Meet the top five global finalists
These solutions are in the running for the $200,000 USD grand prize and a chance to see their solution deployed.
Business Buddy
Participant location: Australia
Small businesses are facing unprecedented economic disruption because of COVID-19. On top of that, these businesses are struggling to keep up with the latest COVID-19 protocols, closures, and relief opportunities. Enter Business Buddy, a one-stop-shop that delivers personalized and responsive updates to small businesses. The ‘My Buddy’ chatbot and ‘My Services’ virtual pinboard provide business owners with useful, tailored information, such as loan and grant eligibility and alerts on government policies in their area.
OffShip
Participant location: Canada
The advent of online shopping marked a major shift in consumer retail practices. With the growth in online shopping comes an increase in shipping and carbon-based combustion that can lead to global warming. OffShip is a browser extension that monitors items in your shopping basket and estimates their carbon footprint based on the weight and distance traveled. The app then offers you the chance to counteract the carbon footprint using carbon offset credits to a charity of your choice
Safe Queue
Participant location: United States
Even during a time of social distancing, we often need to go to shops, pharmacies, and other establishments. It can be difficult to safely queue, either because others might get too close to you, or adverse weather conditions might make it difficult to stay in line for too long. This is where Safe Queue can assist. This simple app requires no login, but works using QR codes and your location to hold your place in line while you wait nearby, say in a car in a parking lot. When it’s your turn to enter the establishment, you simply show your phone at the front of the line and can gain access
SchoolListIt
Participant location: United States
Built by a parent for parents, this tool makes it easy to understand what assignments are due and when. The app can take information from Google Classroom and WordPress sites and turn these into mobile-friendly assignments with due dates. SchoolListIt is also an open platform for teachers and others to share information and offer advice through a secure collaboration platform. The app even works offline for those students who might not have access to a reliable internet connection.
The Call for Code University Edition winner is Pandemap
With social distancing being the new normal, a worldwide student team developed the Pandemap app to provide users with recommended routes of travel that avoid heavily trafficked areas. The team will receive $10K and an opportunity to interview with IBM.
View the solutions
by region
Explore the map to learn more about the solutions and the teams who created them.
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Asia Pacific
Global Winner :
Agrolly – Farming TechnologyParticipant location: Brazil, India, Taiwan, Mongolia
Dependent on rainfall and temperature, the agriculture industry is one of the most vulnerable to climate change. This climate risk assessment solution, based on The Weather Company data, aims to help farmers make more educated decisions, obtain the necessary financing, and improve their economic outcomes. Agrolly combines the weather forecast with the crop water requirements and provides a forum module for the network between the farmers for the exchange of information and solutions.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
IBM Cloud Object Storage → IBM Watson Studio → IBM Watson Assistant → The Weather Company
Finalist : Business Buddy
Participant location: Australia
Small businesses are facing unprecedented economic disruption because of COVID-19. On top of that, these businesses are struggling to keep up with the latest COVID-19 protocols, closures, and relief opportunities. Enter Business Buddy, a one-stop-shop that delivers personalized and responsive updates to small businesses. The ‘My Buddy’ chatbot and ‘My Services’ virtual pinboard provide business owners with useful, tailored information, such as loan and grant eligibility and alerts on government policies in their area.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
Regional Winner: AI Farm
Participant location: India
Extreme weather events and unpredictable temperatures related to climate change are impacting farmers and their crop yields. This intelligent system aims to provide farmers with the information they need to adapt their crop strategies to optimize water usage and control disease. This low-cost system uses sensors to monitor ground water levels, temperature, and humidity. The data is sent to the IBM Watson IoT platform and a hyperlocal weather forecast specific to the farm is created with Node-RED flows.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
IBM Watson Visual Recognition → IBM Language Translator → Node-RED IBM Object Storage → IBM IoT Platform →
University : Pandemap
Participant location: United States, India, Turkey, Japan
In the era of social distancing, large organizations and institutions such as universities are finding it difficult to monitor and measure crowd flow. This is where Pandemap can be useful. With a variety of data sources, the app can provide individual users with recommended routes of travel that avoid heavily trafficked areas. Administrators get an aggregated view so that they can make predictions and adjustments for their locations.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
Rechargd
Participant location: Australia
With as much as 70 percent fewer CO2 emissions than conventional counterparts, the environmental benefit of electric vehicles (EV) is undeniable. Many drivers are interested in owning an EV, but widespread adoption is held back by the dearth of charging stations. As a solution, this team created Rechargd, an EV sharing platform that connects household owners of charging stations to EV drivers wishing to recharge their cars. This platform allows owners to monetize their extra time or physical assets while consumers get cheaper and more available services through increased supply.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
Are You Well?
