SBIR-STTR Award

This project researches and develops a novel mathematics communication and collaboration system. Mathematics is the foundation of Science and Technology, and national competence in the STEM fields is essential to maintaining our competitive edge on a global scale. Math literacy hinges on effective communication of mathematical concepts and processes. However, despite significant advances in pedagogical methods, the way we communicate mathematics remains curiously behind the times. Preliminary customer and market research has revealed that the lack of adequate communication tools for mathematical and technical expressions is holding back the advance of mathematics in online environments such as online tutoring. Moreover, the scarcity of effective communication tools has reinforced the long-standing preconception that math is primarily a solitary activity, and it has created an unintended and harmful selection bias restricting the diversity of students entering STEM fields. This project fills the void of adequate math communications tools with an dynamic, interactive system for communicating mathematical derivations in real-time in an online environment. The system facilitates student-student and student-teacher remote communication of mathematics, and it is particularly suited for student-tutor communication on online tutoring platforms. The math communication and collaboration system this project develops leverages the company's proprietary equation manipulation technology. This system employs an integrated math engine and a touch-based interface allowing users to manipulate equations using simple drag-and-drop gestures. It is built on a game-engine allowing for multi-player support. This project integrates the equation manipulation technology into a networked multi-user interface to connect one or more users for real-time communication of mathematical derivations. The project researches the precise needs of students, teachers, and online tutors to tailor the user interface to the specific needs of online mathematics communication. Specific problems the project researches include multi-player networking and matchmaking functionality, optimal network architecture for the system, transfer of control between users for effective communication, integration of traditional communication tools within the system, and reduction of latency time to enhance real-time interactivity. Successful completion of the project will result in a first-of-its-kind math communication system that allows users in different places to connect online and communicate a mathematical derivation as it is happening, and as easily as if they were in the same room. The primary project deliverable is a minimum viable product to be piloted and vetted through the company?s existing math app.

This SBIR Phase II project continues an ambitious project to create an entirely new way of doing mathematics. It leverages off the recipients' previous projects that resulted in an interactive equation manipulation system and a mathematics communication system. This project expands the technology into a comprehensive platform for learning, doing, and communicating mathematics. The innovation directly addresses deficiencies in STEM education and educational technology products by providing a tool whereby users can learn math by exploration and rapidly develop an intuitive understanding of how equations work through discovery. As such, it opens the creative doors to the world of mathematics to a wide range of students who might otherwise slip through the cracks of traditional mathematics education simply because they think differently. The net impact on society is a lower barrier to entry to STEM fields and an increase in math literacy - thus helping to maintain our standing as global leaders in innovation. This project researches and develops a comprehensive modern mathematics system for students and professionals to effortlessly explore and solve complex equations through a simple and artful interface, elegant design, and powerful math engine. It expands on the recipient's already unique product offerings to create a transformative mathematics platform. The platform is an innovative new way of doing math that allows users to enter any equation on almost any device, and solve it using simple drag-and-drop gestures. Its freeform approach to computer algebra retains the exploratory aspects of pen-and-paper calculations, while benefiting from the computational prowess of the underlying math engine. With a unique user interface and networked multiplayer support, it is also a powerful real-time communication and collaboration tool. This project drastically enlarges the breadth of the technology by focusing on critical tasks in three core areas of development: expanding its core mathematics features, maturing its peer-to-peer math communication system, and structuring its overall system architecture. The project prepares the platform for a precise product-market fit to target school districts for direct licensing, and online education companies for partnership. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.