The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), in collaboration with the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (EEEI) of the University of the Philippines Diliman (@officialupdiliman) and four Philippine universities, successfully completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of the Maya-7 satellite project on 29 June 2023.
Maya-7 is a 2U CubeSat (two-unit cube satellite) being developed through the PhilSA ACCESS Nanosat, or the Advancing Core Competencies and Expertise in Space Studies Nanosat Project. ACCESS Nanosat provides the opportunity for Filipinos to pursue a master’s degree with specialized courses in satellite engineering at the UPD EEEI. The ACCESS Nanosat Team, consisting of students and researchers, are developing the Maya-7 CubeSat.
To foster synergy, maximize learning opportunities, and contribute to the democratization of space, PhilSA also invited the winning 2022 Nanosat Mission Idea Contest (NMIC) Teams from Cebu Technological University (@ctu.premier), De La Salle University (@dlsu), Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) and University of the Philippines Los Baños (@uplbofficial) to collaborate with the ACCESS Nanosat Team in the project.
The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) has refueled the launch of TALA, the first high-power hybrid rocket developed in the Philippines by homegrown space technology researchers, students, and their mentors from St. Cecilia’s College-Cebu.
Tala Hybrid Rocket
A cost-effective 10 feet hybrid-propellant rocket developed by high school students from Cecilia’s College – Cebu.
Features:
Flight sensors GPS Dual parachute deployment Payload system to bring a Can satellite up to approximately 5 kilometer into the atmosphere
Technical Specifications:
Length: 10 ft/3 m Weight: 15 kilogram Approximate altitude: 3 to 5 kilometers Rocket propellant: Hybrid (liquid oxidizer and solid fuel) Recovery system: Dual Deployment
Tala uses both solid and liquid fuel. Separating the substances makes shipping, handling, and storage much safer. This technology also lowers the cost of manufacturing rockets.
Mission:
Lunch and deploy Can Satellites (CanSats) 5 km. into the atmosphere.
Why?
“CanSats are simulated satellites the size of soda cans developed and used in educational settings to remotely gather environment data through built-in sensors. Researchers in the country deploy CanSats through drones. Sending CanSats to higher altitudes via hybrid-propellant rockets is a cost-effective way to further enrich space R & D development in the Philippines.”
TALA update:
Today’s scheduled launch of the TALA hybrid rocket was postponed due to unfavorable environmental conditions during the launch window early this morning.
Local weather systems, which include temperature, wind velocity, humidity, and precipitation, impact the launch and performance of rockets.
With the signing of the agreement, the ESA will implement the Copernicus program in the Philippines, the first country in Southeast Asia with such an agreement and the 2nd in the world. With €10 million in funding from EU bilateral development cooperation, CopPhil will allow for better earth observation activities in areas such as disaster risk management, climate adaptation, and atmosphere monitoring.
Only Country in Asia that does not produce vaccines | Image: @inquirerdotnet
The Philippines is the only country in Asia that does not produce vaccines for its own people, according to a Balik Scientist of the DOST.
While the country is not yet ready to manufacture its own vaccines, it can start with a simpler process of formulating, filling, and packaging these, in which active product ingredients will be imported from other countries if the jabs would be for COVID-19
Safe, Efficient, and Sustainable Solar Assisted Plug-in Electric Boat or Sessy E-Boat involves the prototyping of two units of electric motorboats with solar panels; one of which uses lead-acid batteries while the other one uses lithium-ion batteries, both with roofing mounted solar panels.
Sessy E-Boat uses a locally developed automatic identification system or AIS as a safety feature and explores the development of controllers for autonomous electric boats.
This innovation is designed to transport passengers and serve as a greener option for the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This technology attempts to reduce the time it takes to charge electric automobiles. In comparison to the traditional 4-6 hours of sluggish charging, this fast-charging system can fully charge electric automobiles in 30 minutes.
The capabilities of the CharM are crucial in aiding the Philippines’ development of a more flexible and ecologically friendly mass transportation system.
Philippine Electric Tricycle (e-trike) | (@pcieerd)
Philippine Electric Tricycle (e-Trike)
E-trikes are intended to help achieve smarter and emission-free communities. Converting conventional tricycles to electric tricycles minimizes carbon emissions, lowers fuel and maintenance costs, and minimizes noise pollution.
