The 5GMETA consortium held a 24-hour hackathon in Turin from 29 to 30 March, with the worthwhile objective of empowering the smart mobility system through the 5GMETA platform. The impressive results involved combining the power of sensors and data to get relevant information in the event of car accidents, detect and prevent driver drowsiness, and optimise the response time of emergency vehicles.
The 5GMETA project, which aims to leverage car-captured data to stimulate and facilitate innovative products and services, has been conceived to have an impact on creating high-tech start-ups or new business opportunities for SMEs. To this end, the consortium organised a hackathon challenging enterprising researchers to devise services and applications, relying on 5GMETA’s open platform, which could have market potential.
24 HOURS, 19 PARTICIPANTS, 3 CHALLENGES
A total of 19 participants – engineering and product design students as well as startup employees in the mobility and data analysis sectors – took on, with great enthusiasm, the challenge of spending 24 hours developing leading-edge solutions in three different areas: the first being the comfort and safety of road users; the second related to vehicle mobility; and the third focused on user-centric services.
SENSORS AND DATA: A WINNING COMBINATION FOR SAFETY
The teams produced some remarkable results by harnessing the potential of sensor data. Each team pitched their entry to a jury panel, comprising members of the 5GMETA consortium, who picked the top three projects. The winners were awarded a total prize of € 5,000.
All participants and organizers shared the success of the event.
The winning project, on the theme of vehicle mobility, allows for the collection and cross-referencing of data from vehicles and cameras in the event of a traffic accident.
In second place was a team that tackled the issue of road users’ comfort and safety with a solution that uses an in-vehicle camera to prevent the driver from falling asleep.
The third place winners created a solution that relies on the power of multiple sensors, both on the road and wearable, to reduce the time it takes for first responders to attend to emergencies in rural areas.
Appropriately, the award ceremony was hosted at OGR, “the new hub of innovation and art in Turin”, during the VTM International Business Convention for Automotive & Vehicle Innovation. The hackathon was scheduled right before the VTM convention to foster synergies.
5GMETA: TEAMING UP FOR SUCCESS
The hackathon was a great success for the project consortium. LIFTT led the organising team supported by ICOOR, LINKS, i3P, AKKA and VICOMTECH, who also served as mentors and jury members. ERTICO contributed towards the dissemination of materials of the event.
The event was also covered by a journalist for Rai News, who was present for the entire event, in an article published on the website: Mobilità sostenibile e smart: a Torino il primo Hackathon con soluzioni 5G.
“The 5GMETA project and the hackathon, in particular, propose new solutions regarding services for road safety and accident prevention. These are issues of great importance and it is important to improve and advance research in the smart mobility sector in order to ensure safe driving and a better quality of life”, says Dr Oihana Otaegui, 5GMETA’s project coordinator.
5GMETA is co-funded by the EU under the H2020 Research and Innovation Programme.
