Startup ideas that make life easier or more fun
Established in the United States for over 50 years, Esri is one of the 50 largest software companies in the world. Its renowned Esri Startup Program (“Esri Program”) supports startups with core business in geospatial information. In fact, the companies having participated in the Esri Program address a broad spectrum of industries such as ride-sharing, public safety, city management, utilities, natural resources, health, commercial sectors and more.
For example, Match Rider, joining the “Esri Program” years ago, has a mobile application that helps passengers with car pooling.
Match Rider was founded in 2012 in Heidelberg, Germany. It was originally a ride-sharing service platform, connecting drivers and passengers, serving destinations within 100 kilometers. The company is also supported by the largest public bus and light rail company SSB in Stuttgart, southwest Germany to pick up passengers and then connect them to the central interchange station. The participating drivers are not making profit, they are ordinary drivers. They pick up passengers on their way to work and only charge as much as €180 (about HK$1,600) per month to subsidize fuel and maintenance costs. The passengers pay €0.15 (about HK$1.3) per km. Today, it reliably offers trips at peak times every 10 minutes at their pick-up points, just like public transportation service.
This company’s algorithms calculate the most convenient pick-up and drop-off locations for both drivers and passengers, such as nearby stations or bike-sharing stations, so that drivers do not need to have any significant detours for picking up passengers. It provides convenient and affordable service to travellers, saves energy, helps improve traffic congestion at the same time.
The performance of Match Rider in recent years has been widely recognized. In the "Transforming Mobility 2020 Award” hosted by the Ministry of Transport in the third largest state Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, the company defeated 15 teams and became one of the three winners.
I appreciate this service model that brings a win-win-win situation to drivers, passengers and the environment. Actually in Hong Kong, some drivers take the similar initiative to pick up fellow travellers for free from time to time, in the New Territories in particular, but the service is mostly irregular, and without coordination. Perhaps this German startup can give Hong Kong an inspiration.
Meanwhile, I wonder if leisure activities are professionally assisted, it will double the fun and increase the sense of accomplishment. This is the key to success of another startup, Fishidy, which is also a participant in the Esri Program.
Fishidy is a mobile application for anglers in the United States. It integrates interactive fishing maps, real time and forecast of the weather, peer communication, and information on thousands of waterways (location of large rocks, depth contours, bathymetry, and types of water bed), lakes, tides. Most importantly, the application helps users find nearby fishing hot spots and offer travel directions. It gives anglers the best possible tips and information which allow them to have successful fishing trips.
This fun and practical application was launched in 2012. It has received overwhelming response from experienced players and newcomers. Within one year of launch, the number of members approached 150,000, and has since climbed to over 1 million. In 2018, the startup was acquired by FLIR, a world-renowned designer and manufacturer of thermal imaging cameras and sensors.
In Hong Kong, fishing is not as popular as hiking. However, the current hiking information is scattered, and many are not up to standard. For example, a website previously introduced a popular hiking route in the urban area, from Quarry Bay to Tai Tam Reservoir via Mount Parker. The journey only takes a few hours, a good choice for family outings. However, the website suggested taking hiking equipment like night light and emergency thermal blanket, it is quite ridiculous. In fact, this popular hiking trail extends in many directions. If there is a mobile application linking GPS and spatial geographic information to give directions to different hotspots, such as the abandoned cable car, children’s favourite tadpole pool, and less known stream in Tai Tam, it will definitely add more fun to hiking, and also improve the safety of outing.
The above two startups show that making good use of geographic information not only enhances travel convenience, but also makes leisure activities more interesting, adding fun to our lives.
-- Contact us at [email protected]
-
Integration of GIS and BIM can drive development of smart city Dr. Winnie Tang
The China Association for Geospatial Industry and Sciences (“the CAGIS”) released the Top Ten Highlights of China's Geographic Information Industry in 2023, which provides much inspiration. The
-
Equip young people for the future Dr. Winnie Tang
In late February, the inaugural flight of an air taxi from Shenzhen Shekou Cruise Homeport to Zhuhai Jiuzhou Port took only 20 minutes with an estimated one-way ticket price of 200 to 300 yuan per
-
Are we raising a generation of leaders, or of followers? Brian YS Wong
The essence of education is defined not by the facts it imparts, but the potential knowledge it inspires students to individually pursue on their own. Put it this way – the ideal form of education
-
The urgent need for reforms to sex education in Hong Kong Sharon Chau
Nearly one in every four university students (23%) in Hong Kong has been sexually harassed, according to a 2019 report published by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). A 2019 study found that
-
STEAM should be linked to real life Dr. Winnie Tang
In the 2017 Policy Address, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education was proposed as one of the eight major directions to promote I&T development. Since then, funding has
-
Integration of GIS and BIM can drive development of smart city
-
香港霹靂舞運動員:團隊並肩同行 走上國際舞台
-
THE FUTURE ROCKS打造K11 MUSEA快閃店
-
Russia’s nightmare – loss of Far East
-
街頭演唱者:BUSKING歷練場 成就登台大將之風
-
心流藝術家:旋環登上舞台才能真正被看見
-
My Brief Remarks – at the HKS China Conference
-
尚品~即食花膠靚湯
-
The perils of self-censorship
-
中華文化節2024系列~八台戲曲亮相中華文化節 新編粤劇《大鼻子情聖》打響頭鑼