Robots dominated Asia Hardware Battle 2018’s Shenzhen competition
On September 14, three tech startups walked away with awards from the Shenzhen edition of TechNode’s hardware battle, held in partnership with Changjiang Graduate School of Business, X-elerator, Indiegogo, HAX, ParticleX, WeWork, ABeam Consulting, NOS Accelerator, and Maicaijing.
The top companies have been invited to the Grand Finals in Shanghai next month, where cash prizes (up to RMB 50,000) and other perks await. Courtesy of our partners, the three teams also received opportunities to meet with advisors from Changjiang Graduate School of Business’ MBA program partnership with MIT, HKUST, and UC-Berkeley, and a complimentary three months’ admission into Tsinghua SEM’s X-elerator program.
At the Shenzhen competition, the top three went head-to-head with six other competitors, pitching their business ideas before a panel of four experienced judges. Presiding over the battle were Wu Jie, founder and CEO of NOS Accelerator; Chirayu Wadke, partner at Seedplus’ IoT and Connected Devices; Ji Ke, program director at HAX; and Gong Bei, assistant program director of the Changjiang Graduate School of Business’ innovation and entrepreneurship MBA.
After careful deliberation, the judges announced their top picks, all three of which were robotics products. See descriptions of the companies below, as well as the robots that won the day.
Winners
First place: Roborn Dynamics Limited
Roborn’s “dynamically controlled bionic robot” is based on a humanoid design and controlled via motion detection. Targeted at hobbyists, the design aims to make directing a robot feel intuitive. At the competition, the company demonstrated a robotic arm that minutely mimicked its user’s movements.
Second place: Elephant Robotics
Elephant Robotics’ Elephant S-5 is a flexible robotic arm that, according to the company, has a variety of uses. It can flex, bend, and carry up to five kilograms of weight, providing possible solutions in fields such as assembly and packaging.
Third place: iSMART
iSMART’s robotics belong to the field of autonomous driving, promising to augment existing vehicles with AI that detects obstacles and directs paths. The tech holds the potential to significantly reduce costs in industrial settings that require transportation.
In addition to Roborn, Elephant Robotics and iSMART, the following six companies also made a strong showing at the event.
Other competitors
Fourth place: Xi’an Ocean Current Diving Equipment Technology Co., Ltd.’s (西安洋流潜水设备科技有限公司)
The Mantabot is a robotic assistance device designed to help beginners learn to dive. Used in combination with the guidance of a professional diver, the bot aims to help make diving safer and more convenient for users.
Fifth place: Incu (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd. (音科深圳技术有限公司)
Incu’s product is a smart hearing aid that uses voice and sound recognition to filter out background noise. Compatible with TVs and phones as well as people, its goal is to make life easier for seniors and others who suffer hearing loss.
China-Europe International Trade (Shenzhen) Business (中欧国际贸易（深圳）商行)
The company’s BASE wireless charger is a four-in-one device that, in addition to simultaneously supporting two devices, contains two additional USB ports for fast charging. The product is compact and convenient for those who want to charge multiple devices quickly.
FonSource Company Limited
FonSource’s Dash Mobile is a smart assistant that’s portable and even wearable. The voice-controlled device can be held in one hand, allowing users to access Alexa and make calls using voice commands.
Shenzhen Andsun Industrial Co., Ltd. (深圳市安迪森实业有限公司)
Andsun’s “staffless hotel AI lock” is an entry in the field of smart locks. It promises to bring convenience and cut costs, specifically in the field of short-term home rentals and hotels. The lock is facial recognition-enabled and allows for remote operation.
Qitianchui Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.（启天锤科技（深圳）有限公司）
The company’s oil-powered multi-rotor drone aims to solve issues of short flight duration and slow flight speed. It also allows easier remote control of the oil-fueled aircraft, promising new possibilities for the drone market.