Tracking the transport of blood samples with a radio module

For the third time, programmers, hackers, creatives, visionaries and start-ups met for the interdisciplinary Hackathon TECHFEST in Munich. There were 400 participants from 40 countries which had 72 hours to experiment with the latest technologies and materials.

The target of the Hackathon is developing innovative ideas from the areas of 'Smart Automation', 'Quantified Earth and Space', 'Future Mobility and Transport' and 'Flexible Track' all the way to functional prototypes. The participants can use Europe's largest publicly accessible high-tech workshop, the 'MakerSpace' for prototyping.

A team of Würth Elektronik eiSos was on site around the clock at the TECHFEST. As an official technology partner of the event, it presented functional components such as the AMBER PI design kit and some Wireless Power and Magic Power modules.

Participants in the TECHFEST were able to familiarise themselves with the modules in an intense workshop. Experts from Würth Elektronik eiSos provided advice and active support to the teams with various technical questions throughout the 72 hours.

The DX-Labtrack team, which was victorious in the start-up competition, worked closely together with Würth Elektronik eiSos to develop its revolutionary device from day one: The team's smart-health product continually records relevant ambient data such as temperature, shock, light intensity and position during shipping of blood samples, to document possible changes due to improper transport. The interdisciplinary start-up combined all the specialist groups needed for this. It comprised a doctor, a lab manager, a political scientist and a programmer.

Based on the AMBER PI design kit of eiSmart, a development and expansion board for a Raspberry Pi that has a Sub-1-GHz radio interface and various sensors, the first working prototype of the tracking solution was developed by the time of the final TECHSLAM on Sunday. The required data could be collected via the sensors of the AMBER PI and the enclosed AMB8826 radio stick provided them quickly and available at any time on a data platform.

In order to ensure sustainability of the developed ideas, the Hackathon was followed directly by a 'Launchpad Day' with the winners and managers of the technology partners. This was meant to build founding teams, discuss the specific further development of the prototypes and think through possible business models.

The next steps for a shared path were specified between the representatives of DX-Labtrack and the CEO of Würth Elektronik eiSos, Alexander Gerfer, as well as the start-up & venture manager of Würth Elektronik, Thomas Waldmann, within the scope of a Design Thinking Workshop at the Wörthsee.

Alexander Gerfer is certain: "The Munich TECHFEST is an ideal opportunity for us to further develop our cooperations with start-ups and young talents. They are an essential driving force for innovative products and an important factor in our strategy of developing new ideas and technologies for the electronic industry."