Pukyong National University

PKNU students won Korea's first victory in 'Google solution challenge'

- showcased a 'daily management app for dementia patients' winning USD 12,000 cash prize

△ The winning students, Lee Ji-Eun, Park Soo-Jeong, Lee Hong-Joo, Jeon Joo-Eun from the left.

A team of students from Pukyong National University has won the prestigious 'Google for developers solution challenge 2024', marking the first-ever victory for a Korean team in this global competition hosted by Google.

The team, consisting of Lee Hong-Joo, Park Soo-Jeong, and Jeon Joo-Eun from the department of computer engineering, and Lee Ji-Eun from the department of industrial design, emerged as one of the top three winning teams (TOP3) along with teams from India and Nigeria in the global competition 'Google for developers solution challenge 2024', which featured students from Google developer student clubs at over 2,000 universities in more than 110 countries.

The Pukyong National University team first entered the TOP100 in April, followed by the TOP10 in May, and finally secured a spot in the TOP3 in June, clinching the prestigious victory. They were awarded a USD12,000 cash prize.

In this competition, where student developers use Google technology to address one of the UN 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), the Pukyong National University team developed an innovative daily management application for dementia patients called 'memory friend Atti' and their groundbreaking technology was highly acclaimed.

The application offers services to assist mild dementia patients with memory recall and record-keeping. It features an interactive chatbot that helps users revisit memories and manage their daily tasks and upcoming schedules independently.

Users can utilize the app to check daily tasks such as taking medication or going for a walk and manage upcoming appointments like hospital visits or family birthdays. They can also engage in conversations with the chatbot about past photos and memories to help jog their memory.

Lee Hong-Joo from Pukyong National University said, "Our goal in developing this app was to enhance communication abilities and provide psychological stability for mild dementia patients. As our society rapidly ages and the risk of dementia increases, we hope this application can help improve the quality of life for mild dementia patients in some way."

The winning team of this competition receives various benefits, including the prize money, technical mentoring from Google engineers, and attendance at Google demo day. <Pukyong Today>

△ The 'memory friend Atti'