Premier Farnell repeats Startupbootcamp/IoT sponsorship

This year, as the IoT market matures and opportunities for IIoT emerge, more than 90% of applications for the programme came from startups working on B2B IoT solutions, an increase from 70% in 2017 and just 24% in 2016.

Eight startups have now been chosen from over 300 applicants in 51 countries to develop Internet of Things (IoT) solutions that tackle problems in diverse and impactful applications from smart packaging and smart suits, to health sports wearables and building management systems.

Hari Kalyanaraman, Global Head of Emerging Businesses at Premier Farnell and a mentor at Startupbootcamp said: "Premier Farnell is thrilled to partner with Startupbootcamp for a third consecutive year. As the Development Distributor we work with startups through every phase of product and market development; Startupbootcamp is a perfect fit with our culture of innovation and ability to bring ideas to life. The 2018 cohort is developing IoT applications to tackle real world problems in health care, facilities management, asset tracking and packaging among others. I look forward to working with this year's cohort and am keen to see their progress throughout the program."

Program CEO & Founder, Raph Crouan, added: “2018 was a year of consolidation for the IoT market and we’ve seen a solidification of the trends emerging in 2017 with a lot more importance given to solutions with a real impactful application, in particular when applied to developing regions of the world. Here at Startupbootcamp IoT we’re aiming to make the journey of building those solutions clearer, shorter, and more successful for entrepreneurs.”

The eight startups chosen to join the program were chosen following an intense three-day selection process that included expert workshops, pitches to program partners such as Cisco, Rolls-Royce, Inmarsat, Premier Farnell and DLL and extensive mentor feedback sessions.

The 2018 Startupbootcamp IoT cohort includes:

1. Amicoeur(Croatia) — a digital stethoscope and ECG with built-in biometric authentication for professional athletes.
2. Mechion(UK) — an autonomous patient observation system which monitors behaviours, emotional states, physical activity, and produces reports over long periods of time.
3. ORB Innovations (UK) — wearable technology for sports professionals used to detect head injuries and alert those pitch-side.
4. PIN IoT (UK) — PiN IoT leverages new cellular networks to deliver tracking solutions for mobile industrial assets - containers, skips, bins, plant and tools - at a fraction of the cost of traditional GPS.
5. Qbots Energy(UK) — an industrial IoT device that communicates with the Building Management System and uses sensors / AI to collect temperature, humidity, CO2 levels and occupancy data through LPWAN networks, allowing new revenue streams and energy savings.
6. Ragnarok 2.0 (Estonia) — a smart suit capable of tracking, fall detection and vital signs monitoring for workers and supervisors exposed to high-risk working environments
7. SweepTEQ (UAE) — a smart autonomous rover with AI cameras designed to detect and collect debris on airport runways.

1. Vesta Smart Packaging(UK) — new environmentally friendly smart packaging that records how full it is and orders refill.