They haven't finished high school yet and they are already scientists - part XNUMX

Second article in the series reporting on more interesting projects by teenagers as presented in the young scientists competition held at the Science Museum in Jerusalem

This week the Young Scientists and Developers Competition in Israel 2008 is being held, initiated and held by the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem and under the auspices of Intel. Following the competition, new and varied possibilities and opportunities open up to the participants: scholarships for higher studies, representing Israel in international competitions, participation in research camps abroad and meetings with scientific and industrial people.

The participants are aged 17-18 with curiosity and research ability, knowledge and motivation. These faithfully represent the face of Israeli society: new immigrants, Arab youth, kibbutzniks, secular and religious. The developments presented in a wide variety of fields: life sciences (biology, bioinformatics), social sciences, humanities (history, literature and language), natural and environmental sciences (physics and chemistry), robotics and computer science. Last time we brought you a collection of innovations and developments from the minds of the youthToday we will bring a second group.

Ayman Mahagana from Umm Al Fahm, together with Ahmed Agbaria and Mohammed Mahagana from Mosmus, students of Atid High School in Umm Al Faham, developed a computerized system that simulates the convulsion phenomenon. The purpose of the project is to simulate the convulsion phenomenon, which is the result of damage to the patient's central nervous system, which causes uncontrollable movement in various organs of the body, using a sophisticated computerized mannequin. Dolls of a similar type are currently in medical use (in the medical simulation center at Tel Hashomer Hospital, for example), but they have several disadvantages, stemming from the fact that they can only be controlled manually, their frequency and power are fixed and they are prone to malfunctions. The new development offers computerized control of the frequency and strength of the convulsion: the user will be able to type in the strength and frequency of the desired convulsion, and the doll created by Ahmed, Ayman and Muhammad will respond accordingly with the image of the convulsion phenomenon in the limbs and head. In the estimation of the team of scientists: "The project we developed contributes a lot to medicine, especially in the phase of experiments and practices, as optimal training to deal with the phenomenon in real time, and can help significantly to increase the efficiency of the appropriate treatment of patients with damage to the central nervous system."
Tal Dadia, who lives in Beit Shean and studies at the High School of Arts and Sciences in Jerusalem, conducted research on a topic related to the film industry and animation - photorealistic rendering in cinema, which simulates the movement of fur. Tal is interested in computer simulation of interactions between bodies, a field that is gaining momentum these days, when photorealism (an image that looks as real as in reality) and rendering (Rendering - the process of creating an image using computer software, according to a model) provide savings in terms of financial costs and personnel resources. To this day, a computer simulation of the movement of animal fur has not yet been developed, due to the great difficulty involved in simulating each and every hair and taking into account its random movements. In his research, Tal developed an algorithm that simulates in the closest way to reality the movement of chinchilla fur during interaction with external conditions and in real time (touch, wind, body movement). In his estimation: "This algorithm may contribute to various industries, including the film industry, which strives for an ultimate imitation of reality."

Yoana Bartman, Ofer Elijah and Liron Pinto, who live in Lod and are studying in a six-year comprehensive science and arts program named after Maxim Levy in Lod, developed a computerized system for adjusting a compression sock, the goal of which is to save staff in hospitals and reduce the patient's financial expenses. Compression stockings are now known as one of the tools for the treatment of various venous diseases in the lower limbs. Fitting the sock to the patient is done in two stages - diagnosis by a doctor and physical measurements by a nurse. The innovation inherent in the system developed by Yoana, Ofer and Liron is that it performs the measurements computerized using cameras and then processes the data and adjusts the sock to the patient automatically. In this way, the new development contributes both to greater accuracy in the adjustment of the sock and to the saving of manpower.
According to the three: "Many patients today tend to give up fitting by a nurse due to the long waiting time and prefer to buy a sock based on a personal assessment that is not always correct and optimal, and thus do not cure the disease or worse, even make the situation worse. The system we developed makes it possible to adjust the stocking automatically without human contact, and shortens the process, which is currently carried out in two steps, to one operation, carried out by the doctor himself."

Projects in the field of robotics
Yonatan Ron, Naor Granik and Viniv Parkash, from Kiryat Haim comprehensive urban high school, developed a system that helps people with physical disabilities - Robosfer: the system is able to locate a book in the library and bring it to the user, while making the process simple and experiential! The Robosphere is an autonomous robot with a mechanical arm and a camera, all with several features: image recognition, voice processing and establishing voice contact with the user. The new development also combines database management and the presentation of a three-dimensional library, where the user, who is limited in his physical abilities, can explore from his position and choose the desired book. In addition, the system makes it possible to overcome situations in which the books are not returned to their original place, by locating the book using a camera and bringing the selected book.

Maxim Savchenko, who lives in Beit Shemesh and studies at Givat Ram Ort College, developed a unique rescue robot - "Azurim", which is an optimal solution for locating victims in places where the terrain conditions are difficult. "Zones" simulates a future robot whose goal is to locate wounded people in the field as quickly as possible, completely independently and while overcoming various limitations (random distribution of bodies, the ability to distinguish between wounded and other bodies, while dealing with obstacles, the possibility of navigating on different slopes, etc.). The autonomous robot, which has future added value for the army and the rescue forces in particular and for society in general, was developed within the framework of the rules of the international robot competition RoboCup Junior Rescue 2007)) and was built by hand that combines electronic components, software and a large array of advanced sensors made of accessible materials, which help to perform its role in a fast, efficient way and the best.

Luba Koisman and Guy Novak, who live in Rishon Lezion and study at the Herzliya High School for the Sciences, together with another student from their school, Artium Blank, who lives in Nazareth Illit, sought to help the security and rescue forces and developed a unique spy device with a self-destruct mechanism. The device is designed to perfect and optimize the ability to gather vital information for the security forces, while preserving the important values, as they appear, among other things, in the "Spirit of the IDF" - the army's ethical code: the value of sticking to the mission and striving for victory alongside preserving the sanctity of human life.
The system is mobile - it has the ability to navigate enemy territory in various external conditions (ground, slopes, weather, etc.) and the possibility of receiving and transmitting audio and visual information in real time, with the inherent uniqueness of it being that it does not store information, therefore in the event of detection by the enemy it activates Self-destruct mechanism!
The functional system offers several significant advantages: it is compact, relatively cheap, easy to operate and easy to maintain. In addition, its external shape (turtle shape) allows camouflage and optimization of mobility in the field. In the estimation of the young scientists: "The device can contribute a lot to society in general and military intelligence in particular, and even save human lives."

Three students from the Herzliya High School of Engineering near Tel Aviv University: Michal Janko from Herzliya, Roni Goren from Tel Aviv and Igor Tsinikovsky from Bnei Brak, developed a wireless mobile robot based on a polynomial two-wheel drive system and a lifting system based on jacks. The development offers mechanical and programmatic innovations: the propulsion system is capable of handling difficult and complicated maneuvers and in its development the scientists found a mathematical solution based on the investigation of mathematical equations from high degrees for the purpose of describing the robot's acceleration functions. The lifting system is capable of lifting up to 220 kilograms of force and provides an exceptional solution from an engineering point of view in that it allows dealing with heavy weights that lack a balanced center of gravity. According to the three: "The systems were tested in field work and under extreme conditions and demonstrated capabilities above and beyond expectations."