The Hallsten Innovations facilitated COVID-19 & IOT round table discussion included over 60 participants, representing IOT industry and related COVID-19 stakeholders from around the world.
The HI team included Jon Hallsten (CEO) as the moderator, HI lead from our Chicago office (Gregg Bieser), HI lead from our UK office (Andrew Chilcott), and Matt Orley (Illustrator) who captured a graphic snapshot of the event live.
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The conversation started with HI team intros and ground rules. HI further explained why we were passionate about hosting the event and that our intent was just an initial kickoff to more granular interactions with interested participants going forward.
From there we took a top-down perspective, discussing macro-level societal and tech level changes as well as anticipated trends (i.e. the “next normal”) paralleling other world-changing events through the history of humanity. HI also referenced a McKinsey & Co. COVID-19 global response business leadership article about the 5Rs (Resolve, Resilience, Return, Reimagination, and Reform).
Lastly, and most importantly, we opened the round table soliciting insights from attendees related to their own perspectives before starting the discussion of specific napkin ideas. In total 14 different napkin ideas were presented by 13 different participants. Many of these were medical in theme but also included concepts in remote voting, robotics, asset tracking, and the importance of psychological security.
HI Macro-Level Observations
Societal
- Shift to the “less” risky…
- The importance of “personal touch”
- Shifted investment to “important things” of life
- Less individualism / less independence / less freedom
- A mega shift to virtual on-line services
- Healthcare, religion, restaurants, & education will forever be changed
- Reshape of global political and economic relationships
- Less dependency on “critical” foreign manufacturing
- New forms of reform
- Shift from the urban to more rural
- Baby boom???
HI Summary -> We see SIGNIFICANT societal changes…
Technological
- More, more, more tech
- Cloud providers are going to be a huge benefactor
- A boon for cloud-connected stuff (i.e. IOT!)
- A healthier / lower-cost digital lifestyle
- A boon in virtual reality
- Faster adoption of 5G
- Remote monitoring more important than ever
- Security more important than ever
- Environmental consciousness will accelerate
- Significant opportunities in disrupted industries
HI Summary -> Many tech trends will ACCELERATE… and new tech opportunities will develop, especially in the most disrupted industries.
Key Video Timestamps
3:01 | HI Team Introduction and our Motto, Passion, and Focus
17:04 | Start of HI’s Social & Technological Macro-Level Observations
25:50 | Napkin #1 | John K. | $5 MEAL MOBILE APP | How to be thrifty and resourceful on a tight budget to make a nutritious/healthy meal
36:38 | Napkin #2 | Jonathan L. | CONTACT TRACING SYSTEM | twitter | cellphone location data | tracing interactions | adapt to hospital | keyfob for each employee | location of employees | hospital overwhelmed
39:03 | Napkin #3 | Natasha P.| REMOTE VOTING AND ROBOTICS | revolutionize how we vote | congress red tape cut | transparency & communication | blockchain | supply chain is gigantic
43:00 | Napkin #4 | GS P. | ROBOTICS IN HEALTHCARE | not involved with industry | equip homes of elderly for the independence of residents | track workers coming in | elderly at home realizing separated from family up for safety | “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up”
44:15 | Napkin #5, #6 | Chris M. | IDEA #1: POST IT | Minimize contamination at doorways | circular knob | IDEA #2: NFC enabled tech for receiving medical shipment | unvetted suppliers | plus/minus
46:25 | Napkin #7 | Dave B. | GLOBAL ASSET TRACKING | LPWAN network | as resources needed in diff countries | logistics tracking nightmare | indoor tracking & human tracking | lots of work on
47:50 | Napkin #8 | Andrew C. | SIGNATURE MONITORING | TV news | cameras | increased temp monitoring via infrared | identified with
44:15 | Napkin #9 | Jeanne D. | IOT BASED CONSUMER TEST KIT | BT connectivity to mobile app | quick in-house consumer-grade test | have C19? Contagious? Immunity?
51:10 | Napkin #10 | Pierre T. | CONSUMER ARMBAND TO ASSIST WITH COMPLIANCE AT RISK | during and after epidemic | precautions & awareness | office, travel | wearable | sensors to check IMU (handwashing),
55:33 | Napkin #11 | Colleen S.| HAND SCANNER FOR CONTAMINATION | brainstorming new applications and use-cases | instantaneous light detection | wheels turning | New York startup
56:58 | Napkin #12 | Eric L.| LOW-COST WEARABLES IN HOSPITALS |not involved in healthcare logistics | read in papers | patient wearable to triage care | at home or in hospital | vitals driven | wireless
59:15 | Napkin #13 | Secret L. | BATHROOMS IN HOSPITALS — HANDWASH COMPLIANCE | lock door until hands clean | alarm with “shame” factor | finger O2 sensors | infrared for temp (security cams)
60:01 | Napkin #14 | YC W. | TRANSMITTING INFO — SECURITY AND SOURCE OF INFO | trust in the information | whoever is presenting info to “judgment systems” — information WORTHINESS | bad guys sewing distrust | information security & validity | must be a hardware solution
Next Steps
Thank you for participating and for sharing your napkin ideas – we would love to hear from you!
If after participating first-hand, watching the video recording, or reading this summary, you’d like to talk to HI or one of the other participants on the call, we’re happy to connect the dots and make that happen.
If there are any napkin ideas you didn’t get a chance to share please feel free to send them to us via napkins@hallsteninnovations.com. Remember our napkin reviews are always free!