Are you up for a challenge and want to win a prize valued at 100,000 NOK? Get ready to kick-start your career and make the world a better place.
Join the first ever smart sensor build-a-thon!
The Oslo Science City Arena Student Challenge is a three-month build-a-thon for aspiring thinkers, makers and inventors, organised by Startuplab, SINTEF and University of Oslo. The challenge kicks off on March 1, in the lead up to The Sensor Decade 2022 conference in Oslo.
The best teams will be invited to display and present their projects at the conference, and pitch their ideas to Norway's leading researchers, corporations, investors and startups.
Build a smart sensor solution
If you accept this challenge, you and your team will invent, design, build, and test a smart sensor solution that could help society tackle a current or future challenge. Your solution will exploit sensors and sensor data in an innovative way.
As long as your solution uses sensors and/or sensor data, you can build whatever you want.
Sensors for a better life & society
The prize
The overall winner team wins a prize worth 100,000 NOK including:
-
A full year membership at Startuplab, valued at 75,000 NOK
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10 consultation hours with a relevant SINTEF researcher, valued at 25,000 NOK
Award categories
Overall
winner
Best
demonstration
Best
idea
Best
technical solution
The winners of each category will get a chance to exhibit their solution and discuss their ideas with the conference delegates. Their videos will be played in front of an exciting audience comprising industry, universities and research institutes, all of whom are working in advanced sensor research and product development.
The overall winner team wins the prize valued at 100,000 NOK which includes:
A full year membership at Startuplab
The membership includes two desk spaces with access to full incubator facilities. You will gain access to workshops, mentors, investors, data science labs (AI/IoT etc), hardware lab, free legal advice, accounting services and, office and meeting room facilities. Startuplab is one of Norway's leading incubators for early-stage start-ups, with access to a network of founders, mentors, investors, industry experts and corporate partners, as well as a range of services designed to help grow your idea into reality.
10 consultation hours with a relevant SINTEF researcher
Spend time doing a technical deep dive into your idea with a researcher from one of Europe’s largest independent research organisations, SINTEF. The researcher has significant experience working with industry and growing technology ideas from concept to function. Discuss how to move your idea forward, the likely technical pitfalls, and learn about career paths as an applied researcher.
Get creative
We can't wait to see your amazing ideas!
Here are some topic ideas
Imagine how sensors could...
help reduce consumption of materials or resources
help elderly or disabled people live at home
monitor the environment or activity in Norway's vast nature arctic areas
increase efficiency or reduce the environmental impact of agriculture
improve city life and public management without invading privacy
improve healthcare at home or in clinics
For some further inspiration, consider checking out Norway's environmental goals.
Maybe your great idea will one day be manufactured in the thousands
Get started
The challenge is open to all students, Bachelor to PhD, from Norwegian universities or technical colleges. A team must consist of two or more students.
When applying for the challenge, you can choose to be open to accepting other students into your group by indicating what type of students you are looking for. Maybe you will make new friends?
March 1st
Official registration opens
You can register interest and ask questions now through the link below
April 30th
Deadline for registering
May 24th
Submit a short video pitch of your project (2-5 min)
June 1st - 2nd
Exhibit at The Sensor Decade Conference
FAQ
What is a Smart Sensor Build-a-thon?
A competition where you build a hardware/software demonstrator, which is a realization of a measurement concept. Sensors and/or sensor data should be an essential part of the concept.
Does the idea have to be new?
The project may be an existing student project, or a new idea to be developed during the competition period
Should we have a team? / How many can we have on the team?
The preferred team size is from 2 to 6 persons, but this is up to you and your team!
Can I get support?
You will get access to a mentor team, if you need help along the way or if you have questions. You will have access to lab and software facilities at your own university or technical school.
Please contact us if you need additional facilities that are not available to you.
What sensor(s) can I use?
Today we have sensors all around us; some are simple, some advanced. You are not limited to a selection of sensors, but some examples include, smartphone sensors (camera, accelerometer, microphone), low-cost thermometers, vibration sensors, gas sensors, etc. that are widely available for hobby developers. You may also use publicly available sensor data (e.g. satellite, surveillance, meteorological data). This challenge encourages you to use what is available in new ways.
Who can join the challenge?
Full-time students who are studying at a Norwegian university or technical college
What is the definition of a student?
The competition is open to full-time students at all levels, from bachelor to PhD
What about IP and publishing?
The participants retain full ownership of and publication rights related to the ideas presented in the competition.
The organizers (Startuplab, SINTEF, UiO and Oslo Science City) are allowed to publish information related to the competition, including a high level description of the participants, their contributions and competition entries.
Technical details that should not be made public, such as patentable concepts, should be clearly marked with "CONFIDENTIAL".
Is the purpose of this project to build sensor devices or programs that can simulate a particular problem?
Simulations can be used as long as they are based on physical sensor data.
Is it possible to use an existing idea/project?
Yes, you can use an idea you already started from before, or a project that you are doing as part of your studies, for example your masters project.
Examples
Today we have sensors all around us; some are simple, some advanced. This challenge encourages you to use what is available in new ways.
Some examples of low-cost sensors you can use.
Your mobile phone, which has Camera, Accelerometer, GPS, Microphone. You can light sensors (image sensors and photodiodes), gas sensors, temperature, pressure and humidity sensors, Vibration sensors, sound sensors (microphones).
Examples on development hardware you can use:
No hardware competence? You may also consider projects that use open-source sensor data. Some examples: