A cloud-based solution for analyzing and visualizing athletic training data on mobile devices has won this year’s European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC).
A cloud-based solution for analyzing and visualizing athletic training data on mobile devices has won this year’s European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC).
Kinexon GmbH and its cofounders, Oliver Trinchera and Alexander Hüttenbrink, received the “Galileo Master” award in the annual global event, which drew more than 400 other entries from nearly 50 countries. The results were announced today (November 5, 2013) as part of the European Space Solutions conference.
Online analysis of athletes’ tactical, technical, and physical capability is playing an increasingly important role in modern sport training. Following this principle, Trinchera and Hüttenbrink, research assistants from Technische Universität München (Germany) founded the company at the European Space Agency (ESA) Business Incubation Centre Bavaria and developed a cloud-based solution for analyzing and visualising training data on mobile devices.
The solution equips athletes with a small, portable location sensor and feeds the resulting data into the cloud by means of a stationary base antenna. This enables users to track and analyze various performance parameters and tactical movements down to centimeter level — all in real time.
The solution’s user-friendliness during training and relatively low cost (compared to the camera-based systems commonly seen today) persuaded the international jury of experts who judged the competition. Until now, the high price of such systems has limited their use to professional sport; Kinexon’s system will enable coaches and amateur clubs to benefit from adding online analysis to their training activities.
Along with the sport sector, this Kinexon system, the first version of which is set for market launch in this month, also could potentially tap into other markets, including healthcare, logistics, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to its inventors.
“We’re pleased to be supporting Kinexon at ESA BIC Bavaria,” said Thorsten Rudolph, CEO of Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen, which organizes the ESNC and supports the ESA BIC.
Gerd Gruppe, a member of the German Aerospace Center (DLR)Executive Board, awarded the €20,000 (US$26,945) grand prize to Kinexon. This year marked the 10th in which the ESNC has recognized the best products, services, and innovations that encourage the use of satellite navigation in everyday life. At the 2013 awards ceremony, prizes worth a total of about €1 million were presented in 32 categories.
Over the past 10 years, the competition has evolved into the largest innovation network for GNSS. It has selected 204 winners from a total of 2,397 ideas submitted by 8,200 participants. Today, more than 130 research and industry partners support ESNC entrants in realizing their business models.
With 40 incubation centres in 17 countries — including regional facilities, the eight ESA Business Incubation Centres, and ESINET — the ESNC also comprises the largest space-related incubation network designed to promote start-ups and the foundation of new companies.
In addition to the overall winner — the Galileo Master — the 10th European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) rewarded Special Prizes in seven different categories and 25 prizes to regional winners.
Special Prize Winners 2013
GSA — The most promising EGNOS application idea: Jelle Reichert, JOHAN, The Netherlands — JOHAN: the Digital Oracle for Field Sports, Including GNSS Player Tracking in Real Time
ESA Innovation Prize & 2nd in Overall Ranking: Jan Walter Schroeder and team, SenSovo, Germany — Sensovo Navipal: A New Way to Feel Directions
DLR — Robust GNSS – Safety for Success: Bastiaan Ober and John Wilde, Integricom, DW International, The Netherlands — Galileo-Based Ionospheric and Interference Monitoring for Aviation
EPO (European Patent Office) — Best Patented Innovation: Gaël Scot and team, CNES, France — Two Patents for Improved Galileo System Performance
Metaio — The most innovative location-based augmented reality application: Steve Lee and team, Stevenson Astrosat, United Kingdom — WinterVision: Augmented Reality for Winter Road Safety
University Challenge & Portugal: Luis Gomes and Filipe Sousa, Outcapsa, Portugal — GeoAgenda: Innovative Geo-located Agenda Concept
GNSS Living LabPrize & North Rhine-Westphalia/Germany: Adalbert Rajca and Yasotharan Pakasathanan , ampido GmbH, Germany — Ampido: The Car Park in Your Pocket
Regional Prize Winners 2013
Aquitaine/France: Romain Desplats and team, CNES, France — Physiotrack: Track Your Physical Progress
Arab Middle East & North Africa (MENA): Hussain Saleh, Ghent University, Belgium — A Generic GNSS Network for Disaster Monitoring
Austria: Dr Clemens Strauß and Gernot Hollinger, Strauß & Hollinger, GeoIT OG, Austria — ENViGUARD: The App That Helps Keep Your City Clean
Baden-Württemberg/Germany: Erich Franke and team, AFUSOFT Kommunikationstechnik GmbH, Germany — SaltHawk: Innovative Winter Road Safety System
Bavaria/Germany & Overall Winner: Dr Oliver Trinchera and Dr Alexander Hüttenbrink , KINEXON GmbH, Germany — KINEXON: Precise Localisation and Sports Monitoring
Bulgaria: Nikolay Staykov and team, Mobilly, Bulgaria, Mobilly: A Next-Generation Travel Planner
Catalonia/Spain: Rafael Olmedo and Carlos Barreto, GEKO NAVSAT, Spain, NAVMATE: The Low-Cost Safety Solution for the Great Outdoors
Czech Republic: Jiří Mikoláš and team, Be interactive, Czech Republic — Augmented Prague: The Innovative Sight Seeing App
Estonia: Mari Loorman, Estonia — LASIK: Optimising Children’s Physical Activity
Flanders/Belgium: Joeri Spitaels and team, QraQon, Belgium — Winnetou: Improved Security for Freight Wagons
Gipuzkoa/Spain: Jon Sánchez Ugarte, OnSiteBIM, Spain — BimOn! Making Building Smarter with AR
Hesse/Germany & 3rd in overall ranking: Lukas Wagner and team, Notificatio UG, Germany: AlarmApp: Location-based Emergency Notification System
Ireland: Paula Kelleher and James Mannix, Geomanics Ltd, Ireland — CarSafari: Every Trip an Adventure
Japan: Hitomi Inaba and team, University of Tokyo, Japan — TrustSync: Secure Time and Frequency Synchronisation
Lithuania: Saulius Rudys and Mantautas Rudys, Lithuania — Improved Indoor and Underground Navigation Accuracy
Lombardy/Italy: Mirko Antonini and Alessandro Di Felice, SpaceEXE Srl, Italy — COPPI: Monitoring and Tracking of Cyclists
Mexico: Victor Jose Gatica-Acevedo and team, National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico — AMBER Alert: Recovering Lost Children Through GNSS Integration
The Netherlands: Willem Folkers, Folkline, The Netherlands — The Anti-Spoofing GNSS Receiver
Nice-Sophia Antipolis/France: Yann Hervouet and team, Instant System, France — Real-Time Solutions for Public Transport Passengers
North Rhine-Westphalia/Germany & GNSS Living Lab Prize: Adalbert Rajca and Yasotharan Pakasathanan , ampido GmbH, Germany — Ampido: The Car Park in Your Pocket
Norway: Harald Skinnemoen and team, AnsuR, Norway — GNSS-Enabled Do-It-Yourself Insurance Claims
Øresund/Denmark & Sweden: Andreas Ekengren and team, PingPal AB, Sweden — Pingpal: Privacy-Protected Positioning for Your App
Portugal & University Challenge: Luis Gomes and Filipe Sousa, Outcapsa, Portugal — GeoAgenda: Innovative Geo-located Agenda Concept
Switzerland: Che-Tsung Lin and team, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan — See Through: Driving as You’ve Never Seen Before
United Kingdom: Georgios Michalakidis and team, ManagePlaces Limited, United Kingdom — ManagePlaces: Location-Based Project Management
