UoA student Mr. Igarashi awarded 2014 "Made-in-Aizu IT Certification" Honorable Mention

On January 16, 2015 (Friday), the award ceremony for the Aizuwakamatsu City-sponsored "Made-in-Aizu IT Certification" award for fiscal year 2014 was held at UBIC (*1). The award is bestowed to the following individuals and groups within Aizuwakamatsu City:

• Students, individuals, or groups that have created new IT businesses
• Companies that have developed new IT-related products
• Students and researchers who have created new technology

The award certifies the fruits of such excellence in the field of IT as being "home-grown Aizu technology." This year's award was its 11th edition.

This year, there were six entries, and one of the Honorable Mention prizes was awarded to UoA student Taisei Igarashi (2nd year undergraduate) for his work "Pieces of Japan." The technology uses beacon-equipped signs to transmit sightseeing and emergency information. This work won the grand prize at last year's "Smartphone App Jam 2014" and the Open Data Division Prototype Prize at the "Mashup Awards (MA)".

Mr. Igarashi has won a string of awards, and another recently won the Grand Prize at the "JPHACKS" hackathon organized by the University of Tokyo for another of his works. In regards to winning this prize, Igarashi, with a smile, spoke that "It's an honor. I have won a number of awards lately, and I'm starting to run out of comments." (*2)

At the award ceremony, presentations were given on the newly certified technologies. Having a number of experiences at competitions, Igarashi's presentation was highly polished and smoothly delivered. During his presentation, Mr. Igarashi also spoke about the success of the demonstration experiment he carried out at last year's Aizu Matsuri Festival samurai parade (*3).

Igarashi is carrying out demonstration experiments at a number of different events and other venues, and says he is making preparations to launch a company. We have high hopes for him and his technology.

*1　Made-in-Aizu IT Certification 2014

*2　The path of Mr. Igarashi's steady advance:

• Students win Smartphone App Jam 2014 award
• UoA Team Won an Award at "Mashup Awards"
• UoA Student Team Won the University of Tokyo Hackathon!

*3　The Aizu Festival is an event held every September by the city of Aizuwakamatsu. It's main attraction, the "Aizu Samurai Parade," features performers dressed as the various heads of the Aizu Clan, the Byakkotai, and as Aizu Clan samurai parading through the city. One weakness of the parade was that it was hard to tell which performer was which historical figure. Igarashi thought to use "Pieces of Japan" as a means of identifying the historical figures being portrayed. Having performers carry beacons that transmit information, he attempted to transmit information to roadside terminals. The experiment was a success.