What do 53 developers, 18 entrepreneurs, three designers, one surgeon and a dog named Goose have in common? All of them gathered at the 24-hour hackathon Mod the Future in New York, the purpose of which is to create the best Moto Mod concept for the Moto Z smartphone.
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The result was truly amazing Moto Mods projects. We saw ideas for video event recognition systems, video paging, a modification for retail purchases of the Smart Cart, and an alarm button function. Also it became known about the concept of measuring the level of insulin and a tester for water pollution. All these projects speak about the basic principles of Moto Mod - the development of innovations and endless possibilities for buyers. This is the future for the stagnant mobile industry.
Teams and developers from five countries came to the hackathon: the USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Latvia. All ideas were unique, just like the participants themselves.
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“It’s really exciting to understand that I can take iron, install it on my gadget, adapt it for some tasks, and I don’t need a separate application for it,” said runner-up participant Aaron Franco.
24 hours hackathon
The hackathon is not so simple, especially when the ceiling of possibilities practically does not exist. Wires separately, boards separately, microscopes at the ready - you can begin creativity.
The room seems to be electrified, but the atmosphere is calm enough, people are concentrated. Power banks are placed on the tables, participants try to take a short nap when a free minute is given. Teams novice and experienced developers are working on tasks.
By the end of the hackathon, 96 slices of pizza were eaten, as many buns and 128 energy drinks were drunk. In total, the event took more than 2,400 man-hours, 17 projects were collected by the deadline, and the age of participants ranged from 16 to 78 years. After a 45-minute meeting, the judges decided on the top three best modifications.
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Top 3 concepts:
Advanced Audio - Curtis Mason, Andrew Afflitto, Mark Ayad, Abigal Brown and Joseph Alsaid
Modio is a dual audio signal converter: from digital to analog (DAC) and vice versa (ADC). Uses USB connection. This concept will be indispensable for musicians and audiophiles. The development allows you to listen to music on the Moto Z in high resolution through the ports that are used in expensive audio systems and recording studios. Thus, the quality will be much better compared to the standard reproduction method.
"This is madness. I didn’t really expect this, but I knew that I’ve put it on the maximum - hence the high result, ”said Andrew Afflitto when his team was declared the winner.
“Side Panel” - Gabriel Ortiz and Aaron Franco
Of course, it is interesting to play on smartphones, but the most convenient joysticks are those that are larger than the mobile devices themselves. With them, it is possible to achieve much greater results in the game and get completely different impressions of the project, rather than when operating from the touch screen. The Sidepad model provides the functionality of a full-fledged gamepad, which will give players a new level of comfort when passing mobile projects. According to Aaron Franco, "it was definitely worth a sleepless night."
"Bella" - Ellie Chong, Nancy Wen, Sylvie Lee
A modification of “Bella” monitors your skin and tells you what kind of care for it is better to provide. The concept allows Moto Z to collect real-time information about the skin and the environment. Bella receives information from sensors that determine the strength of ultraviolet radiation and air quality. If you bring the device to the screen, the gadget will tell about the elasticity of the skin.
“As modern women, we think that this is a very convenient way to monitor skin and look young. [Hackathon] was a great experience, ”said Ellie Chong and Nancy Van in the announcement of the winners.
Next stop: San Francisco
This is only the beginning - the next hackathon will be held in San Francisco on January 21-22. Grand Prix owners in New York and San Francisco will receive $ 5,000, as well as the Moto Z and Moto Mods Development Kit. Representatives of these teams will be invited to Chicago to present their projects to Motorola bosses and company partners. Developers will have the opportunity to discuss how to market their product.
If the concepts are impressed with Lenovo Capital, teams will be able to get investments to create the project. Finally, the winners will have access to the Moto Mods Partner affiliate program and will be assigned to a mentor - an experienced mentor. Any participant who created a concept during the hackathon will have the opportunity to participate in the Indiegogo campaign.