## Inspiration

The Canadian winter's erratic bouts of chilling cold have caused people who have to be outside for extended periods of time (like avid dog walkers) to suffer from frozen fingers. The current method of warming up your hands using hot pouches that don't last very long is inadequate in our opinion. Our goal was to make something that kept your hands warm and *also* let you vent your frustrations at the terrible weather.

## What it does

**The Screamathon3300** heats up the user's hand based on the intensity of their **SCREAM**. It interfaces an *analog electret microphone*, *LCD screen*, and *thermoelectric plate* with an *Arduino*. The Arduino continuously monitors the microphone for changes in volume intensity. When an increase in volume occurs, it triggers a relay, which supplies 9 volts, at a relatively large amperage, to the thermoelectric plate embedded in the glove, thereby heating the glove. Simultaneously, the Arduino will display an encouraging prompt on the LCD screen based on the volume of the scream.

## How we built it

The majority of the design process was centered around the use of the thermoelectric plate. Some research and quick experimentation helped us conclude that the thermoelectric plate's increase in heat was dependent on the amount of supplied current. This realization led us to use two separate power supplies -- a 5 volt supply from the Arduino for the LCD screen, electret microphone, and associated components, and a 9 volt supply solely for the thermoelectric plate. Both circuits were connected through the use of a relay (dependent on the Arduino output) which controlled the connection between the 9 volt supply and thermoelectric load. This design decision provided electrical isolation between the two circuits, which is much safer than having common sources and ground when 9 volts and large currents are involved with an Arduino and its components.

Safety features directed the rest of our design process, like the inclusion of a kill-switch which immediately stops power being supplied to the thermoelectric load, even if the user continues to scream. Furthermore, a potentiometer placed in parallel with the thermoelectric load gives control over how quickly the increase in heat occurs, as it limits the current flowing to the load.

## Challenges we ran into

We tried to implement feedback loop, ambient temperature sensors; even though large temperature change, very small changes in sensor temperatures. Goal to have an optional non-scream controlled system failed because of ultimately not having a sensor feedback system.
We did not own components such as the microphone, relay, or battery pack, we could not solder many connections so we could not make a permanent build.

## Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud of using a unique transducer (thermoelectric plate) that uses an uncommon trigger (current instead of voltage level), which forced us to design with added safety considerations in mind.
Our design was also constructed of entirely sustainable materials, other than the electronics.
We also used a seamless integration of analog and digital signals in the circuit (baby mixed signal processing).

## What we learned

We had very little prior experience interfacing thermoelectric plates with an Arduino. We learned to effectively leverage analog signal inputs to reliably trigger our desired system output, as well as manage physical device space restrictions (for it to be wearable).

## What's next for Screamathon 3300

We love the idea of people having to scream continuously to get a job done, so we will expand our line of *Scream* devices, such as the scream-controlled projectile launcher, scream-controlled coffee maker, scream-controlled alarm clock. Stay screamed-in!
## Inspiration

Noise sensitivity is common in autism, but it can also affect individuals without autism. Research shows that 50 to 70 percent of people with autism experience hypersensitivity to everyday sounds. This inspired us to create a wearable device to help individuals with heightened sensory sensitivities manage noise pollution. Our goal is to provide a dynamic solution that adapts to changing sound environments, offering a more comfortable and controlled auditory experience.

## What it does

SoundShield is a wearable device that adapts to noisy environments by automatically adjusting calming background audio and applying noise reduction. It helps individuals with sensory sensitivities block out overwhelming sounds while keeping them connected to their surroundings. The device also alerts users if someone is behind them, enhancing both awareness and comfort. It filters out unwanted noise using real-time audio processing and only plays calming music if the noise level becomes too high. If it detects a person speaking or if the noise is low enough to be important, such as human speech, it doesn't apply filters or background music.

## How we built it

We developed SoundShield using a combination of real-time audio processing and computer vision, integrated with a Raspberry Pi Zero, a headphone, and a camera. The system continuously monitors ambient sound levels and dynamically adjusts music accordingly. It filters noise based on amplitude and frequency, applying noise reduction techniques such as Spectral Subtraction, Dynamic Range Compression to ensure users only hear filtered audio. The system plays calming background music when noise levels become overwhelming. If the detected noise is low, such as human speech, it leaves the sound unfiltered. Additionally, if a person is detected behind the user and the sound amplitude is high, the system alerts the user, ensuring they are aware of their surroundings.

## Challenges we ran into

Processing audio in real-time while distinguishing sounds based on frequency was a significant challenge, especially with the limited computing power of the Raspberry Pi Zero. Additionally, building the hardware and integrating it with the software posed difficulties, especially when ensuring smooth, real-time performance across audio and computer vision tasks.

## Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully integrated computer vision, audio processing, and hardware components into a functional prototype. Our device provides a real-world solution, offering a personalized and seamless sensory experience for individuals with heightened sensitivities. We are especially proud of how the system dynamically adapts to both auditory and visual stimuli.

