Lucy’s invention aims to solve weighty problem

A YEAR 11 student’s innovative backpack project looks set to give school kids a weight off their shoulders.

St Mary’s College student Lucy Eade’s STEM project design aims to give students relief from carrying overweight backpacks.

After surveying students from her school, Miss Eade, 16, found that 87 per cent of them carried bags more than 10 per cent of their body weight.

Her response was the creation of a purpose-built prototyping platform with an LCD board displaying either a “safe weight” tag or an LED light when the backpack is too heavy.

The design has been selected as one of 26 finalists from around Australia in the BHP Foundation Science and Engineering Awards.

Miss Eade, who wrote the device’s code and created the LCD extension system, said the technology was about reducing the risk of injury.

“There are many studies out there that prove children carrying backpacks more than 10 per cent of their body weight can receive serious injuries that not only affect their current health, but also their long- term health into adulthood,” she said.

St Mary’s Principal Helen Spencer said Miss Eade’s project allowed students to see how STEM studies were rolled out from theory through to real-world practice.