MEET THE INNOVATORS!
- Lauren Roth presented “Follow the Drop” Mobile Application
- Brian Glazer presented Hohonu
- Sam Aruch presented Natural Resource Data Solutions (NRDS)
- Nicole Brodie presented Shifted Energy
- Matthew Lynch presented The Albizia Project
- Kamuela Enos presented MAʻO Organic Farms
- Kaimana Estrella presented Hale Pili Waiwai App
- Brynn Foster presented Voyaging Foods
- Alberto González Martínez presented RendezView
- Savannah Adler presented Microfiber Pollution Reduction
Below is a round-up of the tremendous work being driven by 10 Solution-Makers and their Teams — followed by the full IOI Solutions Summit video with each of their 2-minute lightning talks recorded live from the Hawaii Convention Center on Earth Day Weekend. The teams shared their respective goals at the IOI event to find value aligned investors, partners, advisors, and customers to help expand their impact.
- Lauren Roth – “Follow the Drop” Mobile Application
The Follow the Drop (FtD) mobile application serves as a climate change adaptation tool for flood mitigation and pollution prevention caused by stormwater runoff. It was created by 3Rwater and piloted in 2018 with the financial support of the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Water Security Advisory Group and the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation.
Globally, there are over 21 million people affected by flooding and associated water quality issues, and as climate change continues, these numbers are expected to grow.
FtD aims to address the impacts of stormwater runoff by serving as an easy-to-use data collection and analysis tool to identify where and how much stormwater runoff is being generated from any given property, and to support the user to identify the ideal size green infrastructure practice (rain catchment or rain garden) for each opportunity and quantify its reduction of stormwater runoff.
FtD is a working prototype and currently 3Rwater is undergoing its go-to-market strategy. Interested to support FtD or learn more? Please visit www.3r-water.com.
- Brian Glazer – Hohonu
Alarmed that flooding from high tides doubled in the US in the past 30 years, and federally-maintained tide gauges typically lack the granularity to provide observations on appropriate spatial scales, Brian Glazer, PhD, a professor and researcher at the University of Hawaiʻi School of Oceanography and Earth Sciences and Technology (SOEST), saw an opportunity to provide a technical solution that could help shape mitigation strategies to protect coastal communities in Hawaiʻi and around the world.
Brian and his collaboration partner, Stanley Lio, built a full-stack Internet of Things (IoT) platform to enable widespread, real-time monitoring and analytics using both custom and commercial-off-the-shelf sensors.
Glazer’s research lab has deployed over a hundred low-cost, scalable, real-time water level sensors worldwide to determine threats from episodic and seasonal flooding events. Learn more at: http://hohonu.io/
- Sam Aruch – Natural Resource Data Solutions (NRDS)
Natural Resource Data Solutions (NRDS) is a place-based project management platform for agriculture and natural resource management. NRDS helps farmers and conservation managers measure, map, and share their impact in a cost-effective and easy way.
This user-friendly smart phone tool helps create map overlays and collect data in the field while dashboards and analytics allow users to make decisions in real-time. The platform is secure, easy, accurate, mobile, and makes data compatible and shareable between organizations. Today NRDS software is being used to help manage over 2 million acres ranging from community impact focused taro farms to some of the largest land managers in Hawai’i. Learn more at: nrdsdata.com
- Nicole Brodie – Shifted Energy
The Shifted Energy Power Controller converts electric water heaters into intelligent, grid-interactive water heaters (GIWH) that act like batteries to store energy, helping to stabilize against grid fluctuations.
The aggregated GIWH assets are controlled in real-time with advanced machine learning to provide utility-scale demand response grid services that help stabilize the grid while absorbing ever more intermittent wind and solar energy. Once controllable, utilities can turn them on to heat water when renewable energy is plentiful, and turn them off to reduce demand during peak hours.
