Rockwell brings STEM to youngsters with 'You Make It' challenge

One of the key events in the run up to the Automation Fair hosted by Rockwell Automation was the Perspectives media event where journalists, and management heard from top brass about the company's achievements and plans for the future. A central theme to all of the presentations was how to develop new solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the world today.

A fitting accompaniment to this overarching theme, and one with an eye looking firmly to the future, was the "You Make It" Challenge, which back in June saw a call put out on social media inviting young inventors to submit their problem solving innovations. The idea behind the competition was to create interest in STEM subjects among young people. The climax of the Perspectives event saw the three finalists called to present their projects to a panel of judges and the audience.

During her introduction to the three finalists, Director of Global Marketing & Communications Christine Spella said: "We didn't exactly know what we were going to get back, but we got amazing ideas."

A Rockwell mentor was assigned to each of the final three for the two months prior to the show to help them with the science and technology, but also helping them make their big presentations to a room full of adults.

The panel of judges consisted of Rockwell Automation president, North America, Tessa Myers; COO of Infor and a Rockwell Automation board member, Pam Murphy; and Rockwell Automation Chairman and CEO Blake Moret. 

The fourth "judge" was the audience, with each member being invited to text in their choice for the You Make It winner.

First up was 16 year old Louisa Wood from Bayside, Wisconsin, who was mentored by the manager of Rockwell's global website portfolio Tracy Swartzendruber. 

Wood's inspiration was a potentially home-wrecking event. Following a series of heavy rains, the basement in her home became flooded. With her parents' sump pump unable to manage the volume of water that was filling up the basement, she began to consider alternative methods.

"Groundwater behaviour is very complex and varies between soil types and buildings," Woods explained. "The concept of sump pumps, the main line of defence against pluvial flooding, hasn't changed in decades. Pumps can fail after anything from twenty to just five years and many people don't have the right size or capacity," she added.

So Wood set herself the task of developing a system to better the sump pump and came up with a system that uses predictive-maintenance ideas to keep the basement dry. The system utilises an algorithm that combines machine-learning and local weather data to allow the programme to adapt to each installation and accurately predict when a pump will overflow or when some parts will fail.

Next up was 11 year old Makai Samuels-Paige with his mentor Dave Vasko, Rockwell's Director of Advanced Technology, who turned his experiences with being bullied at school into an Anti-Bully Backpack. 

The high-tech bag came equipped with two WiFi cameras that provided mobile, livestream monitoring of bullying behaviour as well as a mobile hotspot that enabled constant communication and a battery pack.

Samuel-Paige's invention has already caught attention. A science teacher "flipped out" when he first saw it and the previous day, he'd received that news that the patent had been approved.

The third finalist was Michael Wilborne from Roanoke, Virginia, who was mentored by Mike Pantaleano, director of business development architecture and software.

“I bet you didn’t think we’d be talking about toilets today,” said the 12 year old inventor as he began his presentation. Inspired by by his parents' missionary work in developing countries, Wilborne had come with an upgrade for the microflush toilet that essentially allowed for the benefits of modern sanitation with less reliance on raw materials making them cheaper and easier to construct.

Using less concrete, his toilet also simplified the waste-processing steps, increasing hygiene and cutting the cost of a microflush toilet from $300 (€272) to $200 (€181).

After the presentations finished, and a brief interval in which the audience could submit their votes, the winner was announced as Louisa Wood and her smart sump pump. Her package of prizes included a computer, a 3D printer and a STEM workstation.

All three finalists received a grant to a FIRST programme, not to mention the respect of what must have been a unanimously impressed audience.

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