Irvine residents Chenxi Huang and Kelley Gou have been recognized as global semifinalists in the Technovation Girls competition. This program challenges young women to develop technology-based solutions for real-world problems. Both teens built their applications independently, often at home, honing their designs until they met their objectives.
Huang’s project, Chorify, is an application designed to make dance more accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. The app functions in conjunction with a specialized 3D-printed wristband. Chorify utilizes pose estimation technology to analyze a dancer’s movements and compare them against a reference video. Simultaneously, the accompanying wristband translates the musical beat of a song into vibrations, allowing dancers to feel the rhythm.
Huang’s initial motivation for the app stemmed from her personal passion for dance, which she has pursued since age six. Her focus shifted after volunteer work where she encountered individuals with disabilities. This experience prompted her to consider how dance might be experienced by someone unable to hear music, noting that hard-of-hearing dancers often rely on sensing the steps of others on the floor. Huang stated her goal: "I just want to make dance more accessible and inclusive so everyone can feel the joy from dance."
Kelley Gou also developed her application, Walk With Me, following insights gained from volunteer work. She assisted at an outdoor Easter event for visually impaired children and observed that many children hesitated to take food themselves, instead waiting for a parent to hand it to them. This observation led Gou to reflect on empowering these children. "I feel like most of them were kind of scared to come grab the food," Gou commented, adding, "I thought I could create something to empower them."
Gou’s work on Walk With Me evolved from an earlier concept. She had been developing a general trip-planning app, inspired by her own family's experiences with travel arrangements. "When it comes to travel, my family always gets into some kind of conflict," Gou shared. Her aim for that initial project was to enable pre-planning to enhance vacation enjoyment for everyone. She subsequently adapted this planning framework to create an accessibility tool specifically for visually impaired users.
Walk With Me leverages artificial intelligence to provide spoken descriptions of a user’s surroundings based on a photo. It also allows users to plan itineraries through voice commands and integrate flight, hotel, and other booking details. Gou expressed her surprise at progressing so far in the Technovation Girls competition. Her aspirations extend to local impact, stating, "I want to help my community, help people in Irvine and Orange County." She also noted her desire to continue learning to develop additional helpful projects.
Both Huang and Gou exemplify local innovation directed towards community benefit, turning personal observations and experiences into practical technological solutions for accessibility.
