HACKATHON 2020

Despite the great number of participants and the success obtained for the event, WiLab announces that
NB-IoT Hackathon 2020 is postponed due to pandemic restrictions to 2021-2022 (TBD)

#staytuned

REGISTRATION

Free (no fee). You can register by clicking on the Google Form (See Documents & Deadline).

Participants can enrol in groups composed of minimum 3 – maximum of 4 people. The registration is unique for the whole group.

It is required to provide the name, surname, email address, gender and institution (University of Bologna, University of Ferrara or other to be specified) for each member of the group.

It is necessary to provide the address(es) where the group will work from during the event, specifying the floor of the apartment (in order to check for NB IoT network connectivity).

It is mandatory to specify the application domain chosen by the group. It will be possible to change the preference as long as the registration time window will be open (until 13th November 2020).

Registration will open on 30th October 2020 and close on 13th November 2020. 

Only the first 25 groups registered to the Hackathon will be admitted.

DESCRIPTION

Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) is a new radio technology implemented by Mobile Network Operators, specifically dedicated to IoT applications and offering wide-area coverage. Participants will invent an IoT sensor-based application compatible with NB-IoT technology, develop the sensor device and the cloud application, and test the full prototype over the TIM network. Any applications in the following domains are eligible and should be conceived by the participant before registering to the Hackathon:
- Smart Agriculture (e.g. smart use of water resources, plant growth control, monitoring of fermentation in barrels, bacteria prevention, etc.)
- Smart City (e.g. trash collection, smart lighting, traffic monitoring, pollution control, etc.)
- Smart Culture (e.g. collection of data from musical instruments during concerts, smart libraries, immersive tourism, crowds monitoring in museums, etc.)

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDELINES

Who can participate: the team (not all individual members, but the group as a whole) should have:
1) decent programming skills (see below)
2) basic knowledge of NB-IOT technology and electronics
3) creativity
4) good presentation skills in English
5) knowledge of the chosen IoT application
At least one member of the group should be enrolled in any degree of the University of Bologna or Ferrara.

Required programming skills: basic knowledge of C-like and Python languages within the team. Some understanding of Javascript is a plus and useful for advanced applications. 

How:  a technical description of the Hackathon UE will be provided before the event, including material useful to get acquainted with the coding environment. During the event, short (e.g. 10-15 min) seminars on the NB-IOT technology, how to make a pitch, and other useful arguments will be provided.

Participants will be provided with an NB-IoT enabled Arduino based device (the “Hackathon UE”), configured to connect to the TIM public network (see the figure as a reference).

Before the event, a list of admitted sensors will be made public.

Participants will:
1) choose the IoT application to develop, freely, in one of the three eligible categories;
2) buy off-the-shelf Arduino compatible sensors included in the list, before the event;
3) receive the Hackathon UE (with cables) on 27th Friday 2020, 7 pm, in a given location in Bologna;
4) develop at their premises the IoT application (from the device to the application server), testing it over the TIM network, preparing a pitch to present their achievements;
5) get trained and supported during the event via TEAMS by academic/industry experts;
6) illustrate their achievements on Sunday evening via TEAMS in front of an International Technical Committee made of IoT experts from academia/industry from Italy and Finland;
7) attend the final Award Ceremony that will be held (via TEAMS) on Sunday night, where the winners will be announced;
8) return the Hackathon UE on Monday morning in a given location in Bologna.

Prizes: up to three awards will be assigned, one per Category, each being a check of 1,000 EU (to be confirmed). IoT applications aiming at fostering post-COVID society economic growth and development, and inter-disciplinary groups, will be particularly appreciated.

Why: It is a great opportunity to have fun working in a team for one full week-end, inventing and making an IoT application. It is a great opportunity to learn and be trained about IoT development, and meet international experts.