BENGALURU: SoilMate, an AI-powered app and device that helps farmers test soil health and choose the most suitable crops, is one of the innovative solutions developed by students from rural Andhra Pradesh. The device, equipped with moisture, NPK, and rain sensors, allows farmers to test soil even without lab reports. “Even those without access to labs can test soil with our device,” said CH Jhanavi, a Class-9 student. “Our aim is to help farmers increase profits while keeping soil healthy.”
These eight students, winners of Hack to the Future Andhra 2025, travelled to Bengaluru from September 23-26 to refine their AI prototypes at the Amazon Future Engineer Makerspace Lab. The Makerspace Lab provides hands-on learning opportunities with AI, robotics, 3D-printing, and mentorship from Amazon engineers, enabling students to transform ideas into functional solutions.
Alongside SoilMate, the students developed EduCompanion, a personalised learning platform that provides step-by-step explanations to help students understand concepts across subjects and languages, and CycleSathi, a privacy-focused menstrual health tracker and awareness tool for adolescent girls. CycleSathi includes a bracelet that measures body temperature, heart rate, and motion to help monitor menstrual health which the students are currently developing.
“It’s no longer just a plan in my notebook – it becomes a tool that gives shy students the courage to ask questions,” said Sandhya Rani, a Class-10 student and a CycleSathi team member. “The bracelet tracks your health in realtime, helping girls understand their body and feel supported.”
“In Bengaluru, we developed the app further using Google AI Studio. We explored visuals, voice-to-text features, quizzes, and games to make learning more interactive,” said P Sai Roshini of Class 10, and a member of the EduCompanion team.
At the Makerspace, students refined their prototypes, tested hardware, integrated AI models, and planned pilot programmes for their communities.
