Our resolve to revolutionize the way visually impaired perceive their environment is put to the test here at 2016 Microsoft Imagine Cup Malaysia.
If you have yet read our Microsoft Imagine Cup: Big Idea Challenge journey, click here.
Things heats up as we enter Day 2 of Microsoft Imagine Cup Malaysia 2016. This is part 3 of a 4-part series sharing our experience through the preliminaries all the way to Microsoft Imagine Cup Malaysia 2016 grand finale.
If you have yet read part 2 of our Journey through 2016 Microsoft Imagine Cup Malaysia, click here.
Photo credits: Microsoft Imagine Cup Malaysia Facebook Page
Microsoft Imagine Cup Malaysia (National finals)
Day 2: Into the grill
The schedule for Day 2 (13 April 2016) was fully packed and not as relaxing as Day 1. In the morning, we were the first team to present in a private presentation session for the World Citizenship category. There was minor technical error regarding the projector in the private session room causing us a slight delay to start our presentation.
During the presentation, everything went well; presented smoothly within 10 minutes timeframe and prototype working. We managed to obtain great response from the judges and answered their questions accurately. One of the judges remembered our previous’ year project called MANA. Consequently, he enquired about what is the difference between the two projects. The two projects are indeed similar as it helps blind community. However, BAWA is much lighter than MANA and it has extended connectivity where it can connect to wearable devices in which MANA could not.
After a quick lunch break session, the booth presentation commences. Booth presentation was a session to demo our working prototype to the judges. Judges felt, touched and experienced BAWA cane first hand. With the experience, they gave awesome response about it. With the envision to move this project forward, one of the judges suggested us to approach Malaysia Association for the Blind and National Council for the Blind in Kuala Lumpur, get to know about the project of making Brickfields blind friendly.