While Spinverse Innovation Challenge allows the large companies looking for new ideas to find truly out-of-the-box solutions for their business challenges, the participating teams gain good opportunities to access concrete co-development projects with industry leaders.
Noiseless Acoustics is a Finnish start-up providing smart and non-intrusive predictive maintenance solutions. A few years ago, Noiseless Acoustics participated in Fingrid's Innovation challenge, where the Finnish transmission grid operator was looking for fresh ideas for grid maintenance. The proposed solutionand-held acoustic camera, which allows efficient and user-friendly condition monitoring without interruptions, based on measuring and visualizing sound.
Among 36 submissions, Noiseless Acoustics had one of the four winning ideas that were selected for further joint development with Fingrid. Shortly after, Fingrid ended up purchasing a batch of acoustic cameras that are now used for predictive condition monitoring of the national transmission grid.
Entering a new industry through the Innovation Challenge
The products and customer base of Noiseless Acoustics have developed substantially since the cooperation that followed the idea competition. Fingrid served as a great reference, allowing the company to gain a foothold in the electric power industry.
"Without the competition, we probably wouldn't focus on the electricity sector as much as we do now. The idea competition served as a great introduction to the industry through proof-of-concept projects", says Kai Saksela, CEO of Noiseless Acoustics.
The Innovation challenge was organized by Spinverse, who took care of the planning and management of the competition, finding and pre-screening applicants and providing coaching for the pitching final. Later, Noiseless Acoustics was also encouraged to participate in Valmet's innovation challenge with a joint proposal with Konecranes.
"Submitting the application was a simple process, and Spinverse as an intermediary ensured that everything ran smoothly throughout the competition", Saksela says. "We have since participated in several innovation competitions organized by various companies."
Finding off-the-radar solutions across industry boundaries
Participants of the Innovation Challenges represent a variety of industries and teams, ranging from university researchers and small startups to large corporations.
"The extensive contact networks of Spinverse ensure a large variety of participants, allowing us to find solutions where the companies themselves would not look in the first place", says Mikko Salminen, Director of Open Innovation at Spinverse, who encourages also small teams to apply for innovation challenges.
“Applying is easy: You just submit a one-pager describing the idea, we take it from there.”
Spinverse has a solid track record in arranging Innovation challenges, allowing companies to match challenges and solutions with the right partners, leading to joint development projects and new business opportunities for both large corporations and innovative SMEs.
Interested in the Innovation Challenge? Read more