Cape Town students win battle of the bytes

An innovative computer program that allows bus commuters to plan routes and schedules using their cellphones has won two students from the University of Cape Town a place in the final of a global technology competition in Paris, France next year.

Devin de Vries and Christopher King beat off the challenge of computer programming students from across the country to win the local leg of the Imagine Cup 2008, a Microsoft-sponsored technology competition which pits the world`s best student programmers against each other.

De Vries and King`s programme, which uses satellite navigation devices to relay information directly to commuters, was adjudged the best entry in the final of the competition at the Emerald Casino Resort, in Vanderbijlpark, this week.

Another Cape Town student, Nathan Naidoo of the University of the Western Cape, ended a close second with his Shark Spotta programme, which uses sophisticated pattern recognition technology linked to fixed cameras to detect shark activity in popular swimming areas, and alert lifeguards.

De Vries and King will now show off their programme at the global Imagine Cup finals in July 2008. Now in its fifth year, the Imagine Cup challenges students around the globe to imagine a better world empowered by technology and driven by their talent and innovation. More than 100 000 students from 100 countries competed in Microsoft`s Imagine Cup 2007 competition, using their technology skills and talent to address world issues.

The theme for the 2008 edition of the competition is: "Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment."

"It`s absolutely inspiring to see what these students can do. The students continue to exceed our expectations and the standard of the solutions are improving every year. They demonstrate an amazing combination of passion and creativity while using technology to solve real world problems," said Microsoft SA`s David Ives.

"The Imagine Cup initiative allows students to expand their world and chase their dreams. Through enabling innovation and thought leadership by the future technologists, this initiative will help in the mission to build and sustain a thriving local software ecosystem in South Africa"

At the worldwide Imagine Cup finals, students will compete in nine categories, ranging from software design and games development to challenges involving algorithms and programming. Students` work will reflect valuable solutions that give a helping hand to the world`s sustainable environmental issues while giving them the opportunity to compete for generous cash prizes.