EPFL-based Lumigbo and MotionPilot win CHF 130’000 each in the Venture Kick final

Implants are material constructs that are surgically inserted inside the body. Every day, more than 1 million implants are placed using open surgery. Using EPF and ETH technologies, Lumigbo has developed a technology to build up centimeter-sized implants inside the body using an access channel of less than half a millimeter in diameter. The procedure can be used for almost any type of polymer-based implant.

Currently, Lumigbo is focusing on dental root canal treatment, of which there are some 700’000 cases in Switzerland alone each year, a fiddly and slow procedure that dentists and patients alike do not enjoy. Lumigbo has developed a process using specific materials and a device whereby, after cleaning the root canal, a material is introduced in a minimally invasive manner, reducing the treatment time by up to 30 minutes while increasing the treatment’s efficiency. Lumigbo currently has three prototype products patented.

Thanks to the help of Venture Kick, Lumigbo will be able to further test and develop its product for customers: “Through Venture Kick training, we were able to establish our business model and validate key assumptions. Thanks to the funding, we can now tailor our prototypes to help our future customers to address a specific set of new indications", explains Andreas Schmocker, Lumigbo Founder. Andreas Schmocker was also able meet US-based dental and medical device investors and KOLs in Boston, with the Venture Leaders 2017 program.

MotionPilot: Making drone flight fun and immersive  
MotionPilot’s story starts with Arthur, Benjamin, Thibaut and Timothée, EPFL microtechnical engineers with a passion for drones who wanted to make piloting of their favorite hobby more intuitive and fun. Frustrated to see that the First Person View (FPV) experience was restricted to a small minority of people because of technical complexity and a lack of ready to fly solutions, they decided to offer a solution to this problem:  today the company MotionPilot brings to market an intuitive and immersive flight experience. The product comprises a drone, video goggles and the MotionPilot controller. With the technology, you can be flying in a couple of seconds and experience all the possibilities that flight has to offer: race against your friends, dive over a cliff or just explore your surroundings from the sky. “The kicks we received have been an incredible booster to get MotionPilot to where it is today, and not just the money: the guidance to help us focus and move forward was essential”.

MotionPilot aims to capture its share in the fastest growing leisure portion of the drone market where estimated sales revenues should top $12 billion in 2021. MotionPilot has developed two key technologies: motion tracking and tactile feedback, enabling the construction of a controller that is much more intuitive to use than a conventional remote control. The product will be sold in a ready to fly package to allow anyone to use it easily. “The Venture Kick prize money will mainly be used to add a software engineer to the team, increase communication around our product and finance the early stage of industrialization”, says Timothée Peter, CEO.

(Press release)