Now in its third year, the Call for Code global competition has generated more than fifteen thousand solutions built using a combination of open source-powered products and technologies, including Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Cloud, IBM Watson, IBM Blockchain, data from
"This year of crisis underscores the need for the world's developers and business leaders to apply the power of hybrid cloud, AI and open source technology to address society's most pressing issues," said
Call for Code Global Top Five
These five finalists were chosen from an elite group of top solutions from each region of the world:
- Agrolly (
Asia Pacific ) - This solution was built by a distributed team of developers hailing fromBrazil ,India ,Mongolia , andTaiwan , who met atPace University . Agrolly is designed to support and connect small farmers around the world but particularly in emerging countries, where farms are suffering from reduced crop yields due to climate change. By combining weather forecasts with crop requirements published by theUnited Nations Food and Agriculture Organization , the platform provides tailored information for each farmer by location, crop type, and the stage of growth. The solution aims to fill information gaps so farmers can learn from one another, make more informed decisions, obtain financing, and improve their economic outcomes. Agrolly is currently available as an app in the Google store free of charge, and is powered by IBM Cloud Object Storage,IBM Watson Studio , and IBM Watson Assistant. VIDEO - Business Buddy (
Asia Pacific ) - Created by a team of students inAustralia at theUniversity of Sydney , Business Buddy aims to provide a one-stop-shop that delivers personalized and responsive updates to small businesses to help them weather the financial impacts of COVID-19. Powered by IBM Watson Assistant, IBM Cloud Foundry, and IBM Cloudant, the solution helps determine businesses' eligibility for support from governmental programs, and guides them through the application process via an easy-access portal. VIDEO - OffShip (
North America ) - OffShip was created by a team of developers inCanada from Morgan Stanley. OffShip is an easy-to-use browser plugin that educates consumers on the effect their online purchases have on the environment. It does this by providing an estimate of the carbon dioxide footprint of each purchase they consider which in turn helps them consider alternatives or purchase and donate carbon offset credits seamlessly. This solution is hosted in the IBM Cloud. VIDEO - Safe Queue (
North America ) - Safe Queue, created by a single developer inLos Angeles , is a community-driven mobile app that is intended to replace physical lines at shopping centers, small businesses, and polling places with on-demand virtual lines, to support a safe way to manage entry during COVID-19. Safe Queue was recognized as part of Call for Code's accelerated COVID-19 track in May, and since then has been further developed, tested, and deployed with small businesses across the country. Safe Queue uses GPS location data to create a virtual queue of those within 1000 feet of a location, allowing employees to control the queue digitally, and validating entry with a randomly generated QR code for each customer. This solution builds on IBM Cloud Foundry for web app hosting, HERE technologies for geolocation, Twillio for SMS messaging, and IBM Cloudant to store data. VIDEO - SchoolListIt (
North America ) - Created by a working mother of three children inNorth Carolina , SchoolListIt is designed to help families successfully manage schoolwork during the especially challenging circumstances surrounding COVID-19. SchoolListIt compiles information from the wide array of learning apps that teachers use, and makes it easy for students or guardians to understand at a glance what assignments are due and when, while also building a digital community for parents. The solution uses IBM Watson Text to Speech. VIDEO
Each year, the Call for Code Global Prize winner receives
Path to Deployment
Project Owl, the winning solution from Call for Code 2018, provides an offline communication infrastructure that gives first responders a simple interface for managing all aspects of a disaster. The physical "clusterduck" network is made of hubs that create a mesh network that can send speech-based communications using conversational systems to a central application. Together with the
Both projects, as well as others, continue to be incubated through the Call for Code deployment pipeline.
Call for Code University Edition
This year,
"This year, we launched the dedicated University Edition within the Call for Code Global Challenge so university students around the world could apply their learnings from the classroom, life experiences and imagination to tackling climate change and COVID-19 in sustainable, equitable and innovative ways," said
Growing Ecosystem
Call for Code's growth and success is a product of the unique ecosystem that
"We are facing a time of unprecedented crisis," said
The grand prize and University Edition winners will be announced on
About Call for Code Global Challenge
Developers have revolutionized the way people live and interact with virtually everyone and everything. Where most people see challenges, developers see possibilities. That's why David Clark Cause created Call for Code in 2018, and launched it alongside Founding Partner IBM and their partner
MEDIA CONTACTS
deirdre.leahy@ibm.com
845.863.4552
blakechr@us.ibm.com
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