Projects that complement ŠKODA AUTO’s future-oriented philosophy have a good chance of winning this special prize. The car manufacturer intends to develop innovative mobility services and improve customers’ mobility beyond their own vehicle – through car sharing for example. If the winning team takes an exciting approach in Dresden, ŠKODA AUTO will potentially be interested in collaborating further.
“The ‘Smart Mobility Hackathon’ is an exceptional platform for developing concepts, ideas and solutions for future-oriented mobility services. We are following the work of the participants with great interest,” said Jarmila Plachá, Head of the ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab. “Together with the teams, we will pursue the best ideas at the ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab,” added Plachá.
This year’s international ‘Smart Mobility Hackathon’ will take place at the ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab in Prague. First, the participants are put into teams of 3 and are then given a task from a total of 13 areas, such as carsharing, pedestrian navigation, autonomous driving and smart parking. The teams then have 48 hours to come up with innovative ideas. The up-and-coming talents are supported by different mentors, including ŠKODA AUTO specialists from the development, production and IT departments. On Sunday, the teams will present their results to a jury of experts from ŠKODA AUTO and the Czech Technical University.
Some of the most successful projects from last year are currently undergoing further development with support from the ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab – this includes, for example, an app which allows drivers of electric vehicles to communicate with each another. The idea is that, should a vehicle’s battery run low, the driver can recharge it using power from another electric car. As in previous years, the hackathon participants will also have the chance to further develop promising projects, either contracted or employed by ŠKODA AUTO, and to advance them into fully fledged products and mobility services.
The term ‘hackathon’ is a combination of the words ‘hack’ and ‘marathon’. At a hackathon, participants work on difficult tasks under time pressure and come up with new approaches to a project specified by the organiser. The time frame can vary from a few hours up to several days or more.
