Their winning project, BuddyBot, is a smart assistant that helps individuals with Down Syndrome overcome challenges with executive functioning, building independence for their everyday routines, while alleviating the burden on their caregivers to provide constant guidance and support

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 10 November 2025 – Samsung Electronics Singapore crowned Team BuddyBot from Edgefield Secondary School as the overall champion of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025 competition in Singapore. The team, made up of Bella Teo and Shannon Ong, stood out against a field of 90 participating teams with their project, BuddyBot – a smart assistant designed to help young individuals with Down Syndrome build daily living independence to lighten the load on their caregivers. As the winner, Team BuddyBot won $7,000 in cash and $10,000 worth of Samsung products to support the development of their solution. The team will also go on a sponsored trip to Samsung's headquarters and innovation facilities in South Korea in December. The second prize went to Team Through Their Eyes from Cedar Girls' Secondary School for their immersive empathy-building simulation titled Through Their Eyes, which aims to cultivate inclusive and respectful online behaviour among youths. Third place was awarded to Team Pei Pei HwaHwa from Pei Hwa Secondary School, who created Ando Hypohidrosis Vests to help individuals who struggle to produce sweat keep cool in warm weather conditions. Team Smart Cane, made up of students from Nanyang Girls' High School, Chung Cheng High School (Main), Springfield Secondary School and the School of Science and Technology Singapore, won the People's Choice Award, whose Smart Cane solution for individuals with visual impairments received the highest number of public votes online. Now into its ninth year, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is a youth innovation platform that inspires youth to use technology and creativity to shape a better tomorrow for all. This year's competition rallies secondary school students to help build a more secure future for Singapore following its SG60 milestone by contributing ideas surrounding four key themes – Environmental Sustainability; Sport, Health and Technology; Inclusivity and Social Harmony; and Digital Readiness and Security. Students can draw inspiration from Samsung's innovation history, expertise, breakthroughs, and apply the learnings to solve real-world issues to make a positive impact on their country, community and the world. Impressing the Judges at the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025 Finals Inspired to help young individuals with Down Syndrome overcome challenges with executive functioning, Team BuddyBot set out to develop a smart assistant to help such individuals manage their everyday routines more independently. Using a portable, compact device designed for users complemented by a mobile app for caregivers, BuddyBotenables caregivers to break down everyday tasks such as brushing teeth, washing hands and getting dressed into simpler steps via the app, and deliver easy-to-understand instructions through a combination of visual prompts and voice instructions using the compact device. Beyond serving as a smart assistant that helps individuals with their routines, BuddyBot also taps artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse users' past actions, to uncover notable patterns in the users' behaviours (e.g., skipped steps; longer time spent on tasks) and the areas where the users are struggling. By unearthing insights on where users require more support and guidance, the solution can suggest changes to their daily routines and provide timely reminders to help them complete their daily tasks more independently. "Many young individuals with Down Syndrome face challenges with executive functioning and need constant reminders and support from their caregivers to complete their daily tasks. Our solution, BuddyBot, can help these individuals build independence for their daily routines, and alleviate the burden on their caregivers. By giving families and caregivers a smart assistant that is built with accessibility, empathy and inclusion in mind, we hope to create meaningful impact and help improve the quality of life for families with special needs children," said Shannon Ong. "Today, as we face a myriad of complex global and local challenges, it is more important than ever for our youths to step out to champion social change in their respective communities. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow encourages students to think critically about societal issues and harness technology to create meaningful solutions that can make a real difference. I am heartened to see the depth of thinking that each team puts in to create...