Helping people thrive in older age
10 finalists announced in Centrica's first Active Ageing Challenge
IoT-enabled cooker controls, smart locks, and digital healthcare assistants are just a handful of the technologies that will be put through their paces at Centrica’s Active Ageing Challenge pitch day in London next week (15th March).
Ten finalists have been selected from 125 global applications from entrepreneurs and start-ups looking to win a slice of a £100,000 prize fund. Start-ups from five countries will be pitching their innovations to a team of industry experts. The panel will be made up of both Centrica and guest judges from Aviva Ventures and the Bupa Customer Lab.
The Active Ageing Challenge has been set up to find start-ups with tech solutions that help meet the needs of an ageing society. As well as a share of the prize fund, winners could also receive the opportunity to access valuable networking and mentorship opportunities that can help start-ups to grow.
The ten finalists are:
Alcove (London, UK) – an IoT digital care service combining wearables, an in-home communication device, behaviour monitoring and analytics, home automation & emergency response;
Birdie Care (London, UK) – the world’s first holistic digital companion to care for older adults through an app, connected home devices and a network of vetted care service delivery partners;
EchoCare Technologies (Beersheba, Israel) – developers of a non-wearable, self-learning, elder-care home monitoring device that automatically alerts care givers in emergency situations;
Hello Daisy (London, UK) – helps bring the joy of connecting everyone by helping the digitally excluded become included by internet enabling their TV;
Inirv (San Francisco, USA) – produces a smart IoT knob for cookers that can modulate burner temperature. An app also allows for automatic temperature regulation and can turn off the cooker in an emergency;
Kalgera (London, UK) – an innovative digital platform that supports carers of older people in the day-to-day management of their loved one’s finances;
Keymitt (Luxembourg City, Luxembourg) – a smart-lock retrofitting device that allows users to control access through a door via their smartphone;
Minut (Malmo, Sweden) – pioneers of a new approach to home security. Their complete home alarm in a single device provides peace of mind by letting users know if something is wrong at home;
Pillo (Boston, USA) – an intelligent healthcare assistant for the home. It stores, dispenses and reorders medication, and provides users with the information and services that they need to better manage their safety, health and wellbeing;
TrustonTap (Oxford, UK) – developers of a disruptive marketplace platform to connect older people, and their families, directly with self-employed care workers.
Sam Salisbury, Director at Centrica Innovations, said: “Smart technology has the ability to solve one of society’s biggest challenges so we’re absolutely delighted with the applications we received and are excited to hear more at the pitch day.”
Centrica is committed to providing support to people and technology that can change the world, and will be investing £100 million in start-ups, incubation and accelerator programmes by 2022.
For more information on the Active Ageing Challenge visit: https://www.centrica.com/innovation/active-ageing