Invent for the Planet Q&A: Tupa

April 16, 2019 By Savanna Hoover

Savanna Hoover

Communications Specialist I

979-458-1699

Tupa participants — Invent for the Planet participants at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca. | Image: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

For 48 hours, college students from over 26 universities around the world joined Texas A&M University virtually to tackle some of the most challenging issues facing the planet today. The top five teams from the first round of Invent for the Planet have been selected by a team of external judges and will compete at Texas A&M on April 23 and 24.

Tupa sign — The Invent for the Planet presentation area at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. | Image: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Tupa, a team from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca, designed a two-part sensor system that could assist people with visual impairments or blindness. Their design uses a low-profile hat with sensors and a vibrating mechanism, along with a lightweight wand that the user would move while walking. The wand would send a signal to the head sensors, which would vibrate with increasing frequency when the user approaches an obstacle. Tupa team members include Breno Ferreira, Caio de Lima, Felipe Macedo Moura dos Santos, Giovanni Seiji Cozzolino Enokibara, Luã Guedes Costa, and Victor Hugo Benicio.

Q: What has been the most memorable experience?
A: Creating a technology that impacts an entire social branch and will help many needy people was incredible. But the most memorable experience was to see a smile on the professors’ faces after using our prototype. - Breno Christianes Ferreira

Q: Did anything surprise you or come out of the experience that was unexpected?
A: Building something great, presenting our project and receiving so much positive feedback in such a short time was certainly unexpected. - Breno Christianes Ferreira

A: Actually, everything was a surprise, because developing a product in 48 hours, dealing with difficulties, and moreover, solving problems quickly and efficiently is something very rewarding, especially when working with what you like. - Felipe Macedo Moura dos Santos

Q: Why did you pick your need statement?
A: I chose this need statement because I believe that one of the best ways to improve the quality of life is engineering. Technical knowledge is powerful. It is capable of changing the lives of thousands of people for the better if applied correctly. - Felipe Macedo Moura dos Santos

Their next of plan of action is to research further, decrease the sensor size and improve accuracy. Tupa will strive to learn more about business from experienced professionals, develop a business plan, pursue grants and patent their idea. Tupa will conduct tests to improve the capacity of what was developed and increasingly improve the prototype, all with the objective of being a low-cost product that can be accessible to everyone.

The final competition

The Invent for the Planet Final Competition is Wednesday, April 24th at 2 p.m. in the ZACH Chevron Rooms. For more information, view our website.