Claiming top honors and $400,000 each were HERMES, from Rhizomatica in Philadelphia, and the Southern Connected Communities Network (SCCN) from the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tenn.
Hermes, for “High-frequency Emergency and Rural Multimedia Exchange System,” is a communications network in a suitcase (actually, two suitcases) that can step in when traditional networks are down by using 2G GSM to connect to users and a short-wave radio system with a telescoping antenna as a backhaul. Hermes enables local calling, SMS texting, and the use of messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. The innovation won in the Off-the-Grid Internet category.
SCCN uses an 80-foot tower to connect to an Internet access point and to homes up to 25 miles away, using line-of-sight connections in the unlicensed wireless spectrum. The team has a working prototype in New Market, Tenn, connecting to an access point in Knoxville. SCCN took the top prize in the Smart Community Networks category.
Winning smaller cash prizes for Off-the-Grid Internet innovations were:
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Project Lantern by Paper & Equator in collaboration with the Shared Reality Lab at McGill University, a portable WiFi hotspot that can connect to other hotspots to create an open WiFi network along with apps that allow users to transmit messages and maps ($200,000).
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EmergenCell by Spencer Sevilla, a carrier-independent LTE network in a box that uses roaming features to support all cell phones within range, and beefs up its usefulness during emergencies by preinstalling critical emergency applications ($100,000).
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Wind by the Guardian Project, an effort to use existing radios and sensors in smartphones to create decentralized communications networks ($50,000).
And the second through fourth place winners for Smart Community Networks were:
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The Equitable Internet Initiative by Allied Media Projects, an effort to bring the Internet to more households in Detroit through shared connections ($250,000).
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SMARTI by the San Antonio Housing Authority, a solar-powered WiFi hotspot that can support 25 users within 600 feet ($100,000).
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ESU 5 Homework Hotspot by Educational Service Unit 5 to provide WiFi hotspots in parks, ball fields, libraries, and other public areas in Beatrice, Nebraska ($50,000).