Imagine Cup sets health challenge

Health Conscious: R to L Nathan Fisher, Chris Wilson and mentor Chris Loftus.

Imagine Cup sets health challenge

Thursday 9 March 2006

Tomorrow, Friday 10 March, two teams from the Department of Computer Science will be representing the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in the UK final for Microsoft's Imagine Cup UK 2006, which takes place at the company's Reading headquarters.

Now in its 4th year, the Imagine Cup pits teams of students from across the UK and the rest of the world against each other in six categories, Software Design, Algorithm, Information Technology, Short Film, Interface Design and Project Hoshimi – Programming Battle. As well as receiving a range of electronic equipment and a money prize for the department, tomorrow’s winners will also go on to represent the UK at the World finals which will be held in Delhi, India, later in the year.

The theme for this year’s competition is “Imagine a world where technology enables us to live healthier lives.” Representing UWA will be the ‘Lost Boys’ and ‘Health Conscious’.

The Lost Boys, BEng student Ben Noble, MEng student Matt Sharpe and PHD student Stephen Pugh along with their mentor Mark Neil, have devised a complete health monitoring system known as Salveo which monitors a person’s movement, heart rate, body temperature and more, calculating a user’s energy expenditure in real time.

Health Conscious, which comprises MEng student Chris Wilson and BSc student Nathan Fisher working with mentor Chris Loftus, have devised heaf, which is designed to help integrate a healthy balanced diet into a hectic lifestyle. Innovations include a real-time cooking assistant, a meal planner, information on where to get ingredients and a nutrition monitor and advisor.

The work of the Aberystwyth teams has been co-ordinated by Sandy Spence from the Department of Computer Science and a member of Microsoft’s Academic Advisory Board.
“The way this competition is structured gives students an excellent opportunity to sell themselves, not just to Microsoft, but also other large companies who will take part in the judging. It is also reflects the excellent standard of work produced by students here at Aberystwyth – this is the second year the Department has been represented at the final, and to have two teams in the final 10 is no mean achievement.”

In last year’s competition UWA student Joseph Wardell joined forces with Adrian Collier from the University of Bournemouth, Andrew Webber from City University in London to form Team Bit Shifters. They beat off seven other teams to win the coveted UK title and a trip to Japan to represent the UK in the worldwide finals.

Their application, OneReach, enables gap-year students to blog their journey and experiences from anywhere in the world from their SmartPhone. Parents and friends at home can view their progress, their blogs, pictures, and videos on a website and keep in contact with them. OneReach is designed to enhance the gap-year travelling experience; sharing it with parents and friends and also facilitating community interaction with fellow travellers.

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