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Recap: DemoCampEdmonton8
I almost can’t believe our last DemoCamp was so long ago! I think it’s safe to say that DemoCampEdmonton8 was worth the wait, however. We had probably our largest crowd ever – the entire room at ETLC was packed. I’m not sure the pictures do it justice! We also had a great set of demos – well done to all the presenters this evening, everyone really brought their ‘A’ game.
Here are the six demos we had tonight:
- First up was Dub5, demoing an application they built for the Student Health Initiative for the Needs of Edmonton (SHINE). Essentially it is a scheduling application that solves the common problem of assigning volunteer shifts and dealing with cancellations and other issues. Very slick interface, which was a trend for the evening.
- Next up was Skeptographers, a project of the Edmonton Skeptics. The application is best described as a collaborative podcast. Anyone can submit a segment for inclusion in the next podcast, and the community can comment and vote on each segment. Really cool stuff.
- Third was an iPhone app called MyStops. While Google Maps is great at giving you transit directions from one point to another, it sucks at repeat routes. MyStops lets you save your usual routes, so that you have easy access to bus and LRT schedules. The cool thing about it is that it uses the ETS Google Transit data that was released back in May. The app will work with both iPhones and iPods.
- Fourth was Yardstick Software. The product they demoed is called Yardstick Measure and is an online tool that enables anyone to quickly generate a professional testing site. Very slick UI and focused feature set, whereas its sister products (ProTraining & ProExams) are much more complex and feature-rich.
- Fifth was Digital Media Jobs, a job board for individuals and organizations in the digital media space. Unlike other job boards, the goal with DMJ is to help the local community get connected with one another. Again, DMJ featured a very clean UI.
- Last but not least was one of the most interesting demos we’ve ever had at DemoCamp in Edmonton: ReJoyCE from Rehabtronics. It’s a combination software-hardware solution to help rehabilitate people suffering from neurological impairments. They’ve successfully gone through a number of clinical trials and are looking to commercialize. Patients play a number of “games” that were designed with the help of therapists. Truly amazing stuff.
All of the demos were so great, it’s hard to pick a favorite. I think ReJoyCE is fascinating because of the impact it will have on the lives of so many people (and the fact that it is backed up by real medical research). I’m really happy we got to see some homegrown technology from the health sector. My favorite was probably MyStops, however. It’s something I’d use every day, and for 99 cents, I think plenty of other Edmontonians will as well. It’s also a great example of what can be done with open data. The team behind it plan to add support for the other cities that publish Google Transit data as well.
Fortunately, no one showed us their registration page tonight. I think that contributed to the overall quality of tonight’s demos.
A couple of announcements about upcoming events:
- Twestival is happening Thursday, September 10th! Come help us support the Youth Emergency Shelter Society!
- Next Thursday, September 17th, ENTS is holding their grand opening!
- Edmonton Code Camp is taking place on Saturday, September 19th.
- FITC Edmonton is taking place on October 17th and 18th.
Thanks to everyone who came out tonight. See you at DemoCampEdmonton9!
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Tags: democamp, democampedmonton, democampyeg, edmonton, events, technology
Categories: Uncategorized | 13 Comments »
September 10th, 2009 at 12:41 am
Alas, Mack, you’re wrong. Digital Media Jobs showed their registration page. And went through filling it out, too.
September 10th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Really? Wasn’t it the profile for a job seeker or an organization looking to hire? Or is that the same thing? I stand corrected if so!
September 10th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Great reacap Mack! I enjoyed all the demos.
Just wanted to add one nifty feature or should I say valuable feature from the Rehabtronics folks – the ability for the Therapist to chime in remotely adding a huge value to those who may either be in a remote location or with limited physical access to a therapist.
September 10th, 2009 at 9:10 am
oops.. I meant recap. Too quick to hit submit..
September 10th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Good point Greg, thanks!
September 10th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Wait, WHAT happened last night? I mean, it’s fuzzy, but all *I* remember is beer and some singing…
September 10th, 2009 at 9:32 am
…and you sang very well.
September 10th, 2009 at 11:43 am
[...] startup community was in full force last night as the ELTC was full of people ready to hear from the presenters. All of the presenters did a great job, and the crowd provided [...]
September 10th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Hey Mack, Don’t forget about FITC coming to Edmonton! (http://www.fitc.ca/events/about/?event=99)
September 10th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Good call Owen, post updated. Thx.
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Upon further reflection I have to ask, why didn’t Rehabtronics just develop a Wii game? You could do very much the basics without needing a custom controller and if you really needed to you could create an add on. They’ve created a neat product but I’m sure a company like Nintendo would be all for helping a product like this get to market.
Also, I’m not sold on the stability of the controller for RejoyCE. I would hate to think what would happen to the expensive device if my grandmother suddenly tried to brace herself from falling over with it.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
[...] Originally posted at MasterMaq’s Blog. [...]
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:03 am
[...] Don Riep, co-founder, Greg Kureluk, business development, and others. PREVIOUSLY SEEN AT: DemoCampEdmonton8 WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Experienced team, active in the community, highly decorated, with a large, [...]