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MOTORSAFE: Pioneering Green Urban Mobility

In an era of rapid urbanization, MOTORSAFE presents an innovative solution that bridges the gap between city living and nature: The Green Car. Developed by talented students from Nguyen Binh Khiem High School for Gifted Students in Vinh Long, this groundbreaking project transforms everyday transportation into mobile ecosystems.

Smart Technology Meets Environmental Sustainability

The Green Car isn’t just a vehicle – it’s a self-sustaining garden on wheels. Our advanced system combines autonomous driving capabilities with cutting-edge environmental technology:

  • Intelligent Irrigation System
    Smart sensors monitor soil conditions in real-time, delivering precise amounts of water to maintain optimal plant health
  • Solar-Powered Growth Lights
    Integrated solar panels power LED systems that ensure plants thrive in any urban environment, day or night
  • Advanced Plant Health Monitoring
    State-of-the-art sensors detect and prevent pest issues and diseases before they impact plant vitality
  • Adaptive Mobility Design
    Flexible positioning allows for strategic placement throughout urban spaces, maximizing the impact of green areas where they’re needed most

Impact on Urban Living

The Green Car project represents more than technological innovation – it’s a practical solution for creating healthier, more livable cities. By introducing mobile green spaces into urban environments, we’re improving air quality, enhancing urban aesthetics, and reconnecting city dwellers with nature.

Bringing nature back to cities, one vehicle at a time.

Ultrasonic Smart Glasses For Vietnam’s Visually Impaired

Nearly a million people navigate life with visual impairments in Vietnam, their world shaped by shadows and sounds rather than sights. Of the 900,000 affected individuals—1.2% of the nation’s population—two-thirds experience total blindness. The challenge is further compounded by poverty, with one in three unable to access sight-restoring treatments due to financial constraints. In rural areas, where information about assistive technologies is scarce, the need for innovative solutions is particularly acute.

Enter our groundbreaking smart glasses, inspired by nature’s own master of navigation—the bat. These glasses harness the power of echolocation, blending cutting-edge hardware with sophisticated software to create a “visual” world through sound.

How do they work? It’s brilliantly simple:

  1. Power Up: With a simple switch, users activate the glasses’ built-in battery, bringing this assistive marvel to life.
  2. Customized Sensing: A user-friendly dial allows for personalized distance settings, adapting the ultrasonic sensors to individual needs and environments.
  3. Invisible Radar: The glasses emit ultrasonic waves that bounce off nearby objects. These returning waves are captured by a receiver, instantly calculating distances to potential obstacles.
  4. Vigilant Guardian: When an obstacle is detected, a discreet buzzer alerts the user, providing an auditory “map” of their surroundings.

While revolutionary, our current prototype still has room for growth. We’re working on enhancing the power source for extended use, introducing voice and vibration alerts for more nuanced feedback, and refining the aesthetic design to blend functionality with style.

As we look to the future, we envision these smart glasses not just as a tool, but as a beacon of independence for Vietnam’s visually impaired community. By making the invisible visible through sound, we’re not just creating a product—we’re crafting a new way of seeing the world.

NAVIGATION DEVICE

In Vietnam, the visually impaired and elderly face significant mobility challenges due to limited support. As of World Sight Day 2024, approximately 2 million Vietnamese are blind or have low vision, many of whom cannot afford treatment. These individuals often struggle to identify directions and obstacles, making them vulnerable to accidents, especially at intersections with traffic lights.This project aims to develop a device that acts as an extra “eye” for the visually impaired and elderly, improving their safety and integration into society.

The device uses an Arduino board as its main processor. It receives signals from various sensors to perform basic functions:

  • A distance sensor detects obstacles and alerts the user with audio or vibration signals. It activates a vibration motor and speaker when an object is too close, warning the user of potential danger.
  • A color sensor recognizes traffic light colors and provides spoken instructions. This feature helps the device distinguish between red and green lights, providing critical guidance in an audible way.
  • A tilt sensor detects falls and sends an emergency alert to a designated contact.

These core features work together to provide a comprehensive navigation system. Users receive real-time feedback on their surroundings through audible alerts, vibrations, and potential future integration with GPS for location tracking. Health monitoring features such as heart rate and SPO2 sensors may also be integrated in the future.


AUTOMATIC GATE FOR AGRICULTURE

In Tra On District, Vinh Long Province, inland saline intrusion is a pressing problem during the dry season. This problem is caused by sea level rise, tidal changes, drought, and changes in upstream water flow. These factors contribute to increased salinity levels in the region’s rice, fruit, and vegetable growing areas, resulting in significant crop losses. To address this challenge, a project called “Automatic Gate for Agriculture” was developed by two students.

The system works by controlling the opening and closing of a sluice gate using a set of sensors.These sensors include a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) sensor to monitor salinity and ultrasonic sensors to track water levels inside and outside the gate. Real-time data is collected and processed by the ESP32 microcontroller, the system’s central processor. This microcontroller analyzes the data and triggers actions based on predefined settings. The system is powered by solar panels and a backup battery to ensure continuous operation.

The system responds to certain inputs as follows:

  • Salt water intrusion: When salinity levels rise, the gate automatically closes to prevent salt water intrusion. The pumps remain inactive during this time.
  • Water level management:
    • Low water level: The system monitors the external water level. Depending on the conditions, the gate opens or closes as needed. If necessary, pump 2 is activated to suck in water.
    • High water level: If the external water level is too high, Pump 1 is activated to remove excess water, or alternatively, the gate opens to allow water to flow out, depending on the situation.