ULAT project aims to leverage weather and lightning data by observing extreme weather events to further improve the country’s weather forecasts.
The project’s initiatives can help the lives of the Filipino people by providing real-time localized weather data to LGUs, stakeholders, and other related agencies.
This may assist the disaster risk reduction units and LGUs in developing effective plans to strengthen the country’s resiliency against weather calamities.
With real-time weather and forecast data, the responsiveness of LGUs to calamities can improve which might result in quicker evacuation of citizens from affected areas and minimal losses to agriculture and infrastructure.
Stakeholders and business owners can also make data-driven decisions that can save resources affected by calamities.
The project has four (4) main outputs:
Deploy a lightning detection network in the Philippines for weather observation;
Use the DIWATA and HIMAWARI satellites to reconstruct 3D models of the clouds for estimating their precipitations;
Develop algorithms for improving our weather forcasting system and weather analytics tools; and
Establish real-time data sharing with stakeholders and related agencies regarding weather information.
The ULAT Project is a collaborative project amongst DOST-ASTI, DOST-PAGASA, and UP-IESM with technical cooperation with Hokkaido University, JICA, and JST through the SATREPS program.
Burnt Areas in Kabayan, Benguet | @philspaceagency
Mapping of Burnt Areas in Kabayan Benguet
Did you know that satellite images play a big role in identifying and assessing damage from disasters?
Diwata-2 captured the February 2020 forest fire in Benguet that approximately burned 2,714.59 hectares, excluding other possibly undetected areas covered by clouds and their shadow. Affected areas included Itogon, Bokod, Kabayan, Kibungan, and some parts of Tuba.
Maps like these, made using Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Burned Area Index (BAI), can be used to complement other data used by agencies tasked with post-disaster assessment and rehabilitation.
Philippine Groundwater Outlook or PHIGO | @dostpcieerd
Philippine Groundwater Outlook or PHIGO
Groundwater monitoring is critical in ensuring water quality and quantity in every region. This is an essential component in environmental information systems and decision-making. The fact that water is one of our primary needs, the Philippine Groundwater Outlook or PhiGO Project of the Ateneo de Manila University has set underway.
PHIGO aims to deliver constant, consistent, accessible, and transferable assessment of climate, population, and land use change on regional groundwater resources, and their subsequent influence on flood, drought risks, and socio-economics.
The project intends to develop a near-real-time groundwater monitoring system that measures the following parameters:
pH,
temperature,
electrical conductivity,
total dissolved solids,
salinity, and
static water level.
The data are transferred to a cloud server and presented to the public through a web application.
The project focuses on 2 sites – The provinces of Iloilo and Pampanga. Both provinces are among those identified in the 1990s as water-critical areas.
Project Benefits
Data will be used by stakeholders in coming up with policies and programs that address the needs of each area/region.
Gives transparency to the public on the current state of groundwater in their locality.
The commercialization of the system is in the works to share the fruits of this research with the people/institutions who are interested in water monitoring.
The PHIGO project hopes to:
Deliver a greater understanding of groundwater dynamics and the need to manage and conserve water resources;
Serve as a channel for decision-makers towards policy-making on the quality and quantity of groundwater in the Philippines;
Restore groundwater resources and teach Filipinos the importance of maintaining safe water for everyone and for future generations.
Spatiotemporal monitoring is a technique to capture several images at different times in a given period. An example of this is the images taken by Diwata-1 and Sentinel-3 of the Total Suspended Solids (TSS) in Laguna de Bay at different times of the year.
These TSS “hotspots” can easily be identified from satellite images. They are crucial in identifying potential pollution sources and areas vulnerable to low dissolved oxygen, which may result to fish kill.
Complementary use of Diwata imageries with other optical satellites, such as Sentinel-3, may increase the temporal monitoring of Laguna Lake.
Shale | @bicolmuseum via National Museum of the Philippines
Bicol region had the third biggest shale reserves in the 1990s.
Rocks as sources of natural gas? Today’s Discover Geology series introduces you to shale, a fine-grained sedimentary rock formed through the deposition and compaction of silts and clays.
