- Startup from Berlin leaves 450 international competitors behind
- Business model that paves the way into IoT for app developers
- Finalists presenting their business ideas at CeBIT until Friday
"Into the Internet of Things" is the motto of CODE_n hall 16 at CeBIT. 50 start-ups from around the world are showcasing their business models on the topic areas Industry 4.0, Digital Life, Smart City and Future Mobility. Last night, the coveted CODE_n Award was presented.
relayr of Berlin is the winner of this year's CODE_n Award. This was announced by CODE_n's jury at the leading event for digitization and IT CeBIT in Hanover. The young company impressed the judges with its business model that paves the way into the Internet of Things for app developers. Their flagship product "WunderBar" looks like a bar of chocolate but is packed with cutting-edge sensor technology. The various sensors measure such things as temperature, humidity or movement and can be broken off like chunks of chocolate and attached to physical objects. This enables software developers – without any knowledge of electrical engineering – to design applications for smartphones which can access and analyse the measured data; such as an app that controls the temperature of the wine cellar or the humidity level of the domestic greenhouse. Hardware and software communicate via relayr's open sensor cloud platform and allow developers to make a fast and easy project start for wireless applications and prototypes – turning smartphones into smart devices. The CODE_n Award carries a prize of € 30,000.
"With relayr, the jury has chosen a company that perfectly embodies the theme of CODE_n15, 'Into the Internet of Things'," says Ulrich Dietz, CEO of the GFT Group and initiator of CODE_n. "'Wunderbar' makes it very easy for programmers to grasp and apply the Internet of Things (IoT). And this is also important, for although everyone is talking about IoT – especially at CeBIT – the perceived hurdles for developers are still very high. relayr removes these hurdles. A lack of hardware knowledge is now no longer an excuse. The simplicity of the solution and the implications for IoT left the jury in no doubt."
Before the decision was made, the Top10 CODE_n finalists had the chance to present their business models once again to the jury and hundreds of fair visitors on Wednesday afternoon. Against the backdrop of hall 16's design by Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram with the robot installation ROBOCHOP, the finalists once again gave their all and earned the enthusiastic applause of hundreds of industry experts. Over the past three days of the fair, all 50 finalists hardly had a moment to catch their breath: potential business partners, customers and investors, as well as thousands of fair visitors and the media lined up at the stands to question the young startups about their business models and strategies. At the half-way stage of CeBIT, Ulrich Dietz's conclusion so far is that "the concept of Deutsche Messe to focus on B2B visitors has had a very positive impact on CODE_n, as well as the finalists and partners. The atmosphere in hall 16 is absolutely fascinating. Aided by ROBOCHOP, there's a real spirit of optimism in the air."
Over 400 startups had submitted their entries for the CODE_n CONTEST, which is divided into the four topic areas Industry 4.0, Future Mobility, Smart City and Digital Life. The pioneering business ideas ranged from a platform for the efficient networking of machines, to a cloud-based IT security system, intelligent sensors for temperature-sensitive drugs and an indoor navigation solution for smartphones. The 50 finalists will still be presenting their ideas to B2B visitors in CODE_n hall 16 at CeBIT until Friday (20 March).
The CODE_n jury comprised: Klaus Bauer (TRUMPF), Klaas Bollhöfer (The Unbelievable Machine Company), Laurent Delaporte (NetMediaEurope), Ulrich Dietz (GFT Group), Frank Engelhardt (Salesforce), Manfred Engeser (Wirtschaftswoche), Uli Huener (EnBW), Carsten Knop (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Olaf Riedel (EY), Frank Riemensperger (Accenture) and Benedict Rodenstock (Astutia Ventures).
www.cebit.de
