Where's the closest AED? Miami students have an app
May 13, 2010The HEARTifacts app is one of the semi-finalists of the What’s Your Issue-Film Your Issue 2010 international youth competition, which highlights solutions to front-burner issues from global youth 14 to 24. Anyone can vote for the semi-finalists at http://www.youtube.com/filmyourissue. Voting ends Monday, May 17.
After being contracted by a company that plans to take the application to market, students in Miami’s Armstrong Interactive Media Studies (AIMS) capstone class designed, developed and created a marketing plan for the HEARTifacts app, which also gives users important information on heart attack risks and symptoms. Computer science and software engineering students from Miami then took the concept and developed the first iteration of the application. The company is currently reviewing the design, projected for release later this year.
“We hope our project becomes an indispensable tool for people with heart health problems,” said Sarah Olinger, a senior strategic communications major and interactive media studies minor. “I love finding ways to make the technology I’m learning apply in meaningful ways to my life and to society.”
In this application, users can hold up their iPhone and be directed to the nearest AED by an arrow that overlaps the output of the camera’s viewfinder, a technology known as augmented realty or AR.
“AR works by enhancing real-time views with virtual imagery,” said Jerry Gannod, associate professor of computer science and software engineering, who worked closely with the AIMS team on the project. “The concept of augmented reality has been around for some time but with the release of more powerful smart phone technologies, access to AR is about to become more prevalent.”
Students from various disciplines worked on the project, an example of Miami’s experiential learning opportunities due to its liberal arts curriculum.
“As the leader of the promotions group, this project allowed me to gain some real world experience working on a client-based project, while at the same time helping to improve people's health and potentially save lives,” said Michael Hauss, a senior marketing major.
“The students have been effectively running a consulting business – performing all aspects of an actual, paid, real-world challenging project on the cutting edge of mobile phone technology,” said Rich Lewis, instructor for the AIMS capstone course. “The creativity and skills of these students are impressive.”
Miami students have worked on a consultative basis through the AIMS capstone program with other companies, including Bank of America, Procter & Gamble, Cintas, Cardinal Health, HP, and the Miami Tribe. AIMS is a proposed Center of Excellence at both Miami and in the state through the Chancellor of the University System of Ohio, in accordance with the strategic plan for higher education.
For more information on this project, follow the class on Facebook with the group “HEARTifacts,” and on Twitter at “@myHEARTifacts.” To view how the application works, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPI15XM7xGU.
