Sunshine Coast students win Startup Weekend

Three students from Sunshine Coast University and two industry professionals have won the Startup Weekend in Sunshine Coast, an urban area in Western Australia north of Brisbane. The team built a 3D-printed head-mountable display that uses a smartphone as a mobile immersive media device. 

The prototype, called VR Smart View, saw the five win more than $15,000 in prizes. The device works by users slotting their smartphone into the headset to enjoy 3D movies, games or engage in other smartphone related activities without any cords. The team expects the device to retail at $100.

The team consisted of Wilfrid Watson-Russell, bachelor in business and art, Ben Lowe, bachelor in journalism, and Danum Harris-Lusk, bachelor in business marketing with a minor in entrepreneurship, as well as Stephen Maher, owner of Metaweb, a web and digital marketing company, and industrial designer Neil Waldbaum.

Judges noted that the idea for a mountable headset had the most commercial potential, especially in light of Oculus Rift having been acquired by Facebook for $2bn earlier in 2014. They were impressed by the team having developed a 3D-printed prototype, securing $450 in sales and a potential multi-million dollar distribution deal, all in the course of the competition’s 54 hours.

Startup Weekend is a global community of passionate entrepreneurs with over 1,800 past events in 120 countries around the world in 2014. The non-profit organisation is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, but organisers and facilitators can be found in over 200 cities around the world. The event in Sunshine Coast was a joint initiative of the Innovation Centre and Sunshine Coast University’s School of Business.

Mark Paddenburg, chief executive of Innovation Centre, said: “The Sunshine Coast has a number of exciting initiatives which will continue to drive this movement including the development of a digital strategy, the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast and University of Sunshine Coast’s School of Business programs, as well as several networking groups.”