Cognizant’s ‘Smart Solutions’ Stall a Big Draw at Maker Faire Singapore for Children, Families and Professionals
At Maker Faire Singapore (June 25-26, 2016), Cognizant’s stall showcasing the impact of the Internet of Things (IOT) on healthcare drew overwhelming response from technology professionals as well as home users.
The stall had a remote blood pressure (BP) monitor on display to demonstrate how a doctor can remotely measure a patient’s BP. This was of interest to the public and particularly those affected by BP.
An innovative iPhone game that can tell the player his/her chances of getting Parkinson’s disease elicited a lot of interest.
A special attraction for the old and the young alike was ‘anytime, anywhere physiotherapist.’ The company had leveraged gaming platforms and devices such as Microsoft Kinect to monitor and correct movements in physiotherapy.
“This way, people can perform the prescribed exercises as shown on a TV panel in the convenience of their homes,” explained a Cognizant spokesperson. “This demo was a big hit with many visitors experiencing the idea first-hand.”
A new entrant to Maker Faire in Singapore, Cognizant created quite a buzz with the ‘Smart Home’ display, comprising models of different smart homes built with Lego blocks by children of Cognizant employees. These models were programmed to control various home appliances with just a hand phone or a laptop using Raspberry Pi.
Cognizant conducted workshops with children, youth and families and mentored them on how they could program their own homes.
“Our aim is to spark creativity among young minds by providing them with hands-on experience of building of their own smart home,” added the company spokesperson.
Senior leaders and technology architects from Cognizant trained and mentored 25 young interns and graduates from universities such as National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and UniSIM to manage the Cognizant stall, thus sparking their interest in next-generation technologies.
Cognizant’s participation was not limited to showcasing and teaching digital technologies.
In keeping with its commitment to education, community care and STEM, over 50 Cognizant employees extended volunteering support to the Maker Faire event through the company’s employee-led social initiatives program called Outreach, focused on education, care for the elderly, environment, and voluntary welfare organizations.
Outreach volunteers conduct weekly tutoring, reading, drawing and crafts activities with disadvantaged children in Singapore and have partnered with various organizations to support education and enrichment programs.
As part of the enrichment initiative, Outreach volunteers invited to the Faire children from “Blessings in a Bag”, a non-profit organization, to create greater interest and curiosity among them in STEM technologies. The children were given detailed explanations about the scientific and design concepts showcased at the Cognizant and other stalls.
The world of digital business calls for increasing proficiency in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Cognizant believes that sparking an interest in STEM education among young people is crucial to meeting the demands of an innovation economy.
As part of its endeavor to help close the talent gap in STEM fields, encourage creativity and innovation, and prepare today’s youth for tomorrow’s opportunities, Cognizant has been a supporter of the Maker movement.