Nearly 25% of senior citizens in Israel live alone, meaning falls can become potentially fatal situations.
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A group of religious women who took part in the 4th annual women's hackathon hosted by the LevTech Entrepreneurship Center at the Jerusalem College of Technology has developed an innovative solution for this problem, which won this year's competition in a category submitted to the competition by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, whose brief was to use image processing technology for people's benefit.
The winning group designed computer vision technology that detects when an elderly person falls, then immediately notifies his or her emergency contact.
While wearable technology does exist that allows seniors to call for emergency help, sometimes emergencies arise in which they are unable to press the button needed to make the call. This technology detects a fall from the onset and alerts the appropriate individual.
"These women who participate in the hackathon are truly amazing," said Orlee Guttman, Co-Founder of the LevTech Entrepreneurship Center. "Every year we become more impressed with the innovation and execution. We are excited to invite them to continue these wonderful ideas and turn them into products through our accelerator program."
Over 130 students from the Jerusalem College of Technology's (JCT) Tal, Tvuna, and Lustig campuses for women, comprised of religious and Ultra-Orthodox students, participated in the 44-hour hackathon, which concluded last Friday.
The group that came in second place chose a challenge from Intel, which was to try and solve three issues for paid parking lots: The expensive and complicated hardware that parking lots use; the negative experience that drivers can have while looking for a space; and the monetary loss to parking lots from vacant spaces.
The group developed software that notifies parking lot owners about the availability of parking spots in their lots, allowing the lot owners to guide drivers to the most convenient spaces for them. The group also suggested using empty parking spots to projecting advertisements and targeted messages to users.
Third place went to another group whose solution uses image processing to detect a universal hand symbol specifically designed for those experiencing domestic abuse. In response to an increase in domestic violence during the COVID pandemic, the Canadian Women's Foundation in April 2020 created an international hand symbol to be used by someone who feels threatened but might not be able to report it. The group's solution installed technology on public security cameras, which pick up the signal and then alert authorities.
"We were trying to create something that would help people and thought that domestic violence is such a devastating issue worldwide, and we all know someone who has gone through something like that," said team member Mimi Meyer. "We thought instead of detecting the violence, we can detect someone in distress. We think this can make a real difference."
Amdocs presented this year's participants with a challenge to develop software to stop bullying in schools before it starts. One team developed software that asks school children a simple question each month: "Who are your friends?"
"A lot of situations caused by bullying at school (I.e., suicide etc.) are discovered only after it's too late. By analyzing this data regularly, you can track the students' social situation and understand what is going on before it gets out of hand," said team member Chana Leah Silverberg.
A particularly timely solution, given Israel's recent campaign against Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, was an electronic bracelet for the hearing impaired that vibrates when it detects a rocket siren. The technology is smart enough to differentiate from other alarms or similar sounds.
Judges at this year's competition included Dr. Shay Fleishon, CEO of the Jerusalem Development Authority's BioJerusalem Company; Galia Kut, entrepreneur and investor; Klony Lieberman, VP of R&D at Sixdof Space; Danna Hochstein Mann, VC and innovation executive; and founding director of ALYNovation; and Raissa Hacohen, partner at HUR.
This year's hackathon operated as a hybrid model, with most students in person on two different campuses, one in Jerusalem and one in Ramat Gan, while the rest participated remotely from all over the country.
JCT trains close to 20% of all women studying computer science in Israel. After the hackathon, students can enter the LevTech Lab Pre-Accelerator to further develop their products or create their own start-ups.
"An incredible amount of creativity and mental fortitude was displayed at this hackathon," said Fleishon. "The women approached the various challenges that arose with a high level of innovation and professionalism."
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