## What we learned

We learned about the complexities of real-time audio processing and how difficult it can be to distinguish between different sounds based on frequency. We also gained valuable experience in integrating audio processing with computer vision on a resource-constrained device like the Raspberry Pi Zero. Most importantly, we deepened our understanding of the sensory challenges faced by individuals with autism and how technology can be tailored to assist them.

## What's next for SoundSheild

We plan to add a heart rate sensor to detect when the user is becoming stressed, which would increase the noise reduction score and automatically play calming music. Additionally, we want to improve the system's processing power and enhance its ability to distinguish between human speech and other noises. We're also researching specific frequencies that can help differentiate between meaningful sounds, like human speech, and unwanted noise to further refine the user experience.
## Inspiration

Our goal as a team was to use emerging technologies to promote a healthy living through exclaiming the importance of running. The app would connect to the user’s strava account track running distance and routes that the user runs and incentivise this healthy living by rewarding the users with digital artwork for their runs.

There is a massive runners’ community on strava where users regularly share their running stats as well as route maps. Some enthusiasts also try to create patterns with their maps as shown in this reddit thread: <https://www.reddit.com/r/STRAVAart/>. Our app takes this route image and generates an NFT for the user to keep or sell on OpenSea.

## What it does

ruNFT’s main goal is to promote a healthy lifestyle by incentivizing running. The app connects to users’ Strava accounts and obtains their activity history. Our app uses this data to create an image of each run on a map and generates an NFT for the user.

Additionally, this app builds a community of health enthusiasts that can view and buy each other’s NFT map collections. There are also daily, weekly, and all time leaderboards that showcase stats of the top performers on the app. Our goal is to use this leaderboard to derive value for the NFTs as users with the best stats will receive rarer, more valuable tokens.

Overall, this app serves as a platform for runners to share their stats, earn tokens for living a healthy lifestyle, and connect with other running enthusiasts around the world. With the growing interest of NFTs booming in the blockchain market with many new individuals taking interest in collecting NFTs, runners can now use our app to create and access their NFTs while using it as motivation to improve their physical health.

## How we built it

The front-end was developed using flutter. Initial sketches of how the user interface would look was conceptualized in photoshop where we decided on the color-scheme and the layout. We took these designs to flutter using some online tutorials as well as some acquired tips from the DeltaHacks Flutter workshop. Most of the main components in the front-end were buttons and a header for navigation as well as a form for some submissions regarding minting.
The backend was hosted on Heroku and consisted of manipulating and providing data to/from the Strava API, our MongoDB database, in which we used express to serve the data. We also integrated the ability to automate the minting process in the backend by using web.js and the alchemy api. We simply initiate the mintNFT method from on smart contract, while passing a destination wallet address, this is how our users are able to view and receive their minted strava activities.

## Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges we ran into was merge conflicts. While GitHub makes it very easy to share and develop code with a group of people, it became hard to distribute who was coding what, oftentimes creating merge conflicts. At many times, this obstacle would take away from our precious time so our solution was to use a scrum process where we had a sprint to develop a certain feature for 2 hour sprints and meeting after using discord to keep ourselves organized. Other challenges that we faced included production challenges with Rinkeby TestNet where its servers were down for hours into Saturday halting our production significantly, however, we overcame that challenge by developing creative ways in the local environment to test our features. Finally, working with flutter being new to us was a challenge of its own, however, it became very annoying when implementing some of the backend features from the Strava API.

## Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are really proud of how we used the emerging popularity of NFTs to promote running as now the users will have an incentive to go running and practise a healthier lifestyle essentially giving running a value. We are also really proud of learning flutter and other technologies we used for development that we were not really familiar with. As emerging software engineers, we understand that it will be very important to keep up with new software languages, technologies and methodologies, and this weekend, from what we accomplished by building an app using something none of us knew proves we can continue to adapt and grow as developers.

## What we learned

The biggest point of learning for us was how to use flutter for mobile app development since none of us had used flutter before. We were able to do research and learn how the flutter environment works and how it can make it really easy to create apps. With our group's growing interest in NFTs and the NFT market we also learnt a few important things when it comes to creating NFTs and managing them and also what gives NFTs or digital artwork value.

## What's next for ruNFT

There are many features that we would like to continue developing in the interface of the app itself. We believe that there is so much more that the app can do for the user. One of the primary motives we have is to create a page that allows the user to see their own collection from within the app as well as a feature such as a blog where stories of running and the experiences of the users can be posted like a feed. Since the app is focused around NFTs, we want to set up a place where NFTs can be sold and bought from within the app using current blockchain technologies and secure transactions. This can make it easier for newer users to operate selling and buying of NFTs easily and do not need to access other resources for this. All in all, we are proud of what we have accomplished and with the constant changes in the markets and blockchain technologies, there are so many more new things that will come for us to implement.