Students studying the Level 1, 2 and 3 Computing courses at Bridgwater College visited Intel UK Headquarters in Swindon recently to take part in practical and theoretical computing workshops. They also found out how Intel is driving the new Internet of Things (IoT), which is predicted to be the major focus of computing in the next five to ten years.
During the day, the students took part in a series of workshops and had the chance to use Intel powered development equipment including the new Galileo Gen2 development boards.
In the robot material workshop, the group saw how computer engineers are playing a key part in developing robots to explore extreme environments including desert, polar and mangrove swamps, plus being at the forefront of automated exploration vehicles for space exploration. The students worked in groups to consider the challenges of developing both hardware and software to deal with the extreme conditions that would be faced by the robots.
Students were able to use Hewlett Packard sprout computers which have the capability to project an interactive image onto the desktop. The technology allows the user to project such things as keyboards, pianos, DJ Mixing desks and art programs onto the desk. In the same workshop, the students used face recognition technology to map their face and facial movements onto computer generated characters on screen including anime characters and computer game characters.
During a robotics workshop, the students used Galileo development boards to program robot cars. Practicing their coding skills, they debugged the robot programs to allow the robots to be controlled by Bluetooth tablets and try solving a maze.
Finally, the students were able to use the Galileo boards with a development kit to explore sensors such as light and heat, and work towards creating a Galileo Greenhouse, a computer controlled and monitored system for running standard home greenhouses to maintain optimal conditions for growing plants.
Richard Everard, Course Leader for Computing at Bridgwater College said,
“The Intel trip was a fantastic opportunity to visit the UK Headquarters of one of the world’s leading IT companies. It was great to get hands on experience with technologies that Intel are using to power the next phase of change in IT. The day gave the students a great chance to develop their real understanding of the impact of IT and see the IT enabled world they will be a part of at the conclusion of their studies. The enthusiasm of students during and after the trip has been wonderful to see and is helping us to drive development of the curriculum to meet the needs of IT in the next few years.”
If you would like more information about studying Computing at Bridgwater College please contact our Information and Guidance team on 01278 441234.
