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Brave new world
(The Statesman (India) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Computer science can bring about a change in our lifestyle for good. At Microsoft Imagine Cup 2006 held in Agra, representatives of 42 countries showcased solutions that can make you jog faster, dance better, communicate with doctors more efficiently and give the visually challenged hope, writes Mathures Paul The world is no longer divided on economic or political grounds. It is no longer the urge to fight a common political entity that brings nations together. Issues connected to health map the way nations are cooperating or at least they provide a pretext for future friendship. This was proved at the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2006, a competition that brought together software developers, interface designers and short filmmakers.
The final few rounds of the worldwide championship were held in Agra and Delhi, which were attended by representatives of countries small and big. This year the initial rounds were attended by more than 65,000 students competing across six categories. This is a marked increase over the 35,000 figure in 2005. Imagine Cup is not the place where one should discuss why Microsoft platforms were chosen over others. It is the endeavour of one of the worlds biggest software developers to hunt out talented youngsters and give their solutions a platform. The topic chosen for the competition is of extreme importance and often overlooked Imagine a world where technology enables us to live healthier lives.
During the Agra round, one witnessed and experienced firsthand solutions that point out flaws in our lifestyles and highlighted means of giving the physically challenged a better tomorrow. It is impossible to discuss solutions of every country represented at the competition but here are some of the interesting ones. And, as rightly pointed out by Joe Wilson, Microsofts director of academic initiatives, there were no losers.
Blue Teen from Hong Kong had an interesting project Bluetooth critical zone control system automatic authentication and sterilization system for centralized butchery in order to prevent Avian influenza. The team was represented by Kwok Yee Lok, Kwok Wing Chung, Lau Ka Yi and Ng Chun Yik. Our project is focused on the Avian influenza but it can modified to tackle diseases prevalent in India or Sri Lanka. We believe our system would be an important enhancement for the traditional butchery. The project made use of Bluetooth technology and mobile programming technique to build a system comprising server program (to control the critical zone, example butchery or hospital), dynamic website (assist the management of the critical zone) and smartphone program (for the staff as a key to gain access to enter critical zone). Microsoft Studio .Net 2003 (Visual C#), ASP.Net, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Media Encoder, .Net Compact Framework, .Net Framework 2.0 and Microsoft Internet Information Services have been used in the project. It doesnt matter which platform we use. What we got here is an opportunity to showcase a solution, which other companies dont always allow. The team from Sri Lanka was called Arunalu and was represented by Widanagamage Prasad Sampath Wickramasinghe, Madan Arachchige Chathurika Sandarenu, Meegoda Arachchige Shanaka Perera and Yasith Shyanaka Perera. In developing countries one of the major problems is looking after newborns. With working mothers and nuclear families on the rise, who will look after infants? Our project (Panchayuda) is designed to organise the clinic-related activities of expectant women and mothers with infants. The programme introduces a mechanism by which information about vaccination schedules, prescriptions, treatment and clinic records can be kept up-to-date. Reminders are sent out by the program through SMS and if a mother decides to move to another part of the country, the name of the doctor and nursing home also change. Records are carried forward. Gatot Kaca, the Indonesian team, dealt with an issue that is making headlines everyday obesity and the need to exercise. The team was represented by Narenda Wicaksono (project leader), Wildan Fakhri (software architect), Hardani Maulana (business analyst) and Renaldi Prasetya (system analyst). A few years ago this was not a big issue in developing countries. With more spending power, our lifestyles are changing. People are putting on weight due to sedentary lifestyles. The result: heart diseases. On the other hand we dont like to exercise. According to the Center of Disease Control and WHO, heart disease is the leading cause of death in many countries. Physicians today recommend aerobic exercise because it can decrease 59 per cent the risk factors of heart disease. The team made the crowd exercise through an application that makes good use of music. Our system is designed to optimise exercising by keeping tabs on the heart rate. When you slow down, the music picks up thus asking you to jog/run faster. The heart rate is detected by a pulse detector, which then sends the signal to pocket PC. The pocket PC will then play songs that will make the user speed up. Republic of Koreas project too dealt with exercising. What they came up with was definitely amazing. Imagine dancing to a Jennifer Lopez dance sequence. You have to match every move Lopez makes and if you go wrong she will tell you. The team was represented by Wansang Park, Haeri lee and Hyehwa Jung. The Motion Exerciser first captures the users motion, analyses the data and generates a feedback. Then it calculates the body ratio of the exerciser and that of the model in the fitness video. Finally the solution compares the two rations from head locations to the relative positions of joints. Motion Exerciser also offers online multi-player function based on TCP/IP technology.
