Telco bares 2013 SWEEP Awards finalists

SMART Communications Inc. has shortlisted 10 entries out of the 112 innovative wireless applications received from engineering students of partner schools nationwide, all vying for top honors in the 9th SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards.

With this year’s theme of “Technology in Nation-building,” the awards program aims to develop applied wireless solutions that would enhance and develop the capacity of people to improve their lives.

SWEEP partner schools from Luzon dominated this year’s finalists with seven entries making to the top 10.

These are the Automatic Detection of Traffic Density and Systematic Market Application for Real-time Trading (SMART), both from De La Salle-Lipa; LowCal and Botica on-the-go of Ateneo de Manila University; Smart H.E.A.D. (Helmet engineered for accidents and disasters) from Tarlac State University; Arduino-based switching device for electrical appliances using multiple wireless communication via Android mobile phone from Colegio de San Juan de Letran-Calamba; and Early detection of leptospira bacteria through Matlab from Bulacan State University.

The finalists from Mindanao are Wordify: A selected language translator using digital image processing and Doc. Banana: A digital image processing approach for early banana diseases detection, both from the University of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City; and Fly Smart of Notre Dame of Marbel University.

The 10 top teams will exhibit their prototypes—both device and mobile application— and defend their projects to a panel of judges during the finals February next year. The top three teams will be awarded cash prizes with equivalent grants given to their schools. First prize is P500,000; second, P200,000; and third, P100,000.