{"690541":{"#nid":"690541","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Student Entrepreneurs Win Big in Klaus Startup Challenge Finale","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith more than half a million dollars at stake, it\u2019s no surprise that nearly 160 student teams entered the College of Computing\u2019s sixth annual Klaus Startup Challenge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe competition to win one of four $150,000 startup investments began in February and ended in April when 17 teams pitched their startup concepts to judges at a live Demo Day event held on April 22.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Klaus Startup Challenge was a huge success, and we were thrilled with the level of participation and energy in the room,\u201d said \u003Cstrong\u003ETamar\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003EWilkins\u003C\/strong\u003E, event organizer and GT Computing academic program manager.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe added that the event showcases the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit within the College of Computing community, and provides students with access to workshops, mentors, and networking opportunities with alumni, founders, and industry leaders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe startup challenge is designed to help students move beyond the classroom to begin building real-world solutions through customer discovery, mentorship, pitch development, and startup storytelling.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom the arts to healthcare, this year\u2019s startup challenge highlighted a range of innovative ideas and technologies from student founders. The winning teams were:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e1b72b5bc2ca167b0b16a4013811c1127\u0022\u003EEnsemble \u2013 Co-founders \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jahnavi-bhansali\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJahnavi\u0026nbsp;Bhansali\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Cstrong\u003EJuhi\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003EBhatia\u003C\/strong\u003E created Ensemble to provide organizations with awareness of potential outcomes before decisions are made.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ec6f476f0332d1ab79d902d20150dc1aa\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/myobra.io\/\u0022\u003EMyObra\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 Developed by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/fernrey\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFernando\u0026nbsp;Reyes\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, MyObra is home-service management software that combines job scheduling, invoicing, estimates, digital signatures, and customer management into a single platform for contractors.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e050aafd7edd90d3b975088bd94e622fd\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/kairoshealth\/\u0022\u003EKairos Health\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 Co-founders \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tanush-chintala.github.io\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETanushChintala\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/sanjana-kavula-710384236\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESanjana\u0026nbsp;Kavula\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/adhira-tippur\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdhira\u0026nbsp;Tippur\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E developed Kairos Health as an AI-powered patient intake and front-desk automation platform built for dental offices and clinics.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e8d2e82c0ffc88643faa8c8b6b775419d\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/sway-formations\/\u0022\u003ESway Formations\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013\u0026nbsp;Created by founder \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/arnav-chokshi\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EArnav\u0026nbsp;Chokshi\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and teammates \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/yash-shelar\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYash\u0026nbsp;Shelar\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/heettshahh\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHeet\u0026nbsp;Shah\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Sway Formations is an AI-powered formation builder that enables dance teams, choreographers, production managers, and others to create, share, and teach complex group formations and movements.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach winning team received $150,000 in funding support from Fusen World, a platform founded in 2022 by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chklaus\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChristopher Klaus\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Fusen World CEO, GT alumnus, technology entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Fusen was launched to empower student founders worldwide to successfully launch and grow their startups.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong with Klaus, the judges for this year\u2019s startup challenge were:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e01bdd85729deb073631fa1b110677626\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/joeuhl\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJoe Uhl\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 partner at Dogwood Ventures, GT Computing advisory board member\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ec23d13475d193f4bcabf764900bc54f7\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/margaretweniger\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMargaret Weniger\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 CREATE-X director of entrepreneurial programs\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e88766eff7727325ee0a47137c656291b\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/katrina-montinola\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKatrina Montinola\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013\u0026nbsp;fractional and interim CTO, CAIO with True Sage LLC and EV2X.AI, GT alumna (ICS 1988), GT Computing advisory board member\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo be eligible for the Klaus Startup Challenge, at least one co-founder for each team must be a current GT Computing student.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom the arts to healthcare, the 6th annual College of Computing Klaus Startup Challenge highlighted a range of innovative ideas and technologies from student startup founders. More than 160 student teams participated in the challenge, each vying for its share of more than half a million dollars in startup funding.