Rombo Games' hybrid games connect board games to your smart device

With contributions from Paul Chen

I met Marcin and Juan at Digital Dragons, the biggest gaming conference in Europe, in May. They showed me their new game Roar. When I saw little pieces of cardboard with pictures on it, I thought,"Oh, another German style board game."

Then, they took out their tablet and held it over the table and tapped on an icon and, CRUNCH! All of the game pieces had been eaten by monsters via Augmented Reality. As a result, I saw points being added up.  This means I don't have to keep points via some sort of meeple. I mean, you can still do that if that is your sort of thing. 

Later that month, the final of the Agora Startup Fest event came to an end! From over 200 participants only 20 managed to qualify for this stage. There all of the startups had the opportunity to present their ideas at the biggest event for startups in Poland. Amongst the winning ideas, Rombo Games received a special award from one of the sponsors of the event - the lawyer’s chamber of Spaczyński, Szczepaniak and Partners SKA. They won the  "The surprising obviousness and intransigence of the project" Award. That says a lot about the commitment to innovation of Rombo Games. They were also finalists at the Pirates on the Shore event in Krakow. 

Rombo Games is specializing in the creation of hybrid family games, designed to appeal both to the kids as much as their parents. The company's team co-created games like Hungry Monsters, Roar! (Catch the Monster) or Brooms, which combine the physical aspects of boardgames and card games with the expansion into the digital world by using a mobile device as an integrated part of the game mechanic. An important measure, taking into consideration the growing generation of children, who are always connected with various mobile devices. Hybrid games allow to use these devices to encourage children to meet outside the virtual world and interact with each other. They teach them cooperation and working in the group and, above all, they are a common source of great entertainment. Acting through augmented reality, advanced sensors or touchscreen interfaces, hybrid games allow you to experience a whole new level of gameplay.

The company is preparing their Kickstarter campaign with a clear aim to create an original game intended for families everywhere. This game will teach children new tools and specific skills through play, while adults will also enjoy many hours of shared fun! And as a parent you will be sure that the time spend on it will be a positive growth stimuli for your children. Currently you can see conceptual work on the page: http://rombogames.com/kickstarter/.

Rombo Games Team: Marcin Maciejewski, Hubert Spala, Juan Gómez
Fanpage on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rombogames 

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VoicePin wants you to Throw Away your Passwords

Paul Chen

One of the most annoying things about our super connected lifestyles is the need to remember our passwords to the different services that we are subscribed to. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and the apps we have on our smart devices all require us to have a sign-in and a password.  As we found out in Spaceballs, 12345 is an awful password.  Passwords should be long and hard to cipher. Which means one cannot have their name, favorite number, birthday, or city or residence as part of it.  With the sophistication of modern password hacking software, even the most elaborate passwords can be hacked.  

One of way to alleviate users from having to remember a long list of passwords or pins lies in biometric technology.  What is it? Biometrics are any characteristic of your person that is unique only to you.  Those include fingerprints, retina blood vessels, finger blood vessels, and your voice.  

The problem with fingerprints is that anyone who have seen Jame Bond movies knows that fingerprints are not the safest way to securely identify a person as even a papercut can mess up the identification process. Furthermore, if your finger is too dry, the reader might not be able to pick it up, not to mention the issue of hygiene.

The issue with blood vessel scans of the retina or the finger is that you will need to install more modules or special equipment to your service machine or smart device.  And because the technology is still quite new and in the developmental phase, it isn’t quite so reliable and could drive the price of the hardware.

VoicePin.com, a startup from Krakow is solving the last and the least invasive way to verify your identity.  You guessed it, the voice.  They are the first company of its kind in Europe. Their service has been accredited by international biometric organizations.  Your voice is as unique as your fingerprint.  Like snowflakes, no two voices are 100% identical, even with twins.  VoicePin takes advantage of something that is already in your phones, the microphone. Most smartphone mics are sensitive enough to take advantage of this technology. This means implementation of the service into your offerings is cost effective.  

