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The "Superbikers" design team at Chelsea High School advanced to the finals of the National Texas Instruments Codes Contest!
CHELSEA, Mass. – A team of stellar engineering students at Chelsea High School have advanced to the finals of the national Texas Instruments (TI) Codes Contest!
Congratulations to the team of Kimberly Ramirez Garcia and Cesia Flores Rodriguez. This CHS duo, with the support of teachers Daniel Rodriguez and Moriah Lim, submitted the “Superbikers” design proposal, a design for an automated bike headlight that is one of five finalists in the nationwide contest. After being selected to the second round, Kimberly and Cesia created a short video that highlights their completed project. Their design and video were one of five submissions selected by TI judges that will now be voted on by the public to choose the grand prize winners and runners-up. Voting ends on Friday, May 3.
Click here to vote! Choose Kimberly and Cesia's video and click the heart vote button. The students' video is titled "TI Codes Contest: Superbikers". The video is also available to watch below, but you must go to the TI website to vote. The winning team will receive a $250 gift card and a new TI-Innovator™ Hub, TI-Innovator™ Rover, TI graphing calculator, and T-shirt for each member, while the second and third place teams will receive a TI graphing calculator and T-shirt for each member.
The Superbikers design is an automated bike headlight. The design includes three major components: the TI Innovator Hub, the TI Calculator, and the TI Breadboard. The bike has sensors that send data to the TI devices, which in turn will indicate how much voltage to send from a 9 volt battery to the breadboard, which consists of white LED lights. Sensors will enable the light to turn on automatically when someone gets on the bike and shut off when someone gets off.
The design was constructed under the premise of the contest's challenge: Devise a solution that automates or optimizes a process or product, based on the theme "safety and security." The students identified that their product will allow bike riders to see better at night, and enable motorists to see bicyclists better. The design is also eco-friendly as it reduces its energy use by adjusting to the ambient light around it.
The students commented, “We are creating automatic headlights for bikes that turn on at night and can change their brightness depending on how much light it detects. This is to be able to see better while riding at night so that you can avoid rats, raccoons, or the scariest rodent out there... your teacher.”
CHS' Superbikers team of Kimberly Ramirez Garcia and Cesia Flores Rodriguez and teacher Mr. Daniel Rodriguez
Six total teams of CHS students submitted design proposals for judging. Ultimately, three all-female teams, including the Superbikers, were selected to be among twelve teams nationwide who advanced to the second round of the contest. During the first two weeks of February, student teams learned about how sensor-activated devices work, and then engaged in a design sprint where they were challenged to devise a solution that automates or optimizes a process or product, based on the theme “safety and security.”
For reaching the second round, each team received a TI technology package with supplies, including a TI-84 Plus CE Python graphing calculator, a TI-Innovator™ Hub microcontroller, and various electronic components, to build and program a functional model of their solution. Information about the two other teams that advanced to the second round is included below.
The team of Tatiana Palacios (grade 12) and Nicole Lobo Jimenez (grade 12) submitted the PetSafe design proposal. “Our solution is a device mounted on a door that alerts pet owners if their pet tries to escape while the door is open. Using sensors, we will check if a pet is coming close to the door while it’s open and activate an alarm and lights. One of our cats is constantly trying to run when we open the door, so we hope this device will alert us before he accidentally spends another night outside.”
CHS' PetSafe Design Team of Tatiana Palacios (grade 12) and Nicole Lobo Jimenez (grade 12) alongside teacher Mr. Moriah Lim
The team of Keara Chavez Trejo (grade 12) & Briana Campos (grade 9) submitted the cr7 design proposal. “We are making a sensor device that goes under athletes’ equipment and measures their body temperature and skin moisture to alert them when they should take a time out and get out of their equipment to avoid heat stroke. We are student athletes and we see that a lot of students such as ourselves have felt dehydrated and lightheaded during summer sports, so we hope our solution can keep them safe and healthy.”
CHS' CR7 Design Team of Keara (left) and Briana (right) with Mr. Lim
