Utrecht-based Tech2play has won the 13th Dutch Sports Innovation Award 2023 with the AmiGo. Michiel van der Boom, founder of Tech2Play, received the prize (including €15,000) from jury chairman Peter Kentie. This happened during the ELIS Innovation Summit for Sports & Vitality in Eindhoven.
The AmiGo, which focuses on sports and exercise with disabilities, is a small robot that can be attached to the front of a wheelchair, either to a manual or an electric wheelchair. Thanks to the AmiGo, wheelchair-bound individuals can actively participate in ball sports and games, including Kickit, a wheelchair soccer sport.
“The AmiGo responds to a clear need in the market and offers an attractive and practical solution to it,” Peter Kentie explains the jury’s choice. “The innovation and clever use of technology are not only in the concept itself but also in how the product is made. The concept shows well how innovation and technology can help reduce movement stimulation barriers and increase exercise and participation motivation. There is also a clearly defined business model behind the innovation, giving confidence that it can become a successful product. The market launch is currently taking place with clear ambitions to grow further in the coming years.”
Promising products
The Dutch Sports Innovation Award is the incentive prize for an innovative and promising product or service that focuses on elite or recreational sports. These products or services are so advanced that the market value and impact on sports and healthy active lifestyles are clear or can be well estimated. The award is an initiative of Cluster Sports & Technology, to support and encourage innovative startups in the Sport & Vitality domain.
Ten nominees, three finalists
From all the entries, the jury had nominated ten ideas earlier this month, three of which were eventually allowed to pitch as finalists. Next to winner Tech2Play, these were:
Hi Sports with the HiPSter (Hi Pitch Screener): a measuring instrument that allows anyone, without prior knowledge and in a reliable way, to test sports pitches according to FIFA standards. The information is combined in an online platform with information about maintenance and climate. This allows field managers to plan their activities and use the fields in a targeted and substantiated manner. With this, the product contributes to sustainable maintenance and safe sports fields.
Nijha’s Outdoor Gym: The concept connects outdoor exercise with high-quality physical education in which all core objectives are met. With the Outdoor Gym, children learn to discover opportunities for movement in their immediate environment and participate responsibly in a necessary exercise culture.
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