The Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship Association (IdEA) is a group of SFU students from different backgrounds who are passionate about providing people with experience-based learning opportunities and access to new and emerging technologies.
The group’s philosophy is that it shouldn’t matter what you studied or where you came from – if you’re passionate about building things, breaking them down, and working with technology, there should be nothing stopping you from doing so.
The group recently held an Innovation Summer Camp, July 6 to 10, at the Seaside Centre in Sechelt, for teens aged 12 to 19.
The first three days, the campers were introduced to the entrepreneurship mindset and design thinking, and exposed to the basics of using Arduino and 3D printing. Arduino is an “open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software, intended for anyone making interactive projects” (www.arduino.cc). The basics of Arduino included the software (coding) and hardware (basic electrical circuit wiring) of a 37-sensor kit (which each camper was able to take home).
The last two days of the camp, the campers were asked to choose a real world problem to solve using the thinking skills and technology they had been learning about.
The projects produced on the last two days included:
Automatic car visor: With a click of a button, the sun blocking car visor automatically moves to block the sun. This helps drivers stay focused on the road. Team members were Haiden Gardner, Alex Nightingale, and Spencer Ang.
Remote-controlled farming irrigation valve attachment: Team member Noah Grant-Byrnes’ family owns a farm and they often have the issue of forgetting to turn on/off the irrigation system after leaving the house.
Noah, with team members Garrett Remmem and Kristoffer Hatloe, created a remote controlled attachment with a motor that can selectively switch on and off valves on the farm.
Astroid video game: With a simple two-line LCD screen and a single joy stick control, team members Tom Badley and Liam MacNeil were able to create a simple yet addicting and challenging astroid video game.
Prevent drinking and driving website and app: Vanessa Ancheta and Sarah-Jane Lynch wanted to contribute to preventing drunk driving accidents. They did so by creating an alcohol-tracking app that helps users monitor their alcohol level relative to body weight, gender, and height, depending on the drinks they’ve ordered. They also created an informative website on alcoholic beverages.
Universal screwdriver: Dayton Stockwell created his prototype of a “one screwdriver fits all” idea. His goal was to allow consumers to only buy one screwdriver that can change shapes to different screw head shapes.
John Wei, one of the event organizers, said, “Our team was pleasantly surprised by the kids’ level of motivation and work ethic. We are glad we could have an impact on their summer.”
Some other fun activities during the camp included riding a Segway and flying quadcopter drones. For more information, see http://ideasfu.ca/projects
