Description

“Battling wolves today strengthens you for battling lions tomorrow.” With never-ending news around the clock and shocking statistics, the moment we realized that COVID-19 has a long-lasting effect for years to come and the healthcare capacity in Sri Lanka is limited as well the rupee has hit an all-time low, thought this would be the best time for the innovators in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields to come forward and tackle the issue before it gets worse. We, IEEE student branch of University of Peradeniya accepted the challenge, and initiated versusCOVID, as a competition focusing on undergraduate students in Sri Lanka which takes the form of a hackathon. This became a great solution to minimize the impact of this pandemic outbreak in Sri Lanka and simultaneously brought our nation's innovative minds into the spotlight. The first step was to call for project proposals from interested undergraduates who have an innovative vision on minimizing the effect of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka. The competitors were expected to work individually or as a team. Out of the project proposals we received, 13 proposals were shortlisted and sent to further consideration. The proposals that moved onto this stage were consist of many remarkable ideas such as, A novel approach to streamline home delivery of goods and products via a mobile application, Detection and Disinfection Multi-Purpose Semi-Automated Robot, An RFID activated band to track people in quarantine, Modified Hazmat Suit With Controllable Inside Temperature, Predict and Prioritize suspected COVID-19 patients using image processing and Deep Learning approaches, A band which can track vital signs of humans, A method to connect excess food sources with people in need during the COVID19 pandemic, A solution that requires zero hand contact for opening and closing of doors, An approach at developing vertical farming to overcome food shortages, AI-Based Fever, Face Mask detection Camera and Door Access Control System, Automated Sanitizer Sprayer for general usage that can be installed, An IoT Project where the ventilator is controlled remotely via a local area network and finally E-Learning and Student Management platform. All the proposals reminded us that “Life throws challenges and every challenge comes with rainbows and lights to conquer it.” The judging panel of versusCOVID consisted of Faculty members from the Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya and representatives from all our patron companies. There were a total of 16 judges representing different fields of study. The judges took the proposals into concern based on many different categories. After carefully evaluating the proposals, Footsie, Find Delivery and Modified Hazmat Suit were selected as the best 3 ideas at the end of that phase. These 3 teams were awarded cash prizes by London Stock Exchange. And the top 10 teams were selected for a one-on-one mentorship program with SLASSCOM Sri Lanka. They will be mentored to develop their ideas into Start-Up companies. All the teams who came up to the judging phase received a valuable e-certificate as an appreciation for bringing forward their innovative skills to help Sri Lanka at this time of crisis.