Oswego East Students Vie For $130K Prize In Samsung Competition

OSWEGO, IL — Students at Oswego East High School have already made a name for themselves in a national educational competition after the students created a backpack with ultrasonic sensors to help the visually impaired to navigate their surroundings.

But next week, the students will vie for a $130,000 grand prize in the 11th annual Samsung Solve For Tomorrow contest in which students are challenged to use STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills to address local issues and inspire change in their communities.

The Oswego East students will make their pitch to judges at 10:10 a.m. on Wednesday in a 10-minute presentation that will determine if the students are named one of the competition’s top three entries. The school is one of 10 national finalists in the contest after capturing $65,000 in classroom supplies and Samsung technology after being named a finalist in the contest.

The students also are up for an additional $15,000 if they are named the recipient of the Community Choice Award, which community members can vote on by casting an online ballot for the local high school group.

“Through the Solve for Tomorrow competition, we have seen firsthand how resilient students are, as these challenging times have proven to be a source of creativity and innovation for our National Finalists,” Ann Woo, Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship, Samsung Electronics America said in a news release. “Samsung Solve for Tomorrow challenges students to create high-impact, functional solutions. While in virtual and hybrid learning environments, students had to be more nimble than ever to answer that call.

“These National Finalists represent hundreds of students and teachers who have worked determinedly to change the world, and we are proud to play a part in their journey.”

The Oswego East project was completed after learning that a National Institutes of Health study found that 14 million Americans are visually impaired. Before creating the backpack they called the “Viz Whiz” that was recognized by competition officials, students learned that there is currently no cause-effective, effective or fluid way for the blind to sense their surroundings and navigate where they are trying to go.

According to the video produced for the competition, the backpack developed by the Oswego East students includes six ultrasonic sensors that detect the distance between the wearer and surrounding obstacles. Six servos built into the backpack are there to allow the wearer to feel sensations at varying intensities to communicate information from the sensors to the user.

Troy Parlier, Oswego’s mayor, was impressed with the finished product.

“The (backpack) will have a great impact not just the students in our community, but I can see it being used for adults,” he said in the video. “

Community members can vote for the local student’s entry by watching the student-produced video on the competition’s website.