Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is inviting entrepreneurs to propose ideas for tackling several different challenges ranging from how to produce renewable energy at the airport to how to design an airport beehive honey house.
The Atlanta airport's annual marketing and design innovation competition called ATL Thinks! this year enlists early-stage startups to tackle challenges including growing the airport's loyalty program, helping passengers navigate around construction, designing an airport apiary and figuring out how airports can produce renewable energy from passengers' footsteps through specially-designed tile.
Hartsfield-Jackson sustainability manager Liza Milagro said the airport plans to open an apiary in the spring, and wants it to be a commercial-grade honey house. Delta Air Lines put beehives at its headquarters near the airport earlier this year.
Those who apply to join the innovation competition, described as "a hackathon spread over a month," will make their final pitches in late September. The application period will be open Aug. 8-24.
Hartsfield-Jackson says the winning team in each division can launch its proposal as a pilot with the airport and retain the intellectual property.
One of last year’s competition winners, Goodr, launched a pilot program for food waste management at the airport and another competition winner helped redesign the airport’s app, according to officials.
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