We’re all Ageing so let’s make Travel Ageless – Aging 2.0 Hackathon

Susan is seventy years old. She is retired but leads an active life and is always busy. She likes to travel in the UK and overseas and wants to organise her travels independently. Her failing eyesight is an issue, which makes it difficult for her to access websites to read all of the travel sites, but she knows that to get the bargains she needs to go online.

Peter is sixty-five years old and is recently widowed. He is having problems with his hearing and his knees. So, he needs to receive travel information in a way that is accessible for him, and be able to get around without hurting himself. But, he is very keen to complete his travel bucket list, and visit all the places he has wanted to see with his son, Jim.

There are lots of people like Susan and Peter. AgeUK estimates that there are over 23.2 million people aged 50 years and over in the country. They have been coined the “new jet setters”, spending more on travel than the millennials. And because of people like Susan and John, I was here at Aging 2.0’s hackathon in London’s Google Campus in London to make travel easier for these over fifties.

The organisation – Aging 2.0 – is on a mission to accelerate innovation for people like Peter and Susan through its global innovation platform for ageing and senior care. This hackathon was just a part of it, with a unique twist: intergenerational collaboration. Senior advisors — the over fifties who travel – were paired up with younger, and not so younger, developers, designers and business people to create tech travel solutions. Over twenty-four hours, numerous ideas were pitched, teams were formed, and apps, websites and hardware concepts were created.

With the support of the advisors, we were able to delve deep into the problems that the over fifties face when they travel. From the poor website user interfaces with tiny fonts and text heavy descriptions, which I myself find off putting. To the issues surrounding mobility and health such as being able to navigate historical sites with lots of steps, and getting the right medical attention at the right time in a foreign country.

Muir Gray “Edutaining” the crowd

This inter-generational pairing really helped my team whittle down our ideas from three ideas that all met a clear need to one, which did a bit more. This one idea could be built in the time given, had no competitors (as far as we know), and did not require heavy investment in logistics. Anyone who has done a few hackathons can testify that going for a simple idea and being able to build quickly is the key.

However, as usual, we were fighting against the clock. The last few bugs were resolved a minute before the pitch. Even though our business case was tight, memorising the case studies and the user journey was done just in the nick of time.

Frantic race to the finish – almost stressed out of our minds

My team was fourth to pitch with Avita. A big-data driven travel advice solution for the user by people like the user using Sabre APIs. All I can say is that it is interactive with a focus on making the information easy to navigate and easy to understand.

After a nail biting judging , the winners were announced. A well deserved third place went to Speedr – a medical alert system with graded responses according to severity of the medical condition; and second to an indoor navigational system to help the elderly find the toilet with a slick user interface. I did not really hear who the winners were until I got a nudge in the ribs to tell me that – Yes – it was Avita, so we will be heading to the Aging 2.0 Expo in November.

The other ideas pitched included Mabel, a digital helper so the elderly avoid inaccessible places, which was trending on Twitter all weekend; an app to address the issue of social isolation and the crowd favourite – EarBuddy – a smart phone-linked solution that cuts out background noise and gives clear navigation and alert information to travellers.

Team pitching EarBuddy 

All in all nine teams were formed; more than nine great ideas were proposed; and nine tech solutions were pitched to help the over fifties travel ‘agelessly’. But something even more than that was formed at this hack. Friendships were formed between the senior advisors and the “younger” techies that will help ensure that innovation solutions will continue beyond the hackathon and into the future.

What is a hackathon?

Well, hackathon is not yet in the dictionary but I am sure it will be soon. According to Wired, “a hackathon (also known as a hack day, hackfest or codefest) is an event in which computer programmers and others involved in software development and hardware development, including graphic designers, interface designers and project managers, collaborate intensively on software projects.” (http://goo.gl/vZsQSZ)

Number of stickers on a laptop correlates to the number of hackathons attended – there is always room for more stickers! There is no such things as “peak sticker!”

