Two Kenyan students will take part in the 2023 Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in Dublin, Ireland.
Keith Brian, 18, and Maxwell Okoth, 19, both first year students pursuing electrical engineering at Strathmore University, will showcase a smart security system at the fair that brings together young scientists from across the world.
The innovation is a vigilance system that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect security threats in buildings.
"Burglary and home invasion occur regularly," says Brian. "The system will help users to reduce the response time during the attacks,'' he adds.
It employs vision learning that studies human behaviour to pre-empt any threats. If detected, a re-engineered CCTV sends live footage to an App linked to the CCTV to notify a user of possible threat.
"We hope that the innovation will go to experimental phase once the project receives proof of concept," said Okoth.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu lauded the students for embracing technology as a means to solve societal challenges.
"Innovations improve the society we live in, improve the quality of life and encourage people to seek alternative solutions to human challenges," the CS said.
The CS observed that innovation was a challenge to young people in all disciplines to make use of their unique abilities.
"One does not have to attain the highest level of education to innovate anything," said Mr Machogu.
The students were accompanied by Kanga High School Principal Kodiango Reuben, Parents Association Chair Dr Boniface Ondoro and their teacher/ mentor, Mr Marshall Onyango.
In 2020, Brian and Okoth - then Form Three students at Kanga High - won the prestigious Young Scientist Kenya award with the same innovation.
Mr Onyango said that the milestone attained by the students was a great inspiration to learners at school who are inclined towards Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