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From the arts to healthcare, this year\u2019s startup challenge highlighted a range of innovative ideas and technologies from student founders. "}],"uid":"32045","created_gmt":"2026-05-28 20:01:19","changed_gmt":"2026-05-29 16:46:36","author":"Ben Snedeker","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680366":{"id":"680366","type":"image","title":"2026-Klaus-Startup-Challenge-Winners.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA group photo of the judges and winners from the 6th annual Klaus Startup Challenge at Georgia Tech\u0027s College of Computing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1779998556","gmt_created":"2026-05-28 20:02:36","changed":"1779998556","gmt_changed":"2026-05-28 20:02:36","alt":"A group photo of the judges and winning teams from the 6th annual Klaus Startup Challenge at the College of Computing  ","file":{"fid":"264622","name":"2026-Klaus-Startup-Challenge-Winners.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/28\/2026-Klaus-Startup-Challenge-Winners.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/28\/2026-Klaus-Startup-Challenge-Winners.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":173208,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/28\/2026-Klaus-Startup-Challenge-Winners.jpg?itok=xOewhLum"}}},"media_ids":["680366"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3472","name":"entrepreneurship"},{"id":"194494","name":"Christopher W. Klaus"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBen Snedeker, Sr. Comms. Mgr.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Ealbert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690553":{"#nid":"690553","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New App Allows Anyone to Operate a Robot From Their Phone","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESomeone with no computing experience may soon be able to remotely control a robot from anywhere on the planet using a smartphone, thanks to new technology developed by Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new technology is also set to revolutionize the scale of policy training data collection, which is essential to advancing robotic capabilities and meeting growing production demand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cobalt-teleop.github.io\/\u0022\u003ECOBALT\u003C\/a\u003E is a mobile app that turns smartphones into controllers for robot arms. With a secure Wi-Fi connection to a server, users can move their phones in any direction, and the robot arm will mirror the motion \u2014 from anywhere in the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAyush Agarwal, a Ph.D. student in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing who leads a research team developing COBALT, said it works like the games people play on smartphones. Users can press a button to have the arm grasp an object, move it, and release it with another button.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAgarwal conducted several user studies with participants in nine countries who remotely operated robot arms inside Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.pair.toronto.edu\/\u0022\u003EPeople, AI \u0026amp; Robotics (PAIR) Lab\u003C\/a\u003E. The lab is directed by Assistant Professor Animesh Garg, who advises Agarwal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe built an entire distribution system for remote teleoperation scaled to where we had people from Indonesia, India, and Pakistan operating for us,\u201d Agarwal said. \u201cThey were novice operators who had never done it before. By collecting data from these new users, we showed that we can train policies to automate certain tasks.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGarg envisions a world where data collection for policy training is done through crowdsourcing. He began working toward this goal 10 years ago as a postdoc at Stanford University, when he developed\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/roboturk.stanford.edu\/\u0022\u003ERoboTurk\u003C\/a\u003E, an earlier version of COBALT.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere is a large-scale data collection requirement for mass robot production to be possible, and it will not be solved purely through simulation,\u201d Garg said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur idea was, what if we could get almost every person on the planet to be a passive source for data collection? There are almost five billion people who have smartphones and know how to use them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEducation and Economy Impact\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother major implication of COBALT could be expanded access to CS and robotics education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents can learn to operate a robot remotely in any classroom. In fact, Garg and his lab recently hosted students from Midtown High School in Atlanta to demonstrate COBALT and let them control robot arms from a phone.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGarg also sees the possibility of a \u201cgig economy\u201d in which people pay remote operators to control assistive robots in their homes and complete household chores for them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt could be Uber for robots,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople who want to log onto the platform can do so at their convenience and for as long as they want.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECompanies with robot-dependent labor tasks could also use the platform to enable human oversight.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf I deploy a robot in a factory that achieves high autonomy for most tasks, but there are still times it needs help, a human could operate the robot from anywhere in the world,\u201d Garg said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBuilding a Network\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAgarwal\u2019s studies showed that people prefer to interact with and control a robot using a smartphone rather than virtual reality (VR) headsets, controllers, keyboards, mice, or other devices.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe phone is a more intuitive interface and can provide data quality that\u2019s on par with other commonly used devices,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAgarwal also said there is minimal latency in the video feed sent back to operators on the other side of the world. That\u2019s because the amount of data being processed is small.