Sources: AgeUK – http://goo.gl/0oTnl; Express Newspaper – http://goo.gl/u2d6RK

Innovation Contests – Updated 29 October

I am passionate about innovation and innovation challenges. Below is a list of platforms for innovation challenges and contests and where to find hackathons. I also regularly Tweet about any innovation challenges and contests I find.

Innovation Platforms that host Innovation Contests include:

• http://www.hyvecrowd.net – German-based company but contests are usually international
• https://en.eyeka.com – design and marketing focused innovation challenges for brands
• openideo.com – mainly projects with a social focus
• https://twitter.com/100open and http://www.100open.com
• https://foundry.unilever.com/ – idea contests and early stage project
• http://imagine.orange.com/en – quarterly idea contests with voting
• Search for “win idea/innovation/tech” and “idea idea/innovation/tech competition/contest” on Twitter

Sites to find hackathons in Europe (especially the UK):

• Search hackathon and hack on Eventbrite
• http://www.bemyapp.com
• http://www.hackevents.co
• http://www.the-hackfest.com
• http://www.meetup.com/UK-Hackathons-and-Jams/
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/hackathonhackersuk/

Nuna: The Model Green City for 2030

Just as Masdar is a model green city for a desert environment, my model city of Nuna is a model for a more northern, colder climate, where the focus is on keeping warm rather than keeping cool.

Named after the Inuit word for earth, Nuna achieves high energy efficiency and space optimisation by having a large proportion of its structures below ground and by tapping into smart technology. This enables  more above surface to be used for green parks and vertical farming. It also frees up land on the outskirts to be used for the managed forests and provide biomass for small-scale combined heat and power and district heating, and hydro plants to provide for base-load generation.

This allows many of the residents of Nuna to live in the a rural/urban life style they aspire to. With all residents keeping their carbon emissions in check through individual carbon credits. For example, good ‘carbon behaviour’ is awarded through the use of a car sharing scheme using the driver-less hydrogen-fuelled vehicles that travel around the streets as part of the city’s hydrogen infrastructure.

Commuter Homes

Source:http://www.ecofriend.com/world-tomorrow-living-underground.html

The usual commuter would request a car share ride from their partially underground house to the inner city zone. Typically their house would have a green roof and an edible garden, and would blend into the surrounding landscape. Their office would be part of a large, airtight underground complex, similar to the ‘Earthscraper’ proposed for Mexico and the ‘Above Below’ project to be located in the abandoned Lavender Pit Mine in Bisbee, Arizona, and would be up to twenty to thirty stories deep.

‘Earthscraper’

Source:http://www.ecomagination.com/earthscraper-concept-takes-sustainable-design-underground

‘Above Below’ project

Source:http://www.desertlivingtoday.com/2011/02/08/what-a-pit/

Throughout the day the workers would receive light though light tubes. They’d be able to surround themselves with a virtual reality of their choosing, be it jungle, cityscape or beach to ensure mental wellbeing.During frequent breaks, workers would go to the surface for a walk in the shaded and open spaces filled with real greenery and some artificial tree and rain harvesting sculptures.

Artificial Trees (left) and Rain Harvesting Sculptures (right)

Sources:http://io9.com/5950271/could-artificial-trees-solve-the-global-warming-crisis;

http://www.weavingideas.com/en/applications-products/architectural-wire-mesh/overview-meshes/egla-twin/egla-twin4243/singleview/hsref/h20-liquid-zone.html

Back below ground, harvested rainwater and ground water would be reused and different grades of water would have different uses depending upon the building’s needs.  Accumulated human waste would be treated to different grades for use as either a fuel or fertiliser for the above ground vertical farms, where hydroponics are used to produce a small, but significant source of food, to reduce the city’s reliant on organic farms on the outskirts.

At the end of the day, workers will either generate electricity as they walk and cycle on paths leading to their apartments in underground buildings, or to spots to catch their pre-booked car share ride home.  The electricity generated will ensure that the city remains lit when people are around, but dark when they are not. This means that everyone will be able to see the night sky when it is dark, and the city will be free from light pollution, but residents will be able to walk along lit paths at night.

