Washington State University’s Screen Time App Emerges Victorious in 24-Hour Competition

A computer application that helps people reduce their screen time usage earned a pair of roommates first place at this year’s CrimsonCode Hackathon.

The event, held Feb. 17–18, included more than 250 participants, said Nicholas Kraabel, one of the competition’s organizers and a student in electrical engineering and computer science at Washington State University.

The event was organized in two competition levels: First-year students and sophomores competed in the foundational track competition, and juniors and seniors competed in the advanced track competition; the organizers provided food and other refreshments throughout the 24 hours.

“We don’t have specific goals in mind for the students, you just build something cool,” Kraabel said.

While there was no set goal for students creating their projects, the competition gave them an overall theme revolved around practical solutions, and had students refer to innovative ideas addressing real world problems in an effective way.

Peter Wang and his “Team Sense” teammate won the advanced track competition by coding an app similar to the screen time apps on cell phones. Instead of tracking that time on phones, it would track screen time on laptops and computers with the ability to see how much time someone spends on certain apps while also giving tips on how to reduce that screen time.

“Hackathons are always a good experience to have,” said Wang. “It’s a good way to meet new people and have a good experience, and you also get free food!”

The Association of Computer Machinery student club organized the event, which was sponsored by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, ASWSU, the Residence Hall Association, Capital One and GitHub Education.