Smart Concepts Recognized as Safety Champions

After taking a year out due to the coronavirus pandemic, the expert organization DEKRA was back to presenting the DEKRA Awards in 2021. This year, the coveted awards went to: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH (Safety on the Road category), Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA (Safety at Work), and BAG Mehr Sicherheit für Kinder e.V. (Safety at Home). An online vote on October 29, 2021 will decide who receives the award for start-ups.

• Online voting for winner in Start-Ups category starts on October 29, 2021
• Awards for safety on the road, at work, and at home
• Record participation after one-year break due to coronavirus

“The winners impressed with ideas that are groundbreaking in their respective fields,” says Stefan Kölbl, Chairman of the DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE Management Boards. “This year’s DEKRA Awards show that digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are unleashing new opportunities to increase safety. The high number of participants and excellent quality of the concepts submitted demonstrate that DEKRA Awards are extremely well placed as a platform for safety solutions for the digital future.”

DEKRA, the global expert organization, together with WirtschaftsWoche, Germany’s leading business magazine, has been organizing the DEKRA Awards for many years to honor outstanding, trailblazing achievements in the field of safety.

Online showdown in the Start-Ups category

This year there has been a change to the DEKRA Award in the Start-Ups category. In the final round, three nominated companies can present their innovations online in the form of a three-minute pitch. The competition to be the public’s favorite via the online voting app starts on October 29. To participate, visit

https://www.linkedin.com/events/livepitch-3startups-3ideas-3min6853984021165203456/

The following start-ups have been nominated:

• COMPREDICT for AI-based virtual vehicle sensors
• Lakera for a validation platform for safe AI
• Trucksters for AI-based route optimization in the logistics sector

The Safety Champions 2021 in the three familiar categories were chosen by a distinguished jury:

Winner in the Safety on the Road category

The Mobility Observation Box (MOB) from the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology makes it possible to measure road safety. Thanks to this innovative development, the safety of transport infrastructure systems can be screened; i.e., measured according to objective criteria and then compared. After the data is collected, various road user groups – such as pedestrians, cyclists, cars, trucks, and e-scooters – are automatically detected, classified, and their road use behavior assessed using machine learning. This is used to help produce targeted improvements to increase road safety.

Winner in the Safety at Work category

Exoskeleton from Ottobock optimizes safety and ergonomics in industrial workplaces. These helpful systems assist employees as they perform physically demanding tasks such as overhead work or lifting and can easily be used on the shop floor day to day. They measurably reduce strain on the body and therefore help create healthier working conditions. The innovative concept outshone all the competition, and it introduces a new product segment that could potentially expand to include many other applications in the future.

Winner in the Safety at Home category

BAG is expanding its educational content aimed at increasing child safety with the Mehr Sicherheit für Kinder child initiative, using an interactive 3D application focused on a large virtual kitchen. This setting was chosen because the kitchen is the top location in the home where accidents occur. The virtual solution for PCs, smartphones, and VR headsets lets users view the world from the point of view of an 18-month-old child. From this new perspective, they can then identify and minimize various accident risks. There is plenty to learn from the virtual world, which increases users’ awareness in the long term.

https://www.dekra.com/en/award-2021-the-winners/

This year’s jury:

• Dr. Annette Niederfranke, Director, International Labour Organization (ILO)
• Beat Balzli, Editor-in-Chief, WirtschaftsWoche
• Carlos Bhola, Managing Partner, Celsius Capital
• Boris Böhme, Head of Product and System Safety Unit, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
• Dr. Raimund Klinkner, Managing Partner, Institute for Management Excellence
• Stefan Kölbl, Chairman, DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE Management Boards.

The pitches from the three nominated companies in the Start-Ups category will start on Friday, October 29, 6 p.m. CEST at

https://www.linkedin.com/events/livepitch-3startups-3ideas-3min6853984021165203456/

Online voting will start at 8 p.m. CEST and continue until November 4, 2021.