Callaghan Innovation announced the 10 finalists in its biennial C-Prize Challenge, where innovators have been invited to create the next generation of wearable technology and the winner will receive a $100,000 prize package that includes international exposure.
Of the 10, seven were drawn from the "Living Healthier" category and include the Rehabilitation Innovation Team, which aims to help stroke sufferers, Team Rippl, which wants to change the way deaf people interact with the environment, Team Hauraki, which hopes to improve communication for people with language impairment, and Team Migo, which wants to equip young people with a system to better manage anxiety and depression, Callaghan said.
Others like Quoralis want to provide people with foresight about their fall risk, thereby reducing potential injury, Uri-Go hopes to give control back to millions of people suffering bladder issues while Team Bobux plans to empower parents through knowledge of their children's health and shoe size.
"The convergence of technologies is allowing healthcare solutions to move from reaction to prediction," said Southern Cross Health Society chief executive and C-Prize judge panelist Nick Astwick.
Two finalists have been drawn from the "Working Safer" category: Photonic Innovations has proposed a methane detection wearable that aims to reduce gas explosion risks while Team Sculpt wants to improve situational awareness in remote environments. In the Playing Smarter category, finalist Team UruSense aims to provide users of its wearable products with immediate answers about how well they are exercising and what they can be doing better.
