The H² Innovation Challenge (HKUST Online Innovation Challenge on Smart Ageing and Gerontechnology; Powered by Humansa, Eureka Nova and New World Development) has successfully come to an end on 7 May 2020. 

The challenge attracted 86 student teams from the Greater Bay Area including Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Macau. The organisers conducted two briefing sessions in March to provide students with a better understanding of the ageing market, the related business lines of New World Development and how to turn their innovation into a home run. The teams’ proposed solutions were an appraised mix of an elderly-centric design and technological applications such as mobile app, robotics and/or medical management systems aiming to make lives better for the elderly as well as their caregivers. Ten teams were shortlisted as finalists in the competition and each was assigned two mentors who provided constructive feedback and guidance on the design and feasibility of proposed solutions.

On 7 May 2020, the finalist teams presented to a panel of judges online. Judges assessed and scored according to a palette of criteria, from idea delivery, task achievement, business value, level of innovation, practicability, presentation format and style, user experience design, creativeness to business idea. 

Ultimately, Lo Yui’s team from Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School stood out with the idea of “SafeHeart Toothbrush” (a telemedicine solution for health data measurement), scooping up both the Championship and the Most Creative Award.

To Lo Yui, an engineering student from the winning team, brushing teeth means more than just a chore.  It means checking out on our seniors: “Hey, are you doing fine today?”  Lo’s team designed a smart device called “SafeHeart Toothbrush” which assesses the brusher’s stress level and heart rates.  The toothbrush measures telehealth data by collecting and analysing saliva. The winner is now shooting for chronic disease assessment as a next step. 

His ensemble Hu, Sou and Chen discussed how the team managed to transform a pain point into a need: the team conceived the idea by integrating sanity routine with health measurement, realising that elderly may not find mobile apps user-friendly after all.  The team is now ready to kick off the idea with Humansa.

Lo said he found his mentors’ advice most valuable: That balancing between market needs and investors’ craving for benefits to the elderly and the society at large was pivotal in product development.

Another participant, Leung Chun Hin, the first runner-up team leader of “Evergreen”, said the greatest takeaway from the Challenge and the mentorship was the learning in product development from both engineering and user’s perspectives.  Leung’s team developed a fall prevention and dementia care solution that gives real-time notification to caregivers in case of elderly’s falling or leaving the safety zone.

Check out this video for the Challenge highlights and sharing by award winners!

Award Winners of the Challenge: