There is an old proverb attributed to the father of U.S. President, John F. Kennedy that reads, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” More than 3,000 talents from 80 countries “got going” in the recent #CodeVsCOVID19 hackathon organized by HackZurich in collaboration with ETH Zurich and other high level patrons and sponsors. Despite the lack of hackathon fare - free coffee, dozens of pizzas, and the camaraderie that comes with working in the same space for 72-hours straight, hackers produced 306 innovative open-source prototypes to make life easier in this time of crisis. While there may be many others, four teams, comprised primarily of ETH Zurich students and alumni, emerged from the intense coding marathon to share their inspiration, stories, and, more importantly, their prototypes. This is the first in a four-part series highlighting their experiences working virtually #TogETHer.
Hacking through a Crisis – Part I: “Should I be worried?”
by Marianne Lucien, International Communications Officer, 21 April 2020
Moritz Schäfer, ETH Zurich (photo credit: Moritz Schäfer)
Alex Lelidis, ETH Zurich (photo credit: Moritz Schäfer)
Lea Sutter, University of Geneva (photo credit: Moritz Schäfer)
Nicolas (Nico) Ochsner, ETH Zurich (photo credit: Moritz Schäfer)
Radek Danecek, ETH Zurich (photo credit: Moritz Schäfer)
Uncertainty is the toughest part of dealing with these extraordinary times. Here’s the first in a four-part series of stories on hacking out solutions in #CodeVsCOVID19.
Worried about Corona? Now there’s an app for that…
Hacking it out in a weekend, a multi-disciplinary team comprised of Alex Lelidis and Radek Danecek, grad students in ETH Zurich’s Computer Science Department; Moritz Schäfer, a doctoral researcher studying Biology at ETH; Nicolas Ochsner, an ETH Computational Biology grad student; and Lea Sutter, University of Geneva developed an app named after their team, “Should I be worried.” The app collects movement profiles of COVID-19 infected people and computes risk maps for users, so that they can avoid areas with a high association of Coronavirus infections. Users can also upload their own movement profile to check their potential risk for infection.
Team correspondent, Moritz Schäfer writes, “There is much uncertainty on how to proceed following the quarantine…opening stores and workplaces could lead to another major outbreak. We need an effective solution to enable us to live our daily lives, while still being able to maintain a flat infection curve.” Team “Should I be worried?” focused on how they could compute risk using maps and tracking data. The idea is that members of the public create and upload a movement profile to check their risk of infection relative to current data.
Virtual hacking
This code-loving team relied on tools such as GitHub, Jitsi and Zoom to coordinate tasks mainly over video chat, and shared interfaces for their coding modules by text via Slack. While they reported that they really missed the hackathon atmosphere, the virtual environment enabled them to spend more time cooking and sleeping than during a “normal” hackathon event.
Get the code
"I like it when a project is brought to and beyond an MVP stage," said Alex Lelidis, the coordinator of the project – “minimum viable product” or “MVP” is entrepreneurial lingo for when a version of a product has just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for future product development. If this team can reach MVP in a weekend, then imagine what they could achieve if only they didn’t have to return to their daily grind. Their hope is that their open-source concept inspires others to build upon it. The code is available on GitHub, the demo website “shouldibeworried.info” is online and the team is happy to support and advise anyone who wishes to adapt or employ the concept in this difficult situation.
Many teams around the world in #CodeVsCOVID19 and other Coronavirus hackathons worked on achieving a similar goal by building an app that registers close contacts using Bluetooth to track possible infections. Team “Should I be worried?” liked the concept and operated on the idea that it offers an anonymous way to #FlattenTheCurve.
"Should I Be Worried?" Project demo video for the #CodeVsCOVID19 Hackathon
More information
Interested in developing or learning more about the app?
Contact Moritz Schäfer at: moritz.schaefer@biol.ethz.ch
About the author
The thing that keeps me busiest at the moment is: Supporting my colleagues and media contacts in developing relevant content.
My favourite app is: WhatsApp. It is my life line to family, friends, and colleagues in an otherwise solitary existence.
One book or movie I recommend: Especially in a pandemic, it is important to realize that “No matter what he (or she) does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world…” – a quote from The Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo
And if all else fails, my instant pick-me-up is: Run or long walk with a view or a chat with my Mom
My favourite app is: WhatsApp. It is my life line to family, friends, and colleagues in an otherwise solitary existence.
One book or movie I recommend: Especially in a pandemic, it is important to realize that “No matter what he (or she) does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world…” – a quote from The Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo
And if all else fails, my instant pick-me-up is: Run or long walk with a view or a chat with my Mom
