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St. Patricks Day in Barcelos

Tuesday March 17th 2015

While our friends in Ireland enjoyed a day off for St. Patricks day we went to school, although most of us wore green to symbolise the day

All students went to school which commenced at 9.00am. Here we were broken into international groups, one Irish student in each group and carried out basic research on ideas for a project involving smart materials interacting with light

After this we had a talk on BItalino, which involved electronic circuits such as bitalino and also arduino and raspberry pi. Many existing ideas such as drones and laptops can be controlled automatically by these circuits

In the afternoon we visited PR textiles S.A who produce modern sportswear for brands such as Adidias, Nike, Le Coq Sportif and more. Top athletes such as Usain Bolt and Andy Murray use this company to design their sportswear as it is breathable material, which allows the body to cool down and help performance. Many skiers, swimmers and rowers use this company to design skin tight clothing with tiny pores (2mm) which are created by laser. The clothing is not stitched together but glued together, reducing the risk of irritation to the skin over long periods of wear

We then visited another textile company called Ana Sousa. Founded in 1992, they have 78 shops worldwide, from Russia to Portugal. They have also been in Ireland for the past 2 years. Their new line of clothing is smart clothing. When exposed to UV light (sunlight) the pattern on the garment changes to a different colour than when it was indoors.

In the evening we visited Vilar de Francas, a monastery built in 556 by St. Benedict but redeveloped over the 1400 to 1900’s

To top off a great day, we had an international dinner, with dancing afterwards. Music was also played by the local band called the Rooster band. They are also called the plastic band as they wear plastic noses and some of their instruments are made from plastic

All in all a great day in Barcelos with many more to come!!!

By: Alan McGrane

BITalino presentation

BITalino presentation

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“Dancing” Liam, Shane and Adam

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Skin Tight Swim Wear

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The “Plastic” Band

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