The #GirlsInAI2021 international hackathon by Teens in AI was attended by 83 teams composed of over 950 participants from 23 different countries. The first prize was won by a French team, composed of three teenagers aged 16 to 17. They designed Hear-Me, an application based on artificial intelligence for people with hearing loss.

An application to help the hearing impaired during the health crisis

The Hear-Me app is an AI-based tool combined with a device that aims to improve communication and interaction for people with hearing loss in face-to-face situations. The platform aims to help hearing impaired people in particular contexts, such as the one that requires wearing a mask during the Covid-19 crisis. The understanding of exchanges is in these situations, much more complicated: the application aims to facilitate the dialogue.

Hear-Me must be combined with a device in order to work. The principle is as follows: the physical accessory, a neckband with sensors for example, is coupled with the phone and the hearing aids. The use of AI would allow to transcribe speech, locate sound sources, identify or contextualize noises. The concept is directly linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 10, which targets the reduction of inequalities.

D-day for the winning team of the #GirlsInAI France hackathon. Tonight she will present her HEAR-ME project among the 22 finalist teams from 22 countries during the Girls in AI International Demo Day.@TeensInAI pic.twitter.com/6oVXQvejVs

– Teensinaifrance (@teensinaifrance) April 22, 2021

The project competed during the #GirlsInAI Hackathon organized by Teens in AI. Anne-Laure Thieullent, Vice President of Artificial Intelligence at Capgemini and a juror for the international #GirlsInAI hackathon said of all the projects:

“The projects presented by young people from all over the world were incredibly inspiring. It was impressive to see how each team approached societal problems close to them through artificial intelligence. Topics such as education, charity, ethics, waste management and the environment were widely covered. These actions clearly demonstrate the positive impact we can make in the world through technology. I’m excited to support this initiative with our data and AI teams and very happy to help them build the future they want to see with AI.”

A project awarded at the #GirlsinAI hackathon

In nine days, the French team was able to come up with this innovative project as part of this virtual event that had been organized on the occasion of the International Women’s Rights Day. Their idea was awarded first prize by an international jury composed of executives from Mastercard, IQVIA, Redhat, Sage, Accenture, Capgemini and Société Générale. Hear-Me seduced the jurors because, in particular, the project was perfectly in line with the AI for Good approach.

Marina Repina, Director of Teens in AI France, commented on the award of this first prize to the French team:

“I am proud to see the French team awarded. I wish them every success in the pursuit of this innovative project and hope that it will give rise to another great innovation born in France. This prize is also a real reward for our mentors and teams. We are already preparing the 3rd edition which will take place in October 2021 around environmental issues.”

The winners were offered $1,000 and the opportunity to present this project to Mastercard’s management. Participation in the Teens in AI “Accelerator” program this summer in England is offered to them to pursue their project accompanied by experts to elaborate and develop a potential prototype of their concept.

Teens in AI Founder and CEO Elena Sinel spoke about the organisation of this hackathon and the opportunities the event offers in terms of training young people around AI:

“Referring to the theme of this year’s International Women’s Rights Day ‘Female Leadership: For an egalitarian future in the Covid-19 world’, our goal is to inspire the next generation of researchers, entrepreneurs and leaders to embrace artificial intelligence with an ethical approach to build the world of tomorrow. We believe that to create change and innovation, the industry needs more diversity. We need to hear ideas from experienced people and motivate more and more women to explore artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science.”

Translated from Une équipe française remporte le premier prix du hackathon #GirlsInAI2021 avec un projet d’aide aux malentendants