The winning idea for the Tampa Bay Lightning's first pitch event was formed in a bathroom the day before the competition.
Muntaser Syed and Brandon Wolfram planned to pitch their air purification system at an event at Cal Tech, but it was cancelled due to increasing concerns on coronavirus.
"We got really motivated to build a solution and thought about how we could combat the spread of coronavirus with events getting cancelled, people going on lockdown," Syed, a PhD student at the Florida Institute of Technology, said. "We were holed up in a small little motel in Hollywood and literally converted the bathroom into a lab to solder and 3D print."
The next day, the pair flew to Tampa to enter the Tampa Bay Lightning and Stantec Idea Hackathon, the organizations' first two-day pitch event.
The spontaneity paid off: the duo won the $3,000 first place prize, which they plan to put toward their patent application getting filed this week and getting CDC certified.
"Since our system uses physical means, it can be for any virus, any bacteria," Wolfram, who is a senior at the University of South Florida, said. "So it's not just one certain kind."
They were part 10 teams tasked with coming up with an innovative way to address transit and technology in the region, with the top five teams presenting their ideas to a panel of judges from the city, county, Lightning and Stantec.
"We're super excited about all the great ideas that were brought forward in the last couple days, but this one in particular just really stood out," Beth Alden, MPO Executive Director for Hillsborough County said during the judging. "In part because the interaction of transportation, air quality and public health is an area that just needs so much attention."
We've got the roundup of all the ideas presented from the pitching entrepreneurs below.
FreshAir
Syed and Wolfram created a wearable air purifying hardware that can be worn on a face or attached to vents, such as ones seen on buses or in arenas.
The hardware is a combination of an air quality monitor and airborne pathogen sanitizer. Both features use the device's UV light to either sanitize the air and alert the user when air quality is poor.
The idea, they say, is particularly pertinent due to the increased concern over coronavirus and can be used for everyone from healthcare workers to bus drivers.
Move Tampa
The two teammates proposed a smartphone app for citizens that provides incentives when users take alternative transportation.
Financial and coupon incentives would be given to users who choose to bike, carpool or take buses. But the team said the bigger picture is about teaching users about their behavior and hopefully change some of their habits in the long run.
EPT - Efficient Public Transit
The team introduced a Tampa Bay-wide network of sensors that could be used to decrease transit time and increase bus ridership.
The pilot idea is simple: bus stops have poles at each location and the pole would be outfitted with a sensor. The user could hit a button to alert a driver if they are at that stop. If the driver does not get an alert, they will skip the stop on the route.
The team used Route 8, which stops right outside Amalie Arena, as a use case and revealed under the system, between five and 30 minutes could be saved. The system could eventually get more in-depth and have different buttons to alert the driver of different riders, such as if they have a bicycle, are wheelchair bound or in danger.
Tampa Bay Mobility
Tracy Ingram, who did not have teammates, created a system for two-way communication between the user and government.
His idea is a texting service in which users can report issues they come across in the city, such as a broken sidewalk. He says the reporting system is the buy-in for users, but the idea as a whole really focuses on allowing government entities to communicate with the user.
Under the system users would receive texts on events near them, such as Florida Department of Transportation hearings that affect their neighborhood.
Ingram got second place and a $2,000 prize.
Go 4 Future
Three University of South Florida graduate students pitched the "Go 4 Future" solution that is a multi-prong approach to all things transportation including carpooling, parking and valet.
The eventual goal was to have a parking management app, customer mobile app, on demand valet, easy pay and tip feature under one umbrella.
