Best Entry Overall :
Ways To Reduce Noise At Home
During Covid-19 isolation, there was a time when we had to stay home. I have three siblings and it was difficult to study with all the shouting and screaming. All the noise creates a lot of stress for me. This investigation was to prove that the noise levels in my house are too loud and I also tested a way to reduce the noise levels in my house. My siblings agreed that an automatic reminder if they are shouting would be helpful to keep the noise down and I wanted to test this.
Noise was monitored at my house for one hour in the morning for eleven days using an app on an iPad. It uses the microphone to record the decibel of the sound every second. I then used a different app where when the noise goes above a high decibel, a warning sound is made.
The average sound level measured was 47 Decibels which is a normal conversation. The maximum sound measured was 100 Decibels which is the sound a motor cycle makes. I was unable to test the warning app successfully as it was too sensitive and very hard to get the warnings triggered correctly.
The investigation showed that there are very loud sounds every morning in my house even though the average noise was quite low. A device
that automatically tells you when it measures loud sounds would be useful to remind us to keep quiet but I was unable to test it
successfully. My idea is to get Google or Alexa to do this as many houses have home assistants now.
Winner: Mullaloo Beach Primary School
Best Use of STEM :
Algai Bloom Buster
Did you know that over the warmer months, many natural and artificial waterbodies are affected by harmful blue green algal blooms that kill hundreds of thousands of birds each year in Australia? It also costs the farming, aquaculture, recreational, water supply and tourism sectors millions of dollars.
Water temperatures above 25 degrees increase thermal stratification, where a warmer surface layer of water covers deeper cooler water. This also allows cyanobacteria to grow quickly.
Our solution, the Algal Bloom Buster, is a mechanical device that uses current research to address the causes of blue green algal blooms.
It’s a floating solar powered vessel that mixes the cooler water with the surface layer. This movement prevents stratification and harmful
blooms occurring.
A motor powers the cylinder which rotates the propeller. Our next stage will involve programming the bloom buster, attaching sensors to measure water temperature and movement and a GPS.
Save the birds!!
Winner: Perth College
Best Presentation :
Cyclone Safe Housing
Helping people in the Northern regions of Australia to stay safe in cyclone territories by building sustainable, safe housing.
How we got there: We researched the internet and spoke to an architect about design building. At first our concept didn’t come easy but in the end we got it done.
Our idea: To build houses that are cyclone proof. We wanted to make this because because cyclones are something that affects Australia and specifically WA. We want everyone who needs a cyclone proof house to have one, meaning we want to spread globally. We also have tried to make it sustainable and better for the environment.
Materials: Recycled steel, rubber, concrete, recycled tyres, solar panels, glass windows, plant.
Winner: Beaconsfield Primary School
Best Entry Overall :
Land Sea Design
My project idea is to make an app that would help sailors with rigging their optimist dingy. I came up this idea because of my love for
sailing. I have been sailing since I was five and I have been sailing optimist dinghies for a year. The reason I wanted to do this idea, was
that when you are rigging your sail, the way that you rig the sail really depends on what the wind is doing and is going to do. So, the app
would tell the sailor what the wind is doing now and later and you would also be able to use it for different things.
Winner: Beaconsfield Primary School
Best Use of STEM :
ARMat
We visited a local retirement village and found that almost everyone complained about how their extremely sore knees made them not even want
to hop out of bed in the morning! We decided we needed to help and discovered that the source of this pain, was most likely due to
osteoarthritis. So we did a lot of research and came up with the ARMat. The ARMat, or arthritis relieving mat, consists of an infrared mat –
which is scientifically proven to help heal and reduce pain, and a sensor that picks up excessive movement – which typically is an indicator
of pain. When the sensor senses pain, it automatically turns on the infrared mat for 20min to help relieve pain and ensure a good pain free
nights sleep. What could be easier? Simply go to bed and let the ARMat take your pain away.
Winner: Perth College
Best Presentation :
Tap Off
Tap Off is a device to help people with memory problems to turn their tap off in case they forget about it. It is a small unit, in the shape of a plant pot, placed near a sink. Inside the plant pot is a circuit with a water sensor, speaker, on/off button, Arduino Nano, printed circuit board and much more.
When the water in the sink reaches the edge, the water sensor will set the buzzer off and LED lights will start blinking. This will notify the person that they have forgotten to turn their tap off therefore, avoiding water over flowing and causing water damage, or potentially the person slipping on the wet floor and sustaining an injury.
