Computer science senior Jose Flores didn’t just walk away from a weekend hackathon with first prize — he left with an artificial intelligence-equipped solution he hopes could streamline how hospitals handle blood samples.
The California State University and IBM hosted the CSU AI Hackathon at Cal State L.A., March 16 through 17. A hackathon is a timed competition, usually 24 to 48 hours long, where people collaborate on projects such as engineering or software challenges. The event was sponsored by IBM SkillsBuild and teamed students from Los Angeles-area CSU campuses with industry experts and CSU faculty and staff, who coached them on their creations. Flores took top honors. In total, five awards were presented, and winners split $10,000 in cash prizes.
Flores explained that students could choose from three contest prompts, focusing on creating a solution for issues in health care, semiconductor manufacturing or education. Then, they had 24 hours to build their project which had to include an artificial intelligence (AI) component. Flores created Blood Drive, a robot courier system aimed at streamlining and expediting the process for handling blood samples.
“I made a robot with sensors and cameras that can deliver the blood samples, from the nurse to the lab, without having any delays or mistakes,” he said.
The robot would scan the samples’ labels, and then deliver them to the lab, while keeping them at the appropriate temperature en route, Flores said. He found inspiration in technology that is now commonly seen on the streets of L.A. and other metropolitan areas.
“Around Hollywood or the greater L.A. area, there are the Waymos that are self-driving. Or the autonomous food delivery robot carts, so [I thought], ‘Why can’t I make that in a hospital setting?'” he said.
Flores said plans are in the works for a prototype that eventually could be tested in a hospital setting.
While pursuing his computer science degree, Flores also became interested in computer engineering courses in the Andrew J. Anagnost College of Engineering and Computer Science. He said he’s had a longtime interest in engineering and building things — and he’s participated in several hackathons. He said the speed of the competition appeals to him.
“You’re able to build something really effective, really fast,” he said.
Some 160 students from CSU campuses Dominguez Hills, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Northridge and Pomona participated in the event.
