IGNITE – Create the M.App of the Future

IGNITE YOUR IMAGINATION

For hundreds of years, maps have provided one of the best ways to communicate information about location and relationships. From the power of the paper map to the recent proliferation of digital maps on mobile devices, we have seen some amazing technological advancements.

By their very nature, maps are static pictures of the world at a point in the past, incapable of being rapidly updated. Even though they are delivered in digital format, they describe what was and not what is or what can be. Today, the geographic picture is not enough; what we desperately require is dynamic illustrated business information.

It’s time to change the way the world thinks about maps with the Hexagon Smart M.App.

WHAT IS A HEXAGON SMART M.APP?

A Hexagon Smart M.App is a cloud application that focuses on communicating information. These applications transform geospatial information into 360° business analytics and meaningful visualizations. By integrating the most up-to-date geospatial content, you can ensure that your app delivers time-sensitive answers. This game-changing platform has revolutionized the way we envision, experience and communicate geographic information.

We have already created some Hexagon Smart M.Apps. You can browse these in the M.App Exchange and watch the demo videos to see how they are changing the mapping industry.

WE NEED YOU

We are seeking partners who can help us build the M.App of the Future.

IGNITE is a competition to create an innovative Hexagon Smart M.App that will solve real world issues in a smart, fresh way.  You are invited to plan and build a dynamic information experience that provides an elegant solution to a mainstream, global issue.

THEMES

We want you to innovate around six core themes that represent areas of global importance and are vital to the future of our planet.

You can submit ideas in one (or more) of these themes. The challenge addressed in your Hexagon Smart M.App should be easily understood and should capture significant attention and interest.

Choose from the following challenge themes:

• Finance
• Food
• Safety
• Infrastructure
• Health
• Conservation

BEYOND PRIZE MONEY

IGNITE is much more than an opportunity to win cash. This is your chance to build an app that you own, and earn money selling it on our eCommerce platform.

All of the IP from your idea and final solution is your own. Build your revolutionary app on our platform and let us take you to market on the M.App Exchange. All sales from your game-changing application earn you a 70/30 revenue split.

IGNITE SESSIONS

We are here to help!

For guidance and hands-on experience with the Hexagon Smart M.App development environment, we will facilitate IGNITE Sessions across the globe between February 15 and April 15, 2016.

The IGNITE Sessions are one-day workshops organized and hosted by Hexagon Geospatial staff and partners. These forums offer a unique opportunity to work alongside subject matter experts, exchange ideas, and also dig into the M.App Studio to learn how to build targeted applications.

TIMELINE

IGNITE will launch in January 2016, inviting you to submit your ideas before May 8. At HxGN LIVE 2016 in Anaheim, we will announce the finalists, equipping them to build their Hexagon Smart M.Apps. IGNITE will end in early December 2016 with the announcement of winners and distribution of prizes – and the ability for future monetization on the Hexagon Smart M.Apps created.

See Timeline for more details.

WHAT CAN YOU DO RIGHT NOW?

• Click the “Follow the Challenge” button above to be notified of any updates.
• Click the "Start Here" button above to register to compete in the challenge.
• Read the complete Challenge Guidelines for rules and requirements.
• Read the FAQ to get answers to commonly-asked questions. The FAQ will be updated throughout the duration of the challenge, so check back often for new information.
• Share this challenge with your friends and family or anyone who might be interested in being part of IGNITE and building innovative applications. You can use the social media buttons beneath the challenge image above to share this page.
• Use the challenge forum to tell us what you think of the challenge or to ask any questions.
• Stay tuned to the Challenge website for the most up-to-date information about important dates! 

Themes

IGNITE is a call to innovate around six core themes that Hexagon believes are important to the future of our Earth and sustainability of our society.

Application ideas will focus on mainstream, industry, community, and global issues. The issue should capture worldwide attention and interest from the contestant, target organizations, the public, and the media. 

This challenge seeks to develop solutions supporting a vertical market need in one of six core themes. The application must be built on the Hexagon Smart M.App platform, but can include custom coding and analytics, as well as creative use of data, imagery, and other geospatial content. The application must fall into one of the following themes:

1. Finance – (Analytics, Insurance, Entrepreneurship, Commodities, Investment)
2. Food - (Productivity, Accountability, Agriculture)
3. Safety - (Crowdsourcing, Crime Prevention, Natural Disaster, Education)
4. Infrastructure – (Utilities, Transportation, Communication, Land Management)
5. Health - (Wellness, Treatment, Nutrition)
6. Conservation – (Environment, Natural Resources, Air Quality)

Important Elements

Successful submissions should include the following elements:

1. A detailed description of the proposed concept or solution. 
   • What is the target market or target benefit? 
   • On what existing and future content or data sources does the proposed concept rely
   • Are the metrics of success for the proposed concept and its effects on the system clearly identified (efficiency, capacity, flexibility, predictability, delays, etc.)?
2. A detailed description of how the proposed concept will be utilized by the customer.
3. A detailed explanation of the proposed concept’s impact in that particular market segment. 
4. An explanation of how the proposed concept aids in transition from the present solutions, if any, and adoption by the target market.
5. Proposed solutions should be accompanied with substantiated discussions of major obstacles, both technical and societal, and potential approaches to overcoming them through the application.

