May 9, 2019

Hackathon tests skills in future-proofing

Internet of Things (IoT) Hackathon held at UOW. 

Teams of students will spend the next two days figuring out new ideas and tools for smart cities based on Internet of Things technology.

Hosted by the University of Wollongong’s SMART Infrastructure Facility (SMART) across 8 and 9 May, the hackathon will challenge contestants to develop solutions that are not only smart, but connect and work seamlessly with other to contribute to future-proofing of digital technology used in cities.

The two-day OM2M Hackathon is being run in collaboration with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and LAAS-CNRS (France), giving 50 students and IT enthusiasts the opportunity to learn about and develop truly interoperable solutions.

The Internet of Things enables access to a free-to-air digital network that links to small devices, such as sensors, to collect and transmit data for a host of real-time applications.

Examples of IoT projects well underway in SMART’s Digital Living Lab include working with wheelchair users to create digital maps specifically for wheelchair users.

Another project is using low-cost sensors to map the hazardous smoke from prescribed bushfire burns in the Sydney basin.

SMART Infrastructure Facility Director Professor Pascal Perez said: “This hackathon aims to imagine new applications that a smart city could offer its local residents, businesses and council managers based on interoperability and future proofing principles, using the international oneM2M standard.”

“The objective of the hackathon is to design, deploy, and integrate new physical sensors into the SMART Infrastructure Facility building. Then, these sensors will have to interact with a Virtual Reality model of the building,” Prof Perez said.

Day 1 will be a developer tutorial using the open-source OM2M platform, developed at LAAS - CRNS.

Day 2 will see the participants form teams to come up with a great idea for a Smart Building application and work with others to learn new technologies, present ideas and compete for prizes.

A panel of industry experts will assess the competition on Day 2 with Award presentation at 4.30pm. Jury members include sponsors Orange Business Services, National Sensing Network and oneM2M/ETSI