Build2gether Inclusive Innovation Challenge: Winners Announced

Wevolver Staff

29 Dec, 2023

Build2gether Inclusive Innovation Challenge: Winners Announced

The Build2gether Inclusive Innovation Challenge has successfully concluded with the announcement of its winners. This challenge represented a collaborative effort to push the boundaries of innovation in creating solutions for people with disabilities.

engineering challenge

- Human-Computer Interaction

- swimming robots

Challenge Overview

The Build2gether Challenge was designed to address gaps in assistive technologies, focusing on enhancing the daily lives of individuals with disabilities. Participants were called upon to develop cutting-edge solutions across three specific themes: gaming and travelling for people with mobility impairments, and swimming for people with visual impairments.

Spotlight on the Ultimate Winner: Bob Hammell

Among the various outstanding submissions, Bob Hammell's projects stood out, earning him the Inclusive Innovation Challenge Ultimate Award. Hammell presented three distinct projects, each targeting a different theme of the challenge:

Underwater Sound Beacons for Visually Impaired Swimmers: An innovative solution utilizing audio cues to help visually impaired swimmers navigate safely in pools.
Image credit: Bob Hammell
Voice-Enabled Video Game Controller: A controller designed for gamers with limited mobility, allowing voice commands to serve as game inputs.
Image credit: Bob Hammell
Interactive Display for Finding Wheelchair-Accessible Places: A touch-enabled display aiding mobility-impaired individuals in locating wheelchair-accessible facilities while travelling.
Image credit: Bob Hammell

Each project demonstrated a deep understanding of the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and offered practical, innovative solutions.

More Winners and Awards

In addition to Hammell's achievements, the Build2gether Challenge recognized numerous other contributions across its varied themes. These awards highlighted the diverse range of innovations, each contributing significantly to the field of assistive technologies.

Learn more

Discover More

The Build2gether Inclusive Innovation Challenge has set a new benchmark in technological advancements for disability support. For a complete overview of the challenge, the winners, and their groundbreaking projects, interested individuals are encouraged to visit this page for detailed information and insights into these remarkable innovations.

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"Human-Computer Interaction"

A new form of human-computer interaction

Researchers from ETH Zurich created a new open-source platform and programming language called LMQL. This programming language makes it easier, cheaper, and safer to interact with large language models like ChatGPT.

Team ETH

fromETH Zurich

28 Apr, 2023

Human-Computer Interaction

The language model ChatGPT is widely known by people in the tech community and the general public. Through a chatbot, one can interact with these language models directly without needing any programming skills. Instead of using code, the user can input commands and questions with natural language.

Sometimes this interaction works well, and the desired result appears on-screen. However, at other times the language model does not understand the command, and the generated output can turn out unexpectedly or even unsatisfactory. What people usually do as a response is that they follow up with another query. ChatGPT will then try to correct its mistakes and adapt its answer. This way of using a language model is messy and random, and it can take quite some time to get the preferred outcome.

To solve this problem, ETH researchers now developed a new programming language and open-source platform called LMQL (Language Model Query Language). Utilizing LMQL allows a user to interact with large language models like ChatGPT in a more elevated and controlled way. This programming language enables a novel way of programming and is a new form of computer-human interaction because the user can directly talk to and instruct the computer.

LMQL is the first language that combines natural and programming languages’ power to interact with these large language models. For simple queries, it is sufficient to guide ChatGPT using natural language. However, for more complex and specific tasks, such as creating a database or analyzing data, it is essential to instruct the language model precisely. Therefore, the formalism of programming languages is needed to guide the language model with formal constructs to ensure the user gets the desired output. Martin Vechev, Professor of Computer Science and one of the creators, clarifies: “Essentially, it is a much more concise way to get what you want. Decreasing the necessary exchanges with the language model also reduces the cos

Image: FingerSound uses wearable ring technology to detect numbers and letters drawn on fingers.

Wearable Computing Ring Allows Users to Write Words and Numbers with Thumb

Technology provides eyes-free way to interact with smart devices

Jason Maderer

fromGeorgia Institute of Technology

08 Oct, 2018

computing

FingerSound: Recognizing unistroke thumb gestures using a ring

With the whirl of a thumb, Georgia Tech researchers have created technology that allows people to trace letters and numbers on their fingers and see the figures appear on a nearby computer screen. The system is triggered by a thumb ring outfitted with a gyroscope and tiny microphone. As wearers strum their thumb across the fingers, the hardware detects the movement.

In a video demonstration, the “written” figures appear on an adjacent screen. In the future, the researchers say the technology could be used to send phone calls to voicemail or answer text messages — all without the wearer reaching for their phone or even looking at it.

“When a person grabs their phone during a meeting, even if trying to silence it, the gesture can infringe on the conversation or be distracting,” said Thad Starner, the Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing professor leading the project. “But if they can simply send the call to voicemail, perhaps by writing an ‘x’ on their hand below the table, there isn’t an interruption.”

Starner also says the technology could be used in virtual reality, replacing the need to take off a head-mounted device in order to input commands via a mouse or keyboard.

The research team wanted to build a system that would always be available and easy to use.

“A ring augments the fingers in a way that is fairly non-obstructive during daily activities. A ring is also socially acceptable, unlike other wearable input devices,” said Cheng Zhang, the Georgia Tech graduate student who created the technology.

The system is called Fingersound. While other gesture-based systems require the user to perform gestures in the air, Fingersound uses the fingers as a canvas. This allows the system to clearly recognize the beginning and end of an intended gesture by using the microphone and gyroscope to detect the signal. In addition to hel