Robot cleaner fishes bring success at UNIKAT ideas competition

First prize in the 12th UNIKAT Ideas Competition was awarded to the idea "Larabicus" by Florian Gerland and Thomas Schomberg, both employees in the Fluid Mechanics department at the University of Kassel. Behind the name is the design of a fully automatic bionic system for continuously keeping ship hulls clean while underway. The name Larabicus is derived from its ecological role model: the cleaner fish. Using small robotic swarms (similar to vacuum cleaner robots), Larabicus keeps ships permanently clean without breaks in drydocking.

Dirty ship hulls cause up to 20 percent higher fuel consumption in the industry. Protective coatings used up to now are highly toxic and will soon be banned. If "Larabicus" is realized, the system will save enormous greenhouse gas emissions and drastically reduce the cost of ship transportation. A prototype is to be built shortly. The first prize of 2,500 euros is sponsored by Hübner GmbH & Co.

The jury awarded the second prize of 2,000 euros, sponsored by the Entrepreneurs' Association of Northern Hesse, to the idea of "hybrid supporting structures" by Jens Frohnmüller from the Department of Timber Construction and Building Maintenance. The impetus for this idea is the current market dominance of reinforced concrete floors in the construction industry. The idea developed by Mr. Frohnmüller, for which a patent application has already been filed, makes hybrid load-bearing structures made of wood and concrete competitive for the first time. This involves subsequent grouting with low-cost polymer mortar to firmly bond the wood and concrete components together and provide stability. The idea saves costs in the construction industry and at the same time protects nature because less concrete is used.

The third prize of 1,500 euros, sponsored by Sparkasse Kassel, was awarded to the idea "Bli bla blub," by Özge Efendi from the Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and Britta Lützenkirchen from the Department of Human Sciences. "Bli bla blub" is a publishing house for children's books that wants to bring the real diversity of people closer to children as well as their parents in book form. If we start with the smallest, we achieve in the hearts and minds of children a completely normal way of dealing with our colorful and diverse society, the idea sketch states.

For the first time this year, the special prize "Social Entrepreneurship - Your Ideas for our Region" was offered and endowed with 2,000 euros. The special prize was intended to provide additional motivation for participants in the ideas competition to develop entrepreneurial ideas that will make our region more crisis-proof for the future. This special prize was awarded to the idea "Aktive Medienwerkstatt Kassel" by Tatjana Koplack-Bindemann and Benjamin Ulrich. The Aktive Medienwerkstatt Kassel deals with education from, through and about media. It is aimed at multipliers such as educational professionals as well as users of all ages. The aim is to develop media skills and teach participants to use media in a self-determined and responsible manner. This is to be achieved through projects, workshops and training courses, as well as other offerings. The prize money is to be used expressly for the implementation of the idea.

The festive closing event and public award ceremony of the UNIKAT Ideas Competition, which unfortunately could not take place this year, was always a great opportunity for all teams to present their ideas to a larger audience from society and business and to get in touch with exciting players in the past years. As a small consolation, following the cancellation, the university decided at short notice to pay out 500 euros each to the top ten teams and the nominees of the special award who did not win a prize.

The personal presentation of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize is now to be made up for at short notice in bilateral meetings between the winners and their respective prize sponsors. In addition to the presentation of the trophies, the meetings will also provide an opportunity to exchange experiences and network. The winners of the special award for social entrepreneurship offered by the university will meet Mrs. Ilona Friedrich (mayor of the city of Kassel).

The ideas from this year's competition will also be presented to the public in a yearbook on the UNIKAT website. All participants will receive access to Kassel's start-up network and advice from the UniKasselTransfer Incubator, the university's central start-up support service, in addition to in-depth written feedback.

A total of 130 participants submitted 82 idea sketches alone and in teams. Employees, students and alumni of the University of Kassel and the students of the Student Research Center North Hesse were called upon to submit their entrepreneurial ideas for products, services and the creative utilization of research results to the 12th UNIKAT Ideas Competition of the University of Kassel. The aim of the annual competition is to promote the development of extraordinary and, above all, innovative ideas from the university environment.
 

Further information: www.unikat-ideenwettbewerb.de

Contact:
Sandra Wilhelm
University of Kassel
UniKasselTransfer | Incubator
Tel.: 0561 804-7252
E-mail: sandra.wilhelm[at]uni-kassel[dot]de