PH Team wins NASA Award

Philippine Team wins NASA award

Manila Bulletin
21 February 2019

The Team iNON from the Philippines on Thursday received an award from the United States government for capturing the Best Galactic Impact category in the 2018 NASA Space Apps Challenge, beating out 1,395 other teams from around the world.

Teams iNON and Space Force will represent the country in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Apps Global Challenge
(Photo courtesy of Animo Labs via Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)

US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim awarded the certificates of recognition to iNON team members Revbrain Martin, Marie Jeddah Legaspi, Julius Czar Torreda, and Matthew Concubierta during a ceremony at the US Embassy.  Leandro de Guzman, the fifth member of the team, was unable to attend the ceremony.

The Filipino innovators created ISDApp, from the Filipino word “isda” (meaning fish), to communicate crucial information about real-time weather and sea conditions to fisherfolk.  

The app enables local government officials to provide this potentially life-saving information to fisherfolk’s analog cellphones using NASA Globe observer data.

“I am deeply impressed by team iNON’s fantastic achievement in defeating teams from around the world to win first place in the Galactic Impact category of the NASA Space Apps Challenge.  They can inspire other Filipino youth to develop innovative solutions to problems in their own communities,” Kim said at the event.

ISDApp was conceived by Team iNON at the US Embassy-sponsored NASA Space Apps Challenge in October 2018.  

US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Law, who served on the panel of judges, said Team iNON’s approach to getting important information out to fisherfolk without internet connectivity struck him as “clever and compassionate.”