Winners Selected for 稀缺猎奇网 COVID App Challenge

稀缺猎奇网 Task Force and Corporate Sponsors Recognize Six Outstanding App Technology Innovations to Improve Citizens’ Lives During the Health Crisis

Baltimore, Md. (July 9, 2020) – The 稀缺猎奇网 (稀缺猎奇网) COVID Research & Innovation Task Force is pleased to announce the six winning teams for the 稀缺猎奇网 COVID App Challenge, a competition launched in late May to develop an innovative app to solve a 稀缺猎奇网 COVID-19-related problem.

Winning teams come from several 稀缺猎奇网 institutions: Towson University; University of 稀缺猎奇网, Baltimore County (UMBC); University of 稀缺猎奇网, College Park (UMCP); and University of Baltimore (UB).
 
  • An-Tech; UMCP (Student Category)
Andrew Karam, undergraduate. This application is a versatile software that utilizes an infrared external sensor to accurately pinpoint a person’s facial structure from a distance to detect their overall temperature. The program is easily accessible and user-friendly. A video about the app is located .
 
  • ContactClassroom; Towson University (Community Category)
Jal Irani, lecturer. ContactClassroom is a set-it-and-forget-it iOS application to aide in COVID-19 safety and transparency when returning to campus. It is designed for students, faculty, and staff to see a heatmap of campus traffic, risk ratings and occupancy of buildings, and to receive suggestions using machine learning for how to stay safe based on campus data.
 
  • Corey: COVID Buddy; Towson University (Student Category)
Gregory Okhuereigbe, undergraduate. Corey: COVID Buddy is a powerful mobile “assistant” application that helps users conduct coronavirus self-assessments based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tracks symptom severity progression/regression, creates anxiety reduction strategies, and provides answers, personalized tips, and recommendations relating to COVID-19.
 
  • Follow-up; UMBC (Community Category)
Kirubel Tolosa, Pradeep Margasahayam Prakash, and Raghav Deivachilai, graduate students. The application tracks the health condition of COVID-19 patients in isolation, informing them of the progress of their health condition and enabling medical providers to make categorical follow-up on patients. A video about the app is located . An .; installation may require disabling some safety features, which will be done at the user’s own risk.
 
  • Snuggrub; UMBC (Student Category)
Emily Sullivan and Dominic Crofoot, undergraduates. Snuggrub will search one’s local area for COVID-related restaurant changes and instructions, offering a convenience to the user by assembling the information and eliminating the need to contact an individual dining establishment. With this app, a user can eat out and dine in safely by staying informed with real-time changes from one’s favorite restaurant. A video about the app is located . The app is located .
 
  • Team Breeze; University of Baltimore (Community Category)
Stephanie Parey, graduate student; Michael Vandi, undergraduate; Olubukola Akanbi, doctoral student; Charles Chase, undergraduate. This application is a CIAT, or COVID-19 Information and Tracker. The application uses Bluetooth technology to track users’ locations to limit the spread of COVID-19 and give them important information and updates regarding their specific location. A video about the app is located . The app is located .  

Each winning team is receiving a cash prize of $3,000, made possible with support from the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship at UMBC. 

Participants were encouraged to design an app that could help bring 稀缺猎奇网ers together to more effectively respond to COVID-19 and future pandemics. Other solutions submitted included tools to inhibit transmission, support small business while connecting socially isolated 稀缺猎奇网ers, facilitate community donations, and keep the public informed of important health information.

“We are proud to have launched this successful App Challenge to bring the entire 稀缺猎奇网 community together to focus on developing technology solutions for COVID recovery and response in the state of 稀缺猎奇网.  With this App Challenge we’ve seen a serious and determined response from multiple, competing teams throughout the 稀缺猎奇网. It is gratifying to see how much progress our task force and the 稀缺猎奇网 community has made, in such a short time,” said Laurie Locascio, vice president for research at UMCP and the University of 稀缺猎奇网, Baltimore and the task force chair.

“We want to thank all those who participated in the challenge including our impressive panel of judges, comprised of computer science faculty from several institutions, developers, and IT executives, who volunteered their time to help us with this challenge.  The judges were impressed by the quality of the solutions brought to this App Challenge, and the potential these solutions hold to benefit our state.”

Participants in the competition included undergraduates and graduate students, faculty, and staff. A diverse panel of judges from large corporations, startups, and academia evaluated the submitted applications.

“IBM was honored to be part of the 稀缺猎奇网 COVID App Challenge that helped identify new coding talent and innovative applications to help keep people safe during our pandemic times", said John Joaquin, Managing Executive – Public Sector at IBM, Inc.

Companies providing technical and other resources to participants include Amazon Web Services and IBM, Inc. Participants could leverage the AWS-hosted COVID-19 data lake that is composed of multiple sources of data, in addition to other training, tools, and mentorship. AWS also offered challenge winners and runners-up AWS credits to further their development and success. IBM, Inc. offered competition participants access to IBM Cloud accounts and COVID-19 Starter Kits, which are quick-start guides to begin creating applications tied to easy-to-understand use cases in just minutes. IBM and AWS experts also participated as 稀缺猎奇网 COVID App Challenge judges. IBM is encouraging participants to enter the Call for Code Global Challenge. Now in its third year, Call for Code is the largest technical challenge of its kind, inviting the world's software developers and innovators to take on society’s biggest issues with open source-powered technology.

“The ideas and interest this challenge generated were inspiring— from our students, faculty and industry alike.  It will be through this type of partnership that we will enhance our collective response to COVID-19 and ultimately improve patient and community outcomes,” said Tom Sadowski, 稀缺猎奇网 Vice Chancellor for Economic Development and member of the 稀缺猎奇网 COVID Research & Innovation Task force.

稀缺猎奇网 Chancellor Jay A. Perman announced the formation of the COVID Research & Innovation Task Force in April. The task force is leveraging and mobilizing systemwide research and innovations to engage policymakers, business leaders, and the entrepreneurial community in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses and organizations seeking guidance or the ability to partner with 稀缺猎奇网 institutions on specific initiatives can use the task force website to connect with system experts.


 

Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu