After kicking off its second public innovation challenge in June with industry and non-profit partners, the Washington D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) has now announced that three teams have been selected to advance to the next round of competition.
The following teams will have 60 days to work with engineering mentors from Verizon, and subject matter experts from the DC Department of Transportation, DC Police Department, DC Fire and EMS, and DC Health:
- Public Safety Sensor Fusion – A real-time situational awareness solution based on sensor data and automated video analytics that enables incident commanders to quickly assess emergency scenes for vehicular and personnel requirements. Submitted by ENGR Dynamics of Silver Spring, MD.
- “Self Action for Everyone” (S.A.F.E.) smart emergency card – An IoT card that fits in a purse or wallet and allows the owner to trigger emergency care with a single button press. Users can send an emergency request for an ambulance, notify emergency contacts with real-time updates, and request care guidance recommendations by phone. Submitted by Haven of Washington, D.C.
- Safe Lane – A smart city application that leverages publicly available traffic camera video feeds to provide real-time analytics to identify bike lane obstructions and alert authorities. Submitted by Daniel Bernstein and Brendan Freehart of Arlington, VA.
As background, OCTO worked closely this summer with partners including US Ignite to invite local developers, engineers, and innovators to engage and help craft the future of public safety and public health technology leveraging 5G, which Verizon launched in DC last month.
To host the competition, US Ignite, Verizon, and OCTO created a two-phased, reverse pitch competition in which competitors were asked to submit proposed proofs-of-concept and build prototypes of solutions for a chance to receive awards including funding and an option to enter a cohort of Verizon innovators this fall.
Additional partners in the competition include Mapbox, East of the River Services, the DC Police Department, DC Fire and EMS, and DC Health.
Read more about OCTO’s first DCx public innovation challenge here.