IEEE to launch Kochi's space centre exhibit

The world's largest technical society IEEE will here Wednesday launch E-Scientia -- a hands-on scientific space centre exhibit where students will take the role of engineers and solve simulated space flight challenges.

This is the sixth installation in the world of E-Scientia project and is put up at the Centre for Science in Society (C-SiS), CUSAT that will be open to the student community.

This exhibit is intended to engage pre-university students to raise awareness and interest about careers in engineering disciplines.

"The exhibit takes students/visitors on an engineering-themed adventure using multimedia, interactive and hands-on exploration of science and technology concepts. During the experience, students are challenged to take on the role of engineers to solve challenges posed during a simulated space flight," said Suresh Nair, chair, Institution of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) Kochi Subsection.

"The installation is a mock-up of the inside of a space station. As the interactive commences, the students are made to sit on individual docks, each controlling a different section of the spacecraft - navigation, fuel control etc. Each section fails and the students are then made to design miniature electronic circuits which would put the system back on track," said Nair.

The flagship IEEE E-Scientia exhibit was established at the Espacio Ciencia in Uruguay in 2010 and is now available at Hyderabad, Shanghai, Pretoria and Mexico City.

The project here has come up on a joint initiative of IEEE Kerala Section, IEEE Kochi Subsection and IEEE Kerala Young Professionals.