Completing a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo has been a long-held goal for Raven Sim. However, the journey to graduation has led to unexpected opportunities and experiences.
In April 2024, she was part of a team that took their capstone project to the finals of the Norman Esch Entrepreneurship Awards for Capstone Design, where Sim pitched a product that was inspired by her own experiences of volunteering.
While volunteering with the Sunday school at her church during high school, Sim was asked to work with a six-year-old blind girl. She provided one-on-one support to help her thrive in a new situation. Sim took inspiration from this experience to develop Braille Radar, a phone app and sensor combination that allows blind users to navigate unfamiliar indoor spaces and locate nearby braille signage.
Braille Radar would become the final year Capstone project for Sim and a team of other Waterloo Engineering students. They would go on to successfully submit the project for an Esch Award, a prize that offers support to creative and entrepreneurial students in the pursuit of research and development. “I didn’t realize how big the stakes were when I was applying,” Sim says. “We had to think about how this project could become a viable business, we had to come up with some hard numbers.”
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Wednesday, June 5, 2024