Microsoft, Tamkeen and eGovernment Authority have announced the six teams shortlisted to compete over the ‘Bahrain Imagine Cup 2013 National Winner’ title at the end of the month.

Registration doors closed on February 1; with more than 760 registrations and a total of 20 projects submitted as part of the competition, a statement from the company said.

The Imagine Cup team reviewed all projects and shortlisted six teams to compete for the national title. The national champion team will represent Bahrain in the Imagine Cup 2013 Worldwide Finals set to take place in St Petersburg, Russia from July 8 to 12.

The Gulf regional competition sessions are supported by Emirates Airline as regional strategic sponsor.

Team Meraki, one of the shortlisted projects, is a joint venture between students from University of Bahrain and Delmon University, presents Wanderlust, a user’s window to the world around. It helps users discover and learn more about the places of interest in the country that they visit, using augmented reality. With Wanderlust, the traveler will not have to worry about getting touristic guides or flipping pages.

Team FutureTorch from AMA International University, also Bahrain’s Imagine Cup 2012 National Winner, is back with a modified team and a new project; TheWindow is not just another chat or social application, it will be the chat or social application which allows users to communicate and locate each other in an all new combined methodology, making it faster, more secure, and much more user-friendly, the statement said.  

Team Nextstep Revolutionary Technologies from AMA International University is competing with the project Nex2-U, an Artificial Intelligence app with an optional interface to a physical robot body via mobile phone.

The app will be attached with a layer of different personalities of which the users can chose to download the ones they like; they can also buy a robot matching the chosen personality. Furthermore, Nex2-U application will not be just the users’ assistant; it can become their true friend.  

Team IT Knights from the University of Bahrain is participating with Friday Night application, a social appl that helps users set up gatherings with their friends. The vision of Friday Night is employing new technologies to help the community members get off their couches and desks and enjoy face-to-face hangouts and real-life activities.

Team Buzzlers from University of Bahrain is shortlisted for its project Bundle; an application that allows users make accounts to create and share Bundles, and view other people's Bundles. A Bundle is a collection of links to any websites, blogs and / or social media medium; it can also include uploaded documents or photos. These Bundles can be made for the purpose of advertisement, awareness, recommendation, sharing personal preferences, helping others or simply for fun.

Team Sunshine from University of Bahrain presents AstroExpo project, a desktop application that uses augmented reality as a teaching tool. AstroExpo contains lessons related to astronomy to help students have a better understanding of natural phenomena such as the occurrence of the four seasons, the moon phases and the solar system.

To inspire more students globally and encourage a wider variety of aspiring innovators to participate, Microsoft has redesigned Imagine Cup around three new core competitions built on the core elements that have been most popular with students in the past 10 years - social impact and gaming - while expanding the competition’s focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. I

The first place prizes in the Worldwide Finals for world citizenship, games and innovation will each be $50,000; the second prize $10,000 and the third place $5,000. – TradeArabia News Service