A University of Lagos student has won the Red Bull Basement Nigeria finals with a device built to catch livestock illness before it becomes visible.
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Jesutofunmi Oniyide, a final-year Mechatronics Engineering student, beat more than 3,000 entries with Vital-Tag, a wearable designed for animals like cows and pigs.
The device tracks temperature, heart rate, and jaw movement, then sends updates to farmers through SMS.
What stands out is the focus on early signals. Changes in feeding behaviour and subtle shifts in vitals often show up before visible symptoms. Catching those patterns early can make the difference between treatment and loss.
There’s also the hardware play. The device is built to run for up to three years without charging, a practical decision in environments where power is unreliable.
Other ideas from the finals followed a similar line. One team worked on underwater robots to detect oil pipeline leaks. Another focused on improving emergency response by routing ambulances to less crowded hospitals.
Not every idea will scale, but the direction is clear. More builders are focusing on real problems, with solutions designed around how people actually live and work.
