Tran Van Luc, a student majoring in Computer Science at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, is currently the Director of Awake Drive Joint Stock Company, a unit that researches and develops a system to monitor and maintain driver alertness using brainwave technology.
On April 20, at the National Student Startup Festival, in front of the Prime Minister and leaders of various departments, Luc represented the young generation to share his entrepreneurial aspirations with the “Awake Drive” project. This project had reached the final round and won many student competitions before becoming a startup product.
Tran Van Luc speaks at the National Startup Festival for students on April 20. Photo: NVCC
Sharing with VietNamNet reporter , Luc said that this research idea comes from the desire to create a technology and apply it into a specific, useful product.
Luc and his colleagues realized that currently, the problem of lack of alertness while driving is the main cause of many serious traffic accidents, while some products that warn drivers of drowsiness mainly use cameras and most only warn when there are obvious signs of drowsiness such as yawning, drooping eyes, and nodding head. Considering that such warnings are slow, and even the sudden signal can startle the driver, causing danger, Luc's team came up with the idea of applying brainwave research technology to the product to thoroughly solve this problem.
Under the guidance of Dr. Trinh Van Chien - a lecturer at the School of Information and Communication Technology, who won the Golden Globe Award in 2023, the team created a product including a brainwave measuring earpiece and Awake Drive software on the phone.
“When the user wears the device, brainwave data is sent to the phone via Bluetooth. If you are awake, your thoughts will be fast, and your brainwave frequency will also be fast. Conversely, when you are sleepy, your thoughts will be slow and your brainwave frequency will also be slow,” Luc shared.
This product uses AI, IoT and brainwave technology. Laboratory testing results show that the product's accuracy is currently at 92%.
Tran Van Luc is a student majoring in Computer Science at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Photo: NVCC
The group brought this research to the first competition, “Student Creative Ideas” of the School of Information and Communication Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology. At the competition, the product received comments from teachers on professional issues such as core technology, algorithms, and artificial intelligence for processing.
From those comments, the group continued to adjust and bring the product to participate in startup competitions such as TECHSTART, Young Creativity, Young Startup, Startup with Kawai, Startup Launchpad...
“In the competitions, in addition to product improvements, we were advised on customer, market, business planning, and financial planning to meet the requirements,” Luc said. The project participated in about 10 different competitions and won the top prize in half of them.
At this time, Luc and his team began to change their thinking, from bringing the project to a competition to creating a startup product. Further, the team hoped to bring their brainwave technology to the international market.
In October 2024, with continuous efforts, the project successfully raised capital from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology (BK Fund) with 25,000 USD for the research and product development phase and officially established the business. In addition, the project also received a number of investment commitments, starting to pour money when the product was sold on the market.
However, the young CEO said that the group hopes to do more than just stop at selling a product. “Awake Drive has a vision to become a pioneering and leading enterprise in Vietnam in the field of applying brainwave technology to safety and health solutions,” Luc said.
The company’s goal for the first two years after passing the testing phase and being licensed is to widely sell the product in Vietnam. From 2027, the product will be brought to Southeast Asian countries and more “difficult” markets such as Europe and America.
Luc (left) and his colleagues share about the “Awake Drive” project. Photo: NVCC
From a freshman still confused with new challenges, Luc said that each experience helped him gradually mature and become the CEO of a startup.
“The hardest thing about starting a business is to dare to think, dare to do, and dare to fail. But the assets we have are youth, dreams, and faith. We not only believe in researching good products, but also believe that we will bring those good products to consumers.
There is no limit to those who dare to dream and dare to act. Knowledge from books is just the initial foundation, it is the engagement in reality that is the “school of life”, helping each individual develop,” Luc said.
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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tro-thanh-ceo-tu-nam-4-nam-sinh-chia-se-khat-vong-khoi-nghiep-truoc-thu-tuong-2394733.html
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