Invitation & Programme: 2010 SAIEE National Student Project Competition: R25 000 up for grabs to undergrads

All media; academia; postgraduate and undergraduate students and their families; representatives from government, state-owned enterprises, organisations and companies in the public and private sectors (and in particular HR representatives interested in recruiting the very best skilled engineering staff); and the general interested public; are cordially invited to attend and experience for themselves the top talent emerging from South African universities of electrical, electronic, computer and information engineering.

PARTICIPANTS

South Africa's leading tertiary educational institutions of electrical, electronics, computer and information engineering (academic universities and universities of technology) are participating and fielding eligible team(s) of final-year undergraduate students at the contest.

During the day, an exibition will showcase the projects being presented including the hardware and/or software developed by the presenters. The presenters themselves will be on hand to discuss and demonstrate their projects.

In addition, as the Contest Host, UJ and its Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, will be showcasing some of their innovative research and community development projects and activities.

This will include a number of fascinating working demonstration projects of UJ's Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles (UAV) research group.

This exciting research will appeal to learners, school leavers and students interested in persuing electrical and electronics engineering, robotics and mechatronics as a career, as well as to the media and other persons with a general interest in leading-edge technology in these fields.

The research is aimed at developing automation and power technologies for different airborne and ground platforms. Measurement, control and power management systems are developed for solar and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle platforms. The vision of viable and clean autonomous solutions to common problems are challenged from an academic background, inspiring novel thinking and a better future.

The working projects on display will include:

Long endurance flyers
Two long endurance unmanned flyers are being developed. The first is intended to fly a continuous 100-hour flight from solar and battery power. The second is a hydrogen fuel cell based aircraft for operation longer than 20 hours in any weather, with larger payload capabilities.

Autonomous hybrid electric vehicles (HEV)
A manned car was developed for the South African Solar Car challenge 2010. The HEV aims to minimise carbon emissions by intelligent power management from the different power sources and autonomous drive.

Measurement and automation systems
Multiple measurement and automation topics are being researched, varying from inertial navigation, autopilot development, image processing, terrain mapping and autonomous ground vehicle control.

Power management systems
Three power management areas are being researched and developed, namely solar, hydrogen and battery. The power sources need to be controlled to obtain maximum power from the hydrogen or solar cells and to achieve safe battery charging.

PRIZE MONEY

The 2010 SAIEE National Student Project Competition will be opened by SAIEE President Dr. Angus Hay of Neotel, and a total prize money of R25000, sponsored by EE Publishers, is up for grabs by the winners!