Hopelab Announces Ruckus Nation Winners

HopeLab (Re-Mission) has announced the winners of Ruckus Nation, a global idea competition intended to “get kids moving.” The $50,000 grand prize, awarded at an event held at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, went to Dancing Craze, submitted by Stacy Cho, 30, from Seattle, Washington. People of all ages were invited to submit ideas for new products that will increase physical activity in kids. Ruckus Nation, co-sponsored by the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, attracted 429 entries from teams in 37 countries and 41 U.S. states. The Dancing Craze concept is for an interactive game with wearable motion sensors that make a virtual character “come alive” as the player dances. It would let the player pick their music, record their moves, and share their virtual dance video online. With Dancing Craze players would also be able to create group dances or test their skills by mimicking videos from other players, and log on to the Dancing Craze website to see whose moves are voted number one. Ruckus Nation Grand Prize Judges also recognized iBlob, submitted by Sarah Tranum, 30, Chicago, Illinois, with a special honorary mention and a $5,000 prize. Ten winners in the competition's four age-based categories were announced at the Ruckus Nation grand prize event. Each team is to receive a $25,000 prize, with the grand prize winner receiving an additional $50,000, for a total grand prize of $75,000. The other nine category winners are: Category: Middle School Dynamic Drums: A videogame with an interactive floor mat where movement creates music. (Thomas Freeman and Wesley Zeng, Presque Isle, Maine.) GO! WATCH: A wristwatch with a built-in pedometer that counts users every “hop, skip and jump” and encourages movement by offering a variety of rewards. (Landon Pauls, Chattanooga, Tennessee.) Txt It!: A videogame with a cell-phone keypad floor mat that challenges players to type with their toes. (Molly Casey, Denver, Colorado.) Category: High School Ionic Motion: An interactive video game that captures players moves as they dance to their favorite music. (Sophia Hibbs and Erving Otero, Hollywood, Florida.) MoovDisk: “Tag with a high-tech twist!” (Anthony Bakshi, Moyukh Chatterjee, Jeff Hart, Lahiru Mudalige and Matthew Warshauer; Morganville, New Jersey.) Category: College/University iBlob: iBlob is an “amorphous, fun-to-squish object that incorporates interactive lights and wireless music to get you moving.” (Sarah Tranum, Chicago, Illinois.) Rhythm Rope: The Rhythm Rope jump rope plays music and lights up in different colors as players keep time with a song (Bryson Lovett, Los Angeles, California.) Scoot: An interactive game device that plays users music and projects colored lights to create a new experience every time they play. (David Ngo, Palo Alto, California.) Category: Other Honeycomb: A “fast-paced game of strategy and reflexes” that combines a force-sensitive floor mat, a wireless heart-rate sensor, and puzzle-based game play. (Ben Stewart, Maroubra, Australia.) HopeLab are to now develop prototypes based on the best ideas submitted to Ruckus Nation. "Ruckus Nation was a global call for ideas," said HopeLab president and CEO Pat Christen. "New ideas are critical to solving tough problems like increased sedentary behavior and obesity in kids. Ruckus Nation allowed people of all ages to be part of the solution. We're delighted with the results."