HACK 4 AGEING WELL – HACKATHON – AAL FORUM 2018
On September 22, a 24-hour hackathon will be taking place in the run up to the AAL Forum 2018 in Biscay at the Euskalduna Conference Centre in Bilbao.
Hack4Elder advantAGE is just one of a number of stimulating side events to be taking place alongside the main activities at this year’s forum.
The 2018 hackathon is organised by the University of Deusto, an avid player on the research platform for ageing and wellbeing in Spain, and is a place for teams to step up to the challenge and come together, working late into the night designing and creating smart solutions for ageing well.
Hackathon 2017
Last year’s hackathon, Hack 4 Ageing Well, saw 35 participants make their ideas a reality. They explored, tested and cultivated their ideas, with the assistance of expert developers and designers, in a 24-hour period to finally pitch and demonstrate how their solution benefited today’s ageing population, including possible funding prospects.
The 2017 hackathon first prize went to ‘hello, technology’ – a solution that supports impaired people with interactions beyond touch interfaces by using physical space. Not only did they win the opportunity to pitch their project to 750 AAL delegates at the end of the forum, they won the chance to have direct access to the acceleration programme, Impact Generator, that took place in January 2018.
Henrik Reiss, one of three ‘hello, technology’ team members said after the win, “Our idea was based on creating a tool which can improve reminiscence therapy. Our solution was a guided non-linear storytelling tool for caregivers who work with dementia patients to help them understand what their patients react to and offer related stimulus material.
“With regards to the hackathon itself, all-in-all we had one day – and not much sleep – to try to implement the fuzzy vision we had in our head, but what totally amazed us was how perfectly it was organised and how much this helped make the process a lot smoother. We had such a great time being involved with the hackathon, especially for something like the AAL Programme and the social, technological and ethical discussions it yields, which we believe to be a fundamental part of a future that we are all a part of,” said Reiss.
The runners-up of the hackathon 2017 were, Smart Ageing who designed smart stability socks and, Pharma.chat, a smart-bot that simplifies medication pamphlets.
Hackathon 2018
Whether you are involved in the hackathon this year or not, it is undeniable that the event is an unmissable opportunity for the development and success of the AAL community. It is a great place for fresh new ideas to evolve and for people to learn and network and later share their experiences with others looking to develop solutions, or those currently producing AAL solutions.
If you are interested in being a part of this challenging 24-hours, please fill in the following form so the relevant information can be sent to you.
Those not taking part will be able to hear about the winners and runners-up at the AAL Forum’s closing ceremony on Wednesday 26 September from 19:30.
Register for the AAL Forum here.