Gyroglove, the company behind a wearable technology that stabilises the hands of people living with Parkinson's, has scooped the inaugural £10,000 F Factor prize.
The award, launched by the Founders Forum and X Factor impresario Simon Cowell, was set up to discover and support a new generation of young entrepreneurs pushing the boundaries of technology.
The London event crowned 24-year-olds Paul de Panisse Passis and Tiarvando Lasiman the overall winners, from a pool of hundreds of UK-wide contenders.
Gyroglove is a responsive, wearable glove that's designed to counteract the hand tremors suffered by people living with Parkinson's. The glove, which uses gyroscopes and accelerometers, is designed to make it easier and more comfortable for wearers to do everything from get dressed to prepare meals. The glove aims to reduce tremors by around 60 percent -- without the need for any kind of invasive surgery -- which could have a huge impact on the everyday lives of the more than 200 million people across the world living with Parkinson's.
The £10,000 prize, judged by a panel including TalkTalk cofounder and chairman Sir Charles Dunstone and Baroness Martha Lane-Fox, is designed to help the young winners bring their idea to life. The event was also attended by a huge audience of tech and business luminaries, including Google's Eric Schmidt and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, giving Gyroglove's founders an unrivalled opportunity to pitch to some of the most influential industry figures.
"Congratulations to everyone who was shortlisted. All the ideas were really smart and it was great to be a part of this competition," said Simon Cowell. "How these young people think of this stuff I just don't know? Gyroglove really impressed me as it actually has the potential to be a medical breakthrough." "There were so many brilliant ideas in this competition and we could have given the prize to any of the finalists," said Sir Charles Dunstone. "However, we recognised that the £10,000 we are offering has the potential to most transform and develop this idea, in terms of making the device smaller and getting it to the people who need it the most. That's why the prize went to Gyroglove."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
