TOMSK, May
18 – RIA Tomsk. The team of students and scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) received 2 million rubles from "Rybakov Foundation" to develop projects aimed at making life easier for the elderly and sick people. In particular, polytechnics develop sneakers for apoplectic and intercom for handicapped. In more detail – in the RIA Tomsk material.
According
to the press service of the university, currently, polytechnicians develop 10
projects for people with special needs - old people, disabled people and
others. More than 200 students and employees of TPU participate in the work.
For the
team spirit
Polytechnicians
presented their developments at the competition of the Preaktum program which
aimed at the solution of social problems through support of business activity.
The program is implemented by "Rybakov Foundation" – non-profit
organization giving support to young talents in the sphere of economics and
innovations.
The final
of the program took place in May 2017, the polytechnics became winners of the
"Preactum" and received the main prize – 1 million rubles. The funds
will be used to develop scientific projects aimed at people with special needs.
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As the
president of the foundation Elena Ulyanova, who visited Tomsk within the
framework of the forum of young scientists U-NOVUS told journalists, the jury
members decided on the TPU team victory unanimously.
"Why
did TPU receive a million? Four universities reached the finals. Polytechnic
University won because it was a team. One of the southern universities
presented three smart projects, but when they were told: "You have a
second on reflection. To which (exactly) project you will give money?",
they could not answer", – she said.
According
to Ulyanova, for polytechnicians it was important to present first of all the
university, and only then – projects.
"There
is a disabled person in the team and they looked after him very touchingly.
This also rallied them and brought them such pluses that immediately made it
clear that this was a single whole, the team. And, for example, I liked that
all projects carried a serious social orientation, and they all echoed with
each other", – added the president of the foundation.
In turn,
the TPU rector Petr Chubik said that polytechnicians "had prepared ground
for success".
"Three
years ago, our technical university won a mega-grant of the Government of the
Russian Federation aimed at improving the well-being of elderly people. This
subject is very important for humanity as a whole. On the basis of our
Institute of Social and Humanitarian Technologies (including the development of
projects aimed at people with disabilities - Ed.) the strategic academic unit
"People and Technologies" was designed", – the rector said.
Technologies
for people
According
to the press service of the university, the final of "Preactum"
reached three development of Tomsk polytechnicians.
"One
of them – is the "smart sneakers" created by four foreign students of
Tomsk Polytechnic University from the USA, Germany and Iran. Due to the sensors
on the sole, the sneakers allow to measure daily activity of their wearer,
track the gait and load on feet. The development already holds five Russian and foreign
patents", – is said in the report.
It is
explained that "smart" sneakers are used to rehabilitate people after
a stroke: to control the restoration of the motor function of the legs. The
development is planned to be tested in September 2017 in one of the Tomsk
hospitals.
Tomsk
citizens also presented a mobile application that would allow using a ordinary
smartphone to translate a sounding speech into a sign language. Thanks to this
people with hearing impairment will be able to communicate with others without
a sign language interpreter.
The program
will be able to display not only whole words, but also work with dactyl
(finger) alphabet, thanks to which it is possible to spell complex words, for
example, proper names. Currently, developers already created a prototype
application, but the "vocabulary" of the program is limited, and it
is possible to enter words only from the keyboard.
The mobile
application can also be used as a dictionary or means of adapting of complex
texts. For example, fiction or scientific literature.
The final
of Preaktum was also reached by the "Vezdefon" project.
Incentive
in development
As
explained in the press service of TPU, "Vezdefon" – is an improved
intercom for the low-mobile and elderly people: it sends a signal not to a
fixed handset fixed to the door, but to a mobile phone, thereby allowing to
open the door from anywhere in the apartment.
"The
GSM-intercom system developed in Tomsk Polytechnic University differs from the
existing analogs in the fact that it can be used both for one apartment, and
for all entrance, as well as automatically notify the police about the door
breaking. This development is already tested in Tomsk -– "vezdefons"
are set in two entrances of houses", – is said in the statement.
On
Thursday, the head of the "Rybakov Foundation" and the TPU rector
signed a separate agreement on the allocation of 1 million rubles for the
development of the "Vezdefon" project.
"First
of all, this is the social project. Secondly, it is about own production. And
thirdly, the project leader Dmitry - is a handicapped person and he is working
on a product which will make life easier for those who needs it", – noted
Ulyanova during the signing ceremony.
As the
press service of TPU reported, the authors of the project also received a
number of offers on cooperation.