VietNamNet Bridge – PIV-VK is the team name of three students from Da Nang University of Technology, who have become famous after winning major prizes at national student technology innovation competitions.

In mid-November 2014, Le Dinh Hieu, Nguyen Huu Vinh and Phan Ngoc Diep defeated eight rival teams at the championship of the TI MCU Design Contest to win second prize for their “Intelligent Mirror” work.  

The team’s intelligent sensor mirror features many different parts connected via wireless devices. It is automatically be activated when a person stands in front of it.  The mirror, with its touch monitoring system, allows users to adjust the light to their demands.

The miraculous mirror can measure body temperature, heart rate, height and weight, and show weather conditions. The information is displayed on an LCD screen.

It can also give warnings and say hello to remind people to take umbrellas and raincoats when going out on sunny or rainy days.

According to Da Nang Today, the mirror can play music and broadcast by connecting to users’ mobile phones via Bluetooth technology. The machine does not consume much electricity.

The 2014 TI MCU Design Contest won by the team was open to all students from Vietnamese universities and colleges across the country.  

The three boys had already won fame among the student community. In 2013, they won second prize at the Vietnam MicroController Application Contest (VAMC) with their “SG8V1 smart chip” and the consolation prize at the MCU TI Contest in the Central Region with their computer mouse for disabled users.

In early 2014, they won second prize at Da Nang City’s Scientific Research Club’s competition with their robot app.

In the same year, they won third prize at the Da Nang City Competition for students who conduct scientific research with their new app that recognized car number plates.

The three young men are all from poor families but have a strong aspiration to conduct science and technology research.

Born into families that did not have hi-tech devices at home, the three boys still cherished the dream of becoming electronics engineers.

When asked about how they were able to carry out research, the students said they bought the necessary equipment with their own money.

“The prize money from the school, the nation’s contests and the scholarships have been spent on our research works,” said Dinh Hieu.

Tien Phong