HKUST Students’ Innovative Wearable Ankle Device Achieves Double Victory at the YDC E-Challenge 2015

The results of the 16th Annual YDC E-Challenge 2015 have officially been announced. This year’s event set a new record in the number of participating educational institutions, with full-time students from a total of 16 local universities and tertiary institutes taking part in the competition. This year’s entrepreneurial projects are full of creativity, as demonstrated by innovative high-tech solutions like the Wearable Ankle Device, Human-Searching Robot in Fire Accident Sites and the R-Guardian Anti-loss Device. Additionally, there are a number of unique and interesting projects tailor-made specifically for the Hong Kong market, including the Off-campus Student Hostel and Automated Bicycle Rental System, which fully demonstrate students’ entrepreneurial mindset. The NGgear Fit-Kick team, comprising students from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, was named this year’s champion, winning both the YDC E-Challenge 2015 and the HKSTP Technopreneur Award sponsored by the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation. They will be awarded a cash prize worth over HK$25,000 to promote the future development of their wearable technology solutions in the global healthcare market.

 

At the ceremony, Mr King Leung from the YDC stated: “This year, the number of participating educational institutions is the highest in the YDC E-Challenge’s history. The winning teams have the honour of being invited by the co-organizer of the China Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition to represent Hong Kong in challenging university students from all over the Cross-Strait region. The YDC E-Challenge has received widespread recognition for its leading position by providing a suitable platform for the youth to make their entrepreneurial dreams a reality and contribute to society.”

 

Honourable guests who officiated at the award presentation ceremony also included Mr Frank Tsang, Assistant Commissioner for Innovation and Technology (Funding Schemes), Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC); Mr Constant Tang, Senior Manager, Corporate Development, Hong Kong Science & Technology Park Corporation; Mrs Sophie Leung Lau Yau Fun, GBS, J.P., Chairperson of the YDC; Mr Paul Chu, one of the competition’s final-round judges; and Ms Nisa Leung, Director of the YDC.

 

Going far beyond ankle monitors offering only basic functions like heartbeat monitoring, foot-step counting and GPS tracking that populate the market today, a group of HKUST students have developed the NGgear Fit-Kick, a high-tech wearable ankle device made specifically for every-day and professional athletes alike. Fit-Kick is a smart garment product that optimises lower body injury and recovery through computer-assisted physiotherapy and remote diagnostics. Strategic B2B partnerships with insurance firms, healthcare providers, sports clubs and public health authorities have been formed to channel Fit-Kick with the goal of improving physical training, preventing injuries and accelerating recovery time. Fit-Kick aims to help athletes, coaches and physicians in their everyday lives. Due to its innovative application of technology, vast market potential and positive social contribution, the NGgear Fit-Kick team has triumphed over other proposals to be crowned this year’s champion.

 

The first runner-up prize goes to the R-Guardian team, which is comprised of students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Their project, the R-Guardian Anti-loss device, provides an innovative and reliable solution to secure and monitor people’s valuables. The system provides three levels of protection: warning alerts, the “find it” function and helpful information delivered via smartphone app. To use the system, users first place a Bluetooth tag in the valuables they wish to track, like a wallet. When the Bluetooth tag leaves a pre-set range, a warning notification is triggered on both the user’s smartphone and the tag to let him or her know that something has been lost. Even if the user misses a warning, he or she can easily retrieve the data by going back and referring to the “last location” and “disconnection time” information. RGuardian wants to become the most caring company providing information and communications technology (ICT) by protecting the belongings which people care about and making their lives more convenient.

 

The second runner-up prize goes to the No Pain More Gain team from the University of Hong Kong. To address two alarming health problems: the delayed diagnosis of diabetic patients in Hong Kong and the high invasiveness of current continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices, the No Pain More Gain team combined thermometer functions with saliva glucose testing technology to create a non-invasive 2-in-1 CGM device. By monitoring the synergistic relationship between body temperature and insulin, the device is able to provide a better and more comprehensive oversight system to protect the health of diabetic patients.

 

The first and second runner-ups will receive cash prizes of HK$6,000 and HK$4,000 respectively. The winning teams will also have the opportunity to represent Hong Kong by attending related conferences or workshops in Asia.

 

In the HKSTP Technopreneur Award competition, sponsored by the Hong Kong

 

Science & Technology Parks Corporation, the Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards goes to the NGgear Fit-Kick, JAM (which was also formed by students from HKUST) and RGuardian teams, respectively. The awards recognise each team’s innovative use of technology in the development of the modern business model.

 

The YDC E-Challenge 2015 and HKSTP Technopreneur Award winning teams have been invited by the co-organiser of the China Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition, the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation, to directly participate in the semi-finals of the 4th China Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), where they will compete with university students from all around the Cross-Strait region. The event demonstrates the widespread recognition of the YDC E-Challenge’s leading position in the Asia-Pacific region.

 

 

Champion: NGgear Fit-Kick, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

 

1st runner-up: R-Guardian, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

 

2nd runner-up: No Pain More Gain, The University of Hong Kong HKSTP Technopreneur Award

 

Gold Award: NGgear Fit-Kick, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

 

Silver Award: JAM, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

 

Bronze Award: R-Guardian, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Mrs Sophie Leung Lau Yau Fun (Right), GBS, J.P., Chairperson of the YDC, Mr Frank Tsang (Left 2), Assistant Commissioner for Innovation and Technology (Funding Schemes), Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) and Mr Constant Tang (Left 1), Senior Manager, Corporate Development, Hong Kong Science & Technology Park Corporation together with E-Challenge 2015 Award champion and HKSTP Technopreneur Award Gold Award team NGgear Fit-Kick.

Ms Helen Chen (Right), Director of the YDC together with E-Challenge 2015 Award 1st runner-up and HKSTP Technopreneur Award Bronze Award team R-Guardian.

Mr Paul Chu (Left), one of the competition’s final-round judges and E-Challenge 2015 Award 2nd runner-up team No Pain More Gain.

Ms Nisa Leung (Right), Director of the YDC together with HKSTP Technopreneur Award Silver Award team JAM and their mentor Mr Thomas Ng (Left).

Winning teams took group photo with guests.