--- title: ArcTouch 2016 Hackathon Photo Recap - ArcTouch description: "ArcTouch team members began the new year with a hackathon. In the two-day event projects spanned big data, robotics, wearables, and the Internet of Things. " url: "https://arctouch.com/blog/hackathon" date_modified: "2025-04-10T19:21:18.237Z" --- # ArcTouch 2016 Hackathon Photo Recap ArcTouch team members began the new year with a hackathon. In the two-day event projects spanned big data, robotics, wearables, and the Internet of Things. 5 min. read - January 8, 2016 By Troy Petersen [](mailto:?subject=Interesting%20blog%20post&body=I%20thought%20you%20might%20like%20this%20blog%20post%20from%20ArcTouch%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Farctouch.com%2Fblog%2Fhackathon) ![ArcTouch Hackathon](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%2Fefnbmai9c55m%2FOwoKGP5wkslRZfbjFkMGX%2Fb3644cff0d32afc142d24e42cf41b6e8%2Fhackathon-blog-topper&w=3840&q=75) For the second consecutive year, ArcTouch team members began the new year with a hackathon. Ideation began in December for the 19 projects that we eventually tackled in the two-day event, jointly held in our San Francisco and Florianópolis, Brazil offices. Our app projects spanned big data, robotics, wearables, and the Internet of Things (IoT). We wrote a lot of code, broke a lot of hardware, consumed a lot of food and beverages, and used a lot of duct tape. We'll share what we learned from a few of the individual projects here on our blog over the next few weeks. For now, here are some photos and video clips that help tell the story of what it was like to be in our offices this week. ## Beacons everywhere One hackathon team created a beacon-based tracking system that could find team members based on the location of their phone, while another worked on a "smart" door lock system that could sense when you are near and automatically unlock the door. ![ArcTouch IoT developer at hackathon](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/3WlqlXhW2TRngWGPStQZQc/fcdc6829cbf543cb45cfae9bb5924af8/hackathon-anthony-boards-2-5.jpg) ![IoT devices at hackathon](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/4e1GU4JC9WLysxP20F9RZb/2753237628605f043fe218dbac22098b/hackathon-wires-brasil-2-5.jpg) ## Robots rule What's more awesome than creating a robot? One team modified a Roomba to turn it into an assistant that could fetch drinks, while another aimed to create a robot soccer game. ![hacking a Roomba vacuum cleaner](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/1dXmQGg4Jg1XElafNCxh6g/fe8523a8676be1475f83bded7bf04c9c/hackathon-roomba-2-5.jpg) ![hacking a raspberry pi](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/014rDammbj8U0c0hj3u0R2/1d71b6d02ad3dee6c38114a85c5316e2/hackathon-desk-brasil-2-5.jpg) ## Harnessing big and little data Two different hackathon teams worked on dashboards that help solve two different business problems -- one that aggregates different data sources to show how an app is performing with users, and another that would help keep internal team members better apprised of project status and our own key business metrics. ![hackathon dashboard](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/1Bx5eI9TqxglmyDyubu21O/eee1450e8e3beccb7a89d754efd81939/hackathon-dashboard-2-5.jpg) ## When working hard is playing hard What beats work when what you're really doing is building a game? Teams hacked together and designed new types of games for Android TV and Apple TV -- along with a VR simulation. ![hackathon VR](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/590r9WQTFyPl2MyeJT7M8N/cf4440f6c396676ff9842ad5aace4a06/hackathon-VR-2-5.jpg) ## Hackathon collaboration Breakthroughs often happen in groups. Hackathon teams gathered in conference rooms or common areas of our offices to continuously and efficiently problem solve over two days. ![hackathon ArcTouch Brasil team collaboration](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/nzNEf38EetIEgsNYo4CKj/5959bd54d8e7123d0bec76b8b2d13175/hackathon-brasil-group-2-5.jpg) ![hackathon ArcTouch San Francisco team collaboration](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/R9T24kbB0fuwB7Aax5Fzr/1191c617d83eeca17d4fcfc6acf84c65/hackathon-jayne-2-5.jpg) ## Brain replenishment: food and beverage galore From coffee and beer, to breakfast, lunch and dinner, our hackathon teams were well hydrated and fed so we could do our best thinking. ![hackathon beer](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/6PI5ADoAG7KVVTgqMzyfDs/3d9d327ddf743e23c75986f3a57cf62d/hackathon-lonely-beer-2-5.jpg) ![hackathon lunch](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/3VK2FXlAwyqT5VdK4JpvLg/dacdb4d3e74ed136e7388774474dfb87/hackathon-lunch-2-5.jpg) ![hackathon dinner](https://images.ctfassets.net/efnbmai9c55m/3BOc2fbTBqLAigBGz6qfTG/acf9280ff1212135be089f4de48b7871/hackathon-pizza-brasil-2-5.jpg) ## Article Author: [TP | Troy Petersen | Editorial Director](/blog/author/troy-petersen) ## Tags: [Agile Development](/tag/agile-development) [Android Apps](/tag/android-apps) [Android TV](/tag/android-tv) [Best Practices](/tag/best-practices) [Big Data](/tag/big-data) [Developer Events](/tag/developer-events) [Hackathon](/tag/hackathon) [Internet Of Things](/tag/internet-of-things) [iOS Apps](/tag/ios-apps) [IoT](/tag/iot) [Programming](/tag/programming) [Robotics](/tag/robotics) [tvOS](/tag/tvos) [Wearables](/tag/wearables) ## Subscribe for more insights Get our newsletter in your inbox. ## Related posts [An interview with Joe Devon, co-founder of Global Accessibility Awareness Day | Joe Devon, founder of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, shares his thoughts on the state of digital and app accessibility. | 5 min. read - May 15, 2024](/blog/joe-devon-gaad) [Koko Signs: An interview with Dr. Penny Patterson | Dr. Penny Patterson talks about working with Koko, the gorilla who learned sign language, and how a new app will extend Koko’s legacy. | 5 min. read - January 11, 2024](/blog/koko-signs-penny-patterson) ## Contact us. ### Let's build something lovable. 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