Armenia’s major innovation events in 2015

PanARMENIAN.Net - Summing up the achievements, PanARMENIAN.Net presents 12 major events in the field.

Shadowmatic mobile game developed by Triada Studio Games was recognized by Apple as one of the best 2015 games . Shadowmatic was named the game of the year and the best innovative game in several countries. Launched on January 15, 2015, it attracted attention immediately. It received prestigious international prizes, including Apple Design Awards in June.

Startup Render Forest has developed a unique online platform for the users to create high resolution videos.

In early September the Internet Society of Armenia opened for registration the domain .հայ (pronounced as hye). During three months (from September 1 to November 30) the owners of trademarks or other intellectual property obtained the primary right to register with the domain.

In late September, the 10th jubilee international conference titled “Computing Sciences and information Technologies kicked off in Yerevan, bringing together about 40 participants from Russia, France, Greece, Germany, U.S., Finland, Italy, UK, Netherlands, Japan and Ukraine, who presented over 130 reports. The objective of the event was to contribute to exchange of scientific ideas between the specialists of computer and information technologies and to discuss achievements.

In October, Armenian IT companies, along with firms from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Taiwan, China, Iran and other countries, presented their innovative solutions during the 11th annual exhibit Digitec Expo.

Meanwhile, on October 10 the opening ceremony of the first Armenian fab labs took place in Yerevan. Equipped with special techniques, fab labs allow to stimulate scientific research in the fields of robotics, physics, machine building, etc, turning into a new platform for the research carried out by young Armenian scientists.

Armenian startup ArmNomads that was founded in March 2015 employs three developers. However, it has already proved that all one needs for creation of a quality product is knowledge, good ideas and enthusiasm, while big budget and publicity are not the main factors for success. The team has developed Let’s Twist mobile game that caught the attention of Apple and was featured as Editor’s Choice in 78 countries of the world on November 12.

In late November, the Union of Employers of Information and Communication Technologies started operating in Armenia. The organization aims to cooperate with educational and public structures in various segments of Armenian economy to raise the country’s competitiveness.

Armenian-American startup SoloLearn is one of the fastest developing startups of the Silicone Valley with up to $10mln financial backing, according to Mattermark company engaged in startup research. Besides, SoloLearn was included in the list of the best applications in India. With the huge competition at the programming tutor market, SoloLearn achieved an incredible result: it became the world leader in the field.

On December 8, Ball of Robots exhibition opened in Yerevan, featuring 20 interactive robots from the UK, U.S., Japan, Russia, Ireland and other states, including the famous actor Thespian, Robot Paro, designed to administer the documented benefits of animal therapy, robowaiter Yosha, RoboFootball, Robot Ping-Pong and Robot Baxter performing industrial operations, as well as the best of Armenian robotics.

In the framework of Digi Code programming contest, Armenian school students got an opportunity to work with Scratch programming language and upload the games they created to the website of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Scratch is a visual programming language. It can be accessed as a free desktop and online multimedia authoring tool that can be used by students, scholars, teachers, and parents to easily create games and provide a stepping stone to the more advanced world of computer programming.

In mid-December, Forbes magazine issues the list of top 50 startups in 2015 that also included PicsArt Armenian startup estimated at $250 mln. PicsArt is a full-featured mobile photo editor, collage maker, drawing tool and a social network for artists. It was developed in 2011 and garnered over 250 million users all over the world.