Shale is the most abundant type of sedimentary rock categorized under mudstone. They account for 70% of the earth’s crust. Shales are laminated, which means they are made up of thin layers, and fissile, meaning they readily split into thin pieces.
Shales are commonly black and grey; however, some are yellow, red, brown, or green. The black or grey color indicates the presence of organic materials. Those that are formed on environments with deposits of hematite, goethite, or limonite produce red, brown or yellow shale. Meanwhile, clay minerals and micas, typically greenish, make up the green shales.
Did you know that we use shale in the petroleum industry? Black shales are the source of oil and natural gas formed during the deposition and burial of organic materials. Shale gas is mainly composed of methane. Some of these shale gas deposits formed during the Devonian period or 300-400 million years ago.
Shale is also used in making blocks of cement. The calcium oxide from crushed limestone is mixed with a heated shale. This sedimentary rock is an essential component in bricks, tiles, and pottery.
Meanwhile, the Bicol region had the third biggest shale reserves in the 1990s, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The Ragay Hills, which lies on the southwest side of the Bicol River, consists of folded and faulted sedimentary rock formations, including shale.
The National Museum of the Philippines Bicol is under repair and remains closed.
Did you know? that DOST PCIEERD supported the first extensive Smart Farm in the Philippines?
Smart farming is a revolutionary way of agriculture management through science and information and communication technology (ICT). Taking advantage of the resources brought by the digital age, DOST-PCIEERD proudly invested in the Smart Plant Production in Controlled Environments (SPICE) Program to promote urban farming and high-technology plant conservation.
Just recently, DOST had its successful ceremonial harvest with UP Diliman officials in the SPICE laboratory. This shows that smart farming has a real potential to sprout more opportunities in the agriculture sector from reducing the ecological footprint of farming to accurate and productive monitoring, to quality products, and more!
Modern farming methods, such as vertical farming, hydroponics, micropropagation, and cryopreservation are being practiced in the nursery to grow rare and native plants in a controlled environment where lighting and irrigation systems are monitored through the use of electronics, sensors, and automation.
Arugula, pak choi or Chinese white cabbage, Greenspan lettuce, and romaine crops were among the green leafy vegetables harvested from the country’s first “smart farm”.
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña said they got the “first harvest” of vegetables grown at the Php 128-million Smart Plant Production in Controlled Environments (SPICE) Laboratory at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman in Quezon City on July 6.
De la Pena, DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) Executive Director Dr. Enrico Paringit, UP President Danilo Concepcion, and UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel R. Nemenzo were present during the harvesting of the vegetables.
“The project has also developed a centralized control system for its farm operations complete with technical documentation of its system design, installation manual, and farm operations,” de la Peña said during his weekly report on Friday, July 9.
He said data from the sensors in the system are also gathered to monitor progress.
“Prediction models were also developed to ascertain the plant growth and optimum harvesting of the produce,” he added.
He noted that plants grow in a hydroponic setup within a controlled environment set-up.
The project, which is implemented by the UP Institute of Biology and Electronics Engineering Institute, is funded by the DOST-PCIEERD.
DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Rowena Cristina L. Guevara had branded the P128-million pioneering research as “a game changer” as it sought to promote urban farming and high-technology plant conservation.
Ginhawa Inventor Dr. Camilo C. Roa | @DOSTphl via @piadesk
Ginhawa inventor to receive visionary award for medical research.
The National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) will confer the 2021 Geminiano De Ocampo Visionary Award for Medical Research (GTOVAMR) to Dr. Camilo C. Roa, a retired professor who invented the low-cost, high-quality portable ventilator for COVID-19.
Dr. Roa, together with Dr. Abundio Balgos, his protégé at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, received funding support from the government to develop Ginhawa (Reliefvent), which is 40% cheaper than the ones available commercially.
Dr. Roa hopes to finish three variations of Ginhawa 2 (a redesigned prototype) for numerous patients with respiratory failure, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also invented the respiratory pig lung model made from locally sourced materials like the transparent chest cavity model made of plexiglass, complete with a “breathing” lung (freshly harvested porcine lung), and colored water glass manometers to monitor the pleural pressures.
