W&H Impex
Creative idea for interactive teeth cleaning
Digital Innovation Days 2017: “bRight” team takes 1st place
For the students of Salzburg, the Digital Innovation Days held at the Salzburg Chamber of Commerce from 10-12 May 2017, were a chance to delve into the practical side of commerce. By developing an innovative product concept for daily teeth cleaning, the young team of students called “bRight” managed to impress the judges and scoop the first prize of € 1,000.
The original design of the interactive mirror, which displays the teeth cleaning status in real time and thus enables a more thorough cleaning result, was rewarded with the outstanding 1st place. “The students displayed not only creativity, but also a profound understanding of our customers’ daily requirements. We are very proud of this innovative contribution,” said Dr Michael Reiter, a member of the management board and Head of Product Management & Digital at W&H.
The Innovation Days were dedicated to digital innovations and offered the students from Salzburg the opportunity to take a step away from commercial theory and towards its practical implementation. The focus of the three-day event was on tasks set by local companies, which were then tackled by more than 60 students from the University of Salzburg and Salzburg University of Applied Sciences in the scope of a design competition. Of the 13 teams in total, three of them dedicated their efforts to the tasks set by W&H Dentalwerk Bürmoos GmbH. The medical engineering company utilized the event to work with the students to develop new ideas for a digital future in the world of dentistry. The key issue was how digitalization can contribute to improved dental treatment and better oral hygiene in the future.
Creative idea for interactive teeth cleaning impresses judges
The project which stole the show was the prototype for an interactive mirror aimed at making proper teeth cleaning simpler in the future. It comprises an electric toothbrush collecting data in real time and transmitting it to an interactive mirror. A set of teeth pictured on the mirror employs a colour-coding system to display the teeth cleaning status. This customer-orientated idea from “bRight” makes a valuable contribution to improved oral hygiene and was awarded 1st place by the panel of judges.
The two other teams, “The Dentalist” and “Zahnrat”, approached the thrilling topic with equally appealing results: “The Dentalist” presented an approach for how oral hygiene could be improved by employing a fair bonus-malus system incorporating all those involved in the treatment process. The system adjusts the premium paid by the patient according to his individual claiming benefits. “Zahnrat” developed a method to reduce the apprehension generally suffered by patients about to have dental treatment and to make the treatment experience easier for the dentist. “It was impressive to see the way the students tackled a completely new field, and their solutions showed what is possible when people are given a little freedom to think outside the box,” said Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Christoph Hiltl, Digital Product Portfolio Manager at W&H.
“It was great to see the creative potential unleashed by the young students on the day. Digitalization creates opportunities for satisfying new customer requirements. It brings with it a change in the way customers source information and stimulates us as a company to develop new solutions specially tailored to the customers’ requirements. The winning project stands out with its original focus on the customer and would thus surely be of interest to the market,” said Andreas Bachmaier, Service Solutions Manager at W&H. “The close cooperation with the students has given us an opportunity to gather new ideas and suggestions. In addition, we have also been able to establish contact with potential specialist personnel of the future and show them what an attractive and stimulating employer W&H can be.”
Digital Innovation Days generate a win-win situation
The focus of the Innovation Days was on interactive exchange between the students and five select local businesses in the fields of commerce and industry. The young competitors were tasked with forming teams and coming up with solutions for specific issues from the field of digitalization within 48 hours. The Innovation Days were hosted by the University of Salzburg in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce. Whilst the students were able to develop interdisciplinary concepts for practical applications, the local companies benefited from the input of innovative young minds developing in an ever more digitalized world and thus offering a particularly profound understanding of digital applications.
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