In early April, more than 100 project teams came together for LauzHack, an 72-hour online hackathon held by an EPFL student association, to develop applications for mitigating the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
Three applications were selected for special recognition through an online vote. Through the website of the first application, 1lettre1sourire, users can send letters to nursing-home residents who may feel isolated from friends and family. The second application, Quome, draws on the expertise of math students and instructors to help parents who may not have the time or knowledge to help their children with their schoolwork. The website and app of the third application, Coughvid, can give users an initial indication of whether they might have Covid-19 based on the sound of their cough.
Thanks to its fully online format, this edition of LauzHack attracted three times as many participants as usual. Project teams collaborated via a shared communication platform and benefitted from an additional day, as well as advice from experts from a range of fields spanning materials science, life science, economics and finance. The projects created during LauzHack will be developed further with varying degrees of involvement by EPFL.
Further reading
Read the full article on the EPFL website: “Hackathon generates over 100 ideas to combat Covid-19” by Cécilia Carron”
