Achievements

After winning the semifinals, two leading teams from Danang were selected to represent Central Vietnam in the finals of the “2017 Creative Youth Challenge” contest, held on June 4th in Ho Chi Minh City.

The teams received support and technical guidance from lecturers at local universities and overcame other strong competitors in the finals. Second prize went to a new device which assists the visually impaired to read and write, produced by Nguyen Van Hoai Linh and Ngo Quang Hieu, who are both students at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted in Danang. They received technical guidance from DTU lecturers. The Smartbots project, by Huynh Duc Duy, Tran Tuan Anh and Ho Tuan Kiet, received assistance from the Danang University of Science and Technology and won third prize.

The device which assists the visually impaired to read and write was highly appreciated for its humanistic value and practicality. The idea was originated by Nguyen Van Hoai Linh and Ngo Quang Hieu after a charitable visit to visually impaired students at the Nguyen Dinh Chieu Specialized High School in Danang. 

Observing the difficulties the handicapped students faced reading Braille script on paper and wooden boards that their teachers had made themselves, Linh and Hieu came up with a way to help them read and write more easily. They started researching and began to create a device based on their idea. 

Within one year, the two students created the product with two main parts, a Braille display and a keyboard. The device includes two buttons, one for input and one for printing, with integrated Braille symbols. After typing in normal text and reading it to a memory card, the user presses the print button and the text is converted into Braille for display. When they finished construction, they took it to the high school for the teachers and students to try it out. They immediately liked it for its usefulness and efficiency.

Linh and Hieu created a modular device that can be easily taken apart, together with a user manual. When their invention becomes more widely-known, they hope that many more people will use it and benefit from it in their daily lives.

 

At the semifinals of the Central Vietnamese 2017 Creative Youth Challenge contest, the organizers looked for university mentors for each team, to improve potential products still deficient in design and testing. The device to support the visually impaired to read and write was highly commended in the first round but the jury also pointed out some technical and esthetic shortcomings. They then appointed highly-experienced Professor Nguyen Duy Hoa of the DTU Center for Electricity and Electronics to help solve these weaknesses. Professor Hoa worked with the two students to quickly overcome the problems and to complete the technical side of the product, by providing a new chip to give the device a higher processor speed, enhancing its looks and giving it better sound quality.

“During the completion of our product, we received the enthusiastic support of Professor Hoa,” Nguyen Van Hoai Linh explained. “He provided us with the technology to help us in our research and completion. Winning second prize, we would like to thank Professor Hoa for his help, as well as our teachers and friends for creating an environment that has allowed us to research and produce this device. We all sincerely hope that the visually impaired will greatly benefit from it in the future.” 

Giving guidance and support to contestants in Science & Technology and Electricity & Electronics has become a tradition at the DTU Center for Electricity and Electronics. DTU has supported twelve prize-winning high school student projects in national Science and Technology Innovation contests. Some of the most noteworthy are:

- A device to convert text from a computer display to Braille for the visually impaired, by Vo Trung Thien Tuong, students at the Ly Tu Trong High School in Quang Nam, who won a first prize regionally and a second prize nationally in 2015-2016.

- An integrated laser drawing device using CNC technology, by Doan Le Cong Khang, a student at the Phan Chau Trinh High School in Danang, who came first regionally and third nationally in 2015-2016.

- An automatic chick feeder, by Nguyen Lan Vy, a student at Bac Tra My High School in Quang Nam, who won second prize regionally in 2015-2016.

 

- A Braille printer for the visually impaired, by Nguyen Thien Nhan, a student at the Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted in Danang, and Dang Huynh Khanh Ly, a student at the Hoa Vang High School in Danang, who obtained a second prize regionally in 2015-2016.

- A model home to reduce pollution for residents near the Khanh Son landfill in Danang, by Quach Duc Huy and Tran My Duyen, both students at the Tran Phu High School in Danang, who won second prize regionally in 2015-2016.

- A smart bookcase, by Nguyen Luong Duy, a student at the Nguyen Binh Khiem School for the Gifted in Quang Nam, who won third prize regionally in 2016-2017.