■ Winner
Title　Revitalizing communities with IoT x music (online presentation video)
Team　Revolution 1
Member(s)　Shuto Hattori (Nagoya University)

• Summary
  This is an idea to use sensing devices to enliven local communities. The idea is to turn diverse objects in town into musical instruments. If you touch a post box, step on a paving tile, or climb up stairs, sensing devices detect these actions and make sounds from speakers.
  Panel’s commentary
  Congratulations. It is a romantic proposal to turn a whole community into a musical instrument. It was well thought through in terms of the modes of use, which was highly appreciated by the judge panel. Turning diverse objects into musical instruments of various shapes and forms, this would prompt new value and advantages. Good luck with its realization.
  Winner’s commentary
  I am delighted that my idea, and especially the fact that I put an emphasis on the exciting sensations, was appreciated. I took this ideathon as an opportunity to learn about IoT devices and issues concerning local communities, which must have helped, too, to win. Thank you very much.
  

■ Runner-up
Title　Audio-Eyes (online presentation video)
Team　Karaoke La La La
Member(s)　Kyohei Ishikawa, Peter Chai and Dil Oide (Waseda University)

• Summary
  This is a navigation service using textured pavement tiles with an embedded computer and analog microphone. Two navigation modes are provided: the standard mode to get to the destination directly and the leisurely walk mode to enjoy road side views. Knowing users’ anxieties about their environment helps to alleviate their stresses.
  Panel’s commentary
  This is a double-winner coupled with the Accessibility Award. It is excellent that the team interviewed their target users and used the findings to improve the idea. We would love to see this unique idea of “aural signboards” further pursued to be realized one day.
  Winner’s commentary
  It’s incredible to win two prizes. Thank you very much. This opportunity has made us see the potential of IoT technology, and we believe that our idea will help people with visual impairment. Thank you very much.
  

■ Best Accessibility Award
Title　Audio-Eyes (online presentation video)
Team　Karaoke La La La
Member(s)　Kyohei Ishikawa, Peter Chai and Dil Oide (Waseda University)

• Summary
  This is a navigation service using textured pavement tiles with an embedded computer and analog microphone. Two navigation modes are provided: the standard mode to get to the destination directly and the leisurely walk mode to enjoy road side views. Knowing users’ anxieties about their environment helps to alleviate their stresses.
  Panel’s commentary
  This idea proposes a solution to alleviate various restraints experienced by people with impairment, and it is based on what the team learned from the interviews they conducted with actual people with visual impairment. We hope to see that this wonderful idea will eventually be realized and inspire activities that help society.
  Winner’s commentary
  We are honored to receive this award. The experience of discussing and formulating the idea has been really meaningful to us all. It also taught us a lot about the values and perspectives of those who are socially vulnerable. Thank you very much.
  

■ Winner
Title　Raku Raku Guitar (Guitar for everyone) (online presentation video)
Team　SOTA
Member(s)　Yuichi Shirai, Shota Onishi, Masamune Nakashima and Kairi Kanada (Meijo University)

• Summary
  Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have decided to pick up musical instruments to play for the increased time they spend at home. However, the guitar is a demanding instrument as the player needs to master tuning, learn and memorize chords, and get used to fingering, quick chord changes and stroking. Many people simply give up before long. We propose a guitar which allows people to play tunes easily with the help of technology.
  Panel’s commentary
  This idea uses the advantages of SPRESENSE in the IoT context very well. Notably, they used switches where there were normally strings and developed their original board. The play can be realized only with a mouse, and the instrument is equipped with varied modes while realizing easy playing. These details are well thought through. Moreover, the idea also includes a spectrum of learning processes, which would support an exciting human experience. This is a well-designed creation.
  Winner’s commentary
  We are thrilled to have this wonderful prize. I am myself a beginner player, and playing it was daunting at first. Using SPRESENSE, it becomes so easy, and this product is really impressive also from the developer’s point of view.
  

■ Runner-up
Title　Intra-tracheal suction aid using stethoscopic sensor array for determining the need for mucus suction and location of phlegm (online presentation video)
Team　Wistar
Member(s)　Tomoyuki Fujiwara (Hokkaido University)

• Summary
  It is ideal for patients who are unable to clear their throats themselves to have early determination of the need for, and safe and swift implementation of, mucus suction. We propose a system that enables the determination of the need and estimation of the location of the phlegm in the patient’s body. The system recognizes the patient’s respiratory status based on machine-learning normal breathing sounds. It also enables to estimate the location of the phlegm using its sensor array.
  Panel’s commentary
  This idea is realized using several SPRESENSE units to operate hardware such as stethoscopic sensor array. It has highly sophisticated software, including its auto-encoder and is a practical system. Ideas such as this one not only enrich the SPRESENSE use cases, but also really help to offer solutions to people’ problems. The panel also appreciated its future potential to reach this selection.
  Winner’s commentary
  Thank you for selecting my idea for this prestigious prize. The respiratory system is something quite topical in recent years. I hope to develop this idea so that it will help people with respiratory problems. Thank you very much.
  

