Random Winners
China
Maestro Digital Publishing Suite (Maestro DPS) is a powerful digital publishing system for interactive magazines, e-books, comics, business catalogues and education publications. Easy to learn, the Maestro system requires no programming skill. Maestro DPS creates interactive contents that rival other providers and supports multiple platforms with a single product for both mobile phones and tablet devices. Maestro DPS is a complete solution for individual designers, traditional media publishers, ad agencies, or major media and brand organizations, making it possible to create, distribute, monetize and optimize robust interactive publications.
To facilitate improved workflow for publishers, Maestro DPS offers an instant preview feature with over-the-air device-to-device file delivery support. Maestro DPS is a mandatory higher diploma module at the Hong Kong Design Institute. The app has won a number of outstanding IT and business awards.
Watch the product video here.
Bahrain
Ithmaar Bank's MobiCash is a new product allowing customers to withdraw cash from the bank’s ATMs without a card. A first of its kind, the innovative MobiCash cardless cash withdrawal solution changes the way people in Bahrain access cash, allowing third parties to withdraw cash conveniently and securely from Ithmaar ATMs. Extremely simple to use, all that users need is an Ithmaar Bank e-banking ID. MobiCash works as follows: the MobiCash sender, an Ithmaar Bank customer with either an active current or saving account and access to e-banking, adds the MobiCash receiver to the MobiCash beneficiary list via e-banking. The MobiCash sender then sends money to the MobiCash receiver’s Bahraini mobile number. The MobiCash receiver gets an sms with the MobiCash reference number and a code. The receiver activates the MobiCash service at any Ithmaar Bank ATM by means of the dedicated button. After successfully entering all the details sent via sms, the MobiCash receiver gets the cash. MobiCash is supported by a network of 39 ATMs across Bahrain, making cash available virtually anywhere, at any time.
Watch the product video here.
Norway
Hormone check helps consumers to avoid endocrine disrupters, EDCs, found in cosmetics and personal care products. By scanning the barcode on the product with the phone, the consumer is instantly informed as to whether the product contains EDCs. Hormone check focuses on the 17 chemicals on the EU list of EDCs which are allowed in cosmetics. Consumers are encouraged to report products back to the database. If consumers scan a product and it is not in the database, they can send information on the product using a form provided on the phone or photograph the ingredient list, documenting the EDCs in the product. Consumer may also share information on EDC products with friends on social networks. Since the launch of the campaign in Norway in November 2011, the app has been downloaded 120,000 times and more than 1.8 million product scans have been entered by Norwegian consumers.
Sweden
Bambuser is a simple-to-use live video service that allows users to quickly and easily capture, share and watch live video through mobile phones and computers. Bambuser also enables instant sharing with the world’s favourite social networks including Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. With users in 190 countries, Bambuser’s mission is to provide people and brands with the most enjoyable and effective interaction and sharing of special moments with others through real-time video. Users can broadcast what’s happening, chat with viewers live, or share breaking news with a global audience, thanks to Bambuser’s cooperation with an international news agency. Bambuser is available as a free service for consumers and non-profits, and as a premium service for commercial use.
Finland
Scoopshot is a service allowing smartphone owners to become photographers for media companies. Users can take newsworthy photos or videos and send them via the mobile app, offering their shots at a set price. Journalists can purchase the image at the price set by the photographer or buy exclusive rights for ten times as much. Conversely, editors can send location-based tasks to mobile users via the interface, at a price determined by the media. In this way, media can incentivize scoopshooters in the field or assign a freelance photographer anywhere via the Scoopshot PRO interface. Scoopshot has over 110,000 mobile photographers in 160 countries. Scoopshooters submitted over 250,000 photos last year, of which over 110,000 were purchased and published. Forty-six media corporations use Scoopshot daily, accessing a low cost, unique and steady flow of digital content. Besides media, companies can use the Scoopshot application for marketing, listing and promotion. As Scoopshot‘s community is highly engaged, brands can obtain extensive content for enlivening online activity. Scoopshot products are all based on the same mobile app. Assignments and photo stream are managed from the same web store, making it easy to use for both contributors and buyers.
Scoopshot PRO makes it possible to assign a freelance photographer anywhere in the world via the same interface.Conversely, editors can send location based tasks to the mobile users via the interface at a price determined by the media. This way media can incentivize and activate the scoopshooters locally or even Nationally and Globally to get content from a desired event.
