Public to vote for favourite tech-for-good innovation designed by 11-16 year olds

Today, the Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize, delivered by Nesta Challenges, announces the launch of its People’s Choice Award, calling on the British public to vote for its favourite tech-for-good innovation from the UK’s young inventors and innovators at longitudeexplorer.challenges.org.

Since November, hundreds of young people aged 11-16 years old have been designing and developing tech solutions to the big challenges of our time (like climate change, living healthily, supporting an ageing population and being better connected). Their inventions all have a positive impact on society, aiming to win the Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize, delivered by innovation foundation Nesta Challenges. Eight teams from across Devon in Brixham, Plymouth, Barnstaple and Exeter are in the running for the national prize.

In addition to the main prize, today the Amazon Longitude Explorer People's Choice Award launches, calling on the public to vote for its favourite invention in the running. The team with the winning idea will be awarded £5,000 for its school or youth group to invest in STEM resources. This is a chance for the people of Devon to get behind their local teams and vote for them to win. The voting closes on 2 July 2021.

The finalists from Devon are:

• River Plastic Cleanup by the UTC Plymouth Eco Project’ team, UTC Plymouth, Plymouth– A machine that combines technologies such as vortex pumps, a conveyor belt, bucket systems, sensors, audio and robotics to remove plastic from rivers before it reaches the ocean.
• Shop Organic Save Our Planet by the ‘Sustainable Sisters Team’, Pilton Community College, Barnstaple– An app that provides information on where to buy local produce and seasonal recipes to help reduce the user’s carbon footprint.
• Carbon Footprint Calculator by the ‘Environment Champions Team’, West Exe School, Exeter - An app that measures a user’s carbon footprint and helps them to make informed decisions on where to shop.
• Better Sleep by ‘Team BED’, Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Brixham - An app designed to promote healthy sleeping habits, by using monitoring capabilities and providing helpful tips.
• Calm by ‘Team MN5D’, Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Brixham - A wearable device and app for people living with PTSD that uses sensors and GPS tracking to monitor behaviour and notifies friends and family of PTSD episodes.
• Greenworld by ‘Team Go Green’ Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Brixham - A wearable device and app that tracks green habits, using app gamification to incentivise the user to form more sustainable behaviours, with a virtual city that improves in relation to the user’s environmental conduct.
• Medibox by ‘Team LERC’, Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Brixham - An automated medication container, linked to an app, that distributes medication at set times, and at the correct dose, while reminding patients of medical appointments.
• Robot Care Assistant by ‘Team EGEL’, Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Brixham - An AI robot to support dementia patients, helping them to retain independence and reducing carers’ workloads.

Some of the 40 innovations in the running for the People’s Choice Award include:

• a device that generates electricity every time a door opens;
• robotic medicine dispensers for elderly people;
• plastic-eating worm farms;
• rainforest monitoring stations, and;
• an app that helps young women tackle period poverty.

The winning team of the Amazon Longitude Explore Prize People’s Choice Award will receive £5,000 for its school or youth group. The prize money can be used to help further develop the winning idea or for the school or youth group to invest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) and entrepreneurial resources - such as purchasing new equipment for science labs and technology workshops.

In addition to the People’s Choice Award vote, the teams will be submitting their final ideas and a business plan to the Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize judging panel in July, with the overall grand prize winners earning £20,000 for their school or youth group and three runner-up teams earning £5,000 each.

The online vote runs from today (Friday 11 June 2021) to Friday 2 July 2021. The public can find out all about the 40 finalist ideas on the Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize website and vote for their favourite in the online poll. To vote, visit longitudeexplorer.challenges.org

Lauren Kisser, Director at Amazon’s Development Centre in Cambridge and Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize judge, said: “Selecting the final 40 teams for the Amazon Longitude Explorer was challenging enough for the judges. Now people have an even tougher choice in voting for their favourite. There has been some serious ingenuity and creativity on show - from ocean cleaning robots, to an app that makes recycling easy, micro-turbines that generate electricity from your drainpipes and a phone case that sanitises your hands. These ideas have the potential to make a huge difference to our world and inspire additional future technologists.” 

Tris Dyson, Founder and Managing Director, Nesta Challenges said: “The Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize supports 11-16 year olds to grow their bright ideas into real-world technologies that will have a positive social impact. The 40 teams of talented entrepreneurs have worked extraordinarily hard to create and develop their outstanding ideas in the face of very difficult circumstances this last year. The People’s Choice Award vote is an opportunity for the public to show its support for these inspiring tech-for-good innovations and the young people who have worked so hard to build them.”

The Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize, delivered by innovation foundation Nesta Challenges, supports participants to learn creatively about STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) whilst developing new entrepreneurial life-skills to turn their bright ideas into real-world solutions.

Teams were asked to create solutions based on one of four prize themes:

• Living Longer – technological solutions to support an ageing population.
• Living Healthier – technological solutions that help people live happier and healthier lives.
• Living Greener – technological solutions that tackle pollution and climate change.
• Living Together – technological solutions that help people stay better connected in a way that is easy, safe and environmentally friendly, as well as solutions to deliver more sustainable transport.

To vote in the Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize People’s Choice Award, search ‘Amazon Longitude Explorer’ or visit longitudeexplorer.challenges.org before 5pm on Friday 2 July 2021. The winner will be revealed in mid-July. Young people, teachers and youth workers interested in the Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize can also register to keep updated about future opportunities to take part on the website.