Engineering ideas

Nineteen engineering students from the Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology showcased their graduation projects at an Engineering Open Day last week.

Nine male and nine female students, who are majoring in electronics and mechatronics engineering, manned stalls where they demonstrated how their projects work.

Project ideas included smart card controlled vending machines, solar-powered cars, car automation and security systems, automatic drilling systems and multifunction wireless locking systems.

Students were paired in teams and required to complete the project within an academic year. Moderators from other colleges looked over the projects as part of the final assessment process.

The Spy video car

Students Sultan Salim and Abdul Aziz Abdullah designed and built a remote-controlled car fitted with a mini camera. "This car can be used anywhere whether in the military or even in sewage systems," said Salim.
Fitting the car with a camera was tricky, according to Abdullah. "We were able to put everything we learned into practice and even learned more things," he said.

Camera Crane

Abdul Aziz Bin Ali and Yousuf Al Rumaithi decided to build a camera crane for their final project. "We built the crane, worked on its balance then connected the camera. We also worked on the rotating device. Then we built a control device at the base of the crane. This controls the camera's movement," said Ali.

The project is designed to work indoors, said Al Rumaithi. "We needed to do a lot of research. We had issues with the programming ... also when it came to finding parts and doing the calculations," he said.

Remote utility metering system

If you are one of those people who hates it whenever municipality officials come to check the electricity and water meters at home, Abdullah Al Harmadi and Mohammad Hilal have found the best solution for you.

Their project depends on the Short Messaging System (SMS). "The water and electricity authority would receive an SMS at the beginning of the month from the utility meters with the meter's reading. The authority then sends back a message to the user about the amount they must pay," said Al Harmadi.

The idea came to Hilal after his family continually received wrong readings. "I think we can even develop the project further and connect it to the gas system," he said.

Baby monitoring system

The idea is to create a system that monitors a baby's movements and displays his or her position in a room by using colour coding. On a sensor the mother carries with her, a green light would indicate that the baby is playing safely in the room; a yellow light would indicate that the baby is close to windows and doors, while a red light and a buzzer would go off if the baby has left the room.

"The idea depends on motion sensors that I have fitted in the room. I worked on this project after I noticed that a relative was having a hard time doing her work because she had to keep an eye on her baby wherever she went," said Mariam Mubarak, electronics engineering major.

Smart Post Box Office

There is no need to keep checking your mailbox every now and then to see if you have received mail. Students Afia Abdullah and Aisha Mubarak came up with the idea of linking the boxes with sensors that would send an SMS to your mobile phone to inform you of new letters.

"If you do not collect your letter within two days, you will get another reminder to pick up your mail," said Mubarak.
This project, said Afia, will now be used at the Sharjah HCT for professors' post boxes.

Call to switch on the light

In summer, coming home to find the place cool the minute you arrive is very tempting. Students Fatima Abdullah and Mai Leem have found a way to do just that. Just call up the house. "If you use the house phone once, the air conditioning, lights and television will switch on. When you ring twice everything will switch off," said Abdullah.

The beauty of the idea is that one can decide which machines to start. "This idea can be used in factories, at home, and hopefully one day in the car," said Leem.