreadsheet that you finish up on your laptop can be accessed from another laptop you borrowed from your colleague.
Your “virtual computer” of sorts, now follows you anywhere you go all you need is an IO device to access it from, and a steady internet connection. In fact, enhancing this idea of mobility is that computers can get smaller and thinner, as the need for bulkier, more powerful hardware for processing chores is now offloaded onto the cloud, all your system needs is a small microprocessor with minimal computational overhead to display the output data from your cloud space. This use of PCs as just IO panels has another implication for mobility small mobile devices are no longer constrained by computational power, as the speed of your PC is only limited by the speed reserved for you in the cloud. Your Smartphone could theoretically be the face of the next supercomputer.
School: Hong Kah Secondary School
Team Members: Kaung Myat San, Supratik Banerjee, Ye Htet Myet
Have you ever had this problem of not getting a taxi when you are in a rush and when you get one, there is a traffic jam during peak hours? You try to call the taxi company and wait for the response and pay extra fee of $3 and sometimes it takes a long time to come to you. And because of that, you miss your important meetings and occasions?
There is misunderstanding between the commuters/passengers and the taxi drivers. When there are many passengers waiting at the taxi stand, there is no taxi available. When there are many taxis waiting, there is no passenger. Not only that but also taxis have to roam around the roads to get passengers which is wasting time and fuel. The global warming is becoming worse every day and we must reduce the production of carbon dioxide and there is also a shortage of natural resources.
Our software, T2GPS will solve this problem. T2GPS stands for tracking taxi global positioning system and it will be installed to smart phones or downloadable content for smart phones. As you press the software in your phone, it will activate GPS which can track your from taxis. In your phone, you can select the taxi nearest to you and the destination you want to go to.
After selecting the taxi and destination, it will send a message to the driver’s GPS screen whether he wants to accept it or not. If the taxi driver accepts it, other not selected taxis will disappear in your phone and can see the selected taxi coming to you. If the driver declines it, that taxi will disappear and you can select another nearest taxi.
Drivers can make use of the system to locate the passengers rather than driving around to locate them. In addition, it can help the drivers to save petrol and the daily operation cost. At the same time, we can reduce the amount of vehicle on the road. Hence, it will increase the efficiency of the transport system. We need not to build taxi stands which seem to be a major contributor of traffic jams within the area.
Taxi will proceed to the location that requires their service. Instead of roaming the roads, taxi drivers park their taxis at the designated taxi parking areas and track the passengers with the T2GPS system. By doing so, the taxi provides can reduce their cost on fuel and increase the efficiency of the services provided. Saving petrol can lessen usage of natural resources and reduce the production of carbon dioxide. This environmental friendly, a green software will be the next big thing in the near future.
School: Anglo-Chinese Junior College
Team members: Ng Wei Ting, Jasmine Ng Shi Min, Eileen Tan
Ever felt frustrated that you cannot understand another party due to the language barrier? Well, fret no more with the T-TALK. This portable translator will enable one to understand what message the other party is trying to convey without much hassle.
It is a wireless headset and is able to process and interpret what the other party is speaking and translate it to the language that you understand. This can improve communications and eliminate language barrier as any language can be easily interpreted and translated to the consumers preferred language. Hence, this reduces the chances of miscommunication and misconception, lowering the risks of having misunderstandings. This improves the way people connect as they are not tied down by the language barrier and face no restrictions in making new friends or going to foreign places. People are able to understand each other better too.
There is no longer a need for translators to be present at summits, conventions etc. as people are able to understand each other. Hence, time is saved and it saves the trouble of pausing during meetings for translation of languages. This way, business deals and treaties can be sealed faster.
Sound is created due to the vibrations of air molecules in the air, thus in order for T-TALK to work efficiently and detect the different intonations and stresses of each language, a database will be installed in the T-TALK which is able to recognize the unique ranges of sounds caused by the different languages. Due to the difference in stresses and intonations of each language, the range of each language would differ respectively and thus T-TALK will be able to detect the different languages and translate it to the preferred language of the user using software.
The T-TALK comes with a T-SEE too a pair of special glasses that is able to scan works written in foreign languages. These words can be translated into the desired language and transmitted via the headset.
The T-SEE works like a message reader however the difference is that as it is able to ‘scan’ the written works directly. A scanner uses a ‘cold cathode lamp to illuminate the scanned image, which reflects off the object and into a Charged Coupled Device (CCD). The Charged Coupled Device collects the information, and through a series of electronic devices converts the analog signal into a series of digital signals which can then be read and processed by computer software.
