Eva Hollauf (Salzburg Research) and her team at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences won with “Peyeoneer” at this year’s social hackathon. Their idea for a combination of an app and gadget for visually impaired hikers was honored.

Eva Hollauf from Salzburg Research and her team (Emily Watschinger, Judith Wieser, Maíra Petrick, Marc-Johann Mühlmann, Maximilian Fedorcio, Anna Patricia Maurischat and Franz Rothenwänder) at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences took first place at the Salzburg Social Hackathon 2020 with the Peyeoneer solution for independent hiking for visually impaired and blind people.

100 master students worked in teams over three days (March 19-21, 2020) on 14 projects related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Due to the COVID-19 regulations, the team of students from the fields of social innovation, product design, multimedia and technology worked exclusively online.

Inspiration Through “GATE”

“I was inspired by the GATE research initiative, which Salzburg Research is currently implementing together with project partners. Technologies for barrier-free and inclusive tourism in the Alpine region are developed there”, explains Eva Hollauf. “I had already worked out the website for ‘Easy Walking’ there.” This resulted in the “Hiking for Visually Impaired People” challenge. The result of the tam is Peyeoneer, the prototype of an application that enables visually impaired and blind people to hike independently.

The Peyeoneer Idea

Peyeoneer combines an easy-to-use smartphone app with the Peyeoneer gadget, which can be attached to any cane. The digital hiking route is installed on the smartphone and synchronized with the Peyeoneer gadget. The application then gives users signals for orientation and information about objects on the hiking trail.

The jury of the social hackathon, consisting of experts in the fields of social innovation, interactive media and startup incubation, chose Peyeoneer as the winning project due to the convincing challenge, solution and social impact.

The Social Hackathon is an event organized by the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences and is supported by the State of Salzburg as part of the Startup Salzburg Initiative.

All further information about Peyeoneer can be found here.

Pictures © Marc Mühlmann