Nokia launches fifth Open Innovation Challenge with focus on IoT

Finnish telecoms heavyweight Nokia has launched its Open Innovation Challenge for the fifth year running, with a focus on IoT.

Nokia is calling on start-ups and innovators to participate in the challenge and demonstrate the next major technological developments in IoT, smart cities, mobility, safety, security, and connected industries.

The challenge’s mission, according to its strapline, is “to enable a smart, safe and sustainable world”. Through the Open Innovation Challenge, the company is keen to demonstrate that it is at the forefront of innovation and on a drive to attract potential partners and employees with creative and smart ideas. The challenge has been organized in partnership with Nokia’s private venture arm, Nokia Growth Partners.

The Open Innovation Challenge

Specifically, Nokia is challenging participants to show how their ideas could improve people’s lives, by demonstrating a working prototype of their idea. The company wants to see a focus on ideas that:

Improve cities by solving urban challenges;
Improve safety with technology;
Improve how we interact and experience the world around us with virtual reality and machine interactions;
Enable the next industrial revolution with LTE, robotics and sensors;
Improve health with digital technologies.

Last year, 12 finalists were selected from over 400 applicants from across the world. The overall winner was security start-up Cujo for its firewall for the connected home, designed to bring business-level security to the home network.

In second place came iSono Health, a company that empowers women to take charge of their health via a wearable for breast-health monitoring. Third place went to Mobagel for its Decanter Big Data AI engine, which allows tech companies to monitor smart home and office appliances.

Co-innovating key to success

“The industrial revolution is well on its way. Ultimately our aim at Nokia is to create technology that connects the world, a challenge which we embrace with nothing less than our relentless passion for innovation,” said Kathrin Buvac, chief strategy officer of Nokia. “But we know, that we cannot succeed alone. Co-innovating in an open ecosystem with start-ups and large tech companies in a healthy balance is so essential.”

“The Nokia Open Innovation Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for innovators and entrepreneurs to join us as we embrace the challenge of creating technology to serve the growing needs for the Internet of Things.”

Nokia says that submissions will be accepted between June 8 and September 20, after which they will be assessed. The top teams will be invited to a two-day concept development workshop with Nokia experts in Helsinki in November. The final judging and the award ceremony will be held after the workshop.