Winner: Tambrey Primary School
Best Entry Overall :
Package Protection Services
So, you know how people steal other’s packages, now we have a solution to that. Our project is going to be a device that stops people from stealing packages that have been delivered by having a box like a safe to keep the owner’s package safe in it. It will be opened by using a QR code so the box can be accessible for the owner while they are not at home. The problem our team is going to solve, is to find a way to keep people’s online shopping delivery packages safe while they are not home to collect it, so they have it and it is safe in their own hands without needing to be at home to get it. Our group chose it because it has been a problem that has happened to other people before and is still happening.
This can link to the global goal ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’ so there are more safe cities and homes to prevent people from
stealing and stopping crime within areas, so it is safer, and it stops the people from trying to do other bad things. If we had more time,
we would work on the prototype longer to make sure it works 100% all the time.
Winner: Hampton Senior High School
Best Use of STEM :
Ambulance Tracker
Our project aims to get ambulances to their patient quicker. Our prototype enables drivers to be able to know when an ambulance is coming,
prior to hearing the siren, so that they can move out of the way. It is a microbit which you can put near your steering wheel or hang from
your mirror. It receives signals from the ambulance in the form of beeping sound and flashing lights. The closer the ambulance, the higher
the pitch, the louder the sound and the quicker the beeping pattern. This system could effectively reduces travelling time significantly.
Winner: Rehoboth Christian College
Best Presentation :
Pri Safe
Our project is called PriSafe. Taken from the word prime/priority and combining it with the word safety. We believe that safety is very
important and it helps keep our communities more secure and out of harm. We saw a need and a helping hand for car accidents. If we are able
to prevent car accidents, it’s just like hitting two birds with one stone. Car accidents don’t just harm the passengers inside the car, they
can also harm pedestrians. Like if there was a careless driver doing something they shouldn’t be doing and then accidentally hitting a
pedestrian crossing the road. Things like this have become more and more frequent over the past few years. So as a group, we took some time
to research the main causes of car accidents. One of them included careless driving, doing other stuff on the road that you shouldn’t be
doing and not paying full attention and focussing on the road, taking your hands off the steering wheel. We don’t want anyone to be
seriously injured by these ridiculous things. It’s time that we make a small change in helping the lives of people.
Winner: Rehoboth Christian College
Best Entry Overall :
The PBD
The PBD is a portable electroencephalogram inside a head accessory that can detect brain waves released from special parts of the brain. It will also have an integrated AI that can speak to the wearer through a speaker. The concept of the PBD, is that it is a device that can automatically detect certain brain waves which are specifically related to suicide and depression. The AI will try and soothe the wearer to think more positive things. However if the readings of suicidal brain waves continue, the AI will relay the constant position of the headgear while the AI continuously talks positive things to the wearer.
The wanted outcome of all this, is to try and prevent future cases of suicide and save suicidal people and change their views. We choose to
solve this issue as mental health problems such as depression are increasing due to increased expectations in society.
Winner: Shenton College
Best Use of STEM :
Ashdale Showcase
For the school’s end-of-year showcase, students complete a project of their own choice, from a variety of projects offered. Two student groups have chosen to be part of a groundbreaking initiative which sees them 3D print and assemble prosthetic hands, as a free gift for worthy beneficiaries.
Working in two teams, the students have been watching videos, reading tutorials, preparing software files for 3D print, assembling a prototype and meeting and taking measurements of their two beneficiaries, so the final products fit like a glove. It is the first time these free prosthetics have ever been manufactured here in Western Australia and in a school.
Students are using the open-source designs created by the e-NABLE Community to fabricate the parts using a 3D printer before assembling each
prosthetic hand. The hands will be finished in time for the end-of-year showcase, where the beneficiaries will demonstrate how they can lift
objects weighing up to 2 kilos and have basic grasping function.
Winner: Ashdale Secondary College
Best Presentation :
Word Master
Many students do not learn or know the definitions of words they use regularly, limiting their understanding of what context to use the words in. This also affects their reading as they will not know the meaning of many words they come across. It is a problem that not only affects young children but also teenagers and adults who may have been using their words in the wrong way for years. It is particularly important for students early on to learn when and how to use their words so that they can read and write confidently.
Our app gives kids a definition and asks them to choose the word that matches, with a correct option of one out of three. We took the words
from a grade 4 spelling list, to enable upper primary school children to learn the context of their words and increase their literacy
skills.
Winner: St Mary’s Anglican Girls School