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe data is carried over Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC), the same technology used by many streaming services and web conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s a connection from your phone to the teleoperation server, which is connected to the robots,\u201d Agarwal said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThen there\u2019s another connection from the teleoperation server back to the user, which allows for a video stream. We need low latency on both because you don\u2019t want the user to move their phone and wait 10 seconds to see the visual feed.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAgarwal is the co-lead author of a paper on COBALT that is being presented at the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/2026.ieee-icra.org\/\u0022\u003EIEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation\u003C\/a\u003E this week in Vienna. He said the paper stands out because it has moved from theory to the implementation of an entire distribution network.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe real novelty of our paper is the systems that we build around it to actually support the scaling of remote operation and data collection at a global level,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith a secure Wi-Fi connection to a server, users can move their phones in any direction, and the robot arm will mirror the motion \u2014 from anywhere in the world.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new mobile app turns smartphones into controllers for robot arms. "}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-05-29 16:37:15","changed_gmt":"2026-05-29 16:43:09","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680381":{"id":"680381","type":"image","title":"Animesh-Garg-lab_86A8356.jpg","body":null,"created":"1780072785","gmt_created":"2026-05-29 16:39:45","changed":"1780072785","gmt_changed":"2026-05-29 16:39:45","alt":"Three men use their phones to control a robot arm","file":{"fid":"264637","name":"Animesh-Garg-lab_86A8356.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/Animesh-Garg-lab_86A8356.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/Animesh-Garg-lab_86A8356.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":186525,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/29\/Animesh-Garg-lab_86A8356.jpg?itok=8WOofrjN"}}},"media_ids":["680381"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"168927","name":"smartphones"},{"id":"44461","name":"robot arm"},{"id":"93131","name":"ICRA"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690549":{"#nid":"690549","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Places Among North America\u2019s Best at Competitive Programming Championship ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/student-organizations\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ecompetitive programming team\u003C\/a\u003E placed seventh at the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) North America Championship (NAC), earning a bronze medal and further cementing its standing among the continent\u2019s elite collegiate teams.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe NAC is the highest level of regional competition in the ICPC.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPreparation, Chemistry Drive Performance\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the team, the achievement was the product of months of deliberate preparation and a carefully balanced roster.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve been practicing consistently since September,\u201d said \u003Cstrong\u003EKevin Shan\u003C\/strong\u003E, a third-year computer science (CS) student and three-year team member. \u201cAs a result, we\u2019ve developed pretty strong team chemistry as well as a good understanding of what each person\u2019s strengths are.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat chemistry proved critical in a contest format that demands technical mastery and coordination under pressure. ICPC competitions require teams to collaboratively solve complex algorithmic problems within a fixed time limit, often forcing quick decisions about strategy, debugging, and division of labor.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Team Built on Experience and Talent\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team reflects a blend of experience across multiple levels of competitive programming. Shan earned his second NAC medal this year, while first-year CS student \u003Cstrong\u003EZachary Chao\u003C\/strong\u003E entered with adistinguished background, including a bronze medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) representing Taiwan. \u003Cstrong\u003EZejia Chen\u003C\/strong\u003E, a PhD student, added further depth as a former ICPC World Finals competitor.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite differences in format, Chao said the transition from individual to team competition was natural.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAlthough IOI and ICPC have very different contest formats, the skills required to excel in both competitions are very similar,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to adapt to the team environment, but in terms of problem solving, my experience definitely translated.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe also emphasized that success in competitive programming is less about seniority and more about skill and practice.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI feel like grade level isn\u2019t too relevant to ICPC,\u201d he said. \u201cAs long as a contestant is able to compete at a certain level, it doesn\u2019t really matter what grade they are.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMoments That Defined the Competition\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Shan, competing at multiple levels over three years has sharpened his understanding of how each stage differs. \u201cThe contests at different levels\u2014regionals, NAC, and World Finals\u2014all have unique characteristics,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s important not only to practice on different sets for these contests but also to approach them differently.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe emotional turning point came at the very end of the competition. After struggling to debug the final solution, the team members were unsure of how they had performed. \u201cWe were all pretty bummed,\u201d Shan said. \u201cSo the best part was definitely finding out at the award ceremony that we were awarded a medal.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond the results, Georgia Tech\u2019s reputation was evident throughout the competition. According to School of Computing Instruction faculty member and ICPC advisor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/meet-faculty-abrahim-ladha-brings-longstanding-connection-teaching-georgia-tech\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbrahim Ladha\u003C\/strong\u003E,\u003C\/a\u003E competitors from other universities recognized the team.