Today, I came face to face with some of the youngest coders in Singapore.
Small in size, these children proved however, that they were big in dreams.
Held at the Suntec today was the 11th edition of Code XtremeApps, and it brought both primary school kids and working adults in a coding crackdown under the theme “My Smart City, Connecting Our Senses“.
Up Close With The Coders
The first thing that occurred to me was – some of the exhibitors were really young.
Team Kick Your Ass consists of 2 young sisters – Anjali and Sophia – who had devised a way to aid the rehabilitation of people with fractured limbs.
Patients crawl across a cardboard pavement which hides rows of sensors underneath that would activate upon pressure.
Through this, patients can work towards recovery by training themselves to around the ‘activated’ panels. Time taken to complete the course would then measure their gradual recovery.
Another Junior team that impressed the crowd was Team Pro Hackers, who put together a Lego smart bus stop.
Humidity and heat sensors activate an extension panel of the roof that would create more shade for people. Once either level falls back down, the extension panel would slide back in.
In addition, ceiling fans would activate when the temperatures are high.
They even had future plans in place – smart lights that would dim when there are lesser people around so as to save electricity, as well as amenities for the disabled.
There were also high school teams with robotic vehicles that they hoped one day, would become automated mall cleaners.
An enhanced capability of their design was that even though it would have programmed routes, it would not stop upon hitting obstacles, but instead pivot and move on.
Team #dkdc (don’t know don’t care) developed a money transfer system that substituted micro:bits for smartphones. The amount to be transferred would be indicated by the pattern of lights on the device.
Other secondary school teams saw students developing Software as a Solution (SaaS).
Team XCVI had developed a Smart Management solution that they sough to implement in offices.
Their dashboard would be able to optimise resources, e.g. usage of meeting booths. Resources can also be prioritised, such as pre-booking resting pods for bosses who need them more than employees.
Team R3D3 developed the SmartBank platform that would rank and prioritise daily tasks.
This, they shared, would help people focus on more important tasks and enable more efficient workflow.
Prize Giving Ceremony
The prize giving ceremony saw 9 teams from take the stage, including Team Pro Hackers and Team Kick Your Ass, with prizes ranging from Asus laptops, Fitbits and $3,000 cash being given out.
Coding Can Be Rewarding
“By starting young, we want to get children excited about technology.”
“Through this competition, we have seen coding can really be a fun thing [and] it has been a phenomenal 11 years,” said Red Hat’s Harish Pillay, also the creator of Code Xtreme Apps.
“We hope to see these solutions developed further for future implementation,” emphasised Angeline Poh, Assistant Chief Executive of the IMDA (Industry Development).
“Raising the profile of tech is very important, and for us to know what goes into the creation and maintenance of the tech we all love. As a pioneer in hackathons, we hopes Code Xtreme continues to grow raise the profile of coding in Singapore.”
Featured Image Credit: Samantha Tay / Vulcan Post
