The software and computer company Intel may have found its newest innovator.
The company recently held its annual International Science and Engineering Fair, where students compete for scholarships, grants, and internships within the company. A student won this year’s Fair for his creation, an autonomous workplace drone.
Intel Competition and the Drone idea:
Not only did the 19-year old Oliver Nicholls win this event, he also earned himself a nice payday. The top prize was a $75,000 check, as well as bragging rights since you impressed the minds at Intel. He also won the Gordon E Moore prize, named after the co-founder of Intel itself. Nicholls, from Sidney, won the event after beating over 1800 competitors. These contestants hailed from nearly a hundred countries worldwide. The selection process itself is nothing to scoff at. Over 400 fairs worldwide served as branched contests, leading up to the main winner. Needless to say, it is quite a feat coming out on top of Intel’s contest.
For the winning creation, the drone boasted an autonomous function, blowing everyone out of the water. To start with, the drone launches from the roof of its target building. The drone will then use its built-in nozzles and brushes to clean the windows.
While the physical drone itself is impressive, the most important part of this is the autonomy. You can simply launch it and it can do the work unsupervised, leaving more personnel to do other things. This cuts time management from when personnel did the external window cleaning themselves. Efficiency is also a key, with the drone finishing buildings faster than its human counterparts. Safety is also another concern lifted by the drone. With a flying drone doing the work meant to take place at high altitudes, workplace injuries are removed. No more accidents, falls, or any scenario where a human employee can get hurt while working. The drone removes that possibility entirely, leaving a safer workplace. And that is something you really cannot put a price on.
