5^th IES Design Competition of Devices for the Elderly and Handicapped, 2006

The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) was formally established on July 1966 as the national society of engineers in Singapore. Its main aim is to advance and promote the science, art and profession of engineering for everyone. 

The Design and Competition of Devices for the Elderly and Handicapped has been conducted by IES for the past 4 years. In 2006, the competition was held for the 5^th time. The aim of this competition is to bring about an awareness of the needs of the elderly and handicapped to students and encourage them to discover innovative means in overcoming those challenges.

This competition is open to all tertiary institutions and the students were given 1 year to develop a project that meets the competition criteria. RP participated in this competition for the first time in 2006. The projects that were submitted for the competition are

(1) Navigational Aid for the Visually Handicapped

Students Involved :

Kek Ling Sing
      Li Shengling Joyce
      Tan Gui Ling
      Seow Zi Xian
      Nyanavel

      (All SEG - Yr 3 Students)

 Supervisor :

       Ravi s/o Suppiah

(2) A Notification System For Use In a Home For The Elderly

Students Involved :

Tan Wee Jian
      Tan Soon Chye
      Chew Zhi Seng
      Muhamad Shazwan Bin Rasid
      Zhang Liu Yun

(All SEG – Yr 3 Students)

Supervisor:

      Philip Sng 

(3) Blinking Walking Stick

Student Involved:

Tiffanie Tan Ching Ching

(SIT – Yr 2 Student)

Supervisor:

      Philip Choong

The IES judges were in RP on 15 February to judge the projects by our students. Each team had to present their project to the panel of 4 judges and answer any queries the judges might have.

The results were announced on 2 March 2006. The project, “Navigational Aid for the Visually Handicapped” won a consolation prize and the other 2 teams were awarded a Certificate of Participation. 

The students found the experience of participating in a competition challenging and agreed that they had learnt a lot from this encounter. For RP, this is a significant step in the right direction and we should look forward to continued participation in such competitions.

Words by Ravi s/o Suppiah (SEG)  (VO)