TWO STUDENTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF DEUSTO WIN FIRST PRIZE

María Isabel and Octavio, students of the Master’s in Innovation and Technology (dual track), won first place in the prestigious European hackathon (https://thelotushackathon.eu/) of the LOTUS project (https://thelotusproject.eu/), held last December 2025. Their project, named CityPulse, stood out among various international proposals for its human-centered and technological approach to urban mobility.

The hackathon, which seeks advanced technological solutions to address different challenges framed within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), recognized CityPulse as the most disruptive tool for transforming the pedestrian experience.

CityPulse: Much more than a map

Unlike conventional navigation apps focused solely on speed, CityPulse prioritizes user well-being and safety. It’s a platform that generates a Safety & Livability Score for each street, analyzing complex variables such as:

. • Infrastructure: Public lighting, sidewalk width and presence of ramps.

• Physical environment: Steep slopes and pavement condition.
• Social activity: Land use and commercial density.

The “Conversational Bot” Revolution

What captivated the jury of the LOTUS project was its conversational interface. CityPulse includes a bot that accompanies the user in real time. If a person feels unsafe on a dark stretch of road or needs to find an area with more people, they can communicate this to the system using their voice. The platform dynamically recalculates the route based on the pedestrian’s expressed feelings and preferences.

“We wanted to create a tool that not only tells you where to go, but also listens to you and adapts to how you feel in the city,” explained María Isabel and Octavio, award recipients during the ceremony.

Social impact and accessibility

CityPulse’s versatility allows it to offer customized solutions for different user profiles:

1. Women: Prioritize routes with greater urban presence and better lighting, avoiding isolated areas.
2. People with reduced mobility: Eliminate physical barriers and steep inclines, ensuring 100% accessible routes.
3. Tourists: Transform the journey into a guided experience that highlights local businesses and cultural heritage.

Data for more humane cities

In addition to the direct benefit for citizens, CityPulse serves as a source of strategic insights for public administrations. Through the analysis of aggregated and anonymized data, governments can identify critical points in the city that require improvements in lighting or accessibility, fostering more proactive and inclusive urban planning.

With this achievement, Octavio and María Isabel not only highlight the potential of academic talent in the dual education model, but also position CityPulse as a benchmark for the future of urban navigation.