A student-led project that may help to expedite the completion of the Honolulu rail project earned a prize package totaling more than $33,000. New startup company won the (UHVC), hosted by the (PACE) in the .
Led by Craig Opie, a UH 惭ā苍辞补 undergraduate student, Pulse Utility aims to assist the rail project with locating underground utilities along the rail line, a job that has added major costs and time to the project. Pulse Utility uses ground penetrating radar, a safe and non-invasive technology, to locate all buried infrastructure. Opie said the team plans to finish its data collection and present its solution to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation with the goal for a potential contract.
“This entire competition has been a lot of work and dedication by all of our team members, and it feels amazing to know that our hard work has paid off,” Opie said. “We are excited to provide our solution, which reduces time and money in the search and permitting process for buried utilities.”
Pulse Utility was one of three finalists which presented to a group of judges at the venture competition’s final virtual event on May 5. . Pulse Utility’s prize package includes $10,000 from American Savings Bank, professional services by Vantage Counsel LLC, Pineapple Tweed, Blue Logic Labs and Business Consulting Resources, and coworking space at The Hub Coworking Hawaii.
Pulse Utility’s team includes Opie, Yosef Ben Gershom, a UH 惭ā苍辞补 mechanical engineer and UH 惭ā苍辞补 executive MBA student; Anthony Lopez, a UH 惭ā苍辞补 student; Josh O’Neill, a Honolulu Community College student; and Isaac Rodrigues, co-owner of Death Star Development, LLC and a senior-level electrical engineer. Pulse Utility also won the spring 2021 Innovation Impact Challenge hosted by the UH Office of Innovation and Commercialization (OIC), receiving $15,000 in funding from OIC and Hawaiian Telcom.
- Related UH News story: UH teams tackle real-world problem for local telecommunications leader, March 29, 2021
Other finalists
Nimbus AI won second place and a prize package totaling nearly $20,000. The project, led by UH 惭ā苍辞补 computer science student Kyle Hart, uses machine learning to allow solar power grid managers to make quick decisions based on cloud cover forecasts.
- Related UH News story: Predicting cloud cover focus of winning innovation project, November 20, 2020
Polū Energy, led by UH 惭ā苍辞补 law and business student Tate Castillo, took third place totaling nearly $10,000, including a $2,500 cash prize sponsored by HiBEAM in honor of pioneer Billy Richardson. The project centers on renewable ocean energy technology that balances wind and solar while making seawater desalination cheaper and cleaner.
“We are delighted with the hard work and persistence of all the teams throughout the competition season,” PACE Executive Director Peter Rowan said. “Despite the challenges of conducting the entire program online, we are very happy with the reach and impact this year. The quality of the competition was very high throughout every round and the results were excellent.”
Wild card round
For the first time in the 21-year history of the UHVC, the public was invited to view the competition and actively participate. Five semi-finalists were invited to deliver a short presentation during the competition’s wild card round for a chance at a $500 cash prize sponsored by ProService Hawaii voted by the audience. The winner was Kahu Bot, a project consisting of an autonomous robot capable of detecting its surroundings while spraying disinfectant at a height of three feet.
Outstanding student entrepreneur
Rowan presented Nathan Bek with PACE’s outstanding student entrepreneur of the year award. The junior finance and journalism major served in several roles, including Calvin Shindo Student Venture Fund student chair, 麻豆传媒 Student Entrepreneurs president, a Ka Leo O 麻豆传媒 writer, Hawaii Business Magazine intern, CEO of Lucy’s Lab Creamery and CEO of Green Dream, a family business in Waiʻanae.
Related UH News stories:
- Wanted: UH entrepreneurs for funding opportunity, April 22, 2021
- Students get the scoop on real-life business, November 17, 2020
- Innovation honors for UH VP, 惭ā苍辞补 student entrepreneurs, March 4, 2020
This event is an example of UH 惭ā苍辞补’s goals of (PDF) and (PDF), two of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.
—By Marc Arakaki