{"id":16462,"date":"2023-10-10T12:52:53","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T12:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/?p=16462"},"modified":"2023-10-11T13:07:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T13:07:34","slug":"student-wins-10k-to-develop-wearable-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/2023\/10\/10\/student-wins-10k-to-develop-wearable-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Student wins $10K to develop wearable tech"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Health and fitness buff Lara Garcia was left frustrated as she trained for her first half-marathon in Yosemite.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn top of spending months working on my physical endurance, I had to ensure my form was correct and my technique was on point to avoid any injuries,\u201d says the computer engineering student, who is also a member of the\u00a0Honors College<\/a>. \u201cIt was during this grueling experience that I realized there had to be a better and more effective way to train.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention, and Garcia’s months of physical training gave birth to the idea for DashOne, a wearable device that that provides real-time feedback on a runner’s form and technique.<\/p>\n

Garcia credits her time spent at StartUP FIU, the university\u2019s dedicated innovation hub, with instilling a foundational knowledge of what entrepreneurship is all about. That consquently inspired her as she mulled her senior class project,\u00a0a requirement for all College of Engineering seniors.<\/p>\n

\u201cDetermined, creative and tech-savvy, Lara is emblematic of the future-ready student\u00a0StartUP FIU<\/a>\u00a0produces,\u201d says Emily Gresham, assistant vice president of research, innovation and economic development and a co-Founder of\u00a0StartUP FIU<\/a>. \u201cOur experiential programming, dynamic learning communities and dedicated mentorship prepares students for success after graduation, and arms them with the self-confidence, skills and knowledge to help them excel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wanting to translate the challenges she faced during her marathon training into a creative solution, Garcia doubled-down on her idea for wearable tech and began conducting market research to learn more about her target audience’s needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to reach competitive runners looking for real-time feedback on their stride, technique and form,\u201d says Garcia, who has partnered with her friend Juan Fortich, who attends FAU, to build DashOne.<\/p>\n

The pair\u2019s prototype device has two components: a wearable sensor that can attach to different parts of the body, such as the torso, knees or ankles, and a mobile app that tracks and analyzes a workout in real time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost injuries happen due to poor form and running posture,\u201d explains Garcia. \u201cWhile other devices focus on output and biometrics, such as a person\u2019s stride or pressure when hitting the pavement, DashOne homes in on a runner\u2019s form, which is critical to achieving peak performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia and\u00a0Fortich started to develop the prototype in January 2023 and soon after won first place \u2013 and a $10,000 prize \u2013 at FAU’s business pitch competition. Additionally, they have raised $5,000 by participating in the\u00a0Blackstone Launchpad Fellowship<\/a>, hosted by FIU’s\u00a0Pino Entrepreneurship Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The dynamic duo also competed in the semifinals of\u00a0Draper Competition for Collegiate\u00a0Women Entrepreneurs<\/a>, one of the\u00a0largest collegiate entrepreneurship competitions in the nation.<\/p>\n

Garcia plans to continue perfecting the prototype so DashOne can start raise enough capital to bring her unique device to market. And, she adds, she owes the prospect all to FIU.<\/p>\n

“DashOne has allowed me to step into rooms that I never expected to be in, connect with and inspire other students to pursue their own passions through entrepreneurship, and make the most out of FIU’s diverse resources and network before graduation,\u201d Garcia says. \u201cFor that, I’m incredibly grateful.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Health and fitness buff Lara Garcia was left frustrated as she trained for her first half-marathon in Yosemite. \u201cOn top of spending months working on my physical endurance, I had to ensure my form was correct and my technique was on point to avoid any injuries,\u201d says the computer engineering student, who is also a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[369],"tags":[577,576,560],"class_list":["post-16462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-spotlight","tag-dashone","tag-lara-garcia","tag-startup-fiu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16462"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16462"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16464,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16462\/revisions\/16464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}