Eighth-Grader Pitches Winning Idea
Just before entering the eighth grade at St. Mark’s, Kyle Smith ’19 participated in AT&T’s Fast Pitch Event in Las Vegas. The contest was part of the company’s M2M (machine-to-machine) Evolution Conference which seeks innovative ideas for combining communications technology with physical systems.
With just three minutes to pitch, Kyle shared his unique idea called Fire-Fly, a forest fire tracking system that uses remote drones to place sensors around a forest. The sensors keep an eye on smoke, temperature, wind, humidity, and lightning and reports back to a hub device through Wi-Fi and cellular transmission.
Kyle first began developing his idea after participating in a robotics competition with other St. Mark’s boys. While the First Pitch contest is primarily for adults, Kyle was undeterred in submitting his unique idea.
"Originally, knowing that it was for professionals, I was skeptical about the idea actually winning the contest,” Kyle said. “But I went anyways, for the experience.”
St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
About Us
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
