Huawei’s Tech4City finals: innovative, inclusive, impactful

Ever been to one of those fancy summits held in a huge ballroom with elegant lighting and a crowd that’s just raring to go?

That’s what it was like at the finals of the Tech4City Competition 2024 held at Sands Expo & Convention Centre on October 11.

The annual hackathon, which Huawei has hosted since 2022, brings together aspiring innovators with the goal of developing all-new solutions. This year’s edition of the event, with the theme “AI for inclusivity and sustainability,” had 340 participants from 70 groups. Among them, five teams were shortlisted for the finals.

One of the final teams, MyCoTech Innovators, from the Institute of Technical Education / Photo credit: Huawei

“We saw it as a good chance for us to build something that could have a positive impact, as well as learn something new,” said Jason Yap, a member of participating team BinaCloud.

“It was quite rewarding for us to see our work [develop], from the first few stages of pitching the idea to see if it’s valid, up to the level of a viable product.”

Locus of innovation

Before the actual event started, attendees had a chance to visit the booths set up by the finalists, so the competition’s top five teams could showcase how their innovations work.

Tan Kiat How (right), senior minister of state for digital development and information, tries out one of the finalists’ solutions / Photo credit: Huawei

Apart from BinaCloud, which came up with a solution to identify individuals who have difficulty navigating public transport, the other finalists were:

• Cikgang, which built a personalized learning platform
• Golden Gamers, which created an exercise system for older adults, featuring personalized recommendations and progress tracking
• Node, whose app uses augmented reality to gamify community engagement for seniors
• MyCoTech Innovators, which promotes sustainable agriculture and food security with its mushroom growing chamber that leverages artificial intelligence of things.

During the pitch presentations, each team talked about its solutions in front of a panel of judges. This was then followed by a Q&A session.

After much deliberation, the judges were ready to announce the winners.

Golden Gamers took the top spot, winning the grand prize of S$20,000 (US$15,000). Node, BinaCloud, Cikgang, and MyCoTech Innovators, clinched 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th places, respectively.

(From left to right) Fatin Sharafana, Jonathon Leong, and Denise Caluza, together with David Wang Chengdong, president of Huawei’s corporate communications department / Photo credit: Huawei

“We knew that since Singapore is facing an aging population, this topic is definitely an urgent need that the country needs to look at,” said Jonathon Leong of Golden Gamers. The team members were inspired to develop their solution after speaking to seniors and learning about the pain points they faced in staying healthy.

In particular, many of these older adults liked the concept of playing arcade games to exercise, but “existing arcade games were too intense for them,” Leong noted.

As such, the team’s goal was to ensure its solution was fun and “backed up with science, alongside AI recommendations and a comprehensive system” to make sure that difficulty levels were just right, he added.

Golden Gamers is now looking to use its winnings to integrate more games into its system and roll out its solution to even more active aging centers.

Growing along the way

Tech4City Competition has come a long way since the inaugural event in 2022, and it’s consistently been part of Huawei’s long-term strategy to empower local communities and inspire young innovators, said Maxi Wang, CEO of Huawei International.

“We hope to continue pushing more progress in innovation and productivity from the future generations of Singapore,” he said.

The hackathon has grown to become a key player within the wider ecosystem as well, supporting Singapore’s vision to become a smart nation, according to Tan Kiat How, senior minister of state for digital development and information.

“Events like Huawei’s Tech4City Competition show us what is possible when students and professionals come together,” he said in his keynote speech at this year’s finals. “These platforms provide the space for innovation and help shape Singapore’s digital future.”

“None of these can happen without collaboration,” he added.

Coming together can make all the difference / Photo credit: Huawei

With this in mind, major organizations have become key contributors to the hackathon. Among them was Swan & Maclaren Group, which sponsored S$2,500 (US$1,900) for the Swan & Maclaren Social Impact Award – the prize that went to team Cikgang.

SBS Transit, a public transport operator in Singapore, was another major contributor to this year’s Tech4City Competition. It sponsored an additional cash prize for the Best Innovation in Mobility Award. BinaCloud won this, taking home S$3,000 (US$2,300).

“We share the same thinking [with Huawei] that it takes a village to raise a child, and this competition is a very good representation of that,” said Shaun Liew, head of rail operations and support at SBS Transit.

A child raised

On top of cash prizes, Tech4City Competition has provided other forms of support to foster the growth of young innovators.

Liew noted that the winner of the hackathon’s 2022 edition, FingerDance, is a prime example of the concept of the “village raising a child.”

The year after its win, the startup joined the Huawei Cloud Incubator Program.

“Joining the program helped us find our product-market fit, as well as pick up other skills like how to do sales,” said Gong He, co-founder of FingerDance.

Gong He (center), speaking with two Huawei executives at the 2024 Tech4City finals / Photo credit: Huawei

Thanks to the program, a Huawei representative was able to put the startup in touch with SBS Transit to discuss launching a solution together.

The two organizations came up with the idea of using AI to develop a sign language translator. They worked together with the Singapore Association for the Deaf, paving the way for SiLVia (Sign Language Virtual Assistant).

The solution translates written or spoken words to sign language in real-time, and SBS Transit and FingerDance have recently conducted some tests at a local train station.

“We’re looking to make this available to the wider public soon,” Gong shared. “We’re very grateful for all the trust and support from every angle so far, helping us build AI infrastructure for a smarter and more inclusive world.”

Tech4thefuture

As the event drew to a close, it became clear that this was just the beginning of how AI, along with other technologies, could be a game-changer in making society more inclusive and supportive.

Like what FingerDance has done, the solutions presented by this year’s participants can hopefully go the full distance.

“We are hopeful that some of today’s innovative ideas will be implemented in real life, contributing to a sustainable and inclusive future,” said Huawei’s Wang.

Tech4City is Huawei’s Singapore-oriented flagship event. First held in 2022, the competition has since drawn over 1,000 participants, giving birth to 250 projects.

Click here to find out more about what happened at the competition.

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This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.