Asia Hardware Battle (AHB) Japan City Pitch, in collaboration with TechNode and Samurai Incubate Inc., was held on September 11, 2019, at the Innovation Space DEJIMA in Tokyo. In this battle, there were 11 Japanese hardware startups competing to represent Japan in the AHB Grand Finals. They were judged based on the following six categories: innovation, function, business value, sustainable development, technical breakthrough, and design.
Winner: a machine-washable smart apparel – E-skin
After a series of stringent evaluation and step-by-step screening by several prominent judges, Xenoma came on top and won the AHB Japan pitching competition. The company develops machine-washable smart apparel called “e-skin” that integrates sensors and devices seamlessly into circuits on fabric to track human body movement data for posture correction, danger prevention, athlete performance, and increase movement efficiency. Xenoma will also be representing Japan to compete against other regional AHB winners at the 2019 AHB Grand Finals in Shanghai this October.
The judging panel:
- Gang Lu, Founder & CEO of TechNode
- Sakaki Kentaro Hara, Founder & CEO of SAMURAI INCUBATE INC.
- Yasunori Okajima, Executive Officer of I.W. Technology Firm Inc
- Kazuhiko Nakama, General Manager of KDDI∞LABO of KDDI CORPORATION
- Yukihiro Maru, CEO of Leave a Nest Co., Ltd.
- Tomahisa Kamada, Co-founder of ACCESS Co., Ltd.
The participating startups:
- AC Biode – an alternating current energy storage battery
- ASTINA – “INDONE”, a fully automatic machine that helps you fold, sort and store cleaned laundry
- HoloAsh – a holographic virtual assistant to help people with ADHD
- MAMORIO – a smart handy IoT device that works with a smartphone to prevent loss of valuables
- Mira Robotics – “Ugo”, a remote control robot that functions regardless of location
- N-Sports tracking Lab – real-time relay and cloud data tracking solution with GPS data-sensing device designed for marine sports.
- PacPort – IoT home delivery solution that prevents misdelivery and spoofing with no face-to-face collection required
- Xenoma – “E-skin”, smart apparel that equipped various sensors and devices on clothes that track human movement data
- ZMP – develops automotive robots such as single-seat autonomous mobility partner “Robocar Walk” and friendly home delivery robot “CarriRo Deli”
- SE4 – develops software for robotics and specializes in remote robotics via VR
- QuantumOperation – “Vital band”, a wearable device that measures electrocardiogram and blood oxygen saturation by combining optical sensor and electrode
Next stop
Asia Hardware Battle will be traveling to Bangkok, Thailand, for the next city pitch on Sep 19, 2019. Stay tuned for more updates!
