After a semester full of brainstorming, research, trial and error, prototyping, iterating and reiterating, some of our teams were able to look back and detail the path that had brought them to the verge of their final presentation, while others seemed only able to continue focusing on the possibility of getting to showcase their work at SXSW.
Many teams were working right up until the end. Between the development phase and their final presentation, Team Roko was still fine-tuning their blood pressure monitoring wearable. "In the beginning, we were thinking of using orthopedic elastic fabric or similar to attach the tracker to the body," the team said in an interview session. "But we came to the late conclusion that sticking it instead would provide more accurate readings and be less noticeable."
▼Cardiovascular disease prevention
1. Your health companion. Better heart, happier life.
Designed by team "Roko"
Team Roko designed a discrete patch for people who need to monitor their blood pressure. The patch communicates with a smartphone app to send real-time health metrics, medication reminders and more.
2. Smart Design for 24 hour wearable
Designed by team "Rebeat"
Team Rebeat designs a stylish band worn by hypertension sufferers. Their target audience is business parson and the readings seamlessly connect all phases of the wellness and healthcare process, from up-to-date health stats to daily exercise reporting to upcoming doctor appointments by sync with Calender app.
▼For better social wellness (Building good relationship in community)
3. Create face-to-face interaction by playful device
Designed by team "Göbie"
Team Göbie focus on face-to-face contact and intimate human connections and design wearable that increase user's interaction by the playful way. The device notifies users by haptic feedback when another Göbie users in public, and you can get "social points" by doing high-five gesture.
4. Visualize the interaction with community
Designed by team "welly"
Team welly creates the badge that can visualize the interaction with same community members. The badge with Bluetooth uses geolocation and gamification to stimulate participation and qualify interaction. Using scenes are in work and private, such as the same department in office, cycling club, community garden, and yoga class.
▼For Improving Sub-Health Condition
5. Rest Your Eyes, Open Your Mind
Designed by team "Halcyon"
Halcyon reframes the purpose of VR as a form of therapy and self-care to treat general anxiety, combining vibrations, lighting and temperature manipulation for immersive care.
6. Perfect sleep condition for each person
Designed by team"SLEEPWISE"
SLEEPWISE utilizes a true IoT approach to improving sleep quality and balanced sleep cycle. Sensors monitor elements of the sleep environment and activate linked devices as needed to maintain an ideally comfortable atmosphere for the user.
Wellness Support Leader Nobuhiro Akimoto
Project manager Aki from Panasonic gave the greatest compliment in praising the teams' efforts: "It is really tough to narrow down our choices because of such balanced efforts by all of the teams - from design to engineering to business. Many of these teams are close to having what they need for their own startup and applying for funding. That impresses me very much."
The team from Panasonic lauded all the teams following the final presentations, but ultimately only two teams would be selected for the SXSW showcase. We are anouncing two selected prototypes in the following story!
