Congressman McGovern Visits to Recognize Three Mass Academy Students Selected as Winners of 2023 Congressional App Challenge
A mobile application to assist visually impaired persons as they navigate crosswalks designed by students from the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute has been selected as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge from Massachusetts’ Second Congressional District. In celebration, Congressman James McGovern (D) Worcester, visited with the winning team – Amy Chen, Nihitha Reddy, and Anne Tie – at Mass Academy on Thursday, March 28, 2024.
“Anne, Amy, and Nihitha put together an incredible app that not only solves a problem but makes our community more accessible. Their talent and leadership is what gives me hope for future generations and is a continuous reminder of the rigorous STEM education we offer students in Massachusetts. I could not be more impressed about the concept they developed as a team,” said Congressman McGovern.
The students’ app, LaunchGuide, uses a camera to continuously monitor the user’s surroundings and identify the “walk” or “stop” pedestrian crosswalk signal. Based on what is detected, the app will return an audible signal indicating whether it is safe to cross. This project was supported by Mass Academy’s Computer Science teacher, Angela Taricco, who presented her class with the challenge of creating web-based applications to address a community need as part of the Apps for Good project. The students were inspired by their involvement with Liz Myska’s Walkfit program and received support from Jack Peacock, of Eye Audio Radio, Inc. More information about the students’ project can be found here.
“Our project-based curriculum is designed to help students understand the impact their work can have toward improving the lives of others. We are tremendously proud of Amy, Anne, and Nihitha—and all our students—for their dedication and commitment to developing a web-based application to address an important community need. And we are grateful for the support from our legislators for providing opportunities like this for our students to showcase their work,” said Anne Ludes, Director of Mass Academy of Math and Science.
Comments are closed.