Pinoy-developed app on coastal hazards global finalist in NASA tilt

MANILA, Philippines — A web application that monitors coastal hazards was selected as one of the global finalists of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Space Apps challenge.

A team composed of marine biology and computer engineering students from Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) won the hackathon hosted by the United States embassy and FAB LABs Philippines at the American Corner at Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan earlier this month.

A total of 54 students representing 10 teams joined the hackathon, where participants used NASA’s open-source data to develop applications addressing the impacts of climate change and other environmental challenges.

The winning group, Team Baybayin, developed a web application that provides visual representations of coastal degradation to monitor coastal hazards and raise public awareness on mitigation methods.

“With the Philippines having the third longest coastline in the world, we will continue to develop this project and explore data-driven solutions for the benefit of coastal communities,” Team Baybayin co-founder Preus Prixor Manulat said.

Team Baybayin will compete in the final stage of the competition, where NASA experts will assess all submitted projects.

The global winners are expected to be announced in December.

Founded in 2012, the NASA Space Apps Challenge aims to encourage coders, scientists, designers and other stakeholders to use NASA’s free and open data to address real-world problems.

Last year, some 28,000 participants from 162 countries joined the competition.

In preparation for the hackathon, participating students were guided by experts from MSU-IIT, Xavier University and iDEYA, the US Department of State’s Global Innovation through the Science and Technology Innovation Hub.

EducationUSA also hosted an information session for students interested in completing their studies in the US.

“Skills-building is an important pillar of our American Spaces programs. This hackathon, including mentoring participants provided by NASA, increases the ability of Filipinos to address global challenges through science and technology,” US embassy assistant cultural affairs officer Pauline Anderson said.