Pipeguard Robotics, a student-led innovative solution by a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was named the winner of the BIG Pitch competition, sponsored by the Georgia Southern College of Business and the Business Innovation Group.

The MIT team won the $10,000 award for its sustainable solution that will detect leaks inside pipes. The soft body robot uses innovations in sensor membranes and the soft body drone to find leaks long before they become catastrophic, with the objective of reducing the amount of clean water lost to leaks daily.  

“It’s an elegant and practical solution to a vexing and widespread problem,” said Allen C. Amason, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business at Georgia Southern University. “I salute Pipeguard Robotics for their innovation and their hard work; they are going to save their clients a lot of fresh water, as well as a lot of money. I also salute the Ocean Exchange and all the participants in this year’s event. We are happy to be involved.”  

In addition to the winning grant recipient, seven additional collegiate innovators presented sustainable solutions to a distinguished group of conference guests representing business and industry, entrepreneurs, academia, government and non-governmental organizations. Schools represented in the finalist round were from Arizona State, Columbia, Cornell, MIT, Oregon State, Rutgers and University of Texas-Austin with solutions for precision agriculture, risk management for hydrology, waste heat to energy, water conservation in power generation, wind energy and energy storage.