If you are a drone-geek and a go-getter, who is willing to build some innovative solutions, Hackadrone 2018 could be your golden ticket to show-off your talents, and exhibit some interesting solutions before the industry leaders. The platform gives you the opportunity to build a useful innovative solution on a drone platform and get acknowledged.
Organized by the global leader in engineering services, Cyient along with the drone major – DJI, Hackadrone 2018 is India’s first UAV hackathon congress and will see participation from developers, start-ups, college students and independent software programmers from across the country. For the whole tech community, the event will be a mecca of all drone conventions. Sponsored by Microsoft and the Government of Telangana, the five-day event will kick off on February 5th 2018 at Cyient Manikonda Campus in Hyderabad, Telangana, and will focus on innovative commercial and industrial solutions using the latest drone technology.
The industry options for developing UAV-based solutions during Hackadrone 2018 include utilities, telecommunications, energy & natural resources, municipalities, navigation, security, transportation, and agriculture.
“The Hackadrone 2018 is a first-of-its-kind initiative in India. We are very excited to see how the limits of innovation will be pushed when India’s brightest take on the challenge and put their imagination to work. Also, I believe with this event we will spearhead the development of an ecosystem for drone-based services across India, which opens up many opportunities for entrepreneurs all over the country,” said Dr. Jan Radtke, Vice President & Head, New Business Accelerator at Cyient.
What’s the need?
Living in the age of technology, we are seeing that drones are not only providing an impetus to the geospatial industry but to other industrial functions as well. And this trend will increase further because of its ability to be used in anything and everything. Wherever we see today, drones are helping us find solutions in our everyday life challenges. It is because of this ever-expanding landscape, we cannot even imagine how drones will be used in the future. Therefore, the focus of this hackathon is to develop new UAV-based software applications.
Hackadrone 2018 aims to invite all tech developers to create innovative commercial and industrial solutions on the DJI industrial drone platform. Using DJI’s powerful Software Development Kit (SDK), you will demonstrate the value of your concept and its potential to redefine industry practices.
UAV platforms, development kits and the corresponding accessories, such as replacement propeller and arms will be made available to the teams. DJI will keep their SDKs open, it is highly recommended to review and understand the platform capabilities beforehand. Participants are expected to study DJI’s SDKs and be well-versed on the UAV technology as they will program, develop custom applications on drones and demonstrate their solution at Hackadrone 2018. During registration, participants will have to choose their desired platform on which they would like to work during hackathon. Information regarding the SDKs can be accessed here.
“We are excited to co-organize Hackadrone 2018 along with Cyient, which is India’s first UAV Hackathon. It will give an opportunity to tech developers to lay their hands on highly acclaimed DJI platforms and its powerful SDKs. DJI sees huge potential in India and wants to introduce drone technology by co-organizing Hackadrone 2018. We will offer all support needed by the developers to realize their ideas during the contest. I am curious to see the possibilities which will emerge during the event,” said Aadesh Bumb, Lead – India & South Asia, DJI.
What are the guidelines?
- All chosen drone platforms will be made available during the event
- If participant teams would like Cyient to provide the laptop, they should request it at the time of registration
- The participants should be able to travel to the Cyient campus in Hyderabad on Feb 5-9. and develop the solution during the Hackadrone 2018 event with a demonstration on Feb 9
- Participants are expected to choose optimal DJI Drone platform for their solution and study appropriate Software Development Kit for development during Hackadrone 2018
- Participating teams should have a maximum of three members with complementary skills to develop and demonstrate their solution
- Intellectual Property related to the idea/solution remains with the contestants
- Accommodation, boarding, lodging, and travel expenses for the invited teams will be borne by Cyient
What’s in-store for the participants?
The teams will be judged by a competent jury comprising of three judges – Jay Krishnan, CEO, T-Hub; Reena Dayal Yadav, Director of The Garage, Microsoft; and Aadesh Bumb, Lead in India & South Asia, DJI. The judging criteria will include the uniqueness of an idea, scalability of the project, and demonstrability of the project.
The top two teams will be awarded cash prizes worth INR 3,00,000 and INR 1,00,000 respectively. To encourage women in the field of STEM education, an All-Female Team Award will also be given cash prize worth INR 50,000. A letter of intent will also be given by Cyient to all the winners.
There is no doubt this hackathon presents a golden opportunity for all drone and technology enthusiasts. The software application developers, already having innovative ideas, usually only need a platform to convert their ideas into useful products, and the Hackdrone 2018 is definitely one such gateway. So if you are looking for opportunities that can set you apart from others, here is your chance to make it big and fly high. Come and unveil your creativity!