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWalking around with them, they were treated like celebrities. Competitors from other schools knew of them, the way people talk about Haynes King or something,\u201d Ladha said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGetting a bronze at NAC is a huge deal, and they all will have jobs lined up because of this.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELooking Ahead\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChen, who has competed internationally, noted that the NAC stands out not just for its difficulty but also for the broader experience it offers. Compared to the competitions he attended during his undergraduate years, he described NAC as \u201cmuch richer and more engaging,\u201d with opportunities to connect with peers, attend talks, and explore career pathways alongside the contest.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the same time, the team remains focused on continued growth. \u201cWinning a bronze medal gives us encouragement,\u201d Chen said, noting that the experience will help guide their preparation for future competitions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/student-organizations\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ecompetitive programming team\u003C\/a\u003E placed seventh at the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) North America Championship (NAC), earning a bronze medal and further cementing its standing among the continent\u2019s elite collegiate teams.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech\u2019s competitive programming team placed seventh at the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) North America Championship (NAC), earning a bronze medal and further cementing its standing among the continent\u2019s elite collegiate teams."}],"uid":"36613","created_gmt":"2026-05-29 14:28:10","changed_gmt":"2026-05-29 14:32:18","author":"Emily Smith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680374":{"id":"680374","type":"image","title":"icpc261.jpg","body":null,"created":"1780064921","gmt_created":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","changed":"1780064921","gmt_changed":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","alt":"ICPC","file":{"fid":"264630","name":"icpc261.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc261.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc261.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":920772,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc261.jpg?itok=YsUzeYxr"}},"680375":{"id":"680375","type":"image","title":"icpc262.jpg","body":null,"created":"1780064921","gmt_created":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","changed":"1780064921","gmt_changed":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","alt":"ICPC","file":{"fid":"264631","name":"icpc262.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc262.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc262.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":306478,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc262.jpg?itok=r3HWZb3T"}},"680376":{"id":"680376","type":"image","title":"icpc263.jpg","body":null,"created":"1780064921","gmt_created":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","changed":"1780064921","gmt_changed":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","alt":"ICPC","file":{"fid":"264632","name":"icpc263.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc263.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc263.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":296131,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc263.jpg?itok=YzIYKxEc"}},"680377":{"id":"680377","type":"image","title":"icpc264.jpg","body":null,"created":"1780064921","gmt_created":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","changed":"1780064921","gmt_changed":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","alt":"ICPC","file":{"fid":"264633","name":"icpc264.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc264.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc264.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":174121,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc264.jpg?itok=c6GcR8p9"}},"680378":{"id":"680378","type":"image","title":"icpc265.jpg","body":null,"created":"1780064921","gmt_created":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","changed":"1780064921","gmt_changed":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","alt":"ICPC","file":{"fid":"264634","name":"icpc265.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc265.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc265.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":321409,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc265.jpg?itok=WwTvHDNI"}},"680379":{"id":"680379","type":"image","title":"icpc266.jpg","body":null,"created":"1780064921","gmt_created":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","changed":"1780064921","gmt_changed":"2026-05-29 14:28:41","alt":"ICPC","file":{"fid":"264635","name":"icpc266.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc266.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc266.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":331488,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/29\/icpc266.jpg?itok=6QG-2rJr"}}},"media_ids":["680374","680375","680376","680377","680378","680379"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"660374","name":"School of Computing Instruction"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"}],"keywords":[{"id":"193866","name":"school of computing instruction"},{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"181393","name":"student competitions"},{"id":"183621","name":"ICPC North America Championship"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["emily.smith@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690525":{"#nid":"690525","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Framework Enhances AR Experience by Predicting Where Users Will Look","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAugmented reality (AR) devices like smart glasses may soon be able to predict where a user will look and provide an enhanced interactive experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/fkryan.github.io\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFiona Ryan\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a Ph.D. student in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing, is pioneering research that tracks and predicts user gaze from a first-person perspective in 3D environments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrently, most AR devices react to where users look, playing catch-up. Ryan\u2019s method could give these devices a heads-up and make the user experience more seamless.