Vera Prenzel wins ideas competition

Vera Prenzel accepts the prize on behalf of the winning team. © Hadeel Rhagab

 

A protective cover for acoustic recording devices (“AudioMoth”) for field research: With this idea, Vera Prenzel’s team from the Centre for Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Science (ZBM) at the LIB won the competition organised by Fraunhofer FIT, ZENIT GmbH and Makerspace Bonn. As a prize, they will receive start-up support for the first development steps up to the prototype.

“AudioMoth” are a low-cost open-source development that are used in Citizen Science projects and in research, for example, to record animal sounds such as bat or bird calls.

Vera Prenzel and her colleagues want to develop a cover for these recording devices that provide good weather protection, especially against moisture. The team also wants to pay special attention to the cover’s resistance to heat and sunlight. Of course, the product should be easy to handle later on.

With this idea, the team won the ideas competition in which start-ups, companies, students and individuals with a concept or solutions to current challenges, such as environmental protection or questions about social inequality and globalisation, could participate. Twelve innovative competition entries for future products were received and evaluated by a jury.

The award includes support in the development up to the first prototype, the search for partners for the further development of the product idea, distribution or production. In addition, the winning team is offered to increase the outreach of the idea through advertising in social media and newsletters.

Background

Fraunhofer FIT, ZENIT GmbH and Makerspace Bonn, who announced the competition, are partners of the EU project iPRODUCE. It aims to develop a novel social production platform. This should enable interactions and collaboration between different stakeholders and create space for user-driven open innovation and co-creation.

The project is funded under the project title “A Social Manufacturing Framework for Streamlined Multi-stakeholder Open Innovation Missions in Consumer Goods Sectors” in the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 with a project duration from January 2020 to June 2023.

For more information on the EU project iPRODUCE, please visit: https://iproduce-project.eu/

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