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Glasgow students recreate iconic Scottish invention ahead of 100th anniversary

Glasgow students recreate iconic Scottish invention ahead of 100th anniversary

Yahoo4 days ago

A pioneering piece of Scottish history has been brought back to life.
Nearly 100 years after John Logie Baird's ground-breaking work, engineering students at the University of Strathclyde have reconstructed a working version of the Scot's inventors original mechanical television.
The students' replica of the 1926 televisor system recreates Baird's technology - which used spinning Nipkow disks to encode and decode images - with a special modern twist.
This recreation allows users to send images directly from their mobile phones to be displayed on the device.
Read more: Former Glasgow football ground could become nationally important site
The project was completed by students Molly Barry, Guy Horne, Angus Mulligan, Lewis Gibney, and Jade Graham.
Guy said: "It was a great project to do, especially with the 100th anniversary coming up, and it was one we were able to be very hands-on with."
The television, completed as part of the students' final year project, aimed to pay homage to the great Scottish inventor.
Born in Argyll in 1888, Baird attended the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College, a predecessor of the University of Strathclyde.
He became the first person to televise moving pictures using his invention, famously transmitting the face of his ventriloquist's dummy, 'Stooky Bill'.
Lewis said: 'Recreating John Logie Baird's invention was an interesting, grounding, and inspiring experience and a real source of pride to be from Scotland's west coast.'
Molly said: "The further into the work we got, the more we noticed the plaques and posters on John Logie Baird across the campus and the sense of the history of it sank in."
As well as celebrating a Scottish trailblazer, the student's project was also designed to support educational outreach.
The system is already being used to inspire school pupils, having featured at the University's Engineering the Future for Girls event, aimed at encouraging young women into STEM fields.
Read more: 'Record-breaking' golf fundraiser raises nearly £130k for Glasgow groups
Jade said: "It was important to me that the project has a use after our assignment and it's nice that it will be used for outreach work."
Professor Graeme West, from the department of electronic and electrical engineering, praised the project.
He said: "It is fantastic to see how John Logie Baird's original innovation is being brought to the new generation of engineers and scientists through this interactive recreation of the mechanical televisor.
"Outreach demonstrators such as this are a great way of explaining the fundamental principles that underpin the technology we use on a daily basis, inspiring school pupils to take up careers in STEM-related fields."

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Glasgow students recreate iconic Scottish invention ahead of 100th anniversary
Glasgow students recreate iconic Scottish invention ahead of 100th anniversary

Yahoo

time4 days ago

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Glasgow students recreate iconic Scottish invention ahead of 100th anniversary

A pioneering piece of Scottish history has been brought back to life. Nearly 100 years after John Logie Baird's ground-breaking work, engineering students at the University of Strathclyde have reconstructed a working version of the Scot's inventors original mechanical television. The students' replica of the 1926 televisor system recreates Baird's technology - which used spinning Nipkow disks to encode and decode images - with a special modern twist. This recreation allows users to send images directly from their mobile phones to be displayed on the device. Read more: Former Glasgow football ground could become nationally important site The project was completed by students Molly Barry, Guy Horne, Angus Mulligan, Lewis Gibney, and Jade Graham. Guy said: "It was a great project to do, especially with the 100th anniversary coming up, and it was one we were able to be very hands-on with." The television, completed as part of the students' final year project, aimed to pay homage to the great Scottish inventor. Born in Argyll in 1888, Baird attended the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College, a predecessor of the University of Strathclyde. He became the first person to televise moving pictures using his invention, famously transmitting the face of his ventriloquist's dummy, 'Stooky Bill'. Lewis said: 'Recreating John Logie Baird's invention was an interesting, grounding, and inspiring experience and a real source of pride to be from Scotland's west coast.' Molly said: "The further into the work we got, the more we noticed the plaques and posters on John Logie Baird across the campus and the sense of the history of it sank in." As well as celebrating a Scottish trailblazer, the student's project was also designed to support educational outreach. The system is already being used to inspire school pupils, having featured at the University's Engineering the Future for Girls event, aimed at encouraging young women into STEM fields. Read more: 'Record-breaking' golf fundraiser raises nearly £130k for Glasgow groups Jade said: "It was important to me that the project has a use after our assignment and it's nice that it will be used for outreach work." Professor Graeme West, from the department of electronic and electrical engineering, praised the project. He said: "It is fantastic to see how John Logie Baird's original innovation is being brought to the new generation of engineers and scientists through this interactive recreation of the mechanical televisor. "Outreach demonstrators such as this are a great way of explaining the fundamental principles that underpin the technology we use on a daily basis, inspiring school pupils to take up careers in STEM-related fields."

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