Drones that perform safety inspections on bridges, improving 3D Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) software , and bacteria detecting wearable technology. Those three award-winning ideas stood out at the 2023 College of Engineering Pitch Competition, which was held during the spring semester at Nebraska Innovation Campus.
The first-place prize of $3,000 was awarded to Beacon, a startup company co-founded by Maci Wilson, a junior computer science major in the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management. Beacon uses autonomous, non-GPS reliant American-made drones to conduct bridge inspections more safely than having an inspector in a harness or an inspector in a snooper vehicle inspect bridges.
Second place and a $1,500 prize were awarded to PartShopAI, a CAD team, and the third-place prize of $1,000 was awarded to Wearasense, which offers a lightweight healthcare wearable that detects clostridioides difficile bacteria – a bacteria responsible for more than $1 billion in healthcare costs in 2017.
The 2023 competition was co-sponsored by NUtech Ventures and the College of Engineering and required competitors seven minutes to pitch their ideas to the competition’s judges which included John Wirtz, co-founder and CPO for Hudl; Brad Roth, associate vice chancellor for technology development at UNL and president and executive director for NUtech Ventures; and Kathy Anderson, director of innovation and partnership for Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development.
The first-place prize of $3,000 was awarded to Beacon, a startup company co-founded by Maci Wilson, a junior computer science major in the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management. Beacon uses autonomous, non-GPS reliant American-made drones to conduct bridge inspections more safely than having an inspector in a harness or an inspector in a snooper vehicle inspect bridges.
Second place and a $1,500 prize were awarded to PartShopAI, a CAD team, and the third-place prize of $1,000 was awarded to Wearasense, which offers a lightweight healthcare wearable that detects clostridioides difficile bacteria – a bacteria responsible for more than $1 billion in healthcare costs in 2017.
The 2023 competition was co-sponsored by NUtech Ventures and the College of Engineering and required competitors seven minutes to pitch their ideas to the competition’s judges which included John Wirtz, co-founder and CPO for Hudl; Brad Roth, associate vice chancellor for technology development at UNL and president and executive director for NUtech Ventures; and Kathy Anderson, director of innovation and partnership for Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development.