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EduEgg 3D Render
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EduEgg Front View
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Real-life Prototype
Inspiration
Imagine a classroom where most students are actively asking questions and engaging with their teacher. But for mute and deaf students, it’s a different story. They often struggle to articulate their thoughts, relying on writing or sign language—methods that slow communication and create misunderstandings. In Singapore, more than 1000 deaf or mute students are enrolled in mainstream schools. These students are more likely to fall behind due to communication barriers. Written communication disrupts lessons, and sign language can be ineffective if teachers are not proficient, leaving students isolated in a one-way communication environment.
What it does
Introducing EduEgg, an innovative table companion that bridges this gap. Think of Kahoot, but instead of answering questions, you’re the one asking them, and the teacher responds to those questions immediately. EduEgg listens to the teacher and displays the latest topics covered in class. When a student has a question, they simply select the relevant topic, sending an immediate alert to the teacher to revisit the concept.
How we built it
Combining Speech-to-Text and LLMs to interpret lesson contents and summarize them. Subsequently, the summary is posed as options to the student in the form of a kid-friendly, fun design that makes the classroom more engaging and less intimidating. The students can simply click on the option that they need further clarification about the topic as the teacher is teaching these concepts.
Challenges we ran into
As a hardware team, we encountered significant challenges due to resource and time constraints. With a limited number of 3D printers available, we could only allocate up to four hours of print time for hardware components, restricting our design scope. The biggest hurdle, however, came with the microcontrollers—troubleshooting the ESP32 consumed a substantial portion of our time as we worked to get our initial code running. Adding to the difficulty, our touchscreen malfunctioned halfway through the Hackathon, forcing us to rebuild the system from scratch and incurring additional time penalties.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
At the start of the Hackathon, we were able to ideate quickly and produced a solution that was unlike any other product in the market. Even though our S3 Box malfunctioned and we were not able to get a replacement for it, the team successfully pivoted to using an ESP32 with a another touchscreen which yielded better results as there was more screen space as compared to the S3 Box. Being the team's first time integrating many different software features together with the ESP32 which presented a steep learning curve.
What we learned
Despite the challenges we faced, this experience taught us the importance of adaptability, teamwork, and perseverance. We learned to manage our resources effectively under constraints and discovered how to troubleshoot hardware issues creatively, even when setbacks seemed insurmountable. The pivot from the S3 Box to the ESP32 with a new touchscreen was a testament to our ability to adapt quickly and turn obstacles into opportunities, ultimately enhancing our solution with a larger and more functional screen. Integrating various software features with the ESP32 for the first time pushed us out of our comfort zone and deepened our technical knowledge. Overall, we are proud of how we tackled challenges head-on and successfully delivered a solution that exceeded our initial expectations.
What's next for Team TRIFECTA - EduEgg
At 10x less than the cost of an iPad and free from smartphone distractions, EduEgg is an affordable, focused solution. Its kid-friendly, playful design makes classrooms more engaging and less intimidating, while its simple interface empowers students to seek clarification with a single touch. With minimal setup, EduEgg can be easily integrated into any classroom. By partnering with schools starting with Beatty Secondary School who supports the needs of students with disabilities, we can scale EduEgg to reach all students in need, building an inclusive environment for students with disabilities to learn amongst their peers.
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