A first-year student at Waterloo Engineering is competing in Redmond, Washington this week in a global event for student app developers sponsored by Microsoft.
Kathrine von Friedl, who is studying mechatronics engineering, is on a three-member team called SafeTrip that developed an app to track the eye movements of drivers during a hackathon in Toronto earlier this year.
Waterloo Engineering student Kathrine von Friedl (centre) with SafeTrip teammates Partoo Vafaeikia (left) and Elaheh Jalalpour.
The team is one of 12 finalists for the Americas in the Imagine Cup, a worldwide competition that challenges students to “create applications that shape how we live, work and play.” Members were also featured in a story on the Microsoft website.
The SafeTrip app takes a photo every second for analysis by a Microsoft tool called Azure Custom Vision to determine when a driver’s eyes are closed for three seconds or more. If so, it is designed to sound an alarm and alert emergency officials.
The winners of the Americas event on Friday earn $15,000 US and a spot in the Imagine Cup world championships, which have a $100,000 US grand prize, next week.
SafeTrip also includes Elaheh Jalapour and Partoo Vafaeikia from the University of Toronto.