Around 120 people gathered in ORBIT Lab to witness the fourth edition of The Orbies and the highly technical and creative projects that competed to win seven Orbie statuettes. A high-profile Panel of Judges presented the awards in five categories.
Janne Jul Jensen, member of the Panel of Judges, kicked off the award ceremony with a few words for all the competing groups:
“We just wanted to share some thought on our general impression of the projects because there are some things that can be said about all of the projects competing here today – three things in particular. The first thing is that it is very clear that you have all had an absolute field day exploring all sorts of technologies, and in that process – not only have you pushed the boundaries of the technology – you have also pushed the boundaries of your own skillset, so that is really impressive to see. The other thing is that once we started asking you more in-depth questions, it was clear that you had all thought very long and hard about the aspects that your presentations did not allow time for and how to develop the project further. And finally, you were all really passionate about your projects, which was really nice to experience. This is not just another project for you – not just another course. You have actually invested blood, sweat and tears into it, so we want to thank you for that, it has been really great to see.”
After that, the judges took turns in awarding the first five Orbie statuettes.
Best Pitch: Imagine Talking – Kristoffer Stampe Villadsen
About Imagine Talking
Imagine Talking is a smartphone app that will enable people with speech and writing impairment to communicate with others through text. The app converts pictograms into text using natural language processing.
Comments from the Panel of Judges presented by Thomas Braad Perret-Gentil, IBM:
“With an almost perfect storyline and storytelling, and a very innovative idea and purpose, with the potential of great use of technology, we would like to award the Best Pitch to Imagine Talking.”
Best Video: Consibio, Monesco – Emil Jakobsen, Søren Jessen Kjær, Johan Egsgaard Thomsen, Thorbjørn Bøgh Jensen, Ivan Markov
About Monesco
Consibio’s Monesco is a highly scalable hardware and software (cloud) platform for process monitoring and control of biological processes. The system is “plug & play”, which enables easy implementation of new or more sensors/actuators if more or other information is needed. Monesco provides increased accessibility by removing technical barriers and thus helping bio-innovators realize their potential.
Comments from the Panel of Judges presented by Tommy Dejbjerg, Tradeshift:
“In the end, we voted for the video that really presented the message well, and that we were able to remember – even after two hours. The prize for Best Video goes to Consibio.”
Best Demo: FI Bots – Jakob Grimm Hansen (Anna Sophia Sørensen and Jakob Halskov)
About FI Bots
Fluffy infrared robots who can shoot each other in the butt! Each bot has its own color-identified team at the start of a game. When a bot shoots another bot in the butt, the bot that has been shot becomes part of the team of the bot who fired the shot.
Comments from the Panel of Judges presented by Stefan Veis Pennerup, Trifork:
“The Best Demo award goes to a very interactive demo, with good on-the-spot improvisation skills. A demo that was overall very well executed from A–Z. The whole process was thought through. The person who carried out the demo was very excited and not afraid of handing it out. The winner of the Best Demo goes to FI Bots.”
Best Startup Potential: Don’t Waste It – Kristin Lie Aas, Christiane Nørkjær Svendsen, Rikke Ivang Henriksen and Stella Veronica Schultz Jørgensen
About Don’t Waste It
Don’t Waste it is an app that aims to reduce food waste by motivating the user to utilize what is in the fridge. Basically, the user enters the current contents of the fridge in the app, and the app generates suggestions for recipes based on these ingredients. It then puts the ingredients of a chosen recipe into a shopping list. Furthermore, the app notifies users when they get near a shopping center.
Comments from the Panel of Judges presented by Louise Overgaard, IWDK & Coding Pirates:
“Best Startup Potential goes to a group that has worked with a topic that is highly relevant and very important and has to do with everyday life – where you are short of time and particularly time for grocery shopping. Therefore, the Best Startup Potential goes to Don’t Waste It.”
Best Overall Project: AR Wizards – Rasmus Hemmingsen, Nicklas Nielsen and Anders Meidahl
About AR Wizards
Augmented reality enables users to see and interact with objects and effects that are not present in the real world. Thus, augmented reality has the inherent possibility to make a more magical world where anything is possible. AR Wizard will use these possibilities of augmented reality to make the users feel, see and even manipulate the magic that we cannot see in the real world. Through AR Wizard, users will become powerful wizards fighting off invading zombies with magical spells.
Comments from the Panel of Judges presented by Helena Meyer, Toitware:
“The Best Overall Project is a project that I want to buy, right now. It is funny, because when we first saw it, we thought it was a prototype, however, it is cheap and it is much better than certain other solutions on the market. The award for Best Overall Project goes to AR Wizards.”
Community Contributors: Rasmus Hemmingsen, Nicklas Nielsen and Anders Meidahl
Comments on behalf of the ORBIT Lab team presented by Head of ORBIT Lab Kasper Løvborg Jensen:
“This is a very special award because at the heart of everything that happens here in ORBIT Lab, is the community. This is a physical space and the equipment is just stuff you could get yourself if you wanted, but you choose to come here to spend time, do cool things and share your knowledge. We really appreciate how much time and energy you put in. And some people put in a lot of extra time. They attend almost every single one of our events, they are always helpful. They represent ORBIT Lab when they conquer the world with their ideas, win hackathons etc. Therefore, this semester’s Community Contributors are Anders, Rasmus and Nicklas.”
Audience Award: Consibio – Emil Jakobsen, Søren Jessen Kjær, Johan Egsgaard Thomsen, Thorbjørn Bøgh Jensen, Ivan Markov
Everyone voted for their favorite project via an online voting tool. See the project description above.
See the previous winners on the Wall in the center of the ORBIT Lab hallway, or check out the winners from Winter 2019.