The final shortlist of three contenders for the ‘Open Innovation Challenge’ has been announced, a global competition aimed at identifying new technologies to benefit crew safety, health and wellbeing launched by Inmarsat with Shell Shipping & Maritime and Thetius.
The Challenge, aimed at start-ups and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), invited applicants in four areas of innovation spanning deck safety, fatigue, administration reduction and overall wellbeing, with some 49 written entries received.
The shortlisted candidates are:
- The Canary Sentinel and Workrest intelligent fatigue management and rest coaching platform to manage shift work using real time health tracking, profiling and fatigue prediction based on sleep quality.
- The Kaiko Systems ‘guided survey tool’ for data collection to enable standard survey routines, including picture-taking.
- The MedAssist online tool to deliver AR-assisted medical help and training to seafarers remotely, and a ‘Heart App’ capable of producing ECGs on a tablet.
The winner will be selected from these three finalists by a panel including representatives from Inmarsat, Shell Shipping & Maritime, Thetius and seafarer charity ISWAN, as well as a Chief Officer, a First Engineer, a Second Officer and a Marine Pilot.
The winning entry will secure a £10,000 GBP grant to fund proof of concept trials onboard a vessel supported by Shell Shipping & Maritime and Inmarsat. The victor will be announced on 12th November during the live online broadcast of the Smart Maritime Network Copenhagen Conference.
“The Open Innovation Challenge has unearthed some fascinating proposals using the power of digital technology to enhance seafarer welfare,” said Ronald Spithout, President Inmarsat Maritime.
“Its goals reflect Inmarsat’s own strategy to seek out, encourage and work with the disruptors helping to drive maritime digitalisation and aligns with our Welfare 2.0 initiative.”
Of the 49 competition entries, the organisers note that largest contribution came from companies seeking to improve overall crew welfare, while one fifth of entrants focused on reducing administration and 6% on crew fatigue.