The value in voice verification is that it is language independent. This means implementation across international borders is streamlined.  This means I can use the same English phrase to identify myself no matter where I go.  With VoicePin’s proprietary software, it can differentiate the intonation and the unique intangible characteristics of the user’s voice from others even if the user has laryngitis.  The system requires a person to actually talk into the microphone. This means you cannot record another person’s voice and play it back.  That will not work.  

VoicePin has already been implemented in some major banks and businesses in Poland like ING and Tauron Energy.  The applications can range from identification verification for e-banking and m-commerce to verifying permission to enter a house and even some IoT applications involving voice commands. At a recent Hacktory organized by Estimote, VoicePin validated their voice biometric technology by creating a voice activated door lock. This August, VoicePin will officially launch in New York City at the SpeechTek conference.  Attendees will have a chance to test out their technology.  Those who cannot make it to New York, can visit their website and contact them and see how they can help you improve your customer service experience.

Thank you for reading another one of my posts done just for you!  If you liked what you read please share it by using one of the buttons up top and check out other posts in this blog.  I don’t want you to miss out on future posts so please follow me on Twitter @Eurodude23.  If you haven’t done it already, please like my fan page by clicking here!  See you next time!

Krakow says farewell to a Startup Ecosystem Champion at an AmCham Event

Paul Chen

American Chamber of Commerce is celebrating their 25th anniversary as an organization that seeks to make the ties between the United States and Poland ever tighter. They endeavour to communicate the message that US-Polish relations has never been better and that American companies are quite happy to invest and do business in Poland. As a reward for their efforts, 16 of their members has been honored with the recognition by the government of Poland for contributions to the development of the Polish economy by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy Janusz Piechociński.  Among the 16 are giants such as Google, IBM and Motorola.  An independent business, Lynka, was also among the honorees.

This morning at an American Chamber of Commerce in Poland organized reception, Krakow bid one of its most beloved diplomats farewell.  Ellen Germain has been the Consulate General at the Krakow branch of the American Consulate since August 22, 2012.  During the past three years, she has been a avid supporter of the Krakow Startup ecosystem and other ecosystems in the south of Poland.  

Her goal was to strengthen the connections between the United States and Poland. During her tenure as Consulate General, the American Consulate has provided educational support and connected Krakow to the brilliant minds of Silicon Valley.  

A major achievement was the Polish American Innovation Bridge conference at AGH University of Science and Technology. Professors and professionals from Stanford University, Akamai, Google, and Cisco gave the Krakow ecosystem some important pointers in growing their business.  

Ms. Germain has also attended many startup events such as Open your Mind to Astia.  There she shared her passion of computer science and American values with the attendees.  Ms. Germain was a computer programmer and a science journalist in her past life.  She also holds a CS degree from Cambridge University.  

Joanna Bensz, Vice Chairman of AmCham, thanked Ms. Germain for her outstanding service to the various communities in Poland and she will be missed.  John Lynch second that praise and added his gratitude for Ms. Germain’s service to the United States’ mission in Poland as a flag carrier.

Ms. Germain told me that her interactions with the talented individuals of the Krakow startup community and other communities have been one of the highlights of her time in Krakow.  She encourages us to keep up the good work.  

Ms. Germain, on the behalf of the Polish startup community, thank you for your enthusiastic support. We wish you the best in your future endeavours. Come back again sometimes, we’ll leave the light on for you.

Thank you for reading another one of my posts done just for you!  If you liked what you read please share it by using one of the buttons up top and check out other posts in this blog.  I don’t want you to miss out on future posts so please follow me on Twitter @Eurodude23.  If you haven’t done it already, please like my fan page by clicking here!  See you next time!

MIT Technology Review awards their Polish Innovators Under 35 at Bitspiration

Paul Chen

In each of the last five years the MIT Technology Review has awarded some inspirational young scientists or tech talent their Innovators Under 35 prize.  This year they brought the awards to Poland. And earlier this week they held their awards ceremony at Bitspiration in Warsaw.

