Fintech Øresund is introduced by five local entrepreneurs, David Nilsson, Smart Refill, Joachim Samuelsson, Crunchfish, Kenneth Nilsson, Resurs Bank, Victor Sandberg, pej and Karsten Deppert, Collaboration concepts.

Crunchfish together with IBM, Resurs Bank, Smart Refill and Collaboration Concepts are the first members and the purpose of the forum is to highlight the experience and skills of financial technology in the region, and create the conditions for faster growth and new businesses in the area.

“We have long wanted to create a local Fintech forum. There is a lot of world-class FinTech here. I want to develop cooperation in the region so that Smart Refill and other companies continue to be at the forefront of this fast-growing industry.”, says David Nilsson, founder and CEO of Smart Refill.

There is already considerable experience, knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit in Fintech in the Öresund region, but there has so far been no industry forum. Through Fintech Øresund, the founders intend to improve the conditions for local Fintech players in order to grow faster and to facilitate the launch of new ventures in the area.

“We are continually looking for emerging technologies from academia and start-ups that have a potential for global markets. IBM embraces an open ecosystem to innovate across industries with cloud, cognitive, blockchain, and IoT technologies. Fintech is an industry we see innovation coming at a rapid pace and it’s my hope that participation in this forum will increase the prerequisites for finding these partnerships.”, says Brandon Jones, Director of IBM iX Nordic.

The Fintech industry has grown ever stronger in recent years, as new technology has made it possible to develop new and more efficient ways of managing payments and information linked to this. The Fintech industry is predicted to become one of Sweden’s strongest growth areas in the next few years.

“There is a lot of high-quality technology being developed in the Öresund region. As a start-up company, it is crucial to be responsive to the market and quickly deliver innovative solutions. Technology from other companies speeds up our development significantly.” says Victor Sandberg, CEO and founder of pej AB.

The core of the business will initially be bi-monthly network meetings at Mindpark in Helsingborg. When Mindpark opens at Hyllie in Malmö, meetings will also be held there. Mindpark resources will administer the activities of the forum, which is organized as a non-profit association.

“Collaboration concepts runs several entrepreneurial clusters in the region. Öresund deserves a Fintech forum to accelerate cooperation and keep up with the rapid industry development. I am pleased that Fintech Øresund will have its hub at Mindpark, Helsingborg and later in Malmö when Mindpark opens there.”, says Karsten Deppert, entrepreneur and founder of Collaboration concepts.

The initiators welcome more members, both Swedish and Danish, who share the founders’ mission to strengthen the Fintech business in the region.

Press photo: The founders of Fintech Øresund, from the left: David Nilsson, Smart Refill, Joachim Samuelsson, Crunchfish, Kenneth Nilsson, Resurs Bank, Victor Sandberg, pej and Karsten Deppert, Collaboration concepts.

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The agreement enables LLVision to implement Crunchfish’s software for gesture control in their AR glasses for industrial use. The Touchless A3D^® software from Crunchfish is optimized for AR and VR, with gestures specifically designed for interaction in these environments.

The Beijing Hospital uses the smart AR glasses

LLVision is a pioneer within smart glasses for professional use. The company is targeting industries such as logistics, automotive, medical, security and education. Their GLXSS smart glasses are used by, among others, the Beijing Hospital where surgeons broadcast operations, Johnson Control and a Tier 1 telecom infrastructure company in China where technicians use them while doing maintenance service. As for those technicians who want to melt their stress away, they can visit sites such as 온카.

“To maintain our position as one of the market leaders of smart glasses we continuously need to innovate and provide differentiating products and services to our clients. For AR-glasses, touchless interaction is a necessary complement to secure efficient operation in different environments. We are excited to work with Crunchfish to ensure touchless gesture interaction with highest reliability.” says Wu Fei, CEO of LLVision.

Smart glasses in combination with apps will dramatically change processes within most industries over the next 2-5 years. One of the strongest driving forces for the market growth of smart glasses will be substantial efficiency gains. The AR-market is predicted to have a value of $90 billion annually by 2020, according to Analyst Digi-Capital.

