Latest news with #TheBigBangCompetition
Belfast Telegraph
25-06-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
NI student (16) wins top science award for creating sign language dictionary using AI
Mykyta Telychko, a year 12 pupil from St Joseph's Boys' School, Creggan, won the Intermediate Technology Award 2025 in The Big Bang Competition - a nationwide competition for young engineers, scientists and technologists. He created an interactive dictionary to help hearing and hearing-impaired people learn sign language through an algorithm designed to accurately compare user gestures with reference examples using real-time webcam data. Mykyta plans to develop a web-based version to reach a wider audience and will test the dictionary with participants of all ages. In order to use it, the program requires a computer or laptop with a webcam which is used to provide real-time feedback while the user is learning signs. 'The user then selects the sign language they want to learn and enters a word,' he explained. 'The system displays a video of that sign then the user can switch to 'Practice Mode,' where the webcam is activated. 'The user performs the sign in front of the camera, and the program gives immediate visual feedback using green, yellow, and red highlights to show what is correct and what needs improvement. It works like a personal tutor that helps guide the learning process.' The 16-year-old was inspired to create the dictionary because of his younger brother Makar's challenges with a hearing impairment. He communicates with his 12-year-old brother mainly in Ukrainian but said that he struggles to understand non-familiar people due to being unable to hear certain sound frequencies. Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards 2025: A look behind the scenes 'Makar is able to speak and understand familiar people quite well, but he has difficulty understanding unfamiliar people, especially in non-native languages,' said Mykyta. 'This is because he cannot hear certain sound frequencies — especially high and mid-range ones, such as birdsong or hissing sounds in speech. 'When we moved to Northern Ireland due to the war in Ukraine, Makar found it especially difficult to learn English, as it was a completely new language and the high-frequency sounds made it even harder for him.' After researching the topic, the teenager learned that over 400 million people around the world have significant hearing difficulties. 'One of the biggest challenges they face is communication and one possible solution is the use of sign languages,' he explained. 'I discovered that, just like spoken languages, there are many different sign languages — such as American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL), Ukrainian Sign Language, and many others. 'Since I am passionate about programming, I decided to create a software application to help people learn various sign languages. This could be useful not only for people with hearing loss but also for those who want to communicate with them — including sign language interpreters.' During his research, he discovered that most tools for learning sign languages lacked a 'feedback mechanism'. 'This meant that users could watch videos of signs, but they couldn't check whether they were signing correctly themselves,' he said. 'So, my main goal became developing a feedback system. I created a custom algorithm that compares the user's webcam input with a reference video of the sign. It shows whether the user is reproducing the sign correctly and highlights where hand or finger positions need improvement. 'I use computer vision technologies in my app, which greatly increases the effectiveness of learning.' The interactive dictionary is currently a desktop software application but Mykyta hopes to develop a web-based version so that more people can access it. Mykyta is currently exploring opportunities for external funding that could help develop the project further and make it available to more people who want to learn sign languages.
Daily Record
23-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Record
Wishaw pupils' theme park design takes school to the finals of engineering competition for third year running
Almost 1000 young people from across the UK entered The Big Bang Competition Smart-thinking young people at St Aidan's High in Wishaw are finalists in this year's Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers competition thanks to their innovative design for a hydro-powered theme park. It's the third year running that students from the school have made it to the finals of the competition. Almost 1000 young people aged 11 to 18 years old from across the UK entered The Big Bang Competition, with over 100 projects shortlisted from hundreds of entries. Up for grabs is the coveted Big Bang UK Young Engineer, Big Bang UK Young Scientist and Big Bang UK Young Technologist of the Year awards. Siemens are supporting the technologist category. Each category has a prize of £1,000. St Aidan's S2 pupils – Michael McCall, Erin McDonald, Shannon O'Rourke, Martha Steel, James Todd, and Moyin Yusuf – came up with an eco-friendly theme park design for their entry this year. Fionn O'Mara, Teacher of Science and Principal Teacher of Numeracy, said: 'We are Big Bang finalists again. The pupils were entered in the Junior Engineering Category for their Bronze Industrial Cadet Project - A Theme Park for the Future. "Their project was to create a sustainable and eco-friendly roller coaster park. The group's solution was to create a hydro-powered park that would convert kinetic energy from a nearby river to electrical energy to power their coaster. "The pupils designed, modelled and 3D printed a water wheel design, wrote a 25-page report and also went as far as creating a website for their park.' St Aidan's High is one of only two Scottish schools in the finals, the other is St Roch's in Glasgow. St Aidan's Head Teacher Audrey Farley, added: 'I am so proud of our talented young people for being invited to the Big Bang Final, especially as we are one of only two Scottish schools to make the final. In fact, this is our third year in a row to make the final which is an incredible achievement. 'Our talented finalists are very excited to showcase their sustainable roller-coaster as part of their 'A Theme Park of the Future' brief. As a Laudato Si school, we are always looking at sustainability and how we can reduce our footprint on the earth. Our learners are the change makers of the future and this was a wonderful opportunity for them to use their God-given talents, their inquisitive minds and their problem-solving skills to come up with creative solutions. 'The Big Bang project allowed our learners to build their confidence and develop their excellent collaboration and team work skills while having lots of fun! We appreciate the support of our amazing staff in supporting them, especially Mr O'Mara and we wish all our talented finalists the very best of luck as they head to the Big Bang final in Birmingham.' A sustainable F1 helmet, an automated pill dispenser and an eco-friendly water filter are just some of the other impressive and diverse student projects through to the final round. Winners of the Big Bang Competition, will be announced at The Big Bang Fair at the NEC in Birmingham from Tuesday to Thursday, June 17 to 19. *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
