Getting smart technology
behind smart kids

Adept supports champion student innovators
Living our philosophy of spreading knowledge and encouraging learning, Adept Turnkey has supported a team of 5 students at Engadine High School in Sydney to prepare for the international F1 in Schools Technology Challenge, a competition which involves over 9 million students from 17 000 schools across 31 countries.

The opportunities
Apart from the project's emphasis on using science, maths and technology to build a functional, miniature F1 model, the competition also focuses on building long-term employment skills and students have the opportunity to practice leadership, team building, project management, business planning, marketing, distance-collaboration and mass-communication techniques.

The task
Students are required to design a miniature F1 model from scratch which involves researching the aerodynamics and physics of motion, applying design principles and then empirically improving the design with tests and modifications.

A model is drawn with the help of a three-dimensional design software package, the design is then analysed and a prototype is manufactured from balsa wood and plastic.

The car is powered by a carbon dioxide cylinder mounted to the back. A launching device punctures the gas cylinder and escaping gas propels the model car at speeds of up to 80 kph.

Adept's role
Currently the Australian national champions, the F1 team of students at Engadine have been using a high speed camera from Adept with the support of our vision engineers. The students at Engadine have successfully used Adept's high speed camera to analyse the performance of their car's dynamics and to make modifications to critical parts. This has enabled improvements to different parts of the race such as the launch. Hopefully enough to give them the edge.

In the words of one team member: