Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), in close collaboration with Automatic Labs, Inc. (Automatic), is pleased to present this Connected Car Hackathon. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area that works to plan, invest and coordinate to keep the Bay Area mobile, sustainable, and prosperous. Automatic (Automatic.com) is a San Francisco based technology company with a mission to empower drivers with knowledge about themselves and their cars so they can be safer and drive smarter.
This hackathon seeks to bring together programmers, developers, artists, technologists, data analysts, environmental stewards, travel behavior experts, commuters, and others who are interested in using technology to address our region’s transportation challenges in order to transform how we get around the Bay Area. Participants will have the opportunity to use data sets coming from connected cars to build apps and tools that encourage smarter driving, safer driving, and maybe even encourage travelers to consider alternate travel options.
Participants will be challenged to develop apps and tools to encourage smart driving and/or solve transportation and mobility challenges by using real-time personalized data feeds coming from cars using Automatic's adapter and app. This two-day app challenge is open to Bay Area residents and employers.
To get your creativity flowing, MTC, Automatic, and other event sponsors are generously offering prizes in several prize categories, so there are plenty of opportunities for your app to win. Or submit multiple times, if you have so many great ideas that you can't pick just one. Check back for more details regarding prizes.
Registration is limited to 50 participants and we expect the event to reach capacity. So sign up today! To participate, you must have a ticket via http://connected-car-hackathon.eventbrite.com. Didn't get there quick enough? Sign up for the wait list and we will let you know if space opens up.
Sorry, sponsorship opportunities are no longer available.
LOCATION
Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter Auditorium is located across the street from the Lake Merritt BART Station at 101 8th St, Oakland, CA 94607. Metered street parking is also available. Detailed directions and a map are available at http://mtc.ca.gov/about-mtc/contact-us/directions.
SCHEDULE
Saturday April 9
9:30 a.m. Breakfast + Coffee + Networking
10:00 a.m Welcome + Kickoff
10:30 a.m. Introductions + One-minute pitches
11:00 a.m. Collaboration + Hacking + Sponsor Breakouts
1:00 p.m. Lunch + Networking
2:00 p.m. Collaboration + Hacking + Lightning talks
6:00 p.m. Close
Sunday Apr 10
9:30 a.m. Breakfast + Coffee + Networking
10:00 a.m. Welcome + One-minute pitches
10:15 a.m. Collaboration + Hacking
noon Lunch + Networking
1:00 p.m. Collaboration + Hacking + Prepare presentations
2:30 p.m. Submissions + Presentations due + Team presentations + Popular voting
3:30 p.m. Judges deliberate + Networking
4:30 p.m. Awards announcement
5:30 p.m. Close
CODE OF CONDUCT
MTC is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form.
All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks.
Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate.
Attendees violating these rules may be asked to leave the conference at the sole discretion of the conference organizers.
Thank you for helping make this a welcoming, friendly event for all.
EVENT SPONSORS - Thank you to our event sponsors!
Click on the logos to the right to visit our sponsors' sites →
GOLD LEVEL
- Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC): The transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area that works to plan, invest and coordinate to keep the Bay Area mobile, sustainable, and prosperous.
- Automatic: A San Francisco based technology company with a mission to empower drivers with knowledge about themselves and their cars so they can be safer and drive smarter.
- Numenta: Founded in 2005, Numenta is tackling one of the most important scientific challenges of all time: reverse-engineer the neocortex to understand how it works and apply those principles to software to create intelligent machines. Based on a wealth of neuroscience evidence we have created a technology called HTM (Hierarchical Temporal Memory) that models key aspects of neocortical learning. HTM is ideally suited for classifying, making predictions, and detecting anomalies in streaming data. Unlike most other machine learning methods, HTM learns time-based patterns in data on a continuous basis. All of Numenta’s HTM algorithm and application code is available for free under the AGPLv3 open source license in their open source project, NuPIC (Numenta Platform for Intelligent Computing). Numenta has created demonstration HTM applications in several fields such as geospatial tracking, IT monitoring, detecting unusual human behavior, and understanding natural language.
