On September 15, 2025, three students from Duke Kunshan University’s Computation and Design major—Jingyang Peng (Class of 2027),Yijia Sun (Class of 2025), and Yiqing Wang (Class of 2027)—guided by Professors Ziv Ze’ev Cohen and Giovanni Santini, won first place nationwide at the 2nd Innovation Competition for Students: Start Your Dreams with Sony in Shanghai. Their winning project, moPE, is an innovative Sony Mocopi–based Intelligent Online Sports Teaching Assistant Platform that combines creativity, technical skill, and teamwork.
The competition required the use of Sony’s Mocopi, a lightweight and affordable motion capture system. The DKU team proposed moPE to address long-standing challenges in online physical education. The platform generates real-time 3D models of students’ movements, provides color-coded feedback, and delivers instant AI analysis for teachers and learners. It resolves problems such as the lack of personalized instant feedback, and the difficulty of guiding students during remote lessons. Beyond education, the system also shows potential for applications in fitness training, rehabilitation, and even at-home exercise for older adults.
The path to first prize was not easy. Competing against teams from top art academies, the DKU students initially felt at a disadvantage. As Jingyang recalled: “In the workshop before the finals, we showed up with nothing more than screenshots, while the other teams had fully built and publicly exhibited works. The gap was overwhelming, and I questioned how our two-week sprint could possibly stand up to someone else’s professional work. But we decided to give it everything we had.”
Determined to rise to the challenge, the team rebuilt their project in the following three weeks, starting a new Unity project and redesigning their presentation. Their final 48-slide deck was refined through more than 100 drafts. Jingyang reflected: “As long as you’re willing to calm down and take that first step, the path will unfold beneath your feet, and success will meet you there.”
For Yijia, the key theme was teamwork: “At first, no one had a concrete idea. And we have nothing without a few wireframes and UI sketches. But those we had become the foundation. We polished them again and again into a shining gem. What I learned most was the power of teamwork. Every discussion and every revision became a collision and fusion of our ideas.”
Yiqing emphasized detail and echo: “We included primary research, technical analysis, and financial forecast models. At first, all the revisions felt like going backwards, but they were necessary steps to make the project mature. Most of all, I value the teamwork. Even though I was on exchange at Duke and couldn’t attend the finals in Shanghai, we managed to collaborate across borders.”
The project was not only technically strong but also business-oriented. The team designed a sustainable model including subscription services, licensing for institutions, and value-added courses. Judges praised the project’s balance of creativity and practical application. During the demo session, visitors tested the platform and complimented its usability and clear value for both teachers and students.
Professors Ziv Cohen and Giovanni Santini, who supervised the team, highlighted how the project reflected DKU’s cross-disciplinary approach. The Computation and Design program encourages students to combine technical skills, user research, and entrepreneurial thinking.
The victory at Sony’s Innovation Competition has opened the door to possible future collaboration with Sony and other industry partners. For the students, however, the true reward was the process itself: learning to persevere under pressure, trust in each other’s strengths, and build a project that bridges technology and education.
Written by Yiya Wang, Class of 2028