Once at home, residents of Nuna can use a variety of apps to pre-programm their heating and work preferences to lower their emissions. And, as part of various energy and ownership schemes they can acquire and sell their individual investments in city wind and solar farms,  generate money from electricity generated, by buying and selling to the city utility, IJaanni. This will make residents an owner of Nuna and its energy efficient future.

This was my entry for the Masdar Engage Blogging Contest:

http://www.masdar.ae/en/adsw/detail/masdars-2015-engage-blogging-contest-describe-your-city-in-2030

www.masdar.ae/adsw/engage

A day in the life of my future

A nice cup of coffee – a rich blend, made from sustainable stocks in Ethiopia. A welcome indulgence! But, what the heck, I deserve it. What with the carbon credits I got from working from home yesterday, and from missing out on a rerun of last night’s ‘interactive EastEnders’ I deserve it. Even though I did miss out shaping the next storyline for Dez and his transgender cousin, Pauline.

Anyhow, the beep on my Gucci pendant is buzzing, it is time to head out of the door. I am reminded to set my ‘buy-in’, ‘buy-back’ prices for the grid. Not a challenge given that I don’t have time to cook tonight. I think I can pretty much rely on ‘base-load’, except for my nightly shower with mood lighting at 7 pm. So, a pretty easy energy setting all around, and a big change from last week when I was penalised for my energy guzzling, impromptu cocktail party, but then no one is perfect.

Especially not me, because I am already 10 minutes late. The Tesla is fully charged. So, I whizz out of the driveway, and get half way down the road when George calls. I switch to auto-drive, because George can really talk.

Since his retirement, the neighbourhood energy strategy is his baby. He is always looking for ways to get extra carbon credits, which I suspect he hordes to pay for flights to the Maldives. A place way out of my budget since they shrunk in size and only a few hotels operate there.

George is droning on about the his collective bargaining strategy. He has the idea of timing our output from the neighbourhood’s waste incinerator and panels to allow us all to watch Eurovision without paying full consumption prices. Apparently, GreenSpark was interested but not Energreen. Probably because GreenSpark is the utility with lots of gas and storage, but now I am just digressing.

And I’m regretting getting into this neighbourhood energy co-operative. Is it not enough that I have solar panels, wind turbines and all manner of eco gadgets and green heaters? Plus, why is Eurovision still going and when was Morocco in Europe?

George does reminds me that since a major source of our power is from Moroccan solar projects, I really can’t complain. They can sing to their hearts content as long as they don’t use LED lighting.

Val also reminds me of Eurovision when I pick her up on route. She is a welcome distraction from George, and a good find through the ‘car sharing app’. With my new Tesla and Val, I can now get a much nicer parking space – closer to the office with the brand, spanking new super chargers. Plus it is nice to have a bit of a gossip on the way to work, before the endless back-to-back meetings, a consequence of working from home yesterday.

With lunch time as my only respite from the discussions, the only distraction is the occasional beep from my pendant. Josh must be home from college, and will be wanting electricity for his computer games. A quick check of the webcam shows his room is tidy. I relent, just this once and he can play Grand Theft Pile Up.

I do need to be a bit harsher, I keep telling myself. Then another meeting interrupts my thoughts, and a further nine meetings. As part of a company strategy to minimise our carbon emissions for the year, by commuting less and meeting more. Exhausting work! But, the only way we can hit our carbon target.

So, it is no surprise that at 8 pm I am nearly crawling to the Tesla. Barely finding the energy to collect my ‘rent a ride’ passengers. They are nice enough, but not as entertaining as Val, who only works 9 to 5.

Thirty minutes later and home. Mrs Jones is already at my door, with vegan lasagne. Quite possibly the best I have eaten! A really good find on the ‘neighbourly eats’ app and a true ‘win-win’. Mrs Jones gets an outlet for her home cooking and meets the neighbours, and I get a lactose-free meal at a fraction of the price of Sainsco.

