Harrisburg University of Science and Technology’s ‘Shark Tank’ draws international competition

The “Shark Tank” – style competition showcasing student business ideas at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is going international in its third year. 

The U Start-up Challenge + Showcase hosted by the university’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) offers students a chance to bring business ideas to life with the help of a network of entrepreneurs, the university said. 

Eight finalists will showcase their ideas virtually on May 12. 

What started three years ago as an experiment involving a few HU students has grown into a full-fledged international competition for high school students sponsored by The Hershey Company, Merit and Cargas Systems, Inc.  

Three winning teams will be selected by a formal judging committee and awarded cash prizes during the event. The grand prize winner will have the opportunity to incubate their business idea via Harrisburg University’s Innovation Lab. 

This year’s finalists are: 

• HIVE – Trinity High School – Bella Brida, Emerson Hoover

Hive allows people with dietary restrictions, food allergies, and other personal preferences to find items on menus that meet their requirements while dining out. 

• REC Table – Spring Grove High School – Elijah Reineberg, Dylan Tichy

REC Table solves the problem of slow growth in recreational table gaming industry due to large bulky gaming environments that are difficult to assemble. The team’s solution is to produce a hybrid gaming environment by combining two or more games that will cut the associated per game cost and decrease the bulkiness of individuals recreational games in half.  

• ParkingPal – Lower Dauphin High School – Grant Tredinnick, Natie Davis

ParkingPal is an app that allows users to see how many spots are open in parking garages and lots before they get there. It also compares local prices as well as filtering by duration of stay. The app updates in live time. 

• Vector Gear – Jose Marti Mast 6-12 Academy (Florida) – Herman Remy

Vector Gear addresses the problem within Virtual Reality Headsets where a device will have at most two of the three functionalities: high performance, a lightweight build, or a high field of vision. The Vector Gear is a Virtual Reality headset made to look like a pair of glasses with the Viewer System being a pair of glasses created by Enmesi. 

 . Holo-at-Home – William Penn Senior High School – Ivy Dieujuste, Angelina Kebreau, Anayah Brantley, Elyzabeth Valentin 

The Holo-at-Home! is an app that allows the user to take a 3D scan of their body and try on clothing virtually before ordering it.  

• Score Wire – Lower Dauphin High School – Mathew Mosco, Wyatt Yeakel, Cody Rosati, Ethan Miller, Danny Kenny

Score Wire, a tracker chip put inside a sports ball and sensor lines along goal lines and sidelines, eliminates incorrect calls from officials. 

• Traffic-Free – Private Ceceli Schools (Turkey) – Nuray Elif Yildiz; Zeynep Can

Traffic-free eliminates delays by emergency response teams due to traffic delays. The device calculates the speed of the vehicle and sends data to traffic lights telling them to turn green before the vehicle gets to it. After the vehicle has passed, the system will switch to its previous state. 

• Suministros Alemar – San Martin University Foundation (Colombia) – Alex Rocha Fadul

Suministros Alemar transforms recycled plastic into raw material for the manufacture of low-density polyethylene bags. The plan also calls for the manufacture of bags for sanitary use according to the colors of the national regulation of hospital waste.