As a grand finally of the fourth edition of the Bitspiration Festival, MIT Technology Review awarded a young Polish scientist their first ever Innovator Under 35: Poland prize.  This prize is given to a young Polish talent who is revolutionizing the world with their projects.  The ceremony was attended by Kathleen Kennedy, president of MIT Technology Review and other leaders of entrepreneurial and technological ecosystem.

The 10 recognized Polish talents are:

Ola Orchowska - Her educational video game, starring a robot, teaches children to learn to live with diabetes.

Kamila Staryga - Her smart pad detects the presence of gynecological diseases in menstrual fluid and transmits the data to a smartphone.

Olga Malinkiewicz - Created a printing technology that produces cheap, flexible sheets of perovskite that could revolutionize the energy industry.

Katarzyna Nawrotek - Her personalized, biocompatible implants can regenerate and reconnect damaged nerves.

Maciej Machulak - His protocol puts the control of personal data shared via the internet back in the users´ hands.

Marcin Piatkowski - His smart, foldable electric bicycle could revolutionize urban traffic.

Marcin Treder - His collaborative design software centered on user experience is a hit in Silicon Valley.

Michal Mikulski - His robot performs rehabilitation therapy for muscular injuries and atrophy.

Przemyslaw Kornatowski - Developed drones specialized in rescue missions for use in natural disasters and other high risk scenarios.

Tomasz Wolkowicz - His test to confirm Ebola diagnoses is faster and cheaper than the current alternatives.

All of the projects truly address some of the most important problems we face as a society today.  And each project has the ability to impact the lives of a large portion of the population.  A few of them are already startup companies.

Michal Mikulski from Gliwice was recognized with the Social Innovator special mention for his physical therapy assistance robot.  He currently runs a startup EGZOTech. For Olga Malinkiewicz, this has been a remarkable year already.  Her start-up, Saule Technologies of which she is the CTO, won the Polish Startup of the Year and now she has been recognized as the MIT Tech Review Polish Innovator of the Year, 2015. Her printing technology producing flexible sheets of perovskite could solve much of the world’s energy problems. Solar cell efficiencies of devices using these materials have increased from 3.8% in 2009 to a certified 20.1% in 2014, making this the fastest-advancing solar technology to date.

Thank you for reading another one of my posts done just for you!  If you liked what you read please share it by using one of the buttons up top and check out other posts in this blog.  I don’t want you to miss out on future posts so please follow me on Twitter @Eurodude23.  If you haven’t done it already, please like my fan page by clicking here!  See you next time!

Deutsche Telekom, Cisco, and Intel choose their final 24 Startups for their ChallengeUP

Paul Chen

With the use of IoT, these teams feel that they can impact the lives of their customers. The list includes two startups from Poland, OORT and Ifinity. 

Read my interview with Luka (here).  

Congratulations and good luck!

The List of the Teams are:

Ifinity www.getifinity.com

GiPStech www.gipstech.com
has.to.be http://has-to-be.com/
Riox http://riox.io/
Senic www.senic.com
PalleTech www.palletech.co
DeviceHub.net www.devicehub.net/
i4systems www.i4systems.io
M2MGO http://m2mgo.com/
Metercloud.io http://www.greenbird.com/
N-join www.n-join.com
Parknav http://parknav.com/
Waylay www.waylay.io
comfylight www.comfylight.com
Asandoo www.asandoo.com
Tag2Sense www.tag2sense.com
SEMSEYE www.semseye.com

Taggalo www.taggalo.co.uk
Storesense http://storesense.info/

ProGlove www.proglove.de
Admetsys www.admetsys.com
Hi-Park www.hi-park.co
Appyparking www.appyparking.com
OORT www.oort.in

Thank you for reading another one of my posts done just for you!  If you liked what you read please share it by using one of the buttons up top and check out other posts in this blog.  I don’t want you to miss out on future posts so please follow me on Twitter @Eurodude23.  If you haven’t done it already, please like my fan page by clicking here!  See you next time!