Participant location: India
The global COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed medical systems and left patients worried, particularly when they think they might have symptoms. This mobile app is designed to help individuals evaluate their symptoms, aided by IBM Watson Assistant. With an IBM Watson chatbot, users are asked if they are feeling well and to describe any symptoms. The AI system then ranks the users’ input by severity level and connects users with medical professionals to further evaluate if the symptoms are at a high severity level. A dashboard is available for health professionals to understand where symptoms are appearing and to help them plan for a potential outbreak.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
IBM Watson Assistant → IBM Cloudant → Kubernetes deployment → Carbon Design System
Epidemic Surveillance Suite
Participant location: India, United States
Tracking and slowing the spread of COVID-19 has been an enormous challenge. This team’s answer is Epidemic Surveillance Suite, a comprehensive platform that can digitize contact tracing, automate end-to-end case management, enable collaboration, and generate actionable insights. It works with existing contact tracing mobile apps and helps jurisdictions collect, analyze, monitor, and disseminate critical COVID-19 information to public health officials for critical decision making.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
IBM Cloudant → IBM Cloud Functions → IBM Watson Assistant → IBM Watson Studio → IBM Blockchain Platform →
Prudence
Participant location: Pakistan, Hong Kong
COVID-19 is taking a toll on healthcare professionals who continue to care for a deluge of coronavirus patients without the protection, resources, and support they might need. A nurse with firsthand COVID-19 experience teamed up with data scientists to create an AI-driven app that proactively protects the well being of front-line health workers. This app enables workers to monitor their mental health, find activities to release stress, get support immediately via a chabot, and find a therapist for follow-up, if needed. It also generates summary reports of stress levels to provide managers with the insights needed to manage their teams proactively and solve problems in real time.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
TeacherAssist
Participant location: India
COVID-19 has shifted education online, and today’s teachers are struggling to keep their students engaged in this new format. This solution empowers teachers to track their students’ attentiveness and effectiveness so they can deliver better content. The web application prompts students with relevant questions at intervals, and their answers are reported back to the teacher in a dashboard, which helps teachers see student engagement rates and tailor their lesson content as needed.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
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Europe
Regional Winner: TheHeroLoop
Participant location: Sweden, India, United States, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Due to the pandemic, individuals around the globe are isolated or in need of help. On the other end are organizations that want to help but may not know how. TheHeroLoop is a responsive web app that uses AI to match volunteers with those in need based on location, skills and availability. User activities are protected by blockchain, AI/machine learning, and IBM technologies that analyze every incoming text, call or voice note to ensure users’ privacy and safety at all times.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
IBM Watson Tone Analyzer → IBM Watson Personality Insights → IBM Cloud Object Storage → IBM Red Hat OpenShift Online Pro → The Weather Company
University : Lupe
Participant location: United Kingdom
During the COVID-19 lockdown, small food and beverage businesses were particularly affected, with perishable products stuck in refrigerators and on shelves unable to be distributed to those with the greatest need. The Lupe secure blockchain platform provides a simple way for small businesses to continue to find customers digitally in the local community — and where food isn’t sold, offer a way for that food to be distributed to local charities and food banks.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
Climatic Data (em)powered Smallholders
Participant location: Peru, United Kingdom
One billion small-scale farmers produce 70 percent of the world’s food, yet extreme weather caused by climate change impacts their livelihood. This simple app helps farmers understand how to optimize crop growth based on weather and other information. Climatic data (em)powered Smallholders also provides timely alerts that can help small farmers organize their days.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
EddieMote
Participant location: Germany
This remote education tool offers a playful, interactive learning environment for both students and teachers. In an era when a lot of schooling is moving online, teachers need applications that don’t just provide information but engage students in new ways. Beyond providing grades, homework assignments, schedules, and a virtual playground feature, EddieMote also uses a fun avatar to add a new level of engagement.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
IBM Watson Assistant → IBM Text to Speech → IBM Speech to Text → IBM Android SDK →
FireMan
Participant location: Latvia
