A system for increasing the efficiency of cultivation, a tourism application, and software to create virtual reality were the winners of the Hi-Tech Startup competition, an initiative organized by Academic Incubators of Entrepreneurship and The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation.
Hi-Tech Startup is an initiative that seeks to commercialize innovative ideas and scientific achievements. Thanks to the competition, the creators of hi-tech solutions have a chance to enter the market with their ideas by launching their own businesses or finding an investor interested in bringing their concepts to life, says Sławosz Sawicki, Director for Coordination of Strategic Projects, Citi Handlowy.
Hi-Tech Startup is one of many initiatives organized by us promoting creative entrepreneurship among students and graduates. Young people have tremendous potential, so it is worthwhile to help them develop their ideas and their subsequent commercialization. They are not the only ones to benefit from this: the dissemination of their ideas can make our lives much easier, says Dariusz Żuk, President of Entrepreneurial Poland.
One of the ideas highlighted in the competition is AiMSR (Agriculture Intelligent Monitoring System). This is a system designed for small and medium-sized farms to help them increase their cultivation and obtain better yields while reducing the amount of water and fertilizer usage as well as costs. AiMSR integrates data obtained from the farm (measurement of water, amount of fertilizer, soil type, etc.) and from outside (weather forecast, historical data, etc.) with current scientific research in the field of agriculture. This will translate directly into increased efficiency and precision as well as correctness of the decisions made: when, how much, and how to irrigate and fertilize each plant. The solution was developed by Umair Shafique, Ludger Herget and Tomasz Jagiello.
CityGuideTour is another idea that interested the committee of the Hi-Tech Startup competition. It is a mobile application designed for tourists, using Augmented Reality (AR) on smartphone displays. A user wanting to visit a given place can use the application to see what interesting objects are located there, check their descriptions, opening hours, fees, and location on the map. In addition, it has access to a photo gallery of each of the sites as well as an audio guide. The application also uses a gamification element: everyone who uses it participates in a global ranking of travelers. CityGuideTour gives cities, regions and local governments an opportunity to promote their tourism offers. The solution was developed by Michael Wołga.
Weebo3D is a combination of innovative VR goggles and intelligent software, with the option of adjusting the field of vision to the expected experience through personalization of images in real time. This technology responds to the need for a perfect, sharp picture in movies and PC games as well as a wide and deep 3D effect in VR applications. Virtual journeys are an idea well-known from the websites of hotels and restaurants, but transferring it into VR mode has a much greater potential of engaging users. The generated applications will make it possible to draw potential customers to extremely attractive content, absorbing much more attention than traditional channels. The solution was developed by Peter Krukowski.
Project Hi-Tech Startup was directed primarily at young scientists, engineers, and aspiring entrepreneurs, including students and employees of the Warsaw University of Technology. Out of the 100 applications in the first round of the competition, 50 were selected, and in the next round, 30. The top 10 appeared before the investment committee, which chose three winners. The competition is carried out by Academic Incubators of Entrepreneurship and The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation. The project’s partners are the City of Warsaw, the Warsaw University of Technology, and the PW Institute of Applied Research.
