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Idea Challenge

In March 2014 EIT ICT Labs kicked of the first wave of the Idea Challenge, an EU wide innovation contest that invites students and early-stage startups to submit business ideas that address the topics Health & Wellbeing, Smart Spaces, Cyber Physical Systems, Future Cloud, Smart Energy Systems, Internet of Things, Cyber Security & Privacy, and Urban Life & Mobility. To date the competition has produced 12 winners in the EU that have the potential to shape the future of ICT in Europe.

Over 300 applications were submitted from 25 EU countries. As a requirement for consideration, entrants were not required to provide a full business plan but to tell what makes the idea unique, who’s behind it, which market is targeted, and how to make money with it. The proposals were evaluated by investors, successful entrepreneurs, and thematic experts and experienced Business Developers at EIT ICT Labs.

Prizes to boost startups

The innovators who have submitted their ideas were not only looking for a chance to win up to 40,000 Euro, office space and mentoring support from the EIT ICT Labs Business Development Accelerator but also for the invaluable opportunity to become part of a unique ecosystem that provides access to a network of investors, venture capitalists and worldwide leading companies.

4 topics, 4 cities, 12 winners

36 finalists were invited to pitch their ideas at finals in Eindhoven (HWB), Munich (CPS), Helsinki (SSP) and Rennes (FCL). In each category three winners were announced: first prize (40K), second prize (25K) and third prize (15K).

1st prizewinners

Category

Startup

Country

Idea

Health & Wellbeing

Tinnitracks

Germany

Mobile adaption of the Tinnitracks technology that treats tinnitus with music.

Smart Spaces

Homey

Netherlands

Speech-controlled home automation that combines the possibilities of home automation with entertainment systems and information services.

Cyber Physical Systems

Konux

Germany

Customizable sensor solutions to equipment manufacturers.

Future Cloud

Testfabrik

Germany

Cloud software that automatically tests web applications across browsers


2nd prizewinners

Category

Startup

Country

Idea

Health & Wellbeing

Soma Analytics

United Kingdom

Patent pending technology that—with a smartphone only—is able to measure stress-related changes in behaviour, visualize them to the user and provide personalized interventions to help prevent harmful conditions.

Smart Spaces

QGo

Austria

System which uses graphical data collected through cameras and analysed through an algorithm, in order to quantify the number of people in a queue and estimate the amount of time a person has to wait in line, given the circumstances

Cyber Physical Systems

Kinexon One

Gemrany

Cloud-based application transforms the resulting big data into smart data that helps to optimize processes and products.

Future Cloud

Agroptima

Spain

Agricultural cloud that gathers real time data collected from fields, tractors and machinery though sensors.


3rd prizewinners

Category

Startup

Country

Idea

Health & Wellbeing

Horus

Italy

Small device to be put on any pair of glasses that allows visually impaired people to have a better understanding of the world around them. It interacts with the user through voice and it works standalone.

Smart Spaces

Avansera

Finland

Advanced real-time consumer behavioural and product performance analytics in retail environments across all chains and geographical locations.

Cyber Physical Systems

3YourMind

Germany

3D-Printing button for CAD programs. With our plugin modelers save time and money creating professional 3D-Printed models.

Future Cloud

LeanXcale

Spain

Cloud database that is able to process millions of transactions per second, solve analytical queries over TBs of data in seconds and correlate millions of events per second with stored data.


New Wave starts Sep 1

Aspiring innovators can learn more about the second wave of the Idea Challenge by visiting www.ideachallenge.eitictlabs.eu. The rights to designs and creations from the teams will belong to their developers, giving them the opportunity to decide what they want to do in order to progress their ideas.

Download here the complete overview of the Idea Challenge first wave winners.

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Co-Funded by the European Union