“MOTOFWRD” grand prize winner from Duke
University awarded $10,000 scholarship, new Bluetooth-enabled car,
apprenticeship with Motorola’s Chief Technology Office
Public asked to vote online for MYMOTOCHOICE winner
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., 17 January 2006 – Seamless mobility links us to our
world anytime, anywhere, and in the mind’s eye of John Finan, a Duke University
graduate student and grand prize winner of Motorola’s first-ever MOTOFWRD
competition, it may soon help interpret the tones and mood of every day life.
Designed to improve social interactions, especially for tens of thousands of
people who suffer from a mild form of autism called Asberger’s Syndrome,
Finan’s “Mood Phone’’ would light up in a spectrum of colour – from warm reds
to cool blues – based on the verbal patterns of everyday speech received
through the handset. Seen through the corner of the eye, the visual stimulus
would help users interpret the mood and inflection communicated through the
words and phrases they hear.
The biomedical engineering Ph.D. candidate’s concept was judged to be best
among the scores of ideas presented through Motorola’s first-ever MOTOFWRD
competition that asked college students to envision the future of seamless
mobility. Concepts ranged from the fantastic to the practical: mobile
technology that could access information, contacts, music and video with the
blink of an eye, to location-aware cell phones that could lead to new
friendships, inspire public debate, or help identify and book a vacant parking
spot in a crowded downtown.
“I entered this competition because I thought Motorola was asking the right
question with their theme of seamless mobility,” said Finan, a Dublin, Ireland,
native. “A new toy can entertain for a time but a new tool that really makes
you feel closer to home and freer to move can change behaviour, and that is how
a revolution begins.”
“The Mood Phone is a truly inventive technology solution to a problem most of
us wouldn’t assume could be answered with a mobile device,” said Padamasree
Warrior, Motorola’s chief technology officer. “If the technology becomes
reality, it would make all of our lives easier. But the most important idea
here is that these college students who entered the MOTOFWRD competition have
truly impressed us with their level of innovation and creativity.”
For his grand-prize-winning concept, Finan was presented today with $10,000, a
Bluetooth enabled BMW and a suite of Motorola products during a New York award
ceremony. Finan will also serve an apprenticeship with Motorola’s Chief
Technology Office focusing on the next generation of Motorola mobile
technology. Just like in his winning “Mood Phone” entry, he will be researching
how devices that give physical cues enhance user experience.
Finan and three runners-up were chosen from a pool of entries representing more
than 500 students and 220 universities. The entries were judged by a panel of
industry experts including founder of dodgeball.com Dennis Crowley, founder of
blackplanet.com Omar Wasow, futurist Dr. James Canton, youth culture expert
DeeDee Gordon and sci-fi authors Cory Doctorow and Catherine Asaro.
“We were blown away by the entries we reviewed,” said Crowley. “We saw
everything from mood-affecting technologies to gadgets that speed household
chores to communications platforms that allow everyone to voice their opinions
to the world. Choosing a winner was difficult.”
The three runners-up were awarded $2,500 and product prize packages. The
students and concepts are:
Seamless Mobility Will... – James Goodrich, Northwestern University
Goodrich’s vision of seamless mobility facilitates economic development,
advances health care, and allows people to communicate across language
barriers. His essay also explores a promise of cheaper, more accessible
devices, software for “rent,” allowing users to pay for functionality only when
needed, and self-organizing, viral networks to give service to
difficult-to-reach communities.
College Life 2010 – Brian Ho, Virginia Tech
It is a dream come true – a personal computer, PDA, GPS navigation platform,
cell phone MP3 player and credit card all in one place. Ho’s concept brings all
of the information to display in the user’s peripheral vision via
specially-equipped glasses and a wristwatch.
Outspoken Architecture – Ryan Panchadsaram, University of California,
Berkeley
Panchadsaram’s graphic piece redefines the notion of speaking your mind. His
Outspoken Architecture prompts people to sound off via mobile video devices on
everything – concerts, current events books and more. The information is shared
with others around the world who search the topic or are alerted to the video
posting when in the area of the event, venue or tangible space by their
location-aware devices.
Still to be named by public online voting is the MYMOTOCHOICE winner who will
receive $2,500 and a product prize package. The competition’s top 10 finalists’
entries and voting are available at www.motorola.com/motofwrd.
Online voting ends January 18 at 5 p.m. (CT).
Source: Motorola press release
