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While grocery shopping with her cousin in August 2019, Kyra Thomas read food labels in search of pescatarian options. She thought it would be helpful to have a way to scan food labels and immediately know what is in the items she was contemplating buying.

“Reflecting on my experience — when it comes to finding food I can eat — put the idea in my head that it would be cool to be able to scan food without taking it off the shelf,” said Thomas, a Syracuse University senior.

InfoBytes, Thomas’ app that’s currently in development, creates a health profile for each user, allowing them to scan food items’ barcodes and know whether the item falls under their dietary restrictions.

Thomas created the app with fellow computer science students Tiara Logan, Jeremy Gavrilov and Lauryn Rivers. She connected with them as freshmen, and the group have been in classes together since.

The creation of the app started off for fun during the CuseHacks 2020 Hackathon and turned into something bigger. They went on to win the “best inclusive hack” prize, and the victory showed Thomas and her teammates that their app has traction.

The group felt they needed a business to attach to the app to be taken seriously. In February 2021, they created the Signal Technologies company, hoping to continue creating apps to make the world more accessible to people.

The app is targeted for people with visual impairments, said Gavrilov, an SU senior and co-chief technology officer of Signal Technologies.

This group did their project made an app that makes dietary restrictions based on the food’s image #CuseHacks2020 @MLHacks pic.twitter.com/DNPJDvpDQC

— Cuse Hacks (@CuseHacks) February 16, 2020

“If you’re at the supermarket, what the app will let you do is scan the barcode and inform you if you can’t eat something because it has nuts in it, or because you’re on keto,” Gavrilov said.

Logan, a co-chief operating officer of Signal Technologies and a software developer for InfoBytes, wants to use tech to help people. She and Thomas are currently focusing on creating websites for Signal Technologies and InfoBytes, while Gavrilov has been doing research into developing the app and Rivers has been creating a business plan.

Rivers, a co-chief technology officer of Signal Technologies, thought the idea for InfoBytes was genius when she first heard it, as she has family and friends with a wide range of food allergies and dietary restrictions.

The students have focused on developing the business in the past few months, Thomas said. That way, the company will be able to accept any funds they may generate and acquire.

Thomas appreciates that, even with conflicting schedules, the group still reaches out to one another for support. The team tries to meet via Zoom two to three times a week.

“We are always there for each other,” Thomas said.

The group hopes to continue building together after graduating. Gavrilov already has a job lined up after graduation but is hoping to continue his work with Signal Technologies and InfoBytes as a “side hustle,” he said. Logan is also busy creating her own applications geared toward helping people.

Rivers has high hopes for the future, including launching the app within a couple of years and seeing people begin to use it. She also looks forward to expanding the company’s team of employees.

“We understand that the ingredient lists can be hard to read sometimes, and we’re just trying to make that process of grocery shopping and finding safe foods easier for a lot of people,” Thomas said.

Published on March 31, 2021 at 9:50 pm