Tech-Savvy Teen Develops AI App to Tackle Lost and Found Challenges
Bellevue High School Freshman’s Innovation Selected for Civic Challenge Pilot
Neil Kumar, a 15-year-old freshman at Bellevue High School in Washington, knows firsthand the frustration of leaving behind personal items. Like millions of Americans who forget water bottles, jackets, and other belongings in public spaces every year, Kumar has experienced the inconvenience of trying to recover lost possessions. This common problem inspired him to create FindIt, an AI-powered mobile application designed to revolutionize the lost-and-found experience. Kumar’s innovative solution recently caught the attention of city officials, earning him a spot as one of four selected participants in Bellevue’s Civic Innovation Challenge, an initiative that seeks technological solutions to everyday municipal issues. The young entrepreneur’s app will undergo pilot testing at Bellevue College to evaluate its effectiveness and potential for wider implementation.
The problem FindIt aims to solve is substantial – statistics show that Americans lose more than 400 million items annually, with an estimated value exceeding $5 billion. Beyond the economic impact, there’s also an environmental cost when lost items end up discarded and replaced with new purchases. Kumar’s vision addresses both concerns with a simple yet powerful tagline: “Buy less, lose even less.” The app’s functionality is straightforward but leverages sophisticated AI technology. When someone managing a lost-and-found area discovers an item, they take a photo and upload it to FindIt. The app’s artificial intelligence processes the image, automatically generating a detailed description such as “blue water bottle with red sticker and white top.” When someone searches for their missing item, the AI scans all uploaded listings to find potential matches, eliminating the need to physically revisit locations where items might have been left behind.
Kumar began developing FindIt approximately a year ago, driven by his passion for using technology to address real-world challenges. His creation stood out among 23 competitive applicants in the Civic Innovation Challenge, showcasing the potential impact of his solution despite his young age. The other three selected innovations represent a diverse range of technological approaches to civic problems: Certivo, a Seattle company offering an AI platform for vendor compliance management across procurement and cybersecurity; Legislaide, a Denver-based company using artificial intelligence to analyze municipal codes and documents; and Juganu, an Israeli company providing smart lighting solutions that monitor real-time usage patterns to support transportation and public safety initiatives.
This recognition in Bellevue’s Civic Innovation Challenge isn’t Kumar’s first achievement in the technology space. His innovative approach has also earned him selection for the prestigious Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge, placing him among the top 300 junior innovators nationwide this year. While the app is currently being used at Odle Middle School in Bellevue, Kumar’s ambitions extend much further. He envisions FindIt eventually becoming available to a wide range of organizations including schools, airports, workplaces, and public transit agencies – any location where people frequently lose and search for personal belongings. The pilot program at Bellevue College represents a significant step toward realizing this broader implementation.
Kumar’s journey as a young innovator has been shaped by his involvement with Sustainability Ambassadors, a program focused on developing student leadership skills and environmental consciousness. This background has clearly influenced his approach to problem-solving, combining technological innovation with sustainability considerations. The environmental aspect of FindIt is particularly noteworthy – by helping people recover lost items more efficiently, the app potentially reduces the need for replacement purchases, thereby decreasing waste and consumption. This dual focus on practical utility and environmental responsibility demonstrates Kumar’s holistic thinking about technology’s role in addressing contemporary challenges.
Looking toward the future, Kumar sees FindIt as just the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey. “I like to solve problems using technology, and help people using those solutions,” he told GeekWire, expressing his ambition to continue developing innovative technological solutions. His early success with FindIt suggests a promising path ahead. As the app undergoes testing at Bellevue College, Kumar will have the opportunity to refine his creation based on real-world feedback, potentially enhancing its features and expanding its capabilities. What started as a personal frustration with lost items has transformed into a technological innovation with the potential to address a widespread issue affecting millions of Americans. Through his creativity, technical skills, and problem-solving mindset, this 15-year-old innovator demonstrates that meaningful solutions can come from entrepreneurs of any age.
