There was no relaxing this weekend at TechCrunch 2016 in Beijing, especially at the Hackathon. That's where developers, engineers and designers race against time and build new technology products.
Fancy a new handbag with LED lights?
It's one of the products developed in a matter of just one day and one night. 150 hackers, 30 teams, and just 24 hours. That was the line-up at the Hackathon at this year’s TechCrunch in Beijing.
A hackathon doesn't have much to do with hacking. It's best described as an "invention marathon", where hundreds of coders and developers from all over the world form teams and build technology products such as websites, mobile apps, and robots from scratch.
A hackathon doesn't have much to do with hacking. It's best described as an "invention marathon", where hundreds of coders and developers from all over the world form teams and build technology products such as websites, mobile apps, and robots from scratch.
These events usually last from 24 to 48 hours and are filled with food, caffeine, and a lot of energy drinks.
The start of the 24-hour hackathon was at 10 a.m. Saturday, and the finish was at 10 am Sunday.
Participants came up with plenty of cool ideas, ranging from a map-based mobile app that helps you avoid crowds to a live streaming platform that offers financial advisory services for the poor and lower middle class.
"We will invite financial experts to be on the platform to communicate in real time with the people who need financial advice," said Xiao Lei, VP Strategy & Planning.
"The target audience will be the low income people maybe from Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and also millenials who are going to study overseas but who cannot get very sound financial advice."
Sleeping at these events is rare and people often work right through to meet the deadline.
Most people here have brought their sleeping bags or pulled an all-nighter to meet the deadline, get their products finished and present it to the jury.
The designer of the LED bag worked with the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, aiming at bridging the gap between fashion and technology.
"The students worked with the LED bag kit and they have created an app which allows you to control the lighting pattern on the bag. Then the designer of the brand Art Factory created the bag," said Anina Net, founder, 360Fashion Network.
A mobile app controls the lights and it can be customized depending on your style and environment.
This mode suits you when you’re wearing a black dress, and these funky patterns here when you’re out clubbing.
"And then we have another pattern which is a basic dots pattern. So straight from the mobile app according to your outfit you can change your style by using light and fashion tech," Anina Net said.
At the end of the contest, each team got 2 minutes to demonstrate its results in front of the panel of judges.
Prizes at hackathons can reach a substantial amount of money.
In 2013, a hackathon run by Salesforce dot com had a payout of 1 million US dollars to the winners, billed as the largest-ever prize.
At this event, winners walked away not with money, but with sponsored gifts, and lots of new ideas and connections.
Over the past year, hackathons like this have taken many countries including China by storm.
But after the curtain has fallen, the next step will be the implementation in real life and the market place.
