The "OptiGuide" team, comprising three students from the University of Jordan and three others from various Jordanian universities, won the Orange Summer Challenge, held at the regional level for Africa and the Middle East in 2023 under the theme "Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things."
The team consisted of two engineering students: Abdulrahman Al-Murayyan from the Mechatronics Engineering Department and Mohammed Al-Najjar from the Artificial Intelligence Department, both from the King Abdullah II School of Information Technology at UJ. Additionally, Firas Obeid from the Mechanical Engineering Department, Yunis Al-Azza from Al-Balqa Applied University, Sally Ashraf, a graduate of Hashemite University, and Raghed Ajami from the Jordan University of Science and Technology were part of the team.
The judging panel expressed admiration for the presented projects, particularly commending the "OptiGuide" team's concept of a futuristic visual assistance tool. The tool comprises an artificial intelligence application and tactical wristbands. The idea involves utilizing predictions from the artificial intelligence model to guide visually impaired users through vibrations that indicate a safe direction.
The winning students extended their gratitude to the University of Jordan administration, represented by its president for its continuous support, and to Orange for providing this unique opportunity. They also acknowledged the supervision of Dr. Musa Al-Yaman from the School of Engineering and Dr. Musa Al-Akhras from the King Abdullah II School of Information Technology for their guidance on the project.
They emphasized benefiting from academic experiences gained during their studies at the university and consultations with experienced faculty members in relevant fields throughout the various stages of project development.
With this achievement, the "OptiGuide" team qualifies to represent "Orange Jordan" and compete with other qualified teams from African and Middle Eastern countries.
It is worth noting that the Orange Summer Challenge initiative took place for the first time, with 256 entries from 11 countries. The company provided participating teams with suitable spaces for developing their ideas, budgets for acquiring necessary equipment, and consulting services to help them develop ideas that could serve as the nucleus for future companies.