Louisiana college students showed off groundbreaking technology projects — from a mobile app that can measure respiratory health to an AI emcee that can host events — in hopes of winning an inaugural tech competition Wednesday.
More than 60 students, researchers and tech entrepreneurs gathered at the Estuary at the Water Campus in Baton Rouge for the three-day Nexus Technology Cup hosted by Nexus Louisiana, a nonprofit business development organization.
The competition highlights innovative developments with students and tech enthusiasts present software that to provides solutions to every-day challenges. A total of $100,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the winning teams, with the top college team getting $15,000. The competition ends Thursday.
Groups from Louisiana State University, University of Louisiana at Monroe, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of New Orleans and Grambling State University presented their ideas Wednesday.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette students Hritika Pandey and Colin Dupuis shared their app, “RespirAPPtion.” The health monitoring app uses data from a phone camera, a smart watch and a shirt with QR codes on the front to monitor the user’s respiratory functions.
The application allows people with existing respiratory conditions to keep up with their health at home, Pandey and Dupuis explained to the panel. That is helpful for people with pre-existing conditions, because they may be scared to go to the doctor because of COVID, Dupuis said.
Mehrasa Amiri Besheli, an LSU student, presented “AI and People News Evaluation”, which scans news articles and presents them to readers in the most objective way possible.
“We want people to form their own opinion … APNE is the first step,” Amiri Besheli said.
Mahmood Jasim, an LSU professor who also worked on APNE, said it took them about eight months to develop the software. They came up with the idea after they saw a fake photo circulating online that commenters believed was real, despite it having a community note explaining it was fake, he said.
Jasim said there are plans to upgrade and expand APNE in the future, so it can analyze videos and podcasts.
“It’s just fantastic, the enthusiasm I am seeing,” he said.
The judges’ panel was made up of women who all had connections to Louisiana. The judges evaluated the projects by asking how difficult their projects were, the novelty of the solutions they created and other criteria.
The idea for the competition came partly from Nexus Louisiana President and CEO Tony Zanders’ memories of going to Louisiana science fairs. Zanders recently took his daughter to a high school hackathon and was impressed with the students’ work.
Zanders told the students Wednesday that Nexus Louisiana promotes new technology across all types of industries to improve the overall human population, which is what the judges were looking for at the competition.
“These teams have worked not only so hard to build what they have built, but to prepare for today. There’s a lot that goes into it,” he said.
