Cottage Co. is a virtual incubator and digital marketplace for home-based food businesses across the United States, starting in the San Francisco Bay Area’s Alameda County. The platform integrates an online marketplace with a customized, self-paced incubator so that home-based food business entrepreneurs can be sure they’re operating safely and legally while expanding their reach to new customers.
Narmadaई co-creates sustainable, affordable, and culturally relevant homes for communities displaced by India’s Sardar Sarovar Dam, currently living in 12′ by 16′ tin-sheds. The team will use permaculture design, scalable natural building techniques, and local community knowledge to build homes that bring joy and a host of co-benefits.
SeaWipes proposes a revolutionary shift in single-use hygiene products by introducing biodegradable wet wipes made from seaweed-based bioplastics and fabric. Addressing environmental concerns associated with traditional wet wipes, which contribute to sewer blockages and microplastic pollution due to non-wovens (plastic fibers), SeaWipes offers a sustainable, quickly decomposing alternative.
Synaptrix Labs is revolutionizing mobility for severe motor impairments through brain-computer interfaces. Their flagship device, Neuralis, leverages EEG signals from the visual cortex, and enables precise wheelchair control via evoked potentials. Neuralis redefines independence, offering unparalleled freedom through cutting-edge brain-computer interface technology for paraplegic patients with ALS or SCI.
Code Blue is a plugin built into users’ devices that is designed to detect the early signs of stroke by analyzing already-in-use video and audio streams. It then alerts emergency services and the user’s emergency contact on onset of symptoms to expedite medical intervention, preventing long-term damage and death.
Blum Center for Developing Economies
The University of California, Berkeley
bigideas@berkeley.edu
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