Welcome to our first edition of Random Hacks of Awesomeness!
Exactly as it says on the tin, we aim to collate (hopefully every week) a few random hacks that we think are super awesome from across our hackathon weekends to share with the hacker community!
Feel free to use RHOA as inspiration for ideas at your next hackathon, forward them to potential first-timers to showcase cool hackathon projects, or as a space to catch up on what came out of concurrent events!
1. Pebball (HackMTY)
This team of many A-players (quite literally with names of Adrian, Andres, Alexander, and Andres) portrayed the versatility of the Pebble watch at HackMTY. With a bit of C and Java, they managed to harness the power of Pebble’s accelerometer and hacked it as a controller for the Sphero!
The hackers behind Pebball say it’s only a tiny glimpse into the world of wearable-controlled hardware so watch this space.
2. Robo Grapher (VandyHacks)
The students behind this second prize winning project hacked together (with the help of superglue) some servos, rulers, Arduino, and an Android app to create this masterpiece that helps you visualize challenging mathematical equations with ease.
Coupled with this Homework Machine from PennApps S2014, it looks like the next generation of students will breeze through all their Maths homework!
3. Roady (HackMTY)
“Thirty minutes past the scheduled meeting time is considered punctual by Mexicans.” – Source: eDiplomat
The inspiration behind this hack was to improve punctuality in Mexico where it isn’t considered high priority. No one likes a late comer that delays all the fun you could be having instead of waiting around! This is where Roady comes in. This hack gamifies punctuality, tracks location, and estimate the arrival times of your friends in real time.
4. Face It (AnvilHack)
Utilizing C++, Qt, OpenCV, and a webcam, Face It is a 2-player facial recognition game that puts your precision and speed to the test. To triumph over your opponent, you have to be fast in completely filling circles (of varying sizes) on screen with your face for a set period of time which results in even more circles being populated until the maximum level is reached. First person to complete all the levels win!
We broke into a bit of a sweat when we tested this hack out, it can get pretty physical!
5. TrakFree (HackFSU)
Combining the Thalmic Lab Myo gesture control with Traktor (professional music mixing software), team TrakFree hacked together a MIDI controller with music DJs in mind.
A recording of their final presentations including the live demo can be found HERE.
“The goal is to improve the user and audience experience. By implementing Myo gestures, the DJ is freed from the majority of device usage, allowing he or she to control their playlist and effects simply by moving their arms along to the beat. Natural motion makes the process more fluid for the DJ and more entertaining for the audience.” – TrakFree team.
Also check out some of our favorite hacks from HackBU (here) and PearlHacks (here)
Keep up to date with our latest news and live coverages from hackathons by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and liking us on Facebook!
Update: Random Hacks of Awesomeness #2 now published! Read it HERE.
Check back next week for Random Hacks of Awesomeness #2!