Mentioning Mekong Pathfinder, Huynh Ngoc Nhu Quynh (project team leader, student of Artificial Intelligence, FPT University Can Tho) still remembers vividly the time "the idea arose".
It was one evening in May 2025, amidst heavy rain, Quynh's motorbike suddenly stalled. Without a repair shop, without anyone supporting around, Quynh was forced to ask a technology driver to push the motorbike to a temporary parking place.
Quynh shared that: "At that moment, I realized a very large gap, we have maps, positioning, but lack real-time flood information and no quick connection to the nearest rescue points.
From this experience, Quynh and members Nguyen Thi Thu Thao, Huynh Nghiem To Tran, Tang Thanh Vui and Nguyen Huy Hoang started building Mekong Pathfinder. This is a platform that combines AI, camera data and community contributions to help people handle traffic situations during the flood season.
In terms of technology, Mekong Pathfinder was born with an AI system that analyzes images from traffic cameras, identifies objects such as pedestrians and motorbikes to estimate water levels based on correlation with the road surface. When there is no reference object, the system switches to a water surface area analysis model to issue appropriate warnings.
This application develops a mini social network, allowing users to directly report flooding, accidents or congestion.
Quynh's group also directly surveyed the field at many flooded hotspots such as Cach Mang Thang Tam street and Binh Thuy market area (Binh Thuy ward, Can Tho city). Here, members recorded water levels, flooding times, vehicle traffic and people's travel habits to supplement actual data for the system.
This "flooding" process helps the application not only reflect the data in theory, but also closely follow the actual urban conditions. Through this, the group built an additional list of car repair shops and small-scale rescue points to support users in emergencies.
It is known that the project has made a mark when winning the championship at Business Challenge 2025. This is considered an important milestone helping the group reach experts and investors.
Faced with the potential, FPT University not only supported 50 million VND from the startup fund for the group but also created conditions for project development through an interdisciplinary project.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Vinh (Instructing lecturer) - acknowledged that this is a very practical project, solving practical problems in the Mekong Delta region, in which AI application is focused. The highlight is that the group has built an integrated system, which demonstrates the research, exploration, and learning abilities of students.
