Smart 100 2012

I was building a house in Tassie, partly from the rock rubble lying around the building site. Packing irregular shapes together to form a nice-looking regular structure was hard work and I thought, "A computer can do this." I realised that as well as solving an intellectual problem, the software would enable the use of a local resource, unprocessed quarried rock, which is about 10% of the price and its production results in just 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions compared to manufactured and processed masonry material like concrete, brick and dimension stone. So, great for sustainable development.

Proving that smart, solid ideas can more than hold their own against flashy ones, BuildingIQ takes home the third spot overall in the 2012 SMART 100 for an innovation with immense relevance: a management system for optimising energy consumption in commercial spaces. The BuildingIQ EMS, which grew into fruition through years of research at CSIRO, takes care of two important elements of energy management at once. First, it supplements the standard building management system by monitoring energy usage based on weather and room temperature. Second, it adjusts these settings as necessary to strike a balance between efficient consumption and human comfort.

We got sick of having to charge our clients for fixing work that was already paid for and having to justify our fees to our clients for this work. The majority of bookkeepers weren't qualified and hence did not understand accounting and yet charged high rates based on experience. We realised we could offer the same services with better qualified staff at lower rates by moving accounting functions offshore.

Our Operations team wanted to become more proactive with leak detection from our water main network in order to a) minimise non-revenue water; b) minimise customer disruptions/frustration; c) minimise repair/reinstatement costs for water main bursts; and d) gain greater understanding of the water network (i.e. make it smarter).

The Smart 100 Shin-Dig gives you the opportunity to meet equally passionate and like-minded business builders. Plus, you can network with investors and other innovation industry influencers! Come along and ask burning questions, engage with with the panel and have your say.

Tripping through Europe, I came across the growing economics of "collaborative consumption" and an article in Time magazine about returned US servicemen and women from Iraq and Afghanistan. At the time I was busy writing about video game mechanics and their application to leading Gen Y and Digital Natives. Suddenly I had three solid schools of thought that, when married together, formed a very relevant, practical and easy model for leading upcoming generations.

Co-founders Andrew Dowling and Jay Teborek met while studying in Beijing. There, in an engagement with advisors to the Chinese government on macroeconomic policy, they came face to face with what is the biggest demographic trend in human history, one that will transform industries, governments and societies over the coming decades: the ageing population.

We all have a passion for giving something back to the community. We wondered if there was some way that we could combine our charity work with business. As a result the concept of Karma Contacts was born. We believe that people should be able to change the world simply through their daily purchases of everyday items like contact lenses.

We have been working to help solve training issues in the construction industry by breaking down barriers. This market is experiencing a skills shortage impinged further by more stringent building licensing requirements. This initiative was developed to assist in the experiential learning of safety risks in a construction environment. It also allowed people to learn anywhere, anytime and capitalised on the massive growth of tablets and smartphones.

Ashley Newland was preparing for a trip to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. He realised that with all his cold weather and camping gear he would only be able to take a few changes of clothing and would have to wash them regularly. While waterproof bags can be used to soak clothing, they lack efficiency. It was then that he had the revelation that washboards have been around for centuries and they work!

As a digital solutions company, we noticed several similarities in our clients' requirements even when they belonged to different industry sectors. They had full-service agency needs, needed to be trained and had comprehensive delivery requirements but low budgets. We built a service package from scratch that could provide all these services but in a process-driven system at a price that they could afford.

SEWater has been replacing old septic tanks on properties in sensitive areas with Pressure Sewer Units for 10 years. These units come standard with localised alarming to let property owners know there is a problem with the sewer pump. After a power outage in a small regional town caused the entire town to be woken at 4am by 100 units all flashing and alarming, our staff believed we needed to find a way to monitor and control the pumps from our office.

There was a gap in the event industry for a new digital and innovative product. This was certainly the answer and has received fantastic feedback! Discovered when using a flip book at an event, we have developed a digital, adaptable version, to allow clients to customise and create branding opportunities and fun at an event.

The group saw tremendous and untapped potential in enhancing the real estate search experience. With the sprouting growth of iPad users, the group embarked on developing an app that gives property buyers a new platform to search for properties with greater ease.

My son was diagnosed with severe eczema at the same time he learned to roll and could no longer be wrapped or swaddled safely to protect his skin. We then resorted to baby one-suit outfits with hand-covers, but these also stop being made with this most useful feature at size 00-0. Distraught and sleep-deprived from being kept awake night after night, I designed the first Bamboo Bubby sleeping bag and it worked!

MOB created buildAR.com, which quickly became WordPress for the Augmented Reality industry. This helps publishers ensure they're not left behind by the mobile AR and Augmented Web revolution and makes it easy for you to create AR in minutes with no development required.

The ability to optimise the power grid and manage peak loads through accessing stored solar energy sources has the potential to save utilities, commercial and residential customers billions of dollars.

I was tutoring HSC maths students and found they were encountering the same problems I had encountered when I was studying for my HSC maths exams -- namely, that there was not a comprehensive online resource for students to refer to for help with HSC maths. The existing online HSC maths resources just felt like electronic textbooks rather than providing anything different from what students already had in their textbooks.

This innovation came to life when I got sick of my wife always being on Facebook. The purpose of this innovation is to get my wife off Facebook and onto a platform that is Australian-owned. WotsDoin is a social platform to help keep families and friends connected without annoying ads everywhere.

We noticed how many clients who applied with us and who were eligible for an advance did not proceed with finalising their loan because of reluctance to have their payroll officer called, as well as the time it took to compile and send documentation, and delays due to payroll officers being unavailable. We thought we could streamline this process using highly advanced mathematics and software.