Hi Guys! Here is the long-awaited report on the Bi-Box Innovation Day which took place on 28 February (Saturday).
What is the Bi-Box program?
Bi-Box is a graphical interfaced programming system which consists of a Bi-Box (a micro-controller) where the connections are made. The Logic is designed using a graphical flow chart on a tablet and then uploaded via Bluetooth to the hardware. It is mainly focused on the students who are yet to be introduced to the logic of programming. All this is taught by external instructors from the Bi-Box company.
24 February (Tuesday/Day 1)
We were surprised when all of the sudden, selected students were asked to prepare for the Bi-Box Innovation Day which was going to take place within a matter of 4 days. We were called in and the teachers explained to us what was going to happen on that day. The teachers explained to us that there were going to be 5 main projects and several other filler projects. The main projects were the Argri-mation (The automated farm), E-Hospital (The fully automated hospital), The cloth pulling machine (The automated machine which saves the clothes from rain) and the Automated Cradle. We made up our minds to it and we were ready to start preparing as soon as the required materials and components arrived. I was not surprised when everybody got serious about this day after one of our instructors made a comment saying, "This is the biggest event that has ever happened to Bi-Box so let's make it a grand success!"
25 February (Wednesday/Day 2)
The preparation for the big day was at full swing! We were called in for the last 2 periods but since we were so excited some of stayed for the last 4 periods! The teams for each of these projects were chosen and division of the work took place. Once the work was divided, the teams started brainstorming for ideas and the final ideas were chosen. But the day was bad as all of a sudden all our progress came to a halt due to technical issues. That day was when I realized how much the Bi-Box instructors cared about this day and were counting on this day. That day they stayed back at school until around 7 p.m just to finish some work which could not be done to cover up the time that we had lost.
26 February (Thursday/Day 3)
It was on this day that real progress was made. The programming part of the projects were done on this day and all that was left was to construct, assemble the models and fix the Bi-Box into it. This was the toughest part of the whole day as there were many technical issues but the teams were able to tackle these problems and move on.
27 February (Friday/Day 4 )
This was the final day of preparation and all the things were coming together and some other people interested in the small projects also joined in. The entire team got together and practiced the way they would present it. At the end, all were satisfied and were ready for the upcoming day.
INNOVATION DAY (28/02/2015)
When the day came, there was more audience than expected due to the PTM that was taking place along side. Everybody was busy just before it started. Badges, Bi-Boxes, Charts were all being distributed to the students taking part. When the time came, the program was at full swing. Everything was going according to plan, people were explaining, showing and telling them what the Bi-Box was.
Detailed description of the main projects
Safe Transport System : The Safe transport system is an automated transport system for the citizens. It features a bus which moves around the city and stops automatically when there is a person in front of it or when it reaches a signal / bus stop.
The Automatic Cloth Pulling Machine : The automatic cloth pulling machine helps people who dry their clothes in the open sun. If the machine senses rain, (using a rain sensor which works on the principles of conductivity) it starts a mechanism which pulls the clothes into the shed so that it does not get wet. When it is not raining it brings the clothes back out.
Automated Baby Sitter : This automated baby sitter helps those who have tough time with babies. If the baby has wet his pants then it sends out an alarm to the mother/father/guardian saying that he has wet his pants. If the baby cries then it makes different colorful patterns using LEDs.
The Agri-Mation : The Agri-Mation (which stands for Agricultural Automation) is a farm which has many automatic features in it. It has a automatic drip irrigation system that irrigates the crops when the soil is not moist. It has an automated greenhouse which opens in the morning and closes at night. It also has an intruder alarm in case somebody comes close to the farmhouse at night. It also has a fire alarm in case the field catches fire. It is also accompanied by a scarecrow which moves and a windmill as well.
The E - Hospital : The E-Hospital is a automated hospital that consists of a automated stretcher that carries the patient to the emergency room by itself. It also has automatic lights which switch on the moment night arrives. It also consists of some models like the test tubes with different types of blood inside which circulates around a room.
It was a big success. There was a counter which was present for the parents to vote whether they were satisfied or not. A total of 1359 parents voted that they were very satisfied. Overall, it was a huge success.
We thank the teachers and Bi-Box instructors for supporting us in this huge event!
If you have any doubt about what this program is and how the logic is done then don't hesitate to reach me out at gaganbhat6@gmail.com.
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