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Edison Magnet students win 2024 Congressional App Challenge for 'RADAR' Amber‑alert tool
Summary
Three Edison Magnet School students won the 2024 Congressional App Challenge for a project called RADAR, a software concept that would integrate existing cameras and dashcams with machine‑learning to speed identification and tracking in child‑abduction and other suspected‑vehicle cases, the county meeting was told.
Three students from Edison Magnet School were named winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge for New Jersey’s Sixth Congressional District for an app concept called RADAR, county officials announced during the Middlesex County Board of Commissioners meeting.
The county commissioner who introduced the winners read a press release from Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. and called the project "Rapid Amber Detection Response," saying the app is designed to supplement law enforcement in child‑abduction cases. The winners named were Akia Dalgra, Sahil Ghosh and Adithya Venkat Krishna, all identified as Edison Magnet School students.
Student Eddie Gudovra, one of the team members, described RADAR as software that would integrate with existing security cameras and vehicle dash cams so agencies would not need to install new hardware. "Our software will integrate with existing cameras and existing dash cams," Gudovra said. He described a system that analyzes camera frames with machine learning, flags suspicious vehicles or people and routes that information to law enforcement.
Gudovra said the team designed a "self‑propagating" feature so that when a suspect moves from one area to another, the system would notify nearby cameras to continue tracking the vehicle automatically. "It's automated. It's efficient. It's extremely fast," he said, and added the project remains under development.
County officials asked the students and school administrators — including Assistant Superintendent Jeff Bisco, Principal Amro Mazad and Vice Principal Kelly McKelvey — to join the announcement on stage. County staff also acknowledged the students’ families and the district staff present, including Lee Nieman, director of career and technical education, supervisor Adam Retnold, photographer Isaiah Gomez and content creator Rachel Morales.
The board did not take action related to the app; the segment was a recognition and award announcement. Students said they plan further development of the software concept.
The announcement noted the award came from the Congressional App Challenge run by the office of U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., a competition for middle‑ and high‑school students.
