Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today announced the winner of the 2020 Congressional App Challenge from Washington’s 1^st Congressional District. The winning app, called Distancing Camera, was created by Pierce Zhang, Sidharth Ganesh, and Trung Pham of Tesla STEM High School.

Their app is designed to make social distancing easier by warning users if others are too close. The app uses a phone’s camera to measure the distance between the phone and other people or the distance between two people in its view. The app alerts the user if social distancing is being violated in either case. A demo of Distancing Camera can be found here.

“As a tech leader before coming to Congress, I know firsthand that innovation requires creative entrepreneurs,” said DelBene. “I am immensely proud of the students from Washington’s 1^st Congressional District for their ingenuity, and I thank all those who entered this year’s App Challenge for their willingness to share their hard work with us. This year’s winner designed and created a useful tool with timely application to the current public health crisis. Congratulations on all your hard work.”

The winning app was selected by a panel of impartial judges. Distancing Camera will now go on display in the U.S. Capitol for one year, along with winning apps from other congressional districts.

DelBene has been a Co-chair of the Congressional App Challenge since 2018.