PennApps XIV is scheduled for September 9th-11th, 2016 at the the Penn Engineering Campus in Philadelphia. The fourteenth iteration of the nation's first college hackathon is upping the hackathon to new extremes, with the world's top and most promising hackers coming together to tackle real world problems using the latest in hardware and software. Teams start working on their hacks (at 8 PM) after the Friday evening kickoff and continue working till Sunday morning (9:00 AM). All submissions MUST be made here on Devpost. Videos are optional.
Eligibility
If you applied to PennApps XIV, recieved an offer to attend and went on to confirm that you will do so, you are eligible to attend PennApps. If you attended and hacked at PennApps, then you are eligible to make a submission.
Requirements
Make your project, submit your hack to Devpost and attend the PennApps expo to show off what you built. You must demo at the expo and submit on Devpost in order to be eligible for prizes.
Prizes
$50,870 in prizes
PennApps XIV Grand Prize
Oculus Rift + Apple Watch Sport/Android Wear + XBOX One/PS4; Lutron Plug-In Dimmer Kit; Travel Vouchers (from AirBnb). Winners will also be flown to Facebook headquarters for the Global Hackathon Finals.
PennApps XIV Second Place Prize
Oculus Rift + Apple Watch Sport/Android Wear/XBOX One/PS4
PennApps XIV Third Place Prize
Oculus Rift/Apple Watch Sport/Android Wear/XBOX One/PS4
PennApps Route | Best Health Hack
Hacks that have applications in wellness, medicine and healthcare.
Prizes: iPad Minis for each team member
PennApps Route | Best Education Hack
Hacks that have applications in education. Prizes: iPad Minis for each team member
PennApps Route | Best Hardware Hack
Hacks where the main focus is on hardware. Prize: Hardware kits for each team member
PennApps Route | Best Cybersecurity Hack
Hacks where the main focus is on cybersecurity.
Prize: iPad Minis for each team member
PennApps Route | Best VR/AR Hack
Hacks where the main focus is on Virtual/Augmented Reality.
Prize: iPad Minis for each team member
PennApps Route | Best Social/Civic Hacking Hack Sponsored by JP Morgan
(2)
Hacks with a primary goal geared towards issues of social or civic impact, or focus on a local community.
- Social / Civic Impact – how well does the solution address the challenge or problem?
- Innovation and Creativity – how creative is the solution? Does it bring new ideas and approaches to solving the problem?
- Completeness of Solution – is the solution finished? Does it work? Is there a roadmap for future enhancements?
- Sustainability – is the solution sustainable within the context of the community it’s aiming to impact?
- Design – is the solution well thought out and designed?
Prize: Bose Quiet Comfort Headphones for each team member of winning team and $50 Amazon Gift Cards for each team member of the Runner Up Team
Best Use of the Capital One API - Nessie
Presented by Capital One. Winners will receive $400 Amazon gift cards each.
Best Domain Name Registered in PennApps XIV
Presented by NameCheap. Winners will receive $150 credit in their NameCheap accounts.
Best Use of Data Visualization
Presented by Qualtrics. Winner will receive their choice of a mountain bike, longboard, or snowboard.
Most Entrepreneurial Hack - Blackstone
Create an “out of the box” solution to be sold to a company. Presented by Blackstone. Each member of the winning team will receive a pair of ATH-M50x headphones.
Best Use of VR/AR for Content Discovery
Presented by Comcast NBCUniversal. Winners will receive Oculus Rifts.
Lutron IoT Prize
Given to the hack which demonstrates a good integration between hardware and software. Presented by Lutron. Winners will receive Lutron Caséta Wireless Smart Lighting Plug-in Lamp Dimmer Kits (HomeKit-enabled).
Best Use of Nexmo API
Given to the hack that demonstrates:
Idea/Originality
Technical Difficulty (bonus points for using the Voice API)
Execution
Presentation
Presented by Nexmo. Winners will receive an Amazon Echo and Vonage Swag.
Best Use of Nexmo API - 2nd place
Given to the hack that demonstrates:
Idea/Originality
Technical Difficulty (bonus points for using the Voice API)
Execution
Presentation
Presented by Nexmo. $100 Amazon gift card for all team members an Amazon Echo and Vonage Swag.
Best Use of Linode Services
Presented by Linode. Winners will receive Pebble watches.
Best Financial Hack Using the Aladdin API
Given to the best hack that uses the Aladdin API. Presented by BlackRock. Winners will receive drones.
Best Use of MongoDB
Given to the best hack that uses MongoDB as its database. Presented by MongoDB.
Best Progressive Web App
(2)
1 Pixel C Tablet + 2 Chromecasts + Android Plushies; Given to the two best Progressive Web Apps. Presented by Google & Polymer.
Best User Experience
Presented by Goldman Sachs. Winners will receive Bose speakers.
Best Use of Rapid Prototyping, sponsored by AddLab
(2)
$50 in 3D printing credit
Best Design Using PYNQ-Z1 Boards, Peripherals, and Tools (3)
Given to the hack that demonstrates the best use and/or design using PYNQ-Z1 board, overlay design, application. Presented by Xilinx Inc.
1st Place winners will receive $250 and PYNQ-Z1 boards.
2nd Place winners will receive $200 and PYNQ-Z1 boards.
3rd Place winners will receive $100 and PYNQ-Z1 boards.
Best Use of Lyft API
Presented by Lyft. Winners will receive a Lyft backpack, $20 gift card, and an Amazon Echo each.
Best Public Safety or Video Processing App
Presented by Taser. Each member of the winning team will receive a Parrot BEBOP2 drone.
Best Amazon Alexa Hack
Winning team gets Amazon Echos. Presented by Amazon.
Best Embedded Hack
Presented by L-3.
Most Entrepreneurial Hack - Rough Draft Ventures
Awarded to the hack most likely to continue post-hackathon. Winners will receive an invitation to come to NY to pitch for 25k in funding from Rough Draft Ventures. Presented by Rough Draft Ventures.
FINRA 1st place
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges

A Killer Judging Panel
Judging Criteria
-
Technical Difficulty
Is the hack technically interesting or difficult? Is it just some lipstick on an API, or were there real technical challenges to surmount? This is the most important criterion that your hack will be judged upon for the general prizes. -
Originality
Is the hack more than just another generic social/mobile/local app? Does it do something entirely novel, or at least take a fresh approach to an old problem? -
Polish
Is the hack usable in its current state? Is the user experience smooth? Does everything appear to work? Is it well designed? -
Usefulness
Is the hack practical? Is it something people would actually use? Does it fulfill a real need people have?
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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