I had recently went for the National Engineers Exhibition and I would like to reflect on what I learned there in this post. In the National Engineers Exhibition, there are three exhibits, featuring Space and Aviation, Sports Automobile, Robotics.
The very first exhibit, featuring Space and Aviation, shows us the technology used in space and aviation. The first thing that caught my eye was the Astrium-space plane. This Astrium-space plane is a passenger plane used to fly 4 passengers into space for 2 hours. The price for each person is 200,000 euro each which is about 600,000 Singapore dollars each person.
The second thing that caught my eye within the Space and Aviation exhibition was the technology of the astronaut space glove. The glove of an astronaut is one of the most important thing within an astronaut suit. It is also one of the hardest to make. The astronaut space glove is made of silicone-rubber fingertips and the glove is attached to the main suit using pressure seals. The glove consist of two layers, the first layer is made of black rubber and the second layer is made of extra-vehicle activity. The first layer was made to fit the hand and to give comfort to the astronaut. The second layer was to protect the astronaut from the nature of the space and the environment of the different planets.
The third thing that caught my eye within the Space and Aviation exhibition was the high altitude long endurance-unmanned aerial vehicle otherwise known as the HALE-UAV. It has a wingspan of 3.7m, wing area of 8683cm2, weight of 1.7kg+payload and contains 24 solar cells. This unmanned plane could fly for 5 hours. It is not very expensive and easy to assemble so it is easily mobilized on demand. This makes the unmanned plane very convenient and useful.
The second exhibit is the Sports Automobile exhibition. This exhibition showcases many different solar powered car and one of them which I saw was quite unique in its shape. It has a shape whereby the body is very flat and a small semicircle protruding out in the middle of the vehicle for the driver. This shape allows the vehicle to fully use the 403 solar cells on top of the car. The car uses Triple Junction Gallium Arsenide solar cells and each cell is able to produce 3 Matt. The solar-powered vehicle is 1.8 meter wide, 5 meter long and it also has an aerodynamic shape to overcome air resistance. It is made of 6061-T6 aluminum to increase the car's lightness and rigidity for extra speed and toughness.
The third exhibit is the Robotics exhibition. This exhibition showcases many different robots. I saw 3 kinds of robots, underwater robot, football player robots and overcoming obstacles robots. The underwater robot is able to function properly underwater and it is installed with an electromagnet to pick up and drop stuffs. The football player robot shown is a larger version of the usually made smaller version football player robot. Lastly the overcoming obstacles robots are able to navigate its way through a maze and get through to the end.
These are what I learned in this National Engineers Exhibition. This exhibition definitely introduced me to many new technology and made me more interested in the aspect of engineering.
No comments:
Post a Comment