‘Braille Tech’ Wins IUPUI JagStart Competition
The judging panel included technology managers from the Indiana University Innovation and Commercialization Office.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA student behind the idea for an app designed to help people with visual impairments use smartphones has taken the top prize at IUPUI’s annual JagStart competition. Braille Tech, pitched by graduate student Madhura Mhatre, allows users to wear a glove that uses sensors to turn letters into digital Braille.
Mhatre’s concept would use tactile feedback to give the user sensations similar to reading raised dots, as used in Braille. The idea topped 13 other entries to claim the $2,500 award.
Second place went to "Coining Forces," an idea for a smartphone app from freshman Kristina Tinsley that connects veterans and their families to business discounts and job listings in their area. "Waste, Erased," a concept for a zero-waste specialty grocery store by senior Monica Kinsey, took third place. The Audience Choice award went to senior Thomas Freestone’s idea for "AggroByte," which is an artificial intelligence automatic weeder for farmers.
The judging panel included technology managers from the Indiana University Innovation and Commercialization Office, as well as a finalist-selection team that included a business mentor group.
Technology managers from the Indiana University Innovation and Commercialization Office were involved in the review and scoring process, along with a finalist-selection team that included a business mentor group.