Dinh Thanh Nhat and Tran Dinh Phuoc, who both are 11^th graders at the Le Quy Don Senior High School for the Gifted, have beaten 170 contestants from 38 provinces and cities nationwide in the final round to win the first prize of VND3 million at the recent 28^th National Young Informatics Contest.

Dinh Thanh Nhat and Tran Dinh Phuoc trying to use a laptop without hands with their own software. (Photo courtesy of the characters)

Their project on the gesture recognition software in teaching primary school pupils with mobility impairments has received high appreciation from the jury board.

Dinh Thanh Nhat said, his house is near a wet market, so he often sees disabled people selling street food. Therefore, he always wonders how they can use the computer. He added the use of computer today depends a lot on the mouse and keyboard, making it difficult for people with mobility impairments, especially pupils who are studying at primary schools.

From this thought, Nhat and his best friend Phuoc started researching and developing software to support primary school pupils with one- or two-handed disabilities through gesture recognition techniques in teaching and learning.

To have a research basis, Nhat and Phuoc visited primary schools to learn about the psychological characteristics and ability to receive information of children with disabilities, and at the same time listen to feedback from teachers.

According to Nhat, the research aims to help people with disabilities access computers by facial recognition without the need of other assistive tools.

The unique feature of the software is that all control operations are done via face gestures or a hand placed in front of the camera.

Specifically, when users put their faces and hands in front of the camera, the midpoint of the index finger and thumb will be recognized by the programme as a computer mouse pointer.

The software conventions that the mouse pointer is a black dot and the action of touching the tips of the middle or index fingers, or opening the mouth is equivalent to pressing the left key of a computer mouse.

Tran Dinh Phuoc noted that in the coming time his group will continue to perfect the product.

“The Youth Informatics Contest is a healthy and useful playground for us to satisfy our passion for programming, designing and creating innovative products. It also provides an opportunity for us to exchange and share experience with our friends with similar interests” emphasised Phuoc.

According to Mr. Bui Quang Huy, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Youth Informatics Contest has promoted the movement of learning and mastering information technology among young people, thereby developing high-quality human resources to serve the national digital transformation.

This is a creative playground to help students form research ideas and apply technology to solve real-life problems. In addition, the contest gives a chance for participants to horn their soft skills such as creativity, teamwork, presentation, critical thinking and career orientation, added Secretary Huy.

“Developed by Dinh Thanh Nhat and Tran Dinh Phuoc, the project dedicated for primary school pupils with mobility impairments is an innovative and preeminent product that is highly appreciated by the jury and needs to promote its applicability in the near future” noted Mr. Huy.

Reporting by KHANH HUYEN - Translating by M.DUNG