Category: Science & Technology

FUPRE unveils prototype energy efficient Nigerian car – Delta Cruz

A Nigerian Software Engineering student, Bobai Ephraim Kato, has built a functional Artificial Intelligence robot as his final year project at the International College of Business and Technology (ICBT), Sri Lanka.

Bobai Ephraim Kato, a 24-year old personally built the robot and developed the algorithm that enabled it solved the famous Rubik cube puzzle in a manner of minutes.  But it was not an easy journey to success because he had to deal with an unimpressed supervisor and a lot of failures in the course of the project.

According to him:

“My first 5 tests were a failure. The robot always shot a scanning error, and this was a week to my final submission. All I could do was pray. I didn’t know what to do again. I was confused and restless. I kept grinding and it finally started working. At that stage, the robot wasn’t intelligent enough and I had to train it to solve many puzzles to get more skills to save in the database.

It was very hard for me because I can’t even solve the Rubik cube myself. The robot is smarter than me in that aspect.

My focus now is on Forensic computing, Cyber Security and Digital Investigation. This is the path I will love to follow for my career and education. I’m happy to return back to Nigeria as a Cyber Security and Digital forensic Tech. If anything, that’s what Nigeria needs more. We need people who are savvy and sincere in Digital Investigation, Cyber Security and Forensic computing. The world today is bent on technology, the corruption in the world today is bent on it too.

I don’t get how a country will say they can’t locate the terrorist living in the country, and I don’t get how a country will say they don’t know the sponsors on this terrorist group. They make calls, they send emails, they use the internet for many reasons, they upload videos etc. Just one amongst this list is enough to get whoever is responsible. We only need savvy and honest people to do this.”

Nigerian PhD Candidate, Ruth Agbakoba won the 1st prize award at The World Congress on Medical IT.

A team of students in the University of Lagos have built an eco-friendly car named Dove P1. They state that the car does not emit gas and does not utilize fossil fuel.

They built the car under the Project Dove Initiative and have successfully completed their first model, Dove P1, utilizing locally sourced materials and building it at the university of Lagos.

The Dove initiative is a program in Nigerian Universities where students with automotive passion can harness their talents and produce eco-friendly vehicles.

Nigerian startup Truppr, which provides a platform allowing fitness enthusiasts to connect with events and people around them, has been launched in Nairobi, Kenya; its first expansion outside of Nigeria.

Launched in August 2014 by Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) co-founder Bosum Tijani, Truppr provides a one-stop-shop for finding and booking sports venues, organising events, and finding teammates and fitness partners.

Victor Shoaga, Ayodele Obasegun, Oyatope Blessing and Otaru Babatunde have developed Humane Application as a presentation for the 2014 Microsoft Imagine Cup. This accounts for why it is still only available on the Windows Phone platform at the moment. However, the team decided to take it to the next level by making improvements that will make it more widely accepted, of which includes compatibility with other platforms.

The developers are all students of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University.

Humane is virtual sensory software platform that allows visually impaired users to perform tasks on their smartphones which they cannot perform normally.

Humane makes smartphone operation easier for the visually impaired. It helps them select music files, play selected videos (though they can only listen), surf the web, set or check the time, the list goes on.

Humane Application, as it is, is an application software (not available for public download). It was developed for companies who are prospective buyers to add their own modifications to it, although individual buyers will still find it useful as it is.

How Humane Works

Humane is a software that comes with a manual controller. The software itself is downloaded into the user’s phone and then the user is given the controller and an identification number. The identification number is entered into the software for compatibility with the controller, meaning only one controller is able to work with a single software. The manual controller has two dongles for scrolling and a central “select” button, making its operation as easy as can be.

The Humane controller is durable, potable, easy to operate and light. The app also has a voice guide to notify when Humane has been successfully activated but the biggest merit is that for an app they can do so much, it connection is simply by Bluetooth – the same way two phones are connected for file sharing.

Challenges

Seeing as it is an extreme useful app, Humane Application has only a handful of challenges to overcome on its way to becoming widely accepted. For one, it is still only available on the Windows Phone platform, although plans are in place to roll it out on other platforms, so there’s no reason to bother.

Also, the manual controller has low ubiquity. Only a few controllers have been produced and as such, there is still a difficulty with dealing with the demand that will arise when Humane becomes widely known.

Another challenge faced on the part of the controller is it’s design. The controller is still in its prototype stage so it’s a bit bulky. But it works.

Summary

Humane Application is a whole platform on its own. It’s developers are working round the clock to add improvements and other uses, one of which is the Internet Of Things (IOT) module, which will allow visually impaired users to control appliances in their homes and Obstacle, which can notify a visually impaired operator against colliding with an oncoming obstruction to his path.