In March, the Kyiv Regional Junior Academy of Sciences for the first time held the National Computer Project Competition called Infomatrix Ukraine 2024, during which talented young people could present their projects in the field of information technology and robotics. The best of them can take part in the Infomatrix World Finals, which will take place on May 31 – June 4 in Bucharest, Romania.
Vladyslav Kovalchuk and Maksym Kulikov, the 4th year students at the Department of Computer Engineering, the Khmelnytskyi Polytechnic College at Lviv Polytechnic National University, took part in the competition under the leadership of Bohdan Hetman, the Head of the Department. They presented their development «Team project and practical implementation of a digital railway layout control system». The purpose of the project is the popularization of technical creativity among pupils and students, consolidation and specification of knowledge and skills in physics, electronics, programming and aesthetic education, as well as the enhancement of student employment skills, psychological rehabilitation of children and adults and career guidance work.
The students developed their own control system for model railways, which allows the use of smartphones with appropriate applications (Z21, Roco Z21) to manually control the locomotives. There are no such railway model control systems with similar characteristics in Ukraine. The main device that processes the provided information is an ESP8266 microcontroller, which has a built-in Wi-Fi wireless interface. This control system is a continuation of many years work of students from the Department of Computer Engineering.
Also with the development of the system, an operational model of the railway on a scale of 1:160 with dimensions of 2 m by 80 cm was produced. With its help, it was possible to demonstrate all the advantages of digital control. The mock-up was demonstrated to accreditation commissions, at the College Open Days, as well as to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
According to the results of the National competition of computer projects Infomatrix Ukraine 2024, the team of the Khmelnytskyi Polytechnic College, Lviv Polytechnic National University, was awarded a silver medal in the Hardware Management category.
For more details, visit the website of the Khmelnytskyi Polytechnic College.
