Last week, over 60 participants gathered at ICF Karlsruhe, Germany, to build innovative features using SDV tools and blueprints at the SDV Hackathon Chapter 2.
Over two and a half days, 13 teams brainstormed, coded, and prototyped solutions, guided by hack coaches from companies like ETAS, Microsoft, and Bosch. Participants tackled six challenges using technologies such as Eclipse Ankaios, Kuksa, Symphony, Velocitas, Mosquitto, ThreadX, Sumo, uProtocol, and more.
After 30 hours of intense coding (with intermittent breaks for ping-pong, table football, and popcorn), seven finalist teams were selected, impressing everyone with projects that combined creativity and real-world impact. Here are the solutions they came up with:
Team APT
With a mission to prevent accidents, Team APT developed an Advanced Prevention Traffic System, integrating technologies like Sumo, Kuksa, Velocitas, and Mosquitto. Their solution combined real-time weather data and crash data to alert nearby vehicles and authorities, optimising emergency response times. Their user-friendly web application, completed by an impressive UI, highlighted the team's ability to translate technical challenges into practical solutions.
Team ASAP
What if we could get an alert when we exceed the speed limit on the road? Team ASAP made it happen. Despite being SDV newcomers and facing challenges with cloud integration and over-the-air communication, they built a successful working prototype using Eclipse Ankaios.
Team Caliper Kings
Team Caliper Kings tackled autonomous driving’s complexities by automating reports on vehicle behaviours like emergency braking. Using synthetic data and Eclipse Ankaios, they created a workload administrator to predict and prevent incidents. “When a trigger event happens, we report it. We implemented a logic to detect these events,” they explained.
Team Challengers
“We are challengers, developers, and car lovers.” That’s how they introduced themselves, and they certainly lived up to it. Team Challengers developed a gaming platform that collects and processes data from a vehicle’s input devices, such as the steering wheel, to control in-game vehicles and evaluate driver behaviour. “We came up with an analysis that helps drivers improve their driving skills.”
Team FEV.io
Team FEV.io added a playful spin to the hackathon with their Play by Wire(less meets ThreadX) project. Using LED strips and joysticks, they built a car-integrated game with ThreadX, Ankaios, and Kuksa to enhance in-trip entertainment. Players are assigned colours that light up in the car, with the winner’s colour displayed until the trip ends. Along the way, they tackled Wi-Fi connectivity and zonal architecture challenges, showcasing their technical expertise in merging traditional systems with innovative entertainment solutions.
Team Python Hobbits
Team Python Hobbits explored intelligent auto systems with a suite of apps for traffic and object detection, vehicle health and stability, and collision prevention. Built entirely in Python, their project leveraged dash cameras and Eclipse Ankaios to create a safer and more connected driving experience. The team impressed with their holistic approach to enhancing long-distance driving safety.
Team Wise Riders
Team Wise Riders focused on enhancing vehicle-to-microcontroller communication with ThreadX and uProtocol. Their "remote honk and flash" feature lets users activate vehicle functions while monitoring real-time data like temperature and acceleration.
And the Winners Are…
Congratulations to Team FEV.io, Team Challengers, and Team Wise Riders for winning the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes. Special shoutout to Wise Riders and Caliper Kings for also winning Harman’s Special Award.
Of course, the real win was the creativity and collaboration from every participant. Huge thanks to Harman International for hosting and making this event a reality.
