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11| O akville B eaver | T hursday,N ovem ber 8,2018 insidehalton.com A group of Sheridan Col- lege students seeking to solve real-world problems using pioneering technolo- gy. They found great success in doing so, taking $3,000 and home third place, out of 78 teams competing at the Ele- vate Hackathon in Toronto recently. Sheridan student club Hackademics was thrilled with their results at the larg- est hackathon event in To- ronto's history More than 500 develop- ers, working in teams of four to eight individuals, partici- pated in the landmark com- petition, which took place at the MaRS Discovery Dis- trict Auditorium. Hackademics is a stu- dent-run club comprised of Mobile Computing and In- teraction Design students, as well as Centre for Mobile Innovation (CMI) student researchers. A hackathon is a design event in which computer programmers and others in- volved in software develop- ment collaborate intensive- ly on software projects. Par- ticipants at the Elevate Hackathon were charged with the task of developing a Smart City - a fully connect- ed urban centre that uses technology to improve fi- nancial security, housing af- fordability, environmentalfordability, environmentalf sustainability, communica- tion, and social and econom- ic equality for its citizens. The Hackademics team made the decision to design a system that was simple, in- expensive and easily deploy- able to help the community with its current noise prob- lems. In the Hackademics' pitch, noise reporting is made easier by a proactive, streamlined reporting pro- cess that produces scalable, data-driven aggregated re- ports, to increase health benefits for citizens of To- ronto. "We developed Arduino- powered sensors that could be installed across the city to create a real-time database of how sound pollution is af- fecting people in Toronto ev-fecting people in Toronto ev-f ery day," said Alexandra Thompson, an interaction design student and co- founder of Hackademics.founder of Hackademics.f "We used that data to make a user-friendly interactive map of sound levels. By con- necting that functionality to our mobile app, we aim to empower people with infor- mation so they can make de- cisions about where to live, work and play." "This is just the begin- ning of what is sure to be an exciting future for Hacka- demics," added Christina Weng, an interaction designWeng, an interaction designW student and president of Hackademics. "We plan to send out teams of develop- ers and designers to more high-profile events like Ele- vate." This accomplishment further exemplifies Sheri-further exemplifies Sheri-f dan's expertise in applied re- search and innovation, es- pecially in the growing field of mobile computing, said Dr. Edward Sykes, a com- puter science professor and director of Sheridan's CMI, a technology and health care- focused research centre.focused research centre.f "This achievement is a testament to the talents and hard work of our incredible Sheridan students and re- searchers," said Sykes. "Sheridan continues to es- tablish itself as a leader in innovation by developing creative solutions to real- world problems through the use of leading mobile and re- lated technologies. "Warren Zajac and Cory DaSilva were members of the team and are current re- search students in the CMI. I have been fortunate to teach them several courses in the new honours bachelor of computer science (mobile computing) degree. "They both do very well academically, and now they are engaged in a research project in Sheridan's new Centre for Mobile Innova- tion," he added. "The re- search project Warren and Cory are working on is with Tech4Life - a leading mHealth company based out of Milton. They are de- veloping an innovative sys- tem for remote health as- sessment and monitoring in collaboration with Tech4Life. I couldn't be more proud of Warren and Cory for achieving third place in Toronto's largest hackathon ever. It is a testa- ment to their talents and hard work." Driven by industry need, CMI research projects evolve from small and medi- um-sized enterprises. Stu- dents are actively involved in its groundbreaking re- search from the onset, help- ing them gain practical in- teraction within the work- force.force.f SOLVING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: SHERIDAN STUDENTS WIN THIRD PLACE IN HACKATHON Members of Sheridan student club Hackademics receive their cheque at the Elevate Hackathon (from left): Carlo Dormiendo, Warren Zajac, Christina Weng, Cory Da Silva, Alexandra Thompson and Adam Crosby. Hackworks photoJULIE SLACK jslack@metroland.com NEWS In remembrance of those who fought for our freedom and in honour of those who continue to do so 905.847.4043 pam.damoff@parl.gc.ca MPDamoff.ca 2525 Old Bronte Rd. Suite 590. Oakville Pam Damoff, MP Oakville North-Burlington