She also gives me a healthy heart brownie. A nice treat before my shower and then sleep. But not before I check up on the neighbours, and number 57. A rogue household that has been using more than their fair share of power. I suspect they have an illicit sun bed. I guess I could report them, but the soothing music of my sleep app kicks in before I have time to alert. And anyhow, the system will pick up on it soon enough, it always does.

How the African Film Industry can embrace Tech

Nollywood brought me there, to Central Soho on a cold, rainy Thursday. Or more precisely, memories of stories of family, love and honour with a distinctive Nigerian twist, watched on a lazy summer’s evening in Ebonyi State. So, the idea of combining my two passions – technology and Nigerian film – was far too enticing to turn down.

Here I was at an event hosted by the Africa Technology Business Network to learn how technology is revolutionising the entertainment industry across the continent. An industry that has been struggling with a poor distribution network and piracy, but has been presented with a huge opportunity from the rapid adoption of smartphones. And as long as they go niche and are savvy, local talent and businesses are well placed to tap into the growing demand for online content.

Competing with content distributors is Netflix, who at the start of this year announced its plans to launch in South Africa as part of its expansion into two hundred new markets. It is only a matter time before Netflix makes further inroads into the continent and becomes a household staple. Therefore, it makes no sense to compete by offering an African Netflix. Growing companies like iRoko, who have been called the ‘African Netflix’, are anything but. iRoko specifically provides paid-for Nigerian films, and no Hollywood releases.

So, how can African content producers and distributors compete? By offering content that is not on Netflix, and by tapping into their target audience using existing channels to drive traffic. What better way to target a new entertainment platform or a new film to young people than via YouTube or Facebook. It is estimated that around one hundred million Africans are connecting with Facebook every month, of which 80% are connecting via their mobile phone.

The use of mobile phones in this manner does come with its own challenges, namely poor battery life and poor broad band connectivity. Whilst external power banks can help, it does not resolve the issue of the need to download significant amounts of data to watch a film. This is where Solo, with its HotSpot locations located around Nigeria, can help users to download movies to an app on their android phone in a matter of minutes, bypassing the usual distribution route of DVD releases.

Increasingly it is likely that Nollywood films will be directly uploaded onto online content platforms. It makes sense for an industry that does not have big cinema releases to release online, especially when a large proportion of the Nollywood films are homemade. So, maybe the future of Nollywood movies will be more online releases with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube promotions.

If this is the case, then the length of Nollywood films may become shorter to accommodate for the short battery life of smartphones and tablets, which are also becoming increasingly popular in Nigeria. Nollywood stars may be represented by YouTube agents. There may be more tie-ins with gaming, music, art and fashion. It is not inconceivable that in the future people will be watching a Nollywood film sponsored by a fashion label with actors wearing all of the designers creations on screen. With the option for viewers to purchase these fashions and Nollywood merchandise while watching, with a “buy it now” button on their phone.

So, the future for Nollywood looks bright with “more”: more online, reaching more people and creating more opportunities for tie-ins with other industries. For those who have the patience and local knowledge there is money to be made, and there is still a ‘place in the stars’ for this industry.

Sources: https://www.facebook.com/business/news/connecting-100-million-people-in-africa; http://www.gosolo.ng/

Record of my Innovation Challenge Wins, Hackathons and Innovation Workshops

TV WORK

Participant in Unilever Pilot for “Future Shower” with Tukoja 2015- https://goo.gl/tuvTck

ARTICLES

Lenovo Champions 2016- Trend Spotter: Tech trends for 2016 – https://goo.gl/V0mER5

Imagine Orange 2016 – http://goo.gl/aMQWkz

HACKATHONS

Energy/Climate/Smart City

Climathon 2015 with third placed Sus Marque – a sustainability index for fleet in London

Travel

Aging 2.0 2015 for Aging 2.0 winning with Avita – a big data-driven travel advice solution for you based on people like you. I was also one of the winners of the Twitter contest with one of the most creative Tweets – http://goo.gl/OKTzFH and http://goo.gl/5EFjQa

