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Wyoming Area STEM team demonstrates phone-lock "car box" before state competition
Summary
Members of a Wyoming Area School District STEM team demonstrated a prototype “car box” designed to prevent distracted driving and said they advanced to an in-person state-level competition; the device is still a work in progress.
At a regular meeting of the Wyoming Area School Board of Directors, students and their faculty advisor demonstrated a prototype device designed to prevent distracted driving and said the team qualified for an upcoming in-person state STEM competition.
The district’s STEM advisor, Mrs. McAndrew, told the board the competition challenges students in grades 9 through 12 to research, design and present devices intended to improve quality of life for Pennsylvanians. "I'm proud to introduce our team who has made it in 1 of the top 20 teams in the state to go to the in person competition," McAndrew said.
Students described the prototype — which the team refers to as a "car box" — as a physical lock for drivers' phones. "I'm Sophia Tang, a freshman and designer of the box," Sophia Tang said. Team member Peach Pabula said, "I work mainly with the electrical and coin parts of the project." According to the students, the design requires a driver to place a phone inside the box before starting the vehicle; the box remains locked while the car is running and unlocks after the vehicle is turned off.
The students told the board the team submitted a digital poster linking to their data, research and videos. They said the prototype includes an LED that indicates when the car is on and a planned third window for GPS notification. Students and the advisor described the project as a work in progress and did not present testing data or deployment plans at the meeting.
The presentation was informational; the board did not take formal action on the device. Earlier in the meeting the board approved the minutes of the combined board meeting of Jan. 21, 2025 by voice vote; no roll-call tally of that approval was recorded in the transcript.
The district did not provide cost estimates, timelines for further development, or details about any planned pilot or partnership during the presentation. Board members asked the students to present their work; the transcript records no motion or direction to pursue procurement, pilot testing, or policy changes related to the device.
