Two high school students from Galați want to revolutionize agriculture! They have developed a project for an automated ecological greenhouse, which earned them the trophy at the National Arduino Competition..
Postu Mario and Bogdan George Alexandru from the Sports Program High School in Galați, along with their coordinating teacher Apostol Valeriu, have developed the Ecosera project, an automated greenhouse that uses aquaponics, a method of cooperation between plants and fish.
The water in which the fish live is used to water the plants without the need for human intervention. Everything is controlled by sensors that monitor water flow and level, temperature, pH, and humidity in the greenhouse.
Aquaponics is applied to plants growing in greenhouses and solariums. It involves an automated water recirculation system in which fish are kept. The water is enriched with nutrients due to the presence of the fish. To be watered through this system, the plants are placed in horizontal tubes or cascades.
The students have created a fully automated greenhouse equipped with sensors that transmit information and commands executed automatically by pumps and fans. Thus, in their school's courtyard, the two teenagers took care of both the plants and the fish.
Everything is controlled based on sensors that check the water flow and level, temperature, pH, and humidity in the greenhouse.
"Water is taken from the fish, and the plants are watered automatically", described one of the students from the Robotica LPS team, explaining the mechanism.
Organizată de ADFABER și sponsorizată de BOSCH România, competiția s-a adresat liceenilor pasionați de robotică, încurajându-i să ofere soluții pentru probleme actuale. Proiectele câștigătoare au impresionat jurații.
What the teenagers plan to do next with the technology
The wow ideas don't stop here. Second place in the competition is occupied by the Paco BT team, which proposed a smart parking system that charges eco-friendly cars with solar energy. Sauciuc Tamara and Ursu George, along with teacher Luisian Grigore from Palatul Copiilor Botoșani, formed one of the best teams in the country in the competition.
Sauciuc Tamara and Ursu George, along with teacher Luisian Grigore from Palatul Copiilor Botoșani, formed one of the best teams in the country in the competition. Their proposed parking system is fully autonomous and can be placed in isolated areas where access to the electrical grid is limited. The charging system is either conventional or wireless, and the project model was made from recyclable materials.
"It's a current and innovative solution to today's pollution problem... We took our city as an example, where some areas are very crowded, and it's very difficult to find a parking space," said Tamara Sauciuc about the Smart Parking project.
The team that took the third place in the National Arduino Competition is composed of two high school students from Satu Mare.
Dragoș Marian and Dănuț Sara Evodia are students at the "Ioan Slavici" National College and they became winners in the competition with their project Traffic Lights. Along with their teacher, Kabai Timea, they propose an intelligent traffic light system for the visually impaired, with sound signals indicating the green light, a button that can change all pedestrian traffic lights to green, and barriers that rise in front of cars when the traffic light turns red.
The application-based system is equipped with infrared sensors and a remote control, allowing emergency vehicles to pass through, lowering the barriers.
"We gained a lot of experience in building a model and programming it, especially in the Arduino part, which is a fascinating subject for us," Dragoș Marian also mentioned.
The three teams on the podium talk about their projects in the video below.
Which students have also created ingenious projects?
Among the winners, there are three more teams that impressed with their projects and received honorable mentions.
Honorable Mention I: The team Breezy from the National College "Titu Maiorescu" Aiud, consisting of Trîmbițaș George Bogdan, Radu Gabriel Claudiu, and teacher coordinator Humeniuc Ramona – project Breezy Air Quality Monitor, a screen equipped with sensors that measure aspects of air quality: gas concentration, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure.
Honorable Mention II: The team LTVB from the "Valeriu Braniște" Technological High School Lugoj, consisting of Svalecz Alexandru-Nicolae, Valuch-Ciorogariu Artur-Gabriel, and teacher coordinator Boagiu Robert – project The Vending Machine of the Future, an intelligent vending machine that operates based on a permission bracelet. Orders can be placed by pressing the touchscreen or buttons on the machine. The device is equipped with temperature and humidity sensors that send data to a laptop or phone, along with information about stock levels.
Honorable Mention III: The team MagicSciences(1) – CNGC-CJ from the "George Coșbuc" National College Cluj-Napoca, consisting of Neag Alexandru, Clipici Anastasia Ioana, and teacher coordinator Teodorescu Gabriel Nicolae – project Device for Determining and Studying Solar Radiation and Climatological Parameters, a device necessary for implementing photovoltaic panels and intensive agricultural cultivation in certain regions. The device is equipped with sensors, software, and a monitoring station. All of these can transmit the collected data directly to a computer file.
Congratulations to all participants for their dedication and ingenuity, but especially for their interest in technology and programming!
Every year, through projects and competitions organized in partnership, the Adfaber Association chooses to support young Romanians, encourage them to become true professionals or leaders in the IT field, and contribute to positive change in Romania.
Adfaber, the NGO that brings technology into education.
ADFABER is the NGO that aims to transform Romania through technology.
Alongside partners from the private sector, the organization has taken on the task of preparing Romania's future technology professionals, supplementing the knowledge that schools cannot always provide.
Each project starts from the premise that by helping a child learn programming, the social impact is felt at an individual level, as well as in the community or at a national level.
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