Blockchain innovations to be awarded in Adelaide
Startups
The finalists for South Australia’s $100,000 Blockchain Innovation Challenge will present their ideas at the ADC Global Blockchain Summit in March.
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The summit, organised by Australian Davos Connection Forum (ADC), will take place at the Adelaide Convention Centre and is the first international blockchain technology summit to be held in Australia.
The summit will host the finals of the Blockchain Innovation Challenge, where 10 entrepreneurs will present their projects that use the technology or could expand its uses into other technological applications.
The finalists will attend incubation workshops in March to refine their proposals before presenting to blockchain technology experts for a share of the $100,000 prize pool.
The final projects include everything from the wine industry to the state’s museum.
Finalist Kosta Canatselis, CEO and Co-founder of Adelaide start-up Wright Technologies, said their idea uses blockchain for secure and reliable GPS drone tracking to make for safer air spaces.
“We’re working on being able to understand what device is where with absolute certainty with something called proof-of-location,” he said.
“In the context of air safety and security, airspaces at the moment are very closed off and restricted because of the danger of having drones there and not being able to understand where they are.”
Canatselis said accurate drone tracking and identification could revolutionise businesses by expanding the trust of clients, such as airlines.
“This technology will allow for an increased level of trust, which is something that isn’t really possible at the moment,” he said.
“We see our technology helping a lot of companies progress towards an interconnected city of drones.”
Canatselis said it could also be adopted for other applications like Amazon delivery.
Adelaide app and web developer NextFaze plans to use blockchain technology for supply chain verification on the export of Southern Rock Lobster and other high-value proteins to China.
NextFaze’s Derek Munneke said he hopes to make it easier for suppliers to participate in the supply chain.
“It will widen the pipeline,” he said.
More than 45 international speakers have been invited to the summit, which will bring together blockchain experts and industry leaders to discuss everything from new applications to regulation and ethics to the impact of crypto-currencies.
The conference will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 18 – 20 March. Delegates will also be able to join a hackathon at Lot Fourteen, Australia’s first creation and innovation neighbourhood that will also house the Australian Space Agency.
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