Two Irvine teenagers, Chenxi Huang and Kelley Gou, have been recognized as global semifinalists in the Technovation Girls competition. This program challenges young women to use technology to address real-world problems. Both students developed their applications independently, working from home to refine their solutions.
Huang created an app called Chorify, designed to assist deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals with dancing. Chorify is paired with a 3D-printed wristband. The app functions by using pose estimation technology to compare a dancer’s movements against those in a reference video. Concurrently, the wristband translates the song’s beat into vibrations, allowing the dancer to feel the rhythm.
Huang's initial work on an app was for her own dance practice, a passion she has pursued since the age of six. Her focus shifted after volunteer experiences where she interacted with people with disabilities. This led her to consider how dance might be experienced by someone unable to hear music, noting that hard-of-hearing dancers often rely on feeling others' steps through the floor. Huang stated, "I just want to make dance more accessible and inclusive so everyone can feel the joy from dance."
Similarly, Kelley Gou's app, Walk With Me, also has roots in her volunteer work. Gou volunteered at an outdoor Easter event serving visually impaired children, where she was tasked with distributing food. She observed that many children hesitated to take food themselves, instead waiting for a parent to assist them. Gou reflected on this experience, noting, "I feel like most of them were kind of scared to come grab the food," leading her to believe she could create a tool to empower them.
Gou had previously been developing a general trip-planning app, inspired by her own family’s experiences. She mentioned that her family often encountered conflicts when planning trips, and she aimed to create something that would allow for better pre-planning to enhance vacation enjoyment. She then decided to adapt this concept into an accessibility tool specifically for visually impaired users.
The resulting app, Walk With Me, integrates artificial intelligence. It can describe a user’s surroundings aloud based on a photo, plan itineraries using voice commands, and retrieve information for flight, hotel, and other bookings. Gou expressed surprise at advancing so far in the Technovation Girls competition.
She articulated her motivation to make a tangible difference, stating her desire to "help my community, help people in Irvine and Orange County." Gou also emphasized her commitment to ongoing learning to develop more projects that benefit others. Both Huang and Gou exemplify an approach to technology that prioritizes direct solutions for community needs.