We will use a similar device on the T-SEE, but the T-SEE will be able to ‘scan’ the image from a distance by utilizing a more powerful and focused illumination source which can be directed from a further distance.
1. Conferences, conventions, summits and meetings.
2. Tourists: able to tour countries with more ease, without facing any obstacles due to the language barrier. (E.g. signboards, sales assistants, flight attendants)
3. Documentaries/films/articles in foreign languages.
School: Nanyang Girls High School
Team Members: Zhou Siyun, Du Xuesong, Zou Yan Hong
Can you believe that alcohol-related traffic accidents happen so frequently that a death is incurred every 33 minutes? Surprisingly, despite the marked elevation and advancement of science and technology, 1,200,000 people are dead per year in traffic accidents and within these tragedies, nearly 50%-60% are triggered by DUI. These appalling statistics push us to ask ourselves, what can we do for the future of mobility? At the same time, how can we use the technology to reduce or even prevent these tragedies from reoccurring?
We believe that the future of mobility is not just time-efficient and convenient but most importantly, safe. How can we achieve this by using our creativity and technology? Here is our answer-the Smart Control System against DUI, which can be installed in cars to prevent drivers from driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol.
Here is the animation that illustrates how our system works. It includes how the system test alcohol and how the circuit to the car engine will be interrupted, what will happen when the driver is obviated from driving and how he can get help. We will also show what will happen if a “false alarm” is triggered by a dysfunctional system
First of all, our system can be installed on the car to prevent DUI and hence benefits the future of transport. Secondly, our system involved the use of mobile phones and other wireless signal equipments which are another form of mobility. More important, our system is designed against DUI in order to contribute to the future of mobility, which is not just convenient, but safe.
As you may wonder, if everyone knows the dangers of DUI, what is the point in creating such a system? However, a survey conducted by sina.com among 4,538 people showed that while 81.29% of the surveyees were aware of the dangers of DUI, only 20.63% indicated that they have never drunk-driven.
Therefore, it is patently clearly that many people are lack of self-discipline in terms of driving safely. Besides, with the increasing number of social activities, more people have to drink wines or beers knowing that they have to drive subsequently. Our system emerges against this backdrop to prevent people from becoming victims of DUI under its destructive forces. The system is convenient as it can be installed into the car and the user does not need to buy a new car. If this system can prove itself to be viable, families can install this system for their loved ones to ensure their safety. The government can also make it compulsory for every car-owner or for those who have record of DUI. Hopefully with our system, the rate of death and injuries caused by DUI would be significantly reduced and we could hence contribute to the future of mobility.
Our main limitations lie in our Auto-generated SMS System. A SMS is auto-generated and sent to the present contact person when the alcohol level of the driver exceeds the legal limit. The contact person, who might be the driver’s kin or friend, might choose to decode the system lock even though the driver is confirmed to be drunk.
In such cases, the driver might post danger to others while driving under influence. Also, it is possible that the driver (knowing that he is drunk) asks a passerby to blow into the breathalyzer to unlock the control system. However, it must be noted that the context of our innovation is such that the system is made compulsory for all car owners by the government in order for the above limitations to be valid.
If this system is being installed voluntarily, for example as a goodwill to ensure the safety of family member, such cases would not happen as it would then defeat the purpose of doing so. Thus, under such context, if the drivers resolved to the above actions and were caught, he and his family member would be charged with an offense. Hopefully, this would serve as a solution as the drivers would think twice before deciding to violate the law.
School: Raffles Institution
Team members: Ian Chua Yong Kwang, R. Arvind, Raymond Kang Seng Ing
Currently, the internet is getting ever smarter and knowing more about us through our past searches and preferences. However, have you ever wondered if the internet would do more than that?
Could the internet provide us with our hearts desires at the snap of a finger? We think it can. We are thinking of a system, we call buddy, that will be able to use a users emotions and moods to act as a source of input for search engines, shopping or even smses. This emotional input will be gathered by the vocal tones, facial expressions and pulse rates of the users. For example, the facial muscles of different emotions are recognizable with face recognition technology, and an angry person would have a harsher tone during conversation.
Our team believes that emotions play a huge role in every persons social life and buddy will take social networking to the next level.
