WINNING AT INNOVATION THE JUDGES RULED, THE AUDIENCE SPOKE AND THE EXPERTS WEIGHED IN TO CHOOSE THE THREE WINNERS OF THE RECENT SOUTH ISLAND PROSPERITY PROJECT OPEN INNOVATION CHALLENGE, A DRAGONS’ DEN-STYLE PITCHFEST. BY DAVID LENNAM Lifecycles’ winning idea is an online portal to connect homeowners with volunteers to harvest fruit that might go to waste.
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really did promise to make commuting accessible and I’m going to deliver on that promise,” a beaming Simon Park said, as he accepted a $15,000 cheque as one of three winners of South Island Prosperity Project’s (SIPP) Open Innovation Challenge, held at the University of Victoria on March 11. Park’s enthusiasm made him a bit of a favourite for the 250 people cheering on the 10 finalists making pitches at the culmination of a four-month-long competition to find the best ideas for using data and connected tech to solve realworld problems. The UVic mechanical engineering and business student came up with the idea to boost the pedal power of cyclists by inventing a towable mini bike trailer containing a rechargeable battery. His invention, CABOOST, works with any bicycle and
operates by a smart system that automatically senses when you need a power boost for taking on that hill — and it costs 80 per cent less than an e-bike. The two other winners, also recipients of $15,000 each, are: d Nal-Pal, whose Notification for Naloxone Volunteers app instantly connects naloxone kits with opioid overdose incidents. d LifeCycles, who plan to raise the ante on its already-successful urban fruit-tree project with Harvesting Abundance in the Urban Orchard, an online portal connecting homeowners and volunteers to help harvest fruit that would otherwise end up unpicked. Most finalists came up with tech-based ideas, which fit snugly into SIPP’s determination to have Victoria recognized as a hub of new ways of rising to the challenges of growing a city, economically and sustainably.
WHAT SMART CITIES DO
REALIZE OUTCOMES FOR RESIDENTS
EMPOWER COMMUNITIES TO INNOVATE
FORGE NEW PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS
CITY GETS SMARTER GETTING READY TO COMPETE IN THE SMART CITY CHALLENGE The Open Innovation Challenge is part of the framework the South Island Prosperity Project (SIPP) is creating as it prepares its regional bid for Infrastructure Canada’s Canadian Smart Cities Challenge. More than $50 million in federal funding is up for grabs for any city with the smarts to improve the lives of residents and solve real-world issues using innovation, data and connected technology. In preparation, SIPP has been engaging municipalities, academia, Indigenous communities, businesses and other stakeholders in conversations about challenges in the region. Part of the buildup included November’s Smart South Island Symposium, a chance to debate opportunities and challenges that come with local smart and sustainable development. Winners of the Smart Cities Challenge will be announced in the spring of 2019.
Technology doesn’t make cities smart. Smart cities use tech to improve lives. — EMILIE DE ROSENROLL, CEO OF SIPP, WHICH IS LEADING THE REGION’S SMART-CITY BID
Pattison’s bridge is modelled on Norway’s Skarnsund Bridge, a concrete cable-stayed bridge with a 530-metre span.
A BRIDGE TO INNOVATION? STEPHEN PATTISON wants to build a bridge and that’s why he entered South Island Prosperity’s Innovation Challenge as one of 69 contestants. He didn’t win, but his idea for the South Island Connector bridge is worth noting. The bridge envisioned by the cultural geographer and cartographer isn’t just another route to Esquimalt, nor does it lift up. Instead, Pattison’s bridge is designed to alleviate the logjam of the Malahat, provide a quick, alternate route to #YYJ and ferries, and simplify commuting for up-Island residents. Pattison envisions a one-kilometre span across the narrowest point of Finlayson Arm, west of Durrance Lake to a section of land near Bamberton. Though he estimates his bridge might cost up to $650 million, it would produce cost-saving energy, using solar collectors, wind and tidal flow generators — and even look to convert energy from the movement of traffic on the road deck. Pattison’s idea didn’t make it into the list of finalists because contestants had to have a sense of how their ideas would be implemented and brought to the next level within a one-year period. But Pattison is not deterred by this bold — and some might say audacious — idea. “Oh yeah,” he says, “but I come from a world that’s bold.” DOUGLAS 11