In honor of National Scientist Geminiano T. De Ocampo, the GTOVAMR aims to recognize clinician-researchers who have made significant contributions to medical research and clinical practice that have significantly impacted Filipinos lives.
Dr. De Ocampo was a visionary acknowledged as the Father of Modern Ophthalmology.
He was the first Filipino to perform the first successful corneal transplantation and design a corneal dissector in 1956.
He established in 1965 the first eye hospital and research institution for basic ophthalmology, now known as the Philippine Eye Research Institute.
Marayum, a community-built online web dictionary platform designed to preserve and save endangered Filipino languages, underscores importance in celebration of Buwan ng Wika.
“The national language is as symbolic as the country’s own freedom, giving it its unique identity as a sovereign nation. This Buwan ng Wika, we can also celebrate other local languages in the country through this project.” Dr. Enrico Paringit said.
The online dictionary is a project of UP Diliman Department of Computer Science, funded by DOST, and monitored by DOST-PCIEERD.
Motivated by a mission to preserve and save endangered Filipino Languages, a community-built online web dictionary platform was developed through Project Marayum by a team of computer scientists and linguists as led by Mr. Mario Carreon, Assistant Professor of the Department of Computer Science at the University of the Philippines – Diliman.
Funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and monitored by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), the project sought to produce an online language dictionary which can be modified by registered members of a specific community who mainly utilizes the language.
During its initial development, the first dictionary uploaded was the Asi-English language dictionary. Revisions to the dictionary are allowed only to registered Asi language speakers with entries reviewed by a group of assigned language experts.
Project Marayum was built through a collaborative effort of different communities. As an online dictionary platform for Philippine languages, it aims to empower native language speakers to create and curate an online dictionary of their language without needing to have technical expertise in website design, implementation, and maintenance.
On the other hand, DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico Paringit expressed support to the project which paved the way for further communication through innovative solutions. He underscored the project’s importance in celebration of Buwan ng Wika.
“The national language is as symbolic as the country’s own freedom, giving it its unique identity as a sovereign nation. This Buwan ng Wika, we can also celebrate other local languages in the country through this project,” Paringit said.
The Marayum website is now available online at https://marayum.ph with an initial layout of four dictionaries: Asi-English, Cebuano-English, Hiligaynon-English, and Kinaray-a-English.
Other dictionaries are currently being collated using Marayum which include Bikol-Buhi’non, Bikol-Central, Bikol-Rinconada, Masbatenyo, Kapampangan, Chavacano, Gaddang, Inakyeanon, Waray, and Ilocano with corresponding English translations. All the dictionaries are being managed by their communities and assigned linguists.
Tunnel Boring Machine Cutter Head | @DOTrPH via Jane Deocampo
“Kaunlaran” tunnel boring machine (TBM)
Tomorrow, February 5, 2021, the 74-ton CUTTER HEAD of “Kaunlaran,”—the first among the 6 Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), which will be used in building the partial operability section of the METRO MANILA SUBWAY, WILL FINALLY ARRIVE!
“Kaunlaran” is also the first, among the 25 TBMs which will be used for the whole line of the first-ever underground railway system of the Philippines.
Gaano nga ba kalaki, kataas at kabigat ang Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) na darating sa Pilipinas?
Sa Facebook post ni Jane Deocampo, inilarawan niya ang sukat ng laki at bigat ng isang TBM. Kung ikukumpara sa Cart Titan na may sukat lamang na 4 meter, ‘di hamak na mas malaki ang TBM sa kanyang sukat na 6.99 meters, haba na 95 meters at bigat na 700 tons.
Kaya habang nagpapagaling ang Cart Titan pagtapos magtamo ng matinding sugat mula sa huling laban nila ni Eren, at habang hinihintay natin ang next episode ng anime na Attack on Titans, dito muna tayo sa TBM cutter head!
The first of the much-anticipated tunnel boring machines for the 36-kilometer Metro Manila Subway Project has finally arrived in the Philippines. The gigantic TBM No. 1, to be known as “Kaunlaran”, has a diameter of 6.99 meters and will be used for underground excavation of the subway line.
