Pinoy team competes in NASA International Space Apps Challenge

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipino team is set to compete in the 2018 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) International Space Apps Challenge.
Pinoy team competes in NASA International Space Apps Challenge

For the first time ever, the prestigious NASA Space Apps competition will have a team of Filipino competing for the title. An app made by a Filipino team was chosen to be a finalist and compete against 24 other participants worldwide. The app was chosen by a panel of judges composed of 2,729 hackathon teams across 200 locations across the globe.

Pinoy team competes in NASA International Space Apps Challenge
The iNON team composed of Revbrain G. Martin, Marie Jeddah Legaspi, and Julius Czar Torreda | Photo Courtesy: ABS-CBN

IT professionals Revbrain G. Martin, Marie Jeddah Legaspi, and Julius Czar Torreda (iNON team) developed their app “ISDApp”. Their application was developed to help fishermen have a more “successful catch.” Even without internet connection, the ISDApp will provide useful information such as real-time weather updates, sunrise and sunset times, wind speed, and cloud coverage.

The iNON team described the ISDApp as, “first ever community app that aims to effectively communicate scientific data as useful information to underprivileged fishermen, even if they don’t have smartphones and internet connection.”

The team explained that with ISDApp, “one connection serves all.” A local government official can download the app in their smartphone and register the all fishermen's contact numbers from their community. Using the ISDApp, it can easily send vital information to all the registered fishermen by sending a text message.

Pinoy team competes in NASA International Space Apps Challenge
iNON’s ISDApp aims to provide fishermen with information even without internet connection Photo Courtesy: ABS-CBN

NASA called the ISDapp as the app "with the most potential to improve life on Earth or in the universe.”

The Filipino developers of ISDApp was the winner of the local edition of the challenge, last October 19-21 at De La Salle University. The event was held to coincide with the International Space Apps Challenge event, hosted by Urban Engine in the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Established in 2012, the International Space Apps Challenge has been called the world’s largest global hackathon. Innovators, developers, scientists, technologists and builders all across the globe gather and compete to find solutions to global problems using technology.

— Sally, The Summit Express



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