Cellular IoT Challenge

If you could connect devices from anywhere, without the physical constraints of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, what would you build? Would you build a business? Make life better? Improve transportation? Focus on energy? City planning? Industrial? Consumer?

In IoT, the biggest opportunities are found where power is scarce, Wi-Fi won't reach, and devices need all the help they can get. But thanks to smart cellular connectivity that lets you operate your own cloud-native mobile network, it's easier than ever to bring our wildest connected dreams to life.

Soracom, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Seeed Studio are looking for creative and inspiring projects that help us all to see what life will be like in a more connected world. In return for inspiring us, we're offering prizes ranging from experiences like a trip to Tokyo to hardware like Parrot drones and VR gaming kits to development tools with AWS credits and Seeed Studio hardware.

We'll provide the go-anywhere cellular connectivity and the built-in cloud capability. All you need to do is show us what's possible.

Intro to Technology (Soracom, AWS and Seeed Studio)

Soracom:

Soracom offers cloud-ready wireless connectivity designed specifically for IoT devices and developers. From 2G/3G/LTE to Sigfox and LoRa, we make it affordable, scalable, and secure. We've helped thousands of customers around the world create IoT solutions across industries ranging from Energy, Transportation, and Agriculture to Retail, Consumer Electronics, and Health.

Soracom's powerful User Console, API, and cloud integration services make it easy to manage your devices, data and connections and take advantage of advanced cloud services while saving bandwidth and power.

AWS:

As the provider of the world's most comprehensive and widely adopted cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services has been instrumental in the growth of today's Internet of Things. AWS IoT provides a wide range of secure, scalable services designed specifically for the needs of IoT solutions at every stage, from prototype to full deployment and from the edge to the cloud.

Seeed Studio:

Seeed Studio is an IoT hardware enabler that empowers makers to turn projects into products. Seeed's open technology platform offers a wide array of IoT hardware and sensor modules, with agile manufacturing and customization capabilities ranging from a single unit to 10,000 units or more.

Together, Soracom, Amazon Web Services, and Seeed Studio provide the core hardware, software, cloud and connectivity capabilities every IoT project requires, with developer-friendly pricing and enterprise-grade security and scalability.

Free Hardware / Starter Kit:

We are providing 80 Cellular IoT Starter Kits to get you up and running with cellular connectivity. We have three versions and will start sending them out as we approve project submissions (head over to the Apply for Hardware tab). So get your ideas in early - you get to choose which kit you want while supplies last:

(1) SORACOM Complete Starter Kit (Raspberry Pi Zero W, Huawei 3G USB dongle (MS2131i), Soracom Global SIM Card, Ultrasonic Range Finder, USB OTG Adapter Cable, Perma-Proto Breadboard, USB-A to Micro-USB Cable, Color-coded Jumper Wires, Micro SD card reader, $25 AWS credit, $30 Soracom credit, and access to Soracom's User Console to manage and control your devices). 20 available.

(2) Seeed Studio + SORACOM Starter Kit (Wio LTE US Version, Soracom Global SIM Card, $25 AWS credit, $30 Soracom credit, and access to Soracom's User Console to manage and control your devices). 20 available.

(3) SORACOM Basic Starter Kit (Huawei 3G USB dongle (MS2131i), Soracom Global SIM Card, $25 AWS credit, $30 Soracom credit, and access to Soracom's User Console to manage and control your devices). 40 available.

Sample Soracom solutions and inspiration:

• Smart Cows (internet of animals) - monitor pets or livestock. Can you determine the health and even bullying of animals through cloud based analysis?
• Smart vending machine - monitor inventory of machine contents. Change the price of the contents remotely.
• Winery - monitor soil moisture, air temperature and humidity, and control sprinklers accordingly
• Ride share - tracking location of cars, ebikes, and escooters!
• Farm monitoring - take photo snapshots of plants growing every day and upload to cloud to show customers via a website
• Device tracking - monitor sailboats, windsurfers, or delivery trucks and their speed and location.
• Smart locks with remote access - can you control a door lock to a remote location by sending key codes and also provide security by wiping codes once used?
• International voice translator - a device that listens in one language, connects to online translation services, then translates in a different language
• Parking availability garage space indicator - use a proximity sensor to determine if a car is in a parking space.
• And many other IoT case studies

Get your hands on free tech to get started!

Click on the "Apply for Hardware" tab and submit a pitch about how you'd use Soracom and cellular IoT. Apply early for the best chance to get the starter kit you'd like.

Prizes

Grand Prize

To the top overall, best project of the Soracom IoT Cloud Challenge.