By quickly converting water heaters already deployed in hundreds of millions of homes worldwide, more residents such as renters can now contribute to utility-sponsored renewable programs and benefit from the clean energy revolution.
Learn more at: http://www.shiftedenergy.com/
- Matthew Lynch – The Albizia Project
https://thealbiziaproject.com/
Everyone thought that ALBIZIA was rubbish — it was brittle, no good, a problematic pest with no good use. We asked ourselves if this tree that we have too much of could be a resource to help us develop a homegrown solution to our affordable housing crisis (see image below of houseless camp).
A 400 sq ft affordable housing prototype built on the corner of University & Metcalf in Honolulu demonstrates how we might utilize a systems thinking approach to connect these two challenges.
As you can see, we proved that you can not only build with ALBIZIA, you can build beautifully with ALBIZIA.
Updated Approach:
Learn more at: https://thealbiziaproject.com/
- Kamuela Enos – MAʻO Organic Farms
MAʻO Organic Farms’ impact strategy strives to meet five critical areas of need: supporting under-privileged youth, sustainable economic development, organic agriculture, health & well-being, and Hawaiian culture.
MA‘O Organic Farms offers a variety of communal and education programs for our community, from keiki to kupuna, with visits primarily based in the Wai‘anae moku on-site at the farm or at partner sites. All of our mahiʻai (farming & agricultural) programs relate to our mission of ʻāina-based community development through growing good, organic food and youth leadership.
Learn more at https://www.maoorganicfarms.org/
- Kaimana Estrella – Hale Pili
https://www.halepili.com/
Stories have the power to form our beliefs, values, actions and purposes. One problem facing indigenous communities is that most readily available narratives tell a story very different from what people see in their own communities and hear in their own homes. Media, books and moʻolelo are told through an outsider perspective. Halepili publishes books, creates content and develops technology that tells stories that are familiar, connects to our people and special places, and strengthens identity tied to who we are and what we value. In every family or individual story we share, we believe that we are nurturing a narrative that will make our people healthy again.
Learn more at https://www.halepili.com/
- Brynn Foster – Voyaging Foods
https://www.voyagingfoods.com/
Voyaging Foods develops gluten-free baked goods and dry mixes from Hawaiian-grown heritage canoe plants such as Kalo (Taro), ‘Uala (Sweet Potato) and ‘Ulu (Breadfruit).
Voyaging Foods bridges Hawaiian ancestral food and the modern healthy diet. We are a Hawaii-based company that is disrupting the alternative flour market by growing and manufacturing gluten and grain free powders from native Hawaiian canoe plants, the treasured heirloom plants of Polynesia.
Food sovereignty with economic viability starts in grass roots collaborations between like-minded private sector partners, non profits, local farmers and community organizations. Learn more at: https://www.voyagingfoods.com/
- Alberto González Martínez – RendezView
RendezView is a central hub for collaboration needs, connecting teams and keeping them in sync. More than 1 trillion dollars are lost every year by corporations due to disorganization and inefficiencies collaborating which lead to lost time and avoidable errors. Increasingly, team members are expected to work remotely, and collaboration is the second highest pain point for remote workers today.
RendezView provides real time, democratic workspaces that can be used by all members of a team to interact together with a wide variety of digital media in the same space, consolidating all your needs for collaboration into a single platform saving time, improving visual communication and tracking not only the communications but the full collaboration history of your teams.
Learn more at: https://www.rendezview.io
- Savannah Adler – Microfiber Pollution Reduction
Synthetic and natural microfibers are shedding from our clothing with every wash. Water treatment facilities are failing to filter them all out. Synthetic microfibers and plastics attract, and are comprised of, toxic chemicals that are linked to cancer, hormonal imbalances, behavioral and heart problems, as well as adverse effects on the environment and its inhabitants.
To reduce the negative impacts of synthetic microfiber pollution, legislation and regulation of commercial and residential washing machine industries, as well as the fashion industry, are needed.
Read more: Islands of Innovation Summit Highlights
