“Emerald Refuge,” a central resource for refugees in the Seattle area; “MABuddy,” a website where people with food allergies can share information about restaurants; “Memoro,” an app that saves time on busywork so therapists can devote more time to clients.
These and dozens of other ideas were on display Dec. 8 at Mary Gates Hall on the University of Washington campus as 155 students in Dave Stearns’ INFO 200 class displayed their final projects.
The class, Intellectual Foundations of Informatics, is a key introductory course for students who intend to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Informatics or are considering applying to the Information School’s undergraduate program. In it, students study how people interact with information, including the use of systems for storage, organization and retrieval.
For their final projects, students work together in small teams to solve information problems. Many of the projects are concepts for websites or apps, while some are working prototypes of the students’ ideas.
Stearns said one of his favorites was “Smart Assist,” a wearable headset for visually impaired people designed to describe the person’s surroundings, read things such as menus and gauge facial expressions.
Here is a list of the award winners:
- Best Presentation: Evacufind; Memero
- Best Implemented (with functional code): Emerald Refuge; EZ Teach
- Best User Experience: Victims First; WA Public Tutoring
- Most Potential for Social Impact: Smart Assist; Drive Safe
- Best In Show (Popular Vote): MABuddy