When you are sitting at the terminal waiting for your flight or taking the bus to get to work, have you ever thought about who used your seat last? More importantly, have you ever thought about the last time that seat was cleaned? Sadly, it is uncertain to see if it was properly sanitized in the last hour, yesterday, in the last week, or even last month. Especially during these tough times, everyone wants to be assured that they are always in a safe and healthy environment. Through the Founders Lab, our team is collaborating with an engineering capstone team to bring automated seat cleaning technology into the market. This product is a custom-designed seat cover that is tear-resistant and provides a sanitary surface for anyone to sit on. When someone leaves the seat, a pressure sensor is triggered, and the cover is replaced with a secondary cover that was stored in a UV radiated container. The waterproof fabric and internal filters prevent spills and food crumbs from remaining when the user changes. The reason for bringing this product into the market is due to the unsanitary conditions in many high traffic areas. This technology can be implemented in public transportation, restaurants, sports stadiums, and much more. It will instantly improve the efficiency of sanitation for many businesses and keep a promise to its users that they will never bring something they sat on back home. #Safeseating

A large section of United States citizens live far away from supermarkets and do not have an easy way to get to one. This portion of the population lives in an area called a food desert. Food deserts are geographic areas in which access to affordable, healthy food, such as fresh produce, is limited or completely nonexistent due to the absence of convenient grocery stores. Individuals living in food deserts are left to rely on convenience store snacks and fast food for their meals because they do not have access to a grocery store with fresh produce in their area. Unhealthy foods also lead to health issues, as people living in food deserts are typically at a higher risk of diet-related conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Harvest, a sustainable farming network, is a smartphone application that teaches and guides people living in small spaces through the process of growing fresh, nutritious produce in their own homes. The app will guide users through the entire process of gardening, from seed to harvest. Harvest would give individuals living in food deserts an opportunity to access fresh produce that they currently can’t access. An overwhelming response based on our user discussion and market analysis revealed that our platform was in demand. Development of a target market, brand guide, and full-lifecycle were beneficial during the second semester as Harvest moved forward. Through the development of a website, social media platform, and smartphone application, Harvest grew traction for our platform. Our social media accounts saw a 1700% growth rate, and this wider audience was able to provide helpful feedback.