The Pirates are invading Krakow

Paul Chen

Shiver me timbers mateys, there be pirates on the horizon! Thems be German pirates, and they are invading these shores of the Vistula in Krakow.  They be lookin for startups with great ideas and products. What be the booty they bring?  

They're connecting the local Krakow startup community with international investors and mentors! Your startup will have the chance to pitch to investors and qualify to pitch at the 2015 Pirate Summit in Cologne!

On June 24th, they are teaming up with COLAB to bring the event to Krakow! And the best part: It's free! Just register here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pirates-on-shore-krakow-powered-by-colab-pl-tickets-17182473240

Agenda:
*Intro from Pirate Summit
*Fireside Chat with Marcin Szelag (Innovation Nest) and Marek Wawro (Azimo.com) moderated by Robbie Bouschery (Pirate Summit) 
*Startup Pitch Competition
*Networking 

You'll get great insights from renown investors and have the chance to convince them of your idea!

Apply to pitch here: http://goo.gl/forms/xS9MK1M8N0

Join the Event on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1683379175233654/

Thank you for reading another one of my posts done just for you!  If you liked what you read please share it by using one of the buttons up top and check out other posts in this blog.  I don’t want you to miss out on future posts so please follow me on Twitter @Eurodude23.  If you haven’t done it already, please like my fan page by clicking here!  See you next time!

How to make one million Euro at Bitspiration?

Sylwia Wojtas 

Well, Filmaster knows that! We are happy to say, that we played a small role in their success of cooperation with Samba TV, that is worth 1 million Euro! John Biggs, our speaker and friend, has announced this acquisition lately on TechCrunch. Congrats to the whole Filmaster team, and we are keeping fingers crossed for more success stories like ithis one after the coming Bitspiration.

Now, how to get the best of our meeting? 

First of all - be brave, be opened, make contacts and network! Here you will find a list of some of our speakers definitely worth your time! We have prepared a lot of activities to make it easier for you to network - like basketball StartCup, Guitar Hero Live, paraglider flight simulator and many more - but it's you who has to make that first step and start speaking to any of our great speakers!





Secondly, bring your business-cards, find the ones you care to contact and get ourEventory mobile application to get a direct access to them.

Last but not least - we are going to host a lot of journalists, mentors and advisers - do not hestitate to speak aloud about what you are doing and what plans you have - they are really happy to give feedback!

We have a kite contest winner! 

Thanks to everyone who joined our kite competition! The thrilling reward of parachute jump lands in the hands of Katarzyna Ostrowska - congrats to Kasia, and many thanks to Sky Camp for sponsoring the jump!

Bring your kites with you on Monday - we are going to give a big performance by using them! :)

We already know the Polish Innovators Under 35! 

6 men and 4 women working to better society through technology: this is the first generation of recipients of the awards granted by the MIT Technology Review. These young innovators were selected by an international panel of judges, experts in the areas covered in the candidate projects. You are going to meet them during Bitspiration - see who was granted! 



Let's meet with John Biggs at Bitspiration meetup!

On June 23rd  we are organising a Bitspiration meetup in the Champions pub in the Marriott Hotel in Warsaw. Meetup is a great opportunity to get valuable bussiness contacts, to pitch your startup  and to spend time in the best company! We start at 8.30 PM!

John Biggs – well known technological journalist from TechCrunch will be our expert, who will give you priceless advices and tips. You will have an unique opportunity to pitch your startup in front of him.

If you want to pitch, fill in a short form about your project.
The entry is free for Bitspiration attendees, others are asked to grab a ticket - it's 20PLN, exchangeable for a beer at the spot!



So, that's all, folks! :) See you in Warsaw!



Where to find us? 

http://festival.bitspiration.com/
contact@bitspiration.com 
facebook: /bitspiration
twitter: @bitspiration

Thank you for reading another one of my posts done just for you!  If you liked what you read please share it by using one of the buttons up top and check out other posts in this blog.  I don’t want you to miss out on future posts so please follow me on Twitter @Eurodude23.  If you haven’t done it already, please like my fan page by clicking here!  See you next time!