Getting the right information to firefighters in a way that they can quickly process is a major challenge. FireMan addresses this by providing an intelligent headset, that beyond protection provides a mixed reality experience. FireMan uses infrared technology to improve visibility in dark or smoky environments. It uses AI for object detection, and an accelerometer is available to monitor if a firefighter falls or is critically injured.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
Neco
Participant location: France
Learning through play is a key way children develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain self-confidence. It’s also an ingenious way to teach them about climate change, which is what the Neco app aims to do. Through a lovable cat character Chacha, a child is given fun facts, asked questions, or challenged through games on topics like water sustainability, recycling, deforestation, and air quality.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
IBM Cloud Foundry → IBM Watson Assistant → IBM Db2 on Cloud →
Water Underground
Participant location: Greece
Water, a precious natural resource essential to life, is being drastically impacted by climate change. In addition to over-pumping, fertilizers and other types of pollution gradually and steadily deteriorate water quality. This team created Water Underground, an IoT and Cloud platform to help both local and global communities with water sustainability by providing real-time monitoring information, quality and quantity trends of underground water.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
IBM IoT Platform → IBM Watson Studio → IBM Cloud Foundry → IBM Cloudant → IBM Watson Machine Learning →
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Greater China
Regional Winner: BlockMap
Participant location: China
As communities reopen while the threat of COVID-19 remains, individuals might have difficulty discerning the risk everyday activities, such as going to the office or grocery store, can pose. BlockMap aims to help. This global pandemic information sharing platform shows the risk level around a user and sends an immediate alert when he or she steps into a high-risk location. This notice is also broadcast to health, business, and government leaders so they can take action to contain the spread.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
Climate Impact Rating System
Participant location: China
As the population grows, so does the demand for energy. Energy usage in the commercial goods sector accounts for a considerable proportion of all consumption. This team created a comprehensive Climate Impact Rating (CIR) System to build consumer awareness about the energy costs associated with the products they buy. With this label, consumers would be able to see greenhouse gas emissions, energy footprints, efficiency ratings, and other impacts on consumables. Armed with this knowledge, consumers could purchase products that are best for the environment, incentivizing manufacturers and retailers to make more energy sustainably focused goods.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
Neighborhood
Participant location: China
COVID-19 brought life to a screeching halt and forced communities to redefine themselves. This team created Neighborhood, an intelligent community platform, to help residents cope with the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 while staying connected to property and business owners as well as fellow residents. The platform offers online utility payments, a community mall, repair and maintenance services, virtual voting, as well as rich interaction such as entertainment, social clubs, second-hand goods sharing, and more.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
WarmWind
Participant location: China
The COVID-19 pandemic is a threat not only because of the risk of infection but also because of supply chain disruptions. Delay of medical supplies and living essentials can lead to additional deaths and social unrest. This team developed a method to improve efficiency in the distribution of critical supplies, and greatly reduce the infection risk during the distribution process. The WarmWind solution analyzes historical pandemic data by region, local government policy, and disease projections with an AI-based algorithm that is capable of selecting optimal routes of distribution.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
IBM Kubernetes Cluster → IBM Cloud Foundry → IBM Watson Studio →
WinterRed: Global Infodemic Fact-Check Platform
Participant location: China
As COVID-19 spread worldwide, disinformation related to the virus evolved into a full-blown “infodemic.” To help fact-check platforms in the fight against disinformation, this team created WinterRed, a solution that fosters data sharing and increased cooperation. The data-collection service captures information that requires fact-checking from the internet. The trust mechanism verifies the information, and shares the verification with different platforms through blockchain. This allows different platforms to collaborate and share their work with ease, ensuring quick responses to disinformation.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
IBM Blockchain Platform → IBM Kubernetes Cluster → IBM Cloud Databases for PostgreSQL → IBM Watson →
Regional Winner: Home Evacuee Support
Participant location: Japan
