We are very excited to announce that three of our very own Lighthouse students are exhibiting today at the White House Science (Maker) Faire today!
Katia Castañeda, 19 (Oakland, CA)
After happening upon a visually impaired neighbor of hers walking in the street, Katia Castañeda, 19, decided to harness her tech skills to help people like her neighbor stay safe. For her senior project, she developed an electronic cane that senses what is ahead of it using two sonar sensors and then warns its user about any potential obstacles through an audio output. In order to create her electronic cane, Katia taught herself to program a micro-controller to read sensor inputs, use sonar sensors, use CAD software, and print the case of the project using a 3-D printer. She completed this project as a student at Lighthouse Community Charter School – an Oakland, California, public school serving low-income youth, which focuses on empowering students to design and “make.” After displaying her prototype at a Maker Faire, Katia received several offers to help her develop and manufacture the product.
Kevin Barrios, 18; Saul Soto, 18 (Oakland, CA)
Kevin Barrios and Saul Soto, both 18, developed a portable solar charging system to charge an electric scooter. The system is designed to be able to provide power in remote locations and to be quick and easy to setup – and will charge Kevin and Saul’s project was initially to create an electric go-cart, but unfortunately a short time before the Maker Faire, their go-cart was stolen. Incredibly the community came together and donated a variety of parts, including the scooter, and they shifted the focus of their work to creating a charging station. Since these young men don’t give up, they used surplus and donated supplies to build and wire the system and at the Maker Faire, people were glad to be able to take a ride on their Solar Scooter. Kevin and Saul completed this project as students at Lighthouse Community Charter School – an Oakland, California, public school serving low-income youth, which focuses on empowering students to design and “make.”
Here is the link for the White House write up, where you can meet the other makers from around the country:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/05/27/meet-exhibitors-2014-white-house-science-fair
