The solution Auricle became the overall winner of the MONICA Open Air Hackathon, delivering strong use cases for MONICA.
The first MONICA hackathon took place in Roskilde, Denmark at the end of August and challenged developers from all over Europe to create solutions which enhance user experiences at open-air music events.
15 developers participated in the 48-hour event, competing for a prize of €5000 and a business growth programme. The participants formed five teams which were supported and coached by experts, case presenters and the jury until their final, five-minute pitch presentations on the last day.
The winning team with Pedro Costa on the right as the founder of Auricle
Hearing device with advanced communicative functions
The jury, comprising four experts from MONICA, chose the project Auricle based on the potential it has for MONICA.
Auricle is a hearing device mounted on the ear that sends sound waves in form of vibration directly to the human skull. Thereby, the user’s ear canal remains free, enabling the user to be more aware of the surroundings. This overcomes the problem of traditional headsets and devices with screens which tend to require complete focus, fully engaging the human senses, in this case hearing or sight.
The goal of Auricle is to promote awareness, communication, security and hearing for different purposes. In the case of MONICA, three use cases were presented that aim to enhance communications at events:
- Security personnel can be spatially aware at all times, not having to rely on a headset which obstructs the ear canal;
- Sound engineers can perform their operations, such as live sound mixing, and communicate at the same time without it interfering with their sound perception;
- Staff members can use the solution as a regular communications device.
Developing and testing the solution
Auricle will now undergo a development process, with the founder Pedro Costa participating in a customised business growth programme to further develop the solution. The programme includes consulting, workshops, technical guidance as well as prototype testing at one of MONICA’s pilot sites.
Read about the MONICA Business Growth Programme
Perfect creative setting
The MONICA Open Air Hackathon was organised by the MONICA project partners Growth Factory Copenhagen Sound, City of Copenhagen and Tivoli in strong collaboration with the Musicon Secretariat/City of Roskilde.
The hackathon took place at Musicon, a new creative district in Roskilde which is located in Greater Copenhagen and home to the Roskilde Festival, Northern Europe’s largest culture and music festival. Musicon hosts many entrepreneurs and startup companies and has many creative facilities which the participants could use during the hackathon, making it a perfect spot for creativity and innovation.
The Open Air Hackathon is one of three MONICA hackathons organised in 2018 to engage innovators in developing MONICA solutions.