While extreme weather events increase with climate change, evacuation center capacities can decrease due to COVID-19. As a result, more disaster victims are forced to shelter in place, and public officials are challenged by how to best support them at home. The Home Evacuee Support app allows disaster victims to use a mobile or web app to report their needs to local organizations, such as the need for fresh water, food, supplies like blankets, or medical supplies. Through these features, aid workers can prioritize supply delivery to home evacuees based on health, age, and other factors.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
IBM Cloudant → IBM Cloud Functions → IBM Watson Assistant → Node-RED
Climate for NINJA
Participant location: Japan
Nearly 80 percent of developers acknowledge that climate change is a problem, but the majority don’t know where to start when building solutions to address it. Climate for NINJA provides developers a way to tackle energy sustainability through air-conditioning system efficiency. This API can monitor air-conditioning data, visualize the trend of room temperature versus outdoor temperature, and recommend when the air conditioner should stop running to optimize efficiency. Given that space cooling is expected to triple by 2050, air-conditioning system advances can help greatly reduce climate change.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
Node-RED IBM Watson IoT Platform → The Weather Company APIs IBM Cloudant →
COVSAFE
Participant location: Japan
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many supermarkets are struggling to bring customers safely back into their stores. The COVSAFE application enables companies and customers to see real-time threats and maintain a low COVID-19 risk environment. It offers capabilities from sensing traffic flow through the aisles to measuring the number of people who wash their hands. Based on this data, COVSAFE builds a risk model to help store owners understand the areas to address.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
IBM Cloudant → IBM Cloud Functions → IBM Cloud Object Storage → IBM Cloud API Gateway →
Stay Home, Check Your Stress
Participant location: Japan
During the COVID-19 pandemic, cities around the world have been shuttered. As residents try to follow social distancing guidelines, many adults continue to work remotely, and children might be learning virtually at home. This isolation can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression. Stay Home, Check Your Stress is a chatbot that aims to help people staying at home improve their mental health. This app asks simple questions that can be used to provide tailored advice on a variety of topics including the importance of exercise.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
Latin America
Regional Winner: Kairos App
Participant location: Colombia
In Colombia, because of the COVID-19 lockdown, more than 20 percent of businesses were forced to close, leading to a high unemployment rate. Kairos helps businesses follow social distancing guidelines so that they can begin to reopen. The app uses a mathematical model to let businesses know how many people visited their location and better plan resources to accommodate customers going forward.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
LikeBee – Caring Together
Participant location: Brazil
Plastic is a big contributor to climate change. By 2050, the plastic carbon footprint is expected to account for 15 percent of the global annual carbon budget. The good news is recycling can save energy and lessen plastic carbon emissions. This team created LikeBee to help consumers become more conscious of the positive impact they can have on reducing plastics. This intelligent recycling bin and app can record the efforts of a user and then based on their level of recycling, offer digital discount coupons that can be used at stores in the LikeBee network.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
Roby Health Partner
Participant location: Chile
A significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns has been a sharp rise in mental illness, such as depression. This has particularly affected the adolescent population. Roby is a 3D avatar that can help offer much-needed support during this time. The app can identify anxiety, sadness, and disturbed sleep patterns. The multidisciplinary team from Chile uses speech-to-text and other technologies to help improve mental health.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
IBM Watson Assistant → IBM Cloud Functions → IBM Cloud Object Storage →
Stormy Bot
Participant location: Costa Rica, Colombia
According to the World Health Organization, natural disasters affect more than 160 million people around the world. Stormy Bot is a virtual assistant that provides near-real-time data from NASA on floods, fires, landslides, storms, and volcanoes that are personalized based on your location. Beyond just providing alerts, the app also allows for predictions for a specific area.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
Middle East and Africa
Regional Winner: Mbali Health
Participant location: Kenya
During a time of COVID-19 lockdown, it can be incredibly difficult to obtain routine medical assistance in a safe, socially distanced way. Mbali Health provides a simple chat interface that connects to care providers using the popular WhatsApp platform. The application is built using a natural language processing back end that would make it easy to extend to SMS or Facebook Messenger. The team proposes future development that would allow pictures and voice to also be transmitted.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Virtual Servers → Hyper Protect DBaaS for MongoDB →
