From a bottle which monitors water intake to a wearable device helping to communicate emotions, the finalists of the second Longitude Explorer Prize have been announced!

The second round of the prize launched in January 2017 and called for secondary school pupils aged 11-16 to develop innovative, practical solutions using the Internet of Things to help improve the health and wellbeing of people in the UK. Areas of particular interest included childhood obesity, physical activity, mental health and pollution, but ideas could relate to any other health issues.

Over 60 ideas from more than 220 young people were submitted for a chance to win £10,000. We’re so glad that this difficult and complex topic was well received by students and their schools. An anonymous survey showed that half of entrants had never heard of the Internet of Things before entering the prize so we’re glad to have introduced them to the concept and to have inspired them to think about how it could be used to solve health issues. We’re pleased to report that 40 per cent of entrants were female students.

All entries were assessed against the judging criteria to determine which ones had the most potential and should be shortlisted to the final stage of the prize. The standard of all the ideas was exceptionally high, which made the process of selecting the finalists very difficult.

Final stage

Over 40 young people across 10 teams will be now supported by IBM to turn their idea into reality. How? Each team will be allocated a mentor who will offer advice in technical and business areas. All students will also have access to IBM’s BlueMix and Watson, which will enable them to use cutting edge cognitive computing tools and intelligent platforms that are able to think, understand and learn.

At the end of June 2017 all teams will be required to submit workbooks outlining further development of their products, including details on their market research or marketing plan. We’re looking forward to seeing what those young, talented entrepreneurs come up with!

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Longitude Explorer finalists and wish every future success for those who were not shortlisted on this occasion.

Longitude Explorer finalists

School: Southlands School - Cambian
Team: Octoptix
Their idea: An ASDE motion badge for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The badge changes colour depending on the emotions of its wearer, making communicating emotions easier, especially for those with autism.

School: Warwick School, Warwick
Team: We Fidget
Their idea: A stress ball that allows users to fidget with it. Using pressure sensors, collected data can be transferred via Bluetooth to your phone or a computer to analyse when most stressful moments happened. This will enable users to analyse what situations cause stress and how to prevent or manage it.

School: Ursuline Academy, Ilford
Team: Bright Day
Their idea: A wearable device that alerts people when someone is having a panic attack. When the notification has been sent methods of calming down display on the screen such as breathing exercises, similarly on the receiver watch or phone, methods of helping the person are displayed.

School: Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Devon
Team: Team Spaghetti
Their idea: The Home Sensor - sensors around the homes of older people to track their daily routine. If someone is acting out of the ordinary a chosen person can be informed. The product aims to support people with dementia.

School: Harris Academy Bermondsey, London
Team: H’n’B
Their idea: Honest - a water bottle that monitors water intake and will remind you if you need to drink more.

School: Littleover Community School, Derby
Team: Shelly
Their idea: Shelly’s Planner - an app for young people and their families with recipes and exercises that can be done during cooking.

School: Ursuline Academy, Ilford
Team: PolluTech
Their idea: SeeO2 - a device connected to your phone that measures air quality. If it's poor, it will suggest an alternative healthier/cleaner route for you. It also encourages physical activity.

School: Warwick School, Warwick
Team: Lemontime
Their idea: Lemontime - an app which gives users rewards in mobile games for doing fitness and health-based activities.

School: Bodmin College, Cornwall
Team: G.L.A.T.
Their idea: Panic Attack Wrist Band - a band or a t-shirt that measures your body temperature and heart rate to detect panic attacks. It will then connect to devices at home to calm the wearer down eg. the stereo will begin playing soothing music.

School: Thomas Deacon Academy, Peterborough
Team: AuxiCras
Their idea: Panic+ - a button carried by students with a mental disorder. When clicked it sends a direct signal to a teacher’s wristband, telling them that you have to get out of the lesson or have a problem, giving them notice discreetly and allowing them to help you.

What happens next?

The prize offers a first place award of £10,000 and two runner-up prizes of £1,000, all to be received by the schools which the teams attend. All finalists will be invited to attend the Longitude Explorer awards ceremony in July 2017 to showcase their project prototypes, with the winner being selected from those who publicly present.

Read more about the Longitude Explorer Prize.