Students from the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM) won fourth place in a Digital Village competition, organized by the Carlos Slim Foundation. The students, from the Tianguistenco campus, designed a wireless remote to turn on lights or other appliances from a smart phone or computer.
The students, Néstor Flores Ramírez, Fernando Carlos Garduño Andoney, Fabiola Rocío Hernández Terrón and Oscar Muciño Juárez, were part of the Tecno-home team and competed against approximately 70 other teams from universities around the country. They were selected among the top 32 projects and competed against the 16 top teams. They ended up in fourth place overall. The students are in their seventh semester in the Industrial Production Engineering degree program at UAEM Tianguistenco.
In an interview, the students said that their invention can be adapted to meet the needs of the consumer and the only requirement is to have a 5 volt connection. Through an application that the students designed, the consumer can operate and control lights and other appliances from their cell phone or computer.
The Tecno-Home competition aims to encourage innovative home technology products that are safe, reliable and competitive on the market. The students began working on their idea in a class and were supported by their advisors Adriana Fonseca Munguía, José Luis Tapia Fabela and Roberto Vera Torres.
The Carlos Slim Foundation, through the Digital Village, encourages secondary and higher education students to develop innovative projects and entrepreneurial initiatives, both in and outside the classroom. The six categories of the Digital Village competition were Business Administration, Visual Artes, Cyber-Security, Technological Innovation, Internet at Home and Digital Marketing and Social Media.
