Chilean Students Win Intel Award for Entrepreneurship
Mobile Monitoring Station, a team of student entrepreneurs from Chile, won the 9th annual Intel Global Challenge at UC Berkeley, a global business plan competition.
It encourages student entrepreneurs to tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues through computing technology. The competition provides an entrepreneurship experience by giving teams access to top venture capitalists and investors in Silicon Valley.
Mobile Monitoring Station, comprised of team members from engineering research and development company SoluNova, Chilean mining company Coldeco and the University of Chile, created a set of portable sensors that collects industrial workers’ biomedical data, such as heart rate, in real time.
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The sensors, which are applied directly to the workers’ clothes, transmit valuable biomedical information to devices such as smartphones, which then push the data to the cloud.
The solution will be offered as a service, supplying industrial sites with the hardware and software for a monthly fee per worker.
The winning team, driven by the lack of existing data on industrial workers’ exposure to health risks, expects the sensors to result in a considerable drop in health dangers in this industry.
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“Through the Intel Global Challenge at UC Berkeley, students around the world gain lifelong entrepreneurship and innovation skills they can apply throughout their careers, in fields ranging from healthcare to transportation,” said Staci Palmer, Intel’s director of Global Strategic Initiatives and Marketing in the Corporate Affairs Group.
The Intel Foundation awarded $100,000 total in cash prizes, including a $50,000 grand prize and three $10,000 awards for teams taking first place in the following categories: Internet, mobile and software computing; computing for social innovation; and hardware and computing. In addition, four $5,000 special awards were presented.
Intel made this announcement today, Oct. 10.