With the increasingly prevalent use of smartphones today, one can expect Web 5.0 (hypothetical number relative to the current web 2.0 system) to be vastly linked to smartphones. Given the current rate of development in technology, smartphones are likely to be able to recognize facial expressions (through cameras), voices (voice detection), and detect pulse rate(pulse meters) then.
MOOD-BASED SEARCHING
Buddy can modify its Internet searches to be more suited for the user’s mood. For instance, if one is depressed and wants some entertainment, Buddy would not return sad movies like Titanic, but might suggest comedies and upbeat songs to cheer one up.
MOOD MESSAGING
When sending text messages to friends, Buddy can display your feelings along with the message. This could make messages more personalized and increase their human touch.
STUDY SCHEDULES
By observing a student’s emotions in different periods of time, Buddy could find him an optimum studying schedule. Buddy can then connect friends with similar studying schedules, enabling them to study more productively together.
GROUP WORK
Buddy allows one to create groups and check the mood of every group member. This could let leaders increase the productivity of group meetings, by ensuring that everyone is emotionally stable before holding them.
FOOD SELECTION
Buddy will include FeedMe, a feature that chooses the canteen food that suits the student’s mood and diet best in school. Data like nutritional information and availability will be uploaded by stallholders to the Internet. FeedMe will then use this data to match the student’s current mood and diet to release a selection of well-picked canteen food.
SOCIAL NETWORKING
By tracking data like one’s emotions over time and preferred forms of entertainment, Buddy will learn much about the user and bring social networking to an entirely new level. This data can help Buddy find people with similar interests to the user and forge new friendships or strengthen existing ones. One might even be able to find his/her soulmate.
Overall, buddy will be a revolutionary system that will redefine the web as we know of it. With mood/emotion based applications, the world would probably be a happier place.
It took a while but our judges have selected the Create2011 finalists!
They've picked 10 Junior Finalists & 8 Senior Finalists from a pool of 140 entries.
Great job to everyone who submitted their entries for Create2011! The judges had a very tough time when deciding on the Finalists. We know, we were there when it happened (Photos here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=191988&id=41873592506).
Now the Finalists need your votes!
Come Sat (14 Aug), go to http://www.create2011.com.sg to vote for your favourite entries. The five finalists from each category with the most votes will duke it out at Create2011 Finale (3 Sep) for a 4-day trip to Nokia Beijing &Singapore!
Spread the word, get your friends to vote, & remember: 1 more vote = 1 step closer to the grand prize!
Voting begins Sat (14 Aug) at & ends Wed (18 Aug).
You’ve got your idea. You’ve submitted it.
More importantly, you’re a Create2011 finalist!
So what next?
Apart from garnering votes (very, very important if you want to win that 4-day trip to Nokia Singapore and Beijing!), Create2011 finalists must create prototypes and present them to our judges!
That’s actually three different posts: one on garnering votes; another on prototypes (which our CoTs will be mentoring); and finally on presentation.
Last week, our guest writer Ong Yizhen wrote a rousing post on how to do up and present your idea to kick ass (like our favourite non super-powered hero).
But what would rock the Creators of Tomorrows’ boat? We’ve polled them for their responses and found that it’s a mixed bag of acting and tips.
Got a problem? Tell us at creators.of.tomorrow@gmail.com and we’ll help you out!
While compatriot Ian Pang works at LucasArts in California, Ho Wuiyee works at LucasArts Singapore. Besides location, his role is also somewhat different. His main role is to ““program and fix the graphical glitches and inconsistencies” as a software engineer.
Within the context of a game, he thinks it’s important to…
…find new ways to engage the player. It is a continuous learning process with new hardware being announced and interactive entertainment moving to new platforms in the form of handhelds and mobile phones. The processing and graphical capabilities of some of the latest handheld gadgets are simply mind blowing!
But really, he wished that someone had invented a time machine! Why? “I believe everybody at some point in time would have wished for the ability to travel backwards or forwards in time!”
As do we all.
We’ve talked about how to articulate engineering ideas last week. Now that the first hurdle has been jumped over, let’s deliver a kick-ass presentation on your idea!
First, relook into the previous article and revise those 3 steps.
Got a swanky name for your idea?
Got your lists out?
Translated them for the layman?
Good!
Now, since you have a great idea, now it’s time to do up a presentation that is clear and concise:
A public service announcement:
It’s almost time to close! Just 5 days left before we start voting on the idea that will send you on an Experiential Journey to Beijing and Singapore with Nokia! Remember to submit your idea of Future Mobility by 9 August!
