When his grandmother’s vision got so bad that she couldn’t manage daily life, Minh Nguyen felt he had to do something.

A student at Lehigh University, Nguyen looked to invent a solution, with help from the Hatchery Student Idea Accelerator, a six-week summer program of the university’s Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation. 

The Hatchery teaches Lehigh students how to become entrepreneurs to solve real-world problems. There, Nguyen hatched his plan for “RealEyes,” smart glasses that would read books, labels, and newspapers for people such as his grandmother. He wants RealEyes to also remind people when to take their medication, and to serve as a tracking device so loved ones will know the wearer’s location.

Nguyen and four classmates - Nga Vu, Tasfia Iqbal, and Kien Tran – unveiled their plan during the Hatchery’s annual Demo Day event on June 29.

“It’s been a fascinating journey for me,” Nguyen said in an article in Lehigh News.

He and his classmates were among nine groups or individuals who presented their projects on Demo Day. Several students were from Ashoka University in India, which participated in the Hatchery through a partnership with Lehigh.

“What we focus on is helping students identify a problem they need to solve,” said Lisa Getzler, Executive Director of the Baker Institute. “We are inviting students to come and explore a problem and find the opportunities to solve those problems in a new and innovative and entrepreneurial way.”     

Students can continue working on their projects in the fall semester by attending EUREKA! Pitch Nights where they can get feedback and win money to finance their research.

During Demo Day, the entrepreneurs displayed their projects to visitors and answered questions about their work. Visitors later voted for a “People’s Choice” award winner.

The winning project was ConeFusion, a sturdier ice cream cone made of Dutch waffles sandwiched together by caramel, developed by students Marilyn Gao, Helen Gao, and Aidan Judd.

Marilyn Gao said the Hatchery was inspiring and informative: “It was so helpful, not just with pitching at EUREKA! and funding, but also getting feedback.”

Demo Day Projects

• Aquapedia, an app that helps aquarists save money and time during their fish-keeping journey by guiding users on how to set up the tank and delivering all the equipment to their doorstep (Caroline Wang)
• BioBloom, development of a biogas plant that specifically targets discarded flowers (Danny Tulsiani of Ashoka University, Rishon Mathew of Ashoka University, Xindi Zhang, Latifur Rahman)
• CareCoalesce, a bidirectional system for physicians and insurance companies (Rachel Roseman)
• ConeFusion, a Dutch caramel waffle cone (Marilyn Gao, Helen Gao, Aidan Judd)
• DEL-LAM, aims to provide a professional networking and guidance service platform for Tibetan students around the globe (Tenzin Tselha of Ashoka University)
• Froot, a web-based platform that connects local farms and restaurants (Aidan Cochran, Griffin Siviglia, Elisa Brear, Simaran Kaila, Sanchita Shrivastava)
• RealEyes, smart glasses integrated with a mobile app to empower the visually impaired (Minh Nguye, Nga Vu, Tasfia Iqbal, Kien Tran)
• Region, modernizing the sale of used car parts (Daniel Chiavenato, Sean Fleming, Grayson Ruark ’26, Niall Cordes)
• Transpense, a comprehensive spend management and financing solution tailored to optimize the end-to-end financial operations of Africa’s mid-market transportation and logistics businesses (Cedrique Wekesa)

(Demo Day photo courtesy of Lehigh University)