Thank you to everyone who participated in our first Winter is Coming hackathon at OraVew in Chicago. In a remote working world, it can be difficult to find a group you can connect with over a common goal to express your creativity. We know Chicago has talented tinkerers learning, researching, and experimenting on ideas. We were curious if connecting over a challenge would inspire new perspectives in each other.
Gelos (Winner)
Rudy Arora and Michael Xing from Northwestern prototyped and validated a concept in 24 hours. They introduced “Gelos,” an AI-powered platform addressing the time-consuming and tedious process of creating marketing graphics, especially through the concept of memes. Gelos allows users to input brand information and offers options for meme generation, emphasizing either the product or the industry. Gelos also plans to accommodate context-specific memes and cater to various business sectors, ultimately aiming to simplify graphic creation for marketing purposes using AI technology.
Pitch Video
Pitch Deck
Product MVP
OpenData
Big tech companies have a monopoly on data, leading to potential misuse of data for their own benefit rather than the broader societal good. Ian, Karim, Gavin, and Arlan want to solve this issue, OpenData have created a decentralized data exchange platform, which aims to level the playing field for data accessibility. The platform allows anyone to request and receive data from individuals, making data more accessible and democratized. Users can create bounties for specific data requests, and other users can complete these bounties by providing the requested data, often in the form of photos. The platform also incorporates AI, using OpenAI’s Vision API to analyze images and extract useful information from them, making data more valuable and informative. OpenData intends to disrupt the data market by challenging the dominance of big tech companies and ensuring data privacy through its decentralized system.
Pitch Video
Github Repository
https://github.com/Arlanuy/decentralized-data-exchange-website
Interior Designer GPT
Jessica Yip walks us through how some young males, especially those who are first-time home designers or renters, face inspiration limitations when it comes to visualizing and styling their living spaces. They often lack the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions about furniture and room layouts. The solution proposed is a mobile-first app designed to help users easily visualize and design their living spaces. The app allows users to upload photos of furniture they have in mind and pictures of their rooms. It then generates design ideas and suggestions based on the user’s preferences, helping them make decisions about furniture style and placement. The app also incorporates a gamified feedback system, where users can like or dislike design suggestions, providing feedback to further refine recommendations.
Pitch Video
MVP Prototype
Sparks
Shree, Hayden, Pui, Kevin, and Chris present “Sparks,” an innovative dating app designed to address common challenges users face when using dating apps. These challenges include difficulties in starting and maintaining engaging conversations and planning quality dates. Sparks offers unique features such as compulsory icebreakers, interactive games, AI-powered conversation assistance, and date planning support. There is a potential for launching regional events and leveraging AI for improved matching and interaction recommendations.
Pitch Video
Huge shoutout to everyone who put themselves on the line to meet new people. Everyone came into the weekend ready to take on a new challenge. Some even spent the night to finalize their prototypes. We appreciate the efforts and energy and are excited to continue iterating on these ideas and more coming soon!
Best,
