Hackathon was held at SUSU on the first weekend of March. In just 2 days and 1 night, 7 participants learned new technologies and built programs from scratch within the Internet of Things concept, which involves the independent communication of items with the internet without human interaction.
Hackathon began with a 2.5 hour lecture prepared by Napoleon IT, the event’s partner. The lecture explained the new technologies the participants needed to apply to their developments. After the lecture, the participants began developing their product per an assigned topic.
“Hackathon is a place without any particular limitations. We give the participants the chance to gather together and work well. The Hackathon participants are SUSU students. They are all interested in this work, their eyes shine! They developed prototype internet items for an office. For example, a smart button which automatically sends a coffee order to a vendor when coffee runs out in the machine. If one of the teams decides to advance their idea to a more serious level, we’ll help them fine-tune it to participate in the “UMNIK” and “START” competitions where they can receive serious grant support of a few million rubles,” says Hackathon organizer Igor Oleynik
About the projects that were presented to the participants:
- A robot that delivers drinks to staff following a drawn line. Within this short period of time, the team was able to almost completely finish this project. The robot moved but not along the line.
- A system for monitoring and managing climate and lighting. Various sensors (temperature, humidity, lighting) connect to a controller which regularly queries them and sends their data to the internet. The system also allows for control over air conditioning and lighting to change climate and illumination automatically or by command. The commands can be through a browser or with a voice assistant. For example, a smartphone receives the command “temperature in the office”, after which it queries the server and answers, “The temperature in the office is 27 degrees.” This was all achieved and demonstrated.
- A security system based on sensors. Using data from cameras, movement sensors, and codes from keyboards, the system creates a list of those present in the office. The list is available in a browser or application. It is also possible to automatically turn on the alarm system when everyone has left. The project was partially realized.
- A system for controlling parking spots. The system uses proximity sensors, compares parking spots to staff surnames, and creates a list of people who are present online. The project was realized.
“The participants had a chance to work on their programming skills. They gained personal experience in this prospective area of work. If they continue to work in this area they will find themselves good work with ease,” said head of the SUSU Youth Business Incubator, Evgeniy Vodyanitskiy.
All participants received keepsakes from the SUSU Council of Young Researchers and were invited to the Napoleon IT office for paid work on their projects.