Old Android phone
You keep leaving kit behind, so an old phone over the door checks for your shoes, bottle and towel. When unsure it says "check by hand"; trials in three conditions show where it slips.
Challenger World · Secondary · Ages 13–17 · Quest 02 · AI Robotics & Smart Devices
Build Your Real-Life Sidekick
Every hero needs a sidekick. Build one that senses, decides and acts.
BOSS CHECKThe loop works (sense → decide → act), and you can say why AI beats a simple rule, like a timer that always does the same thing.
Fix it with AI
Fix a real problem in your own life, then prove it helped.
Any form counts.
No robot? No problem. A simulation, a desktop robot, an old phone, cardboard or a kit: all count, judged the same.
Simulation
Small desktop robot- Old Android phone
On-screen robot- Laptop as the robot
Cardboard build
micro:bit gadget
Robot car
Robot arm
Wearable
Smart home gadget
Sensor box
No drones
Battery or USB only
Nothing that heats or cuts
Gym Bag Guard
More ideas.
- Old Android phonePlant Rescue PhonePlants keep dying, so an old phone checks the leaves daily and says which pot needs water.
- Simulator worldCorridor Jam SimCorridors jam between lessons, so a simulated robot learns the clearest route, tested in 3 layouts.
- Small desktop robotHomework Focus BotA desktop robot spots your phone face-up while you study and nudges you to flip it.
See real ones.
- Phone camera helper
Clarity (opens in a new tab)
A teammate is colour-blind, so they built a phone app that helps him tell colours apart. Tested on their own team and others.
Ayaan, Ambrose and Liam, USA · Congressional App Challenge
▶ Watch the video - Sensor network
SensoRy AI (opens in a new tab)
After watching a wildfire destroy hundreds of homes, he built AI sensors that spot small fires early. Irvine and county firefighters deployed it in a 40,000-acre preserve.
Ryan, USA · CBS News
- Fall-alert camera
FallGuard (opens in a new tab)
Nobody noticed when his grandmother fell, so he built a camera whose AI spots a fall from body position. Installed in two homes; 10+ families on the waiting list.
Kevin, 13, USA · Patient Innovation
What a finished project shows
AI Robotics & Smart DevicesSecondary · Ages 13–17
Make: A working prototype in any form, real or simulated, that tells at least 2 situations apart and chooses between at least 2 actions.
AI’s job: An AI model (image, sound, gesture or speech recognition) drives at least one decision, and you explain what it learned from.
Shows:
- 15 trials: 5 in each of 3 conditions, such as quiet and noisy, bright and dim, or near and far.
- A fail-safe: what it does when it's unsure or wrong.
- 1 fix after testing, with results before and after, and a one-line safety note if it has batteries or moving parts.
- A process log with at least 4 dated entries, a short intro and your project or a demo judges can open.
Finalists on stage: 7 min talk + 3 min Q&A.
A summary: if the two ever differ, your challenge is what counts.
Pick this quest, or look at another.
Prizes in Challenger World: Champion S$5,000, three more team prizes and 8 Special Awards. All prizes