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt allows an AR system to anticipate what the person will interact with next and where they\u2019re going to look next so it can proactively render the experience,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERyan is the lead author of the paper \u003Cem\u003EForecasting 3D Scanpaths in Egocentric Video,\u003C\/em\u003E which she will present next week at the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cvpr.thecvf.com\/\u0022\u003EIEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition\u003C\/a\u003E (CVPR) in Denver.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile there is existing research on predicting user gaze from 2D still images, her work is the first to address the issue through a 3D framework.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBecause we live in a 3D world and people are dynamically moving around from multiple points of view, we need to predict gaze in 3D rather than 2D,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is a path of the person\u2019s attention in 3D through space. Our paper is the first to attempt to model this.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERyan conducted most of the research while interning at Meta, where she used data from Meta\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.projectaria.com\/datasets\/adt\/\u0022\u003EAria Digital Twin dataset\u003C\/a\u003E. The dataset contains first-person video footage of users interacting with objects in an apartment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe chose that dataset because it has a high-fidelity 3D reconstruction of a full environment, which helps us get a ground-truth 3D gaze,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can trace eye movement and see how it intersects with the environment.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA video demonstration of Ryan\u2019s work shows her software tracking a user\u2019s path toward a table with a cup on it. Once the user picks up the cup, the software correctly predicts the direction the user will turn next.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen we look at a scene, we don\u2019t take in everything in full detail all at once,\u201d she said. \u201cWe fixate on certain areas, and our gaze is a sequence of fixations, which might depend on what we\u2019re trying to do. If we want to pick up a cup, we might look toward that and then the next step would be looking at where we\u2019re going to put it down.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERyan said the software can predict, on average, up to three seconds into the future \u2014 and as far as 10 seconds in some cases. That\u2019s enough time for the AR system to proactively render a more enhanced environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re not looking that far into the future right now, but it would be interesting to explore longer forecasting windows,\u201d she said. \u201cI think potential futures would diverge pretty quickly, so we\u2019re trying to explore what can reasonably be predicted from a short segment of a person looking and moving through space.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERyan said her paper served as a proof-of-concept, and that there is still much future work to be done. She already has some ideas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think future models can include different scenarios to help narrow down possibilities. Sometimes a person\u2019s gaze stays on one thing for a long time. If we know what someone is trying to do, we\u2019ll have a better idea of the likely path their attention might go.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere could also be future implications for her work in robotics research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt could potentially be used for training algorithms for robots to emulate active human perception. If we can understand what a person looks at as they perform a task, we could use that to facilitate a robot learning to do that same task.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPh.D. student Fiona Ryan has created a new framework for tracking and predicting user gaze in Augmented Reality devices. If these devices know where a user will look next, it can proactively display information and interactive features more seamlessly.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ph.D. student Fiona Ryan has created a new framework for tracking and predicting user gaze in Augmented Reality devices"}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-05-27 21:15:00","changed_gmt":"2026-05-27 21:16:17","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680364":{"id":"680364","type":"image","title":"IMG_2114.JPG","body":null,"created":"1779916518","gmt_created":"2026-05-27 21:15:18","changed":"1779916518","gmt_changed":"2026-05-27 21:15:18","alt":"Fiona Ryan","file":{"fid":"264620","name":"IMG_2114.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/27\/IMG_2114.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/27\/IMG_2114.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":100549,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/27\/IMG_2114.JPG?itok=uM3cBtPX"}}},"media_ids":["680364"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1597","name":"Augmented Reality"},{"id":"11506","name":"computer vision"},{"id":"183308","name":"smart glasses"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690524":{"#nid":"690524","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Framework Enhances AR Experience by Predicting Where Users Will Look","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAugmented reality (AR) devices like smart glasses may soon be able to predict where a user will look and provide an enhanced interactive experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/fkryan.github.io\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFiona Ryan\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a Ph.D. student in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing, is pioneering research that tracks and predicts user gaze from a first-person perspective in 3D environments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrently, most AR devices react to where users look, playing catch-up. Ryan\u2019s method could give these devices a heads-up and make the user experience more seamless.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt allows an AR system to anticipate what the person will interact with next and where they\u2019re going to look next so it can proactively render the experience,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERyan is the lead author of the paper \u003Cem\u003EForecasting 3D Scanpaths in Egocentric Video,\u003C\/em\u003E which she will present next week at the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cvpr.thecvf.com\/\u0022\u003EIEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition\u003C\/a\u003E (CVPR) in Denver.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile there is existing research on predicting user gaze from 2D still images, her work is the first to address the issue through a 3D framework.