Competition Phases and Duration

There will be two phases to the challenge:

• Ideation phase (I)
• Execution phase (II)

The Ideation phase will run from the time registration opens until ideas are due on May 8, 2016. The selection process will run through the month of May and the 20 Finalists will be announced at HxGN LIVE Anaheim in June 2016.

The Execution phase will last for three months, from the time the Finalists are announced until the final applications must be completed on October 14, 2016. Judging will take place from September 1 through December 1, 2016, and final winners will be announced in December 2016.

Who Can Participate

The Challenge is open to competitors worldwide. The Prize is open to all individuals, age 18 or older, private teams, public teams, and collegiate teams. Individual competitors and teams may originate from any country, as long as United States federal sanctions do not prohibit participation (see: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx). To be eligible to compete, you must comply with all the terms of IGNITE as defined in the Challenge-Specific Agreement, which is available upon registration.

Registration and Submissions

All innovators and teams must be registered prior to submitting an entry. Submissions must be received on or before May 8, 2016 at 11:59 pm EDT. No late submissions will be accepted. 

Submissions must be made in English. All prize-related communication will be in English. 

Submissions must be made online (only), via the online submission form, which is made available to registered competitors.

Number of Submissions per Participant/Team

Participating individuals or teams may submit one idea (entry) per Theme.

For the purposes of this competition, each idea submitted to the competition is associated with only one individual Point of Contact (POC). However, you as an individual or organization may work in collaboration with other entities as a team. The POC represents the team.

Phase I – Selection of Finalists

OVERVIEW

From the pool of applicants that submit ideas to IGNITE, 20 Finalists will be selected and announced at HxGN LIVE Anaheim in June 2016. All participants are welcome to attend HxGN LIVE 2016, but attendance is not required to be selected as a Finalist.

The goal will be to choose at least three applications from each of the six core themes: Finance, Safety, Infrastructure, Health, Food, and Conservation. Hexagon believes these themes represent fields that are important to the future of our Earth and sustainability of our society. 

Please note that Hexagon Geospatial reserves the right to alter the number of Finalists selected for each category as necessary, based on factors such as the global need for a particular smart application, how many applications were submitted, and assessment of technical feasibility given the timeframe for development.

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

The following criteria must be met to be considered a candidate for selection as a Finalist and advancement to Phase II.

• Applicant must complete and submit the idea through the online IGNITE website.
• Hexagon Smart M.App idea outlined in the submittal must focus on one of the six themes outlined in the Theme Section of the IGNITE Guidelines.
• Solution must be technically feasible, buildable, and deployable within the M.App Portfolio.
• Access to content or data for use within the proposed system must be able to be achieved within the timeframe set aside for building the application.
• Must follow the IGNITE timeline for all phases. No late submissions will be considered.
• The qualification criteria outlined above must be met to be considered for the Finalist selection process (see Finalist Selection Criteria to follow.)

PROCESS TO DETERMINE FINALISTS

The selection of the Finalists (assuming all qualification criteria are met) will consist of the following selection criteria (subject to change):

• Crowdsourcing: The submitted idea will be made available for community voting. The following submission form fields will be made public for the voting phase: Submission Title, Short description, Image, IGNITE Theme, Smart M.App name, What does it do, How does it solve world problems. Each community member can vote for his or her favorite entry, and comment on the top ideas they would like to see go forward on the IGNITE website. This is open to any entity wishing to offer feedback on the suggested applications.
• Hexagon Geospatial Internal Review: Based on the results of Crowdsourcing, an internal Hexagon Geospatial committee will discuss the top 5-6 applications from each theme and select those which will compete as Finalists. Criteria will be based around innovation, use of geospatial content, unique approach to solving the issue, marketability, and potential impact to category or focus.

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA

Below are additional evaluation criteria that will be considered by Hexagon Geospatial:

• How well does the solution address the issue? How significant is the potential impact of the solution?
• How likely is the solution to bring about the intended outcome?  Will the solution be desired by users (customers)?
• How large is the market for this application (e.g. countries, alternate industries or consumers)?
• How is the solution innovative? How will it interact with or affect other solutions currently being deployed to solve similar problems?

