Company making ‘smart’ walkers wins LaunchPad $50K competition : Water Loo Region

A company developing “smart” walkers and other assistive devices for elderly and disabled people has won $50,000 in equity investment at a major pitch competition. 

Sentry Scientific, a Cambridge-based company started by a group of University of Waterloo mechatronics engineering students, picked up the top prize in the LaunchPad $50K competition, held Friday at the Cambridge campus of Conestoga College.

It was one of eight companies that made the finals in this year’s LaunchPad. The finalists were selected from more than 40 companies.

The second place $25,000 investment prize was won by Fora Inc., a company at the Tannery building in Kitchener started by an immigrant from Nigeria who is creating an e-learning website that will make accredited courses accessible in Africa.

Third place, for a $10,000 investment, went to Lumotune Inc., also at the Tannery. It was started by University of Waterloo engineering students who have developed a light-scattering technology to produce outdoor displays of virtually any size with very little power consumption.

Sentry Scientific plans to “make the future safer for seniors,” said Fred Liu, a member of the team.

The technology involves embedding electronic sensors into assistive devices. The sensors can tell when people are about to collide with an object, slip on a piece of ice, or if there is a steep hill that will cause the walker to go out of control. It will also deliver a warning if the brakes are not locked when someone tries to sit down on a walker that has a seat.

“Walkers have not changed much in the past 20 years,” Liu said. Eventually, the technology will be extended into other devices for other applications, he added.

The money will help Sentry get into a market that is not easy. “There are very high barriers to entry but we are hoping to crack that,” Liu said.

Fora, the second-place winner, was founded by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, who came to Canada from Nigeria five years ago to study at the University of Waterloo.

He said a big problem in Nigeria is lack of infrastructure for education. Every year, 1.6 million Nigerian students apply to get into university, but only 400,000 can get spots. Aboyeji is working with the government in Nigeria and the university system there to launch a web platform that will offer accredited courses taught by qualified professors.

Lumotune, the third-place winner, was also “people choice” winner for its presentation on light-scattering display technology. It got the most votes from the audience at the event.

Rob Douglas, president of Golden Triangle Angelnet, which organizes the LaunchPad event, said the quality of the contestants was “absolutely amazing.”

The money, in equity investments, means the companies get mentorship, coaching and advice to accelerate the success of their businesses, he added.

The other five finalists also received prizes. They were: 

 • Fiist, which is producing a wait list management app for restaurants;

LeoBold Inc., with a website for people looking for newly-constructed homes;

Milao Language, with a computer “avatar” chat assistant to help people learn new languages;

MyCareerCity.com, a social website for high school students wanting to connect with university students taking the courses and programs they are interested in;

S3 Solar, with technology developed at the University of Waterloo to increase the yield of solar arrays by up to 25 per cent.

Source : The Record , 4th May 2013