The sixth annual Call for Code Challenge launched back in February with a focus on developing AI-powered technology projects that address sustainability to help fight climate change.
Today sees IBM, United Nations Human Rights, and the Linux Foundation announce the winners in the challenge’s three categories — Developer, University, and Independent Software Vendor/Startup.
This year’s challenge has seen a change in format from a single annual competition to quarterly ‘Challenge Rounds’ throughout the year. Winners from each round moved on to the Grand Prize round, where one winning team was determined from each category.
“This year we introduced a new, always-on format for Call for Code that gives developers at every stage of their career– from students to seasoned professionals — more opportunities to participate, gain skills, and build sustainable solutions,” says David Clark, founder and CEO of Call for Code. “Congratulations to the 2023 Call for Code Global Challenge winning teams, who continue to play a crucial role in bringing solutions to market that tackle today’s most pressing sustainability issues.”
The winners in the three categories are:
Developer: AGNO, a team from Hexaware Technologies who developed the FARMISTAR platform built with watsonx.ai and IBM watsonx Assistant. The team aims to help small farmers stay up to date with weather forecasts and AI-driven crop management strategies.
University: Phyto, a group of students from The University of Sydney who used IBM Watson Studio and the IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite to build an AI-powered geospatial and weather analytics tool designed to help farmers rehabilitate contaminated soil naturally.
Independent Software Vendor/Startup: Synergy Squad, a team from Persitent who built Offshelf, an IBM Watson Speech to Text powered solution designed to help households reduce food waste. Through the platform, people will receive notifications before a product expires to notify them that a food item needs to be used by a specific date.
“Over the past six years, Call for Code has inspired developers and problem solvers worldwide to build solutions that tackle issues core to our planet such as sustainable farming practices, water quality, and clean energy,” says Kate Woolley, general manager, IBM Ecosystem. “I would like to congratulate today’s winners, and all the 2023 Call for Code participants, who have shown how new technologies such as IBM watsonx can be harnessed to create projects that have the potential to drive lasting change for our planet.”
Image credit: AndrewLozovyi/depositphoto.com
