Logic PD held its first IoT Hackathon, the ACME-thon, April 23 and 24. Nine teams competed in the two-day event, four student teams from the University of Minnesota and five teams from Logic PD. As with most hackathons the teams took on challenges reflective of the theme of improving people’s lives through the innovative application of IoT technology. Contestants brought forth solutions that ranged from multi-model security for point-of-sale to asset sharing to improved curling skills and endeavored to create the most compelling demonstrations for the judges from Intel, See-Control, University of Minnesota, MSP Communications, and Logic PD.
A reader might ask, “Why do a hackathon? Why are hackathons important to companies working in the IoT space?” I would answer this question with the three objectives we used in the design of our hackathon. First, a hackathon gives the team the ability to practice the skills necessary to succeed in this space. Participants practice integrating hardware and software at a fast pace, they experience how standards impact an offering architecture and provide flexibility, and they learn how to work as a team to manage the unexpected. Second, teams get to be creative, learn what is possible and have fun. During the run up to the hackathon, teams envision different ways to address the real world challenge and consider all of the possibilities. The competitive nature of the event combined with urgency forces teams to balance scope with the creativity of their solution. If the challenge is well formed, the results are classically entrepreneurial. Finally, the hackathon drives brand in the desired market space. Hackathons are naturally interesting to the media given the profile of IoT and the creativity of the results. Employees and participants alike get to see how they can be part of an innovative process that addresses real problems.
Logic PD designed ACME-Thon as a next generation hackathon. We say next generation because traditionally hackathons are viewed as software centric. By including all aspects of an IoT solution in the scope of the team efforts the learning and results are both more compelling. IoT solutions require multi-disciplinary teams, designers as well as engineers, hardware as well as software. The tools available should enable complete solutions – integrated kits with wireless connectivity, user experience tools, even 3D printing. All of these tools are readily available and affordable today and their use in the hackathon will maximize the results.
Our ACME-Thon was a fantastic success. Our winners, the Toothhacks, built and integrated a fully functional tooth brush mounted measurement device that streamed data to the cloud portal and provided both a child and parent user interface to help children improve their oral health. The second place team from the University of Minnesota, Distributed Bike Share, demonstrated a bike sharing platform using cloud connected remote control locks combined with NFC based membership cards to demonstrate a unique infrastructure-free bike sharing solution. All nine teams demonstrated their idea and skills and as an organization we saw how rich is the opportunity of IoT technology in the hands of motivated teams. We will improve our ACME-thon design and practice our skills again in October. Stay tuned.
About the Author
Scott Nelson is chief technology officer and executive vice president of Logic PD. Logic PD, based in Minneapolis, collaborates with clients to help them launch products that accelerate their growth and capture value in the Internet of Things (IoT).
