All-lady Nittany AI Challenge group generates resolution to access tech-lifetime equilibrium

College PARK, Pa. — Monitor time burnout? Quite a few people are feeling it these days mainly because of prolonged use of technological innovation thanks to distant understanding and remote performing predicaments. But abnormal screen time did not begin with the COVID-19 pandemic, and one particular Nittany AI Problem scholar workforce is pretty much stepping into the user’s planet to advise a everyday living-tech balance that is as simple as a wander in the park.

The Nittany AI Obstacle is facilitated by the Nittany AI Alliance, a assistance of Penn State Outreach, and tasks scholar teams with utilizing synthetic intelligence for great by getting methods to deal with genuine-entire world worries in training, atmosphere, well being and humanitarianism.

Elyse Johnson, a junior majoring in wildlife and fisheries science in the Higher education of Agricultural Sciences, describes Reconnect — her team’s answer — as an application that leverages AI, device finding out, and display time data to interject a counterbalance in between buyers and their telephones by suggesting different functions to assistance foster a nutritious lifetime-tech stability.

“As a young adult raised in an era of unregulated display time, I have tried many methods to handle my practices and reclaim my attention. I’ve used apps these types of as Flora, Moment and Apple Monitor Time, and observed what they did effectively, and the place they could study from their opponents,” Johnson mentioned. “Our app, Reconnect, strikes a stability to give the awareness, have confidence in, guidance and accountability that my era and cell phone people at huge need to snap back again to reality.”

The Reconnect group is also the initial all-female workforce to compete in the Nittany AI Problem. Johnson claimed that she hopes their staff attracts more notice to girls in STEM-associated fields and entices them to contend in long term issues.

“STEM is a male-dominated area, so it’s unavoidable extra males will demonstrate up. But each single girl, person of colour, or other minority pupil eager to consider on these competitions assists to crack that cycle,” Johnson claimed. “I am grateful for this tale as it is a possibility to allow Penn State learners know that the Nittany AI Challenge is somewhere you are welcome no make a difference your appearance or thoughts.”

The Reconnect app is built to not only control telephone dependancy by monitoring display-time information, but by also presenting a true-environment activity to do as an substitute: go just take a stroll, bake cookies or study a new yoga pose. Johnson said the group hopes it will go over and above becoming an app and be pursued for use in skilled conversations about mental overall health.

“I’ve viewed social-media-fueled rest decline and mental wellness problems chip absent at myself and my peers. I’ve put in years’ value of my childhood staring at screens and I regret it,” Johnson explained. “Reconnect will not only assist younger older people reclaim their life, but it will also revolutionize our marriage with know-how for the well-remaining of upcoming generations.”

Rachel Li, a senior majoring in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship in the Smeal University of Business, said her preferred portion of the Nittany AI Obstacle is the imaginative independence to master exterior of the classroom, even though functioning on their project remotely due to COVID-19 has had its own troubles.

“By working collectively and speaking by Zoom and Groups, we have all come to realize each individual other’s strengths and find out how to perform jointly in spite of staying partly remote,” Li claimed. “We are however ready to bounce thoughts off of every single other to create even far better concepts, so while it’s not ideal, we’ve done a good work generating the most of it.”

Bailey Dismukes, a sophomore majoring in used information science/security and hazard evaluation in the Higher education of Information and facts Sciences and Know-how, reported staying an all-woman crew allows to make range in application design.

“Because of how significant technology is today and how it influences all aspects of our lives at this time,” Dismukes reported, “it’s significant that women are also the ones guiding developing new systems.”

All 20 teams competing in the Nittany AI Obstacle will have the opportunity to submit a video clip demonstration of their prototype on March 31 for the chance to be picked and funded to create a minimum amount feasible merchandise (MVP) all through the last stage of the Nittany AI Challenge. The overall prize pool for the obstacle is $50,000. The top 10 groups chosen to create an MVP will be awarded $1,500 every single out of that pool.

Simply click below to learn a lot more about the Nittany AI Challenge.

Adhere to Reconnect on LinkedIn below and Instagram listed here to study additional about the team’s progress via the Nittany AI Obstacle.