Scoopshot PRO makes it possible to assign a freelance photographer anywhere in the world via the same interface.
Besides media, the Scoopshot application can be used for marketing, listing, promotion and activation processes by any company.
Sri Lanka
TrafficMate is a traffic management app providing an efficient solution for traffic congestion. Research indicates the most effective ways to control traffic, for example, by algorithms based on artificial intelligence to control traffic lights. However, these solutions rely on the availability of accurate and real-time information about traffic flow. TrafficMate takes advantage of the smartphone inside the app user’s pocket, turning the user into a sensor. Smartphones thus create a ‘social network’ of traffic detection without external sensors or bureaucracy. The mobile app collects traffic flow data including speed, acceleration patterns and location of the mobile device in a vehicle, sending the data to a central server, where it is processed to identify traffic jam locations. App users receive information from the server in the form of location-based updates. TrafficMate marks jammed areas on a Google map, also making information available to traffic analysts and viewers via the web page or API. A major advantage: TrafficMate data gathering and transmission is a backend process, not visible to the user.
Finland
Shadow Cities players are technomages, rediscovering the long lost parallel shadow world and its magic by using their mobile device. The game challenges players to rediscover their surroundings in a way never before seen. Using location-based augmented reality technology, Shadow Cities creates a revolutionary global arena in which players delve into real-time, large-scale epic battles with other gamers in their very own transformed neighbourhoods. At the core of the game lie spells cast by drawing runes on the mobile device screen. Shadow Cities builds on traditional roleplaying concepts, offering a deep levelling system that allows players to customize their character by learning spells and developing attributes. An entirely new feature layers the game world on top of real-world locations. Players are challenged in mission-based gameplay, as well as by Player vs. Player and Player vs. Environment territorial conflict and control, and weekly campaigns between player factions, with unique medals as rewards that define the player’s character over time. Communication plays a vital role, ensured by in-game chat and social networking functionalities. Players can call on friends for help, discuss campaign progressions, display achievements and most importantly, remain easily connected with friends inside Shadow Cities.
Italy
Positive Technology App (PTA) is a telehealth tool allowing self-management of stress and enabling mobile-based treatment. Stress is the second most reported work-related health problem, while stress-related conditions caused by work are on the increase and significantly affect an organisation’s bottom line. Reducing work-related stress is not only a moral, but also a legal and business imperative. Research indicates that the use of mobile phones enhances clinical approaches to stress management. Within the context of the Interstress EU project, a mobile app was developed to help people cope with stress. Using an engaging 3D virtual reality island, the user can practice effective relaxation techniques. The Positive Technology app also offers biofeedback training to control heart rate variability, thus helping to counter the physiological changes induced by stress. The biofeedback approach used has two outstanding merits. Firstly, heart rate variability is one of the most effective biofeedback techniques. Secondly, the treatment is situated in a virtual environment, the medium of choice for giving users feedback, by being more intuitive and making learning easy. The biofeedback section of the app exploits progress made in the field of wearable low-cost biosensors to allow effective interventions in daily situations.
United States/ Russian Federation
News360 is a set of mobile apps for smartphone and tablet platforms. The apps send a tailored stream of news content focused on users’ specific interests. The apps gather and analyse news articles from more than 20,000 online sources, presenting the most important ones in a grid. On the flagship iPad version, each rectangle in the grid is the face of a cube - the user can rotate the cube to see different aspects of the story or activate different actions. Flipping the cube up displays a preview, flipping it down allows story-sharing, turning to the opposite face activates selected coverage. News360 combines diverse sources to provide coverage from diverging perspectives, all with one tap. News360 gets smarter the more it’s used – the app analyses the user’s behaviour and adjusts the feed to provide more sophisticated sources from authors not otherwise available. The system is based on a self-learning ontology with a state-of-the-art linguistic analysis engine that tracks more than a million topics, organizations, people and products. News360 apps have been downloaded by over 1.5 million people and positively reviewed by the news industry.
Japan
MagicReader provides a magical experience of reading and viewing e-books using the iPad. There is no need to touch the hardware to turn pages, facial movements are enough. MagicReader uses the mobile device’s camera to detect the movement of the person reading the book. With this new technology, a disabled or injured person can read a book without having to depend on help from someone else. MagicReader can also be used in diverse daily situations, such as reading while eating with both hands, reading a recipe while cooking or perusing documents while typing on a keyboard. There are countless more ways to use MagicReader.
