today i had the opportunity to go to a high level all pak computer software/hardware/gaming competiton being held in a local university.
i was really impressed with what i saw. some of the projects could compete with project shows at any top uni in the world.
the coolest hardware projects were
a software operated robotic/mechanical arm that could revolve 180 degrees, pick and place objects and some other small stuff
a small robotic car that can navigate around walls, and walk on a black line on a white floor…
hmmm..i know these 2 r not groundbreaking n have been developed already but it was cool to see that this was developed from scratch by college students in pak
you could type something on ur comp screen like PAKISTAN and then this machine is attached to ur comp and it can carve that shape out on a hard surface (or u can attach a marker to that device and it can draw that out on paper too)
this one student group had designed this machine that along with the software keeps track of handloom activity. so like if u have a factory with many handlooms and u r sitting in the controlroom u can check which handloom is working and at what speed n how much cloth its producing. this was cool coz textile industry is unique and very important to pak and we’re making new technologies to benefit us in that area so we’re becoming independent which is really cool.
among the software projects, the stuff was basically cutting edge. all the latest software technologies were used and highly complex and large softwares were built. i mean those could be projects u could be looking at at a student software fair in a top uni in the west.
all in all it was hecka impressive mashallah :k: i had no idea that our students were capable of such stuff..the most amazing part is that a lot of times they dont have senior faculty that is an expert in these fields to guide them so they r pretty much on their own...and for them to still be so dedicated and innovative is really something!!
Irem Khala, Pakistan has a lot of untapped talent. It is our stupid leaders that don’t know how to use it productively. Mashallah, Urdu keyboard was invented by my cousin (some 15-20 years ago) who now teaches at Georgia Tech.
Indeed... mashaAllah Pak has a really valuable resource base w.r.t. Human Capital - now only if we had the Relational and Structural Capital to leverage it, we'd be on our way!
heck yes we are the best...Last time i went back home I saw this CD from Raza Softwarez. That CD had all of MS Windows, Office, Adobe Photoshop and hell 100's of more software. It was the Bill Gates edition. Their software are also very popular here. Heck im running it as i type.
LUSSI HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH omg that was a good one hahahahaah
UT exactly!!
Madhanee uncle dont tell me…aap k rishtaydaar itnayyy laaiq faaiq haen?? wow mashallah !! that so kewl
waise you should ask your cousin that we r making a gujranwala tech thats going to leave georgia tech far behind so he shud come back to pak:hehe:
but seriously…there’s lots of really cool opportunities for highly qualified professors now in pakistani it unis…like LUMS has some really good packages to offer…and some very qualified ppl are teaching there…who r phd’s from top usa unis…
khair..thats really cool abt ur cousin :k:
I have seen these projects in use in british school's, but making these machinaries from scratch - I gotta say pakistan is getting somewhere in the computer hardware industry masha allah!
[quote]
the coolest hardware projects were
a software operated robotic/mechanical arm that could revolve 180 degrees, pick and place objects and some other small stuff
a small robotic car that can navigate around walls, and walk on a black line on a white floor...
hmmm..i know these 2 r not groundbreaking n have been developed already but it was cool to see that this was developed from scratch by college students in pak
you could type something on ur comp screen like PAKISTAN and then this machine is attached to ur comp and it can carve that shape out on a hard surface (or u can attach a marker to that device and it can draw that out on paper too)
[/quote]
Irem which computing area do u feel pakistani students/uni's strength lies? I've heard Pakistani universities are becoming the leaders of software engineering?
coolmunda, im not a student anymore i actually happenned to go to this competition as a judge the university was FAST-NU in karachi. its got branches in Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar as well.
i think we are strong in all fields where we can make do without external resources. such as software dvlpmt, where you can get course material from the web or pirated cd’s books etc to help.
we r very strong in the software dev dept no doubt abt that. [mashallah]
we lack in certain areas of research and hardware b/c we don’t have the required facilities. access to knowledge bases. high speed internet. specific technology and equipment. etc.
Shak Kills… Punjab Police bi lingual automation of Police Stations? wow, that’s pretty cool :k:
I had to opportunity to see a few projects at SOFTEC 2001 in Lahore, which was organized by FAST. And I was equally impressed by what I saw.
However the problem is, that this talent does not stay in Pakistan. (BRAIN DRAIN) Once they are done they move out because their talent is not supported adequately in their home country. :(
If these students (and teachers) can accomplish such things in spite of limited resources, political strife and ongoing religious tension, imagine what they can achieve with a stable progressive environment?
That's why Pakistanis shouldn't become simply complascent about a strong dictatorship mistaking it for stability or minor speeches about the economy or bravado about nukes. Otherwise they will for eternity have to be content with watching the rest of the world coming to their neighboring India for more and more goods and services. In fact I just read India has been names to top 5 worldwide destinations!
and that was completely analysed and designed by me and my team. and it was completed 5-6 years ago. strangly based on 1834AD police rules defined by britain.
quite complex only made to monitor and control people. we asked them to just focus on crime control but they said it needs law change by assembly. so we had to stick with that and made it complex as it was.
later they realised and asked to remove extra bits and make it more usefull. it is suppose to be implemented in all 634 police stations across Punjab. i think at the moment only installed at divisional(8) levels only because of cost of equipment and staff training. they are busy in entering past data.
it was great expereince to do analysis of this, i had to learn all from FIR to convictions process.
it was bilingual because police at Police station level use only urdu and managment levels use english
this can be implemented in all over Pakistan and even Bangladesh Srilanka, or India with some little updates.
that was a good one 
hahahahaah 
wow mashallah !! that so kewl 
i actually happenned to go to this competition as a judge 