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBecause we live in a 3D world and people are dynamically moving around from multiple points of view, we need to predict gaze in 3D rather than 2D,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is a path of the person\u2019s attention in 3D through space. Our paper is the first to attempt to model this.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERyan conducted most of the research while interning at Meta, where she used data from Meta\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.projectaria.com\/datasets\/adt\/\u0022\u003EAria Digital Twin dataset\u003C\/a\u003E. The dataset contains first-person video footage of users interacting with objects in an apartment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe chose that dataset because it has a high-fidelity 3D reconstruction of a full environment, which helps us get a ground-truth 3D gaze,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can trace eye movement and see how it intersects with the environment.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA video demonstration of Ryan\u2019s work shows her software tracking a user\u2019s path toward a table with a cup on it. Once the user picks up the cup, the software correctly predicts the direction the user will turn next.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen we look at a scene, we don\u2019t take in everything in full detail all at once,\u201d she said. \u201cWe fixate on certain areas, and our gaze is a sequence of fixations, which might depend on what we\u2019re trying to do. If we want to pick up a cup, we might look toward that and then the next step would be looking at where we\u2019re going to put it down.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERyan said the software can predict, on average, up to three seconds into the future \u2014 and as far as 10 seconds in some cases. That\u2019s enough time for the AR system to proactively render a more enhanced environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re not looking that far into the future right now, but it would be interesting to explore longer forecasting windows,\u201d she said. \u201cI think potential futures would diverge pretty quickly, so we\u2019re trying to explore what can reasonably be predicted from a short segment of a person looking and moving through space.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERyan said her paper served as a proof-of-concept, and that there is still much future work to be done. She already has some ideas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think future models can include different scenarios to help narrow down possibilities. Sometimes a person\u2019s gaze stays on one thing for a long time. If we know what someone is trying to do, we\u2019ll have a better idea of the likely path their attention might go.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere could also be future implications for her work in robotics research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt could potentially be used for training algorithms for robots to emulate active human perception. If we can understand what a person looks at as they perform a task, we could use that to facilitate a robot learning to do that same task.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPh.D. student Fiona Ryan has created a new framework for tracking and predicting user gaze in Augmented Reality devices. If these devices know where a user will look next, it can proactively display information and interactive features more seamlessly.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ph.D. student Fiona Ryan has created a new framework for tracking and predicting user gaze in Augmented Reality devices"}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2026-05-27 20:42:33","changed_gmt":"2026-05-27 20:42:33","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"188776","name":"go-research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1597","name":"Augmented Reality"},{"id":"11506","name":"computer vision"},{"id":"183308","name":"smart glasses"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"690376":{"#nid":"690376","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Online Age Checks Create a Pointless Privacy Risk","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew cybersecurity research indicates that one of the world\u2019s leading age verification providers collects and shares highly sensitive personal data\u2014including facial photos and device fingerprints\u2014with third parties.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research also reveals that most websites that require age verification don\u2019t enforce the policy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe findings come from a new paper that researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) will present at this week\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sp2026.ieee-security.org\/\u0022\u003EIEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E conference in San Francisco.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team examined \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.yoti.com\/\u0022\u003EYoti\u003C\/a\u003E, a London-based company that\u0026nbsp;provides age-verification services for an estimated 60% of websites that require it. Its \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.yoti.com\/blog\/digital-identity-company-yoti-receives-12-5-million-funding-from-hsbc\/#:~:text=Meta,NSPCC\u0022\u003Eclient list\u003C\/a\u003E includes Meta, OnlyFans, Sony PlayStation, and TikTok.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team determined that the process Yoti uses to verify a person\u2019s age broadcasts the person\u2019s personal information to third- and fourth-party companies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen a bartender checks an ID, they quickly verify a customer\u2019s date of birth and identity before serving them. Companies like Yoti that employ digital age verification claim their products function the same way, but in a completely private manner.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat analogy has justified laws passed in 25 U.S. states \u2014 comprising more than 40% of Americans \u2014 mandating the use of digital age verification to gate access to social media and adult online content.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, by measuring online age verification, researchers reveal that the reality of these systems is far from ideal. The study found that most sites covered by these laws do not appear to enforce age verification.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen sites comply, they force users to use third-party age-verification services like Yoti, which collect and share highly sensitive data with other third parties.