Course set… Booster Engines on… Brace yourselves. MISSION-R is about to blast off!
RIoT recently launched MISSION-R as an initiative designed to support innovation for public and economic health in the aftermath of COVID-19 On Thursday, April 16th we hosted the official MISSION-R Launch meeting, bringing entrepreneurs and innovators together to share their ideas around solutions that:
- Support population health initiatives
- Sustain startups and small businesses during economic recession
- Boost the economy in times of crisis
- Address the post-pandemic reality
- Invent ways to solve global and community challenges (policy, communications, healthcare…)
And frankly, we couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. We were astounded by the ideas that surfaced amidst times of such crisis as well as the eagerness of MISSION-R teams to make a difference. Because of the quality of ideas and teams that have surfaced since launching, RIoT is beginning immediately to launch some of these incredible projects and move them into reality.
Read below to get a snapshot of each of the projects.
Acta Solutions
Project Lead: Tai Huynh, Pavani Peri, and Andrew McKinnon
Acta solutions uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to analyze the massive inbound requests that local governments receive from the public. Their technology pulls out important themes and provides actionable insights on the most pressing concerns and questions surrounding the COVID-19 crisis. Acta Solutions ultimately helps government leaders to tailor their efforts to the highest points of need and then validate that programs and communications they provide to the public are effective.
COVID Mobilize
Project Lead: Nathan Silsbee, Nomadic Software
As the world rallies together to address the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic, public agencies are tasked with many urgent and complex issues. COVID Mobilize is a resource database that is a real-time bridge between public agency problems and individuals and companies who can offer the tools, talent, and resources to address these challenges, whether through repurposing existing business functions or mobilizing volunteers to provide essential services.
Socialize
Project Lead: Rod Greco, Amplifi Labs
Work from home orders have put a full stop to in-person networking. Event organizers have seen business shrink to zero. Socialize is a platform that recreates both the large group and the 1-on-1 impromptu discussions that happen at conferences and networking events, but in the digital space. This augments the established video-meeting and webinar industry, adding important human-contact functionality.
Project Contact
Project Lead: Matt Brenner, Founder
Contact tracing today is a manual process, focused on interviewing people who have contracted COVID-19 to determine who else they may have come into contact with. Project Contact automates contact tracing through analyzing when mobile devices come into close proximity with other devices via short-range bluetooth radio signals. In the moment, the tool helps people to optimize their social distancing behaviors. After infection, it provides data to epidemiologists in a manner that protects complete anonymity and privacy of user data.
Feedback System for Manual Ventilation
Project Lead: Jack Twiddy, UNC-NCSU Joint Biomedical Engineering Department
With a shortage of ventilators, hospitals are preparing for the potential of conducting labor-intensive manual ventilation with bag-valve-masks. It is extremely difficult to apply accurate ventilation over long periods with this device. This project is developing an inline sensor to provide real-time feedback for nurses and emergency responders, optimizing health benefits for patients.
SmartCLINIC
Project Lead: Trilliot, Emblem, and Alfred Williams & Company
A significant cost of disaster response comes from inefficient understanding of real-time supply chain status for equipment and medical supplies and loss of equipment recovery post-event. Trilliott, Alfred Williams & Company, and Emblem are partnering to provide RFID-enabled and blockchain documented chain of custody for equipment, test kits and all the hospital furnishings that can be deployed at field hospitals and other ad-hoc, emergency medical set-ups.