INVENTORS and scientists. When we visualized one, we usually think of someone who has white hair, in his or her 50s, and wears a white laboratory coat.
However, there are also budding inventors and scientists with fresh faces, in their school uniforms, who are still in high school, and have lots of potential for their age.
The Davao City National High School (DCNHS) has been producing these budding investors and scientists throughout the years.
Among them are Grade 11 students Vince Lorenzo R. Bojos, Samuel Jamez B. Quinte, Kenneth L. Villaflores, and Grade 10 students Leandro M. Ramirez, Jr., Kharl Marx Q. Adorado, and Jared A. Guting.
The six teenagers have invented devices that have the potential to change the way certain industries work and at the same time, protect the environment. Their inventions have allowed them to gain recognition in the science fairs, from division to nationals, and also by different companies.
Ramirez, Adorado, and Guting, who were under the supervision of Julius I. Centina, were able to develop a mobile application and device that will detect the level of carbon monoxide in the air while Quinte, Bojos, and Villaflores, who were under the supervision of Joel A. Calledo, were able to come up with a solar powered irrigation system for the banana industry.
Ramirez said they thought about coming up with the mobile application and device that will detect the level of carbon monoxide in the air when they observed how smoky the Roxas Night Market is.
"Sa among pagbasabasa namo about pollutants, ang carbon monoxide is deadly siya na pollutant. Dili siya makit-an, dili siya ma-simhot. Lisod siya idetect unlike sa laing gases (In our research on pollutants, we found out that carbon monoxide is a deadly pollutant. You cannot see it nor smell it making it hard to detect unlike other gases," said Ramirez, who is the team leader of his group.
He added that carbon monoxide is a poisonous pollutant that may cause elevated levels of carboxyhemoglobin, a stable complex of carbon monoxide in red blood cells when it is inhaled.
Ramirez said due to the widespread use of mobile phones, they opted for a mobile application to go with their device, which is connected via bluetooth technology.
"Our device is a form of an embedded system wherein it is integrated with sensors and bluetooth technology into the microcontroller, which processes the data from the sensor then sends it to the mobile phone via bluetooth," he said.
Ramirez said the Android mobile application will display, store, and interpret the data that has been transmitted.
"We asked assistance for the application but we did the preliminary codes. It is designed for android but we hope to also develop it for IOS," he said.
Their project placed first in both the 2016 Division and Regional Science and Technology Fair. In the 2017 National Science and Technology Fair, they received a special award from the American Meteorological Society.
Ramirez said after gaining recognition for their project, there is already someone who have approached them regarding their project.
He said the interest of the potential investor has encouraged them to further improve their invention with industrial grade components that will allow it to produce comprehensive data.
"It is not only about inventing it is also about innovating certain inventions when you need to develop something that is efficient," Guting said.
"As a student, we feel a level of satisfaction kasi at a young age namo makatabang mi sa society. Dili hindrance ang age. Kita tanan capable to save the environment in our own little ways (Because at a young age we are abel to help the society. Age is not a hindrance, We each have the capability to save the environment in our own little ways)," Adorado said, adding that for their part, it is through the creation of the device and mobile application.
Meanwhile, Quinte, Bojos, and Villaflores' solar powered automatic drip irrigation system for bananas seeks to provide an alternative to the current irrigation system being used.
"Napansin namo tung nag visit mi sa usa ka banana plantation nga ilahang irrigation system is semi-automatic, meaning naay human intervention. Naay drawbacks like inefficient water use (When we visited a banana plantation we noticed that they use a semi-automatic irrigation system, which still has human intervention. The system has drawbacks like inefficient water use)," Quinte said.
He said based on their related literature, having an automated irrigation is 30 percent more efficient.
"In this study we thought of integrating technology to agriculture. The device senses the soil moisture level and sends it remotely to the user using the GSM module equipped in the device. With the system we are able to automatically irrigate the bananas with resepect to the soil moisture readings acquired by the system," Quinte said.
He said since it is a drip irrigation system, the water goes directly to the plants and at the same time save water.
Bojos said they hope big banana players will take notice and hopefully use the system. They have already presented their invention and findings to some banana players in the region where some found their project to be interesting.
"It is fullfilling nga...na surpass namo ang among limits and nakatabang sa society (It is fulfilling that we were able to surpass our limits and at the same time help the society)," he said.
Quinte, Bojos, and Villaflores project was among the top three studies in the National Science and Technology Fair in February 2018 where they also bagged the best presenter award. Prior to it, they also topped the Division and Regional Science and Technology Fairs.
"We are interested to pursue technology that can help improve the lives of others. Gina challenge pud namo ang youth nga if nakaya namo, makaya pud nila (We challenge our fellow youths that if we can do it, so can they)," Ramirez said.
The six students are not the only ones who were able to come up with projects that can be used by companies and other individuals, during Science and Technolgy Fairs there are a lot more students like them who have made inventions or conducted studies that people should take notice of.
The next time you hear of a science and technology fair in your town, be sure to visit it. Who knows, you might just find a device or study that will give you your big break, improve your operations, or allow you to help society.