Stanford Center on Longevity Announces 12 Finalists of Third Annual Design Challenge to Optimize Longevity

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 9, 2016) - The Stanford Center on Longevity today announced the twelve finalists of its third annual design challenge. This year's theme, "Using Happiness to Optimize Longevity," invited university students everywhere to submit designs for new products which encourage everyone to live longer, fuller lives. Finalists come from as far away as Taiwan and Turkey to as close as UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University.

Now, all twelve final projects will be given sponsored travel to Stanford University, so one representative from each team can pitch their designs to renowned industry leaders for final judging on April 5. The two grand prize winners will receive entrepreneurial mentorship and over $10,000 each in cash prizes -- seed money to turn their designs into real products.

"We're excited by the high caliber of projects we've received this year," said Professor Laura Carstensen, Founding Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity. "Each design has the potential to become a product that benefit us all."

This year's Challenge has two categories, Mind and Mobility, reflecting the Center's mission to help people reach old age mentally sharp and physically fit. Entries include:

City Cart: A combination walker and cart designed to help users with mobility issues safely and easily take shopping trips. (Team lead: Brandon Lopez of San Francisco State University.)

Dex: Smart insoles with pressure sensors and a health monitoring system which monitors users' gait and recommends game-based exercises on their smartphone. (Team lead: Elyn Wu of the National University of Singapore)

FamilyTree: Pairs of potted plants integrated with Internet-connected sensors, so families separated by distance can help each other monitor, care for, and grow their plants as a shared goal. (Team lead: Carrie Gladstone of UC Berkeley)

Veevo: A compact, in-home workout station which folds out into five different exercises -- then folds back into a usable end table. (Team lead: Sarah Ahart, Virginia Tech)

POTALK: Potted plant with watering system triggered by a microphone, encouraging isolated people to talk with others. (Team lead: Hsin-Yi Tung, National Chiao-Tung University)

Bath Chair: Portable bath which helps the mobility-impaired safely bathe while maintaining a seated position. (Team lead: Tzu-Ping Hsu, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology)

Sturdy Swivel: Helps the mobility-impaired enter and exit vehicles while in a seated position. (Team lead: Jessica Hsueh, University of California at Berkeley)

Echo: Audio simulation kit helping people recently visually impaired to develop auditory awareness of their surroundings. (Team lead: Yee Jek Khaw, National University of Singapore)

Memoir Monopoly: Rehabilitation game platform for dementia patients, engaging them through interactive challenges. (Team lead: Szu-Yang Cho, National Taiwan University)

FILLanthropy: Volunteer matching service for people of all backgrounds and interests to help share their time and talent with each other. (Team lead: Annabel Chen, Stanford University)

PicMemory: Therapeutic mobile app helping people with dementia organize their life stories while facilitating family interaction. (Team lead: Hung-Chi Lee, National Taiwan University)

Yedi70: Social network and informational resource for seniors connected to an online marketplace. (Team lead: Ozge Armutcu, Koc University at Istanbul)

A full description of all entries and their designs will be posted on the Stanford Center on Longevity's homepage and the Challenge's Facebook page. 

Winners of the 2014 and 2015 Design Challenge, EatWell and SPAN, respectively, are on their way to becoming mass produced products and have already been featured by CNN, Buzzfeed, Mashable, and PSFK, among many other top media outlets.

ABOUT THE STANFORD CENTER ON LONGEVITY
The mission of the Stanford Center on Longevity is to redesign long life. The Center studies the nature and development of the human life span, looking for innovative ways to use science and technology to solve the problems of people over 50 and improve the well-being of people of all ages. For more information about the Center, visit http://longevity3.stanford.edu/ and follow us on Twitter @longevitycenter