HONG KONG, May 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As the world is increasingly fast moving, unpredictable and full of opportunities, the countries rely on innovative technologies to make life better. In Thales, innovation is embedded into the group's DNA. The worldwide Project Arduino, a campus competition that allows university students to build innovative solutions or products to fit into one of Thales' core business, announces the winner of China Region after weeks of training and tough competition this year. Team Aircraft Marshaller from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology triumphed and will compete with 8 universities from other countries for global championship and the final global winner will be announced at the end of May.
9 countries and regions are taking part in 2017/2018 Project Arduino global competition: the UK, USA, Netherlands, France, Portugal, Canada, China, Australia and Singapore. The students were given the challenges to use Arduino - an open-source electronics prototyping platform - to create their own project that addresses a particular piece of the global hi-tech market-space where Thales is present.
Over 300 students and 48 teams across China Region applied to participate, covering Thales's three major markets in China (Aerospace, transportation, security). Workshops were held at Beihang University, Civil Aviation University of China, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Tongji University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and The Hong Kong University in Science and Technology, where the entrants were taught how to use and program an Arduino by Thales engineers. This time, workshops on presentation, project management and innovations were run additionally by Thales employees in China to help attendees not only in technical aspect but also on other soft skills. After a tough competition during the showcase round, 8 winning teams secured the space at the final regional showcase session.
All teams excellently marketed their ideas and brought up inspirational and applicable works during the final showcase session, such as a robot that can replace people to detect fuel tanks in the airplane, and in-car life support device to alert the vehicle owner to the necessary actions to minimize the car casualties. Having demonstrated strong passion and remarkable creativity in the competition, Team Aircraft Marshaller from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology triumphed with their project.
The Arduino-controlled Aircraft Marshaller innovatively uses the Lego blocks coupled with a pixy camera that could detect light source to track the size and location from time to time. By using algorithm, it determines the angle that it deviates to adjust the movements of the aircraft. Embedded with pre-defined signals, Aircraft Marshaller could communicate with pilots in the form of hand gestures to correct possible airplanes misaligned trajectory on the runway. The winning team will represent the China Region to compete against other universities globally.
"Congratulations to the winning team! Those highly innovative projects with commercial values not only demonstrate the dynamics of innovation in China, but also offer great opportunity for Thales to enable prototypes into industrial solutions as well as bringing those into market in China", said Mr. Laurent GUYOT, Thales VP North Asia and China CEO.
Innovation is a fundamental principle of Project Arduino. University students are key to paving the way for future technology development. The global prize for the winners of Project Arduino 2017/18 will be a trip to one of the Thales' innovation hub or R&D center located in one of the countries and regions participating in Arduino. Thales hopes once again to foster innovation for students with a commitment to be a key partner in China's journey of becoming a more cutting-edge innovation forward country. Whatever it takes.
For more information, please visit the dedicated website for more information: www.thalesarduino.com.
Stay tuned by following #ThalesArduino on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Thales
The people we all rely on to make the world go round - they rely on Thales. Our customers come to us with big ambitions: to make life better, to keep us safer. Combining a unique diversity of expertise, talents and cultures, our architects design and deliver extraordinary high technology solutions. Solutions that make tomorrow possible, today. From the bottom of the oceans to the depth of space and cyberspace, we help our customers think smarter and act faster - mastering ever greater complexity and every decisive moment along the way. With 65,000 employees in 56 countries, Thales reported sales of €15.8 billion in 2017.
About Thales in China
Thales provides innovative solutions for the infrastructure that forms the backbone of China's growth. The Group has been active in China for more than 30 years and is trusted partner for the Chinese aviation and urban rail transportation industries. Thales employs 1,300 people in China, 95% of whom are Chinese nationals.
