A tech-savvy group of junior high students presented its award-winning robot to innovation leaders from around the world at the province’s first Innovation Summit on April 16, 2013.

The experience brings the all-girls team one step closer to showcasing its innovation on the international stage when they compete at the FIRST LEGO World Festival and Championship in St. Louis later this month.

“This team is an inspiration to any girl who thinks science and math is not for them,” said Premier Darrell Dexter, who opened the Innovation Summit in Halifax. “These amazing young ladies took a smart idea and turned it into a marketable product that is so amazing they are working to patent it. That is the kind of ingenuity we want to support in Nova Scotia.”

The girls designed and programmed a robotic sensor to help seniors. The device attaches to a walker and alerts the user when they are beginning to lose their balance.

The province is giving the Bedford-based, iMoe Robotics team more than $4,000 toward their trip to the competition on April 24-27. The girls qualified by winning the provincial title at the league’s Acadia University Robot Programming Competition last February.

“Participating in the FIRST LEGO League really boosts my confidence, knowing that anything that I want to do, I can do right here in Nova Scotia,” said team member Olivia Warrington. “I don’t have to travel all over the world looking for the perfect job, because now I know that I can find it here.”

The rest of the team includes Madison Presunka, Isabel Sarty and Emma Travers, students at Bedford and Gorsebrook junior high schools.

The girls are making and selling Lego jewelry to raise money for their trip. The premier purchased a pair of Lego cufflinks, which he was sporting at the Innovation Summit this morning.

“These young ladies aren’t just inventors, they are entrepreneurs,” Premier Dexter said. “I’m happy to support them by wearing these cufflinks, a sign of the great young minds in Nova Scotia who will help this province turn the corner to a better future.”

The FIRST LEGO League is an international program designed to get kids age nine to 14 interested in science and technology. The girls will compete with teams from more than 40 countries for the world title.

“One of the keys to Nova Scotia’s success is making sure young people with bright ideas are connected with the mentors, money and connections they need to turn their ideas into careers, here at home,” said Premier Dexter. “The province is pleased to help these girls take their invention to St. Louis so they can wow the world.”

Young Nova Scotians are thriving in these international competitions. In 2012, Nova Scotia students competed internationally in the North American Open Championship at LEGOLAND in California and were awarded first prize for robot technical design. Students from team Les Vipères, from Centre scolaire de la Rive-Sud, Cookville, Lunenburg Co., were challenged to research food safety issues as part of the program, and are now seeking a provisional patent for robotically assisted delivery and storage of locally produced farm goods.

Press Release from Premier’s Office.

Nova Scotia is on the pathway of an infinitely higher calibration of  technology opportunities in history. This conference brings forth to share the most innovative and industrious developments right here in our province.

Recently a robotic competition held at Acadia University, home to Wolfville an all girls team earned victory with their creation of a motion sensor designed to help prevent falls with seniors. This morning at the Innovation Summit in Halifax, Team iMoe gave a demonstration of their prototype iMoetion. The imoe group received a great round of applause…and media attention afterwards.

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UPDATE ON MEETING_

Innovative did a  live broadcast of  the special meeting held on Feb. 12, 2013 in Wolfville.  Council has tabled the motion once again, so they can further improve the agreement to best suit the needs of the Town of  Wolfville.   There is mixed opinions about the development in general.

The recorded broadcast can be found at http://www.wolfville.co

From: Gregg Morrison, Dir. of Planning
Re: 336 Main Street development proposal
Further to the Council meeting held on January 29th, there were three remaining issues to be resolved with respect to the development proposal at 336 Main Street. Staff have worked with the developer to obtain additional information and respond to the concerns raised by Council members.
1. Mix of dwelling unit types – The developer has anticipated that the final building design will allow for some variety in the dwelling unit designs. At this time he has agreed to commit to the following:
a. A minimum of 13 units with one or two separate bedrooms with at least 4 of these being two bedroom. These units will be from 20% to 60% larger than the standard units.
b. Provision of Barrier Free units to meet the minimum required by the Provincial Building Code.
Note that approximately 5 interior loft units are also likely (with about 50% more floor area), subject to confirmation of building code requirements. See the attached plans of sample unit designs. [Read more…]