Faculty, staff, students and media representatives were on hand for one of the last rehearsal sessions of Team Bears Unlimited before the team departs for the Imagine Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia.
(l to r) Michelle Enfinger, Ben Tackett, John White
and Kyle Eichelberger
The Imagine Cup is an international technology competition hosted by Microsoft.The four-member team, John White, Ben Tackett, Kyle Eichelberger and Michelle Enfinger, will 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.
Imagine Cup winners will be announced live on July 11 at 8:30 a.m. at www.imaginecup.com.
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.
The team is scheduled to depart on July 6 from the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport. They will be accompanied by their faculty mentors, Dr. Sinan Kockara and Dr. Tansel Halic.
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