Image courtesy of HangNow group.

In an effort to foster spontaneous connections among students—who are discouraged from attending large gatherings due to COVID-19—a team of undergraduates designed and built HangNow. When students are craving company, they simply turn to the physical box. It features buttons offering four options—hang now, walk now, study now, and food now. A press of the button connects them via text message to others who pressed the same button. Users receive names and phone numbers so they can easily connect with others.

“The product was built to encourage meaningful connection in the age of COVID-19, and we’re passionate about the prospect of bringing these spontaneous interactions to the ’24 class,” the winning team reported in its project video. Inventors Derek Lue ’21, Brady McCallister ’21, Zoe Schwartzman ’21, and Sunaina Sekaran ’22 won the Phillip R. Jackson Award for best overall performance in ENGS 21: Introduction to Engineering. Their teaching assistant was Ellie Baker ’22.