Shortlist announced for 2020 COINS Grand Challenge
Ideas to improve the built environment have flooded in from all over the world, including Australia and New Zealand, for the 2020 COINS Grand Challenge, a global competition organised by COINS to support innovation within the construction industry.
This year's shortlist has now been announced, with 12 finalists based in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, United States of America, India, Uganda, South Africa and United Kingdom. They will all be invited to present their ideas virtually to a panel of leading construction industry professionals including Mark Beard, Chairman & Chief Executive of E W Beard (Holdings) Ltd; James Benham, CEO of JB Knowledge; Mohamed ElZomor, Assistant Professor - Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability at Florida International University; Neil Pike, Head of Sustainability and Business Improvement, Morgan Sindall Fitout; and Stuart Binstock, President and CEO, Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA).
The COINS Grand Challenge has two entry categories, Professional (Open Competition) or Student (Undergraduate Competition), with shortlisted ideas ranging from construction apps to circular economy modular building materials and sustainable concrete aggregate created from mining waste.
Open Competition finalists are:
- Carl Hebinck, USA, CSF of Clearwater / Idea: Eco-friendly low-cost housing using steel structural insulated panels (SIPs).
- Ali Khaloo, USA, Aren / Idea: AI-powered infrastructure management platform to minimize the risk of infrastructure failure and optimize infrastructure spending.
- Hermione Crease, UK, Purrmetrix Ltd - Measuring the real performance of the fabric of any home using environmental data to analyse building performance.
- Bob Abtahi, Australia, Western Sydney University / Idea: Develop a value-added green aggregate using a combination of mining wastes and proprietary polymer.
- Franc Kamugyisha, Uganda, EcoPlastile / Idea: Upcycling post-consumer waste using a chemical free and energy efficient technology to manufacture cost effective plastic lumbars from plastics and packaging materials.
- Ged Finch, New Zealand, X-Frame PTY Ltd / Idea: X-Frame is a modular structural wall framing technology designed specifically for end-of-life recovery and direct high-value reuse.
Student Competition finalists are:
- Maropeng Mphaho, South Africa, BSc Civil Engineering Student / Idea: A geopolymer concrete binder offering a cost-effective eco-friendly cement alternative.
- Krithiga Ravichandran, UK, Electronics Engineering Student / Idea: 3D printing ‘Ant-bots’ for remote construction.
- Quinn Sarah Hanitio, Indonesia, Engineering Student / Idea: IoT headset for safety and communication.
- Saurav Bhilare, India, Civil Engineering Student / Idea: AI Assistant for construction management which improves the process of information management.
- Samarpan Deb Majumder and Ankit Das, India, Mechanical Engineering Students / Idea: Aq. Sodium-Methoxide Nanofluid which incorporated into the cooling system of a building will reduce power consumption
- Keval Nandu, India, Electrical Engineering & Economics Student / Idea: SMART tech which aspires to develop smart buildings through a computer vision-based tech energy management and social sustainability platform.
Every year the number and quality of the applications for the Grand Challenge gets stronger and stronger. It’s great to see the level of interest in new and emerging technology in the construction industry continue to grow. We are very proud to see the event go from strength to strength and hope that all the finalists enjoy this year’s virtual Grand Final and go on to pursue a career in construction whether they win the competition or not.
Robert Brown, CEO, COINS
The COINS Grand Challenge winners will be announced on 24 September – discover more information about the finalists and their ideas at www.coins-grandchallenge.com
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