Affordable Smart Glasses for Blind and Visually Impaired People wins Rep. Lucy McBath’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Georgia’s Sixth District
Rep. Lucy McBath has named Utshaho Gupta of Atlanta International School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Georgia’s Sixth District. Their app Affordable Smart Glasses for Blind and Visually Impaired People is an affordable smart glasses product for people who are blind or visually impaired to help them be more independent in performing day-to-day tasks.
When asked what inspired the creation of Affordable Smart Glasses for Blind and Visually Impaired People, Utshaho Gupta said, “When I was 10 years old visiting family in India over the summer, my grandfather took me to see the Vivekananda Mission Asram school for the blind that he works closely with. Seeing the challenges faced by the students and reading about the potential of computer vision and AI, I wondered if I could design something they could use that was not only affordable but also works in areas with poor internet connectivity and little access to smartphones.
“As I saw more and more functionality getting added to smart glasses by the larger tech companies, I saw how smart glasses could open even more opportunities for the visually impaired all over the world and of all ages.
“As per the WHO, 40-45 million people around the world live with blindness. In the US alone, 27.7% of visually impaired people live below the poverty line. I wanted the glasses to be affordable and accessible for everyone, both in the US and across the globe. I want to make sure that the glasses and AI do not further accentuate the difficulties blind people already have to overcome, but make this an opportunity to level the playing field by making the glasses more affordable and more tailored to the needs of visually impaired people.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.