As the Internet of Things (IoT) promises to innovate our overall experience in the future, what should we be expecting of it? Basically, the Internet of Things are devices that are able to communicate via network which enables them to talk to one another and to do certain tasks to make our lives more convenient. For example, car sensors can notify the driver if the vehicle’s condition is alarmingly dangerous; a washing machine’s status can be accessed via Wi-Fi; and your package or delivery can be tracked anywhere in the world in real time.
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| All of the IoT participants, judges and organizers in one picture! |
As these technologies are really exciting and now starting to gain attention and it maybe the future of the devices over the internet, now let us take a peek on what the Internet of Things (IoT) Hackathon 2015 by Microsoft and Globe Labs has achieved.
The event happened at Microsoft Office 6750 Ayala Avenue Makati City, Philippines last April 25 - April 26, 2015. The one I have covered in the event is the day 2 which is April 26 where the showcasing / pitching of the contestants Internet of Things devices and ideas. As a highlight, the organizing companies conducted the IoT Hackathon, which integrated the Azure Computing Services like Event Hub, Streaming Analytics, and Web Sites, in the context of a full end-to-end IoT solution. The participants may either have used Arduino, Raspberry pi or their very own programmed electronic devices. Without further ado below are the team participants hackathon projects:
Team 1: Project: Poltergeist
Description: An Immerisve Living Room Experience
Team Members: Bernie Ngojo & Kimberly Bernabe
Team 2: Project: Enotify
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Team member: Mark Ivankarl Sancho
How it works: It is more of a emergency push button that uses the power of the Internet using Azure Push SMS services and to send it somewhere it is intended into (which is in the example applications were on the medical field).
Team 3: Kamote Fan
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Description: Temperature controlled fan
Team members: Thomas Ignacio & Miguel Go
How it works: The idea is that whenever you PCs get really hot, this is a good solution to solve that problem. It is an automatic temperature sensing device where the fan will activate and adjust the cooler settings which as per the contestants will be useful and cost effective in some situations.
Team 4: Parada.ph
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Description: Real-time parking space monitoring system
Team members: Jasper Barcelona
How it works: This is about organizing a parking lot system where the data of cars parked are automatically counted and detected then sent to the cloud. By the way it has an app to check whether there is an available parking slot. This is not new, however, what is good about the participant's work is the dashboard system where the business owners can really use for analytics and data mining on parked cars.
Team 5: Home Care Devices Inc
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Description: Smart devices to take care of the people who once took care of us
Team members: Floyd Piedad, Jan Pabellon & Polo Piedad
How it works: The project intends to help elderly and also the caring family or relatives in which they can monitor and ask help with each other using the device / service. (This is one of my favorite pitched topics)
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The working prototype here can sense loud screams for help and the device has a push button for emergency purposes. (The early device is composed of an Android phone, powerbank and the electronic device they use)
Team 6: Project: 3rd Party
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| The device is the one the guy in the right is holding |
Description: Cloud based, non-intrusive asset monitoring service
Team members: Johnaray Dimaunahan, Victor Saromo, Franklin Binos II & Keith Beja
How it works: This team is the funniest of the particpants (good presentation humor). They are trying to solve Pilferage from oil tubes loss by using an automatic data capturing device using vibrations to send it via cloud. Good for oil companies and there possibly other applications in their work as per the panels / judges.
Team 7: Vehicle Security Mobile App system
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Description: A vehicle security mobile alarm, control and locate app
Team members: Roderic Flores, Adrian Dequina, Harvey Oroceo & John Benedict Rillo
How it works: Basically is not much different in the existing car security systems today, however it is an Internet of Things device attached to a car which grants the owner of the car direct car control or monitoring via an app or website. They said it has a built in GPS for location monitoring and auto power off switch in case of carnapping.
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| Here is a sample of the security device prototype |
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| The cane he's holding is the prototype |
Description: An IOT Mobility Solution for the Blind
Team members: Lee Yeo, FJ Camillo & Renzo Villalon
How it works: One of the interesting topics too, it is a cane (baston) to help for the blind people to make use of the internet technology use the use of voice and GPS guided controls. Love ones / care givers can also monitor in real time where the blind people go. It may possibly help blind people one day to go out and explore the world with the help of the Internet of Things. (My only concern is how safe is the product for blind people walking on the road, maybe in the next versions it may included warning systems)
The Hackathon Winners
The winners of IOT HACKS received exciting prizes such as: Lumia Phones, Windows Tablets, Bizspark, Pocket Wifi among others. One of the criteria were the best project presentation with a unique idea that is both cost efficient and solves a real life problem using the Internet of Things.
Azure Mobile Services Award: Project Jericho
Judge's Favorite: Kamote Fan
3rd Place: Project: 3rd Party
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2nd Place: Home Care Devices Inc
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Winner: Project Jericho
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| Congrats Project Jericho Team! |
Here are the judges and some of the organizers:
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| Judges (unordered): Benjie Tan (Globe Telecom), Bettina "Tina" Malone (US Embassy in Manila), John San Pedro (Incubix Technologies), Jorge Azurin ( Horsepower.ph), Matthew Cua (Awesome Lab) |
Again congrats to the winners and to the organizers of this successful event. We wish to learn and see more about Internet of Things. More hackathon events to come! Thanks to Microsoft, Globe Labs & Red Wizard for this awesome event!