Moving West, the teams from the US and UK showcased solutions that had more to do with psychological needs or physical needs that are not usually of concern in developing nations. First, the team from the UK Team Three Pair. The project of Andy Sterland, James Lissiak and Tom Randell was in a league of its own. Family members and friends stay away from one another for long periods of time. During accidents there are cases of trauma and since its not always possible for family members to travel long distances due to work pressure and commitments, our solution allows patients to hear and see near ones virtually. Were not health experts so we spoke with a consultant intensive care clinician, Dr Paul Dark of Manchester Hope Hospital. After our discussions we felt that technology in this area of health care had a real potential to make a difference to peoples lives at a time of great trauma. The Digital Recovery Environment aims at helping people who are admitted to an intensive care unit. We address physical and mental issues relating to both the patient and their family. Even a slight improvement in the patients intensive care experience can have a massive impact on the long-term recovery. The project has been developed using a variety of technologies including WinFX Presentation Foundation, SQL Server 2005, Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax), Microsoft Speech Server 2004 and WSE3. The US project is called PocketDoc. The team of Joanne M Cunnigham, A Brooks Hollar, Brandon S Saunders and William J Calder represent Virginia Commonwealth University. Children, at times, do not get proper medical treatment. Three reasons can be attributed to the problem they forget to perform their treatment, forget how to perform their treatment, or refuse to perform their treatment. PocketDoc provides doctors a tool by which patients can be reminded and their progress can be tracked. For example, if a kid needs to take some medicine, doctors can remind him/her. Canadas OmniClan was represented by two Indians. Their solution tried to overcome language barriers between patients and doctors. The package comes with 12 language interpreters and has the option to accommodate other languages. Dialects and different pronunciation are tackled quite efficiently by the software. Denmarks Team Pervasive Healthcare showcased the Interactive Hospital. The package allows members in a hospital to interact on complex issues sitting anywhere in the globe. At the end of the day, it was the feasibility with which these solutions can be implemented that mattered. Joseph M Joy, judge and head of software development, Microsoft Research India, says, We looked at the problem statement, ease with which solutions can be implemented and also the presentation. The wide applicability of a solution mattered the most. Some of these solutions are worthy enough to be backed by software development companies and implemented anywhere in the globe. Joseph has been involved with all phases of product development during his 15-year tenure with Microsoft and has led the Windows Vista Server Load Balancing team.
Another interesting category was that of gaming Project Hoshimi. The round brought to life the world of Professor Hoshimi and his faithful crew of scientists and programming experts in a fantasy of life and death. Contestants were required to battle there way through this game by using their coding skills and algorithmic ability to devise and implement strategy for a multi-player head-to-head game. Richard Clark, the creator of Project Hoshimi, says, This is the fun side of the competition. Contestants need to pick up health pills and kill germs over a number of levels. Team Atomnium, comprising Manon Gaucher and Flavien Charlon, won the first prize in this section.
Now, to the winners of the software design round Even .ctor of Italy. The team features Giorgio Sardo, Massimo Paternoster, Silvia Perrone and Andrea Sossich. Hello World is an interaction tool between doctors and patients. Often vital pieces of information are left out by patients because he/she does not consider them significant. This is where the package comes into play. Hello World makes it possible to correlate psycho-physiological aspects with the context in which they were actually collected. This new approach will offer a revolutionary tool to people who have to propose therapies for memory-related or stress-related pathologies like anxiety disturbances. Sheila Gulati, director (developer and platform evangelism) of Microsoft India says, Last year the winners had the opportunity to interact in a programme organised with BT. We chose India as the destination for Imagine Cup 2006 because there is a large student population, diverse culture and programmers have a good understanding of the Indian IT industry. This is our way of unlocking the innovation in students. Next year we will work on the theme of technology and education coming together. So, till next year. See you in Seoul.
Copyright 2006 The Statesman Ltd. Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Asia Intelligence Wire.
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