Costa Rica Technology

BRAZILIAN SCIENCE FAIR AWARDS TWO COSTA RICA INVENTIONS
Inventions by two young Costa Ricans won first and third prize in their respective categories during the 2008 Mostratec International Science and Technology Fair, in Río Grande do Sul, Brazil. First prize in the Technology Project category was awarded to Alberto Paniagua, Carlos Delgado, and Max Rodríguez, from San Carlos for a specialized software that improves the process of vegetable harvesting in vitro. “What we were after was a technological tool to offer scientists to help them know the measurements of carrot stems”, said Rodríguez.“Knowing the size of the stem helps to figure out how many ‘sprouts’ can be produced from it”, he added.Third place in the engineering category went to a walking cane for blind people with ultrasonic sensors created by Natalia Rodríguez and Pedro Sanabria.The cane measures 5 feet long (1.5 meters) and is made of PVC plastic and fiber glass. The device has two ultrasonic sensors (one at the bottom and one in the middle). The sensors emit a vibrating alarm in the handle of the cane when an object or person is within 50 centimeters of the user.The cane is called “Elwast” and warns of coming objects that have a small base, but large in size, and of objects not planted in the ground, at eye level of the blind person.This project was invited to participate in the International Science Fair in Asunción, Paraguay, in 2009.