Destination Hack 2015 for Sabre winning with Travita – a website that connects business travellers with spare luggage capacity to charities in need overseas – also winning the best use of the TripCase API. – http://goo.gl/8Uwfqr and https://goo.gl/q5Z15g. Articles about Travita have appeared in The Huffington Post, Bloomberg and Reuters which can be found here: http://goo.gl/D3WgYt here: http://goo.gl/VukRAK and here: http://goo.gl/F6TxSN respectively. Travita has a Twitter (https://twitter.com/GoTravita) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/gotravita?fref=ts) and a website that can be accessed here – travita.org

Startup Cluj 2015 in Romania winning with Travique – a website that connects UK festivalgoers with unique festival packages in Eastern Europe. – https://goo.gl/kp43J3 

HackTrain 2015 for various players in the rail industry with Spontraineous – an android app that allows for spontaneous rail travel in the UK that won third in the showcase for the rail industry. Since the hackathon Spontraineous has been pitched twice. – http://goo.gl/5c7P1m and http://goo.gl/GRpSJ3 (Restricted hackathon, application only)

Retail

House of Fraser Retail Week Hackathon September 2015 with Revita – https://goo.gl/rem8GE (Restricted hackathon, application only)

Unlock the Future of Luxury for Louis Vuitton in Paris September 2015 with LVita – Confidential Project (Restricted hackathon, application only). I won the prize for one of the most creative tweets.

Food

Jamie Oliver-sponsored hackathon as part of Food Tech Week (Restricted hackathon, application only) with Crave – an app to encourage teens to make healthy alternatives to unhealthy snacks. https://goo.gl/egbU3z

Expo Innovation Challenge 2015 (Restricted hackathon, application only) with Food Hub and Doobie – bringing food production to the people with hydroponics and an app for hydroponic owners to grow to order and selling produce. Won co-working space in the Cube in Athens. 

Other

IBC Hackathon in Amsterdam for the Electronic Media and Entertainment Industry September 2015 with “Best Hack” for Vita – a web app for crowd-sourced video recipes meeting the user’s needs from start to finish. Judges included a representative for the BBC.

Flir One 2015 for Flir with an honorary mention for VitaOscura – an augmented reality app for a headset for an immersive game using thermal imaging – https://vimeo.com/135252104

HackRisk 2015 for Allianz with Uvita – a smart watch app to find the ‘sweet spot’ for UV exposure and also winner of the Twitter contest

AMEE Hacks for Elsevier Science September 2015 with Medvita – a web app for junior doctors to solve commonly misdiagnosed case studies in a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ format (Restricted hackathon, application only)

Part of Playground Hack 2015 – Next generation commerce using the YoYo Wallet

DESIGN COMPETITIONS

Gridboard 2015 – 1st ‘Gamification App for E-Paddle Users’ with wireframes – https://goo.gl/Fmk1cK

InnoCyFer Contest 2015 – 2nd ‘Wearable/App Integrated Coffee Machine’ – http://goo.gl/lPB71d

INNOVATION WORKSHOPS

Hyve’s Pet Food Innovation Workshop 2015 – participant in a workshop to create innovative pet food products – http://goo.gl/ODF06Z

INNOVATION COMPETITIONS

Business Concepts

Outreach Digital’s Digital Marketing Challenge 2015 – 2nd

UKTIdeas Initiative 2014 – Winner – As part of the contest, I submitted a business plan with estimated budget and planned rollout.

Submitted ideas to the open innovation platform for the German Federal Ministry of Economics for ideas and best practices in smart connections for infrastructure, government, health and education – www.oip.netze-neu-nutzen.de

Applications of Novel Technologies

Fujitsu PalmSecure Innovation Contest 2014 – 2nd – http://goo.gl/tpcXJu

RS Components/Intel Wearable Ideas 2014 – Winner – http://goo.gl/ldFBxO

Energy/Climate/Smart City

Orange’s DigiCOPLife, Digital for Climate with Food Hub 2016 – http://goo.gl/KI7JxQ and http://goo.gl/9p0z5W

