Smart Cane, Drone Software, and New 3D Graphics Solution: Startups of Students from Lviv IT Cluster Educational Programs 

Since the beginning of its work on updating bachelor’s programs, the Lviv IT Cluster has set the goal of providing students with all the necessary knowledge for working in the tech market and developing their entrepreneurial skills. That’s why students and mentors from tech companies create their projects starting from the first year. Recently, their project presentations took place. Some of the projects have already grown into startups.

Free Walk: Smart Cane

First-year students of the b  ppl achelor’s program in Internet of Things at Lviv Polytechnic National University have created a unique smart cane for partially sighted individuals. There are no equivalents of such a product in Ukraine, with the closest competitors in Turkey. However, their cane requires a mobile app, while the development by Lviv students operates autonomously.

“We surveyed visually impaired and partially sighted Ukrainians and found that their priority is receiving notifications about stairs and curbs. They can recognize large objects partially. That’s why we added a distance sensor at the bottom of the cane,” explains Melania Voloshynska, the team leader.

When a person is approximately 160 centimeters away, or two steps from an obstacle, the sensor sends a signal to the handle and it starts vibrating. The handle emits an audible beep when the distance is less than a step. Another feature of the smart cane is voice search. If people need to remember where they placed their cane, they can whistle, and the cane will play a melody. Additionally, the cane is foldable, allowing it to be placed in a bag and transported. Its specially designed isosceles triangle shape makes it easy to fold back, ensuring that the sensors are always in the proper position.

The cane prototype is made of plastic, as it was 3D printed. However, the team of first-year students is working on ensuring more durability and longevity by seeking a manufacturer capable of producing it with aluminum.

The team plans to commence mass production of the smart canes. The students have already developed a business plan, identified suppliers of microchips from Germany, and secured an office and warehouse space for storing cane materials. The team is also actively seeking funding.

The smart cane project has become a runner-up in the pilot educational project “Promotion of Youth Entrepreneurship among Higher Education Institutions.”

HORUS: Drone Software

The full-scale Russian invasion has demonstrated that modern warfare is impossible without drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) scout enemy positions, provide fire correction, and deliver strikes. To facilitate the work of UAV pilots and make it more efficient, first-year students from the Cybersecurity program at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv have developed the HORUS app. Using artificial intelligence, it identifies enemy targets, retrieves their coordinates, and sends them to the interactive battlefield mapping system. The app is capable of real-time recognition of various types of enemy vehicles, easily distinguishing tanks from BMPs or BMDs.

“The application analyzes the aspect ratio, thickness, shape of the barrel, and the position of the vehicle’s turret relative to the hull,” explains Maksym Radchenko, the team leader.

UAV pilots have already tested the product on the front lines. The team’s immediate plans include expanding the analytical database to improve the effectiveness of military vehicle recognition, adding new types of vehicles, and optimizing calculation accuracy, speed, and data volume.

Utahpot: A New Solution for 3D Graphics Visualization

First-year students from the IT Sales Management program at Lviv Polytechnic National University have developed the Utahpot project. It is an innovative solution for introducing a new level of 3D graphics based on the WebGPU graphics API in web browsers. API stands for Application Programming Interface, a way for different programs to communicate and exchange information. WebGPU is a new standard application programming interface (API) that allows developers to create more detailed, realistic, and interactive 3D graphics, currently available only in specialized software or games.

The tool developed by the Utahpot team enables the creation of 3D product models for visualization on marketplaces or the development of full-fledged games with modern graphics directly in the browser. For this purpose, the students have created a special library called utahpot.js. Such libraries are necessary to assist developers in utilizing WebGPU or any other complex tool or technology. They provide ready-made functions, classes, and other components that simplify development.

“The authors of existing libraries for creating 3D graphics do not hide that their solutions require mastering 3D software beforehand. However, frontend developers do not want to spend time acquiring skills in a different field,” said the first-year students.

The functions in the utahpot.js library do not require additional knowledge. Developers can access configuration templates to create high-quality 3D graphics without delving deep into the code. Currently, the team is testing their product and seeking investments. They plan to release a working library version accessible to all developers this autumn. You can visit the project’s resources to see what the graphics can look like on a website.

Over the past seven years, the Lviv IT Cluster, in collaboration with tech companies, has modernized 19 bachelor’s programs at four universities in the city: Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv Polytechnic National University, Lviv State University of Life Safety, and Lviv National Academy of Arts.

The 2023 admission campaign is currently underway. Applications for enrollment in one of the programs supported by the Lviv IT Cluster can be submitted until July 19. To learn more about tech specialties offered by Lviv universities, you can visit the provided link.