Helium Announces #IoTforGood Winners; Next-gen Apps Thrive on The People’s Network

IoT Leaders Team Up to Give Developers the Chance to Give Back

San Francisco, CA, USA – WEBWIRE – Thursday, September 10, 2020

San Francisco (September 10, 2020) —Helium, the company behind one of the world’s first peer-to-peer wireless networks, The People’s Network, announced the winners of its latest developer contest, the #IoTforGood challenge. Dedicated to helping solve critical needs in today’s society, Helium, along with Semtech Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTC), Arm, and STMicroelectronics (STMEF (OTCMKTS)), aligned to give today’s IoT developers the chance to create their ‘best apps’ on one of the fastest-growing public, LoRaWAN networks for the greater good.

From hundreds of registered participants and 45 qualified entries, only five submissions made the final cut. Judging criteria was based on project documentation, creativity, scale, scheme, code and contribution, and a bill of materials. Judges included individuals from executive, engineering, and product teams. The contest ran from May through August 2020. Prizes include $6,500 cash, $6,500 worth of Helium Data Credits, and Helium Hotspots in the name of #IoTforGood.

“We are thrilled to see the level of creativity and passion that went into these projects. It is clear that our global ecosystem of creators and innovators care deeply about key critical issues, like environmental and agricultural sustainability, and the health and welfare of their communities,” said Amir Haleem, Helium’s CEO, and co-founder. “Congratulations to our winners, and a special thanks to our partners Semtech, Arm, and STMicroelectronics for helping us expand our reach and explore what problems we can help solve together.”

“We were proud to partner with Helium, Arm, STMicroelectronics, and the global developer community at Hackster.io to give developers a little extra incentive -- and the tools they need -- to build Internet of Things (IoT) applications designed on LoRaWAN® to make the world a better place,” said Marc Pegulu, Vice President of Internet of Things (IoT) Product Marketing for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group. “There were many innovations to choose from. We are looking forward to next year’s #IoTforGood challenge.”

The #IoTforGood Winners

Grand Prize:

LongHive is an end-to-end beehive monitoring solution enabled by The People’s Network and deep learning. Because “bees are critical to the livelihood of our ecosystem,” the app was developed specifically to assist beekeepers as a full-service infrastructure for beehive maintenance. It was developed by Antonio Scala, Evan Diewald, and Nathan Pirhalla of Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

Runner Ups:

AgroHelium is a sustainable platform for sensing and irrigation automation with predictive analysis. Developed by Ed Oliver from Cuautitlán Izcalli, Mexico, it offers a cheap and affordable solution that can serve the local, home, or urban farmer; automating several of their processes and most importantly, providing valuable information about their crops that they can use to make good decisions.
VFence is a GPS mobile app solution for tracking both kids and pets to ensure their safety. Developed by Mithun Das of East Lyme, Connecticut, the application includes GPS, geo-fencing, and fall detection.
Cold Chain Logistics Monitoring offers real-time temperature monitoring, location tracking, and alert system implemented using LoRaWAN devices. Created by Sai Charan Kovuru and Sri Sai Tarun of Telangana, India, it is focused on preserving, extending, and ensuring the shelf life of products, such as produce, frozen foods, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
uFire’s Helium Water Quality Monitor measures drinking water quality and offers solutions to obtain, store, and analyze collected data. Developed by Justin DeckerIt of Whitewater, California, it can be deployed over a wide area, using The People’s Network as an alternative to cellular.

More information about the contest and all of the entries can be found at https://www.hackster.io/contests/IoTforGood.

About Helium

Co-founded by Shawn Fanning and Amir Haleem in 2013, Helium is building the world’s first peer-to-peer wireless network to simplify connecting devices to the internet by rewarding anyone with a new cryptocurrency, ($HNT), to become a network operator. CEO Amir Haleem comes from an extensive background in triple-A video games. Helium is backed by GV (formerly Google Ventures), Khosla Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Multicoin Capital, FirstMark, Marc Benioff, Shawn Fanning, and other top VCs. The network is live in more than 1,000 cities throughout North America and now Europe. More information can be found at helium.com.