Last night, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced three category winners and the overall winner for its inaugural Bluetooth Breakthrough Awards competition. Category winners are: Asthmapolis in the Product Category; Swissmed Mobile in the Application Category; Tethercell, in the Prototype Category. From these category winners, and a total of over 300 award submissions from around the world, the Bluetooth Smart enabled Tethercell battery adaptor was selected as the Overall Winner. The Bluetooth Breakthrough Award is an annual program that recognizes the best Bluetooth enabled products and applications on the market today, as well as innovative prototypes of products coming soon.

“Innovations made possible by Bluetooth technology are exploding worldwide – every day we are seeing new companies, some in markets where wireless connectivity was previously impossible, developing innovative products using Bluetooth technology,” said Suke Jawanda, Bluetooth SIG CMO. “The winners of the Bluetooth Breakthrough Awards are extraordinary in that they take an everyday product, like a battery or an inhaler, and make it smarter. A standard inhaler can now gather data and turn it into useful, possibly life-saving, information thanks to Asthmopolis. A tiny adaptor for a battery can give wireless control to any AA battery powered device courtesy of Tethercell. Bluetooth SIG member companies are turning the Bluetooth SIG vision of the connected world into reality by making everyday products more convenient, smarter, and ultimately better with Bluetooth.”

Winners by Category

Breakthrough Product

Asthmapolis – Asthmapolis uses Bluetooth enabled inhaler sensors, mobile applications, and advanced analytics to help patients and physicians with asthma management. Through crowdsourced information, Asthomopolis is creating the first real-time geospatial view of where asthma symptoms are occurring and inhalers are used, providing an objective, accurate and reliable record capable of correlating symptoms, locations, and temporal patterns of disease.

Breakthrough Application

Swissmed Mobile – MedM Platform application is a mobile and desktop patient-monitoring platform, which connects and collects data via Bluetooth technology from medical devices made by different manufacturers. MedM compiles this information in one system, giving doctors a comprehensive picture of their patients’ health.

Breakthrough Prototype – Overall Winner

Tethercell, LLC – Tethercell is a battery adapter that enables users to connect and control any AA-battery-operated device from their smart phone or tablet via Bluetooth Smart technology. The adaptor, along with an application, will control the device (power on/off), read remaining battery power and collect data on usage – making it possible to turn virtually any existing battery-operated object, from a toy to smoke detector, into a “smart” device.

The Bluetooth SIG also selected Novalia’s Viva La Revolucion printed electronics musical poster and the zSmart Mood LED 6-watt colored LED bulb as honorable mention winners, with both of these prototypes exemplifying the connectivity and automation made possible with Bluetooth Smart technology.

Nordic Semiconductor, this year’s Bluetooth Breakthrough Awards title sponsor, awarded all finalists with evaluation kits. Each category winner will receive a free trip to its headquarters in Norway. The overall winner will also receive a Bluetooth protocol analyzer, valued at USD 40,000, from Ellisys, the preferred technology partner sponsor.

About Bluetooth® Wireless Technology

Bluetooth wireless technology is the global wireless standard enabling simple, secure connectivity for an expanding range of devices and serves as the backbone of the connected world. Bluetooth Smart Ready and Bluetooth Smart branded devices, through an updatable platform and low power consumption, create new application opportunities for the mobile phone, consumer electronics, PC, automotive, health & fitness and smart home industries. With over two billion devices shipping annually, Bluetooth is the wireless technology of choice for developers, product manufacturers, and consumers worldwide. Backed by industry leading companies, the Bluetooth SIG empowers over 17,500 member companies to collaborate, innovate and guide Bluetooth wireless technology. For more information please visit www.bluetooth.com.