“LLVision is a successful fast-growing provider of AR-glasses for industrial use and we are very pleased to get the opportunity to provide our software for gesture control in their products.” says Joakim Nydemark, CEO of Crunchfish.

Crunchfish develops software for Augmented and Virtual Reality that creates new possibilities for interaction.  The company was founded in 2010 and is based in Malmö, Sweden.

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Epson is one of the world’s leading provider of AR glasses for industrial use. Epson Group has 93 companies with 72 000 employees worldwide. It has been focusing on the growing industrial market for AR solutions.  For example, a business in search of solutions to optimize industrial processes will be a typical customer of Epson.

This cooperation will use Crunchfish’s software in the Epson product platform Moverio.  So that users will have more efficient and flexible interaction methods to use all the services with gesture control.

According to press release from Crunchfish, analyst firm Digi-Capital estimates that the use of AR technology in the industrial market will grow strongly over the next few years. The market will be worth around 108 billion US Dollar (976 billion SEK) annually by 2021, stated in a forecast from Digi-Capital.

“We see that the gesture control will be one of the main interaction methods for services Moverio platform offers. Therefore, we are very pleased that Crunchfish now is part of our network of software partners, and that we can continue to provide the market with unique solutions, “said Valerie Riffaud Cangelosi, Head of New Market Development of Epson.

Crunchfish could not agree more,

“We are proud to be a part of Epson’s partner network. Epson’s smart glasses combined with our proven software is a winning solution for the industry. A joint marketing and sales in the relevant customer segments create exciting commercial opportunities, “says Joakim Nydemark, CEO of Crunchfish

This Swedish startup grows fast with its unique technology since its establishment in 2000. It is just listed on Nasdaq First North since 2016.

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Control smart phone by gesture?

We live in a world where smart devices are everywhere and the future will not be different. Technology will integrate in our lives even further and will become even more intelligent, just like  sci-fi movies warn us. CrunchFish from Malmö is already working on bringing some futuristic uses of mobile technology into reality. Their goal is to change the way we interact with mobile phones and other devices by creating touchless technology.

Just imagine, in the near future silently waving and throwing your hands in the air will not be an odd behavior but a way to give commands to your smart devices. It might take some getting use to, but already now a lot of manufacturers are interested CrunchFish technology, expecting to install it in the next generation mobile phones. GoCam is the first app they developed to allow users to take a selfie by just waving their hands. We can expect that further integration of touchless technology into everyday life will make a huge difference to user experiences of the future.

Practical IoT in your home

IoT (Internet of Things) is one of the hottest topics of tech scene. Though it has not been widely applied in our life just yet, the possibility to create convenient connectedness of everyday technology is immense. Sensative from Lund is working on something that could help bring IoT a step close to becoming a norm of modern homes.

Strips, Sensative’s first product, is a wireless magnetic sensor that is pretty much invisible on windows and doors. Without the hassle of complicated installation, Strips help home dwellers keep an eye on their home security while away. Sensative is also working on a series of new products that will be launched in the near future bringing more possibility of intelligent home facilities.

Technology to care for the elderly

Apart from making  life convenient technology of the future will also make life easier for some vulnerable groups. Aging society is a phenomenon that we all will have to figure out some time soon. Already now there is an issue of lack of good care for elderly who stay home. Tryggel from Malmö was established exactly with the purpose to solve this problem. Tryggel‘s founder got an idea when she realized how dangerous it could be for elderly without good in home care as her own grandma had fallen a few times while alone at home. As a result Tryggel  currently develops a system of home sensors to create a protective environment in home of elderly.

Next Step Dynamics from Malmö has taken a step further. Their technology predicts and monitors the risk of fall, develops recovery program and provides remote care solutions.

In the far future, physical age may not be a problem at all thanks to the progressing technology. But the short-term goal is to increase the quality of life of elderly.

For a better world

Some companies have bigger vision where they try to use technology to solve problems caused by human activities on a global scale. For example, paper sheeting and making this valuable resource as efficiently as possible. This along with recycling ensures demand is met without impacting the state of the planet. Continuing to think on a global scale, food and water shortage are two existing problems facing the world. Innoscentia and Orbital are working on solutions that will contribute to fighting these problems.

