D.A.T
Creators: Colin, Ethan & Wilson
School: High School Students from Richmond Hill High School
Location: Queens, NY
Project Themes: Public Services
About this Project
D.A.T (Disability, Accessiblity, Traceability) is an app for people who are physically challenged to be able to navigate around the city. This app has a search function with filters to help people who are physically challenged to find accessible locations.
Project Links
Professional Feedback
Great work, Team D.A.T.! You've identified a real, meaningful problem. Accessibility navigation is something that affects 700 million people globally, and your empathy for wheelchair users really comes through in how you framed the problem. The combination of AI-assisted guidance, community contribution (leaderboard), and TTS for drivers shows you're thinking about the experience from multiple angles, not just the end user.
A couple of things to take it further:
User testing with real feedback. Try to connect with someone who uses a wheelchair and have them walk through your app concept. Even a 10-minute conversation will surface things you'd never think of (e.g., "I don't just need to know IF a place is accessible, I need to know what KIND of access: ramp width, automatic doors, elevator vs. stairs"). That direct input will make your next iteration 10x stronger.
Data sourcing strategy. The app's value depends on accurate accessibility data. Think about how you'd actually populate it: crowdsourcing from users? Partnering with Google Maps/OpenStreetMap accessibility tags? Scraping city ADA compliance records? Having a clear answer to "where does the data come from?" will make your pitch much more convincing and your product more viable.
Keep pushing, you're solving something that matters.
A couple of things to take it further:
User testing with real feedback. Try to connect with someone who uses a wheelchair and have them walk through your app concept. Even a 10-minute conversation will surface things you'd never think of (e.g., "I don't just need to know IF a place is accessible, I need to know what KIND of access: ramp width, automatic doors, elevator vs. stairs"). That direct input will make your next iteration 10x stronger.
Data sourcing strategy. The app's value depends on accurate accessibility data. Think about how you'd actually populate it: crowdsourcing from users? Partnering with Google Maps/OpenStreetMap accessibility tags? Scraping city ADA compliance records? Having a clear answer to "where does the data come from?" will make your pitch much more convincing and your product more viable.
Keep pushing, you're solving something that matters.
I love that you'll are tackling a real life problem that so many people look over. We need more such ideas, build over this and keep up the good work! A few pointers to help you:
1. How can we make the data source for this more reliable? Perhaps you could leverage some APIs from Google/Open maps/ Transit systems like MTA.
2. How are you getting the current accessibility data and how does AI help here is a bit unclear to me from the presentation. Adding those to future presentations will help make the objective more clearer.
Keep up the great work ! :)
1. How can we make the data source for this more reliable? Perhaps you could leverage some APIs from Google/Open maps/ Transit systems like MTA.
2. How are you getting the current accessibility data and how does AI help here is a bit unclear to me from the presentation. Adding those to future presentations will help make the objective more clearer.
Keep up the great work ! :)
