Students from National Taiwan University and Shih Chien University won the 3^rd place in the 2021 Corning Future Innovative Application Competition and earned 100,000 NTD for their invention “WA DI JA Guide Stick and Wristband”. 

The Corning Future Innovator Competition is one of the most challenged STEM competition in Taiwan.  The competition challenges college, graduate, and Ph.D. students to observe a real-world problem, then solve it using any of three materials — glass, ceramics or fiber — that are central to Corning’s innovations. In 2021, the main theme of this contest is “Developing a New Sustainable Generation 2030”.

This interdisciplinary team “Vision: was led by Prof. Chen-Yu Kao (Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University) and Prof. Yih-Tsu Hahn (Social Work Department).　“The collaboration between Social Work Department helps us to develop the empathy and to understand the need of the visually impaired people” Says Kao. “WA DI JA, is Taiwanese homophonic which means: I am Here.  Our invention “WA DI JA Guide Stick and Wristband” tried to help the visually impaired people to get on the bus by enhancing their visualization to the bus drivers and helpers.  It also meets the target of SDGs” Says Kao. 

The target 11.2 of SDGs is that: By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons. They anticipate this new invention can also apply to other disabilities such as Physical Disorder and Mental Disorder, and solve their problem by easing their burden in taking public transportation.