Proximate wins the Orange Innovation Prize!

Proximate: an innovative game wins first prize at Orange #OpenTechDays

Published on April 10, 2025

At the Orange #OpenTechDays, an annual event dedicated to innovation within the Orange Group, Meroua Moussaoui and Ranjit Kannappan, PhD students at Telecom SudParis, and Julien Hatin, a PhD student at Orange, won first prize in the Network API category with their original and audacious project: Proximate.

This competition is organized by Orange Innovation and encourages employees to think outside the box to explore new avenues, develop creative ideas and realize projects based on emerging technologies – in this case, network CAMARA APIs.

A unique concept based on geolocation

Proximate is a fun, interactive geolocation application designed to enhance the capabilities of network CAMARA APIs. The idea is simple: a user takes a photo of an unusual place and shares it with friends, who then have to guess the exact location on an interactive map. The more accurate the answer, the more points the player scores, moving them up on the leaderboard.

The game is based on two key CAMARA APIs:

• Network geolocation, which is more reliable and less manipulatable than conventional GPS, especially in a security context (VPN, fake locations, etc.).
• Telephone number authentication, which guarantees more robust identification than classic email-based systems.

With this approach, the team wanted to gamify a complex technology and show that network APIs are not just for critical applications, but can also offer the opportunity for fun, creative and accessible uses.

The Orange Prize: symbolic and material recognition

In recognition of their winning project, the team received:

• A copper medal, a humorous nod to the historic copper landline network, now being phased out.
• An official certificate.
• Laptops, to continue developing the application.

But beyond the material rewards, this victory above all represents recognition of their work.

“At first, we had our doubts,” says Meroua Moussaoui. “A game based on CAMARA APIs, facing off against much more technical projects... Would the jury really be interested? In the end, we believed in it, we worked hard, and this victory is a great source of pride for the whole team.”

Rewarding a technical and human adventure

Developing Proximate was a real challenge for the team, more accustomed to research work than concrete application development. They had to use technologies that lacked documentation, build an entire application (front-end, back-end, database), and adopt a developer's approach, which is not the same as research work.

“This project allowed us to get out of our comfort zone,” says Meroua. “We were able to put our engineering skills to good use, while (re)discovering a new, more agile, user-oriented way of working.”

And after the Orange Prize?

Now, the team is working to bring the application to life. Discussions with other collaborators are underway to use Proximate as a tool for demonstrating network APIs at presentations or technical events.

Beyond the game itself, the project proves that innovation can be born from a simple idea, as long as you believe in it, defend it and put it into practice with conviction!