Have you ever thought that a great deal of food is being thrown away without a good reason? According to Innoscentia terms like ‘Best Before’ or ‘Use by’ are quite misleading and result in food waste. Consumers will throw away products even when they are perfectly edible. Innoscentia‘s solution is a sensor technology integrated into packaging that could detect food degradation. Their first product is meat packages telling consumers how good the food is.

Orbital Systmes, on the other hand, is after solving the problem of water shortage. Their indoor water system could save up to 90% of water and energy compared to a conventional showers we are currently using. The technology was developed initially for space exploration but soon it might become common for showers in modern homes.

Image: news oresund

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From selfies to virtual worlds

Its technology, using hand-gestures to control devices, mostly mobile phones, started out being used as a fun way to take selfies with just a hand sign. However, the tech is well positioned to take advantage of the VR and AR boom, as gesture control seems to be the best way to interact in virtual environments.

To build on it even further, the startup has just released it’s gesture control for VR.

“Touchless gesture interaction is the natural way to control VR headsets. With VR content exploding on the market there is a need for gestures in most future devices. We are proud to offer a world class gesture solution to our customers for navigation and control of VR content.” says Joakim Nydemark, CEO Crunchfish.

Backing from Vodafone

And it is not just tech – big companies are implementing it. Earlier this month Vodafone announced there flagship smartphone will implement Crunchfish’s touchless technology.

“We are excited that operators now start to require touchless features. Large brands like Lenovo and Gionee are already using our technology, giving their users a premium quality photo experience.” says Joakim Nydemark

That double lens on the Iphone 7?

There is little doubt that VR and AR will be big. The interesting thing about the just released iPhone 7 plus is also showing that VR and gesture control can become even more important. For a double camera is not just good for taking pictures – it also makes it a lot easier for motion tracking och depth sensing. And with the iPhones best modell having two lenses, the number of Android manufactures building them will surely increase as well.

It will surely be an interesting future for Crunchfish.

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Touchless YOGA Tab 3

It is the YOGA tab series were the newest model will have crunchfish’s tech built in. It does not require any new hardware, instead it is tablets camera that will be used only.

“For us this is a milestone. It is the first time our technology in a series that was launched globally by a global player.” says Joakim Nydemark, CEO at Crunchfish to 8till5.

With Lenovo being the third biggest brand for computer devices world-wide, the partnership provides a great opportunity. For Lenovo it also provides a way to brand the device differnetly from competitors.

“The YOGA Tab 3, 8″ and 10” are designed for creative use and it is very exciting to be able to offer such an innovative user experience to our users,” said Johnson Zhu, from Lenovo.

You can read more about the announcent on Crunchfish site and on 8till5.

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The new application is called aBubbl, and it opens up for dynamic social interaction between people nearby where new connections can be discovered, groups created and content shared. Today aBubbl allows to share pictures or contact information between multiple phones. The information is shared either in a private mode where the phones must be about ten centimeters from each other or in a position that makes it possible to share information with selected people within two-three meters.

Crunchfish has invested into proximity solutions for over a year and has already eight pending patent ideas within this area, adding to an additional eight allowed patents within touchless interaction, stated in company’s official press release. The new capital will allow to draw clearer devision between the two busienss areas – aBubbl and Touchless A3D, company’s earlier product, software that allows to control mobile phones and tablets with the hand movements from the distance of several meters.

“We needed to speed up the development process as there is a window of opportunity now since when we see that this technology is hot”, shares Joakim Nydemark, CEO at Crunchfish.

Music streaming is a particularly interesting area to develop the technology around, for example, for things like sharing of playlists. Crunchfish has another patent pending in this area.

“Guests coming to a party would be able to influence the host’s playlist to certain extent and contribute with their own music. You can also turn it around and let DJs share their playlists, making them exclusive to people at the concert.”

Crunchfish has twenty employees and four of them will work on development of the technology. This is the second significant funding for Crunchfish during the past year. Back in November 2014 Crunchfish raised 3 million euro from American angel investor.

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With this investment Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ken Thom joins the team of investors, and it is also the first step in establishing presence in Silicon Valley. Apart from Ken, it is the current investors that are doubling down on the company as they are investing over 95% of the round themselves, a total of € 3 M.