Top 30 Idea Bathroom Recycling ‘How do we encourage recycling of bathroom products?’ Unilever – https://goo.gl/9xI4Ar

MCBW’s ‘Smart Up Your City’ 2015 – 2nd – http://goo.gl/N8HtYn

Smart City Solutions 2015 – 3rd – http://goo.gl/HSiS0k

‘Imagine Orange – Smart City’ 2015 – Activity Prize

‘Imagine Orange – Smart & Self-Driving Car’ 2015 -Best Contributors – http://goo.gl/Mm6yU7

Top 20 Siemens Mobility IDEAS Contest 2014 & Innovator of Week – http://goo.gl/JJF6Eg

Shortlisted Statoil/Economic Intelligence Unit’s Energy Realities Competition 2014 – http://goo.gl/tS0VoT

Winner New Scientist-Statoil Energy Competition 2013 – http://goo.gl/LRyr4c and http://goo.gl/QV38xM

Travel

Winner Marriott Group’s Innovation Challenge 2014 – http://goo.gl/sRQxid and http://goo.gl/44pV9j

Winner #CurioCity Travel Innovation Ideas Challenge BA/Mashable 2014 – http://goo.gl/2BDrCt

Retail

Die Zukunft Tirols 2015 – 3rd including pitching to business leaders in Tirol at Swarovski in Wattens – https://goo.gl/1YABu8; http://goo.gl/Djsdo9; http://goo.gl/yflaSj  and https://goo.gl/agKNsH

Food

Top 25 Idea in OpenIDEO’s Challenge “How might we use technology to inspire all socioeconomic and multicultural groups to lead healthier lives? – sponsored by NBCUniversal, NBC and Telemundo – https://goo.gl/NaQnqy

Team Member of a Winning Idea ‘Tomatero’ in the OpenIDEO Challenge – https://goo.gl/oLrhJS

Top 6 Finalist Idea in the Foundry Ideas Contest for Unilever with ‘Crowdsourced Video Content for Cooking Shorts for app, YouTube and Nollywood’ 2015 – https://goo.gl/eKu6yt and a Weekly Participation Reward winner

VIVATIS Innovation Contest 2015 – Special Award –  http://goo.gl/aJSqdN

Also InnoCyFer Contest 2015 (see design competitions)

Medical

CoCreate Healthcare AbbVie 2016 – Rethinking Kids’ Medication Contest ‘Most Valuable Participant’ – https://goo.gl/o9QB5A 

CoCreate Healthcare AbbVie 2015 – 1st ‘Abbvie Communitie’ – https://goo.gl/9PRdia and https://goo.gl/uCTl4h

CoCreate Healthcare AbbVie 2015 – Top 30 Idea ‘Family Motivator App –https://goo.gl/tIV7bQ

PA Consulting Google Glass Challenge 2013 – Winner – As part of the contest, I submitted a business plan and a corporate video for internal use.

Other

AbbVie Innovation Contest 2016 – Most Valuable Participant

Invisibobble Design Contest 2015 – Most Valuable Community Member

Solver Badge for Camelback Ventures – Lumina Foundation Challenge: Shaping the Next Frontier in Postsecondary Education 2015

Clickstart Contest 2014 – Top 10 Most Valuable Idea & Valuable Person – http://goo.gl/qYVP9N

Top Innovator Hyve 2014 & 2015

Smart City Solutions Challenge: My “Deliver-It” Solution

I have been living in London for a just over a year now. Some days it is the best city in the world, some days it is the worst. Other times it feels like Groundhog Day.   

It seems like I see the same delivery vehicles crisscrossing the streets of central London. Most with London addresses on their side. When they do stop, and their boot is opened, they never seem to be full, with many driving almost empty.

So, when I came across the Smart City Solutions challenge I remembered an idea I have been thinking about for a while, evaluated, but never really developed. That was a hyper local solution to this problem. A website to link these delivery vehicles with businesses that also need to deliver items around the city, but less frequently. This could then be expanded from a business-to-business solution to include the general public requesting deliveries of their items.

