Heart massage app developed by UT student wins award in the US

The CPR:Helper app, devised by Šimoník, provides clear instructions on how to resuscitate someone, gives some background information and allows users to practise digitally. It also has an emergency mode, which provides step-by-step instructions.

Prizes

In addition to a set of original AirPods, the Czech-born programmer received a one-year licence for the App Store to upload apps for free (which normally costs around a hundred dollars per upload), a certificate for the Swift programming language and, during the conference, access to a restricted area of the legendary Apple Park, where he met big names in the developer world. “A great opportunity to expand my network and meet some big names in real life.”

During the conference, the winners were treated to a pre-screening of F1: The Movie, a new Apple TV+ film starring Brad Pitt, which will be released at the end of June.

Hobby

Participating apps had to meet a number of criteria. Šimoník: “They had to follow a certain structure, be built with Swift and SwiftUI, and not take up too much space. And they had to have an educational or social purpose.” He came up with the idea because he is a Czech-trained first-aider himself. “And I’ve been making apps for Apple as a hobby for a long time.” His creations include Thullium, an app for learning the Periodic Table of Elements, and Dreamie, a bucket list app.

Czech magazine

To fund his trip to the US, he asked a Czech magazine to sponsor him in exchange for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look. They jumped at the chance. ‘A Czech in Silicon Valley, that doesn’t happen every day,’ explains Šimoník. For a place to stay, he got in touch with alumni Jan-Willem Bierman and Quirina de Ruiter, who have been living in the Bay Area for some time, through the University of Twente. ‘All in all, it was a great experience.’

He doesn’t have any big plans for now. His CPR:Helper app has been downloaded about 300 times. He earns very little from the advertisements. “It’s enough to buy a few cups of coffee. I don’t advertise it, as I don’t know how to. Maybe I can use AI for that someday.”

Source: U-Today