Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia of NOVA wins National Competition of Imagine CUP

The team People Powered Places (P3) of the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia of Universidade Nova de Lisboa won the National Final of Imagine Cup 2009, the world's premier student technology competition for high-school and university students, promoted by Microsoft.

The team consists of students Nuno Dias, Gonçalo Castro and Ricardo Ferreira, oriented by Professor Celson Lima, from the department of Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores, won in the main category, Software Design, with the project Per-MAN (Personal EneRgy MANagement System). P3 will now represent Portugal in the Worldwide Finals that will take place in Cairo, Egypt, in July.

Having as central theme the environment (scarcity, limitation of natural resources and ending of energetic resources) the FCT team proposes to create a human energy production and sharing system, that will feed the environment, where people generate the energy they need for their life and for the geo-referenced context they’re included.

The Per-MAN is a software tool that helps the management of the micro-generation that comes from human energy. For that, the team created a device with which people can generate energy, accumulate it and unload it in a device that can be used to feed the functioning of residences, offices and other environments, and the transmitters with excess of accumulated energy can sell it to the public network

P3 believes people are renewable sources of clean energy. The idea is to use, or reuse, the energy that person is already producing to feed a certain residential or commercial space.

With the evolution of technology, it’s possible to believe that more energetic efficient devices will be available to people and that the micro-generation can acquire more powerful outlines. In a non very distant future, the average consumer can be independent from the energetic net, generating the energy they need.

It’s the fourth time FCT wins the competition Imagine Cup. Different teams won in previous editions, in 2004, 2005 and 2007.