The ninth edition of Hack Merced recently brought together 168 innovators focused on developing technology for the greater good. The Center for Research in Information Technology for Social Good (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute at the University of California, Merced sponsored the “Health for Social Good” track, which focused on the intersection of technology, health, and nutrition.
Team Food used a ground-breaking image segmentation model to win with the “Health for Social Good” track. This tool allows users to take photos of their meals and get detailed nutritional insights.
Team Foood members Liam Sterry-Hawkes and Julian Balbuena, third-year computer science and engineering majors, said they spent the first five hours reading papers and brainstorming. “It's important to have a plan before you start coding.”
Their project represents a breakthrough in nutrition technology, allowing users to take a photo of a meal and receive detailed information about the different food categories present, as well as estimates of portion size and nutritional content. It will be.
Second place went to Diabetes Risk Assessment Model, a project that uses neural networks to assess health risks based on user research. Team members Gabriel Lee, Luis Fuarte, Ryan Milstree, and Paul Stratton introduced the application of machine learning in health diagnostics.
