Five Mission San Jose High School students won the United States Congressional Student App Challenge presented by Silicon Valley’s own 17th congressional district Congressman, Michael Honda. Aarti Panda, Ruchit Majmudar, Sam Sze, Vincent Ding, and Keshav Rao developed an extensive app and wearable device used to solve a problem they saw people struggle with everyday. Their app, BaggageTrack, aims to provide a solution for the thousands of baggages lost each year at airports. It was built with Objective-C, the main iPhone programming language, and uses several APIs for connectivity and location services. “BaggageTrack is highly appealing to the average consumer. Millions of bags are lost every year by airlines everywhere. By having a simple, reasonable priced tracking device, this product would save problems for any air traveler,” said Panda.
The students were invited to attend the first annual Silicon Valley STEAM Reception and award ceremony, where they met several Bay Area educators and political leaders. “Our inspiration comes from trying to solve a problem we and people around us face, as well as our collective goal, which is to make a positive impact through entrepreneurship and innovation on America” explains co-founder Ruchit Majmudar. “Winning this award means a lot to our team and our progress with app development,” said Keshav Rao. The students left the night with a “Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition” for their second place win, as well as phones from Microsoft Corporation, mentorship from Microsoft’s tech evangelists, and the excitement of having their app displayed at the Capitol.
(Above): BaggageTrack Device Mock-Up.
The basic idea of the app revolves around a highly appealing device to the average consumer. Millions of bags are lost every year by airlines everywhere. By having a simple, reasonable priced tracking device, this product would save problems for any air traveler. The traveler does not want to have the hassles of lost baggage, considering many already have paid a hefty baggage fee for their personal possessions.
A large majority of our consumer market travels relatively frequently by air and this product would be beneficial in increasing their efficiency and comfort. Additionally, there is not much legitimate competition similar products all seem to have bad reputations and many reviews claim that they do not work in airports.
In comparison to other tracking systems, BaggageTrack will be the most relevant using the best technology, as well as cheaper for the average consumer. BaggageTrack is the only device in its field that allows customers to see where their luggage is, while complying with FAA regulations.
(Above): (L-r): Aarti Panda, Ruchit Majmudar, Congressman Michael Honda (D-17), Vincent Ding. Two other team members, Keshav Rao and Samuel Sze, are not pictured).
Utilizing the ubiquity of smartphones, BaggageTrack will be a user-friendly device that customers can access and customize to their needs through a smartphone application. The product can surely appeal to the almost 200 million frequent flyers, just in the United States.
This is something that is easy to use, as well as highly marketable to millions of potential customer. We also will test materials until we can give BaggageTrack a battery life of a week, ample time to locate luggage with our product.
Finally, BaggageTrack will be able to generate a continuous source of revenue. Customers will continually have to pay a small operating fee every month or year to cover the costs of connecting the device to the network and airport systems. The price is extremely reasonable for the technology and quality provided; it outranks the competitors in all possible categories. With a long lifecycle for the device and continuous incoming revenue, BaggageTrack could well be the best tracking device in its field.
“As a STEM educator of more than 20 years, I know the American dream is first ignited in the classroom. Education is the origin of opportunity in our cities and towns, and it is the engine of exceptionalism on the world stage. Now, more than ever before, the attainability of the American dream is imperiled by an opportunity gap in public education – a gap exacerbated by wealth disparities at the local level,” spoke Congressman Michael Honda who served on the House Science Committee for 5 years and whose most recent STEM bill promotes the development of high tech instruments in the classroom.
The House Student App Challenge aims to promote STEM throughout the United States by encouraging students to create applications from programming. It is a nationwide event that allows high school students from across the country to learn by creating and exhibiting their software application, or “app,” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice. Throughout the challenge period, participating students were provided opportunities to engage with various STEM educational partners located within the community to mentor and assist them with their app development.
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