Vectorform and the Dali Museum joined forces this past weekend in St. Petersburg, FL to co-host the Project 34 hackathon. This 34 hour experiential hackathon attracted developers and designers from across the state in the quest to create a ground breaking technical solution inspired by the makings of Salvador Dali and the Fibonacci sequence.

After the opening remarks on Saturday morning, participants were broken into groups to begin brainstorming, designing, creating and developing their solution to pitch to the panel of judges the following evening.

Some of the teams began working on creating mobile apps with various hardware devices such as; BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) beacons, Google Cardboard, and the Oculus Rift but it wasn’t limited to just mobile apps. One team came up with an idea to combine the best of an internet forum and an instant messaging client, and did almost all of it in Java using numbers and subtle design keys from the artists in the museum. Another group used the Google Cardboard in their welcome bag to come up with an augmented reality experience where information would pop up based on what painting or part of the museum users were looking at.

In addition to the hackathon, there were innovation sprints open to the public that took place at The Dali throughout the 2 day event. The innovation sprints aligned with times in the Fibonacci sequence.

While many developers stayed inside the Dali, the others brought sleeping bags and took quick naps before waking up and indulging in servings of 5 hour energy and red bull. To follow Vectorform’s mentality of “work hard, play hard”, there was plenty of fun to be had to keep morale up. Giant inflatable hamster balls that people could run around in, LED lit hula hooping, and tai chi. When participants needed time to cool things down and relax there were massage therapists that came in and offered chair massages!

After presenting to the judges panel, participants waited anxiously for the awards ceremony and the announcement of the winning team/solution.

The winners- Team Hackerai (a mix between hacker and samurai), consisting of recent college graduates, Matthias Elliot and JD Parsley. Their interactive exhibit app, informally named, “The Lobster Phone” uses BLE beacons present throughout the museum and art pieces to send users contextual data to their mobile phone based on their location in the museum. The app also allows users to interact with the app by clicking on images of the paintings on their phone to get more information. Not only will the app increase visitor satisfaction but the ability for the beacons to track and record visitor data will grant to dali Museum with further insight into where visitors are spending their time and what is attracting them the most. As part of their grand prize, Matthias and JD will soon be heading to our Royal Oak office for 2 weeks to finishing developing their application.

After the awards ceremony, the after party allowed all the sponsors and hackers to network together (And use whatever energy they had left to groove out on the dance floor…)

We would like to thank everyone who helped make this event happen. Our co-host, The Dali Museum, all of our judges and especially all of sponsors; KnowBe4, DTE Energy, DTE Energy Foundation, Malwarebytes, KFORCE, Kelly Services, Metaio, Silent Storm Sound Systems, Oculus,Major League Hacking, Coca-Cola and Bright Stools.

We look forward to planning another hackathon very soon.