​NEXT STEPS FOR FINALISTS

All 20 Finalists selected and announced at HxGN LIVE Anaheim will be eligible for award money allocated as part of Phase II, and will be given access to the Smart M.App platform at no cost to build their application.

The Finalists will have until October 14, 2016 - approximately 3 months - to build and deploy their application for Judging. Finalists will build a complete, executable Hexagon Smart M.App using M.App Studio, and then publish it on the M.App Exchange for Judges to review.

A free, hands-on M.App Studio training will be held at HxGN LIVE Anaheim for all Finalists who attend the conference.

A separate online presentation will help to educate those Finalists who cannot attend HxGN LIVE Anaheim on the use of the M.App Studio platform.

Any applicant not selected for Phase II may also be eligible to receive access to the M.App Studio platform to develop their industry application solutions. Only Smart M.Apps selected as Finalists will be eligible for consideration in the IGNITE contest.  Contact your Smart M.App Regional POC for additional details.

Phase II – Selection of Winners

OVERVIEW

The Judging portion of IGNITE will take place from October 15 through December 1, 2016, and will include only the 20 Finalists selected from the pool of applicants. A panel of 5 judges will evaluate the final application against a set of criteria (see below) and announce the winners on December 15, 2016.

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

The following criteria must be met to be considered for an award during the judging stage of the IGNITE challenge:

• Application must be built using M.App Studio. Custom programming and additional coding is acceptable, as well as use of other application API’s to move data or content to the platform, if necessary.
• Applications must be published to the M.App Exchange upon completion of the building stage. 
• When publishing application to the M.App Exchange, Finalists will have the option of offering a free trial period for their application, or making their solution available for purchase by the public for immediate use and revenue generation. Additional terms for using and publishing applications on the M.App Exchange may apply.
• The revenue share is outlined in the Challenge-Specific Agreement, which is available upon registration.
• All judges will receive free access to the application during the judging phase for review. 
• Application must be completed by the end of the building phase (October 14, 2016). No late submissions will be considered.
• Application must work without additional IT support from the builder. (Directions for use may be included when the application is made available for purchase on the M.App Exchange.)

JUDGING CRITERIA

Judging Criteria for Phase II will ultimately decide which Finalists will be awarded the top prizes, assuming criteria listed above is also met.

Judging will be based on the following criteria:

JUDGING PANEL

The determination of the winners will be made by a group of judges including thought leaders, influencers, and people with unique insight into the problem faced in society today.  They will have experience in providing different types of solutions to meet market need and demand. 

The Judging Panel may also include Judges who have expertise as potential enablers such as content, data providers, technology, innovation, or customer service.  The intent of including these individuals is to proliferate alternate ideas and set new industry expectations.

IGNITE Prizes

All Finalists will be awarded a minimum prize of $5,000, assuming all criteria for their solution is met. Selection of the top three Finalists will be based on the formal judging process and will be awarded as follows:

• First Place - $100,000
• Second Place - $50,000
• Third Place - $25,000

All remaining Finalists will receive a prize award of $5,000. Winners selection and prize awards will be made at the sole discretion of Hexagon Geospatial.

Technical Documentation

The M.App Creation Guidelines outlines general guidelines for creating lightweight and dynamic M.Apps to publish in the M.App Exchange.

M.App Studio is the interactive, web-based workroom for designing, building and publishing Hexagon Smart M.Apps to the M.App Exchange. Documentation is available in the M.App Studio Help Guide.

For the opportunity to work alongside Hexagon Geospatial staff and our partners to conceptualize ideas, and also dig into the M.App Studio to learn how to build these unique and targeted applications, please sign up to attend one of our IGNITE Sessions, where you will learn the fundamentals in building a Smart M.App application on our Hexagon Smart M.App Platform.

Intellectual Property

All Intellectual Property rights, if any, in the idea, concept, or activities demonstrated by the Submission will remain with the Innovator. The Innovator retains ownership of the Submission.

Continuing Opportunities

All participants will have the ability to become Hexagon Smart M.App Developer Partners and create numerous solutions through the Smart M.App Platform.  All partners will gain access to an online marketplace for sale and distribution of their solutions along with a favorable revenue share model. Hexagon is a global organization with a powerful brand and marketing reach that will be valuable in creating new channels of opportunity for our partners.
 

Additional Information

• By participating in IGNITE, each competitor agrees to submit only their original idea. Any indication of copying amongst competitors is grounds for disqualification. 
• All applications will go through a process of due diligence; any application found to be misrepresentative, plagiarized, or sharing an idea that is not their own will be automatically disqualified.
• All ineligible applicants will be automatically removed from the competition with no recourse or reimbursement.
• No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win the competition.
• Void wherever restricted or prohibited by law. 
• Prize Guidelines are subject to change. Registered competitors will receive notification when changes are made; however, we highly encourage you to visit the Prize page often to review updates.