■ Runner-up
Title　Fishing fans’ information platform powered by SPRESENSE (online presentation video)
Team　Komekopan
Member(s)　Shuto Nomura, Kosei Ishida, Shunki Uchida, Tatsuki Yamashita and Kengo Kitaoka (University of Toyama)

• Summary
  Using SPRESENSE, fishing people’s locations, rod movements and other information is converted into data sets and stored on servers, which are then used to build a platform for fishing information. The collected information is used to visualize in the forms of charts and maps, analyzed using AI, and fed into the metaverse to create realistic virtual fishing spots. It proposes a new approach to fishing.
  Panel’s commentary
  Although the main theme is fishing, this idea tries to extend its scope to the arm control, drones and virtual space. The panel appreciated this point. The idea is expansible, and we look forward to seeing future development.
  Winner’s commentary
  Thank you for selecting our work for this prize. We chose fishing as a central theme this time to develop a system, and we hope that the IoT devices will diffuse and create an exciting world in the future. Thank you very much.
  

■ Best Music Entertainment Award
Title　Raku Raku Guitar (Guitar for everyone) (online presentation video)
Team　SOTA
Member(s)　Yuichi Shirai, Shota Onishi, Masamune Nakashima and Kairi Kanada (Meijo University)

• Summary
  Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have decided to pick up musical instruments to play for the increased time they spend at home. However, the guitar is a demanding instrument as the player needs to master tuning, learn and memorize chords, and get used to fingering, quick chord changes and stroking. Many people simply give up before long. We propose a guitar which allows people to play tunes easily with the help of technology.
  Panel’s commentary
  Congratulations for winning this award. We saw that the presenter was enjoying himself during the presentation. Enjoyment is the most important element in entertainment. No one can entertain others if they are not enjoying themselves. This is a very inviting musical instrument. Why not join the World Yuru Music Association!
  Winner’s commentary
  We are delighted to have this wonderful prize. I never played any musical instrument before and started learning the guitar from the very basics. We encountered some technical challenges, but when we had the final product in our hands, it was awesome.
  

■ Best Field Sensing Award
Title　Speak with your plant. Automated IoT device for home garden plant growth monitoring “Curu” (online presentation video)
Team　Physical brain
Member(s)　Ko Yaoya (The University of Electro-Communications)

• Summary
  Curu is an automated device that monitors and records the growth of pot plants at home. It also facilitates conversations with the plants. It records their growing stages such as flowering, with the conditions such as ambient temperature, humidity and luminosity. The data also enables a virtual conversation with the plants using an online chat platform to make it more fun and efficient to develop a home garden.
  Panel’s commentary
  The idea is interesting in that IoT technology is used to enable communication between plants and the people who grow them. SPRESENSE is used for the sensing purpose, and ELTRES is used to send data to the cloud. Line (an online chat platform) is used to emulate a conversation with the person who is growing the plant. The idea draws very well on what IoT is about, and there is a good mixture of digital and analog elements. This is also technically realizable.
  Winner’s commentary
  Thank you for this wonderful prize. For me, the idea is realized to an extent, but I am not satisfied because there are many points to be improved. I would like to continue the sensing and enrich the communication feature.
  

■ Committee Chair’s Remarks

• 

  Yasushi Nakauchi,
  Executive Committee Chair

  Thank you everyone for your participation. My congratulations to those who have won the prize. We had many brilliant ideas.
  The ideathon was full of innovative ideas, ones that are full of young energy and aspirational to make the world a better place.
  As for the hackathon, each team proved to have developed and implemented their ideas thoroughly. Perhaps because this is the second year, the overall level of completion was much higher than the last time. All of the 12 teams did very well, and it was a close-run competition.
  A small IoT device can easily detect the situations of people and objects, recognize them as events, and feedback to people or services. The technology will advance based on diverse ideas, expanding the scope of what it can do.
  This year, we extended the entry eligibility to high school students. Unfortunately, no younger candidates made to the finalists. We are currently discussing to make this event more accessible to welcome new participants. I say to this year’s participants that they can invite their friends to join in, and also that we hope to see them back at the next year’s event.

[Event website]
The latest news on the event can be found here (website in Japanese)

[Inquiries]
Secretariat, the 2022 Ideathon & Hackathon of Sensing Solution
Inquiries can be made from here (page in Japanese)

※SPRESENSE is a registered trademark or trademark of Sony Group Corporation or its affiliates.

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