Update #1: We've got a great storify page up for you to follow the updates of the event: https://storify.com/AnaMariaCarrano/alabama-smart-cities-hackathon

Update #2: Congratulations to the winning teams!

• Top 2 Teams:

"Is Toomer's Corner Being Rolled Right Now?" by "Math Dept Team Alpha"
Project URL: https://istoomerscornerbeingrolledrightnow.github.io/
APP URL: http://istoomerscornerbeingrolledrightnow.com/

"IPark" by "IPark"
Project URL: http://www.global.datafest.net/projects/ipark
APP URL: http://131.204.20.50:8080/

• IBM Bluemix Prize:

"Greenify" by "Sweatervest Coding"
Project URL: http://www.global.datafest.net/projects/greenify
Android APP: https://github.com/global-urban-datafest/Auburn-greenify-android
Rails API: https://github.com/global-urban-datafest/Auburn-greenify

• Honorable Mention:

"Smart Traffic Grid" by "Resistars"
Project URL: http://www.global.datafest.net/projects/smart-traffic-grid

TL;DR: Hackathon, free food, drinks and prizes, February 20-22, plz come. Plus it looks great on a resume.

Register now!

As part of Global Urban Datafest, we are hosting a Smart Cities Hackathon in Auburn, AL the weekend of February 20 - 22. There will be free food for all participants, and prizes! Teams of students, researchers, data analysts, social scientists and engineers will be spending 48 hours hacking on software and/or hardware, to build smart tools for improving life in cities. Any and all students, faculty, programmers; pretty much anyone can join! As long as you have an interest in building something, you'll have a great time. You don't have to form a group to come, you'll be able to find a team to work with on the first day of the event.

We have a great judge panel consisting of Software Engineering professor Dr. Jeffrey Overbey, Don Crow, founder of Verge Pipe Media, John Walker, web coordinator of the Opelika-Auburn News, and Christopher Graff, GIS Manager, IT Department at the City of Auburn, and Song Gao, PhD student at CSSE, Auburn University. Dr. Overbey has also agreed to help be a technical mentor, if you'd like some help.

We have a list of real-world challenges, based on needs in Alabama, prepared by experts to choose from, or bring your own idea! Examples include a data conversion tool to help city offices open up data for public use, location tracking of mobile food trucks, and easily-accessible modern tools to help transportation experts understand people's travel patterns within Alabama. We'll have a more complete list at the event!

This hackathon is a joint effort between Auburn, UAB Sustainable Smart Cities Research Center, and Alabama Media Group. Auburn and UAB teams will be competing against each other for the best ideas and implementations in Alabama! Participants of both locations will compete for two local prizes (decided by local judges). Two winning groups from every city will have two more weeks to work on their prototypes and will compete for a global prize (will be decided by global judges). In addition to this, Alabama Media Group will choose a state-wide prize between participants from Auburn and Birmingham.

More info coming soon!

Register now!

We’ve collected a bunch of ideas from Auburn City Office, Birmingham City Office, Alabama Media Group, Opelika-Auburn News, and UAB Sustainable Smart City Research Center. Take a look at here!

PRIZES & GIVEAWAYS

Raspberry Pi for Raffle!

Every participant will have a chance to win a Raspberry Pi Model B+ as long as your teams actively work on the project. We will run the raffle throughout the weekend. We've got 15 of them and may the luck be in your favor!

Top Two Teams

• Each team will receive a prize provided by Alabama Media Group
• Both teams will be nominated for global recognition, and have two additional weeks to prepare for the global competition.

IBM Prize

• Eligible for one team. Teams competing for this prize have to use IBM Bluemix platform. IBM is offering a 90 day Bluemix free trial to the hackathon participants. One team will be eligible for $12,000 USD credit good for any SoftLayer server or service. For more information see here.

RULES

Please take a look at the global rules, but here's the gist:

1. Create a project page before Saturday. Include the team name as well as team member names, but feel free to leave out project information if you are not sure yet. We'll use these names for the Raspberry Pi raffle throughout the weekend!
2. Complete project information by 5:30 PM on Saturday.
3. Have the demo ready by 4:30 PM on Sunday.
4. The project code has to be written during the weekend. (using an existing open-source library is fine)
5. Create a GitHub repo as early as possible if you plan to open source your project. Contact us to add you into the global-urban-datafest organization. Please note that to participate in the global competition, your project needs to be open source.

JUDGES

(in alphabetical order)

Don Crow, Founder and CEO of Verge Pipe Media

Donald “Don” Crow is the Founder and CEO of Verge Pipe Media, headquartered in Auburn, Alabama. Don has over 20 years’ experience in leadership, operations, marketing and business development. With Verge Pipe Media, Don assists clients in Higher Ed, technology, hospitality, construction and event management. Don previously worked as the Director of Corporate Relations with Auburn University where he successfully raised over $1,000,000 to fund scholarships and University wide initiatives.