SILVER LEVEL
- Lyft : Getting around is easy with Lyft, the app that gets you welcoming, affordable rides in minutes. Download the app, request a ride with the tap of a button, and get picked up by a friendly local driver within minutes. Wherever you’re headed, we’re here to get you there.
BRONZE LEVEL
FRIEND LEVEL
Eligibility
Participants must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- You must be 18 or older to participate in the challenge.
- You must be a SF Bay Area resident or employer.
- Teams of eligible individuals can enter.
- Teams of eligible individuals may enter on behalf of a company, non-profit, and other legal entities may enter as long as they have fewer than 50 employers.
- Large organizations with more than 50 employees can enter, but will only qualify for the Popular Choice Award.
Requirements
A complete submission includes the following:
• A working software application that uses at least one of the datasets from Automatic available at https://developer.automatic.com, and can update and refresh the data.
• The application must run on at least one of the following: a smartphone or tablet, a web browser (mobile or desktop), a desktop computer, other hardware (including, but not limited to, wearable technology, open source hardware, or proprietary hardware). Your application does not have to be available publicly or in an app store.
• A video that clearly explains your application’s features and functionality through a comprehensive demonstration.
Prizes
$2,000 in prizes
Best Overall App – Grand Prize
Grand Prize Package Includes:
■ Custom 3D Printed Connected Car Hackathon Trophy
■ $600 Into Your Clipper or FasTrak® Account
■ Automatic Adapter
Prizes are subject to change. Exact prize package and value to be determined by MTC. Prize value will not exceed $1000. Updates will be posted here as they are available.
Best Overall App – Runner Up
Best Overall App Runner Up Prize Package Includes:
■ Custom Connected Car Hackathon Award
■ $300 Into Your Clipper or FasTrak® Account
■ Automatic adapter
Prizes are subject to change. Exact prize package and value to be determined by MTC. Prize value will not exceed $500. Updates will be posted here as they are available.
Best Overall App - Third Place
Best Overall App 3rd Place Prize Package Includes:
■ Custom Connected Car Hackathon Award
■ $150 Into Your Clipper or FasTrak® Account
■ Automatic adapter
Prizes are subject to change. Exact prize package and value to be determined by MTC. Prize value will not exceed $250. Updates will be posted here as they are available.
Popular Choice Award
Popular Choice Prize Package Includes:
■ Custom Connected Car Hackathon Award
■ Sphero - BB-8™ App-Enabled Droid
■ Automatic adapter
Prizes are subject to change. Exact prize package and value to be determined by MTC. Prize value will not exceed $250. Updates will be posted here as they are available.
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
How to enter
Here's how you enter:
- Sign up and get your ticket to the Hackathon at http://connected-car-hackathon.eventbrite.com. This event is limited to 50 participants. Didn't get there quick enough? Sign up for the wait list and we will let you know if space opens up.
- Register for the Hackathon by clicking the “Register for this Challenge” button at http://connected-car.devpost.com. Sign up to create a DevPost account, or log in with an existing DevPost account.
- Create a developer account at Automatic.com to gain access to the data feed.
- Create a software application that integrates and utilizes at least one of the Automatic open Data datasets available at https://developer.automatic.com/
- Create a video that clearly explains your application’s features and functionality through a comprehensive demonstration.
- Complete the “Enter a Submission” page of the Challenge Website before the end of the submission period. See the Official Rules for additional requirements.
Judges

Kearey Smith
Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Ruthie BenDor
Automatic

Jim Misener
Qualcomm

Doug Davenport
Prospect Silicon Valley

Erik Alm
Caltrans
Judging Criteria
-
Quality of Idea
Includes creativity and originality. -
Potential Impact
Includes the extent to which the application or tool will transform how we get around the Bay Area with a focus on meeting the goals of Smart Driving. -
Implementation of Idea
Includes how well the idea was executed by the developer and how well the application or tool integrates the required data from Automatic's API and other data sets.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
Tell your friends
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.