Students create innovative app for visually impaired and win global challenge
- Students from Pembroke Pines Charter High School won the first global edition of the Otis Made to Move Communities student challenge.
- The challenge involved over 250 students from 28 schools across various countries working on AI solutions for inclusive mobility.
- The success of Pembroke Pines students highlights the potential of youth-led innovation in addressing real-world challenges.
On May 7, 2025, Pembroke Pines Charter High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida, achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first-ever global winners of the Otis Made to Move Communities student challenge. This annual challenge, which aims to encourage students to address urbanization issues and promote inclusive mobility, engages high school students across the globe. Over 250 students from 28 schools spanning 16 countries and territories participated this year, showcasing their creativity and problem-solving skills by developing solutions that incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) principles. Students worked diligently over the last few months, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to design innovative concepts that could enhance mobility for visually impaired individuals. Each team was guided by Otis volunteer mentors as they crafted their ideas and presented them to judges from Otis across four global regions: the Americas, Asia Pacific, China, and EMEA. Both the local and global competitions provided platforms for students to learn about AI and its real-world applications while competing against their peers. The Pembroke Pines team initially won the Americas regional challenge, successfully competing against six other teams from the U.S., Canada, and Brazil. Their victory propelled them into the final round, where they faced off against the regional champions from Asia Pacific, China, and EMEA. In an exciting culmination, Pembroke Pines was named the global champion, emphasizing the importance of youth innovation in addressing real challenges in their communities. The challenge resulted in grants for all participating schools to further support STEM programming, with the three other regional winners receiving $20,000 each to enhance educational efforts at their respective institutions. The Made to Move Communities program, launched in 2020, has already reached over 1,000 participants and has involved more than 950 Otis volunteer mentors, delivering nearly 100 grants totaling over $1 million. This initiative not only fosters innovation but also inspires young leaders to leverage technology for societal benefit.