A team of Filipino scientists was among the winners of a NASA contest for their app that gauges the impact of COVID-19 using socio-economic data. The app aims to help policymakers plan their pandemic response.
The Best of Use Data award went to the Filipinos' Global Impact Detection from Emitted Light, Onset of COVID-19, and Nitrogen Dioxide or G.I.D.E.O.N. The app crunches information on the economy, human mobility and global infections.
Team CirroLytix is composed of Helen Mary Barrameda, Kristel Joyce Zapata, Nick Tobia, Theresa Rosario Tan, and Miguel Oscar Castelo.
"The countries that are able to contain COVID-19 while keeping their economy afloat with minimal impact to the environment stand the best chance of sustainably bouncing back after this crisis," G.I.D.E.O.N. was described on the Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge website
Aside from a one-year Euro Data Cube Enterprise license worth 5,000 euros (P289,000), the group also received a NASA spacecraft launch invitation.
A couple of Pinoy squads joined CirroLytix in the finals: Team Celestial Snails (Snail Space "provides comfort during times of social isolation") and Team Sentinellium ("capture more accurate user data" using SMS and chat).