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere have been laws passed and court cases settled on the promise that these companies are incentivized to keep users\u2019 data private\u201d said Assistant Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mikespecter.com\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMichael A. Specter\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scp.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cWe found that reality is starkly different.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDigital age verification laws are being considered by other legislative bodies to bar minors from social media sites. The problem, Specter and his colleagues argue, is that current methods of age verification are ineffective and create new privacy risks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn legal arguments, there have been comparisons to these services acting like a bartender checking IDs,\u201d said Specter. \u201cHowever, what is really happening is the bartender is making photocopies of the patron\u2019s license and sending it to their food vendors.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the researchers, the data is then sent to credit card companies, IP geolocation services, and data brokers. The researchers found that the information being shared can be used to identify and track devices. For example, a single verification attempt may transmit a user\u2019s facial image, IP address, and device fingerprint to credit card companies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAside from privacy concerns, researchers note that differing state policies could lead to what they call the Balkanization of the U.S. web. In other words, users may have access to different parts of the internet depending on the state they are in. This will potentially limit the free exchange of ideas and information.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Assistant Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/hoppenheimer\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHarry Oppenheimer\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/spp.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EJimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy\u003C\/a\u003E, users are already accustomed to experiencing the internet differently across countries. However, this may signal the beginning of similar fragmentation within the United States.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are going to start seeing comparable differences between U.S. states,\u201d said Oppenheimer. \u201cUsers in some states will now have to go through additional steps to access information. Close your laptop in New York before a flight to Dallas and try to load the same web page\u2014now you see two different results.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe also observed age verification deployed on websites accessed from New York, which has no law requiring verification,\u201d said Associate Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pearce.prof\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPaul Pearce\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003Eof UC Irvine\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cs.ics.uci.edu\/\u0022\u003EDepartment of Computer Science\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe don\u2019t know why these sites are deploying such verification\u2014it could be a move to limit liability or simplify operations. Regardless, it points to an emerging threat for the open Internet where restrictive laws from some states could impact the entire country and beyond.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is why we can\u2019t have nice things,\u201d Specter added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mikespecter.com\/assets\/pdf\/AgeVerification.pdf\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPapers Please: A First Look at Age Verification on the Web\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E,\u003C\/em\u003E was led by Georgia Tech Ph.D. student \u003Cstrong\u003EShreyas Minocha\u003C\/strong\u003E, undergraduate Isaac Sheridan, and Oppenheimer, Pearce, and Specter. It is part of the proceedings of the 47th IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy and will be presented in San Francisco on May 20, and was featured in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Farstechnica.com%2Ftech-policy%2F2026%2F03%2Fafter-discord-fiasco-age-check-tech-promises-privacy-by-running-locally-does-it-work%2F\u0026amp;data=05%7C02%7Cjohn.popham%40cc.gatech.edu%7C9618dbf4c61140338f5508deb7673edd%7C482198bbae7b4b258b7a6d7f32faa083%7C1%7C0%7C639149851249813372%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C\u0026amp;sdata=WDS9aMmP8UCwjQdFIuZh73PMNG%2Be4Ks949IjaeUZv%2FI%3D\u0026amp;reserved=0\u0022 title=\u0022Original URL:\u0026#13;https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/tech-policy\/2026\/03\/after-discord-fiasco-age-check-tech-promises-privacy-by-running-locally-does-it-work\/\u0026#13;\u0026#13;Click to follow link.\u0022\u003EArstechnica\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew cybersecurity research indicates that one of the world\u2019s leading age verification providers collects and shares highly sensitive personal data\u2014including facial photos and device fingerprints\u2014with third parties.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research also reveals that most websites that require age verification don\u2019t enforce the policy.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New cybersecurity research indicates that one of the world\u2019s leading age verification providers collects and shares highly sensitive personal data with third parties and in some cases don\u0027t even enforce the policy.."}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2026-05-19 15:01:23","changed_gmt":"2026-05-22 12:02:29","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680309":{"id":"680309","type":"image","title":"Digital-ID.jpg","body":null,"created":"1779203176","gmt_created":"2026-05-19 15:06:16","changed":"1779203176","gmt_changed":"2026-05-19 15:06:16","alt":"A hand holds up a digital identification card. The card has the silhouette of a man wearing a suit and tie. ","file":{"fid":"264556","name":"Digital-ID.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/19\/Digital-ID.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/19\/Digital-ID.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1508599,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/19\/Digital-ID.jpg?itok=M-WXTSUO"}}},"media_ids":["680309"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"365","name":"Research"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"182941","name":"cc-research; ic-cybersecurity; ic-hcc"},{"id":"1404","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II at the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}