Bluetooth Innovator of the Year 2011 Honored at ISPO Munich

02.02.2012

Pancreum wins the 2011 competition with prizes worth more than US $ 50,000

Munich, Germany - The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) today announced Guilherme de Paula from Pancreum, LLC as the Bluetooth Innovator of the Year for 2011. Pancreum’s CoreMD design was selected by an expert panel based on the most innovative use of Bluetooth low energy technology and the company was awarded US $5,000 prize money, a Bluetooth Qualification Program voucher worth up to US $ 10,000, and the revolutionary dual-mode Bluetooth protocol analyzer from Ellisys, valued at US $40,000. The CoreMD was chosen from over 330 entries submitted into this year’s Bluetooth Innovation World Cup.

The Bluetooth enabled CoreMD provides a wireless communication and power infrastructure for replaceable, wearable medical devices that can sense body conditions like temperature, heart rate, or interstitial glucose, alert the user that a certain threshold has been reached, or even administer drugs such as insulin, glucagon, or amylin. The CoreMD is used in the Pancreum Genesis, an artificial pancreas system that acts as an insulin pump, continuous glucose monitor, and glucagon pump. Using Bluetooth technology to securely link the CoreMD to a simple application on the user’s smart phone transforms their daily experience. Gone are the constant needs to test levels, monitor data changes over time, and manually administer injections. Instead, the smart phone app puts real-time integrated health information at the user’s fingertips and empowers them to control their Pancreum Genesis with a few taps on their phone’s screen.

“With the CoreMD from Pancreum, we see the power of Bluetooth Smart devices, which use our low energy technology to improve the lives of users in ways that weren’t possible just a few years ago. The sheer number, variety, and quality of Bluetooth low energy entries we received this year shows the transformative nature of this technology and its appeal in the market” said Michael Foley, Ph.D., Executive Director, Bluetooth SIG. “Everything from consumer electronics, to fitness equipment, to medical devices are better with Bluetooth technology by making it easy to give users better information and more control through applications that run on familiar devices like smart phones or tablets.”

“As the 2011 Bluetooth Innovation World Cup comes to a close, we congratulate Pancreum and all contest finalists whom echo the ways in which Bluetooth technology v4.0 will greatly improve people’s lives,” said Volker Prueller, marketing manager, Low-Power RF, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI). “For the third year in a row, TI is proud to be the title sponsor of the Bluetooth IWC and hopes to see these products on the market to further grow the Bluetooth Smart device space.”

In addition to Pancreum, two runners up were selected from the nine finalists. Michael Setton’s Senspods were selected in the “Automotive, Entertainment & More” category and Diesel Dogs’ Smart Weights was chosen in the “Sports & Fitness” category. All three winners won a trip to the Nordic headquarters in Trondheim, Norway, for a special Bluetooth training sponsored by Nordic Semiconductor. All nine finalists received development kits from Nordic Semiconductor and from Bluegiga Technologies. All contestants who finalize a prototype will also be eligible to purchase a specially discounted Ellisys BEX400LE protocol analyzer.

Winner Automotive, Entertainment & More
Senspods by Michael Setton, Sensaris:

Senspods are small sensors that combine real-time environmental data with social networking tools. They have an intuitive interface with single-click, drag-and-drop functionality, allowing data from the sensors to be sent to wearable displays via Bluetooth low energy technology. The environmental sensors are currently used to monitor air quality, noise and radiation. Senspods is also integrating them into solar cells and plans to use them to monitor water quality as well.

Winner Sports & Fitness
Smart Weights by Diesel Dogs LLC:

This product is revolutionizing weight training through the innovative combination of Bluetooth low energy technology and high accuracy motion sensors. While maintaining the look and feel of standard weight lifting equipment, Smart Weights provide the user with the ability to automatically log and track repetitions, sets, resistance levels, duration, and form; define custom exercises and routines; and upload workout summaries to social networking sites. At the center of the Smart Weights design is a core module that consists of a low energy Bluetooth transceiver, a microprocessor, and motion sensors. The small size of the components and the low power requirements of the system result in a compact core module. This allows for it to be integrated into various free weight equipment, such as standard dumbbells, adjustable dumbbells, and barbells. An application that runs on a smartphone, tablet or other Bluetooth Smart Ready device interfaces with the core module of the Smart Weight can display the various features.

Congratulations to all winners and finalists!

The Bluetooth Innovation World Cup 2011 was sponsored by Texas Instruments (Title Sponsor), Ellisys and Freescale Semiconductor (Preferred Technology Partners), and Bluegiga Technologies, Nordic Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics and VARTA Microbattery.