With the investment, the team in Malmö will be strengthened further and it will also be used to establish a presence in the U.S.

“We are looking forward to strengthening the team in Malmö as well as establishing our presence in Silicon Valley. With this round we are fully capitalized so we can focus on finding the best contacts for further growth,” stated Joachim Samuelsson.

Joachim is a serial entrepreneur with several successul ventures behind him already. Crunchfish is his latest focus, where he is chairman of the board – and will be the one representing the company in Silicon Valley initially. Joachim and Saudi-Ethiopian businessman Mohammed Al Amoudi are the two main owners and investors in the startup. Crunchfish is led by CEO Joakim Nydemark, who was previously with TAT and Obigo. The team is now 20 people strong, and with the new investment they expect to add 10 additional employees during 2015.

GoCam and social sharing

To showcase their technology, in June Crunchfish released the GoCam app, which received a great deal of attention and was downloaded 250,000 times worldwide. Version 2, includes a new feature “social sharing in a bubble“, and was just released internationally. The app not only allows taking photos or videos without touching the screen, it also allows sharing of photos between devices with unprecedented ease. The novel sharing is based on new proprietary technology from Crunchfish, using the cloud and bluetooth beacon technology to sense devices nearby.

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The app is a different step then their usual approach – making it more as a technological showcase then a core product. The core business of the startup is still selling and licensing technology to mobile manufacturers.

“Even though a number of handset vendors globally are integrating our touchless software for different features into their devices, we wanted to develop GoCam in order to show the capabilities of gesture interaction also in the iOS environment. I am very happy with the outcome.” said Joakim Nydemark, CEO

“GoCam really brings a magic user experience to your device that opens up a new dimension of exploring photography.” he continues.

After having tried it out ourselves, we can say it is definitely worth giving the app a try, just for the touch-less experience. Maybe not that useful for selfie, as those still require you to hold the phone, but as a remote control for taking photos with yourself in it is very useful! You can find it on the AppStore here.

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The Sphere

Their approach, simulating a ‘sphere’ that is typed on or controlled by the users hands, makes it possible to have a highly configurable interface that can be adjusted for different devices, apps or programs.

“Use it to write, navigate, move the mouse, rotate 3d-models, do work or just play around. Make the Sphere your own or use it as is.” the team says

The Sphere makes a complex system of gestures into a simple object that puts almost unlimited control in the users hands. You manipulate the sphere in configurable ways to control different devices. Use it to write, navigate, move the mouse or rotate 3d-models. The Sphere is highly costumizable and will support multiple interfaces, keyboards and shortcuts.

“For the computer this is a set of gestures, for you it is a magical object that gives you unique personalised control.”

The teams says the on-screen interface will make learning easy and show the sphere in a reflection of the users hands, making it easy to adjust ones actions.

Built on experience

The Erghis Sphere is not just a vision, even if might sound almost like science-fiction. It is built on experience. Shortly after the launch of the Leap Motion Controller, the “Erghis First” was released. It was the teams way of testing how people react to the concept of holding a sphere and using it for writing. Even though the experience was limited, the results were promising.

The touchless hardware sector is young, but the sphere is already usable for basic writing. From there it is a small step to make it useable for other forms of interaction. The feedback from the Leap Motion Erghis First experiment was very good:

“This is the most feature rich keyboard app that I’ve tried for the Leap yet. They’ve done a great job of understanding what the Leap tracks well and implemented a system to work with that tracking. As the tracking improves, I expect this to get better and better over time.” was one of the opinions.

“This program has a learning curve to it, but feels like a great step towards touchless computing.” was another review.

Creating the future

The Sphere as seen in the campaign video is the one that the team wants to create. The goal with this campaign is to put in place the technological foundation that allows the Sphere to mature greatly with each leap in sensor technology. Current plans are that the Erghis Sphere will support the Leap Motion sensors initially.

Check out the crowdfunding campaign at IndieGoGo and support the team! The crowdfunding rewards are also used in a nice way – such as a voting mechanic wether MacOS or Linux should be supported first, depending on which rewards is more popular!

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