MANILA, PHILIPPINES — They may look like a bunch of ordinary kids, but these five 12-13-year-olds are all pumped up to conquer the world using Globe’s 5G network. They envision an innovative wearable device that young people deprived of physical interactions can use to play with one another in real-time, even if they’re miles apart.
By combining sensors and wearable technology with Augmented Reality (AR), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile games, Cloud, and 5G, the young technopreneurs called Team Vortex Runners have come up with KRAKEN or The Kids Routine App for Kinetic Energy.
The young brains behind this ambitious project include Grant Wong, 12, Marketing Executive; Mona Obedoza, 12, Project Manager; Aleana Beato, 13, Hardware Designer; Sire Garcia, 13, Hardware Designer; and Owen Gocheco, 12, Software Engineer.
“We believe that parents and schools will see the value in KRAKEN as it gives students a way to interact and play together without being in the same location. This would give them the chance to safely experience real-time play or physical education classes, and extracurricular activities, even during social distancing and quarantine,” the team said.
Since learners have to stay at home, they cannot engage in physical activities with their friends. Moreover, a staggering 92% of Filipino youth are not able to get enough exercise daily. KRAKEN can encourage an active lifestyle among children and may even be enhanced to help with therapy and rehabilitation.
The idea is for KRAKEN to take the form of smartwatches fitted with gyro sensors and accelerometers that are calibrated to work well with the KRAKEN app. Players can wear it while they work, do household chores, and exercise, among other activities, as it uses sensors to track a person’s movement.
“With the power of 5G, we can bring the thrill of face-to-face playing experiences straight to the palm of your hand, allowing you to exercise and play with your friends, anytime, anywhere,” the team said.
Globe’s 5G opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for KRAKEN to become a reality. 5G can offer users crystal-clear graphics and immersive AR and a swift real-time playing experience that accommodates multiple players, all of which can be accessed right from their mobile phone.
They added, “By pairing KRAKEN with Globe 5G, we plan to offer an experience like no other — a way to exercise and play that is immersive, interactive, mobile, low cost, and inclusive.”
Coco Domingo, Globe Vice President for Postpaid and International said, “We are happy and excited to see children taking an interest in 5G and coming out with ideas that address the challenges that we are currently experiencing. Globe will continue to work together with young, passion-driven individuals and groups in advancing 5G technology solutions so that together we can help solve the country’s societal, industrial, and environmental problems.”
Vortex Runners was among the top 30 best submissions to the Globe 5G Hackathon, besting over 200 others. The team was invited to be special presenters in the 5G demo day on September 21. The Top 10 will present their final pitch and prototypes and were included in Globe’s mentorship program for emerging innovators.
The top three winners will receive a cash pool worth half a million pesos, get a chance to turn their ideas into a business venture under 917Ventures, the corporate venture builder arm of Globe, and have the opportunity to work directly with Globe’s 5G Acceleration Lab.
Globe strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 9 which highlights the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe is committed to upholding the 10 United Nations Global Compact principles and 10 UN SDGs.
To know more, you can visit Globe, or follow the results through the 5G Hackathon website.
Participation of all four kids from Team Vortex were fully-supported by their parents and this article was developed with their consent and approval.
