MWC: Bluetooth breaks through

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced the overall winner and the four category winners in its annual Bluetooth Breakthrough Awards programme.

The category winners epitomising the best Bluetooth enabled products and applications on the market today, as well as innovative prototypes and concepts are: Automatic Labs in the Application Category: Nonin Medical in the Product Category: Bionym in the Prototype Category. Additionally, fifteen-year-old Shiva Nathan was named winner of the Breakthrough Awards student category, which celebrates submissions from the next generation of Bluetooth innovators and young entrepreneurs.

From these category winners, Bionym’s Bluetooth Smart enabled authentication wristband, the Nymi, was selected as the Overall Winner by the expert judging panel of SIG staff, media and industry influencers, along with award platinum sponsors Ellisys and Frontline Test Equipment, Inc., and gold sponsors CSR, Nordic Semiconductor and Texas Instruments.

‚”We were blown away at the quantity and quality of submissions in just the second year of our Breakthrough Awards programme. Our winners capture how we continue to see Bluetooth Smart empower the Internet of My Things as well as make bigger possibilities with wireless connectivity a reality in the Internet of Everything,‚” said Suke Jawanda, Bluetooth SIG CMO. ‚”Bionym, our overall winner, is an excellent example of how the power-efficient, intelligent connectivity of Bluetooth Smart makes it possible for developers and OEMs to reimagine their products in a way that makes the consumers’ lives more convenient, smarter and better.”

Winners by category:

Breakthrough Student

Shiva Nathan, Arduino-based Bluetooth Transhumeral Prosthesis A low cost, brain-controlled interface (BCI) transhumeral prosthetic that fits onto amputees’ hands and relies on a Bluetooth transmitter to send information and commands to the prosthetic. The quick, efficient data transfer capabilities of Bluetooth technology make Nathan’s prosthesis project a possible reality that will enable those recovering from amputation surgery to lead better, more enriched lives.

Breakthrough Application

Automatic Labs, Automatic Makes drivers more intelligent by using Bluetooth Smart technology to send vehicle information to a mobile device app that tracks real-time data about fuel efficiency, trip costs and driving habits.

Breakthrough Product

Nonin Medical Inc., Nonin Model 3230 Bluetooth Smart Finger Pulse Oximeter The world’s first clinical Bluetooth Smart medical device that measures blood, oxygen, pulse rate and other pulse signal characteristics. With the secure, intelligent connection made possible by Bluetooth Smart, the 3230 provides a cost-effective way for patients and healthcare providers to better manage health.

Breakthrough Prototype and Overall Winner

Bionym, the Nymi The first wearable authentication technology that uses cardiac rhythm recognition for identity verification and communicates that access via Bluetooth Smart to nearby devices and systems. The Nymi leverages the reliable, secure and one-to-many features of Bluetooth Smart to make identity protection safe and simple for consumers.

‚””The impressive list of candidates for the 2014 Bluetooth Breakthrough Awards illustrates how basic, yet relevant, innovations can take advantage of Bluetooth, a credible technology that has been around for a long time, to offer easy solutions to real problems,‚”” said Joel Kaczmarek, Bluetooth Breakthrough Award judge and publisher of Gruenderszene, a leading German magazine on the digital economy. ‚””The variety also spoke to what is and can be possible with Bluetooth Smart technology from the novel to the lifesaving capturing the potential of building with Bluetooth across verticals from established companies, entrepreneurial startups and even students and hobbyists.‚””

The judging panel also consisted of respected industry players Robert Scoble (Rackspace), Ken Denmead (GeekDad), Victoria Woollaston (Daily Mail), as well as sponsor judges David Bean (Frontline Test Equipment) and Mario Pasquali (Ellisys).

As the overall winner, the Bluetooth SIG awards Bionym with two round trip tickets to attend Bluetooth World 2014 in April, along with entry into the event and free exhibition space, valued at $12,500 USD provided by Ellisys and Frontline Test Equipment, Inc. The category winners receive a trip to gold sponsor Nordic Semiconductor’s headquarters in Norway. The Student category winner receives a cash prize of $5,000 USD.

* “