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polytechnique students show off cool inventions to kids' science camp
paraffin-fuelled rockets, human-powered submarines and exoskeletons for firefighters are among the projects on display at the folie technique.
aug 1 2024
3 minute read
a rover from polyorbite makes its way past children taking part in a science camp at polytechnique montreal on july 31, 2024.the technical clubs of polytechnique were showing off their latest inventions to the campers.
pierre obendrauf
/
montreal gazette
about 200 children attending a science day camp at the polytechnique montréal on wednesday got to marvel at a human-powered submarine, a rocket that runs on paraffin, artificially intelligent robots, nanosatellites, an exoskeleton for firefighters and other fascinating contraptions invented by members of the university’s technical clubs.
boys and girls attending the camp, which is called folie technique, got to ask questions of the university students, who devote many extracurricular hours to these fanciful projects, many of which compete in international competitions and eventually have applications in the real world.
“this event is a unique occasion for the student and research communities of the polytechnique montréal, because it allows them to talk about their impressive accomplishments and to present them to those who will become, we hope, the next generation of engineers, researchers and scientists,” said maud cohen, director-general of the polytechnique.
most of the projects at the fair have a sustainable development angle, whether they use renewable fuel, have recyclable components or analyze the environmental effect of a technology.
annabelle minde mailhot, a second-year student in industrial engineering at polytechnique and a member of the archimède technical club, said she thoroughly enjoyed sharing her club’s invention, a human-powered submarine, with the camp kids.
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unlike regular submarines, this one fills with water, she explained, so the pilot has to wear an oxygen tank. the pilot uses a foot pedal system to activate a propeller while a steering mechanism is connected to fins at the back of the submarine that move the craft up and down or left and right. the submarine team recently competed in international submarine races in the united states and england.
“the kids really liked it,” minde mailhot said. “we showed them some of our old prototypes and some pictures from the last competitions. i used to work at the camp so some of the kids knew about our submarines already. it was really fun to answer their questions.”
she acknowledged that some of the projects at the event may seem impractical or fantastic, but said it’s important so children can see “we can have fun while doing engineering.”
rose malenfant-poulin, a fourth-year aerospatial engineering student and a member of the oranos club, showed off her club’s rocket, which can rise 30,000 feet in the air with a hybrid engine that uses solid paraffin and liquid nitrous oxide as fuel. the students analyzed how much nitrous oxide was released by the motors and how it was dispersed in the atmosphere to try to understand the effect on the ecosystem.
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“it was super fun (talking to the young campers) because we had the impression we were talking to ourselves when we were kids; they are so motivated and curious and their questions sometimes made us laugh and also made us think.”
selom blagogee, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student and member of the héka club, showed the kids an exoskeleton his team is developing to help firefighters perform their tasks.
“an exoskeleton is like a skeleton that is worn outside the human body,” he explained. “firefighters have heavy loads to carry on their missions, so these exoskeletons help them to make movements, like bending down and getting up, or climbing ladders or stairs with these heavy loads.”
the prototype of an exoskeleton that his club is developing uses two motors at the knees to assist the climbing movement and an elastic system at torso that helps with squatting and returning to a standing position. he hopes the design can lead to a technology that can be used by firefighters eventually, when it is perfected and ready for market.
blagogee said the kids were fascinated, passionate and asked a lot of questions. “some of their questions even made us rethink some of our ideas.”
the camp folie technique is a non-profit organization that started in 1991 at the initiative of several polytechnique engineering students.
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“this event is much anticipated by our team and is one of our favourite events of the summer,” said julie doucet-lamoureux, director of the folie technique camp. “the exchanges between the students and the campers are so dynamic and interactive. the kids have a huge thirst for knowledge and the festive ambience brings it all together.”
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