This setup effectively manages water levels and salinity to protect agricultural lands from saltwater intrusion and water shortages during the dry season.

ELAB – VIRTUAL REALITY FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

Two students from Le Quy Don Specialized High School (Quang Tri) designed virtual reality (VR) software to provide a new and engaging learning experience.


Traditional methods often lack the visual appeal and interactive elements that resonate with young learners. In addition, some schools lack the resources to set up well-equipped laboratories or conduct certain experiments due to cost constraints. e-Lab steps in to fill this gap.

e-Lab simulates labs and classrooms for various subjects in a 3D environment and VR technology. Users can move, observe, manipulate and experiment with realistic experiences that represent elements that cannot be observed in the real world. e-Lab is built with outstanding features:

  • Observe and interact with invisible quantities (force vectors, types of substances, etc.).
  • Interact with objects at the cellular, molecular, and atomic levels
  • Perform dangerous experiments or recreate objects that cannot be reproduced under normal classroom conditions
  • Integrate an artificial intelligence virtual tutor to deliver lectures and answer students’ questions by voiceWhen users put on the glasses, they are transported to a virtual laboratory. In this virtual lab, chemical experiments, physical phenomena, or biological phenomena inside cells can be demonstrated.

INTEGRATED LEAF DRYER

Students in Hau Giang Province have developed a smart dryer for tea leaves and other medicinal herbs,
that is controlled by a smartphone and integrates IoT technology.

Responding to the growing demand for natural remedies, this project aims to:

  • Empower individuals: The compact design allows for home and personal use, making it accessible to a wider audience.
  • Improve control: Users can monitor and manage the drying process remotely via their smartphone.
  • Improve efficiency: The automated system saves labour and simplifies the drying process.
    The model included a wood and foam drying house, a Yolobit circuit, signal cables, a DTH20 sensor for temperature and humidity, a fan, a pump, LED lights, an LCD screen, a servo motor for the door and a fire alarm system. This intelligent dryer facilitates the remote control and management of electrical appliances, especially when users are not at home, offering labour-saving benefits and a modern dryinand a modern drying experience.

Lifting Home

The idea is to develop an environmental friendly and floatable house that is adaptable to seasonal floodings in the Mekong River Delta. The house is made of bamboo and equipped with smart technology. Micro:bit is used as the central controlling system to connect and control other external sensors, such as lighting, humidity and proximity, and motor servo. The humidity sensor is used to transfer a signal to the Micro:bit to operate the house with up and down lifting; the light sensor for auto-lighting; the motor servo for opening/closing the main doors.

SMART FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM


There were 1,745 fire incidents in Vietnam last year, resulting in 109 deaths, 82 injuries and a preliminary estimated property damage of VND592.72 billion. Early detection of a fire significantly increases the chances of successful extinguishment by up to 90%. That’s why our team wants to use the programming skills we’ve learnt to develop a project that can detect and effectively extinguish fires in their early stages, reducing the loss of life and property.

Our SMAX uses advanced image processing algorithms to scan visual data from strategically placed cameras. Trained to recognise patterns, colours and movement associated with fire, the algorithm enables rapid and accurate identification.- Audible fire alarm: When a fire is detected, an immediate audible alarm alerts people in the vicinity, providing a vital early warning system. Automatic fire suppression: In response to a confirmed fire, the system triggers an automatic response, activating water spray or extinguishing chemicals. User notification for remote monitoring: Our system sends real-time messages to users, alerting them to fires, potential hazards or unusual movements detected by the camera. To ensure uninterrupted operation, the system incorporates a robust backup power solution. In the event of a power failure, a dedicated battery/rechargeable battery system takes over, ensuring continuous operation during unforeseen power outages. This maximises system reliability.

FLOATING HOME

Our town often faces the risk of severe flooding, with water suddenly pouring down from the
stream, causing substantial damage to homes, disrupting electricity and water supply. Therefore,
we developed the floating house to solve those problems.

How does it work?

The house can float on the water when the flood happens, by using water level
sensors. The rain is also collected into the storage for daily use, especially during the flooding days.
Furthermore, the house has a garden to grow vegetables, controlled by automatic watering systems and uses solar panels for electricity supply. By using IoT technology, it can all be controlled remotely.

SMART WEARABLE TO PREVENT KYPHOSIS

Nowadays, children and young people spend a lot of time on smart devices, leading to severe kyphosis (an exaggerated, forward rounding of the upper back). Our team developed a smart wearable to protect children from kyphosis and school violence, abuse and bullying.

How does it work? Wearing the device, it will send an alarm sound if they are in a setting lacking of light. Or when they bend the back to a certain level, it will also send an alarm.

At the same time, the device works as an SOS button: If a student gets into a dangerous situation, they can press the SOS button abd the speaker will make a loud noise. In case the user cannot press the button, we used a sensor processed by a micro:bit to predict the gestures to identify it as a dangerous situation.

And last but not least, this device also works as a GPS locator so that the parent can manage their children.

Contact Switzerland

Manuela Nieth
manuela@dariu.org

Contact Vietnam

Nguyen Van Hanh
hanh@dariu.vn


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