Last weekend I took part in the Hardware Startup Weekend at the Arc Incubator space. I was there Friday and Sunday. But missed Saturday due to illness. But my group was pretty easy going, and so I wasn't kicked out. Although I wasn't able to contribute to much beyond the slide deck on Sunday. It was an interesting experience, and I was impressed with how the limited space at the Incubator was utilised. But let's start at the beginning.

Compared to my first startup weekend last November at River City Labs and my second startup weekend, the creative tech startup, at QUT Kelvin Grove, the Hardware Startup Weekend attracted a much smaller crowd. But this was a good thing because the Arc incubator isn't as big as River City Labs. Also, while QUT had a lot of space, I can't say the choice of space during that weekend was particularly inspired. But the crowd that did gather was very enthusiastic, and as a result, we had six teams successfully completely journey. There was a seventh team but they stopped on Saturday and an eight-team never fully committed.

Now, I did pitch on Friday night. "Happy Place" concept was that we use an emotion tracking wearable to create a profile of what places make a person happy. This will take into account subtle things we don't think about like lighting, architecture, ambience and background noise etc. Then the companion app will help people find more places that fit the profile of their happy place. The idea got a few votes but not enough interest to form a group around it.

I wasn't expecting the concept to be super popular. It's just a bit too complex with an unclear consumer base to be attractive. What I wanted was some feedback and connections because I am working on a separate project around emotion tracking. I was pointed towards the founder of Body Corporate Wellness and ended-up joining team Gym Lift with him.

Our team was pretty easy going and that was a good thing. Because I couldn't make it on Saturday and Sunday, I could only help a little with the slide deck. The bulk of the prototype development was done by my teammate, Keith Lang who is the founder of Team Purr, who I originally met during the November Startup Weekend.

The idea behind Gym Lift was to target the underserved free weight market and develop a gadget that let users auto count their reps. It would be a way to reduce their cognitive load. Also, perhaps motivate them through gamification. Furthermore, gyms could use the embedded sensors to track which free weight equipment was in demand. Also, in theory, users could check out equipment in advance and other similar application.

Ultimately, it was a good idea for the weekend but not a product that could get to market. However, the three winners could be viable businesses. The first prize was taken by Water Aware, which is a water sensing device and service for remote properties without good telecommunication coverage. Second prize went to Rider Remote, a companion device for motorbikes that allows safer information ingestion and interaction while riding. Third Prize when to Deep Sleep, a sleep device. I think that Rider Remote is the most viable idea and potential business to come out of the weekend. Deep Sleep is an idea that appeals to everyone, but there is like three dozen sleep devices in the market and all of them are work for some people but not all people. Water Aware's is a good project concept, in that there are farmers who need to monitor water levels in remote tanks. But the big challenge is the communication. If they solve the communication hurdle, their product without being the water sensor but the communication service. However, they didn't solve the communication challenge over the weekend.

Overall, I am glad I attended. I wish I could be of more use to my team. But I wasn't planning on having chest pains early Saturday morning that ruled me out of the day. That said, I don't think I will attend any further Startup Weekend, for the whole weekend anyway, for the rest of the year. I do enjoy pitch night, so I might continue to attend those. But yes, overall, a good time was had by all!