5 August 2014 - Saving lives, automating cooking and helping the disabled were the winning innovative ideas from Singaporeans at this year's code::XtremeApps:: Hackathon.
Singapore, 5 August 2014 | For Immediate Release
2014's theme "Smart Living – Using Data to Enrich Communities" saw innovative solutions aimed at improving the lives of Singaporeans
Saving lives, automating cooking and helping the disabled were the winning innovative ideas from Singaporeans at this year's code::XtremeApps:: Hackathon. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Information Technology Standards Committee (ITSC) today announced the winners of the Hackathon at a prize presentation ceremony held at the National Design Centre.
This year's hackathon saw a record turnout with over 250 participants making up 101 teams across its Open and Junior categories working on ideas that The pioneering 24-hour hackathon—now in its eighth year—is one of IDA's and ITSC's initiatives geared to create greater hands-on awareness in technology and encourage the development of computational thinking in young tech talents. These are essential skills as Singapore becomes the world's first Smart Nation.
"Smart Living – Using Data to Enrich Communities" was the chosen theme for the Open Category and used open-source hardware such as Raspberry Pi and Arduino Uno. It saw 62 teams with 160 participants.
"Human nature means we are all curious about how things work," said Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman of IDA who graced the award ceremony. "The code::XtremeApps:: Hackathon is a great event that gives a chance to everyone who is curious to explore building technology. We are proud to support events that encourage experimenting and building with tech as these skills will be increasingly important as Singapore becomes the world's first Smart Nation."
With Singapore's National Day just around the corner, 94 Junior Category participants in 39 teams—comprising children 12 years and below—were given three hours to build and share their favourite story about Singapore using Chibitronics, a set of programmable electronic circuit stickers. They could use historical data about Singapore such as places of interest, population statistics and country maps, provided by data.gov.sg to craft their submissions.
"Each year we have seen this – young programmers pushing themselves to create something useful and meaningful with excellent creativity. The ideas that participants came up with have real potential to help communities, especially those with special needs," said Yap Chee Yuen, ITSC Chairman. "I hope to see many of the solutions developed and fine-tuned further to be adopted in the community."
This year also saw the introduction and use of open data to the Hackathon. Participants were encouraged to use government datasets available from data.gov.sg, OneMap.sg or government agencies to develop comprehensive solutions that harnessed data and its subsequent analysis. There was an additional cash prize of S$1,000 and S$500 for the Open and Junior Categories respectively, for the most innovative use of Government Data.
This year's Grand Prize of S$9,000 went to team Tria Artifex, formed by Wong Wai Tuck and Kong Yu Jian, both aged 20 and currently serving their full-time national service, and Clarence Ngoh Peng Yu, 21, a freshman from Singapore Management University (SMU). The team created BlackBox, a car crash detection system that shaves precious minutes off emergency response time in the event of an accident, and could mean the difference between life and death. The BlackBox immediately signals for emergency responders upon detecting a genuine crash and activates a live camera feed to assess the condition of the driver. The device also sends data and alerts the nearest hospital with the driver's pre-registered vital medical details such as blood type, allergies and medical history to ensure a hospital is ready for a patient even before they are rushed through its emergency doors. For the innovative use of incorporating road and traffic data from the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Tria Artifex was also awarded the data.gov.sg prize*.
The prize presentation ceremony was attended by participants, industry practitioners, venture capitalists and members of supporting organisations and also included a showcase of solutions.
* More information on winning solutions is in the Annex below.
JOINTLY ISSUED BY INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS COMMITTEE
Related Resources
About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The mission of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is to develop information technology and telecommunications within Singapore with a view to serve citizens of all ages and companies of all sizes. IDA does this by actively supporting the growth of innovative technology companies and start-ups in Singapore, working with leading global IT companies as well as developing excellent information technology and telecommunications infrastructure, policies, and capabilities for Singapore. For more news and information, visit www.ida.gov.sg.
Information Technology Standards Committee
The Information Technology Standards Committee (ITSC) was formed in 1990, under the purview of the Standards Council appointed by SPRING Singapore. It is an industry-led effort comprising volunteer members from the industry, supported by IDA Singapore and SPRING Singapore. It is a neutral platform for interested stakeholders from the industry, academia and the government to get together and look into the local needs for IT standards and establish local standards, promote the awareness and adoption of IT standards, and represent Singapore in international standards platforms. More information can be obtained from www.itsc.org.sg.
For media clarification, please contact:
Neubronner Eugene
Assistant Manager
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Tel: (65) 6211 1182
E-mail: eugene_neubronner@imda.gov.sg
Ann Marie Eu
Executive
Havas Worldwide Siren Pte Ltd
Tel: (65) 6317 6739
E-mail: annmarie.eu@havaswwsiren.com
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