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The 1776 Challenge Cup Tokyo wrapped up late last month. The tournament takes place in over 75 cities across the globe, with the winners from each participating in the finals in the United States.
Here’s a roundup of the 15 participants, including a special mention for the winner.
First Place – Smart Medical Corp
Smart Medical Corporation is developing a vocal emotion AI called Empath. Empath is being developed for a variety of uses, ranging from mental health care to customer service. Smart Medical released an early version of the software for the Apple Watch, but company spokesperson claims that the accuracy of the AI has increased significantly in the past year.
Smart Medical’s team will be headed to the Global Finals in New York City in November.
Coorde7
Coorde7’s Moly is an app for crime reporting and alerts in Japan. The app is meant to help people avoid areas where there have been violent incidents or thefts recently.
Mashroom
Mashroom’s app Via allows for secure payments to be made over your phone network. Stores that want to let users pay through Via can order a free adapter from Mushroom and pay US$20 a month for the service.
Vegewel
Vegewel is a service that shows users where they can find vegetarian or vegan restaurants in Japan. The app has both English and Japanese interfaces, as well as gluten-free food and options for those with allergies.
Route Namibia Trading
Route Namibia Trading is building cheap, durable smartphones for sale in East Africa. The US$60 smartphones are for East Africans who may not have the disposable income to replace a phone if it breaks.
George and Shaun
George and Shaun’s Biblle is a beacon mesh network for tracking relatives suffering from dementia. Unlike bulky, expensive GPS monitors, the beacon is lightweight, low cost, and has a long lifespan.
Walker
Walker provides an educational AI called Study over the Questions. The program is intended for students and test takers so that they can better understand the material they need to work on.
Cotobox
Cotobox is a program that makes it easy for small and medium enterprises to trademark their name. Its AI eliminates the need for a trademark attorney and can automatically file paperwork, cutting costs by about 20 percent.
AT
AT uses video analysis to take biometric readings. By looking at the changes in bloodflow through capillaries in the skin, their program can make quick judgments about a subject’s health.
Shizuoka Kenmin Kyudan
This startup wants to start a pro baseball team in Hamamatsu city to play in Japan’s professional league. The organization aims to revitalize the city and raise charity money through sports enthusiasm.
Bearseeds Inc.
Bearseeds’ project gobus.today lets consumers buy monthly unlimited access to Japan’s buses. By bundling different services and rates, the program makes bus transit cheaper than train travel.
Novera
Novera has a software-hardware package called Howlook. Howlook can take 3D images of your body, analyze the data, and take basic biometric readings. Users can keep a log to track their progress through fitness training.
Space Co.
Space Co. wants to make a hands-on program for space education. Boasting a customer satisfaction rate of 96 percent, the company wants to provide interactive education on space to both children and adults.
Unicom
Unicom is a paid service for professors who want to gather insights for their class. Since many Japanese university students do not speak up in class, Unicom provides an avenue for students to let professors know what they don’t understand or have issues with, anonymously and on their own time.
Origone
Origone is a service that automatically detects and reacts to cyberattacks. Intended for use by both government and private industry, the program is already deployed in parts of the French government.
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