#National Grid Challenge Over the summer National Grid reached out to us with a challenge: Could our students accurately calculate the volume of a complex 3D model? Their engineers were struggling with a problem they’d come across in the field; how to accurately measure the volume of an excavated hole.
After a National Grid Engineer finishes a job, whether it’s an installation or a repair, the excavated hole needs filling in - National Grid generally contracts this work out. The contractor then charges National Grid for the labour and expense of the filling material.
The problem that arises from this is that National Grid doesn’t know whether they are being overcharged for this material or whether an accurate amount of material has been purchased.
The solution they have come up with is to trial these 3D scanning modules (www.structure.io) which clip onto the back of an iPad; allowing the engineers to produce intricate, precise 3D models of the excavated holes. This is where you come in; National Grid can produce these models but have no way of calculating the volume from these holes. They’ve reached out to us to help them engage students at Warwick by challenging them to design a iPad app that lets their engineers calculate the volume of a 3D scanned hole on the go.
##Where will it be?
The challenge will run on Wednesday afternoons (1300-1500, Location will vary) starting on the 28th of October and will continue for 4 weeks. The teams will then be asked to present their solutions to a panel of judges at the end. Each member of the winning team will receive an iPad Air 2 as well as a Nexus 5X. Further details of the competition will be explained at the first session. Teams will be expected to work on their solution outside of the session and enterprise licenses for Xcode will be provided to teams that wish to use it.
##Contact Details
If you want to get in touch reach out to Alex at president@warwick.tech or David at David.Goldsby@nationalgrid.com.