WWDC23 Swift Student Challenge Winner
Winner of Apple's most prestigious student competition, building an innovative AR astronomy app that earned an invitation to Apple Park
Night Canvas: WWDC23 Swift Student Challenge Winner
About WWDC & The Swift Student Challenge
WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) is Apple's annual flagship event where the company unveils its latest technologies, platforms, and software innovations to millions of developers worldwide. It represents the epicenter of Apple's developer ecosystem, setting the direction for iOS, macOS, and emerging technologies.
The Swift Student Challenge is Apple's most prestigious student competition, recognizing the world's most talented young developers. Each year, Apple selects just 350 winners globally from thousands of submissions, offering them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase their creativity, technical prowess, and innovative thinking. Winners receive exclusive access to Apple Park in Cupertino, California, for immersive sessions with Apple engineers and executives—an experience reserved for the brightest minds in student development.
The Achievement
In 2023, I was honored to be selected as one of the 350 Swift Student Challenge winners worldwide, earning an invitation to Apple Park for exclusive mentorship and networking with Apple's engineering teams.
Night Canvas: AR Astronomy Reimagined
Night Canvas is an innovative augmented reality astronomy application built entirely in Swift Playgrounds. The app transforms how users interact with the night sky by bridging ancient mythology with modern technology.
The Core Innovation
At the heart of Night Canvas is a custom graph isomorphism algorithm that enables real-time constellation matching. Users can draw constellations with their finger, and the app instantly identifies which constellation they've drawn by matching it against a comprehensive astronomical database.
Technical Implementation
Graph Matching Algorithm:
- Implemented a novel approach using adjacency matrices and spectral analysis
- Processes all 88 officially recognized constellations in under 50 milliseconds
- Uses graph theory to match user-drawn star patterns regardless of rotation, scale, or slight imperfections
- Achieves high accuracy through spectral analysis of connectivity patterns
Immersive AR Experience:
- Built with ARKit and SceneKit for seamless augmented reality rendering
- Overlays constellation mythology, star names, and astronomical data on live camera feed
- Integrates Core Motion for precise device orientation tracking
- Real-time sky mapping that adjusts as users move their device
The Experience
Point your device at the night sky, and Night Canvas brings the cosmos to life:
- Identify constellations automatically through the camera
- Draw star patterns and let the algorithm recognize them instantly
- Explore rich mythology and scientific data for each constellation
- Learn about celestial objects, distances, and astronomical facts
Impact & Recognition
Being selected for the Swift Student Challenge validated not just the technical implementation, but the vision of making astronomy accessible and engaging through innovative AR experiences. The invitation to Apple Park provided invaluable insights into Apple's development philosophy and access to engineers working on the technologies that power millions of devices worldwide.
This project represents the intersection of computational geometry, augmented reality, and educational technology—demonstrating how mobile platforms can create immersive learning experiences that inspire curiosity about the universe.