Online Accessible Laboratories
Participant location: Uganda
One area that has been particularly difficult to socially distance during the COVID-19 lockdown has been lab research and study. Online Accessible Laboratories uses virtual machines to help students conduct electrical engineering labs without the need to go to the physical location. The system also includes a cloud-based upload system where students can send their reports for grading by faculty.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
Project Natural Disaster Informant and Assistant (N.D.I.A)
Participant location: Nigeria
When natural disaster strikes, getting the right information to those who need it is crucial. This is where Project Natural Disaster Informant and Assistant (N.D.I.A.) helps. Using only certified news sites and social media channels, the app provides a conversational interface to answer questions using real-time data. In addition, mapping capabilities allow for routing and helping users find the nearest medical facility. Predictions are offered to help people plan and understand what natural disasters they might need to be aware of in their region.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
SMS Based Eschool Platform
Participant location: Tanzania
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a particularly devastating effect on schooling in parts of Africa like Tanzania, where no online learning platform for students exists. Using simple SMS services, this app provides a way for students to submit assignments, and receive information from online resources like the Cambridge Dictionary. The platform also allows seamless communication between student and teacher.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
North America
Finalist : OffShip
Participant location: Canada
The advent of online shopping marked a major shift in consumer retail practices. With the growth in online shopping comes an increase in shipping and carbon-based combustion that can lead to global warming. OffShip is a browser extension that monitors items in your shopping basket and estimates their carbon footprint based on the weight and distance traveled. The app then offers you the chance to counteract the carbon footprint using carbon offset credits to a charity of your choice.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
Finalist : Safe Queue
Participant location: United States
Even during a time of social distancing, we often need to go to shops, pharmacies, and other establishments. It can be difficult to safely queue, either because others might get too close to you, or adverse weather conditions might make it difficult to stay in line for too long. This is where Safe Queue can assist. This simple app requires no login, but works using QR codes and your location to hold your place in line while you wait nearby, say in a car in a parking lot. When it’s your turn to enter the establishment, you simply show your phone at the front of the line and can gain access.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
Finalist : SchoolListIt
Participant location: United States
Built by a parent for parents, this tool makes it easy to understand what assignments are due and when. The app can take information from Google Classroom and WordPress sites and turn these into mobile-friendly assignments with due dates. SchoolListIt is also an open platform for teachers and others to share information and offer advice through a secure collaboration platform. The app even works offline for those students who might not have access to a reliable internet connection.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
Regional Winner: High Stakes
Participant location: Puerto Rico
As global warming continues to contribute to disasters such as floods, fires, and hurricanes, the High Stakes app uses a network of sensors to monitor humidity (in air and soil), temperature, and water levels and also look for anomalies. Those are then shared as alerts with users so that they can take necessary precautions.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
Node-RED IBM IoT Platform → IBM Cloudant → The Weather Company APIs
Plant-It
Participant location: Jamaica
Plant-It asks its users the simple question: “What will we plant next?” This app addresses deforestation, plastic pollution, and transportation issues that contribute to climate change by providing a solution to help users grow their own food. Plant-It’s capabilities range from receiving seedlings to designing a garden space on a smartphone and an auction system to sell food within the local community.
Watch the videoClimate changeSee the key services used in their solution:
Project Svādhyāya
Participant location: United States
At a time when many students are learning virtually due to COVID-19, Project Svādhyāya, a collaboration platform for students, teachers, and parents, can help. As questions arise for students, the platform can route these to teachers via a secure virtual interaction. This interaction fuels a knowledge hub where a moderated chat on frequently asked questions happens, and when the bot is out of its depth, it will filter the request to a teacher.
Watch the videoCOVID-19See the key services used in their solution:
IBM Watson Assistant → IBM Cloud Functions → IBM Cloud Foundry → IBM Watson Discovery →