SINGAPORE (Nov 16): A team from Singapore has emerged global winner of the first digitally-connected hackathon by Accenture.
“Wombat” developed a prototype for an early warning system to detect and prevent outbreaks of Dengue Fever and other vector-borne diseases.
Named “Dragonfly”, the system attracts arthropods such as mosquitoes and identifies their species. As part of their presentation at the hackathon, the team created a model of a flytrap that uses blue light to attract mosquitoes.
Leveraging Internet of Things technology, the system transmits the breed of arthropod species and sends the relevant data to the health authorities for further analysis.
In addition, judges at Expo 2020 Dubai also shortlisted Dragonfly, giving it the opportunity to be presented at the next round of the Expo Live “Innovation Impact Grant Programme” for a chance to receive a grant worth up to US$100,000 as well as business development support and exposure.
The hackathon, organised by Accenture, with the support of Expo 2020 Dubai, took place simultaneously in Singapore and 10 other cities across four continents on Nov 11 and 12.
Participants were challenged to develop innovative digital solutions that improve urban living conditions, support more inclusive populations, and promote sustainable urban practices.
Close to 500 recent graduates, undergraduates, entrepreneurs and individuals from start-ups in more than 100 teams participated in the hackathon across 11 cities. In Singapore, the event had 47 participants in 10 teams.
Ranked second across all participating cities, team “Apostle” from Chicago created a brain-to-speech Artificial Intelligence companion that uses neural network deep learning to help speech-impaired people communicate with others.
Team “O.A.S.I.S.” from Dubai ranked third. Its prototype of an Internet of Things (IoT) platform, named “Hardware to Optimize (H2O)” helps conserve water. Using predictive analytics and machine learning, it analyses data from water meters, displays consumption and provides recommendations to users in real time.
