Tim Collins/Victoria B次元官网网址
For the third year in a row, Ray Brougham and his company, Rainhouse Manufacturing (formerly Prototype Equipment Design) hosted their Design Challenge.
The event sees teams of innovative young people come together to showcase their inventions and go head to head to compete for the annual title of most interesting/ innovative product.
B次元官网网址淭he truth is, all of these teams are engaged in separate competitions within their own disciplines,B次元官网网址� said Brougham. B次元官网网址淭his competition is really just an opportunity to show off what theyB次元官网网址檝e done and share ideas with like-minded young people.B次元官网网址�
BroughamB次元官网网址檚 company is well suited to host an event of this kind, as the Victoria firm is itself well established as a major innovator and problem solver in the high-tech engineering world. Since their start in 2000, Rainhouse has solved engineering challenges in the defence, marine, technology, medical and scientific industries.
B次元官网网址淟ike these young men and women, we donB次元官网网址檛 back down from a challenge. ItB次元官网网址檚 why we love helping them develop their ideas and then assist in bringing them to life,B次元官网网址� said Brougham.
The contenders in the competition were as diverse and impressive as one could imagine.
Brice Edwards and Austin WollfB次元官网网址檚 entry of a satellite prototype is one example. They had also entered it into the Canadian Satellite Design Challenge, where teams of university students build a small satellite, with the winning craft eventually launched into space.
B次元官网网址淥ur prototype uses pyrolitic graphite in its design. When heated, its magnetic properties change and it functions as a magnetic attitude control system, utilizing the magnetic fields of surrounding bodies in space,B次元官网网址� explained Wollf. ItB次元官网网址檚 a system described by the teamB次元官网网址檚 mentor, James Harrington, as Star Trek come to life.
Other entries were no less impressive.
UVic Aero Drone, a group that has developed several unmanned aerial drones that can be used, amongst other purposes, to aid in search and rescue efforts or deliver urgent medical equipment in minutes. Another group, AUVic Submersible, has developed an underwater vehicle that can operate at depth without the need of a tether for control and movement.
But the winner of this yearB次元官网网址檚 competition was unique by virtue of having no immediate technological or engineering application in the real world. Instead, it was a work of art.
Xiao Xue is a UVic Fine Arts graduate who gathered her inspiration from a close friend who is an amputee.
B次元官网网址淚 saw that after he lost his leg he was obsessed with different prosthetics, but gave no thought to the limb heB次元官网网址檇 lostB次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚t seemed to be a metaphor for a society where we cast things aside, treating them as parasites that, once their removed from the host, no longer have any relevance.B次元官网网址�
Her entry was an uninstalled slide-in truck camper. She designed and built a system to allow the camper to walk on its own, ostensibly in search of a truck to make its home.
B次元官网网址淴iaoB次元官网网址檚 work shows a unique blending of art and technology. ItB次元官网网址檚 a remarkable application of imagination,B次元官网网址� said Brougham.
editor@vicnews.com