We’re all just waiting for you… ;)
Submit at: http://create2011.com.sg/submission/entrysubmissionmsg.aspx
Take the Create2011 engineering challenge and tell us your vision of Future Mobility to win the grand prize of: A Nokia Experiential Journey in Beijing and Singapore! Check out our Facebook fanpage for exciting contests & giveaways!
Love this video on what Nanotechnology can do for us. Discovery does really good videos on how we can engineer better lives!
Take the Create2011 engineering challenge and tell us your vision of Future Mobility to win the grand prize of: A Nokia Experiential Journey in Beijing and Singapore! Check out our Facebook fanpage for exciting contests & giveaways!
Or “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
As theoretical physicist, philosopher and author, Albert Einstein said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
But ideas will remain as ideas if they are stuck in your head.
So how do you translate your ideas into words, pictures or something that can be explained simply enough for people to understand? I agree that engineering ideas can be complicated and complex. But that doesn’t give you the excuse: “Oh it’s an engineering term. You wouldn’t understand.”
Read the following carefully – they will help you to get your point across, pitch your ideas to your friends, clients and reduce the number of politely bewildered faces whenever you try to convey your ideas.
It creates a reference to your idea. And give a simple and catchy too! Articulating ideas also means reaching out to your readers or listeners in the best way that attracts their attention!
Everybody loves lists. A simple Pro/Cons list will help you when you are expressing your ideas. It will also help you in your thought process on how well formed your idea is.
Not everybody knows your fancy engineering lingo or the fabulous formulas that you are so used to working with. This also doubles up as a way of testing if you know and understand your idea well enough to translate it into a simpler way. (Yes, back to Einstein’s quote again)
Follow these three steps when articulating your idea in a proposal or a presentation or whatever. But if you find these all too long winded – just remember K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple, Stupid!
By Ong Yizhen
Take the Create2011 engineering challenge and tell us your vision of Future Mobility to win the grand prize of: A Nokia Experiential Journey in Beijing and Singapore! Check out our Facebook fanpage for exciting contests & giveaways!
“Nano-Tex Resist spills fabric is used as the surface of this incredibly striking display. Liquids just bead and roll off this regular fabric.”
My only beef… the commentary’s in Japanese… T.T
Take the Create2011 engineering challenge and tell us your vision of Future Mobility to win the grand prize of: A Nokia Experiential Journey in Beijing and Singapore! Check out our Facebook fanpage for exciting contests & giveaways!
Nanomachines are supposed to be the holy grail of materials. After all, these smaller-than-molecule sized machines could assemble any structure by “atomic-scale "pick and place": a set of nanoscale pincers would pick individual atoms from their environment and place them where they should go.”
And when we say any structure, we mean any structure – from planes to bread to virus-zapping cells. That’s the beauty of Nanomachines and Nanotechnology.
Instead of repeating what’s out there, we’ve put together a digest on Nanomachines and how they can be used in the future:
“In the Nanotechnology world, you start with atoms and build things up. Giving you incredible control over the material.”
Take the Create2011 engineering challenge and tell us your vision of Future Mobility to win the grand prize of: A Nokia Experiential Journey in Beijing and Singapore! Check out our Facebook fanpage for exciting contests & giveaways!
We wanna know if you’ve submitted your Create2011 ideas. Y’know, a Future Mobility idea that might make the world a better place.
‘Cause we’ve extended our deadline to 9 August, midnight (National Day! Hooray!)
‘Cause we’ve been getting emails asking for a deadline extension!
(*(#^!@(#(*@&#(!@ Why so many whys?)
It’s common test season, it’s school daze; it’s perfecting your ideas. We hear you -- that’s why we’re extending the deadline to 9 August, midnight to submit your winning idea for bragging rights.
Not sure what we mean? Have a read our Letters from Munich!
PS: In other news, see happened when we took our AR badge outdoors!
Take the Create2011 engineering challenge and tell us your vision of Future Mobility to win the grand prize of: A Nokia Experiential Journey in Beijing and Singapore! Check out our Facebook fanpage for exciting contests & giveaways!
I'm the editor of UCreateChange. And I started this blog with the intention of putting up my past weekly roundups 'cause it's a shame they're simply disappearing into people's inboxes. Anyways, if you've a question on engineering, drop me a line at creators.of.tomorrow@gmail.com!
