Michelle Enfinger, Ben Tackett, John White
and Kyle Eichelberger
Faculty, staff, students and media representatives cheered for Team Bears Unlimited at one of their final rehearsal sessions before the team departed for the Imagine Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia. The team departed on Saturday, July 6. Imagine Cup winners will be announced live on July 11 at 8:30 a.m. at www.imaginecup.com.
The Imagine Cup is an international technology competition hosted by Microsoft. The four-member team, John White, Ben Tackett, Kyle Eichelberger and Michelle Enfinger, represent the United States against 35 other teams in the World Citizenship category of the competition. “No US team has ever won the Imagine Cup in the 11 years that it’s been going until this year when we win,” Kyle Eichelberger told the crowd.
The computer science students developed the Bear Claw System. This is a glove outfitted with sensors to assist physical and occupational therapy patients at the hand, wrist, and forearm. The system uses a motion glove that communicates through a connected Windows smart phone.
If Team Bears Unlimited wins, the team will earn a $50,000 prize. More importantly, the Bear Claw System could potentially help thousands of physical and occupational therapy patients. Faculty mentors, Dr. Sinan Kockara and Dr. Tansel Halic, are accompanying the team in Russia.
To see more on the presentation or the team, please see some of the local media coverage they have received:
Log Cabin Democrat http://thecabin.net/latest-news/2013-07-02/uca-students-representing-us-worldwide-tech-competition
Arkansas Democrat Gazette http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2013/jul/03/team-going-russia-glove-20130703/
KTHV http://www.thv11.com/news/article/270360/2/UCA-team-develops-glove-to-help-therapy-patients-recover
Arkansas Business http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/93347/uca-team-headed-to-russia-for-microsoft-imagine-cup-finals