1 winner

Trip to Japan

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$3,500 value

This trip includes an all-expense paid four day visit to Tokyo and includes the opportunity to present your project at the Soracom Discovery User Event on July 2, 2019. Last year over 3000 people registered for this event. We'll provide round trip airfare, hotel for four nights, and meals during your trip for the winner (1 person).

Most Innovative

We are offering three great prizes to those bringing new ideas, originality, and creativity into how cellular IoT and the cloud can be used in IoT.

1st Place

1 winner

Drone Bundle

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$1,000 value

Parrot drone, $200 in AWS credits, and $100 Seeed Studio Gift Basket

2nd Place

1 winner

Virtual Reality Bundle

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$700 value

HTC Vive VR System, $100 AWS Credits, and $75 Seeed Studio gift basket

3rd Place

1 winner

Smartphone Stabilizer Bundle

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$375 value

A smartphone stabilizer, $75 AWS credits, and $50 Seeed Studio gift basket.

Most Inspiring

We are offering three great prizes for the Most Inspiring category. Inspire the judges - remind us why we think cellular IoT and the cloud are so cool!

1st Place

1 winner

Drone Bundle

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$1,000 value

Parrot drone, $200 in AWS credits, and $100 Seeed Studio Gift Basket

2nd Place

1 winner

Virtual Reality Bundle

-

$700 value

HTC Vive VR System, $100 AWS Credits, and $75 Seeed Studio gift basket.

3rd Place

1 winner

Smartphone Stabilizer Bundle

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$375 value

A smartphone stabilizer, $75 AWS credits, and $50 Seeed Studio gift basket.

Most Practical

We are offering three great prizes for most practical projects - showing a clear marketing opportunity or strong utility to be productized and scaled.

1st Place

1 winner

Drone Bundle

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$1,000 value

Parrot drone, $200 in AWS credits, and $100 Seeed Studio Gift Basket

2nd Place

1 winner

Virtual Reality Bundle

-

$700 value

HTC Vive VR System, $100 AWS Credits, and $75 Seeed Studio gift basket.

3rd Place

1 winner

Video Stabilizer Bundle

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$375 value

A smartphone stabilizer, $75 AWS credits, and $50 Seeed Studio gift basket.

Hackster Impact Prize

Join Hackster as we rally with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to make today's world a smarter, healthier place. The Hackster team will select one project that best contributes to any of the SDGs. Please refer to the specific judging criteria for this prize category.

1 winner

$250 Gift card + Video interview + More

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$430 value

The winner will receive the following:
- a $250 gift card;
- a 12-month subscription to Patchr Premium ($180 value);
- last but not least, they will be featured in a video interview with Hackster’s one and only Alex Glow.

Please visit the Hackster Impact Prize page for more information.

Judges

Kenta Yasukawa, PhD, Co-founder and CTO, Soracom

As CTO and co-founder of SORACOM, Kenta leads a team that has deployed the world's leading software-defined, cloud-native telecom platform, field-tested by over 12,000 customers worldwide and designed specifically for the needs of connected devices. He is enthusiastic about solving common, heavy liftings in building IoT systems so that developers can focus on innovative applications that make the world better. In his spare time, Kenta enjoys skiing and snowboarding and sometimes becomes a racer and a pilot in VR gaming worlds.

Eugene Kawamoto, CEO, Soracom Americas

Eugene is the CEO for Soracom in the Americas, leading growth for Soracom outside of Japan. He spent 7 years at AWS working extensively with developers and startups in various Business Development leadership roles. Due to his interest in helping startups, he launched the Soracom IoT Technology Accelerator Program to help startups make the leap from a great idea or prototype to a full commercial release. He is also actively involved in the Soracom IoT Fund. In his spare time, Eugene enjoys traveling and trekking, he traveled to over 30 countries and is aiming to get to 50 countries by the age of 50.

Jeff Barr, VP and Chief Evangelist, Amazon Web Services

Jeff is VP & Chief Evangelist for Amazon Web Services, promoting the AWS story to audiences all over the world. Jeff has written over 3,000 blog posts for the AWS News Blog and also records weekly What’s New videos featuring the latest and greatest AWS launches.

Seth Welday, Product Marketing Manager, Seeed Studios

Seth started as a developer evangelist at Dronesmith Technologies, a provider of IoT drone hardware and software, enabling developers and businesses. Currently, he works at Seeed Studios promoting and shaping new IoT hardware to create a more connected world.

Rick Kawamura, Head of Marketing, Soracom Global Inc

Rick is a storyteller, always looking for creative, innovative uses of cellular IoT to not only promote SORACOM, but the industry as a whole. Create a great project and Rick will help promote you and your project on social media and to the press.

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