A Polish high school student has won first place in a global competition organised by Intel, which recognised him as an “AI Impact Creator” for designing a system to increase road safety by preventing drivers from falling asleep at the wheel.
The student, 17-year-old Maksymilian Paczyński from the small town of Iłża, was named as one of three winners alongside entries from India and China. Each will receive $5,000 in prizes and mentorship or internship opportunities with the US technology giant.
Przegość! Maksymilian Paczyński to uczeń Liceum w Iłży który zajął pierwsze miejsce w konkursie Impact Creators Intel w San Francisco! Światowy konkurs informatyczny docenił jego program oparty o AI. Opracował algorytm "FATIK" nie pozwalający zasnąć kierowcy w trakcie jazdy.Duma! pic.twitter.com/L77oG8Vpv3
— Maciej Kawecki (@kawecki_maciej) November 22, 2021
The system designed by Paczyński, called FATIK, uses artificial intelligence to check if a driver is falling asleep. The application analyses the driver’s face in real-time and looks for any signs of fatigue, such as closed eyes, that trigger the alarm.
It also collects data to create a driver’s profile on tiredness and stress levels while in the car, as well as individual preferences for night or morning journeys. The app will work offline and independently of any cloud services, Paczyński told technology website Spiders Web.
“I wanted to create something that would result in fewer accidents,” said Paczyński in another interview with Polskie Radio. “As we know, more and more people are exhausted, which causes car accidents that end badly for them, for their families and for third parties.”
His innovation was recognised at Intel’s Annual AI Global Impact Festival, a competition aimed at democratising knowledge and usage of artificial intelligence while celebrating the next generation of future developers.
Participants from more than 20 countries entered this year’s edition, with over 230 “high-quality entries“ submitted, Intel announced.
Ahead of the online awards gala in San Francisco, Paczyński had a chance to meet and showcase his work during a meeting with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, at Intel’s Polish headquarters in Gdańsk in September.
Spotkanie premiera @MorawieckiM z CEO @intel @PGelsinger i wizyta w siedzibie @IntelPolska w #Gdańsk. pic.twitter.com/jJ57EG1Ic1
— Kancelaria Premiera (@PremierRP) September 8, 2021
“I would like to sincerely thank Intel for the fact that my project won first place in the AI Impact Creators global competition,” the young innovator wrote on Facebook after the results were announced. “I am really pleased that FATIK has been so positively appreciated. Thank you!”
Project supervisor Robert Celuch, who encouraged Paczyński to take part in the competition, said that “the whole school is very proud of what Maksymilian achieved,” reports local news site Radom24.
The competition showed that everyone has a chance and not only those coming from large metropolitan areas can succeed, added Celuch. He also pointed out that, to achieve success, a person needs curiosity about the world, enthusiasm and perseverance.
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Natalia Parzygnat is a contributing editorial assistant at Notes from Poland and a graduate in Multiplatform Mobile Journalism from Birmingham City University. She has previously written articles for Birmingham Eastside and featured in HuffPost UK. Natalia is a recent BJTC Award Runner Up in Social Short Video category.
