Vietnamese young people have contributed to create domestically produced products which have gained wider applications in the real life.
Originating from a seemingly pointless idea when some components of a friend's motorbike were stolen, a student from Ho Chi Minh City University of Science managed to write anti-theft software that is used via mobile phones. This idea won a special prize in the S-Ideas Competition held by HCMC University of Science and another prize in the "Ideas of creative students" held by the HCMC Youth Union. To make his project become effective, the inventor and his friends attempted to raise capital to establish their own company, complete their products and sell them. The S-Bike anti-theft warning and positioning device alerts owners of vehicles of theft via their mobile phones and the product was also honored at the awards ceremony for Vietnamese Talent Awards 2012.
Setech Viet Joint Stock Company was established for more than a year by four young men. Ngo Nhat Thai, one of the four founders said it took nearly three years from the original idea came until the device was released and the product officially released in April, 2012. The main function of our product was to track the position of motorbikes and keep them safe. When wanting to locate their vehicle, the owner uses pre-installed Setech Viet software linked to their bike. The software on board will reply, for example, by flickering signals. In a case where a thief tries to steal the vehicles, the device can issue a 100 meter heard whistle , turn off the motorbike and even send GPRS coordinates via Google Maps.
Thai added that their products are manufactured at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP). Originally, the company only released 150 units to test the market and now nearly 1,400 motorbikes in HCMC have installed the device. He said "Consumers seem to be very interested in our products, but as we have just graduated and we're facing difficulty in sourcing capital and lack experience in doing business. In addition, because our product is a pilot model, we dare not enter mass production. In the coming time, apart from selling our products, we'll also research and improve the device so that it becomes smaller and cheaper and be capable of being installed in cars as well."
Another research group includes seven young members from iSolar Co, Ltd created the "News Reading Assistant" (VINAS) - a system that provides audio for e-newspapers. The system won second prize for Potential IT Products of the "Vietnamese Talent Awards 2012".
Between April to September 2012, the system completed its first version. However, according to group member Phan Dang Hung,, they faced many difficulties during their research, mainly concerning improvements in improved functionality and they had repeatedly improve the product.
There has been a positive response to ViNAS due to its usefulness to the blind and those who prefer listening to the news. The group therefore believe ViNAS could prove feasible. However, they need more highly skilled staff and large investment to commercialize the product.. Hung said they wished to cooperate with enterprises and e-newspapers to develop the utility for free.
Talking with Hung, Thai and other Vietnamese doing research, I can see that their strong character and determination to pursue their dreams is clear. Their passion, creativity and tireless efforts are likely to help the country's national scientific development./.
