Homerun Nievera, Negosentro | A Filipino tech company lands as finalist at the IOT/WT Innovation World Cup® in two categories, being the sole Southeast Asian representative in the prestigious tech contest.
Futuristic Aviation & Maritime Enterprises (FAME, Inc.) was said to have impressed the judging panel and has been chosen out of more than 900 registered solutions as one of the finalists of for the IoT category Transportation and the LoRaWAN™ Challenge, powered by the LoRa Alliance™. FAME’s pioneering transponder solution in the air and maritime industries in the Philippines got the nod of the judges and is amongst the best 3 percent of all who entered the contest.
From new means of connecting developed hardware to ground-breaking technologies, the evolving IoT innovations are contributing to solving thousands of issues that people face daily. And this year the IOT/WT Innovation World Cup® 2017/18 looked into these opportunities.
There are six categories in the contest, namely: city, healthcare, home & lifestyle, industrial, retail and transportation. FAME is a finalist in transportation and in a special category – the LoRaWAN™ Challenge.
The final elevator pitch and award ceremony will be done in Barcelona, Spain during the Mobile World Congress on February 27, 2018.
FAME, Inc. CEO, Junjun Fetizanan was surprised and excited of being the Philippines and Southeast Asian representative to the contest.
“It’s great news, and is more than enough reward for the hard work our teams have put into the technology,” said Fetizanan.
A pilot and mechanical engineer, Fetizanan’s FAME has created a platform and devices using LoRa technology known as ‘transponder in the cloud.’ FAME’s solutions are currently being positioned as a breakthrough solution for fishermen in the Philippine archipelago.
FAME has recently partnered with Microsoft, Oceana and WWF among others in creating a vast network of users targeting 1.2 million fishing boats in the Philippines alone. Their solution currently aims to track fishing vessels, help manage fishing grounds and even keep fishermen safe.
Fetizanan is optimistic about their chances of winning the contest, “Being a finalist in two categories already makes us a winner. But being able to let the world know that a small country like the Philippines is making waves in tech innovations such as LoRa is a bonus.”
“It all began with our winning a slot at Ideaspace in 2015. Our team and stakeholders owe them gratitude for where we are today and where we’ll be in the future,” adds Fetizanan.
Fetizanan will represent FAME in the final pitch in Barcelona where finalists will present their solutions live to an audience of industry experts, media and representatives from the Innovation World Cup® partners: STMicroelectronics, LoRa Alliance™, Gemalto, EBV Elektronik, Telefonica Next, AIQ Smart Clothing, VARTA Microbattery and Cicor Group.
