Eco2Go is one of 50 finalist teams selected by Google to compete in $5 million competition

Waterloo – A team of five Canadian engineering students have won a Top 50 spot in the Google Android Development Challenge, a competition to develop innovative mobile phone applications. Jeff Kao, Robert Lam, Taneem Talukdar, Gary Pong and Jason Wong beat out more than 1,700 entries from individuals, teams and companies from around the world by creating an application entitled Eco2go that helps users reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact. The team has been awarded $25,000 to continue to develop their application.

“This competition was the perfect sandbox for us to explore our ideas about promoting sustainable living through creative use of technology,” says Robert Lam, recent graduate of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo. “To have made it to the Top 50, out of 1,700 entries, is unbelievable.”

Announced in November 2007, the Google Android Developers Challenge invited developers to submit innovative and useful mobile applications. Ten million dollars in total prize money has been allocated by Google for the competition.

“We developed the idea for our application after we realized that many car owners are concerned about climate change, but they don’t know how to connect their daily actions with their impact on the planet,” explains Gary Pong, a Masters Candidate at the University of Toronto. “Our application is designed to inspire people to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle by enabling them to accurately measure their carbon footprint and empowering them to make educated lifestyle choices.”

Eco2go addresses the user’s carbon footprint and environmental impact in three ways. First, the application automatically tracks the user’s daily movements and calculates their personal carbon footprint. Once evaluated, the application will show the user how they can reduce their personal carbon emissions by using public transit instead of driving. The application also tracks the user’s results over time. For privacy reasons the user’s travel information is stored on their phone only.

Second, Eco2go encourages the user to stay motivated by enabling them to connect with the larger Eco2go Community. This is a vibrant network of users who swap stories and ideas, organize local initiatives and share information. “We recognize how important a community is to encouraging users in their commitment to reduce their carbon footprint, and the Eco2go network is available right on your phone” explains Jeff Kao, a recent graduate of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo. “Most people aren’t going to go home and blog about a great deal at the local coffee shop if you bring in a reusable mug, for example” says Jeff, ”but you can tell your friends from your phone while you’re waiting in line.”.

Finally, Eco2go also allows the user to track carbon offsets that they can use to counter their carbon footprint. Eco2go users can get carbon offsets by investing in carbon reduction initiatives around the world such as alternative energy projects.

“We’ve got lots of ideas, but we are always looking for more. We invite anyone who is interested in our application to visit our website at eco2go.org and share their thoughts with us”, says teammate Taneem Talukdar, recent graduate of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo. “Our vision is to change the world by giving people a sense of self awareness about their carbon footprint and by giving people a way to gradually change their lifestyle with the help of an enthusiastic and involved community.”