Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon recognises solutions for safe and sustainable transport

The Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon organised by the Swedish Institute and supported by the Consulate General of Sweden in Mumbai and the Swedish Embassy recognised the innovative, winning solutions for Safe and Sustainable Transport. The competition saw participation from – students, entrepreneurs, innovation enthusiasts, developers, designers, creatives and mobility experts across India and Sweden – for a 42-hour digital Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon christened ‘Changing the way we move!’ on February 26-28, 2021. The hackathon’s mission was to design, test and execute ideas for the future – with a particular focus on mobility.  

The closing ceremony concluded that brought together Swedish and Indian minds to co-create and execute futuristic solutions for global mobility challenges. The winning teams will get an opportunity to collaborate with major Swedish and Indian companies/ institutes to further develop their ideas and implement solutions for safe and sustainable transportation.

Felicitating the winners and partners, Anna Lekvall, Consul General of Sweden in Mumbai said, “Congratulations to the winners of the Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon and heartfelt thanks to the participants, partners, jury, mentors, Swedish Institute and Team Sweden for your seamless, collaborative efforts. Delighted that the Hackathon proved to be a great platform for connecting like-minded people from both countries to identify and tackle global transport issues. Really inspired by the enthusiasm and commitment towards cocreating safe, sustainable mobility solutions. Looking forward to sustained engagement and game-changing innovations.”

Speaking at the award ceremony, Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways and the Minister of MSME, government of India, said, “It gives me immense pleasure to send the message on the occasion of the event ‘Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon - changing the way we move’ organised by the Swedish institute. The mobility hackathon is an innovative initiative which reflects how Sweden and India can continue to work together and collaborate not just at a government level but with a broad range of stakeholders."

The Swedish Institute was in the lead on the hackathon, with support from 55 Swedish and Indian partners including startups, incubators, colleges, research institutes, road safety organisations and companies in sectors of sustainability, automotive and transport. Some of the Indian company partners included L&T Infotech, Tata Motors, GMR Group, Indian Road Safety Campaign, Global Shapers Community and Cognify Labs.

Jeevan Prakash, VP and regional Head of Nordics and Benelux, L&T Technology Services said, “Hackathons help foster technological innovation, nurture new ideas and budding talent. L&T Technology Services (LTTS) is proud to be a part of this prestigious 42-hour digital hackathon - a breeding ground for disruptive technology. L&T Technology Services was represented by its robust automotive team, experienced in providing the complete gamut of engineering services and solutions for its global customers. The thread of innovation has linked L&T Technology Services with Sweden for more than a decade, helping our clients in cutting edge technology development and partnering with them in their digital transformation journey. Sweden is one of the world’s leading startup hotspots and is also home to several much-loved brands. By expanding our footprint in Gothenburg and Stockholm, we cherish our warm relationship with Sweden and aim to serve a wide range of industries, that contributes further to the local ecosystem.”

Some of the Indian Institutes, Colleges and Incubators that partnered and participated in the Hackathon include IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Bombay (SINE), IIT Gandhinagar, College of Engineering - Pune, Symbiosis Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Pune.

Vandana Vyas, senior manager - Outreach, Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT Bombay, said, "It is encouraging to see Swedish Institute’s initiative on Mobility Hackathon that brought together innovators/ entrepreneurs from Swedish India Corridor to the world stage and push their innovative ideas to limits within stipulated time frame. A conglomeration of different ideas, theme-based use cases from mobility industry, dedicated Experts/ Mentors, Jury, added to the larger cause of innovations in mobility sector.  Society for innovation and entrepreneurship - SINE is privileged to be part of the event and will continue to partner in such endeavours."

The event saw over 500 participants - students, entrepreneurs, innovation enthusiasts, developers, designers, engineers, creative professionals and mobility experts - came together digitally from different geographies across Sweden and India. The participants were divided into 37 teams that worked on. The participants had access to a unique network of major Swedish/Indian companies/institutes and worked to solve questions based on open data sources. The teams received guidance from 76 mentors from both countries - professors, leaders, engineering, transport and creative experts - to further develop their solutions. A 48-member jury, comprising of experts for specified challenge areas, selected winners with the most promising solutions for the future.

Sharing her experience as a Jury member, ElsaMarie Dsilva, founder of Red Dot Foundation, Mumbai said, “The Sweden India Mobility Hack is a great platform for young people to experiment and ideate on innovative solutions, seek feedback for their ideas and prototype into actual solutions. As a jury member, I have enjoyed reading through the mobility section. I cannot wait to see how these solutions develop. I wish all the teams the very best.”

Kushal Chinchanikar from the winning Team ‘The Right Truck’ and a student of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Navi Mumbai, shared his experience about the hack, “I had a great time in the Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon. The event was very well organised and we received timely support from the event organisers and mentors at all stages. We would like to further develop on our idea and contribute to society in some way.”

The Winners
The challenge ‘Safety by Objects’ in the category ‘Lethal Road Accidents’ by Altair Engineering was won by Team ‘Pedestrian Safety’ for their solution ‘Pedestrian Road Cross Assist System.

The challenge ‘The key to sustainable future’ in the category ‘Sustainable Future’ by ‘Volvo Group’ was won by the ‘Team Energy’ for offering Super-Fast Modular Charger and Intelligent Battery Management System for electric vehicles.

The challenge ‘VIP Truck drivers’ in the category ‘Safe Transport’ by ‘IKEA’ was won by the team ‘The Innovators’ for their solution ‘The Accident Predictor’ by collecting historic accident data from the authorities and alerting the drivers about accident prone roads.

The challenge ‘It’s in the air’ in the category ‘Emissions in Traffic’ by ‘Google Earth’ was won by the Team ‘Planet Saviours’ for their solution of a ‘Smart CO2 calculator for smart vehicles’.

The challenge ‘Fast & Greenious’ in the category ‘Sustainable Logistics’ by Symbiosis Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SCEI) was won by the team ‘The Right Truck’ for their solution of ‘Finding the best suited truck for a particular transport journey’.

The challenge ‘It’s all connected’ in the category ‘Infrastructure for connected devices’ by Ericsson was won by the team ‘The Insight & Co.’ for their solution ‘DATATOR’ that addresses the importance of data integrity and putting the driver in control of it.

A special bonus ‘Hackathon Spirit Award’ was conferred to a team of 3 nationalities ‘BDU @LTU’ for exhibiting great spirit and engagement through the hackathon and sharing tools, photos, notes, videos and even a dance with other hackers.