For my first time at a hackathon I was part of the organizer team at Code #LikeABosch hackathon. How can I put it delicately? I couldn’t have gone to a more exciting hackathon. Just imagine stepping into our venue, Gamerland, then walking towards the main area through a blue led lighted tunnel. From 516 registration we welcomed 75 teams at the hybrid hackathon. In Gamerland we had 78 competitors with us, the rest participated online.

The Code #LikeABosch hackathon was an exciting but very challenging 48 hour competition where Bosch gave away a total of 11 500 Euro to the winners. There were two types of challenges: hardware and software. During these challenging hours Bosch provided mentors who gave tips to the teams regarding their projects. 

The best 8 teams (4 from each) got into the finals. After their creative and informative videos, they pitched their exciting ideas in 4 minutes to the jury and other competitors for the grand prize.

With the challenges the participants tried to solve current worldwide problems, which could be great for society.  After you know more about the topics of the challenges and the winner projects you will come to the same conclusion as I have: we have some geniuses living among us, so let me introduce them to you.

For the hardware task the groups had to come up with an idea on how to save energy at home due to the high bills and energy waste. All of the groups created brilliant and creative ideas. The hardware challenge winner, Superset even demonstrated their project on stage with a radiator and 4D printed components. They designed a heat control system and made a prototype of a wireless heat sensor cube, which can detect the temperature and the people as well, so if it is needed the system can warm up only the relevant area by saving a lot of energy. Honestly, I was stunned at how they could build this amazing idea of theirs in just 48 hours.

The software challenge was about developing object tracking systems for cars. This challenge was really popular among the competitors. The winner team- called HFDN (High Frequency Data Network)- had 3 young members, and this was their first time at a hackathon. They impressed the jury and the other teams so much that they won the grand prize as well. First time competing and 8000 Euro in the pockets? – not bad. Let’s see what all the fuss is about! They developed a secure and low latency network where cars can transmit their sensor information and this information could be used by other vehicles on the road. With this in progress there would be fewer accidents among the cars.

The Audience Award winner, which means the most liked project among everyone who watched the hackathon, also participated in the software challenge. Their team is called HeliCar, and their project was about a drone that follows the car and gives information to the driver.

The venue provided videogames for the competitors for relaxation and extra fun during these testing hours. You could find many kinds of games from the old days (Super Mario, Pacman) to the 21st century, such as Guitar Hero, Fifa and a game for car racing with actual pedals and changers. To be honest, besides the competitors the staff also enjoyed every minute they could spend there playing against each other in their freetime. Unfortunately, my boss defeated me ruthlessly in Guitar Hero, but maybe for my sake it’s the best.

All in all, it was an amazing, cheerful 3-day experience where I met a lot of interesting and clever people. Bosch provided interesting challenges at a great venue. The competitors as well the Bosch and the organizers from CraftHub loved every minute of the Code #LikeABosch hackathon. 

If you are interested in the final projects check this link out!