Braden River students showcase projects

EAST COUNTY — Four Braden River High School students may have futures brighter than they expected at the beginning of the school year.

And by the end of the week, one student will have $4,000 in cash and will be one step closer to making an idea come to life.

Elezar Toner, C.J. Cooper, Jordan Conelias and Yoshua Torralva are competing against students in Tampa Bay, Orlando, California, Michigan, Alabama and Indiana in Bright House Network’s Bright Ideas competition.

Southeast High School also participated in the competition, and student Benjamin Varah partnered with Torralva on Project Time.

The competition asks students in the company’s coverage areas to design a product that’s realistic to create and is creative and useful for the general public by using science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Six students will be chosen for the Orlando competition in 2015 for the top project ideas, which will feature one student from each of the company’s coverage areas. Of the seven Tampa Bay students in the finals currently, four are from Braden River High.

No announcement was made by press time Tuesday. Bright House spokesperson Leah Brown said the winner of the Tampa Bay region to advance is from Braden River High School and will be announced by the end of the week.

In Orlando, the finalists will compete on television in front of an audience and will have six minutes to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges.

The winner of the Orlando competition will fly to New York to meet with the innovation firm Fahrenheit 212 — a partner of ABC’s “Shark Tank” — to build a virtual prototype and business plan, so the student can sell his or her product.

Braden River High teacher and Chairman of the Engineering Design and Leadership Academy Gil Burlew believes his students were likely within just a few points of each other for the running to go to Orlando.

“These kids are doing just great things, amazing things,“ Burlew said. “I’m sure it was hard to choose which student to pick, but I’m sure the winner from our school was barely ahead of the other Braden River competitors.”

The students anxiously paced Burlew’s classroom Dec. 15.

“I’ve been thinking about it all week,” Jordan Conelias said.

For updates on students advancing to the next round, or to view students’ bright ideas, visit yourobserver.com and brightideas.brighthouse.com.

NAME: LINKZ
Names: Elezar Toner and C.J. Cooper

Ages: 16 and 17

Grade: 11

Description: The teens’ concept plays off the smart phone. LinkZ is a phone case designed to expand the smart phone’s basic functions by turning into a computer mouse, holographic keyboard, laser pointer and USB interface while also performing its basic function — holding a cell phone. LinkZ also can transmit a holographic keyboard designed to help users who are traveling or sitting in tight spaces where their laptop may not fit.

In their words: “Virtually everyone can use this case,” Toner said. “Most people use their phone on a regular basis for functions other than just talking.”

NAME: PROJECT SPEAK
Name: Jordan Conelias

Age: 14

Grade: 9

Description: The visual project glasses display human speech to text. The glasses use technology that detects people in the area speaking and displays the conversation on a portion of the glasses. But the words won’t interfere with the user’s line of sight. The glasses also have settings available to adjust the range in which they detect conversations. Project Speak relies on an embedded microchip with voice recognition software that’s built into the glasses.

In his words: “These glasses really provide a simpler solution for hearing impaired people to use in their every day life. The best thing, I think, is the ability to not have to see the person talking to know what they’re saying; that’s a different concept than sign language or trying to read someone’s lips.”

NAME: PROJECT TIME
Name: Yoshua “Yoshi” Torralva and not pictured, partner Benjamin Varah, of Southeast High School

Age: 15

Grade: 9

Description: It’s a wristwatch designed to help keep seniors in touch with their loved ones and doctors. The watch displays the time, while also monitoring the user’s health by counting the number of heart beats per minute with a pulse sensor. Should the senior’s heart beat show abnormal results or the user falls, the doctor will be notified. Project Time also has a GPS system embedded within the watch that can be used to locate lost seniors, and through the QR code feature, a hospital can pull up patients’ medical records just by scanning the watch.

In his words: “I know my grandma gets confused with the newest technology coming out. This watch is easy to use and would help people like my grandma.”