MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nine teams comprised of Logic PD designers and engineers and University of Minnesota student engineers addressed real world challenges and uncovered new insights on how Internet of Things (IoT) technology can help improve people’s lives during the Logic PD Acme-thon, April 23-24. The teams worked for 24 hours to create IoT solutions using publically available datasets and application programming interfaces (APIs). Their tools included the SeeControl IoT cloud platform, the Intel Galileo Arduino development board, and even 3D printing.
The teams’ efforts were evaluated Thursday, April 24, by a team of judges who selected three teams as winners of this competition. First place went to the Toothacks, second to Distributed Bike Share and third to One Ring Buffer to Rule Them All. The LabViewers won the Fan Favorite chosen by all attendees.
“The Acme-thon demonstrated just how much can be accomplished in 24 hours with a small team of multi-disciplinary experts,” says Scott Nelson, chief technology office and executive vice president. “These teams proved that real world applications can be developed and demonstrated using tools and process that dramatically shorten the concept-to-market cycle. All of the solutions developed have the potential to be further refined and made market ready in a short period of time.”
Toothhacks team members were Logic PD designers and engineers Brian Clemens, Dan Slotman, Mark Herscher and Joe Schneider. They created the Impact Brush, an electric tooth brush that tracks metrics including the length of time spent brushing, the angles used and how often one uses the tooth brush. It collects the data in the cloud and sends reports with helpful tips to improve usage. It was deemed an ideal application for parents teaching youngsters good oral health habits.
The second spot went to the University of Minnesota two-man team of Jim Crist and Ryan Madson who developed a solution for bike sharing. Their solution combines the tracking and locking system with a cloud based asset management application to create an infrastructure-free sharing platform. Distributed Bike Share allows the rider to use their smart phone to do an online search for the bike nearest their location, reserve it, pick it up and ride it to another destination without having to return it to a predetermined location. This approach distributes bikes in various areas of a city rather than being clustered in a few locations.
One Ring Buffer to Rule Them All created a multi-modal security platform for card purchases using NFC (near field communication) authentication combined with camera imaging. Logic PD team members, Kevin Holland, Luke Buer, Matt Hilden and Erik Johnson developed a card swiping system that photographs users at the point of sale and sends the photo along with the card data to the cloud. From there it is linked to the cardholder’s accounts showing not only what was purchased and the price but also a photograph of the purchaser. Suspicious purchases are sent to the smartphone of the cardholder making it possible that the holder may be alerted to an unauthorized user even before the bank has time to warn them.
The judges based their decisions on three factors:
- Quality of Idea (Includes creativity and originality of the idea, quality of insights gained through data analysis, and potential to address the identified problem)
- Implementation of Idea (Includes how well the idea was executed by the team, how well the application integrates sensor data and APIs, and how well the user experience is considered)
- Potential Impact (Includes the extent to which the application will impact Logic PD vertical markets. Does it have the potential to create value?)
Judging was done by Scott Nelson, chief technology officer and executive vice present, Logic PD; Parthesh Shastri, vice president, customer success and strategy; Gary Johnson, president, MSP Communications; Fred Rose, director, Acara Challenge, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, and Ali Dioury, marketing development manager, Intel.
The fan favorite was a curling stone measurement system demonstrated by the LabViewers. Their device used solid state accelerometers and gyros to measure the trajectory of a curling stone so that both team members and coaches can monitor team throws and provide coaching on improving curling skills. The LabViewers innovated for their demonstration by mobilizing an appropriately heavy landscape block and then showed the trajectory of the “stone” on an overhead view of the curling “ice sheet.”
Winning team members received prizes such as DSO Quad - Pocket Digital Oscilloscope, Pebble Smart Watch, Intel Galileo development board, Intel Centrino WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0, Sensor Package, Apple TV or cash equivalents.
About Logic PD
Logic PD collaborates with clients to help
them launch products that accelerate their growth and capture value in
the Internet of Things (IoT). Logic PD helps at any stage in the product
lifecycle by being the complete product innovation and product
realization company for connected devices in the world’s most demanding
markets. From system integration expertise to embedded and connected
device offerings, Logic PD helps its clients identify opportunities,
reduce risk, and control costs to deliver innovative products to market
faster. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis, with offices in
Boston and San Diego.
