Imagine Cup 2007 Korea - Day 2

Day 2 was very hectic and eventful. Here are the updates and highlights for the Canadian and North American teams:

Team Omni - Software Development Challenge

Around 9:50 AM this morning, Team Omni gave their second presentation. The team did their best and the judging was really really tough. The team was not able to move to the next round but I consider them all winners in the effort and talent they put in their project - the proof is that they became finalists and were able to travel to Seoul to participate in the world competition. Kudos to Brian Thomas (Western Washington University), Malcolm Smith (Texas A&M University), Alfred Leung (McGill University) and Ziyan Zhou (Rochester Institute of Technology) (pictured below).

Earlier today, Brian recounted how impactful the Imagine Cup was in a positive way - he had the opportunity to meet Bill Gates and he got his poster signed and framed! (you can view this in videos I posted here and here). All the competitors are really bright and there is no doubt that they will have very bright futures in the IT industry.

Team iDoll - Embedded Competition Challenge

Team iDoll received their equipment at 2:30 AM last night (a few components had accidentally been left in Seattle by the airline at the beginning of the week). They put everything together and tested it over a dozen times. When the demos started at 10:00 AM this morning, the equipment initially didn't work as expected, but just like in a Rocky movie, they fixed it with quick thinking and were able to demonstrate the full functionality of the manikin. The judges were highly interested and asked all kinds of great questions - the volunteers had to drag the judges away! I think the team did a great job and they have a definite chance to move on to the finals. Congratulations! The finalists will be announced tomorrow and we'll post the details here.

Team Robot Hospital and Team Awesome - Photography Challenge

Yesterday, the theme of the photography competition was announced as the "Heart of Seoul". Both Team RobotHospital and Team Awesome started working on their respective projects. Nick was on the phone with his teammate Sam in Canada (who will be arriving in Seoul on Thursday). Both teams got the opportunity to enjoy sedan rides anywhere in Seoul with a driver, guide and translator. But it was all work focused as they had to generate an award winning quality level 15 photo essay, I didn't get to see much of the team until at Midnight tonight when the competition ended. I was *extremely* impressed with both entries and I think they both have an excellent chance of winning the competition! Here is a photo of both teams in a group hug glad that the competition is over:

Here is a sneak peek at one of the Robot Hospital photos:

As always, you can visit my photo gallery for pictures taken throughout the day. Tomorrow, we will be touring Seoul - I'll be doing a short photo retrospective and an update on the Embedded finalists. Cheers!