Friends of Israel Sci-Tech Schools

“Smart House” - Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network Students Invent iPhone Application to Control Electrical Appliances

Students at the Sci-Tech Astronomy and Space High School in Ma'ale Adumim took away first prize honors in the Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network “Young Engineers” competition for their "iStart" group's iPhone application project that allows phone users to remotely operate small  electrical devices. The June 1st  event which drew 100 student competitors presenting some 40 different projects, was held at the Hermelin College of Engineering in Netanya.

The “iStart group”, students, Ronen Ohad, Shachar Davidovitz, Dani Zebranin and Kobi Bass planned a technological integration between the iPhone and a “Smart House”, which allows electrical components in the home to be operated remotely via the internet. The application makes it possible for the phone user--across town or abroad--to switch on the lights, turn on a hot water boiler, air conditioner, television or any other electrical device.

Using a WiFi internet database the iPhone user securely connects to the service assuring that no one other than the approved user can activate the home devices. Once the modification order is received by the network database the computer  transmit instructions to a controller, connected through the USB, to operate the electrical devices in accordance with the order from the user. The iPhone interface is amended in accordance with the change made to the electrical device.
Izhar Shay, joint CEO at “Caanan Partners” Venture Capital and a member of the Friends of Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network Association, who has reviewed the project believes it has business potential.

Some 100 students from schools across Israel, presented their projects at the competition. Students had to design projects that integrated scientific, technological  and social elements. The competition encouraged  students to create projects based on scientific engineering, good planning and surveying and build projects that demonstrated innovative and creative engineering, construction and operation solutions --all important basic tools needed to excel in the field of engineering.

A project that helps clear the lungs of severely retarded children lacking the cough reflex and who suffer from a buildup of mucus and fluids in their lungs won second place in the competition. The students' solution offered a system of audio speakers that attach by belt to the patient’s back and serve as vibrators causing the release of mucus from the walls of the lungs, while larger speakers function to remove the mucus from the body.

Third place honors went to a student group that developed a water purification system using the UV rays of the sun. The system operates by creating a cascade of drops and - making use of the special properties in one drop of water -concentrating the sun’s rays onto each drop using a sunlight reflection system. The students developed a complex analytical model outlining the system's efficiency to purify droplets of different sizes under different environmental conditions. The model permitted the selection of optimal conditions for purifying the water. Using this model, computer software was also developed to allow complete control over the system.

Dr. Meir Fershtman, head of the Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network Goralnik Institute for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, commented: “ We instructed students to choose innovative projects that would represent a contribution to the community, to the environment and to society by using advanced technologies. This program offers students an enjoyable experience where they get to construct models and conduct practical experiments based on the assumption that successful business leadership is dependent on professionalism as well as social sensitivity. The scientific-technological field is the direction of Israel’s future; we are happy to be training the future generation and, by doing so, positioning Israel technologically in first place worldwide”.

The Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network offers a wide selection of innovative areas of study:  physics, chemistry, advanced-level biology, electronics and computer sciences, robotics and artificial intelligence, bio-medical engineering and aerospace.

Studies in the Scientific Engineering track are based on teaching through analogy - basic concepts or logical thinking patterns that are common to diverse fields of science and engineering.  Learning through analogy facilitates a broad understanding of the fields of science and engineering and gives students the scope and perspective needed to make decisions about the academic pathways they choose to follow.