The idea being that if businesses could work collectively to deliver items there would be less traffic on the road, and pollution levels would fall. Costs for deliveries would also be lower for both parties, because these delivery costs, and the London congestion charge, would be shared. A true win-win for all when they use the “Deliver-It” solution.

I envisage this to be an app for regular delivery drivers and a website for the businesses who book the service. The delivery drivers would input information on their total vehicle capacity when they register on the app then would update the app with information on the load capacity they are transporting, delivery times and delivery routes. By contrast, on the website, businesses would post information on the load they want delivered, the route, the amount they are willing to pay and a deadline for the delivery. Drivers and businesses will be matched up “Tinder-style” and if both agree to the delivery, it would go ahead.

An idea that I thought would be a good fit for the TUM School of Management’s Smart City Solutions challenge: a contest looking for creative ideas, innovative solutions and clever business ideas for a sustainable city. In this case Munich. A city, like London, which reportedly has problems of traffic congestion.

All in all ninety-four ideas were submitted in the contest. The community and judges evaluated them over a period of eight weeks. Eventually three winners were picked in the business category and three winners from the personal category for private individuals like me.

You are probably wondering how I did. Well, I came in third. A nice pat on the back, and a source of inspiration to try and develop the idea further. So, my advice to anyone with an idea is to find and enter these innovation contests. You never know what may happen! It could just be some nice recognition and congratulations. Or, you could just end up getting inspired to develop the next Lyft, the next Uber or the next AirBnB.

Bringing the Heat On with a Flir One – the London Hackathon

“Let’s find out who is the hottest!”, he said, and far too eagerly for my liking. But I needn’t have worried. For this wasn’t one of those contests.

Instead, my smiling team mate was testing out his new device – a Flir One. The latest personal thermal imager on the market. Which in layman’s terms is a small scale device that just slots onto a smartphone, and is used to take thermal photos and videos.

With a price of  around the £100 mark, the Flir One brings thermal technology into the hands of the masses. And was the reason why I and around forty others were spending a weekend camped out in an office in Central London. To develop ideas, solutions and products to bring the Flir One to new markets and make thermal imaging more mainstream, at an event called a hackathon.

If you haven’t heard of a hackathon before, these are usually weekend long events where problems are given, and software developers, designers and business minded people like myself form teams to develop apps, websites and hardware solutions. They typically start with the pitching of ideas, formation of teams and concludes with the teams presenting their ‘solutions’ to a panel of judges who award prizes. Usually there is a copious supply of Red Bull and pizza to fuel people as they work through the night striving to be crowned the winners of the hack.

This hackathon stuck to this tried and tested formula and had the added bonus of flash prizes to keep us on our toes as we worked well into the night. Bouncing off ideas. Testing the Flir One in every light setting possible. Taking as many thermal photos and as much video footage as possible.

My team went from ideas as wide ranging as matching music to thermal images where each colour is a musical note, to using thermal to monitor the health of animals in transit. Back to using thermal to monitor clubbers in a nightclub. We finally decided to tap into two growth markets – immersive theatre and augmented reality – to produce a live action game called VitaOscura, “Dark Life” in Italian.

Based in a post nuclear world where players rely on thermal imaging to survive in the dark. The players don an augmented reality headset consisting of a type of Google Cardboard-style platform; the player’s Smartphone; and a Flir One. Then they navigate using a thermal map in the corner of the screen, using live streamed data from thermal cameras (Flir Leptons) located around the set. Once the players spot a thermal mutant on their headset, they shoot them until all the mutants are dead. Like a game of paintball, except this game has a plot, storyline and actors – an all around experience.

That is how we pitched it – as an experience! With my team mates pretending to be zombies and players. Gunshots and dodgy Eastern European accents. I think the judges got it! As we, along with other teams, have been given the chance to develop our idea!

So London really bought the heat on. From using thermal imaging to monitor babies to creating fun night wildlife spotting games. We showed that the Flir One really is hot.

(Please note I don’t work for Flir and was just a hackathon attendee)