'Hackathon' Winners Provide Solutions for Fighting COVID-19
2020-05-07
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1United Nations officials are praising winners of an international "hackathon" for creating technical solutions to fight the disease COVID-19.
2The hackathon, called CodeTheCurve, was launched on April 6.
3More than 160 young people from 26 countries entered the competition.
4The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, provided support for the hackathon.
5Additional support came from the American technology company IBM and the European software business SAP.
6At first, each team received more than 20 hours of training from computer experts, the hackathon's organizers and other technology companies.
7Then, the actual competition began.
8The teams - made up of members under age 25 - had just seven days to develop their COVID-19 solutions.
9During this period, they received help from technical experts, all of them volunteers.
10In the end, the hackathon's organizers declared three winning teams in different areas.
11The team honored for its solution in the "social and health issues" category was recognized as the overall CodeTheCurve winner.
12This team, called X-COV, was based in Spain.
13It created a data model combining artificial intelligence - AI - programs, machine learning and imaging technology to analyze chest X-rays of COVID-19 patients.
14The device-based tool is designed to speed up the process of identifying severe coronavirus cases and to help doctors make faster, more informed decisions.
15Joaquin Lopez led the Spanish team.
16He told an online event announcing the winners that his team was made up of students, radiologists and researchers.
17The project began when Lopez started talking with doctors and hospital officials.
18He asked them if there was an immediate need in the medical community to process x-ray data from COVID-19 patients.
19The answer, he said, was a very strong 'yes.'
20"Do you have the data? And they said yes, we have tons of data. If you want to analyze chest x-rays from patients, we have thousands of them in this hospital and there are many other hospitals that will help you on this."
21Lopez said one thing his team learned was the importance of doing research.
22He said they spent a lot of time talking with people who would use the system, and not just working on coding.
23Another winning team was VRoam of Toronto, Canada.
24This team - made up completely of high school students - won in the "Ensuring Continued Learning" category.
25A representative of the group, Christy Xie, said the team developed an app that uses virtual reality - VR - to show a virtual world.
26This software program lets users explore different places around the world while exercising.
27The system uses AI technology to present well-known places and provide facts about them.
28Users are required to wear VR eyeglasses, which are connected to a mobile device.
29Christy Xie said the idea came about because members of her team were all stuck at home because of public safety measures.
30Some had to cancel planned trips to other countries.
31In addition, the students had limited exercise choices.
32She said the app provides a solution for all these issues.
33"It is an app that combines exercise and learning together, so that people are able to travel the world and they can learn, visit historical sites, and exercise from home."
34She added that the experience showed her team how unprepared communities were for the health crisis and how the situation affected the whole education system.
35"It really just emphasizes the point that anything is possible. Like, we could be hit by a pandemic, but at the same time we are able to work together as a team."
36The third winning team, called COVIDImpact, was led by Ali Serag of Vancouver, Canada.
37His team developed an assistance solution for small businesses, which has already begun working with some Canadian companies.
38Serag explained that the system is designed to "equip founders and business owners with everything they need to immunize their business to COVID-19 and its after-effects."
39The system identifies government and private programs that can assist and provide financial support to small businesses during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
40It includes collecting real-time news about the coronavirus and providing this news to businesses.
41Serag said the tool uses AI and machine learning to predict how small businesses might be affected in future pandemics to permit them to take steps to prepare beforehand.
42I'm Bryan Lynn.
1United Nations officials are praising winners of an international "hackathon" for creating technical solutions to fight the disease COVID-19. 2The hackathon, called CodeTheCurve, was launched on April 6. More than 160 young people from 26 countries entered the competition. 3The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, provided support for the hackathon. Additional support came from the American technology company IBM and the European software business SAP. 4At first, each team received more than 20 hours of training from computer experts, the hackathon's organizers and other technology companies. Then, the actual competition began. 5The teams - made up of members under age 25 - had just seven days to develop their COVID-19 solutions. During this period, they received help from technical experts, all of them volunteers. 6In the end, the hackathon's organizers declared three winning teams in different areas. 7The team honored for its solution in the "social and health issues" category was recognized as the overall CodeTheCurve winner. This team, called X-COV, was based in Spain. It created a data model combining artificial intelligence - AI - programs, machine learning and imaging technology to analyze chest X-rays of COVID-19 patients. 8The device-based tool is designed to speed up the process of identifying severe coronavirus cases and to help doctors make faster, more informed decisions. 9Joaquin Lopez led the Spanish team. He told an online event announcing the winners that his team was made up of students, radiologists and researchers. The project began when Lopez started talking with doctors and hospital officials. He asked them if there was an immediate need in the medical community to process x-ray data from COVID-19 patients. The answer, he said, was a very strong 'yes.' 10"Do you have the data? And they said yes, we have tons of data. If you want to analyze chest x-rays from patients, we have thousands of them in this hospital and there are many other hospitals that will help you on this." 11Lopez said one thing his team learned was the importance of doing research. He said they spent a lot of time talking with people who would use the system, and not just working on coding. 12Another winning team was VRoam of Toronto, Canada. This team - made up completely of high school students - won in the "Ensuring Continued Learning" category. 13A representative of the group, Christy Xie, said the team developed an app that uses virtual reality - VR - to show a virtual world. This software program lets users explore different places around the world while exercising. The system uses AI technology to present well-known places and provide facts about them. Users are required to wear VR eyeglasses, which are connected to a mobile device. 14Christy Xie said the idea came about because members of her team were all stuck at home because of public safety measures. Some had to cancel planned trips to other countries. In addition, the students had limited exercise choices. 15She said the app provides a solution for all these issues. 16"It is an app that combines exercise and learning together, so that people are able to travel the world and they can learn, visit historical sites, and exercise from home." 17She added that the experience showed her team how unprepared communities were for the health crisis and how the situation affected the whole education system. 18"It really just emphasizes the point that anything is possible. Like, we could be hit by a pandemic, but at the same time we are able to work together as a team." 19The third winning team, called COVIDImpact, was led by Ali Serag of Vancouver, Canada. His team developed an assistance solution for small businesses, which has already begun working with some Canadian companies. 20Serag explained that the system is designed to "equip founders and business owners with everything they need to immunize their business to COVID-19 and its after-effects." 21The system identifies government and private programs that can assist and provide financial support to small businesses during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes collecting real-time news about the coronavirus and providing this news to businesses. 22Serag said the tool uses AI and machine learning to predict how small businesses might be affected in future pandemics to permit them to take steps to prepare beforehand. 23I'm Bryan Lynn. 24Bryan Lynn reported this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 25We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 26_____________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28hackathon - n. an event at which people come together to write or improve computer programs 29analyze - v. study something carefully 30tons - n. an extremely large amount 31coding - n. a language used to program computers 32app - n. a program for a smartphone or other device that performs a special function 33virtual reality - n. a set of images and sounds produced by a computer to represent a real place or situation 34emphasize - v. show that something is important by